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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: Frank on 03/02/10 at 5:05 pm
I never was afraid of her, but was afraid of the wicked witch from The Wizard of Oz.
Me too.
I have read somewhere that since HR Puff'n stuff looks like the Hamburgler in those old Mcdonalds commercials, not sure if Krofft wanted to sue Mcdonalds or vice versa. My memory isn't as good as it used to be in my younger days.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 03/03/10 at 12:53 am
I love Bon Jovi :)
yeah, they've made lots of great songs. O0
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/03/10 at 3:07 am
British Person of the Day: Fatima Whitbread
Fatima Whitbread MBE (born 3 March 1961 in London) is an British former javelin thrower and multiple medal-winner.
Early life
Fatima Whitbread was born in north London to a Turkish Cypriot mother and Greek Cypriot father.
At age fourteen, Fatima was adopted by the Whitbread family and she spent her teenage years in Chadwell St Mary, Essex. Fatima's mother had asked them to take her in when she realized that Fatima was spending a lot of time with Margaret Whitbread, a sports coach.
Fatima attended Dilkes County Primary School And The Culverhouse School (Now The Ockendon Maths And Computing College) In South Ockendon, Essex.
Career
Whitbread broke the World Record with a throw of 77.44m in the qualifying round of the 1986 European Championships in Athletics (where she also won the final) and became World Champion in 1987. She became well-known in the UK for her celebratory wiggle after defeating arch-rival Petra Felke in these events. Her performances in 1987 led to her being voted winner of the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.
Whitbread had won the silver medal at the inaugural World Championships in 1983. She was also well known for her rivalry with fellow English javelin thrower Tessa Sanderson, who won the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles with Whitbread finishing in bronze medal position.
In the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Whitbread won the silver medal behind Petra Felke, who had broken the world record in the interim.
Later life
In 1997, Whitbread married Andrew Norman at Copthorne in West Sussex and has one son, Ryan. Norman, who represented many athletes professionally, died in 2007.
She was at one time a governor of King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford, in the town of Brentwood where she was living.
According to a November 2008 Daily Express article, she owns her own company and is heavily involved with the stadium being used after the 2012 London Olympics.
http://www.olympics.org.uk/images/athlete/Whitbread_Fatima_Action_1.jpg
http://www.archwaysbooks.com/shop_image/product/13700.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/03/10 at 6:37 am
British Person of the Day: Fatima Whitbread
Fatima Whitbread MBE (born 3 March 1961 in London) is an British former javelin thrower and multiple medal-winner.
Early life
Fatima Whitbread was born in north London to a Turkish Cypriot mother and Greek Cypriot father.
At age fourteen, Fatima was adopted by the Whitbread family and she spent her teenage years in Chadwell St Mary, Essex. Fatima's mother had asked them to take her in when she realized that Fatima was spending a lot of time with Margaret Whitbread, a sports coach.
Fatima attended Dilkes County Primary School And The Culverhouse School (Now The Ockendon Maths And Computing College) In South Ockendon, Essex.
Career
Whitbread broke the World Record with a throw of 77.44m in the qualifying round of the 1986 European Championships in Athletics (where she also won the final) and became World Champion in 1987. She became well-known in the UK for her celebratory wiggle after defeating arch-rival Petra Felke in these events. Her performances in 1987 led to her being voted winner of the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.
Whitbread had won the silver medal at the inaugural World Championships in 1983. She was also well known for her rivalry with fellow English javelin thrower Tessa Sanderson, who won the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles with Whitbread finishing in bronze medal position.
In the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Whitbread won the silver medal behind Petra Felke, who had broken the world record in the interim.
Later life
In 1997, Whitbread married Andrew Norman at Copthorne in West Sussex and has one son, Ryan. Norman, who represented many athletes professionally, died in 2007.
She was at one time a governor of King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford, in the town of Brentwood where she was living.
According to a November 2008 Daily Express article, she owns her own company and is heavily involved with the stadium being used after the 2012 London Olympics.
http://www.olympics.org.uk/images/athlete/Whitbread_Fatima_Action_1.jpg
http://www.archwaysbooks.com/shop_image/product/13700.jpg
Very nice. Funny I too picked an Olympian.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/03/10 at 6:43 am
The word of the day...Hurdle(s)
A hurdle is a problem, difficulty, or part of a process that may prevent you from achieving something.
Hurdles is a race in which people have to jump over a number of obstacles that are also called hurdles. You can use hurdles to refer to one or more races.
If you hurdle, you jump over something while you are running.
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb199/cac_mai_09/Hurdles.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f321/krazy_kona_rider/hurdles.jpg
http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad176/Croket47/Hurdles.jpg
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http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss227/jennyandizzy/boomerangg093.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/03/10 at 6:45 am
The person born on this day...Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Jacqueline "Jackie" Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is a retired American athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the women's heptathlon as well as in the women's long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals, in those two different events. Sports Illustrated for Women magazine voted Joyner-Kersee the Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th century, just ahead of Babe Didrikson Zaharias.
Jacqueline Joyner was born March 3, 1962, in East St. Louis, Illinois, and was named after Jackie Kennedy. She was inspired to compete in multi-disciplinary track & field events after seeing a 1975 made-for-TV movie about Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Interestingly, Didrikson, the trackster, basketball player, and pro golfer, was chosen the "Greatest Female Athlete of the First Half of the 20th Century. Fifty years later, "Sports Illustrated for Women" magazine voted Joyner-Kersee the greatest female athlete of "all time".
UCLA
Joyner-Kersee attended college at the University of California at Los Angeles, where she starred in both track & field and in women's basketball from 1980-1985. She was a starter in her forward position for each of her first three seasons (1980-81, 81-82, and 82-83)as well as in her senior (fifth) year, 1984-1985. She had red-shirted during the 1983-1984 academic year to concentrate on the heptathalon for the 1984 Summer Olympics.
She scored 1,167 points during her collegiate career, which places her 19th all time for the Bruins as of the 2009 season. She had 752 career rebounds, which places her 9th all-time for the Bruins. In her senior season, the Bruins twice defeated Cheryl Miller-led USC Trojans teams in the UCLA-USC rivalry games. The Bruins advanced to the West Regional semi-finals of the 1985 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament before losing to eventual runner-up Georgia.
She was honored on February 21, 1998 as one of the 15 greatest players in UCLA women's basketball. In April 2001, Joyner-Kersee was voted the "Top Woman Collegiate Athlete of the Past 25 Years." The vote was conducted among the 976 NCAA member schools.
Competition
1984 Summer Olympics
Joyner-Kersee competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and won the silver medal in the heptathlon.
1986 Goodwill Games
Joyner-Kersee was the first woman to score over 7,000 points in a heptathlon event (during the 1986 Goodwill Games). In 1986, she received the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States.
1988 Summer Olympics
In the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea, Joyner-Kersee earned gold medals in both the heptathlon and the long jump. At the 1988 Games in Seoul, she set the still-standing heptathlon world record of 7,291 points. The silver and bronze medalists were Sabine John and Anke Vater-Behmer, both of whom were representing East Germany. Five days later, Joyner won her second gold medal, leaping to an Olympic record of 7.40 m (24 ft 3+1⁄4 in) in the long jump.
1991 World Championships Tokyo
She was the red hot favorite to retain both her World titles earned four years earlier in Rome. However her challenge was dramatically halted when, having won the long jump easily with a 7.32 m (24 ft +1⁄4 in) jump no one would beat, she slipped on the take off board and careened head first into the pit, luckily avoiding serious injury. She did, however, strain a hamstring, which led to her having to pull out of the heptathlon during the 200 m at the end of the first day.
1992 Summer Olympics
In the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, Joyner-Kersee earned her 2nd Olympic gold medal in the heptathlon. She also won the bronze medal in the long jump which was won by her friend Heike Drechsler of Germany.
1996 Summer Olympics
At the Olympic Trials, Joyner-Kersee sustained an injury to her right hamstring. When the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia began, Joyner-Kersee was not fully recovered by the time the heptathlon started. After running the first event, the 100 m hurdles, the pain was unbearable and she withdrew. She was able to recover well enough to compete in the long jump and qualify for the final, but was in sixth place in the final with one jump remaining. Her final jump of 7.00 m (22 ft 11+1⁄2 in) was long enough for her to win the bronze medal. The Atlanta Olympics would be the last Olympics of Joyner-Kersee's long competitive career.
Professional Basketball Career
In 1996 she signed on to play pro basketball for the Richmond Rage of the fledgling American Basketball League. Although she was very popular with the fans, she was less successful on the court. She appeared in only 17 games, and scored no more than four points in any game.
1998 Goodwill Games
Returning to track, Joyner-Kersee won the heptathlon again at the 1998 Goodwill Games, scoring 6,502 points.
2000 Olympic Trials
Joyner-Kersee made her final bow in track & field competition in 2000. She was sixth in the long jump (21-10.75) at the Olympic Trials.
Awards and honors
* 2010 NCAA Silver Anniversary Awards honoree.
Current world records
As of August 2008, Joyner-Kersee holds the world record in heptathlon along with six all time best results and her long jump record of 7.49 m is second on the long jump all time list. In addition to heptathlon and long jump, she was a world class athlete in 100 m hurdles and 200 meters being as of June 2006 in top 60 all time in those events.
Sports Illustrated voted her the greatest female athlete of the 20th century.
Joyner-Kersee consistently has maintained that she has competed throughout her career without performance-enhancing drugs.
Personal life
Jackie's brother is the Olympic champion triple jumper Al Joyner, who was married to another Olympic track champion, the late Florence Griffith-Joyner. Jackie married her track coach, Bob Kersee, in 1986.
In 1988, Joyner-Kersee established the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation, which provides youth, adults, and families with the resources to improve their quality of life with special attention directed to East St. Louis, Illinois. In 2007, Jackie Joyner-Kersee along with Andre Agassi, Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong, Warrick Dunn, Mia Hamm, Jeff Gordon, Tony Hawk, Andrea Jaeger, Mario Lemieux, Alonzo Mourning, and Cal Ripken, Jr. founded the "Athletes for Hope", a charitable organization, which helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and inspires millions of non-athletes to volunteer and support the community
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n240/DroppinDymez/jackie.jpg
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http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e246/Martha2hot/jackie_joyner-kersee.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/03/10 at 6:49 am
The person who died on this day...Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye (January 18, 1913 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, singer and comedian.
Born David Daniel Kaminsky to Jewish Ukrainian immigrants in Brooklyn, Kaye became one of the world's best-known comedians. He spent his early youth attending Public School 149 in East New York, Brooklyn, before moving to Thomas Jefferson High School, but he never graduated. He learned his trade in his teenage years in the Catskills as a tummler in the Borscht Belt.
Career
Danny Kaye made his film debut in a 1935 comedy short titled Moon Over Manhattan. In 1937 he signed with New York–based Educational Pictures for a series of two-reel comedies. Kaye usually played a manic, dark-haired, fast-talking Russian in these low-budget shorts, opposite young hopefuls June Allyson or Imogene Coca. The Kaye series ended abruptly when the studio shut down permanently in 1938.
Kaye scored a personal triumph in 1941, in the hit Broadway comedy Lady in the Dark. His show-stopping number was "Tchaikovsky", by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin, in which he sang the names of a whole string of Russian composers at breakneck speed, seemingly without taking a breath.
His feature film debut was in producer Samuel Goldwyn's Technicolor 1944 comedy Up in Arms, a remake of Goldwyn's Eddie Cantor comedy Whoopee! (1930). Goldwyn agonized over Kaye's ethnic, Borscht-belt looks and ordered him to undergo a nose job. Kaye refused, and Goldwyn found another way to brighten Kaye's dark features by lightening his hair, giving him his trademark redheaded locks. Kaye's rubber face and fast patter were an instant hit, and rival producer Robert M. Savini cashed in almost immediately by compiling three of Kaye's old Educational Pictures shorts into a makeshift feature, The Birth of a Star (1945).
Kaye starred in several movies with actress Virginia Mayo in the 1940s, and is well known for his roles in films such as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), The Inspector General (1949), On the Riviera (1951) co-starring Gene Tierney, White Christmas (1954, in a role originally intended for Fred Astaire, then Donald O'Connor), Knock on Wood (1954), The Court Jester (1956), and Merry Andrew (1958). Kaye starred in two pictures based on biographies, Hans Christian Andersen (1952) about the Danish story-teller, and The Five Pennies (1959) about jazz pioneer Red Nichols. His wife, writer/lyricist Sylvia Fine, wrote many of the witty, tongue-twisting songs Danny Kaye became famous for. Some of Kaye's films included the theme of doubles, two people who look identical (both played by Danny Kaye) being mistaken for each other, to comic effect. The Kaye-Fine marriage, as was the case with many spouses who worked together in the high-pressure world of film-making, was sometimes stormy.
During World War II, the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated rumors that Kaye dodged the draft by manufacturing a medical condition to gain 4-F status and exemption from military service. FBI files show he was also under investigation for supposed links with Communist groups. The allegations were never substantiated, and he was never charged with any associated crime.
Other projects
Kaye starred in a radio program of his own, The Danny Kaye Show, on CBS in 1945–1946. Although it had a stellar cast (including Eve Arden, Lionel Stander, and Big Band leader Harry James), and was scripted by radio notables Goodman Ace, Sylvia Fine, and respected playwright-director Abe Burrows, the show failed to make proper use of its star, and never found an audience. It turned out to be a very bitter experience for both Kaye and Ace. Many episodes survive today, and are notable for Kaye's opening "nonsense" patter.
Kaye was sufficiently popular that he inspired imitations:
* The 1946 Warner Bros. cartoon Book Revue had a lengthy sequence with Daffy Duck impersonating Kaye singing "Carolina in the Morning" with the Russian accent that Kaye would affect from time to time.
* Satirical songwriter Tom Lehrer's 1953 song "Lobachevsky" was based on a number that Kaye had done, about the Russian director Constantin Stanislavski, again with the affected Russian accent. Lehrer mentioned Kaye in the opening monologue, citing him as an "idol since childbirth."
When he appeared at the London Palladium music hall in 1948, he "roused the Royal family to shrieks of laughter and was the first of many performers who have turned English variety into an American preserve." Life magazine described his reception as "worshipful hysteria" and noted that the royal family, for the first time in history, left the royal box to see the show from the front row of the orchestra.
He hosted the 24th Academy Awards in 1952. The program was broadcast only on radio. Telecasts of the Oscar ceremony would come later.
He hosted his own variety hour on CBS television, The Danny Kaye Show, from 1963 to 1967. During this period, beginning in 1964, he acted as television host to the annual CBS telecasts of MGM's The Wizard of Oz. Kaye also did a stint as one of the What's My Line? Mystery Guests on the popular Sunday night CBS-TV quiz program. Kaye later served as a guest panelist on that show. He also appeared on the NBC interview program Here's Hollywood.
Danny Kaye was very fond of the legendary arranger Vic Schoen. Schoen had arranged for him on White Christmas, the Court Jester, and albums and concerts with the Andrews Sisters. In the 1960s Vic Schoen was working on a show in Las Vegas with Shirley Temple. He was injured in a car accident. When Danny Kaye heard about the accident, he immediately flew his own plane (Kaye was an avid pilot) to McCarran Airport to pick up Schoen and bring him back to Los Angeles to guarantee the best medical attention.
In 1976, he played the role of Mister Geppetto in a television musical adaptation of Pinocchio with Sandy Duncan in the title role. He guest-starred much later in his career in episodes of The Muppet Show, The Cosby Show and in the 1980s revival of The Twilight Zone.
Kaye was the original owner of baseball's Seattle Mariners along with his partner Lester Smith from 1977 to 1981. Prior to that, the lifelong fan of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers recorded a song called "The D-O-D-G-E-R-S Song (Oh really? No, O'Malley!)", describing a fictitious encounter with the San Francisco Giants, which was a hit during those clubs' real-life pennant chase of 1962. That song is included on one of the Baseball's Greatest Hits compact discs.
During the 1950s, Kaye visited Australia, where he played "Buttons" in a production of Cinderella in Sydney. In the 1970s Kaye tore a ligament in his leg during the run of the Richard Rodgers musical Two by Two, but went on with the show, appearing with his leg in a cast and cavorting on stage from a wheelchair.
In many of his movies, as well as on stage, Kaye proved to be a very able actor, singer, dancer and comedian. He showed quite a different and serious side as Ambassador for UNICEF and in his dramatic role in the memorable TV movie Skokie, in which he played a Holocaust survivor. Before his death in 1987, Kaye demonstrated his ability to conduct an orchestra during a comical, but technically sound, series of concerts organized for UNICEF fundraising. Kaye received two Academy Awards: an honorary award in 1955 and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1982.
In 1980, Kaye hosted and sang in the 25th Anniversary of Disneyland celebration, and hosted the opening celebration for Epcot in 1982 (EPCOT Center at the time), both of which were aired on prime-time American television.
In his later years he took to entertaining at home as chef – he had a special stove installed in his patio – and specialized in Chinese cooking. The theater and demonstration kitchen underneath the library at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York is named for him.
He also had a longstanding interest in medicine and was permitted to observe surgery on several occasions.
He was an accomplished pilot, rated for airplanes ranging from single engine light aircraft to multi-engine jets.
Throughout his life, Kaye donated to various charities. Working alongside UNICEF's Halloween fundraiser founder, Ward Simon Kimball Jr., the actor educated the public on impoverished children in deplorable living conditions overseas and assisted in the distribution of donated goods and funds.
Kaye was enamored of music. While he often claimed an inability to read music, he was quite the conductor, and was said to have perfect pitch. Kaye was often invited to conduct symphonies as charity fundraisers. Over the course of his career he raised over US$5,000,000 in support of musicians pension funds.
The bench at Danny Kaye's grave in Kensico Cemetery
Kaye died in 1987 from a heart attack, following a bout of hepatitis. He left a widow, Sylvia Fine, and a daughter, Dena. He is interred in the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York. His grave is adorned with a bench that contains friezes of a baseball and bat, an aircraft, a piano, a flower pot, musical notes, and a glove.
Personal life
After Kaye and his wife became estranged, he was allegedly involved with a succession of women, though he and Fine never divorced. The best-known of these women was actress Eve Arden.
There are persistent rumors that Kaye was either homosexual or bisexual and some sources claim that Kaye and Laurence Olivier had a 10-year relationship in the 1950s while Olivier was still married to Vivien Leigh. A biography of Leigh states that the alleged relationship caused her to have a breakdown. The alleged relationship has been denied by Olivier's official biographer, Terry Coleman. Joan Plowright, Olivier's widow, has dealt with the matter in different ways on different occasions: she deflected the question (but alluded to Olivier's "demons") in a BBC interview and was reported saying on another occasion that "I have always resented the comments that it was I who was the homewrecker of Larry's marriage to Vivien Leigh. Danny Kaye was attached to Larry far earlier than I." However, in her memoirs Plowright denies that there had been an affair between the two men. Producer Perry Lafferty reported: “People would ask me, ‘Is he gay? Is he gay?’ I never saw anything to substantiate that in all the time I was with him.” Kaye’s final girlfriend, Marlene Sorosky, reported that he told her, “I’ve never had a homosexual experience in my life. I’ve never had any kind of gay relationship. I’ve had opportunities, but I never did anything about them.”
Honors, awards, tributes
* Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (1981)
* Asteroid 6546 Kaye
* Kennedy Center Honor (1984)
* The song I Wish I Was Danny Kaye on Miracle Legion's 1996 album Portrait of a Damaged Family
* On June 23, 1987, Kaye was posthumously presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan. The award was received by his daughter Dena.
Filmography
Film
# Title Year Role Director Co-stars Filmed in
1. Moon Over Manhattan 1935 Himself Al Christie Sylvia Froos, Marion Martin Black and white
2. Dime a Dance 1937 Eddie Al Christie Imogene Coca, June Allyson Black and white
3. Getting an Eyeful 1938 Russian Al Christie Charles Kemper, Sally Starr Black and white
4. Cupid Takes a Holiday 1938 Nikolai Nikolaevich (bride-seeker) William Watson Douglas Leavitt, Estelle Jayne Black and white
5. Money on Your Life 1938 Russian William Watson Charles Kemper, Sally Starr Black and white
6. Up in Arms 1944 Danny Weems Elliott Nugent Dinah Shore, Dana Andrews Technicolor
7. Wonder Man 1945 Edwin Dingle / Buzzy Bellew H. Bruce Humberstone Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen, Steve Cochran Technicolor
8. The Kid from Brooklyn 1946 Burleigh Hubert Sullivan Norman Z. McLeod Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen, Steve Cochran, Eve Arden Technicolor
9. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty 1947 Walter Mitty Norman Z. McLeod Virginia Mayo, Boris Karloff, Fay Bainter, Ann Rutherford Technicolor
10. A Song Is Born 1948 Professor Hobart Frisbee Howard Hawks Virginia Mayo, Benny Goodman, Hugh Herbert, Steve Cochran Technicolor
11. It's a Great Feeling 1949 Himself David Bulter Dennis Morgan, Doris Day, Jack Carson Technicolor
12. The Inspector General 1949 Georgi Henry Koster Walter Slezak, Barbara Bates, Elsa Lanchester, Gene Lockhart Technicolor
13. On the Riviera 1951 Jack Martin / Henri Duran Walter Lang Gene Tierney, Corinne Calvet Technicolor
14. Hans Christian Andersen 1952 Hans Christian Andersen Charles Vidor Farley Granger, Zizi Jeanmaire Technicolor
15. Knock on Wood 1954 Jerry Morgan / Papa Morgan Norman Panama
Mevin Frank Mai Zetterling, Torin Thatcher Technicolor
16. White Christmas 1954 Phil Davis Michael Curtiz Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger VistaVision
Technicolor
17. The Court Jester 1956 Hubert Hawkins Norman Panama
Mevin Frank Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury VistaVision
Technicolor
18. Merry Andrew 1958 Andrew Larabee Michael Kidd Anna Maria, Pier Angeli CinemaScope
Metrocolor
19. Me and the Colonel 1958 Samuel L. Jacobowsky Peter Glenville Curd Jürgens, Nicole Maurey, Françoise Rosay, Akim Tamiroff Black and white
20. The Five Pennies 1959 Red Nichols Melville Shavelson Barbara Bel Geddes, Louis Armstrong, Tuesday Weld VistaVision
Technicolor
21. The Millionairess 1960 Tommy True Anthony Asquith Sophia Loren, Peter Sellers, Alastair Sim, Vittorio de Sica CinemaScope
Eastmancolor
22. On the Double 1961 Pfc. Ernie Williams Melville Shavelson Dana Wynter, Margaret Rutherford, Diana Dors Panavision
Technicolor
23. The Man from the Diner's Club 1963 Ernest Klenk Frank Tashlin Cara Williams, Martha Hyer Black and white
24. The Madwoman of Chaillot 1969 The Ragpicker Bryan Forbes Katharine Hepburn, Charles Boyer Technicolor
Television
* Autumn Laughter (1938) (experimental telecast)
* The Danny Kaye Show with Lucille Ball (1962) (special)
* The Danny Kaye Show (1963–1967) (series)
* The Lucy Show: "Lucy Meets Danny Kaye" (1964) (guest appearance)
* Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971) (voice)
* The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes (1972) (special)
* An Evening with John Denver (1975) (special)
* Pinocchio (1976) (special)
* Peter Pan (1976) (special)
* The Muppet Show (1978) (guest appearance)
* Disneyland's 25th Anniversary (1980) (special guest appearance)
* An Evening with Danny Kaye (1981) (special)
* Skokie (1981)
* The New Twilight Zone: "Paladin of the Lost Hour" (1985) (guest appearance)
* The Cosby Show: "The Dentist" (1986) (guest appearance)
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/03/10 at 7:36 am
The person who died on this day...Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye (January 18, 1913 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, singer and comedian.
Born David Daniel Kaminsky to Jewish Ukrainian immigrants in Brooklyn, Kaye became one of the world's best-known comedians. He spent his early youth attending Public School 149 in East New York, Brooklyn, before moving to Thomas Jefferson High School, but he never graduated. He learned his trade in his teenage years in the Catskills as a tummler in the Borscht Belt.
Career
Danny Kaye made his film debut in a 1935 comedy short titled Moon Over Manhattan. In 1937 he signed with New York–based Educational Pictures for a series of two-reel comedies. Kaye usually played a manic, dark-haired, fast-talking Russian in these low-budget shorts, opposite young hopefuls June Allyson or Imogene Coca. The Kaye series ended abruptly when the studio shut down permanently in 1938.
Kaye scored a personal triumph in 1941, in the hit Broadway comedy Lady in the Dark. His show-stopping number was "Tchaikovsky", by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin, in which he sang the names of a whole string of Russian composers at breakneck speed, seemingly without taking a breath.
His feature film debut was in producer Samuel Goldwyn's Technicolor 1944 comedy Up in Arms, a remake of Goldwyn's Eddie Cantor comedy Whoopee! (1930). Goldwyn agonized over Kaye's ethnic, Borscht-belt looks and ordered him to undergo a nose job. Kaye refused, and Goldwyn found another way to brighten Kaye's dark features by lightening his hair, giving him his trademark redheaded locks. Kaye's rubber face and fast patter were an instant hit, and rival producer Robert M. Savini cashed in almost immediately by compiling three of Kaye's old Educational Pictures shorts into a makeshift feature, The Birth of a Star (1945).
Kaye starred in several movies with actress Virginia Mayo in the 1940s, and is well known for his roles in films such as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), The Inspector General (1949), On the Riviera (1951) co-starring Gene Tierney, White Christmas (1954, in a role originally intended for Fred Astaire, then Donald O'Connor), Knock on Wood (1954), The Court Jester (1956), and Merry Andrew (1958). Kaye starred in two pictures based on biographies, Hans Christian Andersen (1952) about the Danish story-teller, and The Five Pennies (1959) about jazz pioneer Red Nichols. His wife, writer/lyricist Sylvia Fine, wrote many of the witty, tongue-twisting songs Danny Kaye became famous for. Some of Kaye's films included the theme of doubles, two people who look identical (both played by Danny Kaye) being mistaken for each other, to comic effect. The Kaye-Fine marriage, as was the case with many spouses who worked together in the high-pressure world of film-making, was sometimes stormy.
During World War II, the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated rumors that Kaye dodged the draft by manufacturing a medical condition to gain 4-F status and exemption from military service. FBI files show he was also under investigation for supposed links with Communist groups. The allegations were never substantiated, and he was never charged with any associated crime.
Other projects
Kaye starred in a radio program of his own, The Danny Kaye Show, on CBS in 1945–1946. Although it had a stellar cast (including Eve Arden, Lionel Stander, and Big Band leader Harry James), and was scripted by radio notables Goodman Ace, Sylvia Fine, and respected playwright-director Abe Burrows, the show failed to make proper use of its star, and never found an audience. It turned out to be a very bitter experience for both Kaye and Ace. Many episodes survive today, and are notable for Kaye's opening "nonsense" patter.
Kaye was sufficiently popular that he inspired imitations:
* The 1946 Warner Bros. cartoon Book Revue had a lengthy sequence with Daffy Duck impersonating Kaye singing "Carolina in the Morning" with the Russian accent that Kaye would affect from time to time.
* Satirical songwriter Tom Lehrer's 1953 song "Lobachevsky" was based on a number that Kaye had done, about the Russian director Constantin Stanislavski, again with the affected Russian accent. Lehrer mentioned Kaye in the opening monologue, citing him as an "idol since childbirth."
When he appeared at the London Palladium music hall in 1948, he "roused the Royal family to shrieks of laughter and was the first of many performers who have turned English variety into an American preserve." Life magazine described his reception as "worshipful hysteria" and noted that the royal family, for the first time in history, left the royal box to see the show from the front row of the orchestra.
He hosted the 24th Academy Awards in 1952. The program was broadcast only on radio. Telecasts of the Oscar ceremony would come later.
He hosted his own variety hour on CBS television, The Danny Kaye Show, from 1963 to 1967. During this period, beginning in 1964, he acted as television host to the annual CBS telecasts of MGM's The Wizard of Oz. Kaye also did a stint as one of the What's My Line? Mystery Guests on the popular Sunday night CBS-TV quiz program. Kaye later served as a guest panelist on that show. He also appeared on the NBC interview program Here's Hollywood.
Danny Kaye was very fond of the legendary arranger Vic Schoen. Schoen had arranged for him on White Christmas, the Court Jester, and albums and concerts with the Andrews Sisters. In the 1960s Vic Schoen was working on a show in Las Vegas with Shirley Temple. He was injured in a car accident. When Danny Kaye heard about the accident, he immediately flew his own plane (Kaye was an avid pilot) to McCarran Airport to pick up Schoen and bring him back to Los Angeles to guarantee the best medical attention.
In 1976, he played the role of Mister Geppetto in a television musical adaptation of Pinocchio with Sandy Duncan in the title role. He guest-starred much later in his career in episodes of The Muppet Show, The Cosby Show and in the 1980s revival of The Twilight Zone.
Kaye was the original owner of baseball's Seattle Mariners along with his partner Lester Smith from 1977 to 1981. Prior to that, the lifelong fan of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers recorded a song called "The D-O-D-G-E-R-S Song (Oh really? No, O'Malley!)", describing a fictitious encounter with the San Francisco Giants, which was a hit during those clubs' real-life pennant chase of 1962. That song is included on one of the Baseball's Greatest Hits compact discs.
During the 1950s, Kaye visited Australia, where he played "Buttons" in a production of Cinderella in Sydney. In the 1970s Kaye tore a ligament in his leg during the run of the Richard Rodgers musical Two by Two, but went on with the show, appearing with his leg in a cast and cavorting on stage from a wheelchair.
In many of his movies, as well as on stage, Kaye proved to be a very able actor, singer, dancer and comedian. He showed quite a different and serious side as Ambassador for UNICEF and in his dramatic role in the memorable TV movie Skokie, in which he played a Holocaust survivor. Before his death in 1987, Kaye demonstrated his ability to conduct an orchestra during a comical, but technically sound, series of concerts organized for UNICEF fundraising. Kaye received two Academy Awards: an honorary award in 1955 and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1982.
In 1980, Kaye hosted and sang in the 25th Anniversary of Disneyland celebration, and hosted the opening celebration for Epcot in 1982 (EPCOT Center at the time), both of which were aired on prime-time American television.
In his later years he took to entertaining at home as chef – he had a special stove installed in his patio – and specialized in Chinese cooking. The theater and demonstration kitchen underneath the library at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York is named for him.
He also had a longstanding interest in medicine and was permitted to observe surgery on several occasions.
He was an accomplished pilot, rated for airplanes ranging from single engine light aircraft to multi-engine jets.
Throughout his life, Kaye donated to various charities. Working alongside UNICEF's Halloween fundraiser founder, Ward Simon Kimball Jr., the actor educated the public on impoverished children in deplorable living conditions overseas and assisted in the distribution of donated goods and funds.
Kaye was enamored of music. While he often claimed an inability to read music, he was quite the conductor, and was said to have perfect pitch. Kaye was often invited to conduct symphonies as charity fundraisers. Over the course of his career he raised over US$5,000,000 in support of musicians pension funds.
The bench at Danny Kaye's grave in Kensico Cemetery
Kaye died in 1987 from a heart attack, following a bout of hepatitis. He left a widow, Sylvia Fine, and a daughter, Dena. He is interred in the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York. His grave is adorned with a bench that contains friezes of a baseball and bat, an aircraft, a piano, a flower pot, musical notes, and a glove.
Personal life
After Kaye and his wife became estranged, he was allegedly involved with a succession of women, though he and Fine never divorced. The best-known of these women was actress Eve Arden.
There are persistent rumors that Kaye was either homosexual or bisexual and some sources claim that Kaye and Laurence Olivier had a 10-year relationship in the 1950s while Olivier was still married to Vivien Leigh. A biography of Leigh states that the alleged relationship caused her to have a breakdown. The alleged relationship has been denied by Olivier's official biographer, Terry Coleman. Joan Plowright, Olivier's widow, has dealt with the matter in different ways on different occasions: she deflected the question (but alluded to Olivier's "demons") in a BBC interview and was reported saying on another occasion that "I have always resented the comments that it was I who was the homewrecker of Larry's marriage to Vivien Leigh. Danny Kaye was attached to Larry far earlier than I." However, in her memoirs Plowright denies that there had been an affair between the two men. Producer Perry Lafferty reported: “People would ask me, ‘Is he gay? Is he gay?’ I never saw anything to substantiate that in all the time I was with him.” Kaye’s final girlfriend, Marlene Sorosky, reported that he told her, “I’ve never had a homosexual experience in my life. I’ve never had any kind of gay relationship. I’ve had opportunities, but I never did anything about them.”
Honors, awards, tributes
* Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (1981)
* Asteroid 6546 Kaye
* Kennedy Center Honor (1984)
* The song I Wish I Was Danny Kaye on Miracle Legion's 1996 album Portrait of a Damaged Family
* On June 23, 1987, Kaye was posthumously presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan. The award was received by his daughter Dena.
Filmography
Film
# Title Year Role Director Co-stars Filmed in
1. Moon Over Manhattan 1935 Himself Al Christie Sylvia Froos, Marion Martin Black and white
2. Dime a Dance 1937 Eddie Al Christie Imogene Coca, June Allyson Black and white
3. Getting an Eyeful 1938 Russian Al Christie Charles Kemper, Sally Starr Black and white
4. Cupid Takes a Holiday 1938 Nikolai Nikolaevich (bride-seeker) William Watson Douglas Leavitt, Estelle Jayne Black and white
5. Money on Your Life 1938 Russian William Watson Charles Kemper, Sally Starr Black and white
6. Up in Arms 1944 Danny Weems Elliott Nugent Dinah Shore, Dana Andrews Technicolor
7. Wonder Man 1945 Edwin Dingle / Buzzy Bellew H. Bruce Humberstone Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen, Steve Cochran Technicolor
8. The Kid from Brooklyn 1946 Burleigh Hubert Sullivan Norman Z. McLeod Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen, Steve Cochran, Eve Arden Technicolor
9. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty 1947 Walter Mitty Norman Z. McLeod Virginia Mayo, Boris Karloff, Fay Bainter, Ann Rutherford Technicolor
10. A Song Is Born 1948 Professor Hobart Frisbee Howard Hawks Virginia Mayo, Benny Goodman, Hugh Herbert, Steve Cochran Technicolor
11. It's a Great Feeling 1949 Himself David Bulter Dennis Morgan, Doris Day, Jack Carson Technicolor
12. The Inspector General 1949 Georgi Henry Koster Walter Slezak, Barbara Bates, Elsa Lanchester, Gene Lockhart Technicolor
13. On the Riviera 1951 Jack Martin / Henri Duran Walter Lang Gene Tierney, Corinne Calvet Technicolor
14. Hans Christian Andersen 1952 Hans Christian Andersen Charles Vidor Farley Granger, Zizi Jeanmaire Technicolor
15. Knock on Wood 1954 Jerry Morgan / Papa Morgan Norman Panama
Mevin Frank Mai Zetterling, Torin Thatcher Technicolor
16. White Christmas 1954 Phil Davis Michael Curtiz Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger VistaVision
Technicolor
17. The Court Jester 1956 Hubert Hawkins Norman Panama
Mevin Frank Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury VistaVision
Technicolor
18. Merry Andrew 1958 Andrew Larabee Michael Kidd Anna Maria, Pier Angeli CinemaScope
Metrocolor
19. Me and the Colonel 1958 Samuel L. Jacobowsky Peter Glenville Curd Jürgens, Nicole Maurey, Françoise Rosay, Akim Tamiroff Black and white
20. The Five Pennies 1959 Red Nichols Melville Shavelson Barbara Bel Geddes, Louis Armstrong, Tuesday Weld VistaVision
Technicolor
21. The Millionairess 1960 Tommy True Anthony Asquith Sophia Loren, Peter Sellers, Alastair Sim, Vittorio de Sica CinemaScope
Eastmancolor
22. On the Double 1961 Pfc. Ernie Williams Melville Shavelson Dana Wynter, Margaret Rutherford, Diana Dors Panavision
Technicolor
23. The Man from the Diner's Club 1963 Ernest Klenk Frank Tashlin Cara Williams, Martha Hyer Black and white
24. The Madwoman of Chaillot 1969 The Ragpicker Bryan Forbes Katharine Hepburn, Charles Boyer Technicolor
Television
* Autumn Laughter (1938) (experimental telecast)
* The Danny Kaye Show with Lucille Ball (1962) (special)
* The Danny Kaye Show (1963–1967) (series)
* The Lucy Show: "Lucy Meets Danny Kaye" (1964) (guest appearance)
* Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971) (voice)
* The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes (1972) (special)
* An Evening with John Denver (1975) (special)
* Pinocchio (1976) (special)
* Peter Pan (1976) (special)
* The Muppet Show (1978) (guest appearance)
* Disneyland's 25th Anniversary (1980) (special guest appearance)
* An Evening with Danny Kaye (1981) (special)
* Skokie (1981)
* The New Twilight Zone: "Paladin of the Lost Hour" (1985) (guest appearance)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y49/lindaf3915/DK1.jpg
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http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s189/celticpup/Classics/dannykayebook.jpg
* The Cosby Show: "The Dentist" (1986) (guest appearance)
I remember he was on that episode playing a hilarious doctor. ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/03/10 at 9:51 am
* The Cosby Show: "The Dentist" (1986) (guest appearance)
I remember he was on that episode playing a hilarious doctor. ;D
I have fond memories of that and of Danny Kaye.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/03/10 at 11:53 am
Very nice. Funny I too picked an Olympian.
Great minds think alike.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/03/10 at 12:22 pm
I always loved Danny Kaye.
From Lady In The Dark:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh-wOvuOHPE
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/03/10 at 12:22 pm
Great minds think alike.
so true. ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 03/03/10 at 3:56 pm
Great minds think alike.
Unfortunately...so do loonies! ;D
Loved The Court Jester... ;D
The vessel with the pestle has the pellet with the poison...the chalice from the palace holds the brew that is true!!!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/03/10 at 5:33 pm
Unfortunately...so do loonies! ;D
It helps!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/04/10 at 4:08 am
British Person (with Irish stock) of the Day: Patsy Kensit
Patricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit (born 4 March 1968 in Hounslow, West London) is an English actress and former singer well known for her many appearances on television.
Early life
Born to James Henry Kensit and the late Margaret Rose Kensit (née Doohan), a native of Ireland who died from breast cancer, Patsy Kensit has an older brother Jamie. Her mother (1947-93) was a publicist, and her father (1915-87) was an associate of the notorious London gangsters the Kray twins. Nicknamed "Jimmy the Dip", he was also reportedly an associate of the rival Richardsons, running long firms for the gang. He served time in prison before Kensit was born, she believed he was an antiques dealer. Her paternal grandfather was a robber and counterfeiter, and her brother's godfather was Reggie Kray.
Early work
At the age of four, Kensit appeared in a television advert for Birds Eye frozen peas. In 1972, she had her first role in the film For the Love of Ada. Her next film role was two years later in The Great Gatsby starring with Mia Farrow—whom she would later portray in the 1995 biopic Love and Betrayal: The Mia Farrow Story.
As a pupil at the Italia Conti Academy stage school, Kensit's first starring roles were in British children's television programmes such as The Adventures of Pollyanna (1982) and Luna. She also appeared as Estella in a BBC adaptation of Great Expectations in 1981 and as Lady Margaret Plantagenet in the 1982 BBC production of Shakespeare's Richard III.
Rise to fame
In 1985 Kensit led a dual career as the lead singer of the band Eighth Wonder and an actress. Eighth Wonder had two Top 40 singles ("I'm Not Scared" UK #7 and "Cross My Heart" UK #13) and appeared on Top of the Pops, while Kensit also starred as Eppie in an adaptation of Silas Marner, with Ben Kingsley. At the time, Kensit infamously stated: "All I want is to be more famous than anything or anyone".
In 1986, she won the lead female role in the film version of Absolute Beginners, based on the book by Colin MacInnes. In November 1987, she sang a duet with the Italian singer and songwriter, Eros Ramazzotti, entitled 'La luce buona delle stelle', which in English translates to 'The Good Light Of The Stars'. In 1988, Eighth Wonder had their only UK top 10 hit with "I'm Not Scared", which was written and produced by the Pet Shop Boys. Although the band's success quickly waned, the song appeared in the 1989 film Lethal Weapon 2, in which Kensit, now focused solely on being an actress, played Rika van den Haas, a South African consulate secretary with whom cop Martin Riggs (played by Mel Gibson) falls in love.
Following Lethal Weapon 2, she appeared in 1991's little-seen Twenty-One. Of her role, Variety magazine wrote, "Fans of Kensit get plenty of her; her lovely face and form are always the center of attention. The cool control with which she executes the role is admirable". In 1992, she had a leading role in the British film Blame it on the Bellboy as Miss Carolyn Wright, a desperate real estate dealer in Venice who would stop at nothing to clinch a deal.
Return to fame
In 2004, Kensit joined the cast of British soap opera Emmerdale, playing the character Sadie King, and also regularly featured in the third series of Channel 4's Bo' Selecta! and its 2005 spin-off series A Bear's Tail. Kensit's success as the soap super-bitch and in a popular comedy brought her back to the attention of the British public.
In September and October 2005 she appeared as a celebrity contestant in Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon, progressing through to Play Your Cards Right before being eliminated by Carol Vorderman, the eventual winner of the series. Kensit was a special guest host on The Friday Night Project on 23 June 2006 with band Placebo. She appeared as The Grand High Witch of all the World at the Children's Party at the Palace in celebration of the Queen's 80th birthday in 2006. She also became the voice of online gambling website 32red.com.
Kensit left Emmerdale in September 2006, stating that commuting to Yorkshire and the resultant time away from her sons was too stressful. As part of a dramatic week of episodes which coincided with Jeff Hordley's exit from the show. Hordley's character Cain Dingle and Sadie hatched an elaborate kidnap plan involving Tom King - they set up the transfer of £2 million from the Kings to Cain in order for Tom to be released, however Cain double crossed Sadie. Her last appearance was at an airstrip watching Cain fly away, leaving her penniless and alone.
Kensit has played ward sister Faye Morton in the BBC One medical drama series Holby City since October 2006. Kensit is signed to Models 1 in London.
In 1995, Kensit starred in Angels & Insects, with Kristin Scott Thomas and Mark Rylance, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Costume Design and in which she complied with film director Philip Haas' request to bleach her pubic hair. Kensit's last major lead film role was in the Newcastle-based The One and Only.
Marriages
Kensit's penchant for rock front men started when she briefly dated Michael Head of The Pale Fountains whilst Michael was living in Breck Road, Hackney in the early eighties.
Kensit has been married four times, and all her husbands have been musicians of Irish descent. In 1988 she married Dan Donovan of band Big Audio Dynamite. In 1992 she married Jim Kerr, lead singer of Simple Minds. During her second marriage she gave birth to her first child, James in 1992. In 1997 she married Liam Gallagher from Oasis. Kensit and Gallagher had a son, Lennon, named after John Lennon; they divorced in 2000.
By now Kensit's private life had brought her to as much attention as her acting or singing, as the tabloid newspapers detailed the breakdown of her marriage to Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr and her romance with Oasis singer Liam Gallagher. Her career stalled as she focused on her marriage, over which she claimed to cry every day of the marriage until it ended, as it eventually headed towards divorce. This personal downward spiral led to the resumption of her acting career.
After her marriage to Gallagher ended in divorce, Kensit spoke openly about her breast augmentation, which took her bust measurement from a 32B to a 35C. She has three tattoos: on her back; above the blade of her left foot (Gaelic words); and on her ankle. She changed the tattoo of her ex-husband's name from Liam to the name of their son, Lennon.
After reported relationships with Ally McCoist, Calum Best, David Walliams, Matt Holbrook, and in 2005 with Jean-Christophe Novelli, Kensit began dating rap artist and beatboxer Killa Kela. They split up shortly after a year, with Kensit claiming that she did not see a future with Killa.
She later became involved with the DJ Jeremy Healy and announced that she was marrying for a fourth time on 29 November 2007. However, on the 31 March 2008 it was reported that the pair had mutually split and called off their wedding. They eventually married on April 18, 2009, in an event covered by a magazine., but the Daily Mail reported in February 2010 that the couple has now separated.
Partial filmography
* 1972 - Birds Eye frozen peas (TV advertisements)
* 1974 - The Great Gatsby
* 1974 - Gold
* 1976 - The Blue Bird
* 1978 - Armchair Thriller 'Quiet as a Nun'
* 1978 - Lady Oscar
* 1979 - Hanover Street
* 1981 - Great Expectations (TV)
* 1982 - The Adventures of Pollyanna
* 1982 - Richard III
* 1982 - Luna (TV)
* 1984 - Diana (TV)
* 1985 - Silas Marner (TV)
* 1986 - Absolute Beginners
* 1988 - A Chorus of Disapproval
* 1989 - Lethal Weapon 2
* 1990 - Kill Cruise (aka Der Skipper)
* 1990 - Does This Mean We're Married
* 1991 - Twenty-One
* 1991 - Timebomb
* 1992 - Blame It on the Bellboy
* 1993 - Full Eclipse
* 1994 - The Turn of the Screw
* 1995 - Angels & Insects
* 1995 - Love and Betrayal: The Mia Farrow Story (as Mia Farrow)
* 1999 - Speedway Junky
* 2000 - Best
* 2002 - The One and Only
* 2001 - Loves Music, Loves to Dance
* 2002 - Bad Karma
* 2003 - Harlequin Romance Series: At the Midnight Hour (1995) (TV)
* 2003 - Who's Your Daddy?
* 2004 - Emmerdale (TV)
* 2004 - Bo' Selecta! (TV)
* 2006 - Played
* 2007 - Holby City (TV)
* 2008 - Who Do You Think You Are? (TV)
* 2008 - Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live (TV)
* 2009 - Chris Moyles' Quiz Night (TV)
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/00428/travel-graphics-200_428196a.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/04/10 at 6:46 am
British Person (with Irish stock) of the Day: Patsy Kensit
Patricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit (born 4 March 1968 in Hounslow, West London) is an English actress and former singer well known for her many appearances on television.
Early life
Born to James Henry Kensit and the late Margaret Rose Kensit (née Doohan), a native of Ireland who died from breast cancer, Patsy Kensit has an older brother Jamie. Her mother (1947-93) was a publicist, and her father (1915-87) was an associate of the notorious London gangsters the Kray twins. Nicknamed "Jimmy the Dip", he was also reportedly an associate of the rival Richardsons, running long firms for the gang. He served time in prison before Kensit was born, she believed he was an antiques dealer. Her paternal grandfather was a robber and counterfeiter, and her brother's godfather was Reggie Kray.
Early work
At the age of four, Kensit appeared in a television advert for Birds Eye frozen peas. In 1972, she had her first role in the film For the Love of Ada. Her next film role was two years later in The Great Gatsby starring with Mia Farrow—whom she would later portray in the 1995 biopic Love and Betrayal: The Mia Farrow Story.
As a pupil at the Italia Conti Academy stage school, Kensit's first starring roles were in British children's television programmes such as The Adventures of Pollyanna (1982) and Luna. She also appeared as Estella in a BBC adaptation of Great Expectations in 1981 and as Lady Margaret Plantagenet in the 1982 BBC production of Shakespeare's Richard III.
Rise to fame
In 1985 Kensit led a dual career as the lead singer of the band Eighth Wonder and an actress. Eighth Wonder had two Top 40 singles ("I'm Not Scared" UK #7 and "Cross My Heart" UK #13) and appeared on Top of the Pops, while Kensit also starred as Eppie in an adaptation of Silas Marner, with Ben Kingsley. At the time, Kensit infamously stated: "All I want is to be more famous than anything or anyone".
In 1986, she won the lead female role in the film version of Absolute Beginners, based on the book by Colin MacInnes. In November 1987, she sang a duet with the Italian singer and songwriter, Eros Ramazzotti, entitled 'La luce buona delle stelle', which in English translates to 'The Good Light Of The Stars'. In 1988, Eighth Wonder had their only UK top 10 hit with "I'm Not Scared", which was written and produced by the Pet Shop Boys. Although the band's success quickly waned, the song appeared in the 1989 film Lethal Weapon 2, in which Kensit, now focused solely on being an actress, played Rika van den Haas, a South African consulate secretary with whom cop Martin Riggs (played by Mel Gibson) falls in love.
Following Lethal Weapon 2, she appeared in 1991's little-seen Twenty-One. Of her role, Variety magazine wrote, "Fans of Kensit get plenty of her; her lovely face and form are always the center of attention. The cool control with which she executes the role is admirable". In 1992, she had a leading role in the British film Blame it on the Bellboy as Miss Carolyn Wright, a desperate real estate dealer in Venice who would stop at nothing to clinch a deal.
Return to fame
In 2004, Kensit joined the cast of British soap opera Emmerdale, playing the character Sadie King, and also regularly featured in the third series of Channel 4's Bo' Selecta! and its 2005 spin-off series A Bear's Tail. Kensit's success as the soap super-bitch and in a popular comedy brought her back to the attention of the British public.
In September and October 2005 she appeared as a celebrity contestant in Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon, progressing through to Play Your Cards Right before being eliminated by Carol Vorderman, the eventual winner of the series. Kensit was a special guest host on The Friday Night Project on 23 June 2006 with band Placebo. She appeared as The Grand High Witch of all the World at the Children's Party at the Palace in celebration of the Queen's 80th birthday in 2006. She also became the voice of online gambling website 32red.com.
Kensit left Emmerdale in September 2006, stating that commuting to Yorkshire and the resultant time away from her sons was too stressful. As part of a dramatic week of episodes which coincided with Jeff Hordley's exit from the show. Hordley's character Cain Dingle and Sadie hatched an elaborate kidnap plan involving Tom King - they set up the transfer of £2 million from the Kings to Cain in order for Tom to be released, however Cain double crossed Sadie. Her last appearance was at an airstrip watching Cain fly away, leaving her penniless and alone.
Kensit has played ward sister Faye Morton in the BBC One medical drama series Holby City since October 2006. Kensit is signed to Models 1 in London.
In 1995, Kensit starred in Angels & Insects, with Kristin Scott Thomas and Mark Rylance, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Costume Design and in which she complied with film director Philip Haas' request to bleach her pubic hair. Kensit's last major lead film role was in the Newcastle-based The One and Only.
Marriages
Kensit's penchant for rock front men started when she briefly dated Michael Head of The Pale Fountains whilst Michael was living in Breck Road, Hackney in the early eighties.
Kensit has been married four times, and all her husbands have been musicians of Irish descent. In 1988 she married Dan Donovan of band Big Audio Dynamite. In 1992 she married Jim Kerr, lead singer of Simple Minds. During her second marriage she gave birth to her first child, James in 1992. In 1997 she married Liam Gallagher from Oasis. Kensit and Gallagher had a son, Lennon, named after John Lennon; they divorced in 2000.
By now Kensit's private life had brought her to as much attention as her acting or singing, as the tabloid newspapers detailed the breakdown of her marriage to Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr and her romance with Oasis singer Liam Gallagher. Her career stalled as she focused on her marriage, over which she claimed to cry every day of the marriage until it ended, as it eventually headed towards divorce. This personal downward spiral led to the resumption of her acting career.
After her marriage to Gallagher ended in divorce, Kensit spoke openly about her breast augmentation, which took her bust measurement from a 32B to a 35C. She has three tattoos: on her back; above the blade of her left foot (Gaelic words); and on her ankle. She changed the tattoo of her ex-husband's name from Liam to the name of their son, Lennon.
After reported relationships with Ally McCoist, Calum Best, David Walliams, Matt Holbrook, and in 2005 with Jean-Christophe Novelli, Kensit began dating rap artist and beatboxer Killa Kela. They split up shortly after a year, with Kensit claiming that she did not see a future with Killa.
She later became involved with the DJ Jeremy Healy and announced that she was marrying for a fourth time on 29 November 2007. However, on the 31 March 2008 it was reported that the pair had mutually split and called off their wedding. They eventually married on April 18, 2009, in an event covered by a magazine., but the Daily Mail reported in February 2010 that the couple has now separated.
Partial filmography
* 1972 - Birds Eye frozen peas (TV advertisements)
* 1974 - The Great Gatsby
* 1974 - Gold
* 1976 - The Blue Bird
* 1978 - Armchair Thriller 'Quiet as a Nun'
* 1978 - Lady Oscar
* 1979 - Hanover Street
* 1981 - Great Expectations (TV)
* 1982 - The Adventures of Pollyanna
* 1982 - Richard III
* 1982 - Luna (TV)
* 1984 - Diana (TV)
* 1985 - Silas Marner (TV)
* 1986 - Absolute Beginners
* 1988 - A Chorus of Disapproval
* 1989 - Lethal Weapon 2
* 1990 - Kill Cruise (aka Der Skipper)
* 1990 - Does This Mean We're Married
* 1991 - Twenty-One
* 1991 - Timebomb
* 1992 - Blame It on the Bellboy
* 1993 - Full Eclipse
* 1994 - The Turn of the Screw
* 1995 - Angels & Insects
* 1995 - Love and Betrayal: The Mia Farrow Story (as Mia Farrow)
* 1999 - Speedway Junky
* 2000 - Best
* 2002 - The One and Only
* 2001 - Loves Music, Loves to Dance
* 2002 - Bad Karma
* 2003 - Harlequin Romance Series: At the Midnight Hour (1995) (TV)
* 2003 - Who's Your Daddy?
* 2004 - Emmerdale (TV)
* 2004 - Bo' Selecta! (TV)
* 2006 - Played
* 2007 - Holby City (TV)
* 2008 - Who Do You Think You Are? (TV)
* 2008 - Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live (TV)
* 2009 - Chris Moyles' Quiz Night (TV)
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/00428/travel-graphics-200_428196a.jpg
She was one of my choices for today ;D Thanks for picking her.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/04/10 at 6:54 am
The word of the day...Wind
A wind is a current of air that is moving across the earth's surface.
Journalists often refer to a trend or factor that influences events as a wind of a particular kind.
If you are winded by something such as a blow, the air is suddenly knocked out of your lungs so that you have difficulty breathing for a short time.
Wind is the air that you sometimes swallow with food or drink, or gas that is produced in your intestines, which causes an uncomfortable feeling.
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u174/timothyduenas/katrice2.jpg
http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/katfish9/sunny122.jpg
http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt253/hoa138/20050730windbell.jpg
http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/AikiiYukii/Wind.gif
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t31/nailed_barnacle/weatherforecast.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h202/VampyrSephiroth/Sovias/wind.jpg
http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu231/Jonah_Anderson/Outdoors/Hunting2010014.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d161/bittyskitty94210/words/big_4800493.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/04/10 at 7:11 am
The Person born on this day...Catherine O'Hara
Catherine Anne O'Hara (born March 4, 1954) is a Canadian-American actress and comedienne. She is well known for her comedy work on SCTV, and her roles in the films After Hours, Beetlejuice, Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and The Nightmare Before Christmas; as well in the mockumentary films written and directed by Christopher Guest including Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration.
O'Hara was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario in a large Irish Catholic family. She started her acting career at age 20 as a cast member of The Second City in Toronto. She was an understudy for Gilda Radner until she left for Saturday Night Live. Two years later, this theatre troupe created the television series SCTV, on which she became a regular performer. Her memorable characterizations on the show included Las Vegas scorcher Lola Heatherton, buzzer-happy game show contestant Margaret Meehan, raunchy nightclub comedian Dusty Towne, soap opera seductress Sue Ellen and stage actress Sue Bopper Simpson.
In the late 1970s, O'Hara did voice-overs for a number of cartoons, which would continue throughout her career. During a short time in the early 80s when SCTV was in between network deals, she was hired to replace Ann Risley when Saturday Night Live was being retooled in 1981. However, she quit the show without ever appearing on-air, choosing to go back to SCTV when the show signed on with NBC. Her SNL position was then given to fellow Canadian Robin Duke, who had also replaced O'Hara for a season on SCTV.
O'Hara has appeared in many films in the past two decades, including Martin Scorsese's After Hours, as well as parts in two Tim Burton films: Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas, which also co-starred her fellow Whose Line Is It Anyway? castmate Greg Proops. She played Kate McCallister in the first two Home Alone films. From 1997 to 2006, she starred in the Christopher Guest mockumentary films Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration. On June 9, 2007, O'Hara was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. In May 2008, it was announced that she has signed on to star in the upcoming ABC dramedy Good Behavior.
Personal life
A naturalized U.S. citizen, she married production designer/director Bo Welch in 1992 and has two sons, Matthew (b.1994) and Luke (b.1997). She is the sister of critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter Mary Margaret O'Hara, though she is a singer-songwriter in her own right, having written and performed songs in Christopher Guest's film A Mighty Wind. She has a condition known as Situs Inversus with Dextrocardia meaning that among other things, her heart is on the right side of her body.
Celebrities impersonated on SCTV
* Liv Ullmann
* Katharine Hepburn
* Diane Keaton
* Joey Heatherton
* Lola Falana
* Elizabeth Taylor
* Brooke Shields
* Morgan Fairchild
* Barbara Billingsley
* Phyllis George
* Charlotte Rampling
* Monica Vitti
* Jane Pauley
* Rona Barrett
* Tammy Faye Bakker
* Angie Dickinson
* Dorothy Kilgallen
* Jessica Savitch
* Linda Blair
* Judith Crist
* Rusty Warren
* Gilda Radner
* Dinah Shore
* Joan Sutherland
* Jane Fonda
* Joan Embery
* Candice Bergen
* Meryl Streep
* Karen Black
* Lucille Ball
Filmography
Year Film title Character or role
1983 Rock & Rule Aunt Edith
1985 After Hours Gail
1986 Heartburn Betty
1988 Beetlejuice Delia Deetz
1990 Home Alone Kate McCallister
Betsy's Wedding Gloria Henner
Dick Tracy Texie Garcia
Little Vegas Lexie
1992 Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Kate McCallister
There Goes the Neighborhood Jessie Lodge
1993 The Nightmare Before Christmas Sally and Shock (both speaking and singing)
1994 Little Giants Young Boy's Mother
A Simple Twist of Fate April Simon
Wyatt Earp Allie Earp
The Paper Susan
1995 Tall Tale Calamity Jane
1996 The Last of the High Kings Cathleen
Waiting for Guffman Sheila Albertson
1997 Hope (TV) Muriel Macswain
Pippi Longstocking voice of Mrs. Prysselius
1998 Home Fries Mrs. Lever
1999 Late Last Night (TV) the Shrink
Bartok the Magnificent voice of Ludmilla
The Life Before This Sheena
2000 Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big voice
Best in Show Cookie Guggelman Fleck
2001 Speaking of Sex Connie Barker
Committed (TV Series) Liz Larsen
2002 Orange County Cindy Beugler
2003 Six Feet Under Carol Ward
A Mighty Wind Mickey Crabbe
2004 Surviving Christmas Christine Valco
The Wool Cap Gloria
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Justice Strauss
2005 Chicken Little Tina
2006 For Your Consideration Marilyn Hack
Monster House DJ's Mother
Brother Bear 2 Kata
Over The Hedge Penny
Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses Duchess Rowena
2008 Penelope Jessica Wilhern
2009 Away We Go Gloria Farlander
Where the Wild Things Are Judith
Glenn Martin, DDS (TV series) Jackie Martin
Curb your Enthusiasm (TV series) Bam Bam Funkhouser
2010 Five Killers
Discography
* Finn McCoul (1993)
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s2/HarpoSpoke/CATHERINE_OHARA.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee12/Lovertits1988/ohara.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j320/ledeery/amighty_wind.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e158/desafio05/WaitingForGuffman.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/04/10 at 7:17 am
The person who died on this day...John Candy
John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian comedian and actor. He rose to fame as a member of the Toronto, Ontario branch of The Second City and for his starring role in the 1993 comedy Cool Runnings. One of his most renowned on-screen performances was that of Del Griffith in the John Hughes comedy Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
Candy was born and raised in Toronto, the son of Evangeline (née Aker) and Sidney James Candy. He attended Neil McNeil High School, an all-boys Catholic school in Toronto, where he played Grid Iron football.
Candy's first movie role was a small uncredited appearance in the 1973 film Class of '44. He appeared in several other low-budget films in the 1970s. In 1976, Candy played a supporting role (with Rick Moranis) on Peter Gzowski's short-lived, late-night television talk show, Ninety Minutes Live. That same year, as a member of Toronto's branch of The Second City, he gained wide North American popularity, which grew when he became a cast member on the influential Toronto-based comedy-variety show Second City Television (SCTV). NBC picked the show up in 1981 and it quickly became an alltime fan favourite.
1980s
Among Candy's memorable characterizations for SCTV were unscrupulous street-beat TV personality Johnny LaRue, 3-D horror auteur Doctor Tongue, sycophantic and easily amused talk-show sidekick William B. Williams, and Melonville's corrupt Mayor Tommy Shanks. Other characters included Morgy, from Morgy and Shoo, the cheerful Leutonian clarinetist Yosh Shmenge, who was half of the Happy Wanderers and the subject of the mockumentary The Last Polka, folksy fishin' musician Gil Fisher, handsome if accent-challenged TV actor Steve Roman, hapless children's entertainer Mr. Messenger, corrupt soap opera doctor William Wainwright and smut merchant Harry, "the Guy With the Snake on His Face".
Mimicry was one of Candy's talents, which he used often at SCTV. Celebrities impersonated by Candy include Jerry Mathers, Divine (Glen Milstead), Orson Welles, Julia Child, Richard Burton, Darryl Sittler, Luciano Pavarotti, Jimmy the Greek, Andrew Sarris, Tip O'Neill, Don Rickles, Curly Howard, Merlin Olsen, Jackie Gleason, Tom Selleck, Gordon Pinsent, Ed Asner, Gertrude Stein, Morgy Kneele, Doug McGrath and Hervé Villechaize.
By 1980, he began a more active film career having appeared as a soldier in Steven Spielberg's big-budget comedy 1941 and had a supporting role as a parole officer in The Blues Brothers. A year later, Candy played the lovable, mild-mannered Army recruit Dewey Oxberger in 1981's Stripes, one of the most successful films of the year. In the next two years, Candy did a small cameo in Harold Ramis' National Lampoon's Vacation, appeared on Saturday Night Live twice (hosting in 1983) while still appearing on SCTV.
In 1983, Candy headlined in the film Going Berserk, and was also approached to play the character of accountant Louis Tully in Ghostbusters (completed and released 1984), but ultimately did not get the role because of his conflicting ideas of how to play the character; the part went instead to Rick Moranis. (However, Candy was one of the many celebrities who appeared chanting "Ghostbusters" in Ray Parker, Jr.'s hit "single" for the movie). In 1984, Candy played Tom Hanks' womanizing brother in the hit romantic comedy Splash, considered to be his breakout role.
Throughout the latter half of the 1980s, Candy worked often taking roles in substandard films (even performing the voice of a talking horse in the Bobcat Goldthwait comedy Hot to Trot). Although Candy continued to play supporting roles in films like Spaceballs, he was awarded the opportunity to headline or co-star in such comedy films as Volunteers; Planes, Trains & Automobiles; Brewster's Millions; The Great Outdoors; Armed and Dangerous; Who's Harry Crumb? and Uncle Buck. He also continued to provide memorable bit roles, including a "weird" disc jockey in the comic musical film Little Shop of Horrors, and a state trooper in the Sesame Street film Follow That Bird.
He also produced and starred in a Saturday morning animated series on NBC entitled Camp Candy in 1989. The show was set in a fictional summer camp run by Candy, featured his two children in supporting roles, and also spawned a brief comic book series published by Marvel Comics' Star Comics imprint.
1990s
In the early 1990s, Candy's career went into decline after he appeared in a string of critical and commercial failures, including Nothing But Trouble, Delirious and Once Upon A Crime, although he did appear in major successes such as Rookie of the Year (uncredited), The Rescuers Down Under, Cool Runnings, and Home Alone.
Candy attempted to reinvigorate his acting career by broadening his range and playing more dramatic roles. In 1991, Candy appeared in a light romantic comedy-drama, Only the Lonely which saw him as a Chicago cop torn between his overbearing mother (Maureen O'Hara) and his new girlfriend (Ally Sheedy). The same year and in rare form, Candy played a dramatic role as Dean Andrews Jr., a shady Southern lawyer in Oliver Stone's JFK.
In 1991, Bruce McNall, Wayne Gretzky, and Candy became co-owners of the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts. The celebrity ownership group attracted a lot of attention in Canada and the team spent a significant amount of money, even signing some highly touted National Football League players. John and the Argonauts took home the 1991 Grey Cup beating Calgary 36 to 21 in the final.
Death
Candy struggled with obesity throughout his adult life. During the late 1980s and early 1990s he gained a large amount of additional weight, making him almost unrecognizable from his years on SCTV. However, he had been making a significant effort to improve his overall health in the last year of his life; he had quit smoking and had begun losing weight.
The 43-year-old Candy died in his sleep from a heart attack on March 4, 1994, while on location in Durango, Mexico, filming Wagons East!
Candy was survived by his wife, Rosemary Margaret (Hobor), whom he married in 1979, and their children, Jennifer and Christopher. His funeral Mass was held at St. Martin of Tours Church. Candy was cremated, and was interred in an upper crypt in Room 7 alcove, in the Mausoleum, at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
On March 18, 1994, a special memorial service for Candy, produced by his former improv troupe The Second City, was broadcast across Canada. Following his death, the sign atop comedy club The Laugh Factory honored Candy and fellow comedian Bill Hicks (who had died several days earlier): "Rest in peace; make God laugh."
Legacy
Wagons East! was released in the summer of 1994, completed using a body double in Candy's place.
Candy's final completed movie was Canadian Bacon, a satirical comedy by Michael Moore that was released the year after Candy's death. Candy played American sheriff Bud Boomer who led the "attack" against Canada.
Candy recorded a voice for the TV film The Magic 7 in the early-1990s. The film remained in production for years due to animation difficulties and production delays, and it was shelved.
Candy was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. In May 2006, Candy became one of the first four entertainers ever honoured by Canada Post by being featured on a postage stamp. Blues Brothers 2000 is dedicated to three people, including Candy, who played a supporting role in the original Blues Brothers.
The John Candy Visual Arts Studio at Neil McNeil Catholic High School, in Toronto, Ontario was dedicated in his honour after his death. John Candy, one of the school's most famous alumni, said during one of his annual visits to the school, “My success is simply rooted in the values and discipline and respect for others that I was taught at Neil McNeil.”
A tribute to Candy was hosted by Dan Aykroyd at the 2007 Grey Cup festivities in Toronto in November 2007.
Ween's Chocolate and Cheese album released in 1994 is "dedicated in loving memory to John Candy (1950-1994)".
Candy's daughter, Jennifer is an actress and television producer, having production credits for the television series Prom Queen and Sam Has 7 Friends.
Filmography
Film
Year Film Role Notes
1973 Class of '44 Paule Uncredited
1975 It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time Kopek
1976 Tunnel Vision Cooper
The Clown Murders Ollie
Find the Lady Kopek
1978 The Silent Partner Simonsen
1979 Lost and Found Carpentier
1941 Pvt. Foley
1980 Deadly Companion John also known as Double Negative
The Blues Brothers Burton Mercer
1981 Stripes Ox
Heavy Metal Desk Sergeant Voice
1983 National Lampoon's Vacation Lasky (Guard at 'Walleyworld')
Going Berserk John Bourgignon
1984 Splash Freddie Bauer
1985 Brewster's Millions Spike Nolan
Sesame Street Presents: Follow that Bird State Trooper
Summer Rental Jack Chester
Volunteers Tom Turtle
1986 Armed and Dangerous Frank Dooley
Little Shop of Horrors Wink Wilkinson
1987 Spaceballs Barf
Planes, Trains & Automobiles Del Griffith
1988 The Great Outdoors Chet Ripley
She's Having a Baby Chet from 'The Great Outdoors' Uncredited
Hot to Trot Don Voice
1989 Who's Harry Crumb? Harry Crumb
Speed Zone! Charlie Cronan
Uncle Buck Buck Russell
1990 Masters of Menace Beer Truck Driver
Home Alone Gus Polinski
The Rescuers Down Under Wilbur Voice
1991 Nothing But Trouble Dennis / Eldona
Career Opportunities C.D. Marsh Uncredited
Only the Lonely Danny Muldoon
Delirious Jack Gable (post production)
JFK Dean Andrews
1992 Once Upon a Crime... Augie Morosco
Boris and Natasha: The Movie Kalishak
1993 Rookie of the Year Cliff Murdoch (Announcer) Uncredited
Cool Runnings Irving 'Irv' Blitzer
1994 Wagons East James Harlow Last film Candy filmed before his death
1995 Canadian Bacon Sheriff Bud Boomer
Television
Year Film Role Notes
1972 Cucumber Weatherman (unknown episodes)
Dr. Simon Locke Richie Episode: "Death Holds the Scale"
1974 The ABC Afternoon Playbreak 2nd Son Episode: "Last Bride of Salem"
Dr. Zonk and the Zunkins (unknown episodes)
1976 The David Steinberg Show Spider Reichman Episode one
Episode two
90 Minutes Live (Various) TV series
1976–1977 Coming Up Rosie Wally Wypyzypychwk TV series
1976–1979 Second City TV (Various) 50 episodes
1977 King of Kensington Bandit Episode: "The Hero"
1980 The Courage of Kavik, the Wolf Dog Pinky TV film
1981 Tales of the Klondike TV mini-series
Saturday Night Live Juan Gavino Episode: "George Kennedy/Miles Davis"
(uncredited)
1981–1983 SCTV Network 90 (Various) 38 episodes
1983 SCTV Channel (Various) Episode: "Maudlin O' the Night"
1984 The New Show (Various) Five episodes
1985 Martin Short: Concert for the North Americas Marcel TV film
The Canadian Conspiracy (Various) TV film
The Last Polka Yosh Shmenge/Pa Shmenge TV film
1987 Really Weird Tales Howard Jensen ('Cursed with Charisma') TV film
1989 The Rocket Boy The Hawk TV film
1990 The Dave Thomas Comedy Show One episode
1992 Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories Narrator Episode: "Blumpoe the Grumpoe Meets Arnold the Cat/Millions of Cats"
1994 Hostage for a Day Yuri Petrovich TV film
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r311/kinzel_c/john_candy.jpg
http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm163/pacersfan33/25john_candy.jpg
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t166/danielpev33/johncandy.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd172/tomdotreed/JohnCandy.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/04/10 at 7:26 am
The word of the day...Wind
A wind is a current of air that is moving across the earth's surface.
Journalists often refer to a trend or factor that influences events as a wind of a particular kind.
If you are winded by something such as a blow, the air is suddenly knocked out of your lungs so that you have difficulty breathing for a short time.
Wind is the air that you sometimes swallow with food or drink, or gas that is produced in your intestines, which causes an uncomfortable feeling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XttBzn8bY8
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/04/10 at 7:27 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XttBzn8bY8
Moya (Marie Brennan) is a cousin to Enya.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/04/10 at 7:34 am
The person who died on this day...John Candy
John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian comedian and actor. He rose to fame as a member of the Toronto, Ontario branch of The Second City and for his starring role in the 1993 comedy Cool Runnings. One of his most renowned on-screen performances was that of Del Griffith in the John Hughes comedy Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
Candy was born and raised in Toronto, the son of Evangeline (née Aker) and Sidney James Candy. He attended Neil McNeil High School, an all-boys Catholic school in Toronto, where he played Grid Iron football.
Candy's first movie role was a small uncredited appearance in the 1973 film Class of '44. He appeared in several other low-budget films in the 1970s. In 1976, Candy played a supporting role (with Rick Moranis) on Peter Gzowski's short-lived, late-night television talk show, Ninety Minutes Live. That same year, as a member of Toronto's branch of The Second City, he gained wide North American popularity, which grew when he became a cast member on the influential Toronto-based comedy-variety show Second City Television (SCTV). NBC picked the show up in 1981 and it quickly became an alltime fan favourite.
1980s
Among Candy's memorable characterizations for SCTV were unscrupulous street-beat TV personality Johnny LaRue, 3-D horror auteur Doctor Tongue, sycophantic and easily amused talk-show sidekick William B. Williams, and Melonville's corrupt Mayor Tommy Shanks. Other characters included Morgy, from Morgy and Shoo, the cheerful Leutonian clarinetist Yosh Shmenge, who was half of the Happy Wanderers and the subject of the mockumentary The Last Polka, folksy fishin' musician Gil Fisher, handsome if accent-challenged TV actor Steve Roman, hapless children's entertainer Mr. Messenger, corrupt soap opera doctor William Wainwright and smut merchant Harry, "the Guy With the Snake on His Face".
Mimicry was one of Candy's talents, which he used often at SCTV. Celebrities impersonated by Candy include Jerry Mathers, Divine (Glen Milstead), Orson Welles, Julia Child, Richard Burton, Darryl Sittler, Luciano Pavarotti, Jimmy the Greek, Andrew Sarris, Tip O'Neill, Don Rickles, Curly Howard, Merlin Olsen, Jackie Gleason, Tom Selleck, Gordon Pinsent, Ed Asner, Gertrude Stein, Morgy Kneele, Doug McGrath and Hervé Villechaize.
By 1980, he began a more active film career having appeared as a soldier in Steven Spielberg's big-budget comedy 1941 and had a supporting role as a parole officer in The Blues Brothers. A year later, Candy played the lovable, mild-mannered Army recruit Dewey Oxberger in 1981's Stripes, one of the most successful films of the year. In the next two years, Candy did a small cameo in Harold Ramis' National Lampoon's Vacation, appeared on Saturday Night Live twice (hosting in 1983) while still appearing on SCTV.
In 1983, Candy headlined in the film Going Berserk, and was also approached to play the character of accountant Louis Tully in Ghostbusters (completed and released 1984), but ultimately did not get the role because of his conflicting ideas of how to play the character; the part went instead to Rick Moranis. (However, Candy was one of the many celebrities who appeared chanting "Ghostbusters" in Ray Parker, Jr.'s hit "single" for the movie). In 1984, Candy played Tom Hanks' womanizing brother in the hit romantic comedy Splash, considered to be his breakout role.
Throughout the latter half of the 1980s, Candy worked often taking roles in substandard films (even performing the voice of a talking horse in the Bobcat Goldthwait comedy Hot to Trot). Although Candy continued to play supporting roles in films like Spaceballs, he was awarded the opportunity to headline or co-star in such comedy films as Volunteers; Planes, Trains & Automobiles; Brewster's Millions; The Great Outdoors; Armed and Dangerous; Who's Harry Crumb? and Uncle Buck. He also continued to provide memorable bit roles, including a "weird" disc jockey in the comic musical film Little Shop of Horrors, and a state trooper in the Sesame Street film Follow That Bird.
He also produced and starred in a Saturday morning animated series on NBC entitled Camp Candy in 1989. The show was set in a fictional summer camp run by Candy, featured his two children in supporting roles, and also spawned a brief comic book series published by Marvel Comics' Star Comics imprint.
1990s
In the early 1990s, Candy's career went into decline after he appeared in a string of critical and commercial failures, including Nothing But Trouble, Delirious and Once Upon A Crime, although he did appear in major successes such as Rookie of the Year (uncredited), The Rescuers Down Under, Cool Runnings, and Home Alone.
Candy attempted to reinvigorate his acting career by broadening his range and playing more dramatic roles. In 1991, Candy appeared in a light romantic comedy-drama, Only the Lonely which saw him as a Chicago cop torn between his overbearing mother (Maureen O'Hara) and his new girlfriend (Ally Sheedy). The same year and in rare form, Candy played a dramatic role as Dean Andrews Jr., a shady Southern lawyer in Oliver Stone's JFK.
In 1991, Bruce McNall, Wayne Gretzky, and Candy became co-owners of the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts. The celebrity ownership group attracted a lot of attention in Canada and the team spent a significant amount of money, even signing some highly touted National Football League players. John and the Argonauts took home the 1991 Grey Cup beating Calgary 36 to 21 in the final.
Death
Candy struggled with obesity throughout his adult life. During the late 1980s and early 1990s he gained a large amount of additional weight, making him almost unrecognizable from his years on SCTV. However, he had been making a significant effort to improve his overall health in the last year of his life; he had quit smoking and had begun losing weight.
The 43-year-old Candy died in his sleep from a heart attack on March 4, 1994, while on location in Durango, Mexico, filming Wagons East!
Candy was survived by his wife, Rosemary Margaret (Hobor), whom he married in 1979, and their children, Jennifer and Christopher. His funeral Mass was held at St. Martin of Tours Church. Candy was cremated, and was interred in an upper crypt in Room 7 alcove, in the Mausoleum, at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
On March 18, 1994, a special memorial service for Candy, produced by his former improv troupe The Second City, was broadcast across Canada. Following his death, the sign atop comedy club The Laugh Factory honored Candy and fellow comedian Bill Hicks (who had died several days earlier): "Rest in peace; make God laugh."
Legacy
Wagons East! was released in the summer of 1994, completed using a body double in Candy's place.
Candy's final completed movie was Canadian Bacon, a satirical comedy by Michael Moore that was released the year after Candy's death. Candy played American sheriff Bud Boomer who led the "attack" against Canada.
Candy recorded a voice for the TV film The Magic 7 in the early-1990s. The film remained in production for years due to animation difficulties and production delays, and it was shelved.
Candy was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. In May 2006, Candy became one of the first four entertainers ever honoured by Canada Post by being featured on a postage stamp. Blues Brothers 2000 is dedicated to three people, including Candy, who played a supporting role in the original Blues Brothers.
The John Candy Visual Arts Studio at Neil McNeil Catholic High School, in Toronto, Ontario was dedicated in his honour after his death. John Candy, one of the school's most famous alumni, said during one of his annual visits to the school, “My success is simply rooted in the values and discipline and respect for others that I was taught at Neil McNeil.”
A tribute to Candy was hosted by Dan Aykroyd at the 2007 Grey Cup festivities in Toronto in November 2007.
Ween's Chocolate and Cheese album released in 1994 is "dedicated in loving memory to John Candy (1950-1994)".
Candy's daughter, Jennifer is an actress and television producer, having production credits for the television series Prom Queen and Sam Has 7 Friends.
Filmography
Film
Year Film Role Notes
1973 Class of '44 Paule Uncredited
1975 It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time Kopek
1976 Tunnel Vision Cooper
The Clown Murders Ollie
Find the Lady Kopek
1978 The Silent Partner Simonsen
1979 Lost and Found Carpentier
1941 Pvt. Foley
1980 Deadly Companion John also known as Double Negative
The Blues Brothers Burton Mercer
1981 Stripes Ox
Heavy Metal Desk Sergeant Voice
1983 National Lampoon's Vacation Lasky (Guard at 'Walleyworld')
Going Berserk John Bourgignon
1984 Splash Freddie Bauer
1985 Brewster's Millions Spike Nolan
Sesame Street Presents: Follow that Bird State Trooper
Summer Rental Jack Chester
Volunteers Tom Turtle
1986 Armed and Dangerous Frank Dooley
Little Shop of Horrors Wink Wilkinson
1987 Spaceballs Barf
Planes, Trains & Automobiles Del Griffith
1988 The Great Outdoors Chet Ripley
She's Having a Baby Chet from 'The Great Outdoors' Uncredited
Hot to Trot Don Voice
1989 Who's Harry Crumb? Harry Crumb
Speed Zone! Charlie Cronan
Uncle Buck Buck Russell
1990 Masters of Menace Beer Truck Driver
Home Alone Gus Polinski
The Rescuers Down Under Wilbur Voice
1991 Nothing But Trouble Dennis / Eldona
Career Opportunities C.D. Marsh Uncredited
Only the Lonely Danny Muldoon
Delirious Jack Gable (post production)
JFK Dean Andrews
1992 Once Upon a Crime... Augie Morosco
Boris and Natasha: The Movie Kalishak
1993 Rookie of the Year Cliff Murdoch (Announcer) Uncredited
Cool Runnings Irving 'Irv' Blitzer
1994 Wagons East James Harlow Last film Candy filmed before his death
1995 Canadian Bacon Sheriff Bud Boomer
Television
Year Film Role Notes
1972 Cucumber Weatherman (unknown episodes)
Dr. Simon Locke Richie Episode: "Death Holds the Scale"
1974 The ABC Afternoon Playbreak 2nd Son Episode: "Last Bride of Salem"
Dr. Zonk and the Zunkins (unknown episodes)
1976 The David Steinberg Show Spider Reichman Episode one
Episode two
90 Minutes Live (Various) TV series
1976–1977 Coming Up Rosie Wally Wypyzypychwk TV series
1976–1979 Second City TV (Various) 50 episodes
1977 King of Kensington Bandit Episode: "The Hero"
1980 The Courage of Kavik, the Wolf Dog Pinky TV film
1981 Tales of the Klondike TV mini-series
Saturday Night Live Juan Gavino Episode: "George Kennedy/Miles Davis"
(uncredited)
1981–1983 SCTV Network 90 (Various) 38 episodes
1983 SCTV Channel (Various) Episode: "Maudlin O' the Night"
1984 The New Show (Various) Five episodes
1985 Martin Short: Concert for the North Americas Marcel TV film
The Canadian Conspiracy (Various) TV film
The Last Polka Yosh Shmenge/Pa Shmenge TV film
1987 Really Weird Tales Howard Jensen ('Cursed with Charisma') TV film
1989 The Rocket Boy The Hawk TV film
1990 The Dave Thomas Comedy Show One episode
1992 Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories Narrator Episode: "Blumpoe the Grumpoe Meets Arnold the Cat/Millions of Cats"
1994 Hostage for a Day Yuri Petrovich TV film
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r311/kinzel_c/john_candy.jpg
http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm163/pacersfan33/25john_candy.jpg
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t166/danielpev33/johncandy.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd172/tomdotreed/JohnCandy.jpg
Uncle Buck was funny too.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/04/10 at 8:46 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XttBzn8bY8
A lot different than this Against The Wind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcDCvQbOdig#
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/04/10 at 9:32 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWvh4S3YWVo
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/04/10 at 12:36 pm
Two SCTV alum.
The funniest SCTV episode was when they were doing Fantasy Island. I remember my stomach really hurting and crying throughout the entire show from laughing so hard.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 03/04/10 at 12:43 pm
Two SCTV alum.
The funniest SCTV episode was when they were doing Fantasy Island. I remember my stomach really hurting and crying throughout the entire show from laughing so hard.
Cat
SCTV had many funny skits. I remember the fantasy island one.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/04/10 at 8:25 pm
SCTV had many funny skits. I remember the fantasy island one.
I don't remember many SCTV skits.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/05/10 at 3:02 am
British Person of the Day: Matt Lucas
Matthew Richard "Matt" Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English comedian, screenwriter and actor. He is perhaps best known for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the television show Little Britain and spoof interview series Rock Profile, as well as for his portrayal of the surreal scorekeeping baby George Dawes in the Reeves and Mortimer comedy panel game Shooting Stars. Lucas played Chancellor Donold David Dongalor, on the BBC/Comedy Central series Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire.
In May 2007 he placed eighth in the list of the UK's 100 most influential gays and lesbians, in fields as diverse as entertainment, business, politics, and science, by British newspapers The Independent and The Daily Mail.
Personal life
Born in Paddington, London, Lucas comes from a Jewish background, with some of his British-born mother Diana's family fleeing Nazi Germany. Lucas grew up in Stanmore, Greater London; he has an older brother, Howard. He has had alopecia since his childhood, which in interviews he has inconsistently attributed to various events, including a delayed reaction to a car accident at the age of four. He lost all of his hair when he was six years old. Lucas's father John Lucas died of a heart attack in 1996, aged 52, in Brent, Greater London.
He was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, the same school as attended by David Baddiel and Sacha Baron Cohen. He went on to study drama in the Faculty of Arts at Bristol University between 1993 and 1995.
Lucas worked for Chelsea F.C. as a sales assistant in the old club shop, though he is a high-profile Arsenal fan.
Lucas is a patron of the The Karen Morris Memorial Trust, a UK charity for leukaemia patients and their families. In April 2004 he appeared on Celebrity Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and won £62,500 for the charity.
Early career
Lucas's association with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer began in 1992. In 1994, Lucas appeared in The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer. The second series of the show featured Lucas in several sketches. He went on to star with them in Shooting Stars. He quickly rose to fame as George Dawes, the giant baby, who would deliver a string of meaningless gags (often in character) and insults before delivering the score, while sitting at and playing a drum kit. Many of these parts were introduced not in the style of a baby, but of a grown man — indeed, often, he would come on dressed as a specific adult such as Elton John. He also appeared on occasion as Marjorie Dawes, George's mother, who also appears in Little Britain. He also appeared in the Reeves & Mortimer BBC series Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), and Catterick in a variety of roles. Lucas has also written for actor Sacha Baron Cohen.
His music video appearances include; the Damien Hirst-directed video for Blur's "Country House" (as a psychoanalyst) in 1995, "Jesusland" by Ben Folds in 2005, "I'm with Stupid" by the Pet Shop Boys and "Vindaloo" and "Naughty Christmas" by Fat Les.
Lucas ventured into the world of stage musicals in 2002, when he took one of the main roles in Boy George's musical Taboo, at The Venue, London. He played the part of infamous performance artist Leigh Bowery, which required him to wear some outrageous and spectacular outfits and make-up.
Lucas also appeared in a Big Finish audio play based on the long-running BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who. The play he featured in was called The One Doctor and was a light-hearted Christmas panto-style play.
Little Britain
Little Britain is commercially Lucas's most successful work. Originally a radio show on BBC Radio 4, it later became a TV series. Little Britain has won numerous TV awards, spawning large DVD sales and merchandising. It plays heavily on memorable catchphrases which have become ingrained in playgrounds and offices around the UK. Lucas plays, among many others, four of the most popular characters in the series, which he writes and acts in along with David Walliams: apparently disabled Andy Pipkin, teenage Bristol chav Vicky Pollard, homophobic homosexual Daffyd Thomas and insensitive slimming club organiser Marjorie Dawes. Lucas has also played many other popular characters including the morbidly obese Bubbles DeVere and Orville The Duck in one sketch.
After Little Britain
In 2005, he took his first role in a television drama, a supporting part as a Venetian Duke in the BBC historical serial Casanova, written by Russell T Davies. Since 2006, Lucas has been the voice of the radio and television character Digit Al, devised as part of a public information campaign on digital switchover. On 26 November 2006 he appeared on the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs. He made a cameo appearance in Shaun of the Dead as the cousin of Shaun's friend Yvonne.
In 2007, he released "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", originally by The Proclaimers, with Peter Kay as a charity single for Comic Relief. He performed the single as Little Britain character Andy Pipkin, along with Kay playing as Brian Potter. After being available for less than 48 hours on iTunes alone, the track entered the UK Top 40 at number 3. On 25 March It went to number one, where it stayed for three weeks, selling over 400,000 copies. He also starred as the irrepressible Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows, a 2006 television adaptation of the Kenneth Grahame novel.
He has made appearances in Kath & Kim and Neighbours (the latter alongside David Walliams as Little Britain stalwarts Lou and Andy, as well as a cameo role, playing 'Chris' or 'Jammy' at the wedding fayre, in the BBC Three sitcom Gavin & Stacey. Lucas has co written (with Walliams) and performed in a new series of Little Britain USA for HBO. The pair are also writing a movie for Dreamworks.
Lucas was the first celebrity to make an appearance in 2008's Big Brother Celebrity Hijack on E4, working alongside Big Brother in a series containing housemates aged 18–21 with various talents.
In September 2008, whilst on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, Lucas stated that he would play Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, alongside Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway.
On 9 April 2009, the series Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, featuring Matt Lucas as a regular performer, premièred on Comedy Central, the first major comedy series Lucas has done since Little Britain.
http://i44.tinypic.com/24v8x8i.jpg
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/02/27/daffyd_narrowweb__300x414,0.jpg
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00391/littlebritain_682_391888a.jpg
http://www.virginmedia.com/images/bbch-matt-lucas.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/05/10 at 3:04 am
British Person of the Day: Matt Lucas
Matthew Richard "Matt" Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English comedian, screenwriter and actor. He is perhaps best known for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the television show Little Britain and spoof interview series Rock Profile, as well as for his portrayal of the surreal scorekeeping baby George Dawes in the Reeves and Mortimer comedy panel game Shooting Stars. Lucas played Chancellor Donold David Dongalor, on the BBC/Comedy Central series Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire.
In May 2007 he placed eighth in the list of the UK's 100 most influential gays and lesbians, in fields as diverse as entertainment, business, politics, and science, by British newspapers The Independent and The Daily Mail.
Personal life
Born in Paddington, London, Lucas comes from a Jewish background, with some of his British-born mother Diana's family fleeing Nazi Germany. Lucas grew up in Stanmore, Greater London; he has an older brother, Howard. He has had alopecia since his childhood, which in interviews he has inconsistently attributed to various events, including a delayed reaction to a car accident at the age of four. He lost all of his hair when he was six years old. Lucas's father John Lucas died of a heart attack in 1996, aged 52, in Brent, Greater London.
He was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, the same school as attended by David Baddiel and Sacha Baron Cohen. He went on to study drama in the Faculty of Arts at Bristol University between 1993 and 1995.
Lucas worked for Chelsea F.C. as a sales assistant in the old club shop, though he is a high-profile Arsenal fan.
Lucas is a patron of the The Karen Morris Memorial Trust, a UK charity for leukaemia patients and their families. In April 2004 he appeared on Celebrity Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and won £62,500 for the charity.
Early career
Lucas's association with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer began in 1992. In 1994, Lucas appeared in The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer. The second series of the show featured Lucas in several sketches. He went on to star with them in Shooting Stars. He quickly rose to fame as George Dawes, the giant baby, who would deliver a string of meaningless gags (often in character) and insults before delivering the score, while sitting at and playing a drum kit. Many of these parts were introduced not in the style of a baby, but of a grown man — indeed, often, he would come on dressed as a specific adult such as Elton John. He also appeared on occasion as Marjorie Dawes, George's mother, who also appears in Little Britain. He also appeared in the Reeves & Mortimer BBC series Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), and Catterick in a variety of roles. Lucas has also written for actor Sacha Baron Cohen.
His music video appearances include; the Damien Hirst-directed video for Blur's "Country House" (as a psychoanalyst) in 1995, "Jesusland" by Ben Folds in 2005, "I'm with Stupid" by the Pet Shop Boys and "Vindaloo" and "Naughty Christmas" by Fat Les.
Lucas ventured into the world of stage musicals in 2002, when he took one of the main roles in Boy George's musical Taboo, at The Venue, London. He played the part of infamous performance artist Leigh Bowery, which required him to wear some outrageous and spectacular outfits and make-up.
Lucas also appeared in a Big Finish audio play based on the long-running BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who. The play he featured in was called The One Doctor and was a light-hearted Christmas panto-style play.
Little Britain
Little Britain is commercially Lucas's most successful work. Originally a radio show on BBC Radio 4, it later became a TV series. Little Britain has won numerous TV awards, spawning large DVD sales and merchandising. It plays heavily on memorable catchphrases which have become ingrained in playgrounds and offices around the UK. Lucas plays, among many others, four of the most popular characters in the series, which he writes and acts in along with David Walliams: apparently disabled Andy Pipkin, teenage Bristol chav Vicky Pollard, homophobic homosexual Daffyd Thomas and insensitive slimming club organiser Marjorie Dawes. Lucas has also played many other popular characters including the morbidly obese Bubbles DeVere and Orville The Duck in one sketch.
After Little Britain
In 2005, he took his first role in a television drama, a supporting part as a Venetian Duke in the BBC historical serial Casanova, written by Russell T Davies. Since 2006, Lucas has been the voice of the radio and television character Digit Al, devised as part of a public information campaign on digital switchover. On 26 November 2006 he appeared on the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs. He made a cameo appearance in Shaun of the Dead as the cousin of Shaun's friend Yvonne.
In 2007, he released "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", originally by The Proclaimers, with Peter Kay as a charity single for Comic Relief. He performed the single as Little Britain character Andy Pipkin, along with Kay playing as Brian Potter. After being available for less than 48 hours on iTunes alone, the track entered the UK Top 40 at number 3. On 25 March It went to number one, where it stayed for three weeks, selling over 400,000 copies. He also starred as the irrepressible Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows, a 2006 television adaptation of the Kenneth Grahame novel.
He has made appearances in Kath & Kim and Neighbours (the latter alongside David Walliams as Little Britain stalwarts Lou and Andy, as well as a cameo role, playing 'Chris' or 'Jammy' at the wedding fayre, in the BBC Three sitcom Gavin & Stacey. Lucas has co written (with Walliams) and performed in a new series of Little Britain USA for HBO. The pair are also writing a movie for Dreamworks.
Lucas was the first celebrity to make an appearance in 2008's Big Brother Celebrity Hijack on E4, working alongside Big Brother in a series containing housemates aged 18–21 with various talents.
In September 2008, whilst on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, Lucas stated that he would play Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, alongside Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway.
On 9 April 2009, the series Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, featuring Matt Lucas as a regular performer, premièred on Comedy Central, the first major comedy series Lucas has done since Little Britain.
http://i44.tinypic.com/24v8x8i.jpg
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/02/27/daffyd_narrowweb__300x414,0.jpg
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00391/littlebritain_682_391888a.jpg
http://www.virginmedia.com/images/bbch-matt-lucas.jpg
"Yeah, I know."
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/05/10 at 5:50 am
British Person of the Day: Matt Lucas
Matthew Richard "Matt" Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English comedian, screenwriter and actor. He is perhaps best known for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the television show Little Britain and spoof interview series Rock Profile, as well as for his portrayal of the surreal scorekeeping baby George Dawes in the Reeves and Mortimer comedy panel game Shooting Stars. Lucas played Chancellor Donold David Dongalor, on the BBC/Comedy Central series Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire.
In May 2007 he placed eighth in the list of the UK's 100 most influential gays and lesbians, in fields as diverse as entertainment, business, politics, and science, by British newspapers The Independent and The Daily Mail.
Personal life
Born in Paddington, London, Lucas comes from a Jewish background, with some of his British-born mother Diana's family fleeing Nazi Germany. Lucas grew up in Stanmore, Greater London; he has an older brother, Howard. He has had alopecia since his childhood, which in interviews he has inconsistently attributed to various events, including a delayed reaction to a car accident at the age of four. He lost all of his hair when he was six years old. Lucas's father John Lucas died of a heart attack in 1996, aged 52, in Brent, Greater London.
He was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, the same school as attended by David Baddiel and Sacha Baron Cohen. He went on to study drama in the Faculty of Arts at Bristol University between 1993 and 1995.
Lucas worked for Chelsea F.C. as a sales assistant in the old club shop, though he is a high-profile Arsenal fan.
Lucas is a patron of the The Karen Morris Memorial Trust, a UK charity for leukaemia patients and their families. In April 2004 he appeared on Celebrity Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and won £62,500 for the charity.
Early career
Lucas's association with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer began in 1992. In 1994, Lucas appeared in The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer. The second series of the show featured Lucas in several sketches. He went on to star with them in Shooting Stars. He quickly rose to fame as George Dawes, the giant baby, who would deliver a string of meaningless gags (often in character) and insults before delivering the score, while sitting at and playing a drum kit. Many of these parts were introduced not in the style of a baby, but of a grown man — indeed, often, he would come on dressed as a specific adult such as Elton John. He also appeared on occasion as Marjorie Dawes, George's mother, who also appears in Little Britain. He also appeared in the Reeves & Mortimer BBC series Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), and Catterick in a variety of roles. Lucas has also written for actor Sacha Baron Cohen.
His music video appearances include; the Damien Hirst-directed video for Blur's "Country House" (as a psychoanalyst) in 1995, "Jesusland" by Ben Folds in 2005, "I'm with Stupid" by the Pet Shop Boys and "Vindaloo" and "Naughty Christmas" by Fat Les.
Lucas ventured into the world of stage musicals in 2002, when he took one of the main roles in Boy George's musical Taboo, at The Venue, London. He played the part of infamous performance artist Leigh Bowery, which required him to wear some outrageous and spectacular outfits and make-up.
Lucas also appeared in a Big Finish audio play based on the long-running BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who. The play he featured in was called The One Doctor and was a light-hearted Christmas panto-style play.
Little Britain
Little Britain is commercially Lucas's most successful work. Originally a radio show on BBC Radio 4, it later became a TV series. Little Britain has won numerous TV awards, spawning large DVD sales and merchandising. It plays heavily on memorable catchphrases which have become ingrained in playgrounds and offices around the UK. Lucas plays, among many others, four of the most popular characters in the series, which he writes and acts in along with David Walliams: apparently disabled Andy Pipkin, teenage Bristol chav Vicky Pollard, homophobic homosexual Daffyd Thomas and insensitive slimming club organiser Marjorie Dawes. Lucas has also played many other popular characters including the morbidly obese Bubbles DeVere and Orville The Duck in one sketch.
After Little Britain
In 2005, he took his first role in a television drama, a supporting part as a Venetian Duke in the BBC historical serial Casanova, written by Russell T Davies. Since 2006, Lucas has been the voice of the radio and television character Digit Al, devised as part of a public information campaign on digital switchover. On 26 November 2006 he appeared on the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs. He made a cameo appearance in Shaun of the Dead as the cousin of Shaun's friend Yvonne.
In 2007, he released "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", originally by The Proclaimers, with Peter Kay as a charity single for Comic Relief. He performed the single as Little Britain character Andy Pipkin, along with Kay playing as Brian Potter. After being available for less than 48 hours on iTunes alone, the track entered the UK Top 40 at number 3. On 25 March It went to number one, where it stayed for three weeks, selling over 400,000 copies. He also starred as the irrepressible Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows, a 2006 television adaptation of the Kenneth Grahame novel.
He has made appearances in Kath & Kim and Neighbours (the latter alongside David Walliams as Little Britain stalwarts Lou and Andy, as well as a cameo role, playing 'Chris' or 'Jammy' at the wedding fayre, in the BBC Three sitcom Gavin & Stacey. Lucas has co written (with Walliams) and performed in a new series of Little Britain USA for HBO. The pair are also writing a movie for Dreamworks.
Lucas was the first celebrity to make an appearance in 2008's Big Brother Celebrity Hijack on E4, working alongside Big Brother in a series containing housemates aged 18–21 with various talents.
In September 2008, whilst on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, Lucas stated that he would play Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, alongside Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway.
On 9 April 2009, the series Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, featuring Matt Lucas as a regular performer, premièred on Comedy Central, the first major comedy series Lucas has done since Little Britain.
http://i44.tinypic.com/24v8x8i.jpg
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/02/27/daffyd_narrowweb__300x414,0.jpg
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00391/littlebritain_682_391888a.jpg
http://www.virginmedia.com/images/bbch-matt-lucas.jpg
Thanks Phil,don't really know him but have heard of Little Britain.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/05/10 at 6:04 am
The word or phrase of the day...Teen Idol
A teen idol is a celebrity who is widely idolized by teenagers; he or she is often young but not necessarily teenaged. Often teen idols are actors or pop singers, but some sports figures have an appeal to teenagers. Some teen idols are child actors. The idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y11/IdolArticleScans/American%20Idol%201/Kelly01.jpg
http://i462.photobucket.com/albums/qq348/MegWright08_2008/TEENIDOL.jpg
http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/tt119/michaeljfoxisgroovy/018.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm96/EllaElleGurl/teen_idol_vanessa_hudgens.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q273/gr8carnac/WITK/grady4.jpg
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp168/alexdanza/FORALLTHELADIES.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h11/kmunster/confessions_group_shot2.jpg
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb301/fiorbella_20/watsonchall1.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e365/imasquirrelgirl/idols-Scrapblog/idols-1.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e17/sueb563/Magazines/DSC_0087.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/05/10 at 6:06 am
The person born on this day...Andy Gibb
Andy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was a British/Australian singer, teen idol, and the youngest brother of the members who formed the Bee Gees, Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb.
Born Andrew Roy Gibb in Manchester, England, to Barbara (née Pass) and Hugh Gibb, Gibb emigrated with his family to Australia six months after his birth. They settled in Cribb Island, adjacent to Redcliffe, north of Brisbane. He was the youngest of five children and had one older sister, Lesley (1945), and three older brothers, Barry (1946) and twins Maurice (22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) and Robin (1949).
Gibb began playing at tourist clubs around Spain's coastal Island of Ibiza, and later on the Isle of Man, as a young teenager.
After returning to Australia in 1975, Gibb began recording a series of his own compositions, one of which was released as a single on the ATA label, owned by Australian performer, Col Joye. "Words and Music" would eventually reach Top Five on the Sydney music charts in 1976. Robert Stigwood who, at the time, was also the Bee Gees' manager signed Gibb to his label, RSO Records. Gibb soon moved to Miami Beach, Florida to begin working on songs with his brother Barry, and co-producers Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson.
Prior to leaving Australia, Gibb had married his girlfriend, Kim Reeder. They had one child, a daughter named Peta Jaye, born 25 January 1978, but the couple was already separated at the time of Peta's birth and would divorce later that year. Gibb reportedly met his daughter only once, in 1981. As of 2007 Peta is known as Peta J. Reeder-Gibb and breeds Staffordshire Bull Terriers as well as being a respected dog show judge in New South Wales, Australia. Peta married Matt Weber on January 19, 2008.
Number 1 hits
The single cover of "I Just Want To Be Your Everything"
In the United States, Gibb became the first male solo artist to chart three consecutive Number One singles on the Billboard Hot 100. In July 1977, he had his first major hit, "I Just Want to Be Your Everything", a song written by his brother Barry, just as his first album Flowing Rivers broke into the US Top 20, on its way to selling over a million copies. The album's second single "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" broke in early 1978 during the time the BeeGee's contributions to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, replacing "Stayin' Alive" at the top of the US charts, and then surpassed by "Night Fever" when it reached number one in mid-March.
Gibb then began work with the Gibb-Galuten-Richardson production team on his second album Shadow Dancing, which was released in April 1978. The title track, written by all four Gibb brothers, was released as a single in the US in April 1978, and in mid-June began a seven week run at number one, achieving platinum status. Two further Top Ten singles, "An Everlasting Love" (which reached number five) and "(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away" (which reached number nine), a song also released by his brothers (in 1979), were released from the album, which became another million seller.
In 1979, Gibb performed, along with the Bee Gees, ABBA, and Olivia Newton-John (duet with "Rest Your Love On Me"), at the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly, broadcast worldwide.
He returned to the studio to begin recording sessions for his final full studio album, After Dark. In March 1980, the last of Gibb's Top Ten singles charted just ahead of the album's release. "Desire", was recorded for the Bee Gees' 1979 album Spirits Having Flown, and featured their original track complete with Andy's original "guest vocal" track. A second single, "I Can't Help It", a duet with family friend Olivia Newton-John, reached the Top Twenty.
Later in the year, Andy Gibb's Greatest Hits was released as a finale to his contract with RSO Records, with two new songs: "Time Is Time" (number 15 in January 1981) and "Me (Without You)" (Gibb's last Top Forty chart entry) shipped as singles. "After Dark" and "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" were non single songs added to the album, the latter of which was a duet with PP Arnold, who had previously worked with Barry Gibb, including singing uncredited backups on, "Bury Me Down By The River" from Cucumber Castle.
Career Stall-out
During his relationship with Victoria Principal, Gibb worked on several projects outside of the recording studio. These included performances in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on Broadway, Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance in Los Angeles, and a stint from 1980-1982 as co-host of the television music show Solid Gold. He was fired from both Dreamcoat and Solid Gold due to absenteeism.
According to Broadway producer Zev Bufman, who financed Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat: "When Andy was at the theater, he was a joy. But he wasn't there enough", adding that of the five people to play Joseph up to that point, Gibb was the best actor. He also said after Gibb's death, "e'd lose him over long weekends. He'd come back on Tuesday, and he'd look beat. He was like a little puppy — so ashamed when he did something wrong. He was all heart, but he didn't have enough muscle to carry through." An unnamed co-star in Dreamcoat was quoted as saying, "I hear he spent most of his time in his hotel room in front of the TV. I guess he was frightened and insecure. That's what happens when you're the baby brother of the Bee Gees." Commenting after Gibb's death, Solid Gold producer Brad Lachman was of a similar sentiment: "... was a very charming, vulnerable and charismatic performer. He clearly meant well. He wasn't being difficult. He was going through problems he couldn't deal with. He wanted everyone to love him. He had so much going for him, and he just couldn't believe it."
His romance with Principal also ended shortly thereafter, but not before he recorded and released a duet of the Everly Brothers' "All I Have To Do Is Dream", in the summer of 1981. This would be Gibb's last official single, and his last US chart entry, peaking at number 51.
His family convinced him to seek treatment for his drug addiction; after a stint at the Betty Ford Clinic in the mid-1980s, Gibb toured small venues with a stage show of his greatest hits and covers. He also appeared in guest-starring roles on several television situation comedies including Gimme A Break! and Punky Brewster. Following an expansive East Asia tour, he regularly performed shows in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. In 1984 he was the headline performer at the Viña del Mar Festival in Chile, performing two nights in a row. He also held a two-week engagement at San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel in March 1986. Gibb declared bankruptcy.
Gibb returned to work alongside brothers Barry and Maurice. Their series of demo recordings with engineer Scott Glasel would eventually secure him a contract with the UK branch of Island Records. One of the demos, "Man On Fire", was released posthumously on a self-titled 1991 Polydor anthology. Another demo, "Arrow Through The Heart" (though unreleased to the present day), would be featured on an episode of VH1's series Behind the Music. It will be available for the first time on his brothers' upcoming Bee Gees Mythology collection, due to be released in 2010.
Death
In March 1988, Gibb celebrated his 30th birthday in London while working on a new album. Soon after, he entered John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, complaining of chest pains. He died on March 10, 1988, just five days after his 30th birthday as a result of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle due to a recent viral infection. Just before Gibb's death, it was decided by the group that Andy would join them, which would have made the group a quartet. This did not come to pass, however. The Bee Gees' following album, One (1989), featured a song dedicated to Andy, "Wish You Were Here". Andy Gibb is entombed at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. His father, Hugh, died four years later and was also buried there.
Discography
Studio albums
Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)
US US R&B CAN UK SWE NOR NZ
1977 Flowing Rivers
* First studio album
* Release date: September 1977
* Label: RSO Records
19 — 9 — 4 — —
* US certification: Platinum
* CAN certification: Gold
1978 Shadow Dancing
* Second studio album
* Release date: April 1978
* Label: RSO Records
7 18 1 15 42 8 15
* US certification: Platinum
* CAN: certification: Platinum
* UK certification: Silver
1980 After Dark
* Third studio album
* Release date: February 1980
* Label: RSO Records
21 67 24 — 23 21 —
* US certification: Gold
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
Compilations
Year Album details Peak positions
US
1980 Andy Gibb's Greatest Hits
* Release date: 1980
* Label: RSO Records
46
1991 Greatest Hits Collection
* Release date: 1991
* Label: Polydor Records
—
2001 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection
* Release date: August 14, 2001
* Label: Polydor Records
—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
Singles
Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US US AC US R&B NZ UK AUS
1976 "Words and Music" — — — 29 — 78 Non-album song
1977 "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" 1 8 19 2 26 1 Flowing Rivers
"(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" 1 18 — 25 — 13
1978 "Shadow Dancing" 1 8 11 5 42 11 Shadow Dancing
"An Everlasting Love" 5 8 — 28 10 57
"(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away" 9 2 — 27 32 61
1980 "Desire" 4 — 49 38 — 90 After Dark
"I Can't Help It" (with Olivia Newton-John) 12 8 — — — 62
"Time Is Time" 15 29 — — — — Andy Gibb's Greatest Hits
1981 "Me (Without You)" 40 45 — — — —
"All I Have to Do Is Dream" (with Victoria Principal) 51 25 — — — — Non-album song
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w219/debbers1979/6731_andy_gibb_03.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh240/tweety36c/andy_collage.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/05/10 at 6:09 am
The person who died on this day...John Belushi
John Adam Belushi (pronounced /bɨˈluːʃi/; January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and musician notable for his work on Saturday Night Live, National Lampoon's Animal House, and The Blues Brothers. He was the older brother of James Belushi.
John Belushi was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Agnes Belushi (née Samaras), a first generation Albanian-American, and Adam Belushi (b. 1919), an Albanian immigrant and restaurant operator who left his native village, Qytezë, in 1934 at the age of sixteen. The family's name at the time of immigration was Bellios, or Belliors. Belushi was raised in the Albanian Orthodox church and grew up outside Chicago in Wheaton with a brother Jim, five-and-a-half years his junior. He attended Wheaton Central High School, where he met his future wife, Judy Jacklin, and was a middle linebacker for the school's football team.
He attended the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater and the College of DuPage near Chicago.
Career
Belushi's first big break as a comedian occurred in 1971, when he joined The Second City comedy troupe in Chicago. Thanks to a caricature of singer Joe Cocker's intense and jerky stage presence, he was cast in National Lampoon's Lemmings, a parody of Woodstock, which played Off-Broadway in 1972 and also showcased future Saturday Night Live (SNL) performers Chevy Chase and Christopher Guest.
From 1973 to 1975, National Lampoon Inc. aired The National Lampoon Radio Hour, a half-hour comedy program syndicated across the country on approximately 600 stations. When original director Michael O'Donoghue quit in 1974, Belushi took over the reins until the show was canceled. Other players on the show included future SNL regulars Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray and Chevy Chase. Belushi married Judy Jacklin (Judy Pisano), an associate producer of The Radio Hour. A number of comic segments first performed on The Radio Hour would be translated into SNL sketches in the show's early seasons.
1975-1979
Belushi achieved national fame for his work on Saturday Night Live, which he joined as an original cast member in 1975. Between seasons of the show, he made one of his best-known movies, Animal House. As several Belushi biographies have noted, on John's 30th birthday (in 1979), he had the number one film in the U.S. (Animal House), the number one album in the U.S. (The Blues Brothers: Briefcase Full of Blues) and Saturday Night Live was the highest-rated late night television program. In the toga party scene in the basement of the fraternity house in Animal House, the uncredited coed dancing with Bluto (Belushi) is his wife. While filming Animal House, Belushi made an appearance at Ithaca College in 1976. When introduced, he came onstage with a chainsaw and cut up the podium.
When interviewed for retrospectives on John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd told stories of John often finishing SNL rehearsals, shows or film shoots and, exhausted, simply walking unannounced into nearby homes of friends or strangers, scrounging around for food and often falling asleep, unable to be located for the following day's work. This was the impetus for the SNL horror-spoof sketch "The Thing That Wouldn't Leave", in which Belushi torments a couple (played by Jane Curtin and Bill Murray) in their home looking for snacks, newspapers and magazines to read, and taking control of their television. SNL also featured a short film by writer Tom Schiller called "Don't Look Back In Anger", where Belushi playing himself as an old man, visits the graves of his now-former cast-members, the last to survive. Ironically, Belushi was the first SNL cast member to die.
Belushi left Saturday Night Live in 1979 to pursue a film career. Belushi would make four more movies; three of them, 1941, Neighbors, and most notably The Blues Brothers were made with fellow SNL alumnus Dan Aykroyd.
Other movie projects
Dan Aykroyd wrote the roles of Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters and Emmett Fitz-Hume in Spies Like Us with Belushi in mind, and the roles were actually played by Belushi's former SNL castmates Bill Murray and Chevy Chase, respectively. Aykroyd used to joke that the green ghost Slimer in Ghostbusters was "the ghost of John Belushi", given that he had a similar party animal personality.
Released in September 1981, the romantic comedy Continental Divide starred Belushi as Chicago home town hero writer Ernie Souchack who gets put on assignment researching a scientist studying birds of prey in the remote rocky mountains. Belushi's character "Ernie Souchak" was loosely based on popular, now deceased Chicago columnist Mike Royko.
At the time of his death, Belushi was pursuing several movie projects, including Noble Rot, an adaptation of a script by former The Mary Tyler Moore Show writer/producer Jay Sandrich entitled Sweet Deception; noble rot is a benevolent fungus that can infect wine grapes on the vine, helping to produce high quality sweet wines. Belushi was rewriting the script with former Saturday Night Live colleague Don Novello.
Personal life
The "College" sweatshirt Belushi wore in National Lampoon's Animal House was purchased in Carbondale, Illinois, when his brother, Jim, was a student at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
According to writer/actor Tim Kazurinsky in the book Live From New York, mentor and close friend Belushi was instrumental in getting fellow Second City alumnus Kazurinsky onto Saturday Night Live in 1981. But during his run on the show, Kazurinsky became very stressed out by its demands. He later called Belushi and said that he needed a ride to the airport because he was quitting and moving back to Chicago. Belushi and his wife picked him up but refused to bring him to the airport, at which Belushi told Kazurinsky that the show's atmosphere can get bad, but that he still had access to major broadcasting airwaves. Instead, Belushi took the performer to a psychiatrist whom he saw for a year, while staying with the show during his run.
It was Belushi who recruited the band Fear and brought them to Cherokee Studios to record songs for the soundtrack of Neighbors, a film he and Aykroyd were starring in. Music producing partners Steve Cropper and Bruce Robb remember recording the music, but nobody knows exactly what happened with the final soundtrack, which was ultimately replaced in the film by a traditional movie score. Cherokee Studios was a regular haunt for the original Blues Brothers back in the early days of the band. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd became fixtures at the recording studio, while fellow Blues Brother and guitar player Steve Cropper called Cherokee his producing home. Whenever they needed a bass player, they were joined by another Blues Brother, Donald "Duck" Dunn. During this time, Cropper along with producing partner and Cherokee owner Bruce Robb worked on a number of music projects with the two comedian/musicians, the band Fear and later Aykroyd's movie "Dragnet." "What can I say? John was excessively talented, and I guess you could say he sort of lived life 'excessively.' I think what happened to John had a sobering effect on a lot of people, me included," said music producer Bruce Robb.
Belushi was generous to his friends and family, often lending them money when they asked. He bought his father a ranch near San Diego, and helped set up his old friends in Chicago with their own businesses. He helped his brother Jim find a spot at Second City, where he himself acted in the early days of his career. His generous side also showed during his time in the Blues Brothers; he often played songs by blues artists he thought could use the money from the royalties.
Death
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On March 5, 1982, Belushi was found dead in his room at Bungalow #3 of the Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. The cause of death was a speedball, a combined injection of cocaine and heroin. On the night of his death, he was visited separately by friends Robin Williams (at the height of his own drug exploits) and Robert De Niro, each of whom left the premises, leaving Belushi in the company of assorted others, including Cathy Smith. His death was investigated by forensic pathologist Dr. Ryan Norris among others, and while the findings were disputed, it was officially ruled a drug-related accident.
Two months later, Smith admitted in an interview with the National Enquirer that she had been with Belushi the night of his death and had given him the fatal speedball shot. After the appearance of the article "I Killed Belushi" in the Enquirer edition of June 29, 1982, the case was reopened. Smith was extradited from Toronto, arrested and charged with first-degree murder. A plea bargain arrangement reduced the charges to involuntary manslaughter, and she served 15 months in prison.
In one of Belushi's last TV appearances, he filmed a cameo for the comedy series Police Squad!. At the suggestion of the show's producer, Robert K. Weiss, Belushi was filmed, face down in a swimming pool, dead. The footage was part of a running gag where the episode's guest-star would not survive past the opening credit sequence without meeting some gruesome end. Also, as noted in one of the commentary tracks on the DVD, John nearly drowned during the filming of the scene. The scene never aired.
Belushi and his friend Dan Aykroyd were slated to present the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 54th Academy Awards, an event held less than four weeks after his death. Aykroyd presented the award alone, commenting on the stage "My partner would have loved to have been here to present this award, given that he was something of a visual effect himself."
Belushi is interred in Abel's Hill Cemetery on Martha's Vineyard Chilmark, Massachusetts. His tombstone reads "He Gave Us Laughter." His gravestone is not above his body. It was moved after operators of the cemetery had found many signs of vandalism and rowdiness where his body lies. He also has a cenotaph at Elmwood Cemetery in River Grove, Illinois.
Tributes
This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2010)
John Belushi's life is detailed in the 1985 biography Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi by Bob Woodward. Many friends and relatives of Belushi, including his wife Judy, Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi, agreed to be interviewed at length for the book, but later felt the final product was exploitative and not representative of the John Belushi they knew. The book was later adapted into a feature film in which Belushi was played by Michael Chiklis. Belushi's friends and family boycotted the film, which proved to be critical and caused the movie to be a box-office flop.
The Grateful Dead performed the song "West L.A. Fadeaway" beginning in late 1982. The song, penned by long time lyricist Robert Hunter and sung by Jerry Garcia, contains fairly explicit references to Belushi's death, especially the line "Looking for a chateau, 21 rooms but one will do."
Belushi was portrayed by actors Eric Siegel in Gilda Radner: It's Always Something, Tyler Labine in Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Mork & Mindy (which also features his friendship with Robin Williams), and Michael Chiklis in Wired.
His widow later remarried and is now Judith Belushi Pisano. Her biography (with co-biographer Tanner Colby) of John, Belushi: A Biography is a collection of first-person interviews and photographs, and was published in 2005.
On April 1, 2004, 22 years after his death, Belushi was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, after a ten-year lobby by James Belushi and Judith Belushi Pisano. Among those present at the ceremony were Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, and Tom Arnold.
In 2006, Biography Channel aired the "John Belushi" episode of Final 24, a documentary following Belushi in the last 24 hours leading to his death. In 2010, Biography aired a full biography documentation of the life of "John Belushi".
Filmography
* Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle (1975) (voice) (1979 American dubbed version)
* Animal House (1978)
* The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978)
* Goin' South (1978)
* Old Boyfriends (1979)
* 1941 (1979)
* The Blues Brothers (1980)
* Continental Divide (1981)
* Neighbors (1981)
SNL characters and impersonations
This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2010)
Recurring characters
* Samurai Futaba
* Captain Ned, one of Miles Cowperthwaite's cronies
* Jacob Papageorge alias 'Joliet' Jake Blues, from the Blues Brothers
* Jeff Widette, from the Widettes
* Kevin (from The Mall sketches)
* Kuldorth (from The Coneheads)
* Larry Farber (one half of the Farber couple )
* Lowell Brock, from the H&L Brock commercials
* Matt Cooper, from the Land Shark sketches
* Pete, from the Olympia Cafe
* Steve Beshekas (who was in real life a good friend of Belushi's since community college)
* Frank Leary, one of St. Mickey's Knights of Columbus
Celebrity impersonations
* Al Hirt
* Babe Ruth
* Bert Lance
* Cesar Romero
* Dino De Laurentiis
* Ed Ames
* Ed Asner
* Elizabeth Taylor
* Elvis Presley
* Franklin D. Roosevelt
* Fred Silverman
* George Wallace
* Henry Kissinger
* Hermann Göring
* Jack Kerouac
* Jawaharlal Nehru
* Jimmy Hoffa
* Joe Cocker
* John Lennon
* Julia Child
* Leonid Brezhnev
* Ludwig van Beethoven
* Marlon Brando
* Menachim Begin
* Richard Daley
* Robert Blake
* Roy Orbison
* Sam Peckinpah
* Sanjay Gandhi
* Steve Rubell
* Sun Myung Moon
* Tip O'Neill
* Truman Capote
* Vasiliy Alekseyev
* William Shatner
* Woody Hayes
* Yasser Arafat
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u54/judithdelrio/Belushi.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb60/ofhsfootball/John%20Belushi/thjohnbelushi.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/05/10 at 6:43 am
The person who died on this day...John Belushi
John Adam Belushi (pronounced /bɨˈluːʃi/; January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and musician notable for his work on Saturday Night Live, National Lampoon's Animal House, and The Blues Brothers. He was the older brother of James Belushi.
John Belushi was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Agnes Belushi (née Samaras), a first generation Albanian-American, and Adam Belushi (b. 1919), an Albanian immigrant and restaurant operator who left his native village, Qytezë, in 1934 at the age of sixteen. The family's name at the time of immigration was Bellios, or Belliors. Belushi was raised in the Albanian Orthodox church and grew up outside Chicago in Wheaton with a brother Jim, five-and-a-half years his junior. He attended Wheaton Central High School, where he met his future wife, Judy Jacklin, and was a middle linebacker for the school's football team.
He attended the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater and the College of DuPage near Chicago.
Career
Belushi's first big break as a comedian occurred in 1971, when he joined The Second City comedy troupe in Chicago. Thanks to a caricature of singer Joe Cocker's intense and jerky stage presence, he was cast in National Lampoon's Lemmings, a parody of Woodstock, which played Off-Broadway in 1972 and also showcased future Saturday Night Live (SNL) performers Chevy Chase and Christopher Guest.
From 1973 to 1975, National Lampoon Inc. aired The National Lampoon Radio Hour, a half-hour comedy program syndicated across the country on approximately 600 stations. When original director Michael O'Donoghue quit in 1974, Belushi took over the reins until the show was canceled. Other players on the show included future SNL regulars Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray and Chevy Chase. Belushi married Judy Jacklin (Judy Pisano), an associate producer of The Radio Hour. A number of comic segments first performed on The Radio Hour would be translated into SNL sketches in the show's early seasons.
1975-1979
Belushi achieved national fame for his work on Saturday Night Live, which he joined as an original cast member in 1975. Between seasons of the show, he made one of his best-known movies, Animal House. As several Belushi biographies have noted, on John's 30th birthday (in 1979), he had the number one film in the U.S. (Animal House), the number one album in the U.S. (The Blues Brothers: Briefcase Full of Blues) and Saturday Night Live was the highest-rated late night television program. In the toga party scene in the basement of the fraternity house in Animal House, the uncredited coed dancing with Bluto (Belushi) is his wife. While filming Animal House, Belushi made an appearance at Ithaca College in 1976. When introduced, he came onstage with a chainsaw and cut up the podium.
When interviewed for retrospectives on John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd told stories of John often finishing SNL rehearsals, shows or film shoots and, exhausted, simply walking unannounced into nearby homes of friends or strangers, scrounging around for food and often falling asleep, unable to be located for the following day's work. This was the impetus for the SNL horror-spoof sketch "The Thing That Wouldn't Leave", in which Belushi torments a couple (played by Jane Curtin and Bill Murray) in their home looking for snacks, newspapers and magazines to read, and taking control of their television. SNL also featured a short film by writer Tom Schiller called "Don't Look Back In Anger", where Belushi playing himself as an old man, visits the graves of his now-former cast-members, the last to survive. Ironically, Belushi was the first SNL cast member to die.
Belushi left Saturday Night Live in 1979 to pursue a film career. Belushi would make four more movies; three of them, 1941, Neighbors, and most notably The Blues Brothers were made with fellow SNL alumnus Dan Aykroyd.
Other movie projects
Dan Aykroyd wrote the roles of Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters and Emmett Fitz-Hume in Spies Like Us with Belushi in mind, and the roles were actually played by Belushi's former SNL castmates Bill Murray and Chevy Chase, respectively. Aykroyd used to joke that the green ghost Slimer in Ghostbusters was "the ghost of John Belushi", given that he had a similar party animal personality.
Released in September 1981, the romantic comedy Continental Divide starred Belushi as Chicago home town hero writer Ernie Souchack who gets put on assignment researching a scientist studying birds of prey in the remote rocky mountains. Belushi's character "Ernie Souchak" was loosely based on popular, now deceased Chicago columnist Mike Royko.
At the time of his death, Belushi was pursuing several movie projects, including Noble Rot, an adaptation of a script by former The Mary Tyler Moore Show writer/producer Jay Sandrich entitled Sweet Deception; noble rot is a benevolent fungus that can infect wine grapes on the vine, helping to produce high quality sweet wines. Belushi was rewriting the script with former Saturday Night Live colleague Don Novello.
Personal life
The "College" sweatshirt Belushi wore in National Lampoon's Animal House was purchased in Carbondale, Illinois, when his brother, Jim, was a student at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
According to writer/actor Tim Kazurinsky in the book Live From New York, mentor and close friend Belushi was instrumental in getting fellow Second City alumnus Kazurinsky onto Saturday Night Live in 1981. But during his run on the show, Kazurinsky became very stressed out by its demands. He later called Belushi and said that he needed a ride to the airport because he was quitting and moving back to Chicago. Belushi and his wife picked him up but refused to bring him to the airport, at which Belushi told Kazurinsky that the show's atmosphere can get bad, but that he still had access to major broadcasting airwaves. Instead, Belushi took the performer to a psychiatrist whom he saw for a year, while staying with the show during his run.
It was Belushi who recruited the band Fear and brought them to Cherokee Studios to record songs for the soundtrack of Neighbors, a film he and Aykroyd were starring in. Music producing partners Steve Cropper and Bruce Robb remember recording the music, but nobody knows exactly what happened with the final soundtrack, which was ultimately replaced in the film by a traditional movie score. Cherokee Studios was a regular haunt for the original Blues Brothers back in the early days of the band. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd became fixtures at the recording studio, while fellow Blues Brother and guitar player Steve Cropper called Cherokee his producing home. Whenever they needed a bass player, they were joined by another Blues Brother, Donald "Duck" Dunn. During this time, Cropper along with producing partner and Cherokee owner Bruce Robb worked on a number of music projects with the two comedian/musicians, the band Fear and later Aykroyd's movie "Dragnet." "What can I say? John was excessively talented, and I guess you could say he sort of lived life 'excessively.' I think what happened to John had a sobering effect on a lot of people, me included," said music producer Bruce Robb.
Belushi was generous to his friends and family, often lending them money when they asked. He bought his father a ranch near San Diego, and helped set up his old friends in Chicago with their own businesses. He helped his brother Jim find a spot at Second City, where he himself acted in the early days of his career. His generous side also showed during his time in the Blues Brothers; he often played songs by blues artists he thought could use the money from the royalties.
Death
Question book-new.svg
This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2009)
On March 5, 1982, Belushi was found dead in his room at Bungalow #3 of the Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. The cause of death was a speedball, a combined injection of cocaine and heroin. On the night of his death, he was visited separately by friends Robin Williams (at the height of his own drug exploits) and Robert De Niro, each of whom left the premises, leaving Belushi in the company of assorted others, including Cathy Smith. His death was investigated by forensic pathologist Dr. Ryan Norris among others, and while the findings were disputed, it was officially ruled a drug-related accident.
Two months later, Smith admitted in an interview with the National Enquirer that she had been with Belushi the night of his death and had given him the fatal speedball shot. After the appearance of the article "I Killed Belushi" in the Enquirer edition of June 29, 1982, the case was reopened. Smith was extradited from Toronto, arrested and charged with first-degree murder. A plea bargain arrangement reduced the charges to involuntary manslaughter, and she served 15 months in prison.
In one of Belushi's last TV appearances, he filmed a cameo for the comedy series Police Squad!. At the suggestion of the show's producer, Robert K. Weiss, Belushi was filmed, face down in a swimming pool, dead. The footage was part of a running gag where the episode's guest-star would not survive past the opening credit sequence without meeting some gruesome end. Also, as noted in one of the commentary tracks on the DVD, John nearly drowned during the filming of the scene. The scene never aired.
Belushi and his friend Dan Aykroyd were slated to present the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 54th Academy Awards, an event held less than four weeks after his death. Aykroyd presented the award alone, commenting on the stage "My partner would have loved to have been here to present this award, given that he was something of a visual effect himself."
Belushi is interred in Abel's Hill Cemetery on Martha's Vineyard Chilmark, Massachusetts. His tombstone reads "He Gave Us Laughter." His gravestone is not above his body. It was moved after operators of the cemetery had found many signs of vandalism and rowdiness where his body lies. He also has a cenotaph at Elmwood Cemetery in River Grove, Illinois.
Tributes
This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2010)
John Belushi's life is detailed in the 1985 biography Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi by Bob Woodward. Many friends and relatives of Belushi, including his wife Judy, Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi, agreed to be interviewed at length for the book, but later felt the final product was exploitative and not representative of the John Belushi they knew. The book was later adapted into a feature film in which Belushi was played by Michael Chiklis. Belushi's friends and family boycotted the film, which proved to be critical and caused the movie to be a box-office flop.
The Grateful Dead performed the song "West L.A. Fadeaway" beginning in late 1982. The song, penned by long time lyricist Robert Hunter and sung by Jerry Garcia, contains fairly explicit references to Belushi's death, especially the line "Looking for a chateau, 21 rooms but one will do."
Belushi was portrayed by actors Eric Siegel in Gilda Radner: It's Always Something, Tyler Labine in Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Mork & Mindy (which also features his friendship with Robin Williams), and Michael Chiklis in Wired.
His widow later remarried and is now Judith Belushi Pisano. Her biography (with co-biographer Tanner Colby) of John, Belushi: A Biography is a collection of first-person interviews and photographs, and was published in 2005.
On April 1, 2004, 22 years after his death, Belushi was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, after a ten-year lobby by James Belushi and Judith Belushi Pisano. Among those present at the ceremony were Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, and Tom Arnold.
In 2006, Biography Channel aired the "John Belushi" episode of Final 24, a documentary following Belushi in the last 24 hours leading to his death. In 2010, Biography aired a full biography documentation of the life of "John Belushi".
Filmography
* Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle (1975) (voice) (1979 American dubbed version)
* Animal House (1978)
* The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978)
* Goin' South (1978)
* Old Boyfriends (1979)
* 1941 (1979)
* The Blues Brothers (1980)
* Continental Divide (1981)
* Neighbors (1981)
SNL characters and impersonations
This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2010)
Recurring characters
* Samurai Futaba
* Captain Ned, one of Miles Cowperthwaite's cronies
* Jacob Papageorge alias 'Joliet' Jake Blues, from the Blues Brothers
* Jeff Widette, from the Widettes
* Kevin (from The Mall sketches)
* Kuldorth (from The Coneheads)
* Larry Farber (one half of the Farber couple )
* Lowell Brock, from the H&L Brock commercials
* Matt Cooper, from the Land Shark sketches
* Pete, from the Olympia Cafe
* Steve Beshekas (who was in real life a good friend of Belushi's since community college)
* Frank Leary, one of St. Mickey's Knights of Columbus
Celebrity impersonations
* Al Hirt
* Babe Ruth
* Bert Lance
* Cesar Romero
* Dino De Laurentiis
* Ed Ames
* Ed Asner
* Elizabeth Taylor
* Elvis Presley
* Franklin D. Roosevelt
* Fred Silverman
* George Wallace
* Henry Kissinger
* Hermann Göring
* Jack Kerouac
* Jawaharlal Nehru
* Jimmy Hoffa
* Joe Cocker
* John Lennon
* Julia Child
* Leonid Brezhnev
* Ludwig van Beethoven
* Marlon Brando
* Menachim Begin
* Richard Daley
* Robert Blake
* Roy Orbison
* Sam Peckinpah
* Sanjay Gandhi
* Steve Rubell
* Sun Myung Moon
* Tip O'Neill
* Truman Capote
* Vasiliy Alekseyev
* William Shatner
* Woody Hayes
* Yasser Arafat
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u54/judithdelrio/Belushi.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb60/ofhsfootball/John%20Belushi/thjohnbelushi.jpg
A sad loss to the movie and comedy industry.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/05/10 at 8:00 am
http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/%A5Artist%20GIF%20Images/Teena-Marie-Colour-99.jpg
It is also Teena Marie's birthday who was born March 5th,She's 54 today.
Happy Birthday. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/05/10 at 8:02 am
The person born on this day...Andy Gibb
Andy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was a British/Australian singer, teen idol, and the youngest brother of the members who formed the Bee Gees, Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb.
Born Andrew Roy Gibb in Manchester, England, to Barbara (née Pass) and Hugh Gibb, Gibb emigrated with his family to Australia six months after his birth. They settled in Cribb Island, adjacent to Redcliffe, north of Brisbane. He was the youngest of five children and had one older sister, Lesley (1945), and three older brothers, Barry (1946) and twins Maurice (22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) and Robin (1949).
Gibb began playing at tourist clubs around Spain's coastal Island of Ibiza, and later on the Isle of Man, as a young teenager.
After returning to Australia in 1975, Gibb began recording a series of his own compositions, one of which was released as a single on the ATA label, owned by Australian performer, Col Joye. "Words and Music" would eventually reach Top Five on the Sydney music charts in 1976. Robert Stigwood who, at the time, was also the Bee Gees' manager signed Gibb to his label, RSO Records. Gibb soon moved to Miami Beach, Florida to begin working on songs with his brother Barry, and co-producers Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson.
Prior to leaving Australia, Gibb had married his girlfriend, Kim Reeder. They had one child, a daughter named Peta Jaye, born 25 January 1978, but the couple was already separated at the time of Peta's birth and would divorce later that year. Gibb reportedly met his daughter only once, in 1981. As of 2007 Peta is known as Peta J. Reeder-Gibb and breeds Staffordshire Bull Terriers as well as being a respected dog show judge in New South Wales, Australia. Peta married Matt Weber on January 19, 2008.
Number 1 hits
The single cover of "I Just Want To Be Your Everything"
In the United States, Gibb became the first male solo artist to chart three consecutive Number One singles on the Billboard Hot 100. In July 1977, he had his first major hit, "I Just Want to Be Your Everything", a song written by his brother Barry, just as his first album Flowing Rivers broke into the US Top 20, on its way to selling over a million copies. The album's second single "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" broke in early 1978 during the time the BeeGee's contributions to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, replacing "Stayin' Alive" at the top of the US charts, and then surpassed by "Night Fever" when it reached number one in mid-March.
Gibb then began work with the Gibb-Galuten-Richardson production team on his second album Shadow Dancing, which was released in April 1978. The title track, written by all four Gibb brothers, was released as a single in the US in April 1978, and in mid-June began a seven week run at number one, achieving platinum status. Two further Top Ten singles, "An Everlasting Love" (which reached number five) and "(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away" (which reached number nine), a song also released by his brothers (in 1979), were released from the album, which became another million seller.
In 1979, Gibb performed, along with the Bee Gees, ABBA, and Olivia Newton-John (duet with "Rest Your Love On Me"), at the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly, broadcast worldwide.
He returned to the studio to begin recording sessions for his final full studio album, After Dark. In March 1980, the last of Gibb's Top Ten singles charted just ahead of the album's release. "Desire", was recorded for the Bee Gees' 1979 album Spirits Having Flown, and featured their original track complete with Andy's original "guest vocal" track. A second single, "I Can't Help It", a duet with family friend Olivia Newton-John, reached the Top Twenty.
Later in the year, Andy Gibb's Greatest Hits was released as a finale to his contract with RSO Records, with two new songs: "Time Is Time" (number 15 in January 1981) and "Me (Without You)" (Gibb's last Top Forty chart entry) shipped as singles. "After Dark" and "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" were non single songs added to the album, the latter of which was a duet with PP Arnold, who had previously worked with Barry Gibb, including singing uncredited backups on, "Bury Me Down By The River" from Cucumber Castle.
Career Stall-out
During his relationship with Victoria Principal, Gibb worked on several projects outside of the recording studio. These included performances in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on Broadway, Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance in Los Angeles, and a stint from 1980-1982 as co-host of the television music show Solid Gold. He was fired from both Dreamcoat and Solid Gold due to absenteeism.
According to Broadway producer Zev Bufman, who financed Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat: "When Andy was at the theater, he was a joy. But he wasn't there enough", adding that of the five people to play Joseph up to that point, Gibb was the best actor. He also said after Gibb's death, "e'd lose him over long weekends. He'd come back on Tuesday, and he'd look beat. He was like a little puppy — so ashamed when he did something wrong. He was all heart, but he didn't have enough muscle to carry through." An unnamed co-star in Dreamcoat was quoted as saying, "I hear he spent most of his time in his hotel room in front of the TV. I guess he was frightened and insecure. That's what happens when you're the baby brother of the Bee Gees." Commenting after Gibb's death, Solid Gold producer Brad Lachman was of a similar sentiment: "... was a very charming, vulnerable and charismatic performer. He clearly meant well. He wasn't being difficult. He was going through problems he couldn't deal with. He wanted everyone to love him. He had so much going for him, and he just couldn't believe it."
His romance with Principal also ended shortly thereafter, but not before he recorded and released a duet of the Everly Brothers' "All I Have To Do Is Dream", in the summer of 1981. This would be Gibb's last official single, and his last US chart entry, peaking at number 51.
His family convinced him to seek treatment for his drug addiction; after a stint at the Betty Ford Clinic in the mid-1980s, Gibb toured small venues with a stage show of his greatest hits and covers. He also appeared in guest-starring roles on several television situation comedies including Gimme A Break! and Punky Brewster. Following an expansive East Asia tour, he regularly performed shows in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. In 1984 he was the headline performer at the Viña del Mar Festival in Chile, performing two nights in a row. He also held a two-week engagement at San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel in March 1986. Gibb declared bankruptcy.
Gibb returned to work alongside brothers Barry and Maurice. Their series of demo recordings with engineer Scott Glasel would eventually secure him a contract with the UK branch of Island Records. One of the demos, "Man On Fire", was released posthumously on a self-titled 1991 Polydor anthology. Another demo, "Arrow Through The Heart" (though unreleased to the present day), would be featured on an episode of VH1's series Behind the Music. It will be available for the first time on his brothers' upcoming Bee Gees Mythology collection, due to be released in 2010.
Death
In March 1988, Gibb celebrated his 30th birthday in London while working on a new album. Soon after, he entered John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, complaining of chest pains. He died on March 10, 1988, just five days after his 30th birthday as a result of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle due to a recent viral infection. Just before Gibb's death, it was decided by the group that Andy would join them, which would have made the group a quartet. This did not come to pass, however. The Bee Gees' following album, One (1989), featured a song dedicated to Andy, "Wish You Were Here". Andy Gibb is entombed at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. His father, Hugh, died four years later and was also buried there.
Discography
Studio albums
Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)
US US R&B CAN UK SWE NOR NZ
1977 Flowing Rivers
* First studio album
* Release date: September 1977
* Label: RSO Records
19 — 9 — 4 — —
* US certification: Platinum
* CAN certification: Gold
1978 Shadow Dancing
* Second studio album
* Release date: April 1978
* Label: RSO Records
7 18 1 15 42 8 15
* US certification: Platinum
* CAN: certification: Platinum
* UK certification: Silver
1980 After Dark
* Third studio album
* Release date: February 1980
* Label: RSO Records
21 67 24 — 23 21 —
* US certification: Gold
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
Compilations
Year Album details Peak positions
US
1980 Andy Gibb's Greatest Hits
* Release date: 1980
* Label: RSO Records
46
1991 Greatest Hits Collection
* Release date: 1991
* Label: Polydor Records
—
2001 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection
* Release date: August 14, 2001
* Label: Polydor Records
—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
Singles
Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US US AC US R&B NZ UK AUS
1976 "Words and Music" — — — 29 — 78 Non-album song
1977 "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" 1 8 19 2 26 1 Flowing Rivers
"(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" 1 18 — 25 — 13
1978 "Shadow Dancing" 1 8 11 5 42 11 Shadow Dancing
"An Everlasting Love" 5 8 — 28 10 57
"(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away" 9 2 — 27 32 61
1980 "Desire" 4 — 49 38 — 90 After Dark
"I Can't Help It" (with Olivia Newton-John) 12 8 — — — 62
"Time Is Time" 15 29 — — — — Andy Gibb's Greatest Hits
1981 "Me (Without You)" 40 45 — — — —
"All I Have to Do Is Dream" (with Victoria Principal) 51 25 — — — — Non-album song
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w219/debbers1979/6731_andy_gibb_03.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh240/tweety36c/andy_collage.jpg
My favorites were Shadow Dancing and Love is Thicker Than Water.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/05/10 at 8:13 am
http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/%A5Artist%20GIF%20Images/Teena-Marie-Colour-99.jpg
It is also Teena Marie's birthday who was born March 5th,She's 54 today.
Happy Birthday. :)
Any more information on her?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/05/10 at 8:16 am
Any more information on her?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teena_Marie
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/05/10 at 8:20 am
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teena_Marie
Teena Marie (born Mary Christine Brockert on March 5, 1956) is an American Grammy Award-nominated singer–songwriter–producer. Marie, nicknamed Lady Tee,(sometimes spelled Lady T), is a protegée of late funk legend Rick James, and is notable as one of the few successful white performers of R&B. She sings R&B with strong, robust vocals and plays rhythm guitar, keyboards and congas. She also has written, produced, sung and arranged virtually all of her songs since her 1980 release Irons in the Fire. She has quoted this as being her favorite album. She has a daughter named Alia Rose who, as of 2009, sings under the name Rose Le Beau
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/05/10 at 8:26 am
Teena Marie (born Mary Christine Brockert on March 5, 1956) is an American Grammy Award-nominated singer–songwriter–producer. Marie, nicknamed Lady Tee,(sometimes spelled Lady T), is a protegée of late funk legend Rick James, and is notable as one of the few successful white performers of R&B. She sings R&B with strong, robust vocals and plays rhythm guitar, keyboards and congas. She also has written, produced, sung and arranged virtually all of her songs since her 1980 release Irons in the Fire. She has quoted this as being her favorite album. She has a daughter named Alia Rose who, as of 2009, sings under the name Rose Le Beau
Government also put out a Brockert Law.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/05/10 at 4:46 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqCmGQKmGnw
Man, I listen to that song and it takes me back to another place, another time.
I remember where I was when I heard about John Belushi-I was in basic training my TI (Training Instructor) told us and I thought that it couldn't be real because basic training didn't seem real at all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgtUrYtEkI0
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 03/05/10 at 8:09 pm
My favorites were Shadow Dancing and Love is Thicker Than Water.
His albums were one othe first I ever purchased. Liked his stuff. It's in the genes, I guess.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/06/10 at 7:31 am
The word of the day...Wall
A wall is one of the vertical sides of a building or room.
A wall is a long narrow vertical structure made of stone or brick that surrounds or divides an area of land.
The wall of something that is hollow is its side.
A wall of something is a large amount of it forming a high vertical barrier.
You can describe something as a wall of a particular kind when it acts as a barrier and prevents people from understanding something.
http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu221/spaceinthewall/xx3.jpg
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm291/humanbeatmachine/thegetbacks_wall.gif
http://i958.photobucket.com/albums/ae66/NakedGirl7/wall.jpg
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg368/will_f_07/brickscopy.jpg
http://i448.photobucket.com/albums/qq209/lilremie1996/wall-e.jpg
http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/zz336/HugoMGM/Wall-E1cpia.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n161/mjfoster77/DSC02573.jpg
http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv267/kaysnave/DSCN3339.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/06/10 at 7:37 am
The person born on this day...David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour CBE (born 6 March 1946) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist, lead singer, and one of the main songwriters in the rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a record producer for a variety of artists, and has enjoyed a successful career as a solo artist. Gilmour has been actively involved with many charity organizations over the course of his career. In 2003, he was appointed CBE for services to music and philanthropy and was awarded with the Outstanding Contribution title at the 2008 Q Awards.
Gilmour was approached in late December 1967 by drummer Nick Mason, who asked if he would be interested in joining Pink Floyd, which he did in January 1968, making Pink Floyd briefly a five-piece band. He was used to fill in for Syd Barrett's guitar parts when the front man was unable to take a consistent part in Floyd's live performances. When Syd Barrett "left" the group (due to his erratic behaviour, the band chose not to pick Barrett up one night for a gig ), Gilmour by default assumed the role of the band's lead guitarist and shared lead vocal duties with bassist Roger Waters and keyboard player Richard Wright in Barrett's stead. However, after the back-to-back successes of The Dark Side of the Moon and then Wish You Were Here, Waters took more control over the band, writing most of Animals and The Wall by himself. Wright was fired during The Wall sessions and the relationship between Gilmour and Waters would further deteriorate during the making of The Wall film and the 1983 Pink Floyd album The Final Cut.
After recording "Animals", Gilmour thought that his musical influence had been underused, and channelled his ideas into his self-titled first solo album (1978), which showcases his signature guitar style, as well as underscoring his songwriting skills. A tune written during the finishing stages of this album, but too late to be used, became "Comfortably Numb" on The Wall.
Gilmour performing in Brussels in 1984, on his About Face tour
The negative atmosphere surrounding the creation of The Wall album and film, compounded by The Final Cut's virtually being a Roger Waters solo album, led Gilmour to produce his second solo album About Face in 1984. He used it to express his feelings about a range of topics, from the murder of John Lennon, to his relationship with Waters. He has since admitted that he also used the album to distance himself from Pink Floyd. He toured Europe and the US along with support act The Television Personalities, who later disappeared from the line-up after revealing Syd Barrett's address on stage. Mason and Wright also played on the UK leg of the tour, which despite some cancellations eventually turned a profit. When he returned from touring, Gilmour played guitar with a range of artists, and also produced The Dream Academy, who had a top ten hit with "Life in a Northern Town".
In 1985, Waters declared that Pink Floyd was "a spent force creatively". However, in 1986, Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason issued a press release stating that Waters had quit the band and they intended to continue without him. Gilmour assumed full control of the group and produced A Momentary Lapse of Reason in 1987 with some contributions from Mason and Richard Wright. Wright officially rejoined the band after the release of the album for a lengthy world tour and helped create 1994's The Division Bell as well. Gilmour explained:
“ I had a number of problems with the direction of the band in our recent past, before Roger left. I thought the songs were very wordy and that, because the specific meanings of those words were so important, the music became a mere vehicle for lyrics, and not a very inspiring one. Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here were so successful not just because of Roger's contributions, but also because there was a better balance between the music and the lyrics than there has been in more recent albums. That's what I'm trying to do with A Momentary Lapse of Reason; more focus on the music, restore the balance. ”
In 1986, Gilmour purchased the houseboat Astoria which is moored on the River Thames near Hampton Court, and transformed it into a recording studio. The majority of the two most recent Pink Floyd albums, as well as Gilmour's 2006 solo release On an Island, were recorded there.
On 2 July 2005, Gilmour played with Pink Floyd — including Roger Waters — at Live 8. The performance caused a temporary 1343% sales increase of Pink Floyd's album Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd. Gilmour donated all of his resulting profits to charities that reflect the goals of Live 8 saying:
Gilmour at Live 8 in July 2005
“ Though the main objective has been to raise consciousness and put pressure on the G8 leaders, I will not profit from the concert. This is money that should be used to save lives. ”
Shortly after, he called upon all artists experiencing a surge in sales from Live 8 performances to donate the extra revenue to Live 8 fund-raising. After the Live 8 concert, Pink Floyd were offered £150 million to tour the United States, but the band turned down the offer.
On 3 February 2006, he announced in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that Pink Floyd would most likely never tour or write material together again. He said:
“ I think enough is enough. I am 60 years old. I don't have the will to work as much anymore. Pink Floyd was an important part in my life, I have had a wonderful time, but it's over. For me it's much less complicated to work alone. ”
He said that by agreeing to Live 8, he had ensured the story of Floyd would not end on a sour note.
“ There was more than one reason, firstly to support the cause. The second one is the energy consuming an uncomfortable relationship between Roger and me that I was carrying along in my heart. That is why we wanted to perform and to leave the trash behind. Thirdly, I might have regretted it if I declined. ”
On 20 February 2006, Gilmour commented again on Pink Floyd's future when he was interviewed by Billboard.com, stating, "Who knows? I have no plans at all to do that. My plans are to do my concerts and put my solo record out."
In December 2006, Gilmour released a tribute to Syd Barrett, who had died in July that year, in the form of his own version of Pink Floyd's first single "Arnold Layne". Recorded live at London's Royal Albert Hall, the CD single featured versions of the song performed by Pink Floyd's keyboard player (and Gilmour's band member) Richard Wright and special guest artist David Bowie. The single entered the UK Top 75 charts at number nineteen and remained steady for three weeks.
Since their Live 8 appearance in 2005, Gilmour has repeatedly said that there will be no Pink Floyd reunion. However, in a 2007 interview with Phil Manzanera, he stated that he's "not done with it yet" and that he plans on doing "something" in the future. With the death of Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright in September 2008, another reunion of the core group members became impossible. Gilmour said of Wright: "In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick's enormous input was frequently forgotten. He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound. Like Rick, I don't find it easy to express my feelings in words, but I loved him and will miss him enormously. I have never played with anyone quite like him."
Other projects
Taking time off from Pink Floyd's schedule, Gilmour also took up various roles as a producer, sideman and even concert sound engineer for a wide variety of acts which included former bandmate Syd Barrett, Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, Grace Jones, Tom Jones, Elton John, B. B. King, Seal, Sam Brown, Jools Holland, Bob Dylan, Pete Townshend, The Who, Supertramp, Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Alan Parsons, and various charity groups among others.
In 1985, Gilmour was member of Bryan Ferry's band. He played on Ferry's album Boys and Girls, as well as the song "Is Your Love Strong Enough" for the U.S. release of the Ridley Scott-Tom Cruise film Legend. A music video for the latter was created, incorporating Ferry and Gilmour into footage from the film (released as a bonus on the 2002 "Ultimate Edition" DVD release). Later that year, Gilmour played with Ferry at the London Live Aid concert; his first meeting with Ferry's keyboard player Jon Carin, later to tour with Pink Floyd.
David Gilmour also took part in a comedy skit titled "The Easy Guitar Book Sketch" with comedian Rowland Rivron and fellow British musicians Mark Knopfler, Lemmy from Motorhead, Mark King from Level 42, and Gary Moore. Guitar tech Phil Taylor explained in an interview that Knopfler used Gilmour's guitar rig and managed to sound like himself when performing in the skit.
He has also recorded four solo albums, all four of which charted in the U.S. Top 40 (2006's On an Island peaked at #6 in 2006, 2008's Live in Gdansk peaked at #26, his 1978 self-titled solo debut peaked at #29 in 1978 and 1984's About Face peaked at #32 in 1984) thus making him the only member of Pink Floyd to have a commercially successful solo career.
In 1994, Gilmour played guitar for the video game Tuneland, along with the additional saxophonist for Pink Floyd, Scott Page.
In 2001 and 2002, he held a small number of acoustic solo concerts in London and Paris, along with a small band and choir, which was documented on the In Concert release. In 2003, Rolling Stone included Gilmour in the list of hundred greatest guitarists of all time.
On 24 September 2004, Gilmour performed a three song set (tracks 28-30) at The Strat Pack concert at London's Wembley Arena, marking the 50th anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster guitar.
On 6 March 2006, his 60th birthday, he released his third solo album, On an Island, and a day later it was released in the US; it debuted at #1 in the UK charts. The album reached the top five in Germany and Sweden, and the top six in Billboard 200. Produced by Gilmour along with Phil Manzanera and Chris Thomas, the album features orchestrations by renowned Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner. The album features David Crosby and Graham Nash on harmonies on the title track, Robert Wyatt on cornet and percussion and Richard Wright on Hammond organ and vocals. Other contributors include Jools Holland, Phil Manzanera, Georgie Fame, Andy Newmark, B. J. Cole, Chris Stainton, Willie Wilson, Rado ‘Bob’ Klose on guitar and Leszek Możdżer on piano. The album also features Gilmour's debut with the saxophone.
Gilmour toured Europe, US and Canada from 10 March to 31 May to promote On an Island. There were 10 shows in the US and Canadian leg of the tour. Pink Floyd alumnus Richard Wright, and frequent Floyd collaborators Dick Parry, Guy Pratt and Jon Carin also accompanied him on the tour. More shows were held in Europe during from July through August in 2006.
In a press release to promote the tour, David Gilmour stated:
“ "I'm rather hoping that with this tour announcement, people will believe me when I say, honestly, this is the only band I plan to tour with!". ”
On an Island peaked the UK charts by reaching number one. On 10 April 2006, the album was certified platinum in Canada, with sales of over 100,000 copies. The album also gave Gilmour his first US Top 10 album as a solo artist.
A video recording of a show from Gilmour's solo tour, entitled Remember That Night - Live At The Royal Albert Hall was released on 17 September 2007. The double DVD, directed by David Mallet, contains over five hours of footage, including an on-the-road documentary and guest appearances by David Bowie and Robert Wyatt. The two and a half hour concert features band members Richard Wright of Pink Floyd, Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music, Steve DiStanislao on drums, and various Pink Floyd regulars such as Dick Parry, Guy Pratt and Jon Carin. The 20-page booklet accompanying the DVD, features over 80 photos selected from studio recording and touring. The album is now available on Hi-Definition Blu-ray Disc with Dolby TrueHD surround sound. As TrueHD is not a mandatory format for Blu-ray players, and the disc carries no other surround channel, some players will only play it in stereo.
The final show of David Gilmour's On an Island tour was held at the Gdańsk Shipyard on 26 August 2006. The concert was held before a huge crowd of 50,000, and marked the twenty-sixth anniversary of Poland's 1980 revolution. The concert was notable for the inclusion of "A Great Day For Freedom" as part of the encore.
The show was recorded resulting in a live album and DVD release; Live in Gdańsk. The concert was the only occasion on which Gilmour performed the tour material with an orchestra, using the 40-strong string section of the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Zbigniew Preisner, who was responsible for On An Island's orchestral arrangements.
On 25 May 2009, he participated in a concert held at Union Chapel in Islington, London. The concert was of part of the 'Hidden Gigs' campaign against hidden homelessness that is organized by the Crisis, a UK-based national charity for people homelessness. There he appeared in a collaboration with the Malian musicians Amadou and Mariam.
On 4 July 2009, he joined his friend Jeff Beck onstage at the Royal Albert Hall. David and Jeff traded solos on Jerusalem and closed the show with Hi Ho Silver Lining.
In August 2009, he released an online single, Chicago - Change the World, on which he sang and played guitar, bass and keyboards, to promote awareness of the plight of Gary McKinnon. A re-titled cover of the Graham Nash song Chicago, it featured Chrissie Hynde and Bob Geldof, plus McKinnon himself. It was produced by long-time Pink Floyd collaborator Chris Thomas.. A video was also posted on-line.
Musical style
Gilmour is best known for his lead guitar work. Gilmour's solo style is often characterised by blues-influenced phrasing, expressive note bends and sustain. In 2005, Gilmour was rated the 82nd greatest guitarist by Rolling Stone. The website Digital Dream Door ranked Gilmour as the fourteenth greatest rock guitarist. In January 2007, Guitar World readers voted Gilmour's solos, "Comfortably Numb", "Time" and "Money" into the top 100 Greatest Guitar Solos ("Comfortably Numb" was voted the 4th greatest solo of all time , "Time" was voted the 21st greatest solo of all time and "Money" was voted the 62nd greatest solo of all time .
In his early career with Pink Floyd, Gilmour played a multitude of Fender Stratocasters. One of his popular guitar solos ("Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2") was played on a Gibson Les Paul Gold Top guitar equipped with Bigsby tremolo bar and P-90 pickups. In 1996, Gilmour was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. Gilmour's solo on "Comfortably Numb" was voted as one of the greatest guitar solos of all time in several polls by listeners and critics.
Although mainly known for his guitar work, Gilmour is also a proficient multi-instrumentalist. He also plays bass guitar (which he did on some Pink Floyd tracks), keyboards, banjo, harmonica, drums (as heard on the Syd Barrett solo track "Dominoes", and other songs where he opted to play all the instruments) and lately, the saxophone.
The following is a list of equipment Gilmour either has used on his solo or Pink Floyd recordings, as well as on current or previous tours.
Guitars
* Fender
o Stratocaster
+ His main guitar, much modified over the years, is a (1969) 3-colour Sunburst Fender Stratocaster painted over with black as well with a black pickguard and white-coloured pickup covers and knobs, currently with a vintage 1957 reissue "V shape" maple neck. This neck came from his guitar that he used on the About Face tour. It also includes a small toggle switch that combines the neck and bridge pickups (Note this guitar was for brief time fitted with a Kahler locking tremolo system, the system was subsequently un-installed and the removed wood filled with a replacement piece of timber and repainted to match as can be noted by close examination of the guitar behind its reinstalled Fender tremolo). This guitar has a Seymour Duncan SSL-1 bridge pickup, and currently has a strap which once belonged to Jimi Hendrix.
+ His main guitar for the post-Roger Waters era Pink Floyd tours in support of A Momentary Lapse of Reason, Delicate Sound of Thunder (dubbed "Another Lapse") and The Division Bell was a Candy Apple Red '57 reissue (made in 1984) fitted with a set of EMG SA active pickups with the two standard tone controls replaced with an EMG SPC mid boost control, and an EXG treble/bass expander (which cuts the mids while boosting bass and treble). On the On an Island tour it was used every night of the tour on "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".
+ Gilmour is the owner of Strat #0001. However, this is not the first Stratocaster ever made, but the first to be given a serial number. It was last seen at the Strat Pack Concert in Wembley Arena in 2004.
+ Cream coloured '57 reissue. Used at 1984 solo tour and at the early parts of the 1987-1990 tour. In the 1994 tour it was used as spare guitar. Tim Renwick played it with David and the rest of Pink Floyd at their Live 8 set. This Strat was fitted with the same EMG set of pickups and tone circuits as the aforementioned Candy Apple Red '57 reissue and after its use at Live 8, the cream finished guitar's neck was transferred to David's main Black Strat.
+ '57 Lake Placid Blue. (Serial number #0040). Used at The Wall sessions.
+ Double-neck Stratocaster (body was custom made by guitar builder Dick Knight, but the necks were Fender strat necks. Used live (1970-72).
+ Sunburst Stratocaster. '63 rosewood neck with '59 body. This guitar was given to David by Steve Marriott of Humble Pie and the Small Faces, and though David didn't like the guitar enough to use it very long, he preferred the neck to the original one on his black Strat and switched the two. The sunburst Strat was used as his spare and slide guitar in subsequent years (sporting the maple cap neck with a large headstock from the black Strat), and the rosewood neck remained on the black Strat until 1978.
+ White with white pickguard. Used in the late 1960s. Received as a gift from the rest of the band. Stolen in equipment heist in 1970.
+ Gilmour also used a strat equipped with the Doug Wilkes 'Answer' sliding pickup system on the 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' recording.
+ Doug Wilkes also built Gilmour a Precision-style single pickup bass, which was also used on the 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' sessions.
o Telecaster
+ Blonde body with white pickguard. Used on the On an Island tour.
+ '52 Butterscotch Reissues with black pickguard. Used between 1987 and 1995. The first guitar was tuned in Dropped D rather than a standard tuning and was used for "Run Like Hell". The second served as a backup instrument and had a regular guitar tuning. Gilmour used this guitar for Astronomy Domine.
+ '59 Custom Telecaster with sunburst ash body, white binding on the body, rosewood fingerboard, and a white pickguard. There was a Gibson Humbucker placed in the Neck position at a brief point but was removed before it was used on the Animals' recording sessions. Last seen on rehearsals during the On an Island tour.
+ '61 Telecaster used during The Wall recording sessions. Also used live in post-Waters era for "Run Like Hell". Last seen on the Syd Barrett memory concert in 2007.
+ 1960s brown-faded body. Used in the late 1960s.
+ 1960s blonde ash body with white pickguard. His main guitar during his first year with Pink Floyd, which was lost by an airline company in 1968, and prompted Gilmour to buy the brown-faded Telecaster.
o Esquire
+ '55 Sunburst body aka "The workmate Tele". Neck pickup added. Used at the recording sessions for his first solo album, The Wall recording session and the following tour. Also seen when performing with Paul McCartney in the late 1990s.
o Lap Steel guitars
+ 1950's Fender 1000 twin neck pedal steel. Used in the early 1970s, purchased from a pawn shop while Gilmour was in Seattle in 1970. Used during recording of "One of These Days" from "Meddle" and "Breathe" and "Great Gig in the Sky" from The Dark Side of the Moon.
+ Fender Deluxe lap steel. First time seen during The Division Bell tour in 1994.
o Fender Bass VI. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
o Fender Precision bass guitar
o Fender Jazz Bass. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
* Gibson
o A Gibson Les Paul Goldtop (P-90 pick-ups, Bigsby vibrato bridge). Used for the guitar solo on 'Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2.
o Gibson: EH150 Lap Steel guitar, "Chet Atkins" classical guitar, & J-200 Celebrity acoustic guitars.
* Gretsch Duo-Jet
* Bill Lewis 24-fret Guitar. Used at Meddle and Dark Side of the Moon recording sessions.
* Ovation.
o Ovation Legend 1619-4 steel string & high string guitars. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
o Ovation Legend 1613-4 nylon string guitar. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
o Ovation Magnum bass guitar. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
* Takamine acoustic guitar.
* Martin acoustic guitars.
o Martin D-35.
o Martin D12-28 12-string acoustic guitar.
o Martin D-18 acoustic.
* Taylor acoustics
* Guild F-512 "antique burst" 12-string guitar.
* Jose Vilaplana nylon string guitar
* Steinberger GL. His main guitar during A Momentary Lapse of Reason recording sessions.
* Charvel Fretless Fender Precision style bass guitar. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
* Music Man Fretless Stingray bass guitar. Used by Gilmour while running the house band at the 1991 Amnesty International concert, during Spinal Tap's performance on "Big Bottom". (All guitarists played bass on this song, and Gilmour played a solo.)
* Jedson lap steel guitars. One red (1977-tuned D-G-D-G-B-E for Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts 6-9, 1987-2006: Tuned E-B-E-G-B-E) and one blonde.
* ZB pedal steel guitar.
Tribute guitars
In November 2006, Fender Custom Shop announced two reproductions of Gilmour's "Black" Strat for release on 22 September 2008. Gilmour's website states the release date was chosen to coincide with the release of his Live in Gdansk album. Both guitars are based on extensive measurements of the original instrument, each featuring varying degrees of wear.
Discography
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd portal
* A Saucerful of Secrets – 29 June 1968.
* More – 27 July 1969.
* Ummagumma – 25 October 1969.
* Atom Heart Mother – 10 October 1970.
* Meddle – 30 October 1971.
* Obscured by Clouds – 3 June 1972.
* The Dark Side of the Moon – 17 March 1973.
* Wish You Were Here – 15 September 1975.
* Animals – 23 January 1977.
* The Wall – 30 November 1979.
* The Final Cut – 21 March 1983.
* A Momentary Lapse of Reason – 8 September 1987.
* Delicate Sound of Thunder – 22 November 1988.
* The Division Bell – 30 March 1994.
* P•U•L•S•E – 29 May 1995.
For the full discography, see Pink Floyd discography.
Solo
Albums
* David Gilmour – 25 May 1978
* About Face – 27 March 1984
* On an Island – 6 March 2006
* Live in Gdańsk – 22 September 2008
Soundtracks
* Fractals: The Colors of Infinity, Documentary - 1994
Singles
* "There's No Way Out of Here", 1978
* "Blue Light", March, 1984
* "Love on the Air", May, 1984
* "On an Island", 6 March 2006
* "Smile", 13 June 2006
* "Arnold Layne" (Live) 26 December 2006
Filmography
* David Gilmour Live 1984 (VHS) – September 1984
* David Gilmour in Concert (DVD) – October 2002
* Remember That Night (DVD/BD) – September 2007
* Live in Gdańsk (DVD) – September 2008
Collaborations and work for other artists
Year Artist Album / Work
1970 Syd Barrett The Madcap Laughs
Syd Barrett Barrett
Ron Geesin and Roger Waters "Give Birth to a Smile" on Music from The Body
1974 Unicorn Blue Pine Trees
1975 Roy Harper "The Game" from HQ
1978 Kate Bush Executive producer for two tracks in The Kick Inside
1979 Wings Back to the Egg
1980 Roy Harper "Playing Games", "You (The Game Part II)", "Old Faces", "Short and Sweet" and "True Story" credited to Harper/Gilmour from the album "The Unknown Soldier". Gilmour is credited as a musician on the album.
1982 Kate Bush Vocals on "Pull Out The Pin" in The Dreaming
1983 Atomic Rooster Headline news
1984 Paul McCartney No More Lonely Nights in Give My Regards to Broad Street
1985 Supertramp Brother Where You Bound
Bryan Ferry "Is Your Love Strong Enough?" in Legend
Bryan Ferry Boys and Girls
Bryan Ferry Live Aid (Played with Bryan Ferry's band)
Nick Mason and Rick Fenn "Lie for a Lie" (vocals) in Profiles
Pete Townshend "Give Blood" and "White City Fighting" in White City: A Novel "White City Fighting" credited to Townshend/Gilmour. Also performed live as Deep End.
Arcadia So Red the Rose
The Dream Academy Co-produced The Dream Academy
Roy Harper and Jimmy Page Whatever Happened to Jugula?,"Hope" credited to Harper/Gilmour.
1986 Berlin Count Three & Pray
Pete Townshend lead guitar in Pete Townshend's Deep End Live!
1987 Dalbello "Immaculate Eyes" in she
1988 Peter Cetera "You Never Listen To Me" in One More Story
Sam Brown Stop! Guitar on "This Feeling" and "I'll Be In Love"
1989 Kate Bush "Love and Anger" and "Rocket's Tail" in The Sensual World
Paul McCartney "We Got Married" in Flowers in the Dirt
Rock Aid Armenia Smoke on the Water in The Earthquake Album
Warren Zevon Transverse City
1990 Roy Harper "Once" in Once (w/Kate Bush on backing vocals)
Propaganda "Only one word" in 1234
Sam Brown April Moon, vocals on "Troubled Soul"
1991 All About Eve "Are You Lonely" and "Wishing the Hours Away" in Touched by Jesus
1992 Elton John "Understanding Women", in The One
Mica Paris I Put a Spell on You on Later With Jools Holland
1993 Paul Rodgers "Standing Around Crying" in Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters
1996 The Who Quadrophenia (1996 Hyde Park concert)
1997 B. B. King "Cryin' Won't Help You Babe" in Deuces Wild
1999 Paul McCartney Run Devil Run
2001 The Triumph of Love soundtrack Plays guitar over several chamber orchestra pieces
2003 Ringo Starr Ringo Rama
2004 Alan Parsons "Return to Tunguska" in A Valid Path
2005 Various artists "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)"
2006 Chris Jagger It's Amazing (What People Throw Away), in Act of Faith
Chris Jagger Junkman in Act of Faith
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/06/10 at 7:44 am
The person who died on this day...Pearl Buck
Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 — March 6, 1973) also known as Sai Zhen Zhu (Simplified Chinese: 赛珍珠; Pinyin: Sài Zhēnzhū; Traditional Chinese: 賽珍珠), was an award winning American writer who spent the majority of her life in China. Her novel The Good Earth was the best selling fiction book in the U.S. in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. In 1938, she became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces." With no irony, she has been described in China as a Chinese writer.
lthough many of Buck's life experiences and political views are described in her novels, short stories, fiction, children's stories, and the biographies of her parents entitled Fighting Angel (on Absalom) and The Exile (on Carrie). She wrote on a diverse variety of topics including woman's rights, Asian cultures, immigration, adoption, missionary work, and war.
In 1949, outraged that existing adoption services considered Asian and mixed-race children unadoptable, Pearl established Welcome House, Inc., the first international, interracial adoption agency. In nearly five decades of work, Welcome House has placed over five thousand children. In 1964, to support children who were not eligible for adoption, Buck established the Pearl S. Buck Foundation to "address poverty and discrimination faced by children in Asian countries." In 1965, she opened the Opportunity Center and Orphanage in South Korea, and later offices were opened in Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. When establishing Opportunity House, Buck said, "The purpose...is to publicize and eliminate injustices and prejudices suffered by children, who, because of their birth, are not permitted to enjoy the educational, social, economic and civil privileges normally accorded to children."
In the late 1960s, Pearl toured West Virginia to raise money to preserve her family farm in Hillsboro, WV. Today The Pearl S. Buck Birthplace is a historic house museum and cultural center. She hoped the house would "belong to everyone who cares to go there," and serve as a "gateway to new thoughts and dreams and ways of life."
Life
The Stulting House at the Pearl Buck Birthplace in Hillsboro, West Virginia
Pearl was born in Hillsboro, West Virginia to Caroline Stulting (1857-1921) and Absalom Sydenstricker. Her parents, Southern Presbyterian missionaries, traveled to China soon after their marriage on July 8, 1880, but returned to the United States for Pearl's birth. When Pearl was three months old, the family returned to China, to be stationed first in Zhenjiang (then often known as Jingjiang or, in the Postal Romanization, Tsingkiang). Pearl grew up bilingual, tutored in English by her mother and in classical Chinese by Mr. Kung.
Chinese man in Zhenjiang, c. 1900
The Boxer Uprising greatly affected Pearl and her family. Pearl's Chinese friends deserted her and her family, and there were not as many Western visitors as there once were.
In 1911, Pearl left China to attend Randolph-Macon Woman's College, graduating (Phi Beta Kappa) in 1914. From 1914 to 1933, she served as a Presbyterian missionary, but her views later became highly controversial in the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy, leading to her resignation.
In 1914, Pearl returned to China. She married an agricultural economist missionary, John Lossing Buck, on May 13, 1917, and they moved to Suzhou, Anhui Province, a small town on the Huai River (not be confused with the better-known Suzhou in Jiangsu Province.). It is this region she described later in The Good Earth and Sons.
Nanjing University
From 1920 to 1933, Pearl and John made their home in Nanking (Nanjing), on the campus of Nanjing University, where both had teaching positions. Pearl taught English literature at the University of Nanjing and the Chinese National University. In 1920, the Bucks had a daughter, Carol, afflicted with phenylketonuria. In 1921, Pearl's mother died and shortly afterward her father moved in. In 1924, they left China for John's year of sabbatical and returned to the United States for a short time, during which Pearl earned her Masters degree from Cornell University. In 1925, the Bucks adopted Janice (later surnamed Walsh). That fall, they returned to China.
The tragedies and dislocations that Pearl suffered in the 1920s reached a climax in March 1927, during "Nanking Incident." In a confused battle involving elements of Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist troops, Communist forces, and assorted warlords, several Westerners were murdered. Since Absalom was a missionary, the family decided to stay in Nanjing until the battle reached the city. When violence broke out, a poor Chinese family allowed them to hide in their hut while the family house was looted. The family spent a terrified day in hiding, after which they were rescued by American gunboats. They traveled to Shanghai and then sailed to Japan, where they spent the following year. They later moved back to Nanjing, though conditions remained dangerously unsettled.
In 1935, the Bucks were divorced. Richard Walsh, president of the John Day Company and her publisher, became Pearl Buck's second husband. The couple lived in Pennsylvania.
Pearl S. Buck died of lung cancer on March 6, 1973 in Danby, Vermont and was interred in Green Hills Farm in Perkasie, Pennsylvania. She designed her own tombstone, which does not record her name in English; instead, the grave marker is inscribed with Chinese characters representing the name Pearl Sydenstricker.
The Pearl S. Buck House at Nanjing University
(Simplified Chinese: 賽珍珠故居) Pearl's former residence at Nanjing University is now the Nanjing University Science and Technology Industry Group Building along the West Wall of the university's north campus. U.S. President George H.W. Bush toured the Pearl S. Buck House in October 1998. He expressed that he, like millions of other Americans, had gained an appreciation for the Chinese through Pearl's writing.
Selected bibliography
Autobiographies
* My Several Worlds (1954)
* A Bridge For Passing (1962)
Biographies
* The Exile (1936)
* Fighting Angel (1936)
Novels
See also: List_of_bestselling_novels_in_the_United_States_in_the_1930s
* East Wind:West Wind (1930)
* The House of Earth (1935)
o The Good Earth (1931)
o Sons (1933)
o A House Divided (1935)
* The Mother (1933)
* This Proud Heart (1938)
* The Patriot (1939)
* Other Gods (1940)
* China Sky (1941)
* Dragon Seed (1942)
* The Promise (1943)
* China Flight (1943)
* The Townsman (1945) -- as John Sedges
* Portrait of a Marriage (1945)
* Pavilion of Women (1946)
* The Angry Wife (1947) -- as John Sedges
* Peony (1948)
* The Big Wave (1948)
* A Long Love (1949) -- as John Sedges
* Kinfolk (1950)
* God's Men (1951)
* The Hidden Flower (1952)
* Come, My Beloved (1953)
* Voices in the House (1953) -- as John Sedges
* Imperial Woman (1956)
* Letter from Peking (1957)
* Command the Morning (1959)
* Satan Never Sleeps (1962; see 1962 film Satan Never Sleeps)
* The Living Reed (1963)
* Death in the Castle (1965)
* The Time Is Noon (1966)
* Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (1967)
* The New Year (1968)
* The Three Daughters of Madame Liang (1969)
* Mandala (1970)
* The Goddess Abides (1972)
* All Under Heaven (1973)
* The Rainbow (1974)
Non-fiction
* Of Men and Women (1941)
* How It Happens: Talk about the German People, 1914-1933, with Erna von Pustau (1947)
* The Child Who Never Grew (1950)
* The Man Who Changed China: The Story of Sun Yat-sen (1953) for young readers
* My Several Worlds (1954)
* For Spacious Skies (1966)
* The People of Japan (1966)
* The Kennedy Women (1970)
* China as I See It (1970)
* The Story Bible (1971)
* Pearl S. Buck's Oriental Cookbook (1972)
Short Stories
* The First Wife and Other Stories (1933)
* Today and Forever: Stories of China (1941)
* Twenty-Seven Stories (1943)
* Far and Near: Stories of Japan, China, and America (1949)
* Fourteen Stories (1961)
* Hearts Come Home and Other Stories (1962)
* Stories of China (1964)
* Escape at Midnight and Other Stories (1964)
* The Good Deed and Other Stories of Asia, Past and Present (1969)
* Once Upon a Christmas (1972)
* East and West Stories (1975)
* Secrets of the Heart: Stories (1976)
* The Lovers and Other Stories (1977)
* Mrs. Stoner and the Sea and Other Stories (1978)
* The Woman Who Was Changed and Other Stories (1979)
* The Good Deed (1969)
* "Christmas Day in the Morning"
* "The Refugee"
* " The Chinese Children Next Door" for children
* ″The Enemy"
* "The Frill"
Awards
* Pulitzer Prize for the Novel: The Good Earth (1932)
* William Dean Howells Medal (1935)
* Nobel Prize in Literature (1938)
Museums and Historic Houses
Several historic sites work to preserve and display artifacts from Pearl's profoundly multicultural life:
* The Pearl S. Buck Birthplace in Hillsboro, West Virginia
* Green Hills Farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
* The Zhenjiang Pearl S. Buck Research Association in Zhenjiang, China
* Pearl S. Buck House in Nanjing, China
* The Pearl S. Buck Summer Villa, on Lushan Mountain in Jiangxi Province, China
* The Pearl Buck Museum in Anhui Province, China
* The Pearl S. Buck Memorial Hall, Bucheon City, South Korea
See also
* Christian feminism
* List of female Nobel laureates
References
1. ^ Meyers, Mike. "Pearl of the Orient," New York Times. March 5, 2006.
2. ^ Pearl S. Buck International, "Our History," 2009.
3. ^ The Pearl S. Buck Birthplace Foundation, http://www.pearlsbuckbirthplace.com
4. ^ Buck, Pearl S. My Mother's House. Richwood, WV: Appalachian Press. Pp. 30-1.
5. ^ Shavit, David (1990), The United States in Asia: a historical dictionary, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 480, ISBN 031326788X, http://books.google.com.au/books?id=IWdZTaJdc6UC (Entry for "Sydenstricker, Absalom")
6. ^ Peter Conn, Pearl S. Buck: A Cultural Biography, Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996) 9, 19-23.
7. ^ Randolph-Macon Woman's College
8. ^ Conn, Pearl S. Buck, 70-82.
9. ^ Buck, Pearl S. The Good Earth. Ed. Peter Conn. New York: Washington Square Press, 1994. Pp. xviii-xix.
10. ^ Conn, Peter, Dragon and the Pearl
11. ^ DDMap.com: 赛珍珠故居, http://nj.ddmap.com/map/25/point-659569-%C8%FC%D5%E4-.htm, retrieved 2010-02-21
12. ^ "Pearl S. Buck International: Other Pearl S. Buck Historic Places". Psbi.org. 2006-09-30. http://www.psbi.org/site/PageServer?pagename=PSBH_Other_PSB_Historic_Places. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
* Peter J. Conn, Pearl S. Buck: A Cultural Biography (Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. ISBN 0521560802.)
* Elizabeth Johnston Lipscomb, Frances E. Webb Peter J. Conn, eds., The Several Worlds of Pearl S. Buck: Essays Presented at a Centennial Symposium, Randolph-Macon Woman's College, March 26-28, 1992 (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994. ISBN 0313291527.)
* Liao Kang, Pearl S. Buck: A Cultural Bridge across the Pacific (Westport, CT, London: Greenwood Press, 1997. ISBN 0313301468.)
* Karen J. Leong, The China Mystique: Pearl S. Buck, Anna May Wong, Mayling Soong, and the Transformation of American Orientalism (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0520244238.)
* Pearl Buck's Portrait of Her Fighting Missionary Father (NY Times, November 29, 1936.)
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/06/10 at 8:22 am
The person born on this day...David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour CBE (born 6 March 1946) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist, lead singer, and one of the main songwriters in the rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a record producer for a variety of artists, and has enjoyed a successful career as a solo artist. Gilmour has been actively involved with many charity organizations over the course of his career. In 2003, he was appointed CBE for services to music and philanthropy and was awarded with the Outstanding Contribution title at the 2008 Q Awards.
Gilmour was approached in late December 1967 by drummer Nick Mason, who asked if he would be interested in joining Pink Floyd, which he did in January 1968, making Pink Floyd briefly a five-piece band. He was used to fill in for Syd Barrett's guitar parts when the front man was unable to take a consistent part in Floyd's live performances. When Syd Barrett "left" the group (due to his erratic behaviour, the band chose not to pick Barrett up one night for a gig ), Gilmour by default assumed the role of the band's lead guitarist and shared lead vocal duties with bassist Roger Waters and keyboard player Richard Wright in Barrett's stead. However, after the back-to-back successes of The Dark Side of the Moon and then Wish You Were Here, Waters took more control over the band, writing most of Animals and The Wall by himself. Wright was fired during The Wall sessions and the relationship between Gilmour and Waters would further deteriorate during the making of The Wall film and the 1983 Pink Floyd album The Final Cut.
After recording "Animals", Gilmour thought that his musical influence had been underused, and channelled his ideas into his self-titled first solo album (1978), which showcases his signature guitar style, as well as underscoring his songwriting skills. A tune written during the finishing stages of this album, but too late to be used, became "Comfortably Numb" on The Wall.
Gilmour performing in Brussels in 1984, on his About Face tour
The negative atmosphere surrounding the creation of The Wall album and film, compounded by The Final Cut's virtually being a Roger Waters solo album, led Gilmour to produce his second solo album About Face in 1984. He used it to express his feelings about a range of topics, from the murder of John Lennon, to his relationship with Waters. He has since admitted that he also used the album to distance himself from Pink Floyd. He toured Europe and the US along with support act The Television Personalities, who later disappeared from the line-up after revealing Syd Barrett's address on stage. Mason and Wright also played on the UK leg of the tour, which despite some cancellations eventually turned a profit. When he returned from touring, Gilmour played guitar with a range of artists, and also produced The Dream Academy, who had a top ten hit with "Life in a Northern Town".
In 1985, Waters declared that Pink Floyd was "a spent force creatively". However, in 1986, Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason issued a press release stating that Waters had quit the band and they intended to continue without him. Gilmour assumed full control of the group and produced A Momentary Lapse of Reason in 1987 with some contributions from Mason and Richard Wright. Wright officially rejoined the band after the release of the album for a lengthy world tour and helped create 1994's The Division Bell as well. Gilmour explained:
“ I had a number of problems with the direction of the band in our recent past, before Roger left. I thought the songs were very wordy and that, because the specific meanings of those words were so important, the music became a mere vehicle for lyrics, and not a very inspiring one. Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here were so successful not just because of Roger's contributions, but also because there was a better balance between the music and the lyrics than there has been in more recent albums. That's what I'm trying to do with A Momentary Lapse of Reason; more focus on the music, restore the balance. ”
In 1986, Gilmour purchased the houseboat Astoria which is moored on the River Thames near Hampton Court, and transformed it into a recording studio. The majority of the two most recent Pink Floyd albums, as well as Gilmour's 2006 solo release On an Island, were recorded there.
On 2 July 2005, Gilmour played with Pink Floyd — including Roger Waters — at Live 8. The performance caused a temporary 1343% sales increase of Pink Floyd's album Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd. Gilmour donated all of his resulting profits to charities that reflect the goals of Live 8 saying:
Gilmour at Live 8 in July 2005
“ Though the main objective has been to raise consciousness and put pressure on the G8 leaders, I will not profit from the concert. This is money that should be used to save lives. ”
Shortly after, he called upon all artists experiencing a surge in sales from Live 8 performances to donate the extra revenue to Live 8 fund-raising. After the Live 8 concert, Pink Floyd were offered £150 million to tour the United States, but the band turned down the offer.
On 3 February 2006, he announced in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that Pink Floyd would most likely never tour or write material together again. He said:
“ I think enough is enough. I am 60 years old. I don't have the will to work as much anymore. Pink Floyd was an important part in my life, I have had a wonderful time, but it's over. For me it's much less complicated to work alone. ”
He said that by agreeing to Live 8, he had ensured the story of Floyd would not end on a sour note.
“ There was more than one reason, firstly to support the cause. The second one is the energy consuming an uncomfortable relationship between Roger and me that I was carrying along in my heart. That is why we wanted to perform and to leave the trash behind. Thirdly, I might have regretted it if I declined. ”
On 20 February 2006, Gilmour commented again on Pink Floyd's future when he was interviewed by Billboard.com, stating, "Who knows? I have no plans at all to do that. My plans are to do my concerts and put my solo record out."
In December 2006, Gilmour released a tribute to Syd Barrett, who had died in July that year, in the form of his own version of Pink Floyd's first single "Arnold Layne". Recorded live at London's Royal Albert Hall, the CD single featured versions of the song performed by Pink Floyd's keyboard player (and Gilmour's band member) Richard Wright and special guest artist David Bowie. The single entered the UK Top 75 charts at number nineteen and remained steady for three weeks.
Since their Live 8 appearance in 2005, Gilmour has repeatedly said that there will be no Pink Floyd reunion. However, in a 2007 interview with Phil Manzanera, he stated that he's "not done with it yet" and that he plans on doing "something" in the future. With the death of Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright in September 2008, another reunion of the core group members became impossible. Gilmour said of Wright: "In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick's enormous input was frequently forgotten. He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound. Like Rick, I don't find it easy to express my feelings in words, but I loved him and will miss him enormously. I have never played with anyone quite like him."
Other projects
Taking time off from Pink Floyd's schedule, Gilmour also took up various roles as a producer, sideman and even concert sound engineer for a wide variety of acts which included former bandmate Syd Barrett, Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, Grace Jones, Tom Jones, Elton John, B. B. King, Seal, Sam Brown, Jools Holland, Bob Dylan, Pete Townshend, The Who, Supertramp, Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Alan Parsons, and various charity groups among others.
In 1985, Gilmour was member of Bryan Ferry's band. He played on Ferry's album Boys and Girls, as well as the song "Is Your Love Strong Enough" for the U.S. release of the Ridley Scott-Tom Cruise film Legend. A music video for the latter was created, incorporating Ferry and Gilmour into footage from the film (released as a bonus on the 2002 "Ultimate Edition" DVD release). Later that year, Gilmour played with Ferry at the London Live Aid concert; his first meeting with Ferry's keyboard player Jon Carin, later to tour with Pink Floyd.
David Gilmour also took part in a comedy skit titled "The Easy Guitar Book Sketch" with comedian Rowland Rivron and fellow British musicians Mark Knopfler, Lemmy from Motorhead, Mark King from Level 42, and Gary Moore. Guitar tech Phil Taylor explained in an interview that Knopfler used Gilmour's guitar rig and managed to sound like himself when performing in the skit.
He has also recorded four solo albums, all four of which charted in the U.S. Top 40 (2006's On an Island peaked at #6 in 2006, 2008's Live in Gdansk peaked at #26, his 1978 self-titled solo debut peaked at #29 in 1978 and 1984's About Face peaked at #32 in 1984) thus making him the only member of Pink Floyd to have a commercially successful solo career.
In 1994, Gilmour played guitar for the video game Tuneland, along with the additional saxophonist for Pink Floyd, Scott Page.
In 2001 and 2002, he held a small number of acoustic solo concerts in London and Paris, along with a small band and choir, which was documented on the In Concert release. In 2003, Rolling Stone included Gilmour in the list of hundred greatest guitarists of all time.
On 24 September 2004, Gilmour performed a three song set (tracks 28-30) at The Strat Pack concert at London's Wembley Arena, marking the 50th anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster guitar.
On 6 March 2006, his 60th birthday, he released his third solo album, On an Island, and a day later it was released in the US; it debuted at #1 in the UK charts. The album reached the top five in Germany and Sweden, and the top six in Billboard 200. Produced by Gilmour along with Phil Manzanera and Chris Thomas, the album features orchestrations by renowned Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner. The album features David Crosby and Graham Nash on harmonies on the title track, Robert Wyatt on cornet and percussion and Richard Wright on Hammond organ and vocals. Other contributors include Jools Holland, Phil Manzanera, Georgie Fame, Andy Newmark, B. J. Cole, Chris Stainton, Willie Wilson, Rado ‘Bob’ Klose on guitar and Leszek Możdżer on piano. The album also features Gilmour's debut with the saxophone.
Gilmour toured Europe, US and Canada from 10 March to 31 May to promote On an Island. There were 10 shows in the US and Canadian leg of the tour. Pink Floyd alumnus Richard Wright, and frequent Floyd collaborators Dick Parry, Guy Pratt and Jon Carin also accompanied him on the tour. More shows were held in Europe during from July through August in 2006.
In a press release to promote the tour, David Gilmour stated:
“ "I'm rather hoping that with this tour announcement, people will believe me when I say, honestly, this is the only band I plan to tour with!". ”
On an Island peaked the UK charts by reaching number one. On 10 April 2006, the album was certified platinum in Canada, with sales of over 100,000 copies. The album also gave Gilmour his first US Top 10 album as a solo artist.
A video recording of a show from Gilmour's solo tour, entitled Remember That Night - Live At The Royal Albert Hall was released on 17 September 2007. The double DVD, directed by David Mallet, contains over five hours of footage, including an on-the-road documentary and guest appearances by David Bowie and Robert Wyatt. The two and a half hour concert features band members Richard Wright of Pink Floyd, Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music, Steve DiStanislao on drums, and various Pink Floyd regulars such as Dick Parry, Guy Pratt and Jon Carin. The 20-page booklet accompanying the DVD, features over 80 photos selected from studio recording and touring. The album is now available on Hi-Definition Blu-ray Disc with Dolby TrueHD surround sound. As TrueHD is not a mandatory format for Blu-ray players, and the disc carries no other surround channel, some players will only play it in stereo.
The final show of David Gilmour's On an Island tour was held at the Gdańsk Shipyard on 26 August 2006. The concert was held before a huge crowd of 50,000, and marked the twenty-sixth anniversary of Poland's 1980 revolution. The concert was notable for the inclusion of "A Great Day For Freedom" as part of the encore.
The show was recorded resulting in a live album and DVD release; Live in Gdańsk. The concert was the only occasion on which Gilmour performed the tour material with an orchestra, using the 40-strong string section of the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Zbigniew Preisner, who was responsible for On An Island's orchestral arrangements.
On 25 May 2009, he participated in a concert held at Union Chapel in Islington, London. The concert was of part of the 'Hidden Gigs' campaign against hidden homelessness that is organized by the Crisis, a UK-based national charity for people homelessness. There he appeared in a collaboration with the Malian musicians Amadou and Mariam.
On 4 July 2009, he joined his friend Jeff Beck onstage at the Royal Albert Hall. David and Jeff traded solos on Jerusalem and closed the show with Hi Ho Silver Lining.
In August 2009, he released an online single, Chicago - Change the World, on which he sang and played guitar, bass and keyboards, to promote awareness of the plight of Gary McKinnon. A re-titled cover of the Graham Nash song Chicago, it featured Chrissie Hynde and Bob Geldof, plus McKinnon himself. It was produced by long-time Pink Floyd collaborator Chris Thomas.. A video was also posted on-line.
Musical style
Gilmour is best known for his lead guitar work. Gilmour's solo style is often characterised by blues-influenced phrasing, expressive note bends and sustain. In 2005, Gilmour was rated the 82nd greatest guitarist by Rolling Stone. The website Digital Dream Door ranked Gilmour as the fourteenth greatest rock guitarist. In January 2007, Guitar World readers voted Gilmour's solos, "Comfortably Numb", "Time" and "Money" into the top 100 Greatest Guitar Solos ("Comfortably Numb" was voted the 4th greatest solo of all time , "Time" was voted the 21st greatest solo of all time and "Money" was voted the 62nd greatest solo of all time .
In his early career with Pink Floyd, Gilmour played a multitude of Fender Stratocasters. One of his popular guitar solos ("Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2") was played on a Gibson Les Paul Gold Top guitar equipped with Bigsby tremolo bar and P-90 pickups. In 1996, Gilmour was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. Gilmour's solo on "Comfortably Numb" was voted as one of the greatest guitar solos of all time in several polls by listeners and critics.
Although mainly known for his guitar work, Gilmour is also a proficient multi-instrumentalist. He also plays bass guitar (which he did on some Pink Floyd tracks), keyboards, banjo, harmonica, drums (as heard on the Syd Barrett solo track "Dominoes", and other songs where he opted to play all the instruments) and lately, the saxophone.
The following is a list of equipment Gilmour either has used on his solo or Pink Floyd recordings, as well as on current or previous tours.
Guitars
* Fender
o Stratocaster
+ His main guitar, much modified over the years, is a (1969) 3-colour Sunburst Fender Stratocaster painted over with black as well with a black pickguard and white-coloured pickup covers and knobs, currently with a vintage 1957 reissue "V shape" maple neck. This neck came from his guitar that he used on the About Face tour. It also includes a small toggle switch that combines the neck and bridge pickups (Note this guitar was for brief time fitted with a Kahler locking tremolo system, the system was subsequently un-installed and the removed wood filled with a replacement piece of timber and repainted to match as can be noted by close examination of the guitar behind its reinstalled Fender tremolo). This guitar has a Seymour Duncan SSL-1 bridge pickup, and currently has a strap which once belonged to Jimi Hendrix.
+ His main guitar for the post-Roger Waters era Pink Floyd tours in support of A Momentary Lapse of Reason, Delicate Sound of Thunder (dubbed "Another Lapse") and The Division Bell was a Candy Apple Red '57 reissue (made in 1984) fitted with a set of EMG SA active pickups with the two standard tone controls replaced with an EMG SPC mid boost control, and an EXG treble/bass expander (which cuts the mids while boosting bass and treble). On the On an Island tour it was used every night of the tour on "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".
+ Gilmour is the owner of Strat #0001. However, this is not the first Stratocaster ever made, but the first to be given a serial number. It was last seen at the Strat Pack Concert in Wembley Arena in 2004.
+ Cream coloured '57 reissue. Used at 1984 solo tour and at the early parts of the 1987-1990 tour. In the 1994 tour it was used as spare guitar. Tim Renwick played it with David and the rest of Pink Floyd at their Live 8 set. This Strat was fitted with the same EMG set of pickups and tone circuits as the aforementioned Candy Apple Red '57 reissue and after its use at Live 8, the cream finished guitar's neck was transferred to David's main Black Strat.
+ '57 Lake Placid Blue. (Serial number #0040). Used at The Wall sessions.
+ Double-neck Stratocaster (body was custom made by guitar builder Dick Knight, but the necks were Fender strat necks. Used live (1970-72).
+ Sunburst Stratocaster. '63 rosewood neck with '59 body. This guitar was given to David by Steve Marriott of Humble Pie and the Small Faces, and though David didn't like the guitar enough to use it very long, he preferred the neck to the original one on his black Strat and switched the two. The sunburst Strat was used as his spare and slide guitar in subsequent years (sporting the maple cap neck with a large headstock from the black Strat), and the rosewood neck remained on the black Strat until 1978.
+ White with white pickguard. Used in the late 1960s. Received as a gift from the rest of the band. Stolen in equipment heist in 1970.
+ Gilmour also used a strat equipped with the Doug Wilkes 'Answer' sliding pickup system on the 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' recording.
+ Doug Wilkes also built Gilmour a Precision-style single pickup bass, which was also used on the 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' sessions.
o Telecaster
+ Blonde body with white pickguard. Used on the On an Island tour.
+ '52 Butterscotch Reissues with black pickguard. Used between 1987 and 1995. The first guitar was tuned in Dropped D rather than a standard tuning and was used for "Run Like Hell". The second served as a backup instrument and had a regular guitar tuning. Gilmour used this guitar for Astronomy Domine.
+ '59 Custom Telecaster with sunburst ash body, white binding on the body, rosewood fingerboard, and a white pickguard. There was a Gibson Humbucker placed in the Neck position at a brief point but was removed before it was used on the Animals' recording sessions. Last seen on rehearsals during the On an Island tour.
+ '61 Telecaster used during The Wall recording sessions. Also used live in post-Waters era for "Run Like Hell". Last seen on the Syd Barrett memory concert in 2007.
+ 1960s brown-faded body. Used in the late 1960s.
+ 1960s blonde ash body with white pickguard. His main guitar during his first year with Pink Floyd, which was lost by an airline company in 1968, and prompted Gilmour to buy the brown-faded Telecaster.
o Esquire
+ '55 Sunburst body aka "The workmate Tele". Neck pickup added. Used at the recording sessions for his first solo album, The Wall recording session and the following tour. Also seen when performing with Paul McCartney in the late 1990s.
o Lap Steel guitars
+ 1950's Fender 1000 twin neck pedal steel. Used in the early 1970s, purchased from a pawn shop while Gilmour was in Seattle in 1970. Used during recording of "One of These Days" from "Meddle" and "Breathe" and "Great Gig in the Sky" from The Dark Side of the Moon.
+ Fender Deluxe lap steel. First time seen during The Division Bell tour in 1994.
o Fender Bass VI. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
o Fender Precision bass guitar
o Fender Jazz Bass. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
* Gibson
o A Gibson Les Paul Goldtop (P-90 pick-ups, Bigsby vibrato bridge). Used for the guitar solo on 'Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2.
o Gibson: EH150 Lap Steel guitar, "Chet Atkins" classical guitar, & J-200 Celebrity acoustic guitars.
* Gretsch Duo-Jet
* Bill Lewis 24-fret Guitar. Used at Meddle and Dark Side of the Moon recording sessions.
* Ovation.
o Ovation Legend 1619-4 steel string & high string guitars. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
o Ovation Legend 1613-4 nylon string guitar. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
o Ovation Magnum bass guitar. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
* Takamine acoustic guitar.
* Martin acoustic guitars.
o Martin D-35.
o Martin D12-28 12-string acoustic guitar.
o Martin D-18 acoustic.
* Taylor acoustics
* Guild F-512 "antique burst" 12-string guitar.
* Jose Vilaplana nylon string guitar
* Steinberger GL. His main guitar during A Momentary Lapse of Reason recording sessions.
* Charvel Fretless Fender Precision style bass guitar. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
* Music Man Fretless Stingray bass guitar. Used by Gilmour while running the house band at the 1991 Amnesty International concert, during Spinal Tap's performance on "Big Bottom". (All guitarists played bass on this song, and Gilmour played a solo.)
* Jedson lap steel guitars. One red (1977-tuned D-G-D-G-B-E for Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts 6-9, 1987-2006: Tuned E-B-E-G-B-E) and one blonde.
* ZB pedal steel guitar.
Tribute guitars
In November 2006, Fender Custom Shop announced two reproductions of Gilmour's "Black" Strat for release on 22 September 2008. Gilmour's website states the release date was chosen to coincide with the release of his Live in Gdansk album. Both guitars are based on extensive measurements of the original instrument, each featuring varying degrees of wear.
Discography
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd portal
* A Saucerful of Secrets – 29 June 1968.
* More – 27 July 1969.
* Ummagumma – 25 October 1969.
* Atom Heart Mother – 10 October 1970.
* Meddle – 30 October 1971.
* Obscured by Clouds – 3 June 1972.
* The Dark Side of the Moon – 17 March 1973.
* Wish You Were Here – 15 September 1975.
* Animals – 23 January 1977.
* The Wall – 30 November 1979.
* The Final Cut – 21 March 1983.
* A Momentary Lapse of Reason – 8 September 1987.
* Delicate Sound of Thunder – 22 November 1988.
* The Division Bell – 30 March 1994.
* P•U•L•S•E – 29 May 1995.
For the full discography, see Pink Floyd discography.
Solo
Albums
* David Gilmour – 25 May 1978
* About Face – 27 March 1984
* On an Island – 6 March 2006
* Live in Gdańsk – 22 September 2008
Soundtracks
* Fractals: The Colors of Infinity, Documentary - 1994
Singles
* "There's No Way Out of Here", 1978
* "Blue Light", March, 1984
* "Love on the Air", May, 1984
* "On an Island", 6 March 2006
* "Smile", 13 June 2006
* "Arnold Layne" (Live) 26 December 2006
Filmography
* David Gilmour Live 1984 (VHS) – September 1984
* David Gilmour in Concert (DVD) – October 2002
* Remember That Night (DVD/BD) – September 2007
* Live in Gdańsk (DVD) – September 2008
Collaborations and work for other artists
Year Artist Album / Work
1970 Syd Barrett The Madcap Laughs
Syd Barrett Barrett
Ron Geesin and Roger Waters "Give Birth to a Smile" on Music from The Body
1974 Unicorn Blue Pine Trees
1975 Roy Harper "The Game" from HQ
1978 Kate Bush Executive producer for two tracks in The Kick Inside
1979 Wings Back to the Egg
1980 Roy Harper "Playing Games", "You (The Game Part II)", "Old Faces", "Short and Sweet" and "True Story" credited to Harper/Gilmour from the album "The Unknown Soldier". Gilmour is credited as a musician on the album.
1982 Kate Bush Vocals on "Pull Out The Pin" in The Dreaming
1983 Atomic Rooster Headline news
1984 Paul McCartney No More Lonely Nights in Give My Regards to Broad Street
1985 Supertramp Brother Where You Bound
Bryan Ferry "Is Your Love Strong Enough?" in Legend
Bryan Ferry Boys and Girls
Bryan Ferry Live Aid (Played with Bryan Ferry's band)
Nick Mason and Rick Fenn "Lie for a Lie" (vocals) in Profiles
Pete Townshend "Give Blood" and "White City Fighting" in White City: A Novel "White City Fighting" credited to Townshend/Gilmour. Also performed live as Deep End.
Arcadia So Red the Rose
The Dream Academy Co-produced The Dream Academy
Roy Harper and Jimmy Page Whatever Happened to Jugula?,"Hope" credited to Harper/Gilmour.
1986 Berlin Count Three & Pray
Pete Townshend lead guitar in Pete Townshend's Deep End Live!
1987 Dalbello "Immaculate Eyes" in she
1988 Peter Cetera "You Never Listen To Me" in One More Story
Sam Brown Stop! Guitar on "This Feeling" and "I'll Be In Love"
1989 Kate Bush "Love and Anger" and "Rocket's Tail" in The Sensual World
Paul McCartney "We Got Married" in Flowers in the Dirt
Rock Aid Armenia Smoke on the Water in The Earthquake Album
Warren Zevon Transverse City
1990 Roy Harper "Once" in Once (w/Kate Bush on backing vocals)
Propaganda "Only one word" in 1234
Sam Brown April Moon, vocals on "Troubled Soul"
1991 All About Eve "Are You Lonely" and "Wishing the Hours Away" in Touched by Jesus
1992 Elton John "Understanding Women", in The One
Mica Paris I Put a Spell on You on Later With Jools Holland
1993 Paul Rodgers "Standing Around Crying" in Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters
1996 The Who Quadrophenia (1996 Hyde Park concert)
1997 B. B. King "Cryin' Won't Help You Babe" in Deuces Wild
1999 Paul McCartney Run Devil Run
2001 The Triumph of Love soundtrack Plays guitar over several chamber orchestra pieces
2003 Ringo Starr Ringo Rama
2004 Alan Parsons "Return to Tunguska" in A Valid Path
2005 Various artists "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)"
2006 Chris Jagger It's Amazing (What People Throw Away), in Act of Faith
Chris Jagger Junkman in Act of Faith
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm29/icarusxx7/DavidGilmour.jpg
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q144/Jen8153/gilmour.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUASiDg-kg4
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/06/10 at 8:24 am
The person born on this day...David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour CBE (born 6 March 1946) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist, lead singer, and one of the main songwriters in the rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a record producer for a variety of artists, and has enjoyed a successful career as a solo artist. Gilmour has been actively involved with many charity organizations over the course of his career. In 2003, he was appointed CBE for services to music and philanthropy and was awarded with the Outstanding Contribution title at the 2008 Q Awards.
Gilmour was approached in late December 1967 by drummer Nick Mason, who asked if he would be interested in joining Pink Floyd, which he did in January 1968, making Pink Floyd briefly a five-piece band. He was used to fill in for Syd Barrett's guitar parts when the front man was unable to take a consistent part in Floyd's live performances. When Syd Barrett "left" the group (due to his erratic behaviour, the band chose not to pick Barrett up one night for a gig ), Gilmour by default assumed the role of the band's lead guitarist and shared lead vocal duties with bassist Roger Waters and keyboard player Richard Wright in Barrett's stead. However, after the back-to-back successes of The Dark Side of the Moon and then Wish You Were Here, Waters took more control over the band, writing most of Animals and The Wall by himself. Wright was fired during The Wall sessions and the relationship between Gilmour and Waters would further deteriorate during the making of The Wall film and the 1983 Pink Floyd album The Final Cut.
After recording "Animals", Gilmour thought that his musical influence had been underused, and channelled his ideas into his self-titled first solo album (1978), which showcases his signature guitar style, as well as underscoring his songwriting skills. A tune written during the finishing stages of this album, but too late to be used, became "Comfortably Numb" on The Wall.
Gilmour performing in Brussels in 1984, on his About Face tour
The negative atmosphere surrounding the creation of The Wall album and film, compounded by The Final Cut's virtually being a Roger Waters solo album, led Gilmour to produce his second solo album About Face in 1984. He used it to express his feelings about a range of topics, from the murder of John Lennon, to his relationship with Waters. He has since admitted that he also used the album to distance himself from Pink Floyd. He toured Europe and the US along with support act The Television Personalities, who later disappeared from the line-up after revealing Syd Barrett's address on stage. Mason and Wright also played on the UK leg of the tour, which despite some cancellations eventually turned a profit. When he returned from touring, Gilmour played guitar with a range of artists, and also produced The Dream Academy, who had a top ten hit with "Life in a Northern Town".
In 1985, Waters declared that Pink Floyd was "a spent force creatively". However, in 1986, Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason issued a press release stating that Waters had quit the band and they intended to continue without him. Gilmour assumed full control of the group and produced A Momentary Lapse of Reason in 1987 with some contributions from Mason and Richard Wright. Wright officially rejoined the band after the release of the album for a lengthy world tour and helped create 1994's The Division Bell as well. Gilmour explained:
“ I had a number of problems with the direction of the band in our recent past, before Roger left. I thought the songs were very wordy and that, because the specific meanings of those words were so important, the music became a mere vehicle for lyrics, and not a very inspiring one. Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here were so successful not just because of Roger's contributions, but also because there was a better balance between the music and the lyrics than there has been in more recent albums. That's what I'm trying to do with A Momentary Lapse of Reason; more focus on the music, restore the balance. ”
In 1986, Gilmour purchased the houseboat Astoria which is moored on the River Thames near Hampton Court, and transformed it into a recording studio. The majority of the two most recent Pink Floyd albums, as well as Gilmour's 2006 solo release On an Island, were recorded there.
On 2 July 2005, Gilmour played with Pink Floyd — including Roger Waters — at Live 8. The performance caused a temporary 1343% sales increase of Pink Floyd's album Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd. Gilmour donated all of his resulting profits to charities that reflect the goals of Live 8 saying:
Gilmour at Live 8 in July 2005
“ Though the main objective has been to raise consciousness and put pressure on the G8 leaders, I will not profit from the concert. This is money that should be used to save lives. ”
Shortly after, he called upon all artists experiencing a surge in sales from Live 8 performances to donate the extra revenue to Live 8 fund-raising. After the Live 8 concert, Pink Floyd were offered £150 million to tour the United States, but the band turned down the offer.
On 3 February 2006, he announced in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that Pink Floyd would most likely never tour or write material together again. He said:
“ I think enough is enough. I am 60 years old. I don't have the will to work as much anymore. Pink Floyd was an important part in my life, I have had a wonderful time, but it's over. For me it's much less complicated to work alone. ”
He said that by agreeing to Live 8, he had ensured the story of Floyd would not end on a sour note.
“ There was more than one reason, firstly to support the cause. The second one is the energy consuming an uncomfortable relationship between Roger and me that I was carrying along in my heart. That is why we wanted to perform and to leave the trash behind. Thirdly, I might have regretted it if I declined. ”
On 20 February 2006, Gilmour commented again on Pink Floyd's future when he was interviewed by Billboard.com, stating, "Who knows? I have no plans at all to do that. My plans are to do my concerts and put my solo record out."
In December 2006, Gilmour released a tribute to Syd Barrett, who had died in July that year, in the form of his own version of Pink Floyd's first single "Arnold Layne". Recorded live at London's Royal Albert Hall, the CD single featured versions of the song performed by Pink Floyd's keyboard player (and Gilmour's band member) Richard Wright and special guest artist David Bowie. The single entered the UK Top 75 charts at number nineteen and remained steady for three weeks.
Since their Live 8 appearance in 2005, Gilmour has repeatedly said that there will be no Pink Floyd reunion. However, in a 2007 interview with Phil Manzanera, he stated that he's "not done with it yet" and that he plans on doing "something" in the future. With the death of Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright in September 2008, another reunion of the core group members became impossible. Gilmour said of Wright: "In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick's enormous input was frequently forgotten. He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound. Like Rick, I don't find it easy to express my feelings in words, but I loved him and will miss him enormously. I have never played with anyone quite like him."
Other projects
Taking time off from Pink Floyd's schedule, Gilmour also took up various roles as a producer, sideman and even concert sound engineer for a wide variety of acts which included former bandmate Syd Barrett, Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, Grace Jones, Tom Jones, Elton John, B. B. King, Seal, Sam Brown, Jools Holland, Bob Dylan, Pete Townshend, The Who, Supertramp, Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Alan Parsons, and various charity groups among others.
In 1985, Gilmour was member of Bryan Ferry's band. He played on Ferry's album Boys and Girls, as well as the song "Is Your Love Strong Enough" for the U.S. release of the Ridley Scott-Tom Cruise film Legend. A music video for the latter was created, incorporating Ferry and Gilmour into footage from the film (released as a bonus on the 2002 "Ultimate Edition" DVD release). Later that year, Gilmour played with Ferry at the London Live Aid concert; his first meeting with Ferry's keyboard player Jon Carin, later to tour with Pink Floyd.
David Gilmour also took part in a comedy skit titled "The Easy Guitar Book Sketch" with comedian Rowland Rivron and fellow British musicians Mark Knopfler, Lemmy from Motorhead, Mark King from Level 42, and Gary Moore. Guitar tech Phil Taylor explained in an interview that Knopfler used Gilmour's guitar rig and managed to sound like himself when performing in the skit.
He has also recorded four solo albums, all four of which charted in the U.S. Top 40 (2006's On an Island peaked at #6 in 2006, 2008's Live in Gdansk peaked at #26, his 1978 self-titled solo debut peaked at #29 in 1978 and 1984's About Face peaked at #32 in 1984) thus making him the only member of Pink Floyd to have a commercially successful solo career.
In 1994, Gilmour played guitar for the video game Tuneland, along with the additional saxophonist for Pink Floyd, Scott Page.
In 2001 and 2002, he held a small number of acoustic solo concerts in London and Paris, along with a small band and choir, which was documented on the In Concert release. In 2003, Rolling Stone included Gilmour in the list of hundred greatest guitarists of all time.
On 24 September 2004, Gilmour performed a three song set (tracks 28-30) at The Strat Pack concert at London's Wembley Arena, marking the 50th anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster guitar.
On 6 March 2006, his 60th birthday, he released his third solo album, On an Island, and a day later it was released in the US; it debuted at #1 in the UK charts. The album reached the top five in Germany and Sweden, and the top six in Billboard 200. Produced by Gilmour along with Phil Manzanera and Chris Thomas, the album features orchestrations by renowned Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner. The album features David Crosby and Graham Nash on harmonies on the title track, Robert Wyatt on cornet and percussion and Richard Wright on Hammond organ and vocals. Other contributors include Jools Holland, Phil Manzanera, Georgie Fame, Andy Newmark, B. J. Cole, Chris Stainton, Willie Wilson, Rado ‘Bob’ Klose on guitar and Leszek Możdżer on piano. The album also features Gilmour's debut with the saxophone.
Gilmour toured Europe, US and Canada from 10 March to 31 May to promote On an Island. There were 10 shows in the US and Canadian leg of the tour. Pink Floyd alumnus Richard Wright, and frequent Floyd collaborators Dick Parry, Guy Pratt and Jon Carin also accompanied him on the tour. More shows were held in Europe during from July through August in 2006.
In a press release to promote the tour, David Gilmour stated:
“ "I'm rather hoping that with this tour announcement, people will believe me when I say, honestly, this is the only band I plan to tour with!". ”
On an Island peaked the UK charts by reaching number one. On 10 April 2006, the album was certified platinum in Canada, with sales of over 100,000 copies. The album also gave Gilmour his first US Top 10 album as a solo artist.
A video recording of a show from Gilmour's solo tour, entitled Remember That Night - Live At The Royal Albert Hall was released on 17 September 2007. The double DVD, directed by David Mallet, contains over five hours of footage, including an on-the-road documentary and guest appearances by David Bowie and Robert Wyatt. The two and a half hour concert features band members Richard Wright of Pink Floyd, Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music, Steve DiStanislao on drums, and various Pink Floyd regulars such as Dick Parry, Guy Pratt and Jon Carin. The 20-page booklet accompanying the DVD, features over 80 photos selected from studio recording and touring. The album is now available on Hi-Definition Blu-ray Disc with Dolby TrueHD surround sound. As TrueHD is not a mandatory format for Blu-ray players, and the disc carries no other surround channel, some players will only play it in stereo.
The final show of David Gilmour's On an Island tour was held at the Gdańsk Shipyard on 26 August 2006. The concert was held before a huge crowd of 50,000, and marked the twenty-sixth anniversary of Poland's 1980 revolution. The concert was notable for the inclusion of "A Great Day For Freedom" as part of the encore.
The show was recorded resulting in a live album and DVD release; Live in Gdańsk. The concert was the only occasion on which Gilmour performed the tour material with an orchestra, using the 40-strong string section of the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Zbigniew Preisner, who was responsible for On An Island's orchestral arrangements.
On 25 May 2009, he participated in a concert held at Union Chapel in Islington, London. The concert was of part of the 'Hidden Gigs' campaign against hidden homelessness that is organized by the Crisis, a UK-based national charity for people homelessness. There he appeared in a collaboration with the Malian musicians Amadou and Mariam.
On 4 July 2009, he joined his friend Jeff Beck onstage at the Royal Albert Hall. David and Jeff traded solos on Jerusalem and closed the show with Hi Ho Silver Lining.
In August 2009, he released an online single, Chicago - Change the World, on which he sang and played guitar, bass and keyboards, to promote awareness of the plight of Gary McKinnon. A re-titled cover of the Graham Nash song Chicago, it featured Chrissie Hynde and Bob Geldof, plus McKinnon himself. It was produced by long-time Pink Floyd collaborator Chris Thomas.. A video was also posted on-line.
Musical style
Gilmour is best known for his lead guitar work. Gilmour's solo style is often characterised by blues-influenced phrasing, expressive note bends and sustain. In 2005, Gilmour was rated the 82nd greatest guitarist by Rolling Stone. The website Digital Dream Door ranked Gilmour as the fourteenth greatest rock guitarist. In January 2007, Guitar World readers voted Gilmour's solos, "Comfortably Numb", "Time" and "Money" into the top 100 Greatest Guitar Solos ("Comfortably Numb" was voted the 4th greatest solo of all time , "Time" was voted the 21st greatest solo of all time and "Money" was voted the 62nd greatest solo of all time .
In his early career with Pink Floyd, Gilmour played a multitude of Fender Stratocasters. One of his popular guitar solos ("Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2") was played on a Gibson Les Paul Gold Top guitar equipped with Bigsby tremolo bar and P-90 pickups. In 1996, Gilmour was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. Gilmour's solo on "Comfortably Numb" was voted as one of the greatest guitar solos of all time in several polls by listeners and critics.
Although mainly known for his guitar work, Gilmour is also a proficient multi-instrumentalist. He also plays bass guitar (which he did on some Pink Floyd tracks), keyboards, banjo, harmonica, drums (as heard on the Syd Barrett solo track "Dominoes", and other songs where he opted to play all the instruments) and lately, the saxophone.
The following is a list of equipment Gilmour either has used on his solo or Pink Floyd recordings, as well as on current or previous tours.
Guitars
* Fender
o Stratocaster
+ His main guitar, much modified over the years, is a (1969) 3-colour Sunburst Fender Stratocaster painted over with black as well with a black pickguard and white-coloured pickup covers and knobs, currently with a vintage 1957 reissue "V shape" maple neck. This neck came from his guitar that he used on the About Face tour. It also includes a small toggle switch that combines the neck and bridge pickups (Note this guitar was for brief time fitted with a Kahler locking tremolo system, the system was subsequently un-installed and the removed wood filled with a replacement piece of timber and repainted to match as can be noted by close examination of the guitar behind its reinstalled Fender tremolo). This guitar has a Seymour Duncan SSL-1 bridge pickup, and currently has a strap which once belonged to Jimi Hendrix.
+ His main guitar for the post-Roger Waters era Pink Floyd tours in support of A Momentary Lapse of Reason, Delicate Sound of Thunder (dubbed "Another Lapse") and The Division Bell was a Candy Apple Red '57 reissue (made in 1984) fitted with a set of EMG SA active pickups with the two standard tone controls replaced with an EMG SPC mid boost control, and an EXG treble/bass expander (which cuts the mids while boosting bass and treble). On the On an Island tour it was used every night of the tour on "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".
+ Gilmour is the owner of Strat #0001. However, this is not the first Stratocaster ever made, but the first to be given a serial number. It was last seen at the Strat Pack Concert in Wembley Arena in 2004.
+ Cream coloured '57 reissue. Used at 1984 solo tour and at the early parts of the 1987-1990 tour. In the 1994 tour it was used as spare guitar. Tim Renwick played it with David and the rest of Pink Floyd at their Live 8 set. This Strat was fitted with the same EMG set of pickups and tone circuits as the aforementioned Candy Apple Red '57 reissue and after its use at Live 8, the cream finished guitar's neck was transferred to David's main Black Strat.
+ '57 Lake Placid Blue. (Serial number #0040). Used at The Wall sessions.
+ Double-neck Stratocaster (body was custom made by guitar builder Dick Knight, but the necks were Fender strat necks. Used live (1970-72).
+ Sunburst Stratocaster. '63 rosewood neck with '59 body. This guitar was given to David by Steve Marriott of Humble Pie and the Small Faces, and though David didn't like the guitar enough to use it very long, he preferred the neck to the original one on his black Strat and switched the two. The sunburst Strat was used as his spare and slide guitar in subsequent years (sporting the maple cap neck with a large headstock from the black Strat), and the rosewood neck remained on the black Strat until 1978.
+ White with white pickguard. Used in the late 1960s. Received as a gift from the rest of the band. Stolen in equipment heist in 1970.
+ Gilmour also used a strat equipped with the Doug Wilkes 'Answer' sliding pickup system on the 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' recording.
+ Doug Wilkes also built Gilmour a Precision-style single pickup bass, which was also used on the 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' sessions.
o Telecaster
+ Blonde body with white pickguard. Used on the On an Island tour.
+ '52 Butterscotch Reissues with black pickguard. Used between 1987 and 1995. The first guitar was tuned in Dropped D rather than a standard tuning and was used for "Run Like Hell". The second served as a backup instrument and had a regular guitar tuning. Gilmour used this guitar for Astronomy Domine.
+ '59 Custom Telecaster with sunburst ash body, white binding on the body, rosewood fingerboard, and a white pickguard. There was a Gibson Humbucker placed in the Neck position at a brief point but was removed before it was used on the Animals' recording sessions. Last seen on rehearsals during the On an Island tour.
+ '61 Telecaster used during The Wall recording sessions. Also used live in post-Waters era for "Run Like Hell". Last seen on the Syd Barrett memory concert in 2007.
+ 1960s brown-faded body. Used in the late 1960s.
+ 1960s blonde ash body with white pickguard. His main guitar during his first year with Pink Floyd, which was lost by an airline company in 1968, and prompted Gilmour to buy the brown-faded Telecaster.
o Esquire
+ '55 Sunburst body aka "The workmate Tele". Neck pickup added. Used at the recording sessions for his first solo album, The Wall recording session and the following tour. Also seen when performing with Paul McCartney in the late 1990s.
o Lap Steel guitars
+ 1950's Fender 1000 twin neck pedal steel. Used in the early 1970s, purchased from a pawn shop while Gilmour was in Seattle in 1970. Used during recording of "One of These Days" from "Meddle" and "Breathe" and "Great Gig in the Sky" from The Dark Side of the Moon.
+ Fender Deluxe lap steel. First time seen during The Division Bell tour in 1994.
o Fender Bass VI. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
o Fender Precision bass guitar
o Fender Jazz Bass. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
* Gibson
o A Gibson Les Paul Goldtop (P-90 pick-ups, Bigsby vibrato bridge). Used for the guitar solo on 'Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2.
o Gibson: EH150 Lap Steel guitar, "Chet Atkins" classical guitar, & J-200 Celebrity acoustic guitars.
* Gretsch Duo-Jet
* Bill Lewis 24-fret Guitar. Used at Meddle and Dark Side of the Moon recording sessions.
* Ovation.
o Ovation Legend 1619-4 steel string & high string guitars. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
o Ovation Legend 1613-4 nylon string guitar. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
o Ovation Magnum bass guitar. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
* Takamine acoustic guitar.
* Martin acoustic guitars.
o Martin D-35.
o Martin D12-28 12-string acoustic guitar.
o Martin D-18 acoustic.
* Taylor acoustics
* Guild F-512 "antique burst" 12-string guitar.
* Jose Vilaplana nylon string guitar
* Steinberger GL. His main guitar during A Momentary Lapse of Reason recording sessions.
* Charvel Fretless Fender Precision style bass guitar. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
* Music Man Fretless Stingray bass guitar. Used by Gilmour while running the house band at the 1991 Amnesty International concert, during Spinal Tap's performance on "Big Bottom". (All guitarists played bass on this song, and Gilmour played a solo.)
* Jedson lap steel guitars. One red (1977-tuned D-G-D-G-B-E for Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts 6-9, 1987-2006: Tuned E-B-E-G-B-E) and one blonde.
* ZB pedal steel guitar.
Tribute guitars
In November 2006, Fender Custom Shop announced two reproductions of Gilmour's "Black" Strat for release on 22 September 2008. Gilmour's website states the release date was chosen to coincide with the release of his Live in Gdansk album. Both guitars are based on extensive measurements of the original instrument, each featuring varying degrees of wear.
Discography
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd portal
* A Saucerful of Secrets – 29 June 1968.
* More – 27 July 1969.
* Ummagumma – 25 October 1969.
* Atom Heart Mother – 10 October 1970.
* Meddle – 30 October 1971.
* Obscured by Clouds – 3 June 1972.
* The Dark Side of the Moon – 17 March 1973.
* Wish You Were Here – 15 September 1975.
* Animals – 23 January 1977.
* The Wall – 30 November 1979.
* The Final Cut – 21 March 1983.
* A Momentary Lapse of Reason – 8 September 1987.
* Delicate Sound of Thunder – 22 November 1988.
* The Division Bell – 30 March 1994.
* P•U•L•S•E – 29 May 1995.
For the full discography, see Pink Floyd discography.
Solo
Albums
* David Gilmour – 25 May 1978
* About Face – 27 March 1984
* On an Island – 6 March 2006
* Live in Gdańsk – 22 September 2008
Soundtracks
* Fractals: The Colors of Infinity, Documentary - 1994
Singles
* "There's No Way Out of Here", 1978
* "Blue Light", March, 1984
* "Love on the Air", May, 1984
* "On an Island", 6 March 2006
* "Smile", 13 June 2006
* "Arnold Layne" (Live) 26 December 2006
Filmography
* David Gilmour Live 1984 (VHS) – September 1984
* David Gilmour in Concert (DVD) – October 2002
* Remember That Night (DVD/BD) – September 2007
* Live in Gdańsk (DVD) – September 2008
Collaborations and work for other artists
Year Artist Album / Work
1970 Syd Barrett The Madcap Laughs
Syd Barrett Barrett
Ron Geesin and Roger Waters "Give Birth to a Smile" on Music from The Body
1974 Unicorn Blue Pine Trees
1975 Roy Harper "The Game" from HQ
1978 Kate Bush Executive producer for two tracks in The Kick Inside
1979 Wings Back to the Egg
1980 Roy Harper "Playing Games", "You (The Game Part II)", "Old Faces", "Short and Sweet" and "True Story" credited to Harper/Gilmour from the album "The Unknown Soldier". Gilmour is credited as a musician on the album.
1982 Kate Bush Vocals on "Pull Out The Pin" in The Dreaming
1983 Atomic Rooster Headline news
1984 Paul McCartney No More Lonely Nights in Give My Regards to Broad Street
1985 Supertramp Brother Where You Bound
Bryan Ferry "Is Your Love Strong Enough?" in Legend
Bryan Ferry Boys and Girls
Bryan Ferry Live Aid (Played with Bryan Ferry's band)
Nick Mason and Rick Fenn "Lie for a Lie" (vocals) in Profiles
Pete Townshend "Give Blood" and "White City Fighting" in White City: A Novel "White City Fighting" credited to Townshend/Gilmour. Also performed live as Deep End.
Arcadia So Red the Rose
The Dream Academy Co-produced The Dream Academy
Roy Harper and Jimmy Page Whatever Happened to Jugula?,"Hope" credited to Harper/Gilmour.
1986 Berlin Count Three & Pray
Pete Townshend lead guitar in Pete Townshend's Deep End Live!
1987 Dalbello "Immaculate Eyes" in she
1988 Peter Cetera "You Never Listen To Me" in One More Story
Sam Brown Stop! Guitar on "This Feeling" and "I'll Be In Love"
1989 Kate Bush "Love and Anger" and "Rocket's Tail" in The Sensual World
Paul McCartney "We Got Married" in Flowers in the Dirt
Rock Aid Armenia Smoke on the Water in The Earthquake Album
Warren Zevon Transverse City
1990 Roy Harper "Once" in Once (w/Kate Bush on backing vocals)
Propaganda "Only one word" in 1234
Sam Brown April Moon, vocals on "Troubled Soul"
1991 All About Eve "Are You Lonely" and "Wishing the Hours Away" in Touched by Jesus
1992 Elton John "Understanding Women", in The One
Mica Paris I Put a Spell on You on Later With Jools Holland
1993 Paul Rodgers "Standing Around Crying" in Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters
1996 The Who Quadrophenia (1996 Hyde Park concert)
1997 B. B. King "Cryin' Won't Help You Babe" in Deuces Wild
1999 Paul McCartney Run Devil Run
2001 The Triumph of Love soundtrack Plays guitar over several chamber orchestra pieces
2003 Ringo Starr Ringo Rama
2004 Alan Parsons "Return to Tunguska" in A Valid Path
2005 Various artists "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)"
2006 Chris Jagger It's Amazing (What People Throw Away), in Act of Faith
Chris Jagger Junkman in Act of Faith
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm29/icarusxx7/DavidGilmour.jpg
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q144/Jen8153/gilmour.jpg
Pink Floyd still rocks. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/06/10 at 10:55 am
The person born on this day...David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour CBE (born 6 March 1946) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist, lead singer, and one of the main songwriters in the rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a record producer for a variety of artists, and has enjoyed a successful career as a solo artist. Gilmour has been actively involved with many charity organizations over the course of his career. In 2003, he was appointed CBE for services to music and philanthropy and was awarded with the Outstanding Contribution title at the 2008 Q Awards.
Gilmour was approached in late December 1967 by drummer Nick Mason, who asked if he would be interested in joining Pink Floyd, which he did in January 1968, making Pink Floyd briefly a five-piece band. He was used to fill in for Syd Barrett's guitar parts when the front man was unable to take a consistent part in Floyd's live performances. When Syd Barrett "left" the group (due to his erratic behaviour, the band chose not to pick Barrett up one night for a gig ), Gilmour by default assumed the role of the band's lead guitarist and shared lead vocal duties with bassist Roger Waters and keyboard player Richard Wright in Barrett's stead. However, after the back-to-back successes of The Dark Side of the Moon and then Wish You Were Here, Waters took more control over the band, writing most of Animals and The Wall by himself. Wright was fired during The Wall sessions and the relationship between Gilmour and Waters would further deteriorate during the making of The Wall film and the 1983 Pink Floyd album The Final Cut.
After recording "Animals", Gilmour thought that his musical influence had been underused, and channelled his ideas into his self-titled first solo album (1978), which showcases his signature guitar style, as well as underscoring his songwriting skills. A tune written during the finishing stages of this album, but too late to be used, became "Comfortably Numb" on The Wall.
Gilmour performing in Brussels in 1984, on his About Face tour
The negative atmosphere surrounding the creation of The Wall album and film, compounded by The Final Cut's virtually being a Roger Waters solo album, led Gilmour to produce his second solo album About Face in 1984. He used it to express his feelings about a range of topics, from the murder of John Lennon, to his relationship with Waters. He has since admitted that he also used the album to distance himself from Pink Floyd. He toured Europe and the US along with support act The Television Personalities, who later disappeared from the line-up after revealing Syd Barrett's address on stage. Mason and Wright also played on the UK leg of the tour, which despite some cancellations eventually turned a profit. When he returned from touring, Gilmour played guitar with a range of artists, and also produced The Dream Academy, who had a top ten hit with "Life in a Northern Town".
In 1985, Waters declared that Pink Floyd was "a spent force creatively". However, in 1986, Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason issued a press release stating that Waters had quit the band and they intended to continue without him. Gilmour assumed full control of the group and produced A Momentary Lapse of Reason in 1987 with some contributions from Mason and Richard Wright. Wright officially rejoined the band after the release of the album for a lengthy world tour and helped create 1994's The Division Bell as well. Gilmour explained:
“ I had a number of problems with the direction of the band in our recent past, before Roger left. I thought the songs were very wordy and that, because the specific meanings of those words were so important, the music became a mere vehicle for lyrics, and not a very inspiring one. Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here were so successful not just because of Roger's contributions, but also because there was a better balance between the music and the lyrics than there has been in more recent albums. That's what I'm trying to do with A Momentary Lapse of Reason; more focus on the music, restore the balance. ”
In 1986, Gilmour purchased the houseboat Astoria which is moored on the River Thames near Hampton Court, and transformed it into a recording studio. The majority of the two most recent Pink Floyd albums, as well as Gilmour's 2006 solo release On an Island, were recorded there.
On 2 July 2005, Gilmour played with Pink Floyd — including Roger Waters — at Live 8. The performance caused a temporary 1343% sales increase of Pink Floyd's album Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd. Gilmour donated all of his resulting profits to charities that reflect the goals of Live 8 saying:
Gilmour at Live 8 in July 2005
“ Though the main objective has been to raise consciousness and put pressure on the G8 leaders, I will not profit from the concert. This is money that should be used to save lives. ”
Shortly after, he called upon all artists experiencing a surge in sales from Live 8 performances to donate the extra revenue to Live 8 fund-raising. After the Live 8 concert, Pink Floyd were offered £150 million to tour the United States, but the band turned down the offer.
On 3 February 2006, he announced in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that Pink Floyd would most likely never tour or write material together again. He said:
“ I think enough is enough. I am 60 years old. I don't have the will to work as much anymore. Pink Floyd was an important part in my life, I have had a wonderful time, but it's over. For me it's much less complicated to work alone. ”
He said that by agreeing to Live 8, he had ensured the story of Floyd would not end on a sour note.
“ There was more than one reason, firstly to support the cause. The second one is the energy consuming an uncomfortable relationship between Roger and me that I was carrying along in my heart. That is why we wanted to perform and to leave the trash behind. Thirdly, I might have regretted it if I declined. ”
On 20 February 2006, Gilmour commented again on Pink Floyd's future when he was interviewed by Billboard.com, stating, "Who knows? I have no plans at all to do that. My plans are to do my concerts and put my solo record out."
In December 2006, Gilmour released a tribute to Syd Barrett, who had died in July that year, in the form of his own version of Pink Floyd's first single "Arnold Layne". Recorded live at London's Royal Albert Hall, the CD single featured versions of the song performed by Pink Floyd's keyboard player (and Gilmour's band member) Richard Wright and special guest artist David Bowie. The single entered the UK Top 75 charts at number nineteen and remained steady for three weeks.
Since their Live 8 appearance in 2005, Gilmour has repeatedly said that there will be no Pink Floyd reunion. However, in a 2007 interview with Phil Manzanera, he stated that he's "not done with it yet" and that he plans on doing "something" in the future. With the death of Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright in September 2008, another reunion of the core group members became impossible. Gilmour said of Wright: "In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick's enormous input was frequently forgotten. He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound. Like Rick, I don't find it easy to express my feelings in words, but I loved him and will miss him enormously. I have never played with anyone quite like him."
Other projects
Taking time off from Pink Floyd's schedule, Gilmour also took up various roles as a producer, sideman and even concert sound engineer for a wide variety of acts which included former bandmate Syd Barrett, Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, Grace Jones, Tom Jones, Elton John, B. B. King, Seal, Sam Brown, Jools Holland, Bob Dylan, Pete Townshend, The Who, Supertramp, Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Alan Parsons, and various charity groups among others.
In 1985, Gilmour was member of Bryan Ferry's band. He played on Ferry's album Boys and Girls, as well as the song "Is Your Love Strong Enough" for the U.S. release of the Ridley Scott-Tom Cruise film Legend. A music video for the latter was created, incorporating Ferry and Gilmour into footage from the film (released as a bonus on the 2002 "Ultimate Edition" DVD release). Later that year, Gilmour played with Ferry at the London Live Aid concert; his first meeting with Ferry's keyboard player Jon Carin, later to tour with Pink Floyd.
David Gilmour also took part in a comedy skit titled "The Easy Guitar Book Sketch" with comedian Rowland Rivron and fellow British musicians Mark Knopfler, Lemmy from Motorhead, Mark King from Level 42, and Gary Moore. Guitar tech Phil Taylor explained in an interview that Knopfler used Gilmour's guitar rig and managed to sound like himself when performing in the skit.
He has also recorded four solo albums, all four of which charted in the U.S. Top 40 (2006's On an Island peaked at #6 in 2006, 2008's Live in Gdansk peaked at #26, his 1978 self-titled solo debut peaked at #29 in 1978 and 1984's About Face peaked at #32 in 1984) thus making him the only member of Pink Floyd to have a commercially successful solo career.
In 1994, Gilmour played guitar for the video game Tuneland, along with the additional saxophonist for Pink Floyd, Scott Page.
In 2001 and 2002, he held a small number of acoustic solo concerts in London and Paris, along with a small band and choir, which was documented on the In Concert release. In 2003, Rolling Stone included Gilmour in the list of hundred greatest guitarists of all time.
On 24 September 2004, Gilmour performed a three song set (tracks 28-30) at The Strat Pack concert at London's Wembley Arena, marking the 50th anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster guitar.
On 6 March 2006, his 60th birthday, he released his third solo album, On an Island, and a day later it was released in the US; it debuted at #1 in the UK charts. The album reached the top five in Germany and Sweden, and the top six in Billboard 200. Produced by Gilmour along with Phil Manzanera and Chris Thomas, the album features orchestrations by renowned Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner. The album features David Crosby and Graham Nash on harmonies on the title track, Robert Wyatt on cornet and percussion and Richard Wright on Hammond organ and vocals. Other contributors include Jools Holland, Phil Manzanera, Georgie Fame, Andy Newmark, B. J. Cole, Chris Stainton, Willie Wilson, Rado ‘Bob’ Klose on guitar and Leszek Możdżer on piano. The album also features Gilmour's debut with the saxophone.
Gilmour toured Europe, US and Canada from 10 March to 31 May to promote On an Island. There were 10 shows in the US and Canadian leg of the tour. Pink Floyd alumnus Richard Wright, and frequent Floyd collaborators Dick Parry, Guy Pratt and Jon Carin also accompanied him on the tour. More shows were held in Europe during from July through August in 2006.
In a press release to promote the tour, David Gilmour stated:
“ "I'm rather hoping that with this tour announcement, people will believe me when I say, honestly, this is the only band I plan to tour with!". ”
On an Island peaked the UK charts by reaching number one. On 10 April 2006, the album was certified platinum in Canada, with sales of over 100,000 copies. The album also gave Gilmour his first US Top 10 album as a solo artist.
A video recording of a show from Gilmour's solo tour, entitled Remember That Night - Live At The Royal Albert Hall was released on 17 September 2007. The double DVD, directed by David Mallet, contains over five hours of footage, including an on-the-road documentary and guest appearances by David Bowie and Robert Wyatt. The two and a half hour concert features band members Richard Wright of Pink Floyd, Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music, Steve DiStanislao on drums, and various Pink Floyd regulars such as Dick Parry, Guy Pratt and Jon Carin. The 20-page booklet accompanying the DVD, features over 80 photos selected from studio recording and touring. The album is now available on Hi-Definition Blu-ray Disc with Dolby TrueHD surround sound. As TrueHD is not a mandatory format for Blu-ray players, and the disc carries no other surround channel, some players will only play it in stereo.
The final show of David Gilmour's On an Island tour was held at the Gdańsk Shipyard on 26 August 2006. The concert was held before a huge crowd of 50,000, and marked the twenty-sixth anniversary of Poland's 1980 revolution. The concert was notable for the inclusion of "A Great Day For Freedom" as part of the encore.
The show was recorded resulting in a live album and DVD release; Live in Gdańsk. The concert was the only occasion on which Gilmour performed the tour material with an orchestra, using the 40-strong string section of the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Zbigniew Preisner, who was responsible for On An Island's orchestral arrangements.
On 25 May 2009, he participated in a concert held at Union Chapel in Islington, London. The concert was of part of the 'Hidden Gigs' campaign against hidden homelessness that is organized by the Crisis, a UK-based national charity for people homelessness. There he appeared in a collaboration with the Malian musicians Amadou and Mariam.
On 4 July 2009, he joined his friend Jeff Beck onstage at the Royal Albert Hall. David and Jeff traded solos on Jerusalem and closed the show with Hi Ho Silver Lining.
In August 2009, he released an online single, Chicago - Change the World, on which he sang and played guitar, bass and keyboards, to promote awareness of the plight of Gary McKinnon. A re-titled cover of the Graham Nash song Chicago, it featured Chrissie Hynde and Bob Geldof, plus McKinnon himself. It was produced by long-time Pink Floyd collaborator Chris Thomas.. A video was also posted on-line.
Musical style
Gilmour is best known for his lead guitar work. Gilmour's solo style is often characterised by blues-influenced phrasing, expressive note bends and sustain. In 2005, Gilmour was rated the 82nd greatest guitarist by Rolling Stone. The website Digital Dream Door ranked Gilmour as the fourteenth greatest rock guitarist. In January 2007, Guitar World readers voted Gilmour's solos, "Comfortably Numb", "Time" and "Money" into the top 100 Greatest Guitar Solos ("Comfortably Numb" was voted the 4th greatest solo of all time , "Time" was voted the 21st greatest solo of all time and "Money" was voted the 62nd greatest solo of all time .
In his early career with Pink Floyd, Gilmour played a multitude of Fender Stratocasters. One of his popular guitar solos ("Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2") was played on a Gibson Les Paul Gold Top guitar equipped with Bigsby tremolo bar and P-90 pickups. In 1996, Gilmour was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. Gilmour's solo on "Comfortably Numb" was voted as one of the greatest guitar solos of all time in several polls by listeners and critics.
Although mainly known for his guitar work, Gilmour is also a proficient multi-instrumentalist. He also plays bass guitar (which he did on some Pink Floyd tracks), keyboards, banjo, harmonica, drums (as heard on the Syd Barrett solo track "Dominoes", and other songs where he opted to play all the instruments) and lately, the saxophone.
The following is a list of equipment Gilmour either has used on his solo or Pink Floyd recordings, as well as on current or previous tours.
Guitars
* Fender
o Stratocaster
+ His main guitar, much modified over the years, is a (1969) 3-colour Sunburst Fender Stratocaster painted over with black as well with a black pickguard and white-coloured pickup covers and knobs, currently with a vintage 1957 reissue "V shape" maple neck. This neck came from his guitar that he used on the About Face tour. It also includes a small toggle switch that combines the neck and bridge pickups (Note this guitar was for brief time fitted with a Kahler locking tremolo system, the system was subsequently un-installed and the removed wood filled with a replacement piece of timber and repainted to match as can be noted by close examination of the guitar behind its reinstalled Fender tremolo). This guitar has a Seymour Duncan SSL-1 bridge pickup, and currently has a strap which once belonged to Jimi Hendrix.
+ His main guitar for the post-Roger Waters era Pink Floyd tours in support of A Momentary Lapse of Reason, Delicate Sound of Thunder (dubbed "Another Lapse") and The Division Bell was a Candy Apple Red '57 reissue (made in 1984) fitted with a set of EMG SA active pickups with the two standard tone controls replaced with an EMG SPC mid boost control, and an EXG treble/bass expander (which cuts the mids while boosting bass and treble). On the On an Island tour it was used every night of the tour on "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".
+ Gilmour is the owner of Strat #0001. However, this is not the first Stratocaster ever made, but the first to be given a serial number. It was last seen at the Strat Pack Concert in Wembley Arena in 2004.
+ Cream coloured '57 reissue. Used at 1984 solo tour and at the early parts of the 1987-1990 tour. In the 1994 tour it was used as spare guitar. Tim Renwick played it with David and the rest of Pink Floyd at their Live 8 set. This Strat was fitted with the same EMG set of pickups and tone circuits as the aforementioned Candy Apple Red '57 reissue and after its use at Live 8, the cream finished guitar's neck was transferred to David's main Black Strat.
+ '57 Lake Placid Blue. (Serial number #0040). Used at The Wall sessions.
+ Double-neck Stratocaster (body was custom made by guitar builder Dick Knight, but the necks were Fender strat necks. Used live (1970-72).
+ Sunburst Stratocaster. '63 rosewood neck with '59 body. This guitar was given to David by Steve Marriott of Humble Pie and the Small Faces, and though David didn't like the guitar enough to use it very long, he preferred the neck to the original one on his black Strat and switched the two. The sunburst Strat was used as his spare and slide guitar in subsequent years (sporting the maple cap neck with a large headstock from the black Strat), and the rosewood neck remained on the black Strat until 1978.
+ White with white pickguard. Used in the late 1960s. Received as a gift from the rest of the band. Stolen in equipment heist in 1970.
+ Gilmour also used a strat equipped with the Doug Wilkes 'Answer' sliding pickup system on the 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' recording.
+ Doug Wilkes also built Gilmour a Precision-style single pickup bass, which was also used on the 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' sessions.
o Telecaster
+ Blonde body with white pickguard. Used on the On an Island tour.
+ '52 Butterscotch Reissues with black pickguard. Used between 1987 and 1995. The first guitar was tuned in Dropped D rather than a standard tuning and was used for "Run Like Hell". The second served as a backup instrument and had a regular guitar tuning. Gilmour used this guitar for Astronomy Domine.
+ '59 Custom Telecaster with sunburst ash body, white binding on the body, rosewood fingerboard, and a white pickguard. There was a Gibson Humbucker placed in the Neck position at a brief point but was removed before it was used on the Animals' recording sessions. Last seen on rehearsals during the On an Island tour.
+ '61 Telecaster used during The Wall recording sessions. Also used live in post-Waters era for "Run Like Hell". Last seen on the Syd Barrett memory concert in 2007.
+ 1960s brown-faded body. Used in the late 1960s.
+ 1960s blonde ash body with white pickguard. His main guitar during his first year with Pink Floyd, which was lost by an airline company in 1968, and prompted Gilmour to buy the brown-faded Telecaster.
o Esquire
+ '55 Sunburst body aka "The workmate Tele". Neck pickup added. Used at the recording sessions for his first solo album, The Wall recording session and the following tour. Also seen when performing with Paul McCartney in the late 1990s.
o Lap Steel guitars
+ 1950's Fender 1000 twin neck pedal steel. Used in the early 1970s, purchased from a pawn shop while Gilmour was in Seattle in 1970. Used during recording of "One of These Days" from "Meddle" and "Breathe" and "Great Gig in the Sky" from The Dark Side of the Moon.
+ Fender Deluxe lap steel. First time seen during The Division Bell tour in 1994.
o Fender Bass VI. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
o Fender Precision bass guitar
o Fender Jazz Bass. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
* Gibson
o A Gibson Les Paul Goldtop (P-90 pick-ups, Bigsby vibrato bridge). Used for the guitar solo on 'Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2.
o Gibson: EH150 Lap Steel guitar, "Chet Atkins" classical guitar, & J-200 Celebrity acoustic guitars.
* Gretsch Duo-Jet
* Bill Lewis 24-fret Guitar. Used at Meddle and Dark Side of the Moon recording sessions.
* Ovation.
o Ovation Legend 1619-4 steel string & high string guitars. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
o Ovation Legend 1613-4 nylon string guitar. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
o Ovation Magnum bass guitar. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
* Takamine acoustic guitar.
* Martin acoustic guitars.
o Martin D-35.
o Martin D12-28 12-string acoustic guitar.
o Martin D-18 acoustic.
* Taylor acoustics
* Guild F-512 "antique burst" 12-string guitar.
* Jose Vilaplana nylon string guitar
* Steinberger GL. His main guitar during A Momentary Lapse of Reason recording sessions.
* Charvel Fretless Fender Precision style bass guitar. Used during The Wall recording sessions.
* Music Man Fretless Stingray bass guitar. Used by Gilmour while running the house band at the 1991 Amnesty International concert, during Spinal Tap's performance on "Big Bottom". (All guitarists played bass on this song, and Gilmour played a solo.)
* Jedson lap steel guitars. One red (1977-tuned D-G-D-G-B-E for Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts 6-9, 1987-2006: Tuned E-B-E-G-B-E) and one blonde.
* ZB pedal steel guitar.
Tribute guitars
In November 2006, Fender Custom Shop announced two reproductions of Gilmour's "Black" Strat for release on 22 September 2008. Gilmour's website states the release date was chosen to coincide with the release of his Live in Gdansk album. Both guitars are based on extensive measurements of the original instrument, each featuring varying degrees of wear.
Discography
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd portal
* A Saucerful of Secrets – 29 June 1968.
* More – 27 July 1969.
* Ummagumma – 25 October 1969.
* Atom Heart Mother – 10 October 1970.
* Meddle – 30 October 1971.
* Obscured by Clouds – 3 June 1972.
* The Dark Side of the Moon – 17 March 1973.
* Wish You Were Here – 15 September 1975.
* Animals – 23 January 1977.
* The Wall – 30 November 1979.
* The Final Cut – 21 March 1983.
* A Momentary Lapse of Reason – 8 September 1987.
* Delicate Sound of Thunder – 22 November 1988.
* The Division Bell – 30 March 1994.
* P•U•L•S•E – 29 May 1995.
For the full discography, see Pink Floyd discography.
Solo
Albums
* David Gilmour – 25 May 1978
* About Face – 27 March 1984
* On an Island – 6 March 2006
* Live in Gdańsk – 22 September 2008
Soundtracks
* Fractals: The Colors of Infinity, Documentary - 1994
Singles
* "There's No Way Out of Here", 1978
* "Blue Light", March, 1984
* "Love on the Air", May, 1984
* "On an Island", 6 March 2006
* "Smile", 13 June 2006
* "Arnold Layne" (Live) 26 December 2006
Filmography
* David Gilmour Live 1984 (VHS) – September 1984
* David Gilmour in Concert (DVD) – October 2002
* Remember That Night (DVD/BD) – September 2007
* Live in Gdańsk (DVD) – September 2008
Collaborations and work for other artists
Year Artist Album / Work
1970 Syd Barrett The Madcap Laughs
Syd Barrett Barrett
Ron Geesin and Roger Waters "Give Birth to a Smile" on Music from The Body
1974 Unicorn Blue Pine Trees
1975 Roy Harper "The Game" from HQ
1978 Kate Bush Executive producer for two tracks in The Kick Inside
1979 Wings Back to the Egg
1980 Roy Harper "Playing Games", "You (The Game Part II)", "Old Faces", "Short and Sweet" and "True Story" credited to Harper/Gilmour from the album "The Unknown Soldier". Gilmour is credited as a musician on the album.
1982 Kate Bush Vocals on "Pull Out The Pin" in The Dreaming
1983 Atomic Rooster Headline news
1984 Paul McCartney No More Lonely Nights in Give My Regards to Broad Street
1985 Supertramp Brother Where You Bound
Bryan Ferry "Is Your Love Strong Enough?" in Legend
Bryan Ferry Boys and Girls
Bryan Ferry Live Aid (Played with Bryan Ferry's band)
Nick Mason and Rick Fenn "Lie for a Lie" (vocals) in Profiles
Pete Townshend "Give Blood" and "White City Fighting" in White City: A Novel "White City Fighting" credited to Townshend/Gilmour. Also performed live as Deep End.
Arcadia So Red the Rose
The Dream Academy Co-produced The Dream Academy
Roy Harper and Jimmy Page Whatever Happened to Jugula?,"Hope" credited to Harper/Gilmour.
1986 Berlin Count Three & Pray
Pete Townshend lead guitar in Pete Townshend's Deep End Live!
1987 Dalbello "Immaculate Eyes" in she
1988 Peter Cetera "You Never Listen To Me" in One More Story
Sam Brown Stop! Guitar on "This Feeling" and "I'll Be In Love"
1989 Kate Bush "Love and Anger" and "Rocket's Tail" in The Sensual World
Paul McCartney "We Got Married" in Flowers in the Dirt
Rock Aid Armenia Smoke on the Water in The Earthquake Album
Warren Zevon Transverse City
1990 Roy Harper "Once" in Once (w/Kate Bush on backing vocals)
Propaganda "Only one word" in 1234
Sam Brown April Moon, vocals on "Troubled Soul"
1991 All About Eve "Are You Lonely" and "Wishing the Hours Away" in Touched by Jesus
1992 Elton John "Understanding Women", in The One
Mica Paris I Put a Spell on You on Later With Jools Holland
1993 Paul Rodgers "Standing Around Crying" in Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters
1996 The Who Quadrophenia (1996 Hyde Park concert)
1997 B. B. King "Cryin' Won't Help You Babe" in Deuces Wild
1999 Paul McCartney Run Devil Run
2001 The Triumph of Love soundtrack Plays guitar over several chamber orchestra pieces
2003 Ringo Starr Ringo Rama
2004 Alan Parsons "Return to Tunguska" in A Valid Path
2005 Various artists "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)"
2006 Chris Jagger It's Amazing (What People Throw Away), in Act of Faith
Chris Jagger Junkman in Act of Faith
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm29/icarusxx7/DavidGilmour.jpg
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q144/Jen8153/gilmour.jpg
A few years back, I was walking down a road nears Lord's Cricket Ground (in London), when a complete stranger asked me "do I know where David Gilmour's house is?" Then I did not know, and now I still do not know.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/06/10 at 11:56 am
Pink Floyd still rocks. :)
I'll give them their props, but I'm not into Pink Floyd
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/06/10 at 11:56 am
A few years back, I was walking down a road nears Lord's Cricket Ground (in London), when a complete stranger asked me "do I know where David Gilmour's house is?" Then I did not know, and now I still do not know.
Do you want to know?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/06/10 at 11:57 am
Pink Floyd still rocks. :)
More like Grey Floyd ?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/06/10 at 11:57 am
Do you want to know?
Not really.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/06/10 at 11:59 am
I'll give them their props, but I'm not into Pink Floyd
What song from ANY decade are you currently listening to?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/06/10 at 12:01 pm
What song from ANY decade are you currently listening to?
Which did not feature David Gilmour.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/06/10 at 1:44 pm
More like Grey Floyd ?
:D ;D ;D ;D
I LOVE Pink Floyd. Yeah, I know The Wall is overplayed but I still love it. I have the video of the movie plus I have a video of the all-star "Live At The Berlin Wall"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244296/
If you care to watch it on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=search_playlists&search_query=live+at+the+berlin+wall&uni=1
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/06/10 at 3:38 pm
More like Grey Floyd ?
A much better name.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/06/10 at 3:47 pm
http://www.popartdiva.com/ProductImages/LARGES/Parodies/PinkFreud.jpg
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 03/06/10 at 5:52 pm
Pink Floyd still rocks. :)
They do. One of the best bands ever.
:D ;D ;D ;D
I LOVE Pink Floyd. Yeah, I know The Wall is overplayed but I still love it. I have the video of the movie plus I have a video of the all-star "Live At The Berlin Wall"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244296/
If you care to watch it on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=search_playlists&search_query=live+at+the+berlin+wall&uni=1
Cat
I was fortunate to see them in concert about 25 years ago, before they were grey. "Time" and "Comfortably numb" are still 2 of my all time favorite songs.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/07/10 at 6:51 am
The word or phrase of the day....Shattered Glass
I can't find a definition for it.
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb311/agc727/shattered.jpg
http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/tt146/dark3y3/shattered-glass.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh266/shannonmolear/shattered%20glass/brokenglasswindows.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q18/hails615/Funny/Cars/carmaserati-shattered-glass.jpg
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff250/Cherry_Blossom_Kiss/Photo5.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh12/abbyrw08/martini.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/07/10 at 6:54 am
The person born on this day...Peter Sarsgaard
ohn Peter Sarsgaard (born March 7, 1971) is an American film and stage actor. He landed his first feature role in the movie Dead Man Walking in 1995. He then appeared in the independent films Another Day in Paradise (1995) and Desert Blue (1996). In 1998, Sarsgaard received a substantial role in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), playing Raoul, the son of Athos. Sarsgaard later achieved critical recognition when he was cast in Boys Don't Cry (1999) as John Lotter. He landed his first leading role in the 2001 film The Center of the World. The following year, he played supporting roles in Empire, The Salton Sea, and K-19: The Widowmaker.
For his portrayal of Charles Lane in Shattered Glass, Sarsgaard won the Online Film Critics Society Award in the category for Best Supporting Actor and was nominated for the 2004 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Sarsgaard has appeared in an eclectic range of films, including the 2004 comedy Garden State, the biographical film Kinsey (2004), the drama The Dying Gaul (2005) and big-budget films such as Flightplan (2005), Jarhead (2005), and Orphan (2009).
Sarsgaard has also appeared in Off-Broadway productions including Kingdom of Earth, Laura Dennis, and Burn This. In September 2008, he made his Broadway debut as Boris Alexeyevich Trigorin in The Seagull. Sarsgaard appeared in the off-Broadway production of Uncle Vanya in January 2009. Sarsgaard has been in a relationship with actress Maggie Gyllenhaal since 2002. In 2006, the two became engaged and Gyllenhaal gave birth to their daughter, Ramona, on October 3, 2006. On May 2, 2009 Sarsgaard and Gyllenhaal were married in Italy.
Sarsgaard was born at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, where his father was an Air Force engineer and later worked for Monsanto Company and IBM. His family moved over twelve times during his childhood, following his father's job. At the age of seven, Sarsgaard originally wanted to become a soccer player, and took up ballet to help improve his coordination. After suffering several bad concussions while playing soccer, he gave up the sport and became interested in writing and theater.
Sarsgaard attended Fairfield Prep, a Jesuit boys' school in Connecticut, where he became interested in movies. Following his graduation from Fairfield Prep, he attended Bard College, in New York, for two years before transferring to Washington University in St. Louis in 1991, where he co-founded an improvisational comedy troupe "Mama's Pot Roast". While at Washington University, Sarsgaard began performing in plays in an offshoot of New York's Actors Studio; His first role was as the servant Lawrence in Molière's Tartuffe. In 1993, he graduated with a degree in history and moved to New York.
Career
Early work
Sarsgaard branched out with guest roles in television productions filmed in New York City, with Law & Order in 1995, and New York Undercover (1997) as well as an appearance in the 1997 HBO special Subway Stories. He appeared in his first film role in Dead Man Walking (1995), where he was cast as a murdered victim, killed by Sean Penn's character.
His next film roles were in a series of independent features: Another Day in Paradise (1997), part of an ensemble cast that included James Woods, Melanie Griffith, Vincent Kartheiser, and Natasha Gregson Wagner, and In Desert Blue (1998), where he had a supporting role in the film. He received his substantial role in the 1998 film The Man in the Iron Mask, where he played Raoul, the ill-fated son of John Malkovich's dueling Musketeer, Athos. The film uses characters from Alexandre Dumas' d'Artagnan Romances, and is very loosely adapted from some plot elements of The Vicomte de Bragelonne. The film received ambivalent reviews, but was a success at the box office, earning $182 million worldwide.
Critical success
In 1999, Sarsgaard earned critical recognition in Kimberly Peirce's Boys Don't Cry, where he was cast as John Lotter, a violent charismatic ex-convict. The film is based on the real-life story of Brandon Teena, a transman who was raped and murdered in 1993 by Lotter and Tom Nissen after they found out he had female genitalia. Boys Don’t Cry received overwhelmingly positive acclaim from critics. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly in his review of the film noted that Sarsgaard and co-star Brendan Sexton III are "ominously authentic as violent Midwestern sociopaths driven to annihilate what they can't control." In the Seattle Post-Intelligencer review: "It's a marvelous performance supported ably by ... Sarsgaard as the unpredictable, sociopathic Lotter." The film was screened at a special presentation at the 2000 Venice Film Festival. The film was ranked as one of "The 25 Most Dangerous Movies" by Premiere magazine. In regards to his character, as how Sarsgaard made him "likeable, sympathetic even" was because he wanted the audience "to understand why they would hang out with me. If my character wasn't necessarily likable, I wanted him to be charismatic enough that you weren't going to have a dull time if you were with him." In another interview, Sarsgaard said he felt "empowered" by playing John.
He later appeared in the 2001 film The Center of the World, his first leading role, where he plays Richard Longman, a lonely young entrepreneur, who skips out on his company's big initial public offering and pays a stripper (Molly Parker) $10,000 to fly to Las Vegas with him. Although the film was met with mixed reviews, A.O. Scott of the New York Times, reported that the performances by both Sarsgaard and Parker "provide a rough grain of authenticity, capturing the blunted affect and aimless neediness of people in their 20's struggling to navigate a world of material abundance and impoverished emotional possibility." Scott concluded with, "Mr. Sarsgaard ... makes Richard seem like a genuinely nice guy, too innocent to grasp the sleaziness of his bargain with Florence."
In 2002, Sarsgaard starred in three features, K-19: The Widowmaker, Empire and The Salton Sea. In K-19: The Widowmaker, he portrayed a young Russian sailor lieutenant. The film's budget cost was $100 million to make, but upon release, it grossed $35 million in the United States and $30 million internationally, qualifying it as a box office failure. His next role was in Empire, a crime thriller film, where he was cast in a supporting role. Sarsgaard played a meth addict in D. J. Caruso's The Salton Sea.
Worldwide recognition
2003 marked a significant turning point in Sarsgaard's career, when he starred in the feature film Shattered Glass. He depicted journalist Charles Lane, the lead editor of The New Republic. Shattered Glass is based on the real events of journalist Stephen Glass' career at the The New Republic during the mid-1990s and his fall when his widespread journalistic fraud is exposed. During promotion of the film, Sarsgaard noted of his portrayal of Lane: "I just wanted to get his perspective on the actual events. I think that I tried to have some respect for myself and that way you're respecting the real person you're playing. I've done it a number of times. And it's always a little bit confusing. The best thing to do is just to ignore the fact, I think, that you're playing somebody who is a real life character." According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, "Peter Sarsgaard is appealingly level, a stolid straight-shooter as Lane". A reviewer from the Chicago Tribune noted that Sarsgaard plays Lane with "great subtlety and grace". The newspaper concluded with, "The character doesn't seethe with personal resentment; when he does a slow burn, he conveys a much deeper sense of a man's value system being violated past the breaking point." Sarsgaard's performance in the film earned him the Best Supporting Actor award from the Online Film Critics Society, his first Golden Globe Award nomination and an Independent Spirit Award nomination.
Following the success of Shattered Glass, Sarsgaard starred in several roles. In 2004 he starred in the comedy-drama Garden State, where he played Mark, the sarcastic best friend to Zach Braff's character. In the same year, Sarsgaard portrayed Clyde Martin, in the biographical film Kinsey, a movie about the life of Alfred Kinsey, played by Liam Neeson. Kinsey was Sarsgaard's first film role which featured full frontal nudity. Paul Clinton of CNN reported that Sarsgaard's Clyde Martin "stands out" and "confirms that he's without doubt one of the best character actors of his generation." When asked about his kissing scenes with Neeson in Kinsey, Sarsgaard said:
It wasn’t as hard as, say, running around with all my gear on in Jarhead. I’d rather go for an awkward moment than physical exertion any day. The only thing that I think get freaked out about when they have to do something like kiss a guy in a movie—when to their knowledge they’re straight—is that they’re afraid they’re going to be turned on. And if you’re not afraid that you’re going to be turned on—meaning that you know what you like—then really it’s not that hard.
In 2005, Sarsgaard starred in the drama The Dying Gaul, where he plays Robert Sandrich, a struggling screenwriter who has written a serious love story about a man and his terminally ill partner. The film garnered favorable reviews. In an interview, Sarsgaard said, he felt like he was playing a character based on Craig Lucas, the director, whom he describes as "elitist in a fun way". Because his character, a screenwriter, is also "elitist," when he sells his soul by compromising his artistic vision, "...the conflict seems bigger. Anyone can sell their soul. Even people with integrity. There's always that temptation to guard against. Which is why it's best to keep as much as possible hidden."
Also in 2005, he had a supporting role in the suspense film The Skeleton Key. His next film role was in Robert Schwentke's thriller Flightplan (2005). In the film, Sarsgaard played an air marshall, who is ordered to keep guard of Jodie Foster's character. Flightplan was screened at a special presentation at the 30th annual Toronto International Film Festival in 2005. Despite the mixed reviews, the film was a financial success, earning $223 million worldwide, making it his highest grossing film to the end of 2008. Sarsgaard's next feature was in Jarhead (2005) opposite Jake Gyllenhaal. The movie is based on U.S. Marine Anthony Swofford's 2003 Gulf War memoir of the same name.
Sarsgaard hosted Saturday Night Live (SNL) on January 21, 2006. In his introductory monologue, he tried to point out that he was a nice guy despite his sometimes macabre roles. Video clips were then played of Sarsgaard scaring the SNL cast. One sketch featured the Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) global scare, which was still fresh in many minds, and one of the skits included a promotion for the Peter Sarsgaard "SARS-Guard", a reference to the mania of facemasks worn in public by those fearing infection.
Sarsgaard attending the European premiere of The Dark Knight in 2008
In 2007, he starred in supporting roles in Year of the Dog and Rendition. Year of the Dog is a dark comedy about a lonely middle-aged woman, played by Molly Shannon, who finds that animals are the only beings she can truly rely on. Sarsgaard plays Newt, an androgynous dog trainer, and love interest for Shannon's character. He starred alongside Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin, Reese Witherspoon, and Jake Gyllenhaal in Rendition, a Gavin Hood-directed political thriller about the US policy of extraordinary rendition. Viewed as a sex symbol, Sarsgaard was named one of Salon.com's Sexiest Man Living in 2007. 2008 saw Sarsgaard star in the drama Elegy, based on a Phillip Roth novel, The Dying Animal. The film received favorable good reception amongst critics.
In 2009, Sarsgaard starred alongside Jon Foster and Sienna Miller in the drama The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. It is an adaptation of Michael Chabon's novel of the same name. In the movie, Sarsgaard plays Cleveland, the rebellious bisexual boyfriend of Miller's character. The Mysteries of Pittsburgh premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. His next film appearance was in the thriller Orphan, where he and Vera Farmiga play a married couple who lose a baby and adopt a nine-year-old girl, who is not as innocent as she claims to be. Furthermore in the same year, Sarsgaard starred as David in Lone Scherfig's coming of age film An Education. The role required Sarsgaard to speak in a British accent. An Education drew favorable reviews from critics. According to Variety, "Sarsgaard ... marvelously expresses the savoir faire that has such an impact on Jenny ." Sarsgaard has signed on to appear as a federal agent in the film Knight & Day and will appear alongside Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. In February 2010, it was announced that Sarsgaard had been cast as villain Hector Hammond in the superhero film Green Lantern. The film is set for release in 2011.
Stage career
In 1995, Sarsgaard made his theatrical debut in the Off-Broadway production of Horton Foote's Laura Dennis, which was directed by James Houghton. Ben Brantley of The New York Times wrote: "Mr. Sarsgaard ... emerges as an actor to watch with a performance of breathtaking emotional conviction." The following year he starred in Kingdom of Earth opposite Cynthia Nixon and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. His performance in the play received favorable reviews amongst critics. In October 2002, Sarsgaard returned to theater in a New York production of Lanford Wilson's Burn This, where he replaced Edward Norton.
In 2008, Sarsgaard made his Broadway debut at the Royal Court Theatre of Anton Chekhov's adaptation The Seagull alongside Kristin Scott Thomas, Mackenzie Crook and Carey Mulligan. In the production, he plays, Boris Alexeyevich Trigorin, a tortured writer who drives a rival to suicide and a young lover to ruin. For the role, Sarsgaard had been required to speak in a British accent, in which he wanted it to be "less liked by an American audience".
Sarsgaard played Mikhail Lvovich Astrov, a country doctor and philosopher, in the Classic Stage Company's 2009 off-Broadway production of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya in New York City. The cast also included Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mamie Gummer, Denis O'Hare, and George Morfogen. The production, directed by Austin Pendleton, began previews on January 17 and ended its limited run on March 1. Joe Dziemianowicz of the New York Daily News gave the production one out of four stars, but complimented his performance, writing that Sarsgaard does a "credible job as the doctor". In the Bloomberg review of Uncle Vanya, John Simon, wrote: "Sarsgaard can't find the right tempi or emphases: shuttling between colorless rattle and silence-studded rallentandos, he fails at both infectious enthusiasm and self- effacing charm."
Personal life
Sarsgaard and Maggie Gyllenhaal at the New York premiere of An Education in October 2009.
Sarsgaard was raised Catholic and served as an altar boy. In an interview with the New York Times, when asked if he still had Catholic faith, Sarsgaard said: "I like the death-cult aspect of Catholicism. Every religion is interested in death, but Catholicism takes it to a particularly high level. Seriously, in Catholicism, you're supposed to love your enemy. That really impressed me as a kid, and it has helped me as an actor. The way that I view the characters I play is part of my religious upbringing. To abandon curiosity in all personalities, good or bad, is to give up hope in humanity."
Among his most notable romantic relationships, Sarsgaard dated burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese and model/actress Shalom Harlow. Early in his film career, he dated and lived with photographer Malerie Marder, a close friend from his days attending Bard College, who had featured Sarsgaard in some of her early work. Sarsgaard has been in a relationship with actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, and is a close friend of her brother Jake Gyllenhaal, since 2002. In April 2006 they announced their engagement. They have a daughter Ramona, born October 3, 2006, and live in Brooklyn, New York. On May 2, 2009, they married in a small ceremony in Italy.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1995 Dead Man Walking Walter Delacroix
1997 Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground Boy #1 TV
1998 Minor Details Scott
The Man in the Iron Mask Raoul
Desert Blue Billy Baxter
Another Day in Paradise Ty
1999 Freak City Cal Jackson TV
Boys Don't Cry John Lotter
2000 The Cell Julia Hickson's Fiancee Uncredited
Housebound Tom
2001 The Center of the World Richard Longman
Bacon Wagon Cowboy Zombie Victim
2002 Empire Jack
The Salton Sea Jimmy the Finn
K-19: The Widowmaker LT Vadim Radchenko
Unconditional Love Window Washer
2003 Death of a Dynasty Brendon III
Shattered Glass Charles 'Chuck' Lane Golden Globe nomination
2004 Garden State Mark
Kinsey Clyde Martin
2005 The Dying Gaul Robert Sandrich
The Skeleton Key Luke
Flightplan Gene Carson
Jarhead Cpl. Alan Troy
Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony himself guest appearance in episode 8
2007 Year of the Dog Newt
Rendition Alan Smith
2008 Elegy Kenneth Kepesh
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh Cleveland Arning
2009 An Education David
In the Electric Mist Elrod Sykes
Orphan John Coleman
2010 Knight & Day Fitzgerald forthcoming film
2011 Green Lantern Dr. Hector Hammond pre-production
Awards
Year Award Category Film Result
2000 St. Louis International Film Festival Emerging Actor Award Won
2003 Boston Society of Film Critics Awards Best Supporting Actor Shattered Glass Won
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor Won
Toronto Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Performance - Male Won
2004 Chlotrudis Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Male Nominated
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards Best Supporting Actor Won
Las Palmas Film Festival Best Actor Won
National Society of Film Critics Awards Best Supporting Actor Won
Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Supporting Actor Won
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor Won
Golden Globes Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Nominated
Stockholm International Film Festival Best Actor Garden State Won
2005 Satellite Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical Nominated
Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role, Drama Jarhead Nominated
Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Drama Kinsey Nominated
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Chlotrudis Awards Best Supporting Actor Won
Glitter Awards Best Supporting Actor Won
Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Male Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor Jarhead Nominated
2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture An Education Nominated
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d33/xxxxicexxxx/peter%20sarsgaard/1430424_10.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n173/linzzer220/montages/petershottness.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/07/10 at 6:59 am
The word or phrase of the day....Shattered Glass
I can't find a definition for it.
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb311/agc727/shattered.jpg
http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/tt146/dark3y3/shattered-glass.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh266/shannonmolear/shattered%20glass/brokenglasswindows.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q18/hails615/Funny/Cars/carmaserati-shattered-glass.jpg
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff250/Cherry_Blossom_Kiss/Photo5.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh12/abbyrw08/martini.jpg
Let me think!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/07/10 at 7:19 am
The word or phrase of the day....Shattered Glass
I can't find a definition for it.
Glass that has been shattered ?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/07/10 at 7:20 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6gqNCiK-Fw
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/07/10 at 7:28 am
The person who died on this day...Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (July 26, 1928–March 7, 1999) was an American director, writer, producer, and photographer of films, who lived in England during most of the last 40 years of his career. Kubrick was noted for the scrupulous care with which he chose his subjects, his slow method of working, the variety of genres he worked in, his technical perfectionism and his reclusiveness about his films and personal life. He worked far beyond the confines of the Hollywood system, maintaining almost complete artistic control and making movies according to the whims and time constraints of no one but himself, but with the rare advantage of big-studio financial support for all his endeavors. Oscar nominated on several occasions as screenwriter and director, his only personal win was for the special effects in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Kubrick is widely acknowledged as one of the most accomplished, innovative and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. He directed a number of highly acclaimed and often controversial films that have often been perceived as a reflection of his obsessive and perfectionist nature. His films are characterized by a formal visual style and meticulous attention to detail – his later films often have elements of surrealism and expressionism eschewing structured linear narrative. While often viewed as expressing an ironic pessimism, a few critics feel his films contain a cautious optimism when viewed more carefully. His works are noted as some of the "most original, provocative, and visionary motion pictures ever made".
Upon his return to the United States, Kubrick worked for six months on the Marlon Brando vehicle One-Eyed Jacks (1961). The two clashed over a number of casting decisions, and Brando eventually fired him and decided to direct the picture himself. Kubrick worked on a number of unproduced screenplays, including Lunatic at Large, which Kubrick intended to develop into a movie", until Kirk Douglas asked him to take over Douglas' epic production Spartacus (1960) from Anthony Mann, who had been fired by the studio two weeks into shooting.
Based upon the true story of a doomed uprising of Roman slaves, Spartacus was a difficult production. Creative differences arose between Kubrick and Douglas, and the two reportedly had a stormy working relationship. Frustrated by his lack of creative control, Kubrick later largely disowned the film, which further angered Douglas. The friendship the two men had formed on Paths of Glory was destroyed by the experience of making the film. Years later, Douglas referred to Kubrick as "a talented sheesh."
Despite the on-set troubles, Spartacus was a critical and commercial success and established Kubrick as a major director. However, its embattled production convinced Kubrick to find ways of working with Hollywood financing while remaining independent of its production system, which he called "film by fiat, film by frenzy."
Spartacus is the only Stanley Kubrick film in which Kubrick had no hand in the screenplay, no final cut, no producing credit, nor any say in the casting. It is largely Kirk Douglas' project.
Spartacus would go on to win 4 Oscars with one going to Peter Ustinov, for his turn as slave dealer Batiatus, the only actor to win one under Kubrick's direction.
In 1962, Kubrick moved to England to film Lolita, and he would live there for the rest of his life. The original motivation was to film Lolita in a country with laxer censorship laws. However, Kubrick had to remain in England to film Dr. Strangelove since Peter Sellers was not permitted to leave England at the time as he was involved in divorce proceedings, and the filming of 2001: A Space Odyssey required the large capacity of the sound stages of Shepperton studios, which were not available in America. It was after filming the first two of these films in England and in the early planning stages of 2001 that Kubrick decided to settle in England permanently.
Lolita was one of most controversial novels of the century, given its theme. Here, Lolita kisses her stepfather Humbert goodnight while he plays chess with her mother (Shelley Winters). Any kind of overt sexual content had to be toned down significantly for Kubrick's film adaptation, and most of the sexual acts between its title character and Humbert are only hinted at.
Lolita was the first of two times Kubrick worked with British comic actor Peter Sellers, the second being Dr. Strangelove (1964). Sellers' role is that of Clare Quilty, a second older man unknown to Humbert who is involved with Lolita, serving dramatically as Humbert's darker doppelganger. In the novel, Quilty is behind the scenes for most of the story, but Kubrick brings him to the foreground, which resulted in an expansion of his role (even then running to only about half an hour's screen time). Kubrick adds the dramatic device of Quilty's pretending to be multiple characters, allowing Sellers to employ his gift for mock accents.
Critical reception of the film was mixed; many praised it for its daring subject matter, while others were surprised by the lack of intimacy between Lolita and Humbert. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Sue Lyon, who played the title role, won a Golden Globe for Best Newcomer.
Film critic Gene Youngblood holds that stylistically Lolita is a transitional film for Kubrick, "marking the turning point from a naturalistic cinema...to the surrealism of the later films."
Many viewers of Dr. Strangelove did not initially realize that Kubrick had cast Peter Sellers in three roles, all with distinctively different appearances and accents.
Kubrick's next film, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), became a cult film and is now considered a classic. Roger Ebert has written that it is the best satirical film ever made. The screenplay—based upon the novel Red Alert, by ex-RAF flight lieutenant Peter George (writing as Peter Bryant)—was cowritten by Kubrick and George, with contributions by American satirist Terry Southern. Red Alert is a serious, cautionary tale of accidental atomic war. However, Kubrick found the conditions leading to nuclear war so absurd that the story became a sinister macabre comedy. Once so reconceived, Kubrick recruited Terry Southern to polish the final screenplay.
The story centers on an American nuclear attack on the Soviet Union, initiated by renegade U.S.A.F. Gen. Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden; the character's name is a reference to Jack the Ripper) without official authorization. When Ripper gives his orders, the bombers are all at fail-safe points, before which passing they cannot arm their warheads, and past which, they cannot proceed without direct orders. Once past this point, the planes will only return with a prearranged recall code. The film intercuts between three locales: 1) Ripper's air force base, where RAF Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (Sellers) tries to stop the mad Gen. Ripper by obtaining the codes; 2) the Pentagon War Room, where the President of the United States (Sellers) and U.S.A.F. Gen. Buck Turgidson (George C. Scott) try to develop a strategy with the Soviets to stop Gen. Ripper's B-52 bombers from dropping nuclear bombs on Russia; and 3) Major Kong's (Slim Pickens) B-52 bomber, where he and his crew of airmen (never knowing their orders are false) doggedly try to complete their mission. It soon becomes clear that the bombers may reach Russia, since only Gen. Ripper knows the recall codes. At this point, the character of Dr. Strangelove (Sellers' third role) is introduced. His Nazi-style plans for ensuring the survival of the fittest of the human race in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust are the black-comedy highlight of the film.
Peter Sellers, who had played a small but pivotal part in Lolita, was hired to play four roles in Dr. Strangelove. He eventually played three, due to an injured leg and his difficulty in mastering bomber pilot Major "King" Kong's Texas accent. Kubrick later called Sellers "amazing", but lamented the fact that the actor's manic energy rarely lasted beyond two or three takes. To overcome this problem, Kubrick ran two cameras simultaneously and let Sellers improvise.
The film prefigured the antiwar sentiments which would become explosive only a few years after its release. It was highly irreverent toward war policies of the U.S., which were largely considered sacrosanct up to that time. Eight months after the release of Strangelove, the straight thriller Fail-Safe with a plot remarkably similar to that of Dr. Strangelove was released. The film earned four Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture and Best Director) and the New York Film Critics' Best Director award.
2001 is the first of many Kubrick films to use an all-classical score. Kubrick's famed opening shot of the Sun, Earth and Moon is one of several accompanied by Richard Strauss's majestic fanfarelike Also sprach Zarathustra. Space flight is accompanied by Johann Strauss's graceful The Blue Danube, and all appearances of the monolith are accompanied by the unearthly modernistic Requiem by György Ligeti.
Kubrick spent five years developing his next film, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). The film was conceived as a Cinerama spectacle and was photographed in Super Panavision 70. Kubrick cowrote the screenplay with science fiction writer Sir Arthur C. Clarke, expanding on Clarke's short story "The Sentinel." Kubrick reportedly told Clarke that his intention was to make "the proverbial great science fiction film."
2001 begins four million years ago with an encounter between a group of apes and a mysterious black monolith, which seems to trigger in them the ability to use a bone as both a tool and a weapon. Used as the latter allows them to claim a water hole from another group of apes, who have no tool-wielding ability. A victorious ape tosses his bone into the air, at which point the film makes a celebrated jump cut to an orbiting weapons satellite, circa 2000. At this time, a group of Americans at their moon base have dug up a similar monolith. Geological evidence indicates that it was deliberately buried four million years ago. When the sun rises over the monolith, it sends a radio signal to Jupiter. Eighteen months later, the U.S. sends a group of astronauts aboard the spaceship Discovery on a mission to Jupiter, the purpose of which is to investigate the monolith's signal, although this is concealed from the crew. During the flight, the ship's sentient HAL 9000 computer malfunctions but resists disconnection, believing its control of the mission to be crucial. The computer terminates life support for most of the crew before it is successfully shut down. The surviving astronaut, David Bowman (Keir Dullea), in a tiny space pod, encounters another monolith in orbit around Jupiter, whereupon he is hurled into a portal in space at high speed, witnessing many astronomical phenomena. His interstellar journey concludes with his transformation into a mysterious new being resembling a fetus enclosed in an orb of light, last seen gazing at Earth from space.
The $10,000,000 (U.S.) film was a massive production for its time. The groundbreaking visual effects were overseen by Kubrick and were engineered by a team that included a young Douglas Trumbull, who would become famous in his own right for his work on the films Silent Running and Blade Runner. Kubrick extensively used traveling matte photography to film space flight, a technique also used nine years later by George Lucas in making Star Wars, although that film also used motion-control effects that were unavailable to Kubrick at the time. Kubrick made innovative use of slit-scan photography to film the Stargate sequence. The film's striking cinematography was the work of legendary British director of photography Geoffrey Unsworth, who would later photograph classic films such as Cabaret and Superman. Manufacturing companies were consulted as to what the design of both special-purpose and everyday objects would look like in the future. At the time of the movie's release, Arthur C. Clarke predicted that a generation of engineers would design real spacecraft based upon 2001 "…even if it isn't the best way to do it." The film also is a rare instance of portraying space travel realistically, with complete silence in the vacuum of space and a realistic representation of weightlessness.
The film is famous for using classical music in place of an original score. Richard Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra and Johann Strauss's The Blue Danube waltz became for a while indelibly associated with the film, especially the former, as it was not well-known to the public prior to the film. Kubrick also used music by contemporary avant-garde Hungarian composer György Ligeti, although some of the pieces were altered without Ligeti's consent. The appearance of Atmospheres, Lux Aeterna, and Requiem on the 2001 soundtrack was the first wide commercial exposure of Ligeti's work. This use of "program" music was not originally planned. Kubrick had commissioned composer Alex North to write a full-length score for the film, but Kubrick became so attached to the temporary soundtrack he had constructed during editing that he dropped the idea of an original score entirely.
Although it eventually became an enormous success, the film was not an immediate hit. Initial critical reaction was extremely hostile, with critics attacking the film's lack of dialogue, slow pacing, and seemingly impenetrable storyline. One of the film's few defenders was Penelope Gilliatt, who called it (in The New Yorker) "some kind of a great film". Word of mouth among young audiences—especially the 1960s counterculture audience, who loved the movie's "Star Gate" sequence, a seemingly psychedelic journey to the infinite reaches of the cosmos—made the film a hit. Despite nominations in the directing, writing, and producing categories, the only Academy Award Kubrick ever received was for supervising the special effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Today, however, many consider it the greatest sci-fi film ever made, and it is a staple on Top 10 lists of all-time.
Artistically, 2001 was a radical departure from Kubrick's previous films. It contains only 45 minutes of spoken dialogue, over a running time of two hours and twenty minutes. The fairly mundane dialogue is mostly superfluous to the images and music. The film's most memorable dialogue belongs to the computer HAL in HAL's exchanges with Dave Bowman. Some argue that Kubrick is portraying a future humanity largely dissociated from its environment. The film's ambiguous, perplexing ending continues to fascinate contemporary audiences and critics. After this film, Kubrick would never experiment so radically with special effects or narrative form, but his subsequent films maintain some level of ambiguity.
Interpretations of 2001: A Space Odyssey are numerous and diverse. Despite having been released in 1968, it still prompts debate today. When critic Joseph Gelmis asked Kubrick about the meaning of the film, Kubrick replied:
They are the areas I prefer not to discuss, because they are highly subjective and will differ from viewer to viewer. In this sense, the film becomes anything the viewer sees in it. If the film stirs the emotions and penetrates the subconscious of the viewer, if it stimulates, however inchoately, his mythological and religious yearnings and impulses, then it has succeeded.
2001: A Space Odyssey is perhaps Kubrick's most famous and influential film. Steven Spielberg called it his generation's big bang, focusing attention upon the space race. It was a precursor to the explosion of the science fiction film market nine years later, which began with the release of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
1970s: A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon
In A Clockwork Orange, Kubrick continued his innovative use of classical music begun in 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, instead of accompanying graceful space flight, the music accompanied violence and rape. The slow-motion fight scene about to commence is choreographed to Rossini's overture to "The Thieving Magpie."
After 2001, Kubrick initially attempted to make a film about the life of Napoleon Bonaparte. When financing fell through, Kubrick went looking for a project that he could film quickly on a small budget. He eventually settled on A Clockwork Orange (1971). His adaptation of Anthony Burgess' novel is a dark, shocking exploration of violence in human society. The film was initially released with an X rating in the United States and caused considerable controversy. The film's iconic poster imagery was created by legendary designer Bill Gold.
The story takes place in a futuristic version of Great Britain that is both authoritarian and chaotic. The central character is a teenage hooligan named Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell), who, along with his companion "droogs", gleefully torments, beats, robs, tortures, and rapes without conscience or remorse. His brutal beating and murder of an older woman finally lands Alex in prison. Alex undergoes an experimental medical aversion treatment, known as the Ludovico Technique, that inhibits his violent tendencies, though he has no real free moral choice. At the public demonstration of the success of the technique, Alex is treated cruelly but does not fight back; the treatment has made him less than human. He has been conditioned against classical music, his love of which was his one human feature, and apparently all of his sex drive is gone. We further see hints that the promotion of the treatment is politically motivated. After being freed, he is found by his former partners in crime who had betrayed him and who are now policemen, and they beat him mercilessly.
He then comes to the home of a political writer who disdains "the modern age" and is initially sympathetic to Alex's plight until he recognizes Alex as the young man who brutally raped his wife and paralyzed him a few years before. Alex then becomes a pawn in a political game.
The society was sometimes perceived as Communist (as Michel Ciment pointed out in an interview with Kubrick, although he himself didn't feel that way) due to its slight ties to Russian culture. The teenage slang has a heavily Russian vocabulary, which can be attributed to Burgess. There is some evidence to suggest that the society is a socialist one, or at least a society moving out of a failed, Leftist socialism and into a Rightist or fascist society. In the novel, streets have paintings of working men in the style of Russian socialist art, and in the film, there is a mural of socialist artwork with obscenities drawn on it. As well, Alex's residence was shot on actual failed Labour Party architecture (as Malcolm McDowell points out on the DVD commentary), and the name "Municipal Flat Block 18A, Linear North" alludes to socialist-style housing. Later in the film, when the new right-wing government takes power, the atmosphere is certainly more authoritarian than the anarchist air of the beginning. Kubrick's response to Ciment's question remained ambiguous as to exactly what kind of society it is. He held that the film held comparisons between both the left and right end of the political spectrum and that there is little difference between the two. Kubrick stated, "The Minister, played by Anthony Sharp, is clearly a figure of the Right. The writer, Patrick Magee, is a lunatic of the Left. ...They differ only in their dogma. Their means and ends are hardly distinguishable."
Kubrick photographed A Clockwork Orange quickly and almost entirely on location in and around London. Despite the low-tech nature of the film as compared to 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kubrick showed his talent for innovation; at one point, he threw "an old Newman Sinclair clockwork mechanism camera" off a rooftop in order to achieve the effect he wanted. For the score, Kubrick enlisted electronic music composer Wendy Carlos—at the time, known as Walter Carlos (Switched-On Bach)—to adapt famous classical works (such as Beethoven's Ninth Symphony) for the Moog synthesizer.
It is pivotal to the plot that the lead character, Alex, is fond of classical music, and that the brainwashing Ludovico treatment accidentally conditions him against classical music. As such, it was natural for Kubrick to continue the tradition begun in 2001: A Space Odyssey of using a great deal of classical music in the score. However, in this film, classical music accompanies scenes of violent mayhem and coercive sexuality rather than of graceful space flight and mysterious alien presences. Both Pauline Kael (who generally disliked Kubrick) and Roger Ebert (who often praises Kubrick) found Kubrick's use of juxtaposing classical music and violence in this film unpleasant, Ebert calling it a "cute, cheap, dead-end dimension," and Kael, "self-important." Burgess, in his introduction to his own stage adaptation of the novel, held that ultimately, classical music is what will finally redeem Alex.
The film was extremely controversial because of its explicit depiction of teenage gang rape and violence. It was released in the same year as Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs and Don Siegel's Dirty Harry, and the three films sparked a ferocious debate in the media about the social effects of cinematic violence. The controversy was exacerbated when copycat crimes were committed in England by criminals wearing the same costumes as characters in A Clockwork Orange. British readers of the novel noted that Kubrick had omitted the final chapter (also omitted from American editions of the book) in which Alex finds redemption and sanity.
After receiving death threats to himself and his family as a result of the controversy, Kubrick took the unusual step of removing the film from circulation in Britain. It was unavailable in the United Kingdom until its re-release in 2000, a year after Kubrick's death, although it could be seen in continental Europe. The Scala cinema in London's Kings Cross showed the film in the early 1990s, and at Kubrick's insistence, the cinema was sued and put out of business, thus depriving London of one of its very few independent cinemas. It is now the Scala club. In early 1973, Kubrick re-released A Clockwork Orange to cinemas in the United States with footage modified so that it could get its rating reduced to an R. This enabled many more newspapers to advertise it, since in 1972 many newspapers had stopped carrying any advertising for X-rated films due to the new association of that rating with pornography.
Reviewers such as Pauline Kael, who had been critical of Kubrick's previous work, found Barry Lyndon a cold, slow-moving, and lifeless film. Its measured pace and length—more than three hours—put off many American critics and audiences, although it received positive reviews from Rex Reed and Richard Schickel. Time magazine published a cover story about the film, and Kubrick was nominated for three Academy Awards. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four, more than any other Kubrick film. Despite this, Barry Lyndon was not a box office success in the U.S., although the film found a great audience in Europe, particularly in France.
As with most of Kubrick's films, Barry Lyndon's reputation has grown through the years, particularly among other filmmakers. Director Martin Scorsese has cited it as his favorite Kubrick film. Steven Spielberg has praised its "impeccable technique", though, when younger, he famously described it "like going through the Prado without lunch."
As in his other films, Kubrick's cinematography and lighting techniques were highly innovative. Most famously, interior scenes were shot with a specially adapted high-speed f/0.7 Zeiss camera lens originally developed for NASA. This allowed many scenes to be lit only with candlelight, creating two-dimensional diffused-light images reminiscent of 18th-century paintings.
Like its two predecessors, the film does not have an original score. Irish traditional songs (performed by The Chieftains) are combined with works such as Antonio Vivaldi's Cello Concerto in B, a Johann Sebastian Bach Double Concerto, George Frideric Handel's Sarabande from the Keyboard Suite in D minor (HWV 448, HG II/ii/4), and Franz Schubert's German Dance No. 1 in C major, Piano Trio No. 2 in E flat, and Impromptu No. 1 in C minor. The music was conducted and adapted by Leonard Rosenman, for which he won an Oscar.
The pace of Kubrick's work slowed considerably after Barry Lyndon, and he did not make another film for five years. The Shining, released in 1980, was adapted from the novel of the same name by bestselling horror writer Stephen King. The film starred Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, a failed writer who takes a job as an off-season caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, a high-class resort deep in the Colorado mountains. The job requires spending the winter in the isolated hotel with his wife, Wendy (played by Shelley Duvall) and their young son, Danny, who is gifted with a form of telepathy—the "shining" of the film's title.
As winter takes hold, the family's isolation deepens, and the demons and ghosts of the Overlook Hotel's dark past begin to awake. The hotel displays increasingly horrible, phantasmagoric images to Danny. Meanwhile, Jack is slowly driven mad by the haunted surroundings until he finally collapses into homicidal psychosis.
Documentary short films
* Day of the Fight (1951)
* Flying Padre (1951)
* The Seafarers (1953)
Feature films
Year Title Awards
1953 Fear and Desire
1955 Killer's Kiss
1956 The Killing Nominated for BAFTA Award: Best Film from Any Source
1957 Paths of Glory Nominated for BAFTA Award: Best Film from Any Source
1960 Spartacus Nominated for 6 Oscars, Won 4: Best Supporting Actor, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Original Score
Nominated for 6 Golden Globes, Won 1: Best Drama Picture, Best Drama Actor, Best Director, Best Original Score, Best Supporting Actor
Nominated for BAFTA Award: Best Film from Any Source
1962 Lolita Nominated for Oscar: Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated for 5 Golden Globes, Won 1: Most Promising Newcomer – Female, Best Drama Actor, Best Drama Actress, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor
Nominated for BAFTA Award: Best Actor
1964 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Nominated for 4 Oscars:Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated for 6 BAFTA Awards, Won 3: Best British Art Direction, Best British Film, Best Film from any Source, Best British Actor, Best British Screenplay, Best Foreign Actor
1968 2001: A Space Odyssey Nominated for 4 Oscars, Won 1 : Best Special Effects, Best Director, Best Art Direction, Best Original Screenplay
Nominated for 4 BAFTA Awards, Won 3: Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Track, Best Film
1971 A Clockwork Orange Nominated for 4 Oscars: Best Director, Best Editing, Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated for 3 Golden Globes: Best Director, Best Drama Picture, Best Drama Actor
Nominated for 7 BAFTA Awards: Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Direction, Best Film, Best Film Editing, Best Screenplay, Best Sound Track
Won 2 recognitions by The New York Film Critics: Best Director, Best Picture
1975 Barry Lyndon Nominated for 7 Oscars, Won 4: Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Original Song Score and/or Adaptation, Best Director, Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated for 2 Golden Globes: Best Director, Best Drama Picture
Nominated for 5 BAFTA Awards, Won 2: Best Cinematography, Best Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film
1980 The Shining
1987 Full Metal Jacket Nominated for Oscar: Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated for Golden Globe: Best Supporting Actor
Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards: Best Sound, Best Special Effects
1999 Eyes Wide Shut Nominated for Golden Globe: Best Original Score
This chart is limited to the Oscars, Golden Globes, and BAFTAs.
Kubrick has also been nominated for and won awards from various societies of film critics, film festivals, and both the Writers Guild of America and the Directors Guild of America.
In the science fiction world, Kubrick has three times won the especially coveted Hugo Award, a prized mainly for print writing and only secondarily for drama production. He also received four nominations (with one win) of the sci-fi-film-oriented Saturn awards from the Academy of Science Fiction for The Shining, an award that did not exist when Kubrick won his three Hugos.
The least honored of Kubrick's films since 1956's The Killing is 1980's The Shining, which garnered only the above-mentioned four nominations (with one win) for Saturn awards. In addition, The Shining is the only Stanley Kubrick film ever to be nominated for any of the notorious Razzies for worst film element. It was nominated for two.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa95/pauerboys/stanley_kubrick.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg131/malasuerte_bucket/stanley_kubrick.jpg
* please note there is a lot more about Stanley Kubrick in Wikipedia*
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/07/10 at 7:29 am
Glass that has been shattered ?
I was going to say that, but thought better of it :-\\
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/07/10 at 7:31 am
The person who died on this day...Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (July 26, 1928–March 7, 1999) was an American director, writer, producer, and photographer of films, who lived in England during most of the last 40 years of his career. Kubrick was noted for the scrupulous care with which he chose his subjects, his slow method of working, the variety of genres he worked in, his technical perfectionism and his reclusiveness about his films and personal life. He worked far beyond the confines of the Hollywood system, maintaining almost complete artistic control and making movies according to the whims and time constraints of no one but himself, but with the rare advantage of big-studio financial support for all his endeavors. Oscar nominated on several occasions as screenwriter and director, his only personal win was for the special effects in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Kubrick is widely acknowledged as one of the most accomplished, innovative and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. He directed a number of highly acclaimed and often controversial films that have often been perceived as a reflection of his obsessive and perfectionist nature. His films are characterized by a formal visual style and meticulous attention to detail – his later films often have elements of surrealism and expressionism eschewing structured linear narrative. While often viewed as expressing an ironic pessimism, a few critics feel his films contain a cautious optimism when viewed more carefully. His works are noted as some of the "most original, provocative, and visionary motion pictures ever made".
Upon his return to the United States, Kubrick worked for six months on the Marlon Brando vehicle One-Eyed Jacks (1961). The two clashed over a number of casting decisions, and Brando eventually fired him and decided to direct the picture himself. Kubrick worked on a number of unproduced screenplays, including Lunatic at Large, which Kubrick intended to develop into a movie", until Kirk Douglas asked him to take over Douglas' epic production Spartacus (1960) from Anthony Mann, who had been fired by the studio two weeks into shooting.
Based upon the true story of a doomed uprising of Roman slaves, Spartacus was a difficult production. Creative differences arose between Kubrick and Douglas, and the two reportedly had a stormy working relationship. Frustrated by his lack of creative control, Kubrick later largely disowned the film, which further angered Douglas. The friendship the two men had formed on Paths of Glory was destroyed by the experience of making the film. Years later, Douglas referred to Kubrick as "a talented sheesh."
Despite the on-set troubles, Spartacus was a critical and commercial success and established Kubrick as a major director. However, its embattled production convinced Kubrick to find ways of working with Hollywood financing while remaining independent of its production system, which he called "film by fiat, film by frenzy."
Spartacus is the only Stanley Kubrick film in which Kubrick had no hand in the screenplay, no final cut, no producing credit, nor any say in the casting. It is largely Kirk Douglas' project.
Spartacus would go on to win 4 Oscars with one going to Peter Ustinov, for his turn as slave dealer Batiatus, the only actor to win one under Kubrick's direction.
In 1962, Kubrick moved to England to film Lolita, and he would live there for the rest of his life. The original motivation was to film Lolita in a country with laxer censorship laws. However, Kubrick had to remain in England to film Dr. Strangelove since Peter Sellers was not permitted to leave England at the time as he was involved in divorce proceedings, and the filming of 2001: A Space Odyssey required the large capacity of the sound stages of Shepperton studios, which were not available in America. It was after filming the first two of these films in England and in the early planning stages of 2001 that Kubrick decided to settle in England permanently.
Lolita was one of most controversial novels of the century, given its theme. Here, Lolita kisses her stepfather Humbert goodnight while he plays chess with her mother (Shelley Winters). Any kind of overt sexual content had to be toned down significantly for Kubrick's film adaptation, and most of the sexual acts between its title character and Humbert are only hinted at.
Lolita was the first of two times Kubrick worked with British comic actor Peter Sellers, the second being Dr. Strangelove (1964). Sellers' role is that of Clare Quilty, a second older man unknown to Humbert who is involved with Lolita, serving dramatically as Humbert's darker doppelganger. In the novel, Quilty is behind the scenes for most of the story, but Kubrick brings him to the foreground, which resulted in an expansion of his role (even then running to only about half an hour's screen time). Kubrick adds the dramatic device of Quilty's pretending to be multiple characters, allowing Sellers to employ his gift for mock accents.
Critical reception of the film was mixed; many praised it for its daring subject matter, while others were surprised by the lack of intimacy between Lolita and Humbert. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Sue Lyon, who played the title role, won a Golden Globe for Best Newcomer.
Film critic Gene Youngblood holds that stylistically Lolita is a transitional film for Kubrick, "marking the turning point from a naturalistic cinema...to the surrealism of the later films."
Many viewers of Dr. Strangelove did not initially realize that Kubrick had cast Peter Sellers in three roles, all with distinctively different appearances and accents.
Kubrick's next film, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), became a cult film and is now considered a classic. Roger Ebert has written that it is the best satirical film ever made. The screenplay—based upon the novel Red Alert, by ex-RAF flight lieutenant Peter George (writing as Peter Bryant)—was cowritten by Kubrick and George, with contributions by American satirist Terry Southern. Red Alert is a serious, cautionary tale of accidental atomic war. However, Kubrick found the conditions leading to nuclear war so absurd that the story became a sinister macabre comedy. Once so reconceived, Kubrick recruited Terry Southern to polish the final screenplay.
The story centers on an American nuclear attack on the Soviet Union, initiated by renegade U.S.A.F. Gen. Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden; the character's name is a reference to Jack the Ripper) without official authorization. When Ripper gives his orders, the bombers are all at fail-safe points, before which passing they cannot arm their warheads, and past which, they cannot proceed without direct orders. Once past this point, the planes will only return with a prearranged recall code. The film intercuts between three locales: 1) Ripper's air force base, where RAF Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (Sellers) tries to stop the mad Gen. Ripper by obtaining the codes; 2) the Pentagon War Room, where the President of the United States (Sellers) and U.S.A.F. Gen. Buck Turgidson (George C. Scott) try to develop a strategy with the Soviets to stop Gen. Ripper's B-52 bombers from dropping nuclear bombs on Russia; and 3) Major Kong's (Slim Pickens) B-52 bomber, where he and his crew of airmen (never knowing their orders are false) doggedly try to complete their mission. It soon becomes clear that the bombers may reach Russia, since only Gen. Ripper knows the recall codes. At this point, the character of Dr. Strangelove (Sellers' third role) is introduced. His Nazi-style plans for ensuring the survival of the fittest of the human race in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust are the black-comedy highlight of the film.
Peter Sellers, who had played a small but pivotal part in Lolita, was hired to play four roles in Dr. Strangelove. He eventually played three, due to an injured leg and his difficulty in mastering bomber pilot Major "King" Kong's Texas accent. Kubrick later called Sellers "amazing", but lamented the fact that the actor's manic energy rarely lasted beyond two or three takes. To overcome this problem, Kubrick ran two cameras simultaneously and let Sellers improvise.
The film prefigured the antiwar sentiments which would become explosive only a few years after its release. It was highly irreverent toward war policies of the U.S., which were largely considered sacrosanct up to that time. Eight months after the release of Strangelove, the straight thriller Fail-Safe with a plot remarkably similar to that of Dr. Strangelove was released. The film earned four Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture and Best Director) and the New York Film Critics' Best Director award.
2001 is the first of many Kubrick films to use an all-classical score. Kubrick's famed opening shot of the Sun, Earth and Moon is one of several accompanied by Richard Strauss's majestic fanfarelike Also sprach Zarathustra. Space flight is accompanied by Johann Strauss's graceful The Blue Danube, and all appearances of the monolith are accompanied by the unearthly modernistic Requiem by György Ligeti.
Kubrick spent five years developing his next film, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). The film was conceived as a Cinerama spectacle and was photographed in Super Panavision 70. Kubrick cowrote the screenplay with science fiction writer Sir Arthur C. Clarke, expanding on Clarke's short story "The Sentinel." Kubrick reportedly told Clarke that his intention was to make "the proverbial great science fiction film."
2001 begins four million years ago with an encounter between a group of apes and a mysterious black monolith, which seems to trigger in them the ability to use a bone as both a tool and a weapon. Used as the latter allows them to claim a water hole from another group of apes, who have no tool-wielding ability. A victorious ape tosses his bone into the air, at which point the film makes a celebrated jump cut to an orbiting weapons satellite, circa 2000. At this time, a group of Americans at their moon base have dug up a similar monolith. Geological evidence indicates that it was deliberately buried four million years ago. When the sun rises over the monolith, it sends a radio signal to Jupiter. Eighteen months later, the U.S. sends a group of astronauts aboard the spaceship Discovery on a mission to Jupiter, the purpose of which is to investigate the monolith's signal, although this is concealed from the crew. During the flight, the ship's sentient HAL 9000 computer malfunctions but resists disconnection, believing its control of the mission to be crucial. The computer terminates life support for most of the crew before it is successfully shut down. The surviving astronaut, David Bowman (Keir Dullea), in a tiny space pod, encounters another monolith in orbit around Jupiter, whereupon he is hurled into a portal in space at high speed, witnessing many astronomical phenomena. His interstellar journey concludes with his transformation into a mysterious new being resembling a fetus enclosed in an orb of light, last seen gazing at Earth from space.
The $10,000,000 (U.S.) film was a massive production for its time. The groundbreaking visual effects were overseen by Kubrick and were engineered by a team that included a young Douglas Trumbull, who would become famous in his own right for his work on the films Silent Running and Blade Runner. Kubrick extensively used traveling matte photography to film space flight, a technique also used nine years later by George Lucas in making Star Wars, although that film also used motion-control effects that were unavailable to Kubrick at the time. Kubrick made innovative use of slit-scan photography to film the Stargate sequence. The film's striking cinematography was the work of legendary British director of photography Geoffrey Unsworth, who would later photograph classic films such as Cabaret and Superman. Manufacturing companies were consulted as to what the design of both special-purpose and everyday objects would look like in the future. At the time of the movie's release, Arthur C. Clarke predicted that a generation of engineers would design real spacecraft based upon 2001 "…even if it isn't the best way to do it." The film also is a rare instance of portraying space travel realistically, with complete silence in the vacuum of space and a realistic representation of weightlessness.
The film is famous for using classical music in place of an original score. Richard Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra and Johann Strauss's The Blue Danube waltz became for a while indelibly associated with the film, especially the former, as it was not well-known to the public prior to the film. Kubrick also used music by contemporary avant-garde Hungarian composer György Ligeti, although some of the pieces were altered without Ligeti's consent. The appearance of Atmospheres, Lux Aeterna, and Requiem on the 2001 soundtrack was the first wide commercial exposure of Ligeti's work. This use of "program" music was not originally planned. Kubrick had commissioned composer Alex North to write a full-length score for the film, but Kubrick became so attached to the temporary soundtrack he had constructed during editing that he dropped the idea of an original score entirely.
Although it eventually became an enormous success, the film was not an immediate hit. Initial critical reaction was extremely hostile, with critics attacking the film's lack of dialogue, slow pacing, and seemingly impenetrable storyline. One of the film's few defenders was Penelope Gilliatt, who called it (in The New Yorker) "some kind of a great film". Word of mouth among young audiences—especially the 1960s counterculture audience, who loved the movie's "Star Gate" sequence, a seemingly psychedelic journey to the infinite reaches of the cosmos—made the film a hit. Despite nominations in the directing, writing, and producing categories, the only Academy Award Kubrick ever received was for supervising the special effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Today, however, many consider it the greatest sci-fi film ever made, and it is a staple on Top 10 lists of all-time.
Artistically, 2001 was a radical departure from Kubrick's previous films. It contains only 45 minutes of spoken dialogue, over a running time of two hours and twenty minutes. The fairly mundane dialogue is mostly superfluous to the images and music. The film's most memorable dialogue belongs to the computer HAL in HAL's exchanges with Dave Bowman. Some argue that Kubrick is portraying a future humanity largely dissociated from its environment. The film's ambiguous, perplexing ending continues to fascinate contemporary audiences and critics. After this film, Kubrick would never experiment so radically with special effects or narrative form, but his subsequent films maintain some level of ambiguity.
Interpretations of 2001: A Space Odyssey are numerous and diverse. Despite having been released in 1968, it still prompts debate today. When critic Joseph Gelmis asked Kubrick about the meaning of the film, Kubrick replied:
They are the areas I prefer not to discuss, because they are highly subjective and will differ from viewer to viewer. In this sense, the film becomes anything the viewer sees in it. If the film stirs the emotions and penetrates the subconscious of the viewer, if it stimulates, however inchoately, his mythological and religious yearnings and impulses, then it has succeeded.
2001: A Space Odyssey is perhaps Kubrick's most famous and influential film. Steven Spielberg called it his generation's big bang, focusing attention upon the space race. It was a precursor to the explosion of the science fiction film market nine years later, which began with the release of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
1970s: A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon
In A Clockwork Orange, Kubrick continued his innovative use of classical music begun in 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, instead of accompanying graceful space flight, the music accompanied violence and rape. The slow-motion fight scene about to commence is choreographed to Rossini's overture to "The Thieving Magpie."
After 2001, Kubrick initially attempted to make a film about the life of Napoleon Bonaparte. When financing fell through, Kubrick went looking for a project that he could film quickly on a small budget. He eventually settled on A Clockwork Orange (1971). His adaptation of Anthony Burgess' novel is a dark, shocking exploration of violence in human society. The film was initially released with an X rating in the United States and caused considerable controversy. The film's iconic poster imagery was created by legendary designer Bill Gold.
The story takes place in a futuristic version of Great Britain that is both authoritarian and chaotic. The central character is a teenage hooligan named Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell), who, along with his companion "droogs", gleefully torments, beats, robs, tortures, and rapes without conscience or remorse. His brutal beating and murder of an older woman finally lands Alex in prison. Alex undergoes an experimental medical aversion treatment, known as the Ludovico Technique, that inhibits his violent tendencies, though he has no real free moral choice. At the public demonstration of the success of the technique, Alex is treated cruelly but does not fight back; the treatment has made him less than human. He has been conditioned against classical music, his love of which was his one human feature, and apparently all of his sex drive is gone. We further see hints that the promotion of the treatment is politically motivated. After being freed, he is found by his former partners in crime who had betrayed him and who are now policemen, and they beat him mercilessly.
He then comes to the home of a political writer who disdains "the modern age" and is initially sympathetic to Alex's plight until he recognizes Alex as the young man who brutally raped his wife and paralyzed him a few years before. Alex then becomes a pawn in a political game.
The society was sometimes perceived as Communist (as Michel Ciment pointed out in an interview with Kubrick, although he himself didn't feel that way) due to its slight ties to Russian culture. The teenage slang has a heavily Russian vocabulary, which can be attributed to Burgess. There is some evidence to suggest that the society is a socialist one, or at least a society moving out of a failed, Leftist socialism and into a Rightist or fascist society. In the novel, streets have paintings of working men in the style of Russian socialist art, and in the film, there is a mural of socialist artwork with obscenities drawn on it. As well, Alex's residence was shot on actual failed Labour Party architecture (as Malcolm McDowell points out on the DVD commentary), and the name "Municipal Flat Block 18A, Linear North" alludes to socialist-style housing. Later in the film, when the new right-wing government takes power, the atmosphere is certainly more authoritarian than the anarchist air of the beginning. Kubrick's response to Ciment's question remained ambiguous as to exactly what kind of society it is. He held that the film held comparisons between both the left and right end of the political spectrum and that there is little difference between the two. Kubrick stated, "The Minister, played by Anthony Sharp, is clearly a figure of the Right. The writer, Patrick Magee, is a lunatic of the Left. ...They differ only in their dogma. Their means and ends are hardly distinguishable."
Kubrick photographed A Clockwork Orange quickly and almost entirely on location in and around London. Despite the low-tech nature of the film as compared to 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kubrick showed his talent for innovation; at one point, he threw "an old Newman Sinclair clockwork mechanism camera" off a rooftop in order to achieve the effect he wanted. For the score, Kubrick enlisted electronic music composer Wendy Carlos—at the time, known as Walter Carlos (Switched-On Bach)—to adapt famous classical works (such as Beethoven's Ninth Symphony) for the Moog synthesizer.
It is pivotal to the plot that the lead character, Alex, is fond of classical music, and that the brainwashing Ludovico treatment accidentally conditions him against classical music. As such, it was natural for Kubrick to continue the tradition begun in 2001: A Space Odyssey of using a great deal of classical music in the score. However, in this film, classical music accompanies scenes of violent mayhem and coercive sexuality rather than of graceful space flight and mysterious alien presences. Both Pauline Kael (who generally disliked Kubrick) and Roger Ebert (who often praises Kubrick) found Kubrick's use of juxtaposing classical music and violence in this film unpleasant, Ebert calling it a "cute, cheap, dead-end dimension," and Kael, "self-important." Burgess, in his introduction to his own stage adaptation of the novel, held that ultimately, classical music is what will finally redeem Alex.
The film was extremely controversial because of its explicit depiction of teenage gang rape and violence. It was released in the same year as Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs and Don Siegel's Dirty Harry, and the three films sparked a ferocious debate in the media about the social effects of cinematic violence. The controversy was exacerbated when copycat crimes were committed in England by criminals wearing the same costumes as characters in A Clockwork Orange. British readers of the novel noted that Kubrick had omitted the final chapter (also omitted from American editions of the book) in which Alex finds redemption and sanity.
After receiving death threats to himself and his family as a result of the controversy, Kubrick took the unusual step of removing the film from circulation in Britain. It was unavailable in the United Kingdom until its re-release in 2000, a year after Kubrick's death, although it could be seen in continental Europe. The Scala cinema in London's Kings Cross showed the film in the early 1990s, and at Kubrick's insistence, the cinema was sued and put out of business, thus depriving London of one of its very few independent cinemas. It is now the Scala club. In early 1973, Kubrick re-released A Clockwork Orange to cinemas in the United States with footage modified so that it could get its rating reduced to an R. This enabled many more newspapers to advertise it, since in 1972 many newspapers had stopped carrying any advertising for X-rated films due to the new association of that rating with pornography.
Reviewers such as Pauline Kael, who had been critical of Kubrick's previous work, found Barry Lyndon a cold, slow-moving, and lifeless film. Its measured pace and length—more than three hours—put off many American critics and audiences, although it received positive reviews from Rex Reed and Richard Schickel. Time magazine published a cover story about the film, and Kubrick was nominated for three Academy Awards. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four, more than any other Kubrick film. Despite this, Barry Lyndon was not a box office success in the U.S., although the film found a great audience in Europe, particularly in France.
As with most of Kubrick's films, Barry Lyndon's reputation has grown through the years, particularly among other filmmakers. Director Martin Scorsese has cited it as his favorite Kubrick film. Steven Spielberg has praised its "impeccable technique", though, when younger, he famously described it "like going through the Prado without lunch."
As in his other films, Kubrick's cinematography and lighting techniques were highly innovative. Most famously, interior scenes were shot with a specially adapted high-speed f/0.7 Zeiss camera lens originally developed for NASA. This allowed many scenes to be lit only with candlelight, creating two-dimensional diffused-light images reminiscent of 18th-century paintings.
Like its two predecessors, the film does not have an original score. Irish traditional songs (performed by The Chieftains) are combined with works such as Antonio Vivaldi's Cello Concerto in B, a Johann Sebastian Bach Double Concerto, George Frideric Handel's Sarabande from the Keyboard Suite in D minor (HWV 448, HG II/ii/4), and Franz Schubert's German Dance No. 1 in C major, Piano Trio No. 2 in E flat, and Impromptu No. 1 in C minor. The music was conducted and adapted by Leonard Rosenman, for which he won an Oscar.
The pace of Kubrick's work slowed considerably after Barry Lyndon, and he did not make another film for five years. The Shining, released in 1980, was adapted from the novel of the same name by bestselling horror writer Stephen King. The film starred Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, a failed writer who takes a job as an off-season caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, a high-class resort deep in the Colorado mountains. The job requires spending the winter in the isolated hotel with his wife, Wendy (played by Shelley Duvall) and their young son, Danny, who is gifted with a form of telepathy—the "shining" of the film's title.
As winter takes hold, the family's isolation deepens, and the demons and ghosts of the Overlook Hotel's dark past begin to awake. The hotel displays increasingly horrible, phantasmagoric images to Danny. Meanwhile, Jack is slowly driven mad by the haunted surroundings until he finally collapses into homicidal psychosis.
Documentary short films
* Day of the Fight (1951)
* Flying Padre (1951)
* The Seafarers (1953)
Feature films
Year Title Awards
1953 Fear and Desire
1955 Killer's Kiss
1956 The Killing Nominated for BAFTA Award: Best Film from Any Source
1957 Paths of Glory Nominated for BAFTA Award: Best Film from Any Source
1960 Spartacus Nominated for 6 Oscars, Won 4: Best Supporting Actor, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Original Score
Nominated for 6 Golden Globes, Won 1: Best Drama Picture, Best Drama Actor, Best Director, Best Original Score, Best Supporting Actor
Nominated for BAFTA Award: Best Film from Any Source
1962 Lolita Nominated for Oscar: Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated for 5 Golden Globes, Won 1: Most Promising Newcomer – Female, Best Drama Actor, Best Drama Actress, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor
Nominated for BAFTA Award: Best Actor
1964 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Nominated for 4 Oscars:Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated for 6 BAFTA Awards, Won 3: Best British Art Direction, Best British Film, Best Film from any Source, Best British Actor, Best British Screenplay, Best Foreign Actor
1968 2001: A Space Odyssey Nominated for 4 Oscars, Won 1 : Best Special Effects, Best Director, Best Art Direction, Best Original Screenplay
Nominated for 4 BAFTA Awards, Won 3: Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Track, Best Film
1971 A Clockwork Orange Nominated for 4 Oscars: Best Director, Best Editing, Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated for 3 Golden Globes: Best Director, Best Drama Picture, Best Drama Actor
Nominated for 7 BAFTA Awards: Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Direction, Best Film, Best Film Editing, Best Screenplay, Best Sound Track
Won 2 recognitions by The New York Film Critics: Best Director, Best Picture
1975 Barry Lyndon Nominated for 7 Oscars, Won 4: Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Original Song Score and/or Adaptation, Best Director, Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated for 2 Golden Globes: Best Director, Best Drama Picture
Nominated for 5 BAFTA Awards, Won 2: Best Cinematography, Best Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film
1980 The Shining
1987 Full Metal Jacket Nominated for Oscar: Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated for Golden Globe: Best Supporting Actor
Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards: Best Sound, Best Special Effects
1999 Eyes Wide Shut Nominated for Golden Globe: Best Original Score
This chart is limited to the Oscars, Golden Globes, and BAFTAs.
Kubrick has also been nominated for and won awards from various societies of film critics, film festivals, and both the Writers Guild of America and the Directors Guild of America.
In the science fiction world, Kubrick has three times won the especially coveted Hugo Award, a prized mainly for print writing and only secondarily for drama production. He also received four nominations (with one win) of the sci-fi-film-oriented Saturn awards from the Academy of Science Fiction for The Shining, an award that did not exist when Kubrick won his three Hugos.
The least honored of Kubrick's films since 1956's The Killing is 1980's The Shining, which garnered only the above-mentioned four nominations (with one win) for Saturn awards. In addition, The Shining is the only Stanley Kubrick film ever to be nominated for any of the notorious Razzies for worst film element. It was nominated for two.
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* please note there is a lot more about Stanley Kubrick in Wikipedia*
My favourite film director and I did not realise till now that to is the date he died.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/07/10 at 7:45 am
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/07/10 at 7:51 am
My favourite film director and I did not realise till now that to is the date he died.
There is so much about his great works that it was hard getting under the word limit.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/07/10 at 7:59 am
There is so much about his great works that it was hard getting under the word limit.
A great movie director, with not many films to his name. If he had made plenty of films, he would just become ordinary.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/08/10 at 5:27 am
British Person of the Day: Kenneth Grahame
Kenneth Grahame (8 March 1859 – 6 July 1932) was a British writer, most famous for The Wind in the Willows (1908), one of the classics of children's literature. He also wrote The Reluctant Dragon; both books were later adapted into Disney films.
His Life
Grahame was born on 8 March 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland but in early childhood, after his mother died and his father began to drink heavily, he moved with his younger sister to live with his grandmother on the banks of the River Thames in the Berkshire village of Cookham in southern England. He was an outstanding pupil at St Edward's School in Oxford and wanted to attend Oxford University but was not allowed to do so by his guardian on grounds of cost. Instead he was sent to work at the Bank of England in 1879, and rose through the ranks until retiring as its Secretary in 1908 due to ill health. In addition to ill health, Grahame's retirement was precipitated in 1903 by a strange, possibly political, shooting incident at the bank. Grahame was shot at three times, all of them missed.
Grahame married Elspeth Thomson in 1899, but the marriage was not a happy one. They had only one child, a boy named Alastair (whose nickname was "Mouse") born blind in one eye and plagued by health problems throughout his short life. Alastair eventually committed suicide on a railway track while an undergraduate at Oxford University, two days before his 20th birthday on 7 May 1920. Out of respect for Kenneth Grahame, Alastair's demise was recorded as an accidental death.
Kenneth Grahame died in Pangbourne, Berkshire in 1932. He is buried in Holywell Cemetery, Oxford. Grahame's cousin Anthony Hope, also a successful author, wrote his epitaph, which reads: "To the beautiful memory of Kenneth Grahame, husband of Elspeth and father of Alastair, who passed the river on the 6th of July, 1932, leaving childhood and literature through him the more blest for all time".
Works
While still a young man, Grahame began to publish light stories in London periodicals such as the St. James Gazette. Some of these stories were collected and published as Pagan Papers in 1893, and, two years later, The Golden Age. These were followed by Dream Days in 1898, which contains The Reluctant Dragon.
There is a ten-year gap between Grahame's penultimate book and the publication of his triumph, The Wind in the Willows. During this decade Grahame became a father. The wayward headstrong nature he saw in his little son Alistair (also known as "Mouse") he transformed into the swaggering Mr. Toad, one of its four principal characters. Despite its success, he never attempted a sequel; in the 1990s William Horwood began writing a series of sequels. The book was a hit and is still enjoyed by adults and children today, whether in book form or in the films, while Toad remains one of the most celebrated and beloved characters of the book.
Bibliography
* Pagan Papers (1893)
* The Golden Age (1895)
* Dream Days (1898)
* Including The Reluctant Dragon (1898)
* The Headswoman (1898)
* The Wind in the Willows (1908)
http://www.borderlandsbooks.com/images/books/24140_669.jpg
http://litbirthdays.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/kenneth-grahame.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/08/10 at 6:29 am
The word of the day...Frost
When there is frost or a frost, the temperature outside falls below freezing point and the ground becomes covered in ice crystals
When someone says that there are a particular number of degrees of frost they mean that the temperature is that number of degrees below freezing point.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/08/10 at 6:32 am
British Person of the Day: Kenneth Grahame
Kenneth Grahame (8 March 1859 – 6 July 1932) was a British writer, most famous for The Wind in the Willows (1908), one of the classics of children's literature. He also wrote The Reluctant Dragon; both books were later adapted into Disney films.
His Life
Grahame was born on 8 March 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland but in early childhood, after his mother died and his father began to drink heavily, he moved with his younger sister to live with his grandmother on the banks of the River Thames in the Berkshire village of Cookham in southern England. He was an outstanding pupil at St Edward's School in Oxford and wanted to attend Oxford University but was not allowed to do so by his guardian on grounds of cost. Instead he was sent to work at the Bank of England in 1879, and rose through the ranks until retiring as its Secretary in 1908 due to ill health. In addition to ill health, Grahame's retirement was precipitated in 1903 by a strange, possibly political, shooting incident at the bank. Grahame was shot at three times, all of them missed.
Grahame married Elspeth Thomson in 1899, but the marriage was not a happy one. They had only one child, a boy named Alastair (whose nickname was "Mouse") born blind in one eye and plagued by health problems throughout his short life. Alastair eventually committed suicide on a railway track while an undergraduate at Oxford University, two days before his 20th birthday on 7 May 1920. Out of respect for Kenneth Grahame, Alastair's demise was recorded as an accidental death.
Kenneth Grahame died in Pangbourne, Berkshire in 1932. He is buried in Holywell Cemetery, Oxford. Grahame's cousin Anthony Hope, also a successful author, wrote his epitaph, which reads: "To the beautiful memory of Kenneth Grahame, husband of Elspeth and father of Alastair, who passed the river on the 6th of July, 1932, leaving childhood and literature through him the more blest for all time".
Works
While still a young man, Grahame began to publish light stories in London periodicals such as the St. James Gazette. Some of these stories were collected and published as Pagan Papers in 1893, and, two years later, The Golden Age. These were followed by Dream Days in 1898, which contains The Reluctant Dragon.
There is a ten-year gap between Grahame's penultimate book and the publication of his triumph, The Wind in the Willows. During this decade Grahame became a father. The wayward headstrong nature he saw in his little son Alistair (also known as "Mouse") he transformed into the swaggering Mr. Toad, one of its four principal characters. Despite its success, he never attempted a sequel; in the 1990s William Horwood began writing a series of sequels. The book was a hit and is still enjoyed by adults and children today, whether in book form or in the films, while Toad remains one of the most celebrated and beloved characters of the book.
Bibliography
* Pagan Papers (1893)
* The Golden Age (1895)
* Dream Days (1898)
* Including The Reluctant Dragon (1898)
* The Headswoman (1898)
* The Wind in the Willows (1908)
http://www.borderlandsbooks.com/images/books/24140_669.jpg
http://litbirthdays.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/kenneth-grahame.jpg
Thanks Phil, it's been a long time since I read The Wind In The Willows :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/08/10 at 6:35 am
The person born on this day...Aidan Quinn
Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an Irish-American actor. Quinn was born in Rockford, Illinois to devoutly Catholic Irish parents. He was raised in Chicago and Rockford, as well as in Dublin and Birr, County Offaly in Ireland. His father was a professor in literature and his mother was a homemaker. He has three brothers and a sister. His older brother, Declan Quinn, is a noted cinematographer. Though a roofer by trade, Quinn got his start in the Chicago theater at age 19. He trained at the Piven Theatre Workshop.
Career
His first significant film role was in Reckless, followed by a breakthrough role in Desperately Seeking Susan as the character "Dez" (the love interest of the character played by Rosanna Arquette). Quinn next starred in the controversial TV movie An Early Frost, about a young lawyer dying of AIDS (it was broadcast on NBC on November 11, 1985) and co-starred such luminaries as Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara and Sylvia Sidney. He received his first Emmy Award nomination for the role which allowed him to gain recognition in Hollywood.
In 1988 Quinn lost the role of Jesus Christ when Paramount Pictures dropped the controversial Martin Scorsese movie The Last Temptation of Christ. When Universal Pictures picked up the film, the role went to Willem Dafoe. In meantime, Quinn recited in a role as protagonist in the film Crusoe, finished in 1989.
During the 1990s Quinn's career grew immensely. He found work alongside such Hollywood stars as Brad Pitt in Legends of the Fall, Johnny Depp in Benny & Joon, Robert Duvall in The Handmaid's Tale and Sir John Gielgud in Haunted. He continually starred in films that allowed him to return to his Irish roots, such as Michael Collins, Song for a Raggy Boy and Evelyn
In 2000, Quinn portrayed Paul McCartney in the VH1 television drama, Two of Us. He later met McCartney at a hotel, and they became good friends. Quinn was able to gain his first regular television role as the lead in the short lived, and controversial NBC drama The Book of Daniel, in 2006 before being canceled after the first three weeks of its run. In 2007, Quinn received his second Emmy nomination for the television movie Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.
Personal life
Quinn is married to the actress Elizabeth Bracco, sister of actress Lorraine Bracco. The two met in 1984 at a restaurant and later co-starred in Stakeout. They married in 1987 and have two daughters, one diagnosed with autism. The other has been confirmed to appear as a ghost in The Eclipse.
Filmography
Film
Year Film Role Notes
1984 Reckless Johnny Rourke
1985 Desperately Seeking Susan Dez
1986 The Mission Felipe Mendoza
1987 Stakeout Richard 'Stick' Montgomery
1989 Crusoe Crusoe
1990 The Handmaid's Tale Nick
The Lemon Sisters Frankie McGuinness
Avalon Jules Kaye
1991 At Play in the Fields of the Lord Martin Quarrier
1992 The Playboys Tom Casey
1993 Benny & Joon Benjamin 'Benny' Pearl
1994 Blink Det. John Hallstrom
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Capt. Robert Walton
Legends of the Fall Alfred Ludlow
1995 The Stars Fell on Henrietta Don Day
Haunted Prof. David Ash
1996 Looking for Richard Richmond
Michael Collins Harry Boland
1997 Commandments Seth Warner
The Assignment Lt. Cmdr. Annibal Ramirez/Carlos
1998 This Is My Father Kieran O'Day
Practical Magic Officer Gary Hallet Blockbuster Entertainment Award (nominated)
1999 In Dreams Paul Cooper
Music of the Heart Brian Turner
2000 Songcatcher Tom Bledsoe Sundance Film Festival Award (won)
2002 Stolen Summer Joe O'Malley
Evelyn Nick Barron
2003 Song for a Raggy Boy William Franklin
2004 Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius Harry Vardon
Shadow of Fear Detective Scofield
Return to Sender Frank Nitzche IFTA Awards (nominated-4Xs)
Proud Commodore Alfred Lind
2005 Nine Lives Henry Gotham Awards (nominated)
2007 Dark Matter Reiser
32A Frank Brennan
2008 Wild Child Gerry
2009 A Shine of Rainbows Alec
The Eclipse Nicholas Holden
The 5th Quarter Steven Abbate
Handsome Harry Porter
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1985 An Early Frost Michael Pierson NBC TV-Movie
Emmy Award (nominated)
1987 All My Sons Chris Keller TV-Movie
1989 Perfect Witness Sam Paxton HBO TV-Movie
1991 Lies of the Twins James McEwan/Jonathan McEwan TV-Movie
1992 A Private Matter Bob Finkbine HBO TV-Movie
1997 Forbidden Territory: Stanley's Search for Livingstone Henry Morton Stanley TV-Movie
2000 See You in My Dreams Joe F. Brown TV-Movie
The Prince and the Pauper Miles Hendon TV-Movie
Two of Us Paul McCartney VH1 TV-Movie
2001 Night Visions Jeremy Bell Episode: The Passenger List
2003 Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor Gen. Benedict Arnold A&E TV-Movie
2004 Plainsong Tom Guthrie CBS TV-Movie
Cavedweller Clint Windsor Showtime Network TV-Movie
Independent Spirit Award (nominated)
Miracle Run Douglas Thomas Lifetime Movie Network TV-Movie
2005 The Exonerated Kerry CourtTV TV-Movie
Empire Falls David Roby HBO Miniseries
Mayday John Berry CBS TV-Movie
2004 - 2005 Third Watch Lieutenant John Miller Episode: Alone Again, Naturally
Episode: Last Will and Testament
Episode: The Hunter, Hunted
Episode: The Greatest Detectives
Episode: Goodbye to Camelot
2006 The Book of Daniel Daniel Webster
2007 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Henry L. Dawes HBO TV-Movie
Emmy Award (nominated)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Ben Nicholson Episode: Savant
2008 Canterbury's Law Matthew "Matt" Furey
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a104/outlander_casting/Dougal/quinnaid.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v196/paganpriest/Movies/People/AidanQuinn.jpg
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss266/thecityhp/A%20Page/aidanquinn.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/08/10 at 6:43 am
The person who died on this day...Adam Faith
Terence (Terry) Nelhams-Wright, known as Adam Faith (23 June 1940, East Acton, London – 8 March 2003, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire) was an English singer, actor and financial journalist. Teen idol turned top actor then financial wizard, Faith was one of the most charted acts of the 1960s. He became the first UK artist to lodge his initial seven hits in the Top 5. He was also one of the first UK acts to record original songs regularly Terence Terry Nelhams-Wright was born at 4 Churchfield Road, Acton, London. He was unaware his surname was Nelhams-Wright until he applied for a passport and obtained his birth certificate. He was known as Terry Nelhams. The third in a family of five children, Nelhams grew up in a council house in a working class area of London, where he attended John Perryn Junior school. He started work at 12, delivering and selling newspapers while still at school. His first full-time job was odd-job boy for a silk screen printer.
Music career
Faith became one of Britain's significant early pop stars. At the time, he was distinctive for his hiccupping glottal stops and exaggerated pronunciation. He did not write his own material, and much of his early success was through partnership with songwriter Les Vandyke and John Barry, whose arrangements were inspired by Don Costa's pizzicato arrangements for Buddy Holly's "It Doesn't Matter Anymore".
Faith began his musical career in 1957, while working as a film cutter in London in the hope of becoming an actor, singing with and managing a skiffle group, The Worried Men. The group played in Soho coffee bars after work, and became the resident band at The 2i's Coffee Bar, where they appeared on the BBC Television live music programme Six-Five Special. The producer, Jack Good, was impressed by the singer and arranged a solo recording contract with HMV under the name Adam Faith.
His debut record "(Got a) Heartsick Feeling" and "Brother Heartache and Sister Tears" in January 1958, failed to make the charts. Good gave him a part in the stage show of Six-Five Special, along with The John Barry Seven but the show folded after four performances. His second release later that year was a cover of Jerry Lee Lewis' "High School Confidential", backed with the Burt Bacharach and Hal David penned "Country Music Holiday", but this also failed.
Faith returned to work as a film cutter at National Studios at Elstree until March 1959, when Barry invited him to audition for a BBC TV rock and roll show, Drumbeat. The producer, Stewart Morris, gave him a contract for three shows, extended to the full 22-week run. His contract with HMV had ended, and he sang one track, "I Vibrate", on a six-track EP released by the Fontana record label. Barry's manager, Eve Taylor, got him a contract with Top Rank, but his only record there, "Ah, Poor Little Baby" / "Runk Bunk" produced by Tony Hatch, failed to chart due to a lack of publicity caused by a national printing strike.
Despite the failure, Faith was becoming popular through television appearances. He became an actor by taking drama and elocution lessons, and appeared as a pop singer in the film, Beat Girl. The script called for Faith to sing a songs, and as Barry was arranging Faith's recordings and live Drumbeat material, the film company asked him to write the score. This was the beginning of Barry's career in film music.
Faith's success on Drumbeat enabled another recording contract with Parlophone. His next record in 1959, "What Do You Want?", written by Les Vandyke and produced by Barry and John Burgess, received good reviews in the NME and other papers, as well as being voted a hit on Juke Box Jury. This became his first number one hit in the UK Singles Chart, and his pronounciation of the word 'baby' as 'bay-beh' became a catch phrase.
"What Do You Want?" was the first number one hit for Parlophone, Faith the only pop act on the label.
With songs like "Poor Me" (another chart topper),"Someone Else's Baby" (a UK #2) and "Don't That Beat All", he established himself as a rival to Cliff Richard in British popular music.
A UK variety tour was followed by a 12-week season at Blackpool Hippodrome and an appearance on the Royal Variety Show.
His next release was a double A-side single, "Made You" / "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", Both made the Top Ten, despite a BBC ban for "Made You" for 'a lewd and salacious lyric'. His 1960 novelty record "Lonely Pup (In a Christmas Shop"), to coincide with his Christmas pantomime, gained a silver disc.
His debut album Adam was released on 4 November 1960 to critical acclaim for the inventiveness of Barry's arrangements and Faith's own performances. The material ranged from standards such as "Summertime", "Hit The Road To Dreamland" and "Singin' In The Rain" to more contemporary songs, such as Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman's "I'm A Man", Johnny Worth's "Fare Thee Well My Pretty Maid", and Howard Guyton's "Wonderful Time".
Still 20 and living with his parents, he bought a house in Hampton Court for £6000, where he moved with his family from their house in Acton. In December 1960 he became the first pop artist to appear on the TV interview series Face to Face with John Freeman.
Faith made six further albums and 35 singles, with a total of 24 chart entries. In the early 1960s, Faith's backing group was The Roulettes.
Film and television career
Faith's teen pop became less popular in the mid-1960s in competition from The Beatles. After a final single in 1968 he parted company with EMI and concentrated on acting. While a musician he had appeared in films such as Beat Girl (1961), Never Let Go, and television dramas such as the Rediffusion/ITV series, No Hiding Place but now he concentrated on repertory theatre. After a number of small parts, he was given a more substantial role in Night Must Fall, playing opposite Dame Sybil Thorndike. In autumn 1969 he took the lead in a touring production of Billy Liar.
In the 1970s, he went into music management, managing Leo Sayer among others.
He starred as the eponymous hero in the 1970s television series Budgie (LWT/ITV), about an ex-convict, but his career declined after a motorcycle accident in which he almost lost a leg. He restarted with a role as the manipulative manager of rock star David Essex, in Stardust. He was nominated for a BAFTA award. In 1980 he starred with Roger Daltrey in McVicar and appeared with Jodie Foster in Foxes.
He played the role of James Crane in the 1985 TV movie Minder on the Orient Express - part of the Minder franchise.
From 1992 to 1994, Faith appeared in another TV series, Love Hurts starring with Zoe Wanamaker, and in 2002 he appeared in the BBC series, The House That Jack Built. In 2003, Faith appeared in an episode of Murder in Mind.
Later years
He married Jackie Irving in 1967 and they had one daughter Katya Faith who became a television producer. In 1986, he was hired as a financial journalist, by the Daily Mail and its sister paper The Mail on Sunday.
In 1985, he appeared on a BBC Radio 2 tribute programme to James Dean, written and presented by Terence Pettigrew. You're Tearing Me Apart was aired on the 30th anniversary of Dean's death. Dean had been his idol, and the film Rebel Without A Cause had inspired the teenage Faith to become a singer and actor. "That movie changed my life", he admitted on the programme, which was produced by Harry Thompson, who later found fame as the originator and long-time producer of BBC TV's award-winning Have I Got News For You
Faith had heart problems since 1986, when he had open heart surgery.
In the 1980s, Faith became a financial investments advisor. He had a financial involvement with television's 'Money Channel'. But the channel proved unsuccessful and closed in 2001. Faith was declared bankrupt owing a reported £32 million. He also advised and invested monies for Michael Winner via Sir Nicholas Goodison and also with Roger Levitt's financial group. However, both these investments lost money.
He became ill after his stage performance in the touring production of Love And Marriage at Stoke-on-Trent on the Friday evening, and died at North Staffordshire Hospital of a heart attack early on Saturday, 8 March 2003.
British tabloid newspapers reported his last words as "Channel Five is all sheesh, isn't it? Christ, the crap they put on there. It's a waste of space". Although it is not certain these were his words, it has become an urban myth.
Discography
Singles
Year Title UK Singles Chart
1958 "(Got A) Heartsick Feeling" -
1958 "Country Music Holiday" -
1959 "Ah, Poor Little Baby!" -
1959 "What Do You Want?" #1
1960 "Poor Me" #1
1960 "Someone Else's Baby" #2
1960 "When Johnny Comes Marching Home"/
"Made You" #5
1960 "How About That!" #4
1960 "Lonely Pup (In a Christmas Shop)" #4
1961 "Who Am I!" / "This is It!" #5
1961 "Easy Going Me" #12
1961 "Don't You Know It?" #12
1961 "The Time Has Come" #4
1962 "Lonesome" #12
1962 "As You Like It" #5
1962 "Don't That Beat All" #8
1962 "Baby Take a Bow" #22
1963 "What Now" #31
1963 "Walkin' Tall" #23
1963 "The First Time" #5
1963 "We Are in Love" #11
1964 "If He Tells You" #25
1964 "I Love Being in Love with You" #33
1964 "Only One Such as You" -
1964 "A Message to Martha (Kentucky Bluebird)" #12
1965 "Stop Feeling Sorry For Yourself" #23
1965 "Hand Me Down Things" -
1965 "Someone's Taken Maria Away" #34
1965 "I Don't Need that Kind of Lovin'" -
1966 "Idle Gossip" -
1966 "To Make a Big Man Cry" -
1966 "Cheryl's Goin' Home" #46
1967 "What More Can Anyone Do?" -
1967 "Cowman, Milk Your Cow" -
1967 "To Hell With Love" -
1968 "You Make My Life Worth While" -
1974 "I Survive" -
1974 "Maybe" -
1974 "I Believe in Love" -
1975 "Strung Out Again"/
"Steppin' Stone" -
1976 "Vindictive Attack" -
1978 "What Do You Want?"/
"Poor Me" -
1983 "What Do You Want?"/
"How About That!" -
1993 "Stuck in the Middle" -
Albums
* Adam (Parlophone) (1960) - UK Number 6
* Beat Girl (film soundtrack) (Columbia) (1961) - UK Number 11
* Adam Faith (Parlophone) (1962) - UK Number 20
* From Adam with Love
* For You - Love Adam
* On the Move
* Faith Alive (Parlophone) (1965) - UK Number 19
* I Survived
* Midnight Postcards (PolyGram) (1993) - UK Number 43
Compilation albums
* The Best of Adam Faith (Starline) (1966)
* The Best of Adam Faith (MFP) (1971)
* 24 Golden Greats (Warwick) (1981) - UK Number 61
* Not Just A Memory (Amy Records) (1983)
* The Best of Adam Faith (re-issue) (MFP) (1985)
* The Best of Adam Faith (second re-issue) (MFP) (1989)
* The Singles Collection (Greatest Hits) (1990)
* The Best of EMI Years (1994)
* The Very Best of Adam Faith (MFP/EMI) (1997)
* Greatest Hits (EMI Gold) (1998)
* The Very Best of Adam Faith (EMI) (2005)
* All The Hits (EMI Gold) (2009)
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/crucialmusic/AdamFaithLPback-1.jpg
http://i436.photobucket.com/albums/qq85/cornershop15/AdamFaith1.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o290/Oldmansteds/AdamFaith.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/08/10 at 7:45 am
The word of the day...Frost
When there is frost or a frost, the temperature outside falls below freezing point and the ground becomes covered in ice crystals
When someone says that there are a particular number of degrees of frost they mean that the temperature is that number of degrees below freezing point.
http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac225/blake_4533/IMGP1073.jpg
http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac225/blake_4533/IMGP1067.jpg
http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac284/burnsidetreacle2/IMGP1079.jpg
http://i719.photobucket.com/albums/ww198/Meeshellz41/IMG_7093.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l104/xortin/IMG00016.jpg
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q98/graywolf78/Ute%20Pass%20House%20Pics/P1010384.jpg
I love frost on a cold winter's morning.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/08/10 at 5:29 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmuJDmjq-xQ
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/08/10 at 8:23 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmuJDmjq-xQ
I used to watch that on winter evenings.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 03/09/10 at 1:57 am
The person who died on this day...Adam Faith
Terence (Terry) Nelhams-Wright, known as Adam Faith (23 June 1940, East Acton, London – 8 March 2003, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire) was an English singer, actor and financial journalist. Teen idol turned top actor then financial wizard, Faith was one of the most charted acts of the 1960s. He became the first UK artist to lodge his initial seven hits in the Top 5. He was also one of the first UK acts to record original songs regularly Terence Terry Nelhams-Wright was born at 4 Churchfield Road, Acton, London. He was unaware his surname was Nelhams-Wright until he applied for a passport and obtained his birth certificate. He was known as Terry Nelhams. The third in a family of five children, Nelhams grew up in a council house in a working class area of London, where he attended John Perryn Junior school. He started work at 12, delivering and selling newspapers while still at school. His first full-time job was odd-job boy for a silk screen printer.
Music career
Faith became one of Britain's significant early pop stars. At the time, he was distinctive for his hiccupping glottal stops and exaggerated pronunciation. He did not write his own material, and much of his early success was through partnership with songwriter Les Vandyke and John Barry, whose arrangements were inspired by Don Costa's pizzicato arrangements for Buddy Holly's "It Doesn't Matter Anymore".
Faith began his musical career in 1957, while working as a film cutter in London in the hope of becoming an actor, singing with and managing a skiffle group, The Worried Men. The group played in Soho coffee bars after work, and became the resident band at The 2i's Coffee Bar, where they appeared on the BBC Television live music programme Six-Five Special. The producer, Jack Good, was impressed by the singer and arranged a solo recording contract with HMV under the name Adam Faith.
His debut record "(Got a) Heartsick Feeling" and "Brother Heartache and Sister Tears" in January 1958, failed to make the charts. Good gave him a part in the stage show of Six-Five Special, along with The John Barry Seven but the show folded after four performances. His second release later that year was a cover of Jerry Lee Lewis' "High School Confidential", backed with the Burt Bacharach and Hal David penned "Country Music Holiday", but this also failed.
Faith returned to work as a film cutter at National Studios at Elstree until March 1959, when Barry invited him to audition for a BBC TV rock and roll show, Drumbeat. The producer, Stewart Morris, gave him a contract for three shows, extended to the full 22-week run. His contract with HMV had ended, and he sang one track, "I Vibrate", on a six-track EP released by the Fontana record label. Barry's manager, Eve Taylor, got him a contract with Top Rank, but his only record there, "Ah, Poor Little Baby" / "Runk Bunk" produced by Tony Hatch, failed to chart due to a lack of publicity caused by a national printing strike.
Despite the failure, Faith was becoming popular through television appearances. He became an actor by taking drama and elocution lessons, and appeared as a pop singer in the film, Beat Girl. The script called for Faith to sing a songs, and as Barry was arranging Faith's recordings and live Drumbeat material, the film company asked him to write the score. This was the beginning of Barry's career in film music.
Faith's success on Drumbeat enabled another recording contract with Parlophone. His next record in 1959, "What Do You Want?", written by Les Vandyke and produced by Barry and John Burgess, received good reviews in the NME and other papers, as well as being voted a hit on Juke Box Jury. This became his first number one hit in the UK Singles Chart, and his pronounciation of the word 'baby' as 'bay-beh' became a catch phrase.
"What Do You Want?" was the first number one hit for Parlophone, Faith the only pop act on the label.
With songs like "Poor Me" (another chart topper),"Someone Else's Baby" (a UK #2) and "Don't That Beat All", he established himself as a rival to Cliff Richard in British popular music.
A UK variety tour was followed by a 12-week season at Blackpool Hippodrome and an appearance on the Royal Variety Show.
His next release was a double A-side single, "Made You" / "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", Both made the Top Ten, despite a BBC ban for "Made You" for 'a lewd and salacious lyric'. His 1960 novelty record "Lonely Pup (In a Christmas Shop"), to coincide with his Christmas pantomime, gained a silver disc.
His debut album Adam was released on 4 November 1960 to critical acclaim for the inventiveness of Barry's arrangements and Faith's own performances. The material ranged from standards such as "Summertime", "Hit The Road To Dreamland" and "Singin' In The Rain" to more contemporary songs, such as Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman's "I'm A Man", Johnny Worth's "Fare Thee Well My Pretty Maid", and Howard Guyton's "Wonderful Time".
Still 20 and living with his parents, he bought a house in Hampton Court for £6000, where he moved with his family from their house in Acton. In December 1960 he became the first pop artist to appear on the TV interview series Face to Face with John Freeman.
Faith made six further albums and 35 singles, with a total of 24 chart entries. In the early 1960s, Faith's backing group was The Roulettes.
Film and television career
Faith's teen pop became less popular in the mid-1960s in competition from The Beatles. After a final single in 1968 he parted company with EMI and concentrated on acting. While a musician he had appeared in films such as Beat Girl (1961), Never Let Go, and television dramas such as the Rediffusion/ITV series, No Hiding Place but now he concentrated on repertory theatre. After a number of small parts, he was given a more substantial role in Night Must Fall, playing opposite Dame Sybil Thorndike. In autumn 1969 he took the lead in a touring production of Billy Liar.
In the 1970s, he went into music management, managing Leo Sayer among others.
He starred as the eponymous hero in the 1970s television series Budgie (LWT/ITV), about an ex-convict, but his career declined after a motorcycle accident in which he almost lost a leg. He restarted with a role as the manipulative manager of rock star David Essex, in Stardust. He was nominated for a BAFTA award. In 1980 he starred with Roger Daltrey in McVicar and appeared with Jodie Foster in Foxes.
He played the role of James Crane in the 1985 TV movie Minder on the Orient Express - part of the Minder franchise.
From 1992 to 1994, Faith appeared in another TV series, Love Hurts starring with Zoe Wanamaker, and in 2002 he appeared in the BBC series, The House That Jack Built. In 2003, Faith appeared in an episode of Murder in Mind.
Later years
He married Jackie Irving in 1967 and they had one daughter Katya Faith who became a television producer. In 1986, he was hired as a financial journalist, by the Daily Mail and its sister paper The Mail on Sunday.
In 1985, he appeared on a BBC Radio 2 tribute programme to James Dean, written and presented by Terence Pettigrew. You're Tearing Me Apart was aired on the 30th anniversary of Dean's death. Dean had been his idol, and the film Rebel Without A Cause had inspired the teenage Faith to become a singer and actor. "That movie changed my life", he admitted on the programme, which was produced by Harry Thompson, who later found fame as the originator and long-time producer of BBC TV's award-winning Have I Got News For You
Faith had heart problems since 1986, when he had open heart surgery.
In the 1980s, Faith became a financial investments advisor. He had a financial involvement with television's 'Money Channel'. But the channel proved unsuccessful and closed in 2001. Faith was declared bankrupt owing a reported £32 million. He also advised and invested monies for Michael Winner via Sir Nicholas Goodison and also with Roger Levitt's financial group. However, both these investments lost money.
He became ill after his stage performance in the touring production of Love And Marriage at Stoke-on-Trent on the Friday evening, and died at North Staffordshire Hospital of a heart attack early on Saturday, 8 March 2003.
British tabloid newspapers reported his last words as "Channel Five is all sheesh, isn't it? Christ, the crap they put on there. It's a waste of space". Although it is not certain these were his words, it has become an urban myth.
Discography
Singles
Year Title UK Singles Chart
1958 "(Got A) Heartsick Feeling" -
1958 "Country Music Holiday" -
1959 "Ah, Poor Little Baby!" -
1959 "What Do You Want?" #1
1960 "Poor Me" #1
1960 "Someone Else's Baby" #2
1960 "When Johnny Comes Marching Home"/
"Made You" #5
1960 "How About That!" #4
1960 "Lonely Pup (In a Christmas Shop)" #4
1961 "Who Am I!" / "This is It!" #5
1961 "Easy Going Me" #12
1961 "Don't You Know It?" #12
1961 "The Time Has Come" #4
1962 "Lonesome" #12
1962 "As You Like It" #5
1962 "Don't That Beat All" #8
1962 "Baby Take a Bow" #22
1963 "What Now" #31
1963 "Walkin' Tall" #23
1963 "The First Time" #5
1963 "We Are in Love" #11
1964 "If He Tells You" #25
1964 "I Love Being in Love with You" #33
1964 "Only One Such as You" -
1964 "A Message to Martha (Kentucky Bluebird)" #12
1965 "Stop Feeling Sorry For Yourself" #23
1965 "Hand Me Down Things" -
1965 "Someone's Taken Maria Away" #34
1965 "I Don't Need that Kind of Lovin'" -
1966 "Idle Gossip" -
1966 "To Make a Big Man Cry" -
1966 "Cheryl's Goin' Home" #46
1967 "What More Can Anyone Do?" -
1967 "Cowman, Milk Your Cow" -
1967 "To Hell With Love" -
1968 "You Make My Life Worth While" -
1974 "I Survive" -
1974 "Maybe" -
1974 "I Believe in Love" -
1975 "Strung Out Again"/
"Steppin' Stone" -
1976 "Vindictive Attack" -
1978 "What Do You Want?"/
"Poor Me" -
1983 "What Do You Want?"/
"How About That!" -
1993 "Stuck in the Middle" -
Albums
* Adam (Parlophone) (1960) - UK Number 6
* Beat Girl (film soundtrack) (Columbia) (1961) - UK Number 11
* Adam Faith (Parlophone) (1962) - UK Number 20
* From Adam with Love
* For You - Love Adam
* On the Move
* Faith Alive (Parlophone) (1965) - UK Number 19
* I Survived
* Midnight Postcards (PolyGram) (1993) - UK Number 43
Compilation albums
* The Best of Adam Faith (Starline) (1966)
* The Best of Adam Faith (MFP) (1971)
* 24 Golden Greats (Warwick) (1981) - UK Number 61
* Not Just A Memory (Amy Records) (1983)
* The Best of Adam Faith (re-issue) (MFP) (1985)
* The Best of Adam Faith (second re-issue) (MFP) (1989)
* The Singles Collection (Greatest Hits) (1990)
* The Best of EMI Years (1994)
* The Very Best of Adam Faith (MFP/EMI) (1997)
* Greatest Hits (EMI Gold) (1998)
* The Very Best of Adam Faith (EMI) (2005)
* All The Hits (EMI Gold) (2009)
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/crucialmusic/AdamFaithLPback-1.jpg
http://i436.photobucket.com/albums/qq85/cornershop15/AdamFaith1.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o290/Oldmansteds/AdamFaith.jpg
For whatever reason, Adam faith never made it big in North America
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/09/10 at 1:58 am
For whatever reason, Adam faith never made it big in North America
Just like Cliff Rcihard, I believe?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 03/09/10 at 2:04 am
Just like Cliff Rcihard, I believe?
Yes, but at least Cliff had some hits in N.A, but not Adam.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/09/10 at 7:19 am
The word of the day...Caravan
A caravan is a vehicle without an engine that can be pulled by a car or van. It contains beds and cooking equipment so that people can live or spend their holidays in it.
A caravan is a group of people and animals or vehicles who travel together.
http://i877.photobucket.com/albums/ab332/arellanotravels/Egypt10/caravan.jpg
http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv190/tunnex/100_5512.jpg
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j236/stephen_tickell/midget_caravan.jpg
http://i986.photobucket.com/albums/ae346/IainM1970/New%20Caravan/EdinburghMarch2010002.jpg
http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy295/paramore723_photos/Egypt/161.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/Gwenvael/Aotearoa%20NZ%20Part%202/DSCN4063.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh184/pob7161/caravan.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/09/10 at 7:22 am
The person born on this day...Robin Trower
Robin Leonard Trower, known as Robin Trower (born 9 March 1945, Catford, South East London, England) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum during the 1960s, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio.
Trower grew up in the seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England.
In 1962, Trower formed a group that came to be known as The Paramounts, later including fellow Southend High School pupil Gary Brooker. The Paramounts disbanded in 1966 to pursue individual projects. During this time, Trower created a local 3 piece Southend band called 'The Jam' - not to be confused with the later group with Paul Weller. Trower then joined Brooker's new band Procol Harum in 1967, with whom he remained until 1972. After going solo in 1971 (replaced in Procol Harum by Dave Ball), he found the individual identity and style that have brought him acclaim to this day.
Before launching his own eponymous band, he joined singer Frankie Miller, bass player James Dewar, and former Jethro Tull drummer Clive Bunker to form the short-lived combo Jude. Although this outfit played some well-received gigs, it did not record and soon split up.
Trower retained as bassist Dewar, who took on lead vocals as well, and recruited drummer Reg Isidore (later replaced by Bill Lordan) to form the Robin Trower Band in 1973.
Perhaps Trower's most famous album is Bridge of Sighs (1974). This album, along with his first and third solo albums, was produced by his former Procol Harum bandmate, organist Matthew Fisher. Despite differences, Trower's early power trio work was noted for Hendrixesque influences.
In 1977, feeling he had already proven himself as a performer, Trower ventured into new musical realms, as demonstrated by the release of the In City Dreams album. The 1978 release of Caravan to Midnight was in a different style from the rest of his earlier work, symbolising a change in direction for him. "I am spending much more time and energy and effort on writing and arranging the material," he said at the time, adding "I think music today is suffering greatly from a cleanness. It's too set, too pat, too clever, there's not enough spontaneity."
In the early 1980s, Trower teamed up with former Cream bassist Jack Bruce and his previous drummers Lordan and Isidore, for two albums, BLT (Bruce, Lordan, Trower) and Truce (Trower, Bruce, Isidore).
Trower's album, Living Out of Time (2003), features the return of veteran bandmates Dave Bronze on bass, vocalist Davey Pattison (formerly with Ronnie Montrose's band Gamma) and Pete Thompson on drums - the same lineup as the mid 1980s albums Passion and Take What You Need.
With the same bandmates Trower gave a concert on his 60th birthday in Bonn, Germany. The concert was recorded by the German television channel WDR. It was then released on DVD and subsequently on CD throughout Europe and later the US under the title Living Out Of Time: Live.
In 2007 Trower released a third recording with Jack Bruce, Seven Moons, featuring Gary Husband on drums.
Trower toured the United States and Canada in the summer and autumn of 2006. A 2008 world tour began in Ft. Pierce, Florida on 16 January 2008. Joining Davey Pattison and Pete Thompson was Glenn Letsch (formerly of Gamma) playing bass. European dates began in April. The 29 March 2008 show at the Royal Oak Music Theater in Royal Oak, Michigan was released as a double album on V12 Records.
On Friday, September 25, 2009, Trower was taken ill prior to his performance at the Palace Theater in Greensburg, Pa. An ambulance with paramedics was called to the theater to assist Trower. However, after a delay Trower, thanking the audience for its patience, performed a 90-minute set with his band, including an encore.
Equipment
Trower in 1975
Trower has been a long time proponent of the Fender Stratocaster. He currently uses his custom built Strat (made by the Fender Custom Shop) which comes in Black, Arctic White and Midnight Wine Burst. The guitar is equipped with a 1950s reissue pickup in the neck position, a 1960s reissue in the middle position, and a Texas Special at the bridge. Other features included a custom C-shaped maple neck featuring a large headstock with a Bullet truss-rod system, locking machine heads and a maple fingerboard with narrow-spaced abalone dot position inlays and 21 frets. The Strats he plays live are an exact model of his signature guitar, which is entirely unmodified. During live performances, his guitar is tuned a full step down, to a DGCFAD tuning, instead of the "standard" EADGBE tuning.
Trower is known to use anywhere from one to three 100-Watt Marshall heads with four to six cabinets on stage. Usually two JCM 800s, and a JCM 900. But, has also been known to link 100-Watt Marshall Plexi heads. It is not uncommon for Trower to play at very high volume levels through his rigs, even in relatively small venues, to achieve his desired tone. In studio sessions, Trower uses a mix of amplifiers, such as a Fender Blues Junior and Cornell Plexi Amplifers models to acquire different tonality. Recently, Trower has been using Marshall Vintage Modern 2466 heads live.
He has recently been using Fulltone pedals and effects. He favors the OCD, Distortion Pro, Fat Boost, CLYDE Deluxe Wah, Deja Vibe 2, Soul-Bender, and a BOSS Chromatic Tuner. He runs his Deja Vibe into his distortion pedal to get his famous tone. He was given his own signature Fulltone Robin Trower Overdrive in late 2008.
For his 2009 tour Robin was using his Fender Custom Shop Signature Stratocater into a Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner, Fulltone Robin Trower Overdrive, Fulltone Full Drive, Fulltone Clyde Standard Wah, Fulltone Wahfull, and Fulltone DejaVibe 2 into two Marshall Vintage Modern 2466 heads.
Discography
With Procol Harum
* 1967 Procol Harum
* 1968 Shine on Brightly
* 1969 A Salty Dog
* 1970 Ain't Nothin' to Get Excited About (members of Procol Harum, as Liquorice John Death)
* 1970 Home
* 1971 Broken Barricades
* 1991 The Prodigal Stranger
* 1995 The Long Goodbye
With Robin Trower Band
* 1973 Twice Removed from Yesterday ----- Certified Gold by RIAA
* 1974 Bridge of Sighs ----- Certified Gold by RIAA
* 1975 For Earth Below ----- Certified Gold by RIAA
* 1976 Robin Trower Live
* 1976 Long Misty Days ----- Certified Gold by RIAA
* 1977 In City Dreams ----- Certified Gold by RIAA
* 1978 Caravan to Midnight
* 1979 Victims of the Fury
* 1983 Back It Up
* 1985 Beyond the Mist
* 1987 Passion
* 1988 Take What You Need
* 1990 In the Line of Fire
* 1994 20th Century Blues
* 1995 Live in Concert
* 1996 In Concert
* 1997 Someday Blues
* 1999 This Was Now '74-'98
* 2000 Go My Way
* 2004 Living Out of Time
* 2005 Living Out Of Time: Live (Note: Also available on DVD)
* 2005 Another Days Blues
* 2008 RT@RO.08
* 2009 What Lies Beneath
With Bryan Ferry Band
* 1993 Taxi (Bryan Ferry Band)
* 2000 Mamouna (Ferry)
* 2007 Dylanesque (Bryan Ferry Band)
With Jack Bruce
* 1981 B.L.T.
* 1982 Truce
* 1989 No Stopping Anytime (compilation)
* 2008 Seven Moons
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/09/10 at 7:27 am
The person who died on this day...George Burns
George Burns (January 20, 1896 – March 9, 1996), born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.
His career spanned vaudeville, film, radio, and television, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became familiar trademarks for over three quarters of a century. He enjoyed a career resurrection with a new image as an amiable and unusually active old comedian that began at age 79 and ended shortly before his death at age 100.
Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen was born into an Irish Catholic show business family and educated at Star of the Sea Convent School in San Francisco, California in girlhood. She began in vaudeville around 1909, teamed as an Irish-dance act, "The Four Colleens", with her sisters, Bessie, Hazel, and Pearl.
She met George Burns and the two immediately launched a new partnership, with Gracie playing the role of the "straight man" and George delivering the punchlines as the comedian. Burns knew something was wrong when the audience ignored his jokes but snickered at Gracie's questions. Burns cannily flipped the act around: After a Hoboken, New Jersey performance in which they tested the new style for the first time, Burns's hunch proved right. Gracie was the better 'laugh-getter', especially with the "illogical logic" that formed her responses to Burns's prompting comments or questions.
Allen's part was known in vaudeville as a "Dumb Dora" act, named after a very early film of the same name that featured a scatterbrained female protagonist, but her "illogical logic" style was several cuts above the Dumb Dora stereotype, as was Burns's understated straight man. The twosome worked the new style tirelessly on the road, building a following, as well as a reputation for being a reliable "disappointment act" (one that could fill in for another act on short notice). Burns and Allen were so consistently dependable that vaudeville bookers elevated them to the more secure "standard act" status, and finally to the vaudevillian's dream: the Palace Theatre in New York.
Burns wrote their early scripts, but was rarely credited with being such a brilliant comedy writer. He continued to write the act through vaudeville, films, radio, and, finally, television, first by himself, then with his brother Willie and a team of writers. The entire concept of the Burns and Allen characters, however, was one created and developed by Burns.
As the team toured in vaudeville, Burns found himself falling in love with Allen, who was engaged to another performer at the time. After several attempts to win her over, he finally succeeded (by accident) after making her cry at a Christmas party. She told a friend that "if George meant enough to her to make her cry she must be in love with him".
They were married in Cleveland, Ohio on January 7, 1926, somewhat daring for those times, considering Burns's Jewish and Allen's Irish Catholic upbringing. They adopted their daughter, Sandra, in 1934 and son, Ronnie, in 1935. (For her part, Allen also endeared herself to her in-laws by adopting his mother's favorite phrase, used whenever the older woman needed to bring her son back down to earth: "Nattie, you're such a Chuck," using a diminutive of his given name. When Burns's mother died, Allen comforted her grief-stricken husband with the same phrase.)
In later years Burns admitted that, following an argument over a pricey silver table centerpiece Allen wanted, he had a very brief affair with a Las Vegas showgirl. Stricken by guilt, he phoned Jack Benny and told him about the indiscretion. However, Allen overheard the conversation and Burns quietly bought the expensive centerpiece and nothing more was said. Years later, he discovered that Allen had told one of her friends about the episode finishing with "You know, I really wish George would cheat on me again. I could use a new centerpiece."
Stage to screen
Getting a start in motion pictures with a series of comic short films, their feature credits in the mid- to late-1930s included The Big Broadcast; International House (1933), Six of a Kind (1934), The Big Broadcast of 1936, The Big Broadcast of 1937, A Damsel in Distress (1937) in which they danced step for step with Fred Astaire, and College Swing (1938), in which Bob Hope made one of his early film appearances.
Burns and Allen were indirectly responsible for the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby series of "Road" pictures. In 1938, William LeBaron, producer and managing director at Paramount, had a script prepared by Don Hartman and Frank Butler. It was to star Burns and Allen with a young crooner named Bing Crosby. The story did not seem to fit the comedy team's style, so LeBaron ordered Hartman and Butler to rewrite the script to fit two male co-stars: Hope and Crosby. The script was titled Road to Singapore and it made motion picture history when it was released in 1940.
Radio stars
Burns and Allen first made it to radio as the comedy relief for bandleader Guy Lombardo, which did not always sit well with Lombardo's home audience. In his later memoir, The Third Time Around, Burns revealed a college fraternity's protest letter, complaining that they resented their weekly dance parties with their girl friends to "Thirty Minutes of the Sweetest Music This Side of Heaven" had to be broken into by the droll vaudeville team.
In time, though, Burns and Allen found their own show and radio audience, first airing on February 15, 1932 and concentrating on their classic stage routines plus sketch comedy in which the Burns and Allen style was woven into different little scenes, not unlike the short films they made in Hollywood. They were also good for a clever publicity stunt, none more so than the hunt for Gracie's missing brother, a hunt that included Gracie turning up on other radio shows searching for him as well.
The couple was portrayed at first as younger singles, with Allen the object of both Burns's and other cast members affections. Most notably, bandleaders Ray Noble (known for his phrase, "Gracie, this is the first time we've ever been alone") and Artie Shaw played "love" interests to Gracie. In addition, singer Tony Martin played an unwilling love interest of Gracie's, in which Gracie "sexually harassed" him, by threatening to fire him if the romantic interest wasn't returned. In time, however, due to slipping ratings and the difficulty of being portrayed as singles in light of the audience's close familiarity with their real-life marriage, the show adapted in 1940 to present them as the married couple they actually were. For a time, Burns and Allen had a rather distinguished and popular musical director: Artie Shaw, who also appeared as a character in some of the show's sketches. A somewhat different Gracie also marked this era, as the Gracie character could often found to be mean to George.
George Your mother cut my face out of the picture.
Gracie Oh George you're being sensitive.
George I am not! Look at my face! What happened to it?
Gracie I don't know; it looks like you fell on it.
Or
Census Taker What do you make?
Gracie I make cookies and aprons and knit sweaters.
Census Taker No, I mean what do you earn?
Gracie George's salary.
As this format grew stale over the years, Burns and his fellow writers redeveloped the show as a situation comedy in the fall of 1941. The reformat focused on the couple's married life and life among various friends, including Elvia Allman as "Tootsie Sagwell," a man-hungry spinster in love with Bill Goodwin, and neighbors, until the characters of Harry and Blanche Morton entered the picture to stay. Like The Jack Benny Program, the new George Burns & Gracie Allen Show portrayed George and Gracie as entertainers with their own weekly radio show. Goodwin remained, his character as "girl-crazy" as ever, and the music was now handled by Meredith Willson (later to be better known for composing the Broadway musical The Music Man). Willson also played himself on the show as a naive, friendly, girl-shy fellow. The new format's success made it one of the few classic radio comedies to completely re-invent itself and regain major fame.
Supporting players
The supporting cast during this phase included Mel Blanc as the melancholy, ironically named "Happy Postman" (his catchphrase was "Remember, keep smiling!"); Bea Benaderet (later Cousin Pearl in The Beverly Hillbillies and the voice of Betty Rubble in The Flintstones) and Hal March (later more famous as the host of The $64,000 Question) as neighbors Blanche and Harry Morton; and the various members of Gracie's ladies' club, the Beverly Hills Uplift Society. One running gag during this period, stretching into the television era, was Burns's questionable singing voice, as Gracie lovingly referred to her husband as "Sugar Throat." The show received and maintained a top ten rating for the rest of its radio life.
New network
The couple took the show to CBS in the fall of 1949, after having spent virtually their entire radio career to date on NBC. Their good friend Jack Benny reached a negotiating impasse with NBC over the corporation he set up ("Amusement Enterprises") to package his show, the better to put more of his earnings on a capital-gains basis and avoid the 80 percent taxes slapped on very high earners in the World War II period. When CBS executive William S. Paley convinced Benny to move to CBS (Paley, among other things, impressed Benny with his attitude that the performers make the network, not the other way around as NBC chief David Sarnoff reputedly believed), Benny in turn convinced several NBC stars to join him, including Burns and Allen. Thus did CBS reap the benefits when Burns and Allen moved to television in 1950.
Television
On television, The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show put faces to the radio characters audiences had come to love. A number of significant changes were seen in the show:
* A parade of actors portrayed Harry Morton: Hal March, The Life Of Riley alumnus John Brown, veteran movie and television character actor Fred Clark, and future Mister Ed co-star Larry Keating.
* Burns often broke the fourth wall, and chatted with the home audience, telling understated jokes and commenting wryly about what show characters were doing or undoing. In later shows, he would actually turn on a television and watch what the other characters were up to when he was off camera, then returned to foil the plot.
* When announcer Bill Goodwin left after the first season, Burns hired veteran radio announcer Harry Von Zell to succeed him. Von Zell was cast as the good-natured, easily-confused Burns and Allen announcer and buddy. He also became one of the show's running gags, when his involvement in Gracie's harebrained ideas would get him fired at least once a week by Burns.
* The first shows were simply a copy of the radio format, complete with lengthy and integrated commercials for sponsor Carnation Evaporated Milk by Goodwin. However, what worked well on radio appeared forced and plodding on television. The show was changed into the now-standard situation comedy format, with the commercials distinct from the plot.
* Midway through the run of the television show the Burns' two adopted children, Sandra and Ronald, began to make appearances: Sandy as an occasional drama school classmate of Ronnie, and Ronnie himself as George and Gracie's son, who held his parents' comedy style in befuddled contempt and deemed it unsuitable to the "serious" drama student. In one episode, Ronnie and Sandy, in a plot centered around their school's staging a vaudeville-style show to raise money, performed a remarkable impersonation of their famous parents' stage and radio comedy routines.
Burns and Allen also took a cue from Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's Desilu Productions and formed a company of their own, McCadden Corporation (named after the street on which Burns's brother lived), headquartered on the General Service Studio lot in the heart of Hollywood, and set up to film television shows and commercials. Besides their own hit show (which made the transition from a bi-weekly live series to a weekly filmed version in the fall of 1952), the couple's company produced such television series as The Bob Cummings Show (subsequently syndicated and rerun as Love That Bob); The People's Choice, starring Jackie Cooper; Mona McClusky, starring Juliet Prowse; and Mister Ed, starring Alan Young and a talented "talking" horse. Several of their good friend Jack Benny's 1953-55 filmed episodes were also produced by McCadden for CBS.
George Burns appeared on the Muppet Show.
The George Burns Show
The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show ran on CBS Television from 1950 through 1958, when Burns at last consented to Allen's retirement. The onset of heart trouble in the early 1950s had left her exhausted from full-time work and she had been anxious to stop but couldn't say no to Burns.
Burns attempted to continue the show (for new sponsor Colgate-Palmolive on NBC), but without Allen to provide the classic Gracie-isms, the show expired after a year.
Wendy and Me
Burns subsequently created Wendy and Me, a situation comedy in which he co-starred with Connie Stevens, Ron Harper, and J. Pat O'Malley. Burns acted primarily as the narrator, and secondarily as the advisor to Stevens' Gracie-like character. The first episode involved the middle-aged Burns watching with amusement the activities of his young upstairs neighbor on his television set, apparently via hidden cameras, then breaking the fourth wall and commenting directly to viewers. The series only lasted a year. In a promotion, Burns had joked that "Connie Stevens plays Wendy, and I play 'me'."
Allen's death
After fighting a long battle with heart disease, Gracie Allen suffered a fatal heart attack in her home on August 27, 1964 at the age of 69. She was entombed in a mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery. In his second book, They Still Love Me in Altoona, Burns wrote that he found it impossible to sleep after her death until he decided to sleep in the bed she used during her illness. He also visited her grave once a month, professing to talk to her about whatever he was doing at the time — including, he said, trying to decide whether he really should accept the Sunshine Boys role Jack Benny had to abandon because of his own failing health. He visited the tomb with Ed Bradley during a 60 Minutes interview on November 6, 1988.
The Sunshine Boys
After Gracie's death George immersed himself in work. McCadden Productions co-produced the television series No Time for Sergeants, based on the hit Broadway play; George also produced Juliet Prowse's 1965-'66 NBC situation comedy, Mona McCluskey. At the same time, he toured the U.S. playing nightclub and theater engagements with such diverse partners as Carol Channing, Dorothy Provine, Jane Russell, Connie Haines, and Berle Davis. He also performed a series of solo concerts, playing university campuses, New York's Philharmonic Hall and winding up a successful season at Carnegie Hall, where he wowed a capacity audience with his show-stopping songs, dances, and jokes.
In 1974, Jack Benny signed to play one of the lead roles in the film version of Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys (Red Skelton was originally the other). Benny's health had begun to fail, however, and he advised his manager Irving Fein to let longtime friend Burns fill in for him on a series of nightclub dates to which Benny had committed around the U.S.
Burns, who enjoyed working, accepted the job. As he recalled years later:
"The happiest people I know are the ones that are still working. The saddest are the ones who are retired. Very few performers retire on their own. It's usually because no one wants them. Six years ago Sinatra announced his retirement. He's still working."
But Benny was never able to work on The Sunshine Boys, as he'd been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, from which he died soon thereafter (December 26, 1974). Burns, heartbroken, said that the only time he ever wept in his life other than Gracie's death was when Benny died. He was chosen to give one of the eulogies at the funeral and said, "Jack was someone special to all of you but he was so special to me…I cannot imagine my life without Jack Benny and I will miss him so very much." Burns then broke down and had to be helped to his seat. People who knew George said that he never could really come to terms with his beloved friend's death.
Burns replaced Benny in the film as well as the club tour, a move that turned out to be one of the biggest breaks of his career; his wise performance as faded vaudevillian Al Lewis earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and secured his career resurgence for good. At age 80, Burns was the oldest Oscar winner in the history of the Academy Awards, a record that would remain until Jessica Tandy won an Oscar for Driving Miss Daisy in 1989.
Oh, God!
In 1977, Burns made another hit film, Oh, God!, playing the omnipotent title role opposite singer John Denver as an earnest but befuddled supermarket manager, whom God picks at random to revive His message. The image of Burns in a sailor's cap and light springtime jacket as the droll Almighty influenced his subsequent comedic work, as well as that of other comedians. At a celebrity roast in his honor, Dean Martin adapted a Burns crack: "When George was growing up, the Top Ten were the Ten Commandments."
Burns appeared in this character along with Vanessa Williams on the September 1984 cover of Penthouse magazine, the issue which contained the infamous nude photos of Williams, as well as the first appearance of underage pornographic film star Nora Kuzma, better known to the world as Traci Lords. A blurb on the cover even announced "Oh God, she's naked!"
Oh, God! inspired two sequels Oh, God! Book Two (in which the Almighty engages a precocious schoolgirl (Louanne Sirota) to spread the word) and Oh, God! You Devil—in which Burns played a dual role as God and the Devil, with the soul of a would-be songwriter (Ted Wass) at stake.
Burns also provided the voice of God in John Denver's TV special Montana Christmas Skies.
Later films
Burns appeared in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the film based on the Beatles' album of the same name.
Burns continued to work well into his nineties, writing a number of books and appearing in television and films. One of his last films was 18 Again!, based on his half-novelty, country music based hit single, "I Wish I Was 18 Again." In this film, he played a self-made millionaire industrialist who switched bodies with his awkward, artistic, eighteen-year-old grandson (played by Charlie Schlatter).
His last feature film role was the cameo role of Milt Lackey, a 100 year old stand-up comedian, in the comedy mystery Radioland Murders.
Author
Burns was a bestselling author who wrote a total of 10 books:
* I Love Her, That's Why (1955)
* Living It Up or They Still Love Me in Altoona (1976)
* The Third Time Around (1980)
* How to Live to be 100 or More (1983)
* Dr. Burns' Prescription for Happiness (1984)
* Dear George (1986)
* Gracie, A Love Story (1988)
* All My Best Friends (1989)
* Wisdom of the 90s (1991)
* 100 Years 100 Stories (1996)
In July 1994, Burns fell in his bathtub and had to undergo surgery to remove fluid that had collected on his brain. His health began to decline afterward. All performances celebrating his 100th birthday were canceled. In December 1995, Burns was well enough to attend a Christmas party hosted by Frank Sinatra, where he reportedly caught the flu, which weakened him further. On January 20, 1996, he celebrated his 100th birthday, but was no longer mobile enough to perform and instead spent the evening at home.
On March 9, 1996, just forty-nine days after his milestone birthday, Burns died in his Beverly Hills home of cardiac arrest. His funeral was held three days later at the Wee Kirk o' the Heather church in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale. George Burns was buried in his best dark blue suit, light blue shirt and red tie along with three cigars in his pocket, his toupee, his watch that Gracie gave him, his ring, and in his pocket, his keys and his wallet with 10 $100 bills, a five and three ones.
As much as he looked forward to reaching age 100, Burns also stated that he looked forward to death, saying that the day he died he would be with Gracie again in heaven. Upon being interred with Gracie, the crypt's marker was changed to, "Gracie Allen & George Burns—Together Again." George had said that he wanted Gracie to have top billing.
Legacy
The handprints of George Burns in front of The Great Movie Ride at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park.
* Burns and Allen were the subjects of Rupert Holmes's play Say Goodnight, Gracie.
* In the movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the two humpback whales are named George and Gracie after Burns and Allen.
* Hooters restaurants had signs that prior to George's death read "We even card George Burns," and following his death were changed to read "We even carded George Burns."
* The episode "The Deep End" of Robot Chicken features a parody of the movie Kill Bill entitled Kill Bunny with George Burns replacing Pai Mei.
* The Simpsons referenced Burns in the Season 5 episode titled "Rosebud". In the show, Burns is the younger brother of Montgomery Burns. The character of Mr. Burns, as a kid, leaves his family to live with a rich man (who is actually his paternal grandfather). His father makes the comment, "Oh well. At least we still have his little brother George." The camera flashes to a kid-sized George Burns, who sings a line in his style and then says, "Trust me, it'll be funny when I'm an old man."
* In South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, George Burns appears briefly when Kenny goes to Hell. Along with Adolf Hitler and Mahatma Gandhi, he is a ghost who talks to Kenny, and is heard saying, "Hey, fudgeface, you seen Gracie?".
* In an episode of Boy Meets World, Corey Mathews claims an old educational puberty film starred George Burns.
* In the film For the Boys, the characters played by Bette Midler and James Caan talk about how their comedy act will be "bigger than Burns and Allen, bigger than Hope and Crosby".
* In en episode of Mad About You, Paul Reiser's character is working on a documentary on the history of television. In a scene he is reviewing classic television shows, and the viewer can hear Gracie saying, "Well, if we were married they'd call me Mrs. Burns."
* In Eminem's duel rap song Guilty Conscience, there is a reference to George Burns, "Think about it before you walk in the door first; Look at the store clerk, she's older than George Burns"
Filmography
Features
* The Big Broadcast (1932)
* International House (1933)
* College Humor (1933)
* Six of a Kind (1934)
* We're Not Dressing (1934)
* Many Happy Returns (1934)
* Love in Bloom (1935)
* Here Comes Cookie (1935)
* The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935)
* College Holiday (1936)
* A Damsel in Distress (1937)
* College Swing (1938)
* Honolulu (1939)
* The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956) (narrator)
* The Sunshine Boys (1975)
* Oh, God! (1977)
* Movie Movie (1978)
* Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
* Just You and Me, Kid (1979)
* Going in Style (1979)
* Oh, God Book II (1980)
* Oh, God! You Devil (1984)
* 18 Again! (1988)
* A Century of Cinema (1994) (documentary)
* Radioland Murders (1994)
* 2010 Mars Men (cancellation)
Short Subjects
* Lambchops (1929)
* Fit to Be Tied (1930)
* Pulling a Bone (1931)
* The Antique Shop (1931)
* Once Over, Light (1931)
* 100% Service (1931)
* Oh, My Operation (1932)
* The Babbling Book (1932)
* Your Hat (1932)
* Let's Dance (1933)
* Hollywood on Parade No. A-9 (1933)
* Walking the Baby (1933)
* Screen Snapshots: Famous Fathers and Sons (1946)
* Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Grows Up (1954)
* Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Beauty (1955)
* All About People (1967) (narrator)
* A Look at the World of Soylent Green (1973)
* The Lion Roars
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/09/10 at 4:37 pm
The person who died on this day...George Burns
George Burns (January 20, 1896 – March 9, 1996), born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.
His career spanned vaudeville, film, radio, and television, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became familiar trademarks for over three quarters of a century. He enjoyed a career resurrection with a new image as an amiable and unusually active old comedian that began at age 79 and ended shortly before his death at age 100.
Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen was born into an Irish Catholic show business family and educated at Star of the Sea Convent School in San Francisco, California in girlhood. She began in vaudeville around 1909, teamed as an Irish-dance act, "The Four Colleens", with her sisters, Bessie, Hazel, and Pearl.
She met George Burns and the two immediately launched a new partnership, with Gracie playing the role of the "straight man" and George delivering the punchlines as the comedian. Burns knew something was wrong when the audience ignored his jokes but snickered at Gracie's questions. Burns cannily flipped the act around: After a Hoboken, New Jersey performance in which they tested the new style for the first time, Burns's hunch proved right. Gracie was the better 'laugh-getter', especially with the "illogical logic" that formed her responses to Burns's prompting comments or questions.
Allen's part was known in vaudeville as a "Dumb Dora" act, named after a very early film of the same name that featured a scatterbrained female protagonist, but her "illogical logic" style was several cuts above the Dumb Dora stereotype, as was Burns's understated straight man. The twosome worked the new style tirelessly on the road, building a following, as well as a reputation for being a reliable "disappointment act" (one that could fill in for another act on short notice). Burns and Allen were so consistently dependable that vaudeville bookers elevated them to the more secure "standard act" status, and finally to the vaudevillian's dream: the Palace Theatre in New York.
Burns wrote their early scripts, but was rarely credited with being such a brilliant comedy writer. He continued to write the act through vaudeville, films, radio, and, finally, television, first by himself, then with his brother Willie and a team of writers. The entire concept of the Burns and Allen characters, however, was one created and developed by Burns.
As the team toured in vaudeville, Burns found himself falling in love with Allen, who was engaged to another performer at the time. After several attempts to win her over, he finally succeeded (by accident) after making her cry at a Christmas party. She told a friend that "if George meant enough to her to make her cry she must be in love with him".
They were married in Cleveland, Ohio on January 7, 1926, somewhat daring for those times, considering Burns's Jewish and Allen's Irish Catholic upbringing. They adopted their daughter, Sandra, in 1934 and son, Ronnie, in 1935. (For her part, Allen also endeared herself to her in-laws by adopting his mother's favorite phrase, used whenever the older woman needed to bring her son back down to earth: "Nattie, you're such a Chuck," using a diminutive of his given name. When Burns's mother died, Allen comforted her grief-stricken husband with the same phrase.)
In later years Burns admitted that, following an argument over a pricey silver table centerpiece Allen wanted, he had a very brief affair with a Las Vegas showgirl. Stricken by guilt, he phoned Jack Benny and told him about the indiscretion. However, Allen overheard the conversation and Burns quietly bought the expensive centerpiece and nothing more was said. Years later, he discovered that Allen had told one of her friends about the episode finishing with "You know, I really wish George would cheat on me again. I could use a new centerpiece."
Stage to screen
Getting a start in motion pictures with a series of comic short films, their feature credits in the mid- to late-1930s included The Big Broadcast; International House (1933), Six of a Kind (1934), The Big Broadcast of 1936, The Big Broadcast of 1937, A Damsel in Distress (1937) in which they danced step for step with Fred Astaire, and College Swing (1938), in which Bob Hope made one of his early film appearances.
Burns and Allen were indirectly responsible for the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby series of "Road" pictures. In 1938, William LeBaron, producer and managing director at Paramount, had a script prepared by Don Hartman and Frank Butler. It was to star Burns and Allen with a young crooner named Bing Crosby. The story did not seem to fit the comedy team's style, so LeBaron ordered Hartman and Butler to rewrite the script to fit two male co-stars: Hope and Crosby. The script was titled Road to Singapore and it made motion picture history when it was released in 1940.
Radio stars
Burns and Allen first made it to radio as the comedy relief for bandleader Guy Lombardo, which did not always sit well with Lombardo's home audience. In his later memoir, The Third Time Around, Burns revealed a college fraternity's protest letter, complaining that they resented their weekly dance parties with their girl friends to "Thirty Minutes of the Sweetest Music This Side of Heaven" had to be broken into by the droll vaudeville team.
In time, though, Burns and Allen found their own show and radio audience, first airing on February 15, 1932 and concentrating on their classic stage routines plus sketch comedy in which the Burns and Allen style was woven into different little scenes, not unlike the short films they made in Hollywood. They were also good for a clever publicity stunt, none more so than the hunt for Gracie's missing brother, a hunt that included Gracie turning up on other radio shows searching for him as well.
The couple was portrayed at first as younger singles, with Allen the object of both Burns's and other cast members affections. Most notably, bandleaders Ray Noble (known for his phrase, "Gracie, this is the first time we've ever been alone") and Artie Shaw played "love" interests to Gracie. In addition, singer Tony Martin played an unwilling love interest of Gracie's, in which Gracie "sexually harassed" him, by threatening to fire him if the romantic interest wasn't returned. In time, however, due to slipping ratings and the difficulty of being portrayed as singles in light of the audience's close familiarity with their real-life marriage, the show adapted in 1940 to present them as the married couple they actually were. For a time, Burns and Allen had a rather distinguished and popular musical director: Artie Shaw, who also appeared as a character in some of the show's sketches. A somewhat different Gracie also marked this era, as the Gracie character could often found to be mean to George.
George Your mother cut my face out of the picture.
Gracie Oh George you're being sensitive.
George I am not! Look at my face! What happened to it?
Gracie I don't know; it looks like you fell on it.
Or
Census Taker What do you make?
Gracie I make cookies and aprons and knit sweaters.
Census Taker No, I mean what do you earn?
Gracie George's salary.
As this format grew stale over the years, Burns and his fellow writers redeveloped the show as a situation comedy in the fall of 1941. The reformat focused on the couple's married life and life among various friends, including Elvia Allman as "Tootsie Sagwell," a man-hungry spinster in love with Bill Goodwin, and neighbors, until the characters of Harry and Blanche Morton entered the picture to stay. Like The Jack Benny Program, the new George Burns & Gracie Allen Show portrayed George and Gracie as entertainers with their own weekly radio show. Goodwin remained, his character as "girl-crazy" as ever, and the music was now handled by Meredith Willson (later to be better known for composing the Broadway musical The Music Man). Willson also played himself on the show as a naive, friendly, girl-shy fellow. The new format's success made it one of the few classic radio comedies to completely re-invent itself and regain major fame.
Supporting players
The supporting cast during this phase included Mel Blanc as the melancholy, ironically named "Happy Postman" (his catchphrase was "Remember, keep smiling!"); Bea Benaderet (later Cousin Pearl in The Beverly Hillbillies and the voice of Betty Rubble in The Flintstones) and Hal March (later more famous as the host of The $64,000 Question) as neighbors Blanche and Harry Morton; and the various members of Gracie's ladies' club, the Beverly Hills Uplift Society. One running gag during this period, stretching into the television era, was Burns's questionable singing voice, as Gracie lovingly referred to her husband as "Sugar Throat." The show received and maintained a top ten rating for the rest of its radio life.
New network
The couple took the show to CBS in the fall of 1949, after having spent virtually their entire radio career to date on NBC. Their good friend Jack Benny reached a negotiating impasse with NBC over the corporation he set up ("Amusement Enterprises") to package his show, the better to put more of his earnings on a capital-gains basis and avoid the 80 percent taxes slapped on very high earners in the World War II period. When CBS executive William S. Paley convinced Benny to move to CBS (Paley, among other things, impressed Benny with his attitude that the performers make the network, not the other way around as NBC chief David Sarnoff reputedly believed), Benny in turn convinced several NBC stars to join him, including Burns and Allen. Thus did CBS reap the benefits when Burns and Allen moved to television in 1950.
Television
On television, The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show put faces to the radio characters audiences had come to love. A number of significant changes were seen in the show:
* A parade of actors portrayed Harry Morton: Hal March, The Life Of Riley alumnus John Brown, veteran movie and television character actor Fred Clark, and future Mister Ed co-star Larry Keating.
* Burns often broke the fourth wall, and chatted with the home audience, telling understated jokes and commenting wryly about what show characters were doing or undoing. In later shows, he would actually turn on a television and watch what the other characters were up to when he was off camera, then returned to foil the plot.
* When announcer Bill Goodwin left after the first season, Burns hired veteran radio announcer Harry Von Zell to succeed him. Von Zell was cast as the good-natured, easily-confused Burns and Allen announcer and buddy. He also became one of the show's running gags, when his involvement in Gracie's harebrained ideas would get him fired at least once a week by Burns.
* The first shows were simply a copy of the radio format, complete with lengthy and integrated commercials for sponsor Carnation Evaporated Milk by Goodwin. However, what worked well on radio appeared forced and plodding on television. The show was changed into the now-standard situation comedy format, with the commercials distinct from the plot.
* Midway through the run of the television show the Burns' two adopted children, Sandra and Ronald, began to make appearances: Sandy as an occasional drama school classmate of Ronnie, and Ronnie himself as George and Gracie's son, who held his parents' comedy style in befuddled contempt and deemed it unsuitable to the "serious" drama student. In one episode, Ronnie and Sandy, in a plot centered around their school's staging a vaudeville-style show to raise money, performed a remarkable impersonation of their famous parents' stage and radio comedy routines.
Burns and Allen also took a cue from Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's Desilu Productions and formed a company of their own, McCadden Corporation (named after the street on which Burns's brother lived), headquartered on the General Service Studio lot in the heart of Hollywood, and set up to film television shows and commercials. Besides their own hit show (which made the transition from a bi-weekly live series to a weekly filmed version in the fall of 1952), the couple's company produced such television series as The Bob Cummings Show (subsequently syndicated and rerun as Love That Bob); The People's Choice, starring Jackie Cooper; Mona McClusky, starring Juliet Prowse; and Mister Ed, starring Alan Young and a talented "talking" horse. Several of their good friend Jack Benny's 1953-55 filmed episodes were also produced by McCadden for CBS.
George Burns appeared on the Muppet Show.
The George Burns Show
The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show ran on CBS Television from 1950 through 1958, when Burns at last consented to Allen's retirement. The onset of heart trouble in the early 1950s had left her exhausted from full-time work and she had been anxious to stop but couldn't say no to Burns.
Burns attempted to continue the show (for new sponsor Colgate-Palmolive on NBC), but without Allen to provide the classic Gracie-isms, the show expired after a year.
Wendy and Me
Burns subsequently created Wendy and Me, a situation comedy in which he co-starred with Connie Stevens, Ron Harper, and J. Pat O'Malley. Burns acted primarily as the narrator, and secondarily as the advisor to Stevens' Gracie-like character. The first episode involved the middle-aged Burns watching with amusement the activities of his young upstairs neighbor on his television set, apparently via hidden cameras, then breaking the fourth wall and commenting directly to viewers. The series only lasted a year. In a promotion, Burns had joked that "Connie Stevens plays Wendy, and I play 'me'."
Allen's death
After fighting a long battle with heart disease, Gracie Allen suffered a fatal heart attack in her home on August 27, 1964 at the age of 69. She was entombed in a mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery. In his second book, They Still Love Me in Altoona, Burns wrote that he found it impossible to sleep after her death until he decided to sleep in the bed she used during her illness. He also visited her grave once a month, professing to talk to her about whatever he was doing at the time — including, he said, trying to decide whether he really should accept the Sunshine Boys role Jack Benny had to abandon because of his own failing health. He visited the tomb with Ed Bradley during a 60 Minutes interview on November 6, 1988.
The Sunshine Boys
After Gracie's death George immersed himself in work. McCadden Productions co-produced the television series No Time for Sergeants, based on the hit Broadway play; George also produced Juliet Prowse's 1965-'66 NBC situation comedy, Mona McCluskey. At the same time, he toured the U.S. playing nightclub and theater engagements with such diverse partners as Carol Channing, Dorothy Provine, Jane Russell, Connie Haines, and Berle Davis. He also performed a series of solo concerts, playing university campuses, New York's Philharmonic Hall and winding up a successful season at Carnegie Hall, where he wowed a capacity audience with his show-stopping songs, dances, and jokes.
In 1974, Jack Benny signed to play one of the lead roles in the film version of Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys (Red Skelton was originally the other). Benny's health had begun to fail, however, and he advised his manager Irving Fein to let longtime friend Burns fill in for him on a series of nightclub dates to which Benny had committed around the U.S.
Burns, who enjoyed working, accepted the job. As he recalled years later:
"The happiest people I know are the ones that are still working. The saddest are the ones who are retired. Very few performers retire on their own. It's usually because no one wants them. Six years ago Sinatra announced his retirement. He's still working."
But Benny was never able to work on The Sunshine Boys, as he'd been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, from which he died soon thereafter (December 26, 1974). Burns, heartbroken, said that the only time he ever wept in his life other than Gracie's death was when Benny died. He was chosen to give one of the eulogies at the funeral and said, "Jack was someone special to all of you but he was so special to me…I cannot imagine my life without Jack Benny and I will miss him so very much." Burns then broke down and had to be helped to his seat. People who knew George said that he never could really come to terms with his beloved friend's death.
Burns replaced Benny in the film as well as the club tour, a move that turned out to be one of the biggest breaks of his career; his wise performance as faded vaudevillian Al Lewis earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and secured his career resurgence for good. At age 80, Burns was the oldest Oscar winner in the history of the Academy Awards, a record that would remain until Jessica Tandy won an Oscar for Driving Miss Daisy in 1989.
Oh, God!
In 1977, Burns made another hit film, Oh, God!, playing the omnipotent title role opposite singer John Denver as an earnest but befuddled supermarket manager, whom God picks at random to revive His message. The image of Burns in a sailor's cap and light springtime jacket as the droll Almighty influenced his subsequent comedic work, as well as that of other comedians. At a celebrity roast in his honor, Dean Martin adapted a Burns crack: "When George was growing up, the Top Ten were the Ten Commandments."
Burns appeared in this character along with Vanessa Williams on the September 1984 cover of Penthouse magazine, the issue which contained the infamous nude photos of Williams, as well as the first appearance of underage pornographic film star Nora Kuzma, better known to the world as Traci Lords. A blurb on the cover even announced "Oh God, she's naked!"
Oh, God! inspired two sequels Oh, God! Book Two (in which the Almighty engages a precocious schoolgirl (Louanne Sirota) to spread the word) and Oh, God! You Devil—in which Burns played a dual role as God and the Devil, with the soul of a would-be songwriter (Ted Wass) at stake.
Burns also provided the voice of God in John Denver's TV special Montana Christmas Skies.
Later films
Burns appeared in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the film based on the Beatles' album of the same name.
Burns continued to work well into his nineties, writing a number of books and appearing in television and films. One of his last films was 18 Again!, based on his half-novelty, country music based hit single, "I Wish I Was 18 Again." In this film, he played a self-made millionaire industrialist who switched bodies with his awkward, artistic, eighteen-year-old grandson (played by Charlie Schlatter).
His last feature film role was the cameo role of Milt Lackey, a 100 year old stand-up comedian, in the comedy mystery Radioland Murders.
Author
Burns was a bestselling author who wrote a total of 10 books:
* I Love Her, That's Why (1955)
* Living It Up or They Still Love Me in Altoona (1976)
* The Third Time Around (1980)
* How to Live to be 100 or More (1983)
* Dr. Burns' Prescription for Happiness (1984)
* Dear George (1986)
* Gracie, A Love Story (1988)
* All My Best Friends (1989)
* Wisdom of the 90s (1991)
* 100 Years 100 Stories (1996)
In July 1994, Burns fell in his bathtub and had to undergo surgery to remove fluid that had collected on his brain. His health began to decline afterward. All performances celebrating his 100th birthday were canceled. In December 1995, Burns was well enough to attend a Christmas party hosted by Frank Sinatra, where he reportedly caught the flu, which weakened him further. On January 20, 1996, he celebrated his 100th birthday, but was no longer mobile enough to perform and instead spent the evening at home.
On March 9, 1996, just forty-nine days after his milestone birthday, Burns died in his Beverly Hills home of cardiac arrest. His funeral was held three days later at the Wee Kirk o' the Heather church in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale. George Burns was buried in his best dark blue suit, light blue shirt and red tie along with three cigars in his pocket, his toupee, his watch that Gracie gave him, his ring, and in his pocket, his keys and his wallet with 10 $100 bills, a five and three ones.
As much as he looked forward to reaching age 100, Burns also stated that he looked forward to death, saying that the day he died he would be with Gracie again in heaven. Upon being interred with Gracie, the crypt's marker was changed to, "Gracie Allen & George Burns—Together Again." George had said that he wanted Gracie to have top billing.
Legacy
The handprints of George Burns in front of The Great Movie Ride at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park.
* Burns and Allen were the subjects of Rupert Holmes's play Say Goodnight, Gracie.
* In the movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the two humpback whales are named George and Gracie after Burns and Allen.
* Hooters restaurants had signs that prior to George's death read "We even card George Burns," and following his death were changed to read "We even carded George Burns."
* The episode "The Deep End" of Robot Chicken features a parody of the movie Kill Bill entitled Kill Bunny with George Burns replacing Pai Mei.
* The Simpsons referenced Burns in the Season 5 episode titled "Rosebud". In the show, Burns is the younger brother of Montgomery Burns. The character of Mr. Burns, as a kid, leaves his family to live with a rich man (who is actually his paternal grandfather). His father makes the comment, "Oh well. At least we still have his little brother George." The camera flashes to a kid-sized George Burns, who sings a line in his style and then says, "Trust me, it'll be funny when I'm an old man."
* In South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, George Burns appears briefly when Kenny goes to Hell. Along with Adolf Hitler and Mahatma Gandhi, he is a ghost who talks to Kenny, and is heard saying, "Hey, fudgeface, you seen Gracie?".
* In an episode of Boy Meets World, Corey Mathews claims an old educational puberty film starred George Burns.
* In the film For the Boys, the characters played by Bette Midler and James Caan talk about how their comedy act will be "bigger than Burns and Allen, bigger than Hope and Crosby".
* In en episode of Mad About You, Paul Reiser's character is working on a documentary on the history of television. In a scene he is reviewing classic television shows, and the viewer can hear Gracie saying, "Well, if we were married they'd call me Mrs. Burns."
* In Eminem's duel rap song Guilty Conscience, there is a reference to George Burns, "Think about it before you walk in the door first; Look at the store clerk, she's older than George Burns"
Filmography
Features
* The Big Broadcast (1932)
* International House (1933)
* College Humor (1933)
* Six of a Kind (1934)
* We're Not Dressing (1934)
* Many Happy Returns (1934)
* Love in Bloom (1935)
* Here Comes Cookie (1935)
* The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935)
* College Holiday (1936)
* A Damsel in Distress (1937)
* College Swing (1938)
* Honolulu (1939)
* The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956) (narrator)
* The Sunshine Boys (1975)
* Oh, God! (1977)
* Movie Movie (1978)
* Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
* Just You and Me, Kid (1979)
* Going in Style (1979)
* Oh, God Book II (1980)
* Oh, God! You Devil (1984)
* 18 Again! (1988)
* A Century of Cinema (1994) (documentary)
* Radioland Murders (1994)
* 2010 Mars Men (cancellation)
Short Subjects
* Lambchops (1929)
* Fit to Be Tied (1930)
* Pulling a Bone (1931)
* The Antique Shop (1931)
* Once Over, Light (1931)
* 100% Service (1931)
* Oh, My Operation (1932)
* The Babbling Book (1932)
* Your Hat (1932)
* Let's Dance (1933)
* Hollywood on Parade No. A-9 (1933)
* Walking the Baby (1933)
* Screen Snapshots: Famous Fathers and Sons (1946)
* Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Grows Up (1954)
* Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Beauty (1955)
* All About People (1967) (narrator)
* A Look at the World of Soylent Green (1973)
* The Lion Roars
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Say Goodnight Gracie.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/09/10 at 5:00 pm
Say Goodnight Gracie.
Goodnight Gracie.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/09/10 at 5:01 pm
The word of the day...Caravan
A caravan is a vehicle without an engine that can be pulled by a car or van. It contains beds and cooking equipment so that people can live or spend their holidays in it.
A caravan is a group of people and animals or vehicles who travel together.
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http://i986.photobucket.com/albums/ae346/IainM1970/New%20Caravan/EdinburghMarch2010002.jpg
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http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh184/pob7161/caravan.jpg
Caravan of Love.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/09/10 at 5:30 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZhORUIKWtQ&feature=fvw
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/10/10 at 7:53 am
The word of the day...Casino
A casino is a building or room where people play gambling games such as roulette.
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http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb206/slowpoke02/Winter%20Vacation%2010/DSC00098.jpg
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w134/feebreeze/BIG%20FEE%20MOVIE%20FAVS/FEEFAVCASINO.jpg
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http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af29/elyseregan/Adelaide3008.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/10/10 at 7:56 am
The person born on this day...Sharon Stone
Sharon Yvonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She first achieved international recognition for her performance in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for her role in Casino.
While living in Europe, she decided to quit modeling and become an actress. "So I packed my bags, moved back to New York, and stood in line to be an extra in a Woody Allen movie," she later recalled. While auditioning, she met Michelle Pfeiffer, who recognized her from the pageant she competed in, and the two became friends. Stone was cast for a brief but memorable role in Allen's Stardust Memories (1980), and then had a speaking part a year later in the horror movie Deadly Blessing (1981). When French director Claude Lelouch saw Stone in Stardust Memories, he was so impressed that he cast her in Les Uns et Les Autres (1982) starring James Caan. She was only on screen for two minutes and did not appear in the credits.
Her next role was in Irreconcilable Differences (1984), starring Ryan O'Neal, Shelley Long, and a young Drew Barrymore. Stone plays a starlet who breaks up the marriage of a successful director and his screenwriter wife. The story was based on the real-life experience of director Peter Bogdanovich, his set designer wife Polly Platt and Cybill Shepherd, who as a young actress had starred in Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show (1971), which co-starred Stone's mother-in-law Cloris Leachman and won her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The highlight of Stone's performance is when her cocaine-addict character plays Scarlett O'Hara in a musical pitched as a remake of Gone with the Wind.
Through the rest of the 1980s she appeared in Action Jackson (1988), King Solomon's Mines (1985) and Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1987). She was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Actress for her performance in Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold. She also played the wife of Steven Seagal's character in Above the Law (1988). She appeared in a two-part episode of Magnum, P.I., titled "Echoes of the Mind", where she played identical twins, one a love interest of Tom Selleck's character.
Also in 1988, Stone took over the role of Janice Henry for the filming of the miniseries War and Remembrance.
1990–2004
Her appearance in Total Recall (1990) with Arnold Schwarzenegger gave Stone's career a jolt. To coincide with the movie's release, she posed nude for Playboy, showing off the muscles she developed in preparation for the movie (she lifted weights and learned Tae Kwon Do). In 1999, she was rated among the 25 sexiest stars of the century by Playboy.
Sharon Stone in France, 1991
The role that made her a star was that of Catherine Tramell, a brilliant, bisexual serial killer, in Basic Instinct (1992). Stone had to wait and actually turned down offers for the mere prospect to play Tramell (the part was offered to 13 other actresses and considered to 150 women before being offered to Stone). Several better known actresses of the time such as Geena Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Meg Ryan, Melanie Griffith, Kelly Lynch, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Julia Roberts turned down the part mostly because of the nudity required. In the movie’s most notorious scene, Tramell is being questioned by the police and she crosses and uncrosses her legs, revealing the fact she was not wearing any underwear. According to Stone, upon seeing her own vulva in the leg-crossing scene during a screening of the film, she went into the projection booth and slapped director Paul Verhoeven.
At the 2002 Cannes Film Festival
Stone claimed that although she agreed to film the flashing scene with no panties, and although she and Verhoeven had discussed the scene from the beginning of production, she was unaware just how explicit the infamous shot would be. She said, "I knew that we were going to do this leg-crossing thing and I knew that we were going to allude to the concept that I was nude, but I did not think that you would see my vagina in the scene. Later, when I saw it in the screening I was shocked. I think seeing it in a room full of strangers was so disrespectful and so shocking, so I went into the booth and slapped him and left."
Despite this, she claimed in an earlier interview that "it was so fun" watching the film for the first time with strangers. Verhoeven has denied all claims of trickery and said, "As much as I love her, I hate her too, especially after the lies she told the press about the shot between her legs, which was a straight lie". Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, who later befriended the actress, also claimed the actress was fully aware of the level of nudity involved in his memoir, Hollywood Animal.
Following this film, she was listed by People as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world.
In 1992, photographer George Hurrell took a series of photographs of Stone, Sherilyn Fenn, Julian Sands, Raquel Welch, Eric Roberts and Sean Penn. In these portraits he recreated his style of the 1930s, with the actors posing in costumes, hairstyle and makeup of the period.
In November 1995, Stone received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6925 Hollywood Blvd. That same year, Empire chose her as one of the 100 sexiest stars in film history. In October 1997, she was ranked among the top 100 movie stars of all time by Empire.
In 1995, she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Dramatic Motion Picture for her role as "Ginger" in Martin Scorsese's Casino opposite Robert De Niro. She also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for the role.
In 2001, Stone was linked to a biopic of the German film director Leni Riefenstahl. The prospective director Paul Verhoeven and Riefenstahl herself favoured Stone to portray Riefenstahl in the film. According to Verhoeven, he discussed the project with Stone and she was very interested. Subsequently, Verhoeven pulled out of the project as he wanted to hire a more expensive screenwriter than the producers did.
Stone was hospitalized in late 2001 for a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which was diagnosed as a vertebral artery dissection rather than the more common ruptured aneurysm, and treated with an endovascular coil embolization.
Stone starred opposite actress Ellen DeGeneres in the 2001 HBO movie If These Walls Could Talk 2, in which she played a lesbian trying to start a family. In 2003, she appeared in three episodes from the eighth season of The Practice. For her performances, she received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.
2004—
Stone attempted a return to the mainstream with a role in the film Catwoman (2004); however, the film was a critical and commercial flop.
After years of litigation, Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction was released on March 31, 2006. A reason for a long delay in releasing the film was reportedly Stone's dispute with the filmmakers over the nudity in the movie; she wanted more, while they wanted less. A group sex scene was cut in order to achieve an R rating from the MPAA for the U.S. release; the controversial scene remained in the U.K. version of the London-based film. Stone told an interviewer, "We are in a time of odd repression and if a popcorn movie allows us to create a platform for discussion, wouldn't that be great?"
Despite an estimated budget of $70 million, it placed only 10th in gross on its debut weekend with a meager $3,200,000, and was subsequently declared a bomb. It ultimately ran in theaters for only 17 days and finished with a total domestic gross of under $6 million. Despite the failure of Basic Instinct 2, Stone has said that she would love to direct and act in a third Basic Instinct film.
She appeared in the drama Alpha Dog opposite Bruce Willis, playing Olivia Mazursky, the mother of a real-life murder victim. Stone wore a fatsuit for the role. In February 2007, Stone found her role as a clinically depressed woman in her latest film, When a Man Falls in the Forest, uplifting, as it challenged what she called "Prozac society." "It was a watershed experience," she said. "I think that we live in a... Prozac society where we're always told we're supposed to have this kind of equilibrium of emotion. We have all these assignments about how we're supposed to feel about something."
In December 2006, she co hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway together with Anjelica Huston. The concert was in honor of the Nobel Peace Prize winners Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank.
In 2007, she appeared in a television commercial demonstrating the symptoms of a stroke.
On January 5, 2010, it was announced that Sharon will be joining the cast of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for a four-episode arc beginning in April 2010. She will play a former cop-turned-prosecutor.
Personal life
Stone in 2004
Stone lives in Beverly Hills, California, and owns a ranch in New Zealand. In March 2006, Stone traveled to Israel to promote peace in the Middle East through a press conference with Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres. Stone also has diabetes and loves raspberries .
AIDS research support
In April 2004, she was awarded the National Center for Lesbian Rights Spirit Award in San Francisco for her support and involvement with organizations that serve the lesbian, gay and HIV/AIDS community and performed Can't Get You Out of My Head with Kylie Minogue in Cannes for AIDS research. She was presented the award by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.
It has been said that her parents raised her with feminist values. "My dad never raised me to believe that being a woman inhibited any of my choices or my possibilities to succeed. To be a feminist like Dad in that blue-collar, middle-class world is a big stand."
Tanzania controversy
On January 28, 2005, Stone helped solicit pledges for $1 million in five minutes for mosquito nets in Tanzania, turning a panel on African poverty into an impromptu fund-raiser at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Many observers, including UNICEF, criticized her actions by claiming that Stone had reacted instinctively to the words of Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, because she had not done her research on the causes, consequences and methods of preventing malaria; if she had done so, she would have found out that most African governments already distribute free bed nets through public hospitals.
Of the $1 million pledged, only $250,000 was actually raised. In order to fulfill the promise to send $1 million worth of bed nets to Tanzania, UNICEF contributed $750,000. This diverted funds from other UNICEF projects. According to prominent economist Xavier Sala-i-Martín, officials are largely unaware of what happened with the bed nets. Some were delivered to the local airport. These reportedly were stolen and later resurfaced as wedding dresses on the local black market.
Chinese earthquake controversy
Stone sparked criticism for her comments made in an exchange on the red carpet with Hong Kong's Cable Entertainment News during the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 25, 2008. When asked about the 2008 Sichuan earthquake she remarked:
"Well you know it was very interesting because at first, you know, I'm not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don't think anyone should be unkind to anyone else. And so I have been very concerned about how to think and what to do about that because I don’t like that. And I had been this, you know, concerned about, oh how should we deal with the Olympics because they are not being nice to the Dalai Lama, who is a good friend of mine. And then this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that Karma? When you're not nice then the bad things happen to you?"
Observers have also noted that Wenchuan County, the epicenter of the earthquake, is located in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, where ethnic Tibetans comprise over half of the population. According to the Hollywood Reporter, after her comments, one of China's biggest cinema chains released statements stating its company would not show her films in its theaters. The founder of the UME Cineplex chain and the chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, Ng See-Yuen called Stone's comments "inappropriate" and said the UME Cineplex chain would not be releasing her films in the future. Christian Dior advertisements featuring Stone's image were also dropped from all ads in China amid the public uproar. Stone was also struck from the 2008 Shanghai International Film Festival guest list, with the event's organizers considering a permanent ban for the actress.
Dior China had originally posted an apology in Stone's name, but Stone later denies making the apology during an interview with the New York Times, saying "I'm not going to apologize. I’m certainly not going to apologize for something that isn’t real and true — not for face creams," although she does admit she had "sounded like an idiot". The Dalai Lama has reportedly distanced himself from her remark.
Religion
In the early 1990s, Stone became a member of the Church of Scientology. Stone remained with the religion until recently when she converted to Tibetan Buddhism, after fellow actor Richard Gere introduced her to the Dalai Lama. She is an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church.
Relationships
Stone was first married briefly to George Englund Jr. In 1984, she married television producer Michael Greenburg on the set of The Vegas Strip War, a TV movie he produced and she starred in. The marriage lasted three years. They separated three years later, and their divorce was finalized in 1990.
On February 14, 1998, she married Phil Bronstein, executive editor of the San Francisco Examiner and later San Francisco Chronicle. Stone and Bronstein were divorced in January 2004. They have an adopted son named Roan Joseph Bronstein, born on May 22, 2000. She also adopted her second son, Laird Vonne Stone on May 7, 2005. On June 28, 2006, Stone adopted her third son, Quinn Kelly.
In 2005, during a television interview for her movie Basic Instinct 2, Stone hinted an interest in bisexuality, stating "Middle age is an open-minded period". Stone has said that in the past she's "dated" girls. While filming Basic Instinct, her best girlfriend was there to hold her hand out of camera range during some of the scenes. And in a biography, Naked Instinct, author Frank Sanello details a sexual liaison between Stone and a woman in the bathroom of the Beverly Hills Hotel. In an interview on the Michael Parkinson talk show in England on March 18, 2006, she said she was "straight". However, in January 2008, she was quoted as saying, "Everybody is bisexual to an extent. Now men act like women and it's difficult to have a relationship because I like men in that old-fashioned way. I like masculinity and, in truth, only women do that now".
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1980 Stardust Memories Pretty Girl on train Debut
1981 Les Uns et les autres Girl with Glenn Senior Uncredited
Deadly Blessing Lana Marcus
1982 Not Just Another Affair Lynette TV Movie
Silver Spoons Debbie (TV Series)
1983 Bay City Blues Cathy St. Marie (TV Series)
Remington Steele Jillian Montague (TV Series)
1984 The New Mike Hammer Julie Eland
Magnum, P.I. Diane Dupree and Diedra Dupree (TV Series)
Calendar Girl Murders Cassie Bascomb TV Movie
The Vegas Strip War Sarah Shipman TV Movie
Irreconcilable Differences Blake Chandler
1985 T. J. Hooker Dani Starr
King Solomon's Mines Jesse Huston
1986 Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Ashley Hamilton Ryan TV movie
1987 Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol Claire Mattson
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold Jesse Huston
Cold Steel Kathy Connors
1988 Tears in the Rain Casey Cantrell TV Movie
Action Jackson Patrice Dellaplane
Above the Law Sara Toscani
Badlands 2005 Alex Neil TV movie
1989 Beyond the Stars Laurie McCall
Blood and Sand Doña Sol
War and Remembrance Janice Henry
1990 Total Recall Lori Quaid
1991 He Said, She Said Linda Metzger
Scissors Angie Anderson
Year of the Gun Alison King
Diary of a Hitman Kiki
Where Sleeping Dogs Lie Serena Black
1992 Basic Instinct Catherine Tramell MTV Movie Award for Most Desirable Female
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actress
1993 Sliver Carly Norris Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Most Desirable Female
1994 Intersection Sally Eastman
The Specialist May Munro Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Most Desirable Female
1995 The Quick and the Dead Ellen 'The Lady' Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actress
Roseanne Trailer Park Resident (TV Series)
Casino Ginger McKenna Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance
1996 Diabolique Nicole Horner
Last Dance Cindy Liggett
1998 Sphere Dr. Elizabeth 'Beth' Halperin
Antz Princess Bala Voice
The Mighty Gwen Dillon Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
1999 Gloria Gloria
The Muse Sarah Little Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Simpatico Rosie Carter
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child Henny Penny voice
2000 If These Walls Could Talk 2 Fran TV movie
Picking Up the Pieces Candy Cowley
Beautiful Joe Alice 'Hush' Mason
2001 Harold and the Purple Crayon Narrator 2001-2002
2003 Cold Creek Manor Leah Tilson
2004 A Different Loyalty Sally Cauffield
Catwoman Laurel Hedare
The Practice Sheila Carlisle Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Drama Series (TV Series)
Kurtlar Vadisi (eng. Valley of the Wolves) Lisa Turkish TV Serial
2005 Higglytown Heroes Nicky - Blind Art Teacher Voice
Will & Grace Dr. Georgia Keller (TV Series)
Broken Flowers Laura Daniels Miller
2006 Alpha Dog Olivia Mazursky
Basic Instinct 2 Catherine Tramell
Huff Dauri Rathburn (TV Series)
Bobby Miriam Ebbers Hollywood Film Festival for Cast of the Year
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2007 If I Had Known I Was a Genius Gloria Fremont
When a Man Falls in the Forest Karen Fields
Democrazy Patricia Hill Short
2008 The Year of Getting to Know Us Jane Rocket
Five Dollars a Day Dolores Jones
2009 Streets of Blood Nina Ferraro
2010 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Jo Marlowe Four episodes (TV Series)
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u116/pink_cashmere_26/sharon-stone.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f186/dezaray25/stone.jpg
http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad126/econnisme/yeah/stone.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/10/10 at 7:56 am
I rarely gamble in Casinos.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/10/10 at 7:57 am
The person born on this day...Sharon Stone
Sharon Yvonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She first achieved international recognition for her performance in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for her role in Casino.
While living in Europe, she decided to quit modeling and become an actress. "So I packed my bags, moved back to New York, and stood in line to be an extra in a Woody Allen movie," she later recalled. While auditioning, she met Michelle Pfeiffer, who recognized her from the pageant she competed in, and the two became friends. Stone was cast for a brief but memorable role in Allen's Stardust Memories (1980), and then had a speaking part a year later in the horror movie Deadly Blessing (1981). When French director Claude Lelouch saw Stone in Stardust Memories, he was so impressed that he cast her in Les Uns et Les Autres (1982) starring James Caan. She was only on screen for two minutes and did not appear in the credits.
Her next role was in Irreconcilable Differences (1984), starring Ryan O'Neal, Shelley Long, and a young Drew Barrymore. Stone plays a starlet who breaks up the marriage of a successful director and his screenwriter wife. The story was based on the real-life experience of director Peter Bogdanovich, his set designer wife Polly Platt and Cybill Shepherd, who as a young actress had starred in Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show (1971), which co-starred Stone's mother-in-law Cloris Leachman and won her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The highlight of Stone's performance is when her cocaine-addict character plays Scarlett O'Hara in a musical pitched as a remake of Gone with the Wind.
Through the rest of the 1980s she appeared in Action Jackson (1988), King Solomon's Mines (1985) and Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1987). She was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Actress for her performance in Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold. She also played the wife of Steven Seagal's character in Above the Law (1988). She appeared in a two-part episode of Magnum, P.I., titled "Echoes of the Mind", where she played identical twins, one a love interest of Tom Selleck's character.
Also in 1988, Stone took over the role of Janice Henry for the filming of the miniseries War and Remembrance.
1990–2004
Her appearance in Total Recall (1990) with Arnold Schwarzenegger gave Stone's career a jolt. To coincide with the movie's release, she posed nude for Playboy, showing off the muscles she developed in preparation for the movie (she lifted weights and learned Tae Kwon Do). In 1999, she was rated among the 25 sexiest stars of the century by Playboy.
Sharon Stone in France, 1991
The role that made her a star was that of Catherine Tramell, a brilliant, bisexual serial killer, in Basic Instinct (1992). Stone had to wait and actually turned down offers for the mere prospect to play Tramell (the part was offered to 13 other actresses and considered to 150 women before being offered to Stone). Several better known actresses of the time such as Geena Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Meg Ryan, Melanie Griffith, Kelly Lynch, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Julia Roberts turned down the part mostly because of the nudity required. In the movie’s most notorious scene, Tramell is being questioned by the police and she crosses and uncrosses her legs, revealing the fact she was not wearing any underwear. According to Stone, upon seeing her own vulva in the leg-crossing scene during a screening of the film, she went into the projection booth and slapped director Paul Verhoeven.
At the 2002 Cannes Film Festival
Stone claimed that although she agreed to film the flashing scene with no panties, and although she and Verhoeven had discussed the scene from the beginning of production, she was unaware just how explicit the infamous shot would be. She said, "I knew that we were going to do this leg-crossing thing and I knew that we were going to allude to the concept that I was nude, but I did not think that you would see my vagina in the scene. Later, when I saw it in the screening I was shocked. I think seeing it in a room full of strangers was so disrespectful and so shocking, so I went into the booth and slapped him and left."
Despite this, she claimed in an earlier interview that "it was so fun" watching the film for the first time with strangers. Verhoeven has denied all claims of trickery and said, "As much as I love her, I hate her too, especially after the lies she told the press about the shot between her legs, which was a straight lie". Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, who later befriended the actress, also claimed the actress was fully aware of the level of nudity involved in his memoir, Hollywood Animal.
Following this film, she was listed by People as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world.
In 1992, photographer George Hurrell took a series of photographs of Stone, Sherilyn Fenn, Julian Sands, Raquel Welch, Eric Roberts and Sean Penn. In these portraits he recreated his style of the 1930s, with the actors posing in costumes, hairstyle and makeup of the period.
In November 1995, Stone received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6925 Hollywood Blvd. That same year, Empire chose her as one of the 100 sexiest stars in film history. In October 1997, she was ranked among the top 100 movie stars of all time by Empire.
In 1995, she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Dramatic Motion Picture for her role as "Ginger" in Martin Scorsese's Casino opposite Robert De Niro. She also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for the role.
In 2001, Stone was linked to a biopic of the German film director Leni Riefenstahl. The prospective director Paul Verhoeven and Riefenstahl herself favoured Stone to portray Riefenstahl in the film. According to Verhoeven, he discussed the project with Stone and she was very interested. Subsequently, Verhoeven pulled out of the project as he wanted to hire a more expensive screenwriter than the producers did.
Stone was hospitalized in late 2001 for a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which was diagnosed as a vertebral artery dissection rather than the more common ruptured aneurysm, and treated with an endovascular coil embolization.
Stone starred opposite actress Ellen DeGeneres in the 2001 HBO movie If These Walls Could Talk 2, in which she played a lesbian trying to start a family. In 2003, she appeared in three episodes from the eighth season of The Practice. For her performances, she received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.
2004—
Stone attempted a return to the mainstream with a role in the film Catwoman (2004); however, the film was a critical and commercial flop.
After years of litigation, Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction was released on March 31, 2006. A reason for a long delay in releasing the film was reportedly Stone's dispute with the filmmakers over the nudity in the movie; she wanted more, while they wanted less. A group sex scene was cut in order to achieve an R rating from the MPAA for the U.S. release; the controversial scene remained in the U.K. version of the London-based film. Stone told an interviewer, "We are in a time of odd repression and if a popcorn movie allows us to create a platform for discussion, wouldn't that be great?"
Despite an estimated budget of $70 million, it placed only 10th in gross on its debut weekend with a meager $3,200,000, and was subsequently declared a bomb. It ultimately ran in theaters for only 17 days and finished with a total domestic gross of under $6 million. Despite the failure of Basic Instinct 2, Stone has said that she would love to direct and act in a third Basic Instinct film.
She appeared in the drama Alpha Dog opposite Bruce Willis, playing Olivia Mazursky, the mother of a real-life murder victim. Stone wore a fatsuit for the role. In February 2007, Stone found her role as a clinically depressed woman in her latest film, When a Man Falls in the Forest, uplifting, as it challenged what she called "Prozac society." "It was a watershed experience," she said. "I think that we live in a... Prozac society where we're always told we're supposed to have this kind of equilibrium of emotion. We have all these assignments about how we're supposed to feel about something."
In December 2006, she co hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway together with Anjelica Huston. The concert was in honor of the Nobel Peace Prize winners Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank.
In 2007, she appeared in a television commercial demonstrating the symptoms of a stroke.
On January 5, 2010, it was announced that Sharon will be joining the cast of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for a four-episode arc beginning in April 2010. She will play a former cop-turned-prosecutor.
Personal life
Stone in 2004
Stone lives in Beverly Hills, California, and owns a ranch in New Zealand. In March 2006, Stone traveled to Israel to promote peace in the Middle East through a press conference with Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres. Stone also has diabetes and loves raspberries .
AIDS research support
In April 2004, she was awarded the National Center for Lesbian Rights Spirit Award in San Francisco for her support and involvement with organizations that serve the lesbian, gay and HIV/AIDS community and performed Can't Get You Out of My Head with Kylie Minogue in Cannes for AIDS research. She was presented the award by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.
It has been said that her parents raised her with feminist values. "My dad never raised me to believe that being a woman inhibited any of my choices or my possibilities to succeed. To be a feminist like Dad in that blue-collar, middle-class world is a big stand."
Tanzania controversy
On January 28, 2005, Stone helped solicit pledges for $1 million in five minutes for mosquito nets in Tanzania, turning a panel on African poverty into an impromptu fund-raiser at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Many observers, including UNICEF, criticized her actions by claiming that Stone had reacted instinctively to the words of Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, because she had not done her research on the causes, consequences and methods of preventing malaria; if she had done so, she would have found out that most African governments already distribute free bed nets through public hospitals.
Of the $1 million pledged, only $250,000 was actually raised. In order to fulfill the promise to send $1 million worth of bed nets to Tanzania, UNICEF contributed $750,000. This diverted funds from other UNICEF projects. According to prominent economist Xavier Sala-i-Martín, officials are largely unaware of what happened with the bed nets. Some were delivered to the local airport. These reportedly were stolen and later resurfaced as wedding dresses on the local black market.
Chinese earthquake controversy
Stone sparked criticism for her comments made in an exchange on the red carpet with Hong Kong's Cable Entertainment News during the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 25, 2008. When asked about the 2008 Sichuan earthquake she remarked:
"Well you know it was very interesting because at first, you know, I'm not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don't think anyone should be unkind to anyone else. And so I have been very concerned about how to think and what to do about that because I don’t like that. And I had been this, you know, concerned about, oh how should we deal with the Olympics because they are not being nice to the Dalai Lama, who is a good friend of mine. And then this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that Karma? When you're not nice then the bad things happen to you?"
Observers have also noted that Wenchuan County, the epicenter of the earthquake, is located in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, where ethnic Tibetans comprise over half of the population. According to the Hollywood Reporter, after her comments, one of China's biggest cinema chains released statements stating its company would not show her films in its theaters. The founder of the UME Cineplex chain and the chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, Ng See-Yuen called Stone's comments "inappropriate" and said the UME Cineplex chain would not be releasing her films in the future. Christian Dior advertisements featuring Stone's image were also dropped from all ads in China amid the public uproar. Stone was also struck from the 2008 Shanghai International Film Festival guest list, with the event's organizers considering a permanent ban for the actress.
Dior China had originally posted an apology in Stone's name, but Stone later denies making the apology during an interview with the New York Times, saying "I'm not going to apologize. I’m certainly not going to apologize for something that isn’t real and true — not for face creams," although she does admit she had "sounded like an idiot". The Dalai Lama has reportedly distanced himself from her remark.
Religion
In the early 1990s, Stone became a member of the Church of Scientology. Stone remained with the religion until recently when she converted to Tibetan Buddhism, after fellow actor Richard Gere introduced her to the Dalai Lama. She is an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church.
Relationships
Stone was first married briefly to George Englund Jr. In 1984, she married television producer Michael Greenburg on the set of The Vegas Strip War, a TV movie he produced and she starred in. The marriage lasted three years. They separated three years later, and their divorce was finalized in 1990.
On February 14, 1998, she married Phil Bronstein, executive editor of the San Francisco Examiner and later San Francisco Chronicle. Stone and Bronstein were divorced in January 2004. They have an adopted son named Roan Joseph Bronstein, born on May 22, 2000. She also adopted her second son, Laird Vonne Stone on May 7, 2005. On June 28, 2006, Stone adopted her third son, Quinn Kelly.
In 2005, during a television interview for her movie Basic Instinct 2, Stone hinted an interest in bisexuality, stating "Middle age is an open-minded period". Stone has said that in the past she's "dated" girls. While filming Basic Instinct, her best girlfriend was there to hold her hand out of camera range during some of the scenes. And in a biography, Naked Instinct, author Frank Sanello details a sexual liaison between Stone and a woman in the bathroom of the Beverly Hills Hotel. In an interview on the Michael Parkinson talk show in England on March 18, 2006, she said she was "straight". However, in January 2008, she was quoted as saying, "Everybody is bisexual to an extent. Now men act like women and it's difficult to have a relationship because I like men in that old-fashioned way. I like masculinity and, in truth, only women do that now".
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1980 Stardust Memories Pretty Girl on train Debut
1981 Les Uns et les autres Girl with Glenn Senior Uncredited
Deadly Blessing Lana Marcus
1982 Not Just Another Affair Lynette TV Movie
Silver Spoons Debbie (TV Series)
1983 Bay City Blues Cathy St. Marie (TV Series)
Remington Steele Jillian Montague (TV Series)
1984 The New Mike Hammer Julie Eland
Magnum, P.I. Diane Dupree and Diedra Dupree (TV Series)
Calendar Girl Murders Cassie Bascomb TV Movie
The Vegas Strip War Sarah Shipman TV Movie
Irreconcilable Differences Blake Chandler
1985 T. J. Hooker Dani Starr
King Solomon's Mines Jesse Huston
1986 Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Ashley Hamilton Ryan TV movie
1987 Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol Claire Mattson
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold Jesse Huston
Cold Steel Kathy Connors
1988 Tears in the Rain Casey Cantrell TV Movie
Action Jackson Patrice Dellaplane
Above the Law Sara Toscani
Badlands 2005 Alex Neil TV movie
1989 Beyond the Stars Laurie McCall
Blood and Sand Doña Sol
War and Remembrance Janice Henry
1990 Total Recall Lori Quaid
1991 He Said, She Said Linda Metzger
Scissors Angie Anderson
Year of the Gun Alison King
Diary of a Hitman Kiki
Where Sleeping Dogs Lie Serena Black
1992 Basic Instinct Catherine Tramell MTV Movie Award for Most Desirable Female
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actress
1993 Sliver Carly Norris Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Most Desirable Female
1994 Intersection Sally Eastman
The Specialist May Munro Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Most Desirable Female
1995 The Quick and the Dead Ellen 'The Lady' Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actress
Roseanne Trailer Park Resident (TV Series)
Casino Ginger McKenna Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance
1996 Diabolique Nicole Horner
Last Dance Cindy Liggett
1998 Sphere Dr. Elizabeth 'Beth' Halperin
Antz Princess Bala Voice
The Mighty Gwen Dillon Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
1999 Gloria Gloria
The Muse Sarah Little Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Simpatico Rosie Carter
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child Henny Penny voice
2000 If These Walls Could Talk 2 Fran TV movie
Picking Up the Pieces Candy Cowley
Beautiful Joe Alice 'Hush' Mason
2001 Harold and the Purple Crayon Narrator 2001-2002
2003 Cold Creek Manor Leah Tilson
2004 A Different Loyalty Sally Cauffield
Catwoman Laurel Hedare
The Practice Sheila Carlisle Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Drama Series (TV Series)
Kurtlar Vadisi (eng. Valley of the Wolves) Lisa Turkish TV Serial
2005 Higglytown Heroes Nicky - Blind Art Teacher Voice
Will & Grace Dr. Georgia Keller (TV Series)
Broken Flowers Laura Daniels Miller
2006 Alpha Dog Olivia Mazursky
Basic Instinct 2 Catherine Tramell
Huff Dauri Rathburn (TV Series)
Bobby Miriam Ebbers Hollywood Film Festival for Cast of the Year
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2007 If I Had Known I Was a Genius Gloria Fremont
When a Man Falls in the Forest Karen Fields
Democrazy Patricia Hill Short
2008 The Year of Getting to Know Us Jane Rocket
Five Dollars a Day Dolores Jones
2009 Streets of Blood Nina Ferraro
2010 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Jo Marlowe Four episodes (TV Series)
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u116/pink_cashmere_26/sharon-stone.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f186/dezaray25/stone.jpg
http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad126/econnisme/yeah/stone.jpg
She still looks good for 52. ;)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/10/10 at 8:00 am
The person who died on this day...Ray Milland
Ray Milland (January 3, 1907 – March 10, 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best-remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend (1945) and as Oliver Barrett III in the 1970 film, Love Story. Milland was born Reginald Alfred John Truscott-Jones in Neath, Wales, the son of Elizabeth Annie (née Truscott), born Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, and Alfred Jones. Before becoming an actor, he served in the Household Cavalry. An expert shot, he became a member of his company's rifle team, winning many prestigious competitions, including the Bisley Match in England. When his four-year duty service was completed, Milland tried his hand at acting. He was discovered by a Hollywood talent scout while performing on the stage in London, went to America, and signed with Paramount Pictures.
When the Second World War began, Milland tried to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Forces, but was rejected because of an impaired left hand. He worked as a civilian flight instructor for the Army, and toured with a United Service Organisation (USO) South Pacific troupe in 1944. He married Muriel Weber on September 30, 1932, and they remained together until his death. The couple had a son, Daniel, and a daughter, Victoria.
Career
When working on I Wanted Wings (1941), with Brian Donlevy and William Holden, he went up with a pilot to test a plane for filming. While up in the air, Ray decided to do a parachute jump (being an avid amateur parachutist) but, just before he could disembark, the plane began to sputter, and the pilot told Milland not to jump as they were running low on gas and needed to land. Once on the ground and in the hangar, Ray began to tell his story of how he had wanted to jump. As he did so, the color ran out of the costume man's face. When asked why, he told Ray that the parachute he had worn up in the plane was "just a prop", and that there had been no parachute.
During the filming of Reap the Wild Wind (1942), Milland's character was to have curly hair. Milland's hair was naturally straight, so the studio used hot curling irons on his hair to achieve the effect. Milland felt that it was this procedure that caused him to go prematurely bald, forcing him to go from leading man to supporting player earlier than he would have wished.
The pinnacle of Milland's career and acknowledgement of his serious dramatic abilities came in 1946 when he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of an alcoholic in Billy Wilder's film The Lost Weekend (1945). He was the first Welsh actor to ever win an Oscar. He was also given an award at the first Cannes Film Festival for his performance. In 1951, he gave a strong performance in Close to My Heart, starring with Gene Tierney as a couple trying to adopt a child. In 1954, he starred opposite Grace Kelly in Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder.
He concentrated on directing for TV and film from the 1955 film A Man Alone and Lisbon for Republic Pictures that he also produced. From directing film he achieved much success directing for television. He returned as a movie character actor in the late 60s and the 70s, notably in the cult classic Daughter of The Mind (1969), in which he was reunited with Gene Tierney, and in Love Story (1970). He also made many television appearances. He starred from 1953–1955 with Phyllis Avery and Lloyd Corrigan in the CBS sitcom Meet Mr. McNutley in the role of a college English and later drama professor at fictitious Lynnhaven College. The program was renamed in its second season as The Ray Milland Show. From 1959–1960, Milland starred in the CBS detective series Markham, but the program failed to capture an audience even though it followed the hit western Gunsmoke, starring James Arness.
In the late 1960s, Milland hosted rebroadcasts of certain episodes of the syndicated western anthology series, Death Valley Days under the title Trails West. Toward the end of his life, Milland appeared twice as Jennifer Hart's father in ABC's Hart to Hart, with Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers. He also guest starred as Sire Uri in the pilot episode of the original Battlestar Galactica television series.
Milland gave the shortest acceptance speech of any Oscar winner: he simply bowed and left the stage.
Personal life
Milland had a tattoo on his upper right arm of a skull with a snake curled up on top of it with the tail of the snake sticking out through one of the eyes. The tattoo can be seen for a brief moment in the movie Her Jungle Love (1938).
Milland had a near-fatal accident on the set of Hotel Imperial (1939). One scene called for him to lead a cavalry charge through a small village. An accomplished horseman, Milland insisted upon doing this scene himself. As he was making a scripted jump on the horse, his saddle came loose, sending him flying straight into a pile of broken masonry. Laid up in the hospital for weeks with multiple fractures and lacerations, he was lucky to be alive.
Milland died of lung cancer in Torrance, California in 1986, aged 79. He was survived by his wife, the former Muriel Weber, and children.
Wide Eyed in Babylon
Wide Eyed in Babylon was an autobiography written by Ray Milland, published in 1974.
On his parents:
My father was not a cruel or harsh man. Just a very quiet one. I think he was an incurable romantic and consequently a little afraid of his emotions and perhaps ashamed of them... he had been a young hussar in the Boer War and had been present at the relief of Mafeking. He never held long conversations with anyone, except perhaps with me, possibly because I was the only other male in our family. The household consisted of my mother, a rather flighty and coquettish woman much concerned with propriety and what the neighbours thought..
Filmography
Main article: Ray Milland filmography
Further reading
* Milland, Ray. (1974). Wide-Eyed in Babylon. New York: Morrow. ISBN 0-688-00257-9
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/11/10 at 10:44 am
The word of the day... Crash
A crash is an accident in which a moving vehicle hits something and is damaged or destroyed
http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx217/cetane/001.jpg
http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx217/cetane/002.jpg
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http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/aundercover/crash/Picture001.jpg
http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy143/RoccoNacho/carz/car_crash.jpg
http://i960.photobucket.com/albums/ae90/5280Busa/crash2.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e307/the_crazed_guy/site%20photos/Crash_Bandicoot_Cover.png
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/RedMoon/CrashCourse/CrashCourseTattoo.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/11/10 at 10:50 am
The person of the day....Terrence Howard
Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor, singer, and rapper. Having appeared in film and on television since the late 1980s, Howard had his first major role in the 1995 film Mr. Holland's Opus, which subsequently led to a number of roles in films and high visibility among African American audiences. Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of well-reviewed television and film roles between 2004 and 2006. Among his roles in movies includes Ray, Lackawanna Blues, Crash, Four Brothers, Hustle & Flow, Get Rich or Die Tryin', Idlewild, The Brave One. Howard co-starred in Iron Man and reprised the role in the video game adaption, though due to reprise his role in Iron Man 2, was replaced by Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle (his Crash co-star) in October 2008.
His debut pop album, Shine through It, heavily inspired by popular soul singers such as Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, was released in September 2008.
Howard was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Anita Williams and Tyrone Howard. His great-grandmother, Minnie Gentry, was a stage actress, as were his mother and uncles. His parents were both biracial, of African American and Caucasian descent; he experienced racism throughout his childhood. His father was involved in what has been termed the Santa Line Slaying, serving 11 months in prison on manslaughter charges after stabbing another man. At the age of 16, Howard emancipated himself from his parents and was put on welfare; at 18, he moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. He wanted to be a science teacher, though he had a low grade point average in high school and was admitted to the Pratt Institute in New York only after convincing them to give him a special entrance exam. Howard did not complete his education, as he had joined his brother on an audition for The Cosby Show and was cast in the role. Though he did not obtain a degree, Howard claims to be an engineer. Howard had a principal role in a short-lived CBS sitcom, Tall Hopes.
Terrence Howard is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
Career
Howard first entered the entertainment world when he portrayed Jackie Jackson in The Jacksons: An American Dream, an ABC miniseries, now frequently shown as a feature-length movie. Three years later, he made his big film break in 1995's Mr. Holland's Opus. He continued being cast in television and movie roles and co-starred as "Greg Sparks" in the late-1990s television series Sparks with James L. Avery, Sr. and Miguel A. Nunez Jr. Howard also appeared in The Best Man in 1999, in Ashanti's music video for her 2002 single "Foolish" and in Mary J. Blige's video for "Be Without You". Howard also made an appearance on the TV series Family Matters. It has also been announced that Howard will re-team with Hustle & Flow director Craig Brewer for a film based on the life of country music legend Charley Pride.
Howard has stated that he looks for characters that "teach him about himself" when choosing his film roles. Howard has also worked as a film producer, receiving such a credit for the film Pride. As of 2008, Howard hosts the PBS' series Independent Lens.
In 2008, he made his Broadway debut, playing Brick in an all-African-American production of Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, directed by Debbie Allen and also starring James Earl Jones (Big Daddy), Phylicia Rashad (Big Mama) and Anika Noni Rose (Maggie). During rehearsals he allegedly attacked and seriously injured musical composer Tex Allen, who claimed to have suffered multiple injuries as a result of being being punched multiple times in the head and face. In October 2008, Allen filed a $5 million lawsuit against Howard.
In October 2008, Howard made a guest appearance in the short film For All Mankind directed by Daniel L. Clifton, filmed on location in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. In 2009, he starred in the movie Fighting.
Personal life
Howard, who lives outside Philadelphia in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, was married to Lori McCommas for 14 years. The couple has three children: two daughters (Aubrey and Heaven) and a son (Hunter). Howard and his wife divorced in 2003 and remarried again in 2005, but have since separated. Press reports have since noted that Howard is "trying to reunite" with his wife Annisa, and that he has stated that he is "chasing after" her. His wife was born Jewish but is raising their children as Jehovah's Witnesses. In an interview with NPR, he said he wanted to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses as well.
In February 2009 it was reported on the The Smoking Gun that Howard was arrested in 2001 for a variety of charges related to a violent attack on his estranged wife, including simple assault, terrorist threats, harassment and stalking. According to police reports, he arrived at her house after an argument on the phone, forced entry into her home by breaking in doors, and chased her into the back yard where he punched her twice in the face with a closed fist. The violent attack ended when Howard's brother stopped it. In 2002 he pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace.
These issues came to light after he reportedly downplayed singer Chris Brown's 2009 arrest for attacking his girlfriend Rihanna. When Howard was asked about the allegations of domestic violence against Brown, he told a reporter from Hollywood.tv "It's just life, man. Chris is a great guy. He'll be all right, and Rihanna knows he loves her, you know? They'll be all right."
Music
Although Howard was not a music artist, he performed in several tracks for Hustle and Flow. The song "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" was written by Three 6 Mafia and produced by DJ Paul. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 78th Academy Awards, and it is also available in a version by Three 6 Mafia. The songs "Hustle And Flow (It Ain't Over)" and "Whoop That Trick", were composed by Al Kapone. All three tracks were performed by Terrence Howard, and they can be heard in the Hustle & Flow Soundtrack. Howard had been working on his first album since March 2007. The album, titled Shine Through It, was released on September 1, 2008.
Filmography
Films
Year Movie Role Other notes
1992 The Jacksons: An American Dream Adult Jackie Jackson
1993 Who's the Man? Customer
1995 LottoLand Warren
Dead Presidents Cowboy
Mr. Holland's Opus Louis Russ
1996 Sunset Park Spaceman
Johns Jimmy the Warlock
1997 Double Tap Ulysses
1998 Butter Dexter Banks
Spark Byron
The Players Club K.C.
1999 Valerie Flake Hitchhiker
Best Laid Plans Jimmy
The Best Man Quentin NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor
Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
2000 Big Momma's House Lester Vesco
Love Beat the Hell Outta Me Chris
2001 Investigating Sex Lorenz
Angel Eyes Robby
Glitter Timothy Walker
2002 Hart's War Lt. Lincoln A. Scott
2003 Love Chronicles T-Roy
Biker Boyz Chu Chu
2004 Crash Cameron Thayer Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor
Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Florida Film Critics Circle Pauline Kael Breakout Award
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance by an Actor
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — Black Movie Award for Outstanding Performance by an 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 — Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Nominated — Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
Ray Gossie McKee Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2005 The Salon Patrick
Lackawanna Blues Bill Crosby NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor
Hustle & Flow Djay Austin Film Critics Association Award for Breakthrough Artist
BET Award for Best Actor
Black Movie Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Black Reel Award for Best Actor
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Song
Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Breakthrough Performance
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble Cast
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 — Gotham Award - Breakthrough Award
Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead
Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
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 Actor
Four Brothers Lt. Green Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Animal Darius Allen
Get Rich or Die Tryin' Bama
2006 Idlewild Trumpy
2007 Pride Jim Ellis Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
The Hunting Party Duck (journalist)
The Brave One Detective Mercer
August Rush Richard Jeffries (child counselor)
Awake Dr. Jack Harper
The Perfect Holiday Mr. Bah Humbug
2008 Iron Man Lt. Col James Rhodes (Air Force officer) Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor
Phillies World Series Champions DVD Narrator
2009 Fighting Harvey Boarden
The Princess and the Frog James voice only
Red Tails Col. A.J. Bullard
2010 Little Murder Drag Hammerman
Television movies
Year Movie Role Other notes
1992 The Jacksons: An American Dream Jackie Jackson
1994 Family Matters John cameo appearance
1995 The O.J. Simpson Story Young A.C
2000 King of the World Cassius Clay
2001 Boycott Ralph Abernathy Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
2005 Their Eyes Were Watching God Amos Hicks
Discography
* Shine Through It (2008)
Awards
Steve Lehman 6 Gold Star Award™ for Artists' Rights
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l26/NickyTheWhiteUnicorn/terrence_howard.jpg
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g303/shashagray_03/Terrence.jpg
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/megdays/howard_l.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/11/10 at 11:03 am
The person who died on this day...Vince Edwards
Vince Edwards (July 9, 1928 - March 11, 1996) was an American actor, director, and singer, best known for the role of TV doctor "Ben Casey" Edwards was born Vincent Edward Zoine III in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Julia and Vincento Zoine (a bricklayer), immigrants from Italy. He had a twin brother and was the youngest of seven children. He was a standout on his high school swim team and went on to study at Ohio State University on an athletic scholarship. There, he was part of the university's swim team that won the United States National Championships.
Career
Zoine studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and in 1950, he was signed to a contract by Paramount Pictures, making his film debut as "Vince Edwards" in 1951's Mr. Universe then played the lead next year in Hiawatha. Although he had major or lead roles in several films, including the 1958 film noir, Murder by Contract, it was not until he starred as the title character on the highly successful Ben Casey television series that he achieved a real level of stardom. The medical drama show, which he occasionally directed, ran from 1961 to 1966 and as a result of his popularity, Edwards released several music albums that met with reasonable success. Vince was represented by one of Hollywood's first "Super Agents", Abbey Greshler of Diamond Artists in Hollywood.
When the television series ended, Edwards returned to acting in motion pictures with a major role in the 1968 war drama, The Devil's Brigade. He continued to act in film as well as in guest spots on television plus. He directed a number of episodes in a variety of television series including the original Battlestar Galactica. Edwards made his last film in 1995, after which he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
He died in Los Angeles, California the following year and was buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/11/10 at 8:42 pm
The person of the day....Terrence Howard
Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor, singer, and rapper. Having appeared in film and on television since the late 1980s, Howard had his first major role in the 1995 film Mr. Holland's Opus, which subsequently led to a number of roles in films and high visibility among African American audiences. Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of well-reviewed television and film roles between 2004 and 2006. Among his roles in movies includes Ray, Lackawanna Blues, Crash, Four Brothers, Hustle & Flow, Get Rich or Die Tryin', Idlewild, The Brave One. Howard co-starred in Iron Man and reprised the role in the video game adaption, though due to reprise his role in Iron Man 2, was replaced by Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle (his Crash co-star) in October 2008.
His debut pop album, Shine through It, heavily inspired by popular soul singers such as Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, was released in September 2008.
Howard was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Anita Williams and Tyrone Howard. His great-grandmother, Minnie Gentry, was a stage actress, as were his mother and uncles. His parents were both biracial, of African American and Caucasian descent; he experienced racism throughout his childhood. His father was involved in what has been termed the Santa Line Slaying, serving 11 months in prison on manslaughter charges after stabbing another man. At the age of 16, Howard emancipated himself from his parents and was put on welfare; at 18, he moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. He wanted to be a science teacher, though he had a low grade point average in high school and was admitted to the Pratt Institute in New York only after convincing them to give him a special entrance exam. Howard did not complete his education, as he had joined his brother on an audition for The Cosby Show and was cast in the role. Though he did not obtain a degree, Howard claims to be an engineer. Howard had a principal role in a short-lived CBS sitcom, Tall Hopes.
Terrence Howard is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
Career
Howard first entered the entertainment world when he portrayed Jackie Jackson in The Jacksons: An American Dream, an ABC miniseries, now frequently shown as a feature-length movie. Three years later, he made his big film break in 1995's Mr. Holland's Opus. He continued being cast in television and movie roles and co-starred as "Greg Sparks" in the late-1990s television series Sparks with James L. Avery, Sr. and Miguel A. Nunez Jr. Howard also appeared in The Best Man in 1999, in Ashanti's music video for her 2002 single "Foolish" and in Mary J. Blige's video for "Be Without You". Howard also made an appearance on the TV series Family Matters. It has also been announced that Howard will re-team with Hustle & Flow director Craig Brewer for a film based on the life of country music legend Charley Pride.
Howard has stated that he looks for characters that "teach him about himself" when choosing his film roles. Howard has also worked as a film producer, receiving such a credit for the film Pride. As of 2008, Howard hosts the PBS' series Independent Lens.
In 2008, he made his Broadway debut, playing Brick in an all-African-American production of Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, directed by Debbie Allen and also starring James Earl Jones (Big Daddy), Phylicia Rashad (Big Mama) and Anika Noni Rose (Maggie). During rehearsals he allegedly attacked and seriously injured musical composer Tex Allen, who claimed to have suffered multiple injuries as a result of being being punched multiple times in the head and face. In October 2008, Allen filed a $5 million lawsuit against Howard.
In October 2008, Howard made a guest appearance in the short film For All Mankind directed by Daniel L. Clifton, filmed on location in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. In 2009, he starred in the movie Fighting.
Personal life
Howard, who lives outside Philadelphia in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, was married to Lori McCommas for 14 years. The couple has three children: two daughters (Aubrey and Heaven) and a son (Hunter). Howard and his wife divorced in 2003 and remarried again in 2005, but have since separated. Press reports have since noted that Howard is "trying to reunite" with his wife Annisa, and that he has stated that he is "chasing after" her. His wife was born Jewish but is raising their children as Jehovah's Witnesses. In an interview with NPR, he said he wanted to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses as well.
In February 2009 it was reported on the The Smoking Gun that Howard was arrested in 2001 for a variety of charges related to a violent attack on his estranged wife, including simple assault, terrorist threats, harassment and stalking. According to police reports, he arrived at her house after an argument on the phone, forced entry into her home by breaking in doors, and chased her into the back yard where he punched her twice in the face with a closed fist. The violent attack ended when Howard's brother stopped it. In 2002 he pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace.
These issues came to light after he reportedly downplayed singer Chris Brown's 2009 arrest for attacking his girlfriend Rihanna. When Howard was asked about the allegations of domestic violence against Brown, he told a reporter from Hollywood.tv "It's just life, man. Chris is a great guy. He'll be all right, and Rihanna knows he loves her, you know? They'll be all right."
Music
Although Howard was not a music artist, he performed in several tracks for Hustle and Flow. The song "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" was written by Three 6 Mafia and produced by DJ Paul. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 78th Academy Awards, and it is also available in a version by Three 6 Mafia. The songs "Hustle And Flow (It Ain't Over)" and "Whoop That Trick", were composed by Al Kapone. All three tracks were performed by Terrence Howard, and they can be heard in the Hustle & Flow Soundtrack. Howard had been working on his first album since March 2007. The album, titled Shine Through It, was released on September 1, 2008.
Filmography
Films
Year Movie Role Other notes
1992 The Jacksons: An American Dream Adult Jackie Jackson
1993 Who's the Man? Customer
1995 LottoLand Warren
Dead Presidents Cowboy
Mr. Holland's Opus Louis Russ
1996 Sunset Park Spaceman
Johns Jimmy the Warlock
1997 Double Tap Ulysses
1998 Butter Dexter Banks
Spark Byron
The Players Club K.C.
1999 Valerie Flake Hitchhiker
Best Laid Plans Jimmy
The Best Man Quentin NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor
Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
2000 Big Momma's House Lester Vesco
Love Beat the Hell Outta Me Chris
2001 Investigating Sex Lorenz
Angel Eyes Robby
Glitter Timothy Walker
2002 Hart's War Lt. Lincoln A. Scott
2003 Love Chronicles T-Roy
Biker Boyz Chu Chu
2004 Crash Cameron Thayer Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor
Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Florida Film Critics Circle Pauline Kael Breakout Award
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance by an Actor
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — Black Movie Award for Outstanding Performance by an 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 — Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Nominated — Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
Ray Gossie McKee Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2005 The Salon Patrick
Lackawanna Blues Bill Crosby NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor
Hustle & Flow Djay Austin Film Critics Association Award for Breakthrough Artist
BET Award for Best Actor
Black Movie Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Black Reel Award for Best Actor
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Song
Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Breakthrough Performance
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble Cast
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 — Gotham Award - Breakthrough Award
Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead
Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
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 Actor
Four Brothers Lt. Green Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Animal Darius Allen
Get Rich or Die Tryin' Bama
2006 Idlewild Trumpy
2007 Pride Jim Ellis Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
The Hunting Party Duck (journalist)
The Brave One Detective Mercer
August Rush Richard Jeffries (child counselor)
Awake Dr. Jack Harper
The Perfect Holiday Mr. Bah Humbug
2008 Iron Man Lt. Col James Rhodes (Air Force officer) Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor
Phillies World Series Champions DVD Narrator
2009 Fighting Harvey Boarden
The Princess and the Frog James voice only
Red Tails Col. A.J. Bullard
2010 Little Murder Drag Hammerman
Television movies
Year Movie Role Other notes
1992 The Jacksons: An American Dream Jackie Jackson
1994 Family Matters John cameo appearance
1995 The O.J. Simpson Story Young A.C
2000 King of the World Cassius Clay
2001 Boycott Ralph Abernathy Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
2005 Their Eyes Were Watching God Amos Hicks
Discography
* Shine Through It (2008)
Awards
Steve Lehman 6 Gold Star Award™ for Artists' Rights
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l26/NickyTheWhiteUnicorn/terrence_howard.jpg
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g303/shashagray_03/Terrence.jpg
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/megdays/howard_l.jpg
He's a cool actor. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/12/10 at 6:38 am
The word of the day...Shower
A shower is a device for washing yourself. It consists of a pipe which ends in a flat cover with a lot of holes in it so that water comes out in a spray.
A shower is a small enclosed area containing a shower.
A shower is a short period of rain, especially light rain
If you shower a person with presents or kisses, you give them a lot of presents or kisses in a very generous and extravagant way.
A shower is a party or celebration at which the guests bring gifts.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s284/kstoner03/shower.jpg
http://i804.photobucket.com/albums/yy321/crankbait09/shower.jpg
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg215/magsporter/Baby%20Shower/invitation2070.jpg
http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg78/starboy170/cool/SHOWERTIME.jpg
http://i774.photobucket.com/albums/yy21/tilestoneworkz/Pocket%20Shower/Redguardingtheshowerpan.jpg
http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af82/vversatile27/Shower-Gel_2preview.jpg
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp27/jeffsamber/Rain-shower.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/12/10 at 6:41 am
The person born on this day...James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in Carrboro, North Carolina. He owns a home in the Town of Washington, Massachusetts in Berkshire County . A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
Taylor achieved his major breakthrough in 1970 with the #3 single "Fire and Rain" and had his first #1 hit the following year with "You've Got a Friend", a cover of Carole King's classic song. His 1976 Greatest Hits album was certified Diamond and has sold 12 million US copies. Following his classic 1977 album, JT, he has retained a large audience over the decades. His commercial achievements declined slightly until a big resurgence during the late 1990s and 2000s, when some of his best-selling and most-awarded albums (including Hourglass, October Road and Covers) were released.
1970-1973: Breakthrough
Once recovered, Taylor moved to California, keeping Asher as his manager and record producer. In December 1969, he held the recording sessions for his second album there. Entitled Sweet Baby James, and with the participation of Carole King, the album was released in February 1970 and was Taylor's critical and popular triumph, buoyed by the single "Fire and Rain," a song about Taylor's experience in psychiatric institutions and the suicide of his friend, Suzanne Schnerr. Both the album and the single reached #3 in the Billboard charts, with Sweet Baby James selling more than 3 million copies in the United States alone. This success piqued tremendous interest in Taylor - prompting a 1971 Time Magazine cover story - and the single, "Carolina in My Mind," put him back into the charts. Sweet Baby James was received at its time as a folk-rock masterpiece, an album that effectively showcased Taylor's talents to the mainstream public, marked the direction he would take in following years, and made Taylor one of the main forces of the nascent movement. It earned several Grammy Award nominations including one for Album of the Year, and would be listed at #103 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003. ("Fire and Rain" was also listed #227 on Rolling Stone's list of the Greatest Songs of All Time).
During the time Sweet Baby James was released, Taylor appeared with Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys in a Monte Hellman film, Two-Lane Blacktop. In October 1970, he performed with Joni Mitchell, Phil Ochs, and the Canadian band Chilliwack at a Vancouver benefit concert that funded Greenpeace's protests of 1971 nuclear weapons tests by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission at Amchitka, Alaska. (This performance was released in 2009 on the album Amchitka, The 1970 Concert That Launched Greenpeace.) In January 1971, sessions for Taylor's next album, Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, began. Released in April, the album also gained massive critical acclaim and contained Taylor's biggest Pop single in the U.S., a version of the Carole King standard "You've Got a Friend" (featuring backing vocals by Joni Mitchell, which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late July. The album itself reached #2 in the album charts, which would be Taylor's highest position ever on this list). In early 1972, Taylor received his first Grammy Award, for (Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male) for "You've Got a Friend" (King also won Song of the Year for the same song on that ceremony). The album went on to sell 2 1/2 million copies in the United States alone.
November 1972 saw the release of Taylor's following album, One Man Dog. A concept album primarily recorded on his home recording studio, it featured cameos by Linda Ronstadt and consisted of eighteen short pieces of music put together. It was received with generally lukewarm reviews and, despite making the Top 10 of the Billboard Album Charts, overall sales were disappointing. The lead single "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" peaked at #18 on the Hot 100, and the follow-up, "One Man Parade", barely reached the Top 75. Almost simultaneously, Taylor married fellow singer-songwriter Carly Simon on November 3, in a small ceremony at her Murray Hill, Manhattan apartment. A post-concert party following a Taylor performance at Radio City Music Hall turned into a large-scale wedding party, and the Simon-Taylor marriage would find much public attention over the following years. They had two children, Sarah Maria "Sally" Taylor, born January 7, 1974, and Benjamin Simon "Ben" Taylor, born January 22, 1977.
1974-1976: Career ups and downs
Taylor spent most of 1973 enjoying his new life as a married man, and he didn't return to the recording studio until January 1974, when sessions for his fifth album began. Walking Man was released in June and featured appearances of Paul and Linda McCartney and guitarist David Spinozza. The album was a critical and commercial disaster, being his first album to miss the Top 5 since his contract with Warner. It received poor reviews and sold a mere 300,000 copies in the United States. The title track was a huge disappointment, and failed to even appear on the Top 100 – nevertheless, it stands today as an often reprised fan favorite in concerts).
However, James Taylor's artistic fortunes spiked again 1975 when the Gold album Gorilla reached #6 and provided one of his biggest hit singles, a cover version of Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)," which featured wife Carly in backing vocals and reached #5 in America and #1 in Canada. On the Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, the track also reached the top, and the follow-up single, the feel-good "Mexico" also reached the Top 5 of that list. A critically very-well received album, Gorilla showcased Taylor's electric, lighter side that was evident on Walking Man. However, it was arguably a more consistent and fresher sounding Taylor with classics such as "Wandering" and "Angry Blues." It also featured a song about his daughter Sally, "Sarah Maria".
Gorilla was followed in 1976 by In the Pocket, Taylor's last studio album to be released under Warner Bros. Records. The album found him with many colleagues and friends, including Art Garfunkel, David Crosby, Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Wonder (who co-wrote a song with Taylor and contributed an harmonica solo). A very melodic album, it was highlighted with the single "Shower the People", an enduring classic that hit #1 Adult Contemporary and almost hit the Top 20 of the Pop Charts. But the album was not very well-received, reaching only #16 and being highly criticized, particularly by Rolling Stone. Nevertheless 1976 was a huge boom year in the recording business - the year of inception of the "Platinum" disc - and In The Pocket was certified Gold.
Finished his contract with Warner, in November the label released Greatest Hits, the album that comprised most of his best work between 1970 and 1976 and it became with time his best-selling album ever. It was certified eleven times platinum in the US, earning a Diamond certification by the RIAA and eventually selling close to twenty million copies worldwide. It still stands as the best-selling folk album by any artist.
1977-1981: Move to Columbia and maintained success
In 1977 Taylor signed with Columbia Records. Between March and April, he quickly recorded his first album for the label. JT, released that June, gave Taylor his best reviews since Sweet Baby James, earning a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year in 1978. Rolling Stone was particularly favorable to the album – "JT is the least stiff and by far the most various album Taylor has done. That's not meant to criticize Taylor's earlier efforts . But it's nice to hear him sounding so healthy." JT reached #4 in the Billboard charts, selling more than 3 million copies in the United States alone. The album's Triple Platinum status ties it with Sweet Baby James as Taylor's all-time biggest selling studio album. It was propelled by the highly successful cover of Jimmy Jones and Otis Blackwell's "Handy Man", which hit #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and reached #4 on the Hot 100, earning Taylor another Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for his cover version. The song also topped the Canadian charts. The success of the album propelled the released of two further singles – the rocking "Your Smiling Face" (an enduring live favourite) reached the American Top 20 and "Honey Don't Leave L.A." didn't enjoy much success, barely reaching the Top 75.
Back in the forefront of popular music, Taylor collaborated with Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel in the recording of a cover of Sam Cooke's "Wonderful World", which reached the Top 20 in the U.S. and topped the AC charts in early 1978. After briefly working on Broadway, he took a one-year break, reappearing in the summer of 1979 with the cover-studded Platinum album Flag, featuring a Top 30 version of Gerry Goffin and Carole King's "Up on the Roof." Taylor also appeared on the No Nukes concert in Madison Square Garden, where he made a memorable live performance of "Mockingbird" with his wife Carly. The concert appeared on both the No Nukes album and film.
In March 1981, James Taylor released the album Dad Loves His Work, whose themes concerned his relationship with his father, the course his ancestors had taken, and the effect he and Simon had had on each other. The album was another Platinum success, reaching #10 and providing Taylor's final real hit single in a duet with J. D. Souther, "Her Town Too", which reached #5 Adult Contemporary and #11 on the Hot 100 in Billboard. The album's title was, in part, drawn from the reasons for Taylor's divorce from Carly Simon. She gave him an ultimatum: cut back on his music and touring, and spend more time with her and their children, or the marriage was through. The album's title was Taylor's answer, and Simon asked for divorce. (The emotional repercussions of the divorce likely served as at least part of the inspiration for "Her Town Too".)
1981-1996: Troubled times and new beginnings
Simon announced her separation from Taylor in September 1981 – saying "Our needs are different; it seem impossible to stay together" – and their divorce became final in 1983. Taylor was living on West End Avenue in Manhattan and on a methadone maintenance program. Over the course of four months starting in September 1983, spurred on in part by the deaths of his friends John Belushi and Dennis Wilson and in part by the desire to be a better father to his children, he dropped methadone and finally kicked his drug habit for good.
Taylor had thoughts of retiring by the time he played the massive Rock in Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro in January 1985. He was encouraged by the nascent democracy in Brazil at the time, buoyed by the positive reception he got from the large crowd and other musicians, and musically energized by the sounds and nature of Brazilian music. "I had... sort of bottomed-out in a drug habit, my marriage with Carly had dissolved, and I had basically been depressed and lost for a while, " he recalled in 1995. "I sort of hit a low spot. I was asked to go down to Rio de Janeiro to play in this festival down there. We put the band together and went down and it was just an amazing response. I played to 300,000 people. They not only knew my music, they knew things about it and were interested in aspects of it that to that point had only interested me. To have that kind of validation right about then was really what I needed. It helped get me back on track." The song "Only a Dream in Rio" was written in tribute to that night, with lines like I was there that very day and my heart came back alive. The October 1985 album, That's Why I'm Here, from which that song came, started a series of studio recordings that, while spaced further apart than his previous records, showed a more consistent level of quality and fewer covers.
On December 14, 1985, Taylor married actress Kathryn Walker at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. Taylor's next albums were partially successful – in 1988, he released Never Die Young, highlighted with the charting title track, and in 1991, the platinum New Moon Shine provided Taylor some popular songs with the melancholic "Copperline" and the upbeat "(I've Got to) Stop Thinkin' About That", both hit singles in the AC radio. During the late eighties, he began touring regularly, especially on the summer amphitheater circuit. His later concerts feature songs from throughout his career and are marked by the musicianship of his band and backup singers. The 1993 two-disc (LIVE) album captures this, with a highlight being Arnold McCuller's descants in the codas of "Shower the People" and "I Will Follow." In 1995, Taylor performed the role of the Lord in Randy Newman's Faust.
1997-2003: Successful comeback
After six years since his last studio album, Taylor released Hourglass, an introspective album that gave him the best critical reviews in almost twenty years. The album had much of its focus on Taylor's troubled past and family. "Jump Up Behind Me" paid tribute to his father's rescue of him after The Flying Machine days, and the long drive from New York City back to his home in Chapel Hill. "Enough To Be On Your Way" was inspired by the alcoholism-related death of his brother Alex earlier in the decade. The themes were also inspired by Taylor and Walker's divorce, which took place in 1996. Critics embraced the dark themes on the album, and Hourglass was a huge commercial success, reaching #9 on the Billboard 200 (Taylor's first Top 10 album in sixteen years) and also provided a big adult contemporary hit on "Little More Time With You". The album also gave Taylor his first Grammy since JT, when he was honored with Best Pop Album in 1998.
On February 18, 2001 at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Boston, Taylor wed for the third time, marrying Caroline ("Kim") Smedvig, the director of public relations and marketing for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. They had begun dating in 1995, when they met as he appeared with John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra. Part of their relationship was worked into the album October Road, on the song "On the 4th of July." The couple reside in the town of Washington, Massachusetts with their twin boys, Rufus and Henry, born in April 2001 to a surrogate mother via in vitro fertilization.
Flanked by two greatest hit releases, Taylor's Platinum-certified October Road appeared in 2002 to a receptive audience. It featured a number of quiet instrumental accompaniments and passages. Overall, it found Taylor in a more peaceful frame of mind; rather than facing a crisis now, Taylor said in an interview that "I thought I'd passed the midpoint of my life when I was 17." The album appeared in two versions, a single-disc version and a "limited edition" two-disc version which contained three extra songs including a duet with Mark Knopfler, "Sailing to Philadelphia," which also appeared on Knopfler's Sailing to Philadelphia album. Also in 2002, Taylor teamed with bluegrass musician Alison Krauss in singing "The Boxer" at the Kennedy Center Honors Tribute to Paul Simon. They later recorded the Louvin Brothers duet, "How's the World Treating You?" In 2004, after he chose not to renew his record contract with Columbia/Sony, he released James Taylor: A Christmas Album with distribution through Hallmark Cards.
Taylor's four siblings—Alex, Livingston, Hugh, and Kate—have also been musicians with recorded albums. Livingston is still an active musician; Kate was active in the 1970s but did not record another album until 2003; Hugh operates a bed-and-breakfast with his wife, The Outermost Inn in Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard; and Alex died in 1993. Taylor's children with Carly Simon—Ben and Sally—have also embarked on musical careers.
James Taylor collaborators
The following is a complete list of the musicians who have played or sung with James Taylor either in concert or on recordings.
* Ray Charles: Piano/ Vocals
* Jeff Babko: keyboard/organ
* Phillip Ballou: vocals
* Dave Bargeron: trombone
* Gregg Bissonette: drums
* Michael Brecker: saxophone
* Randy Brecker: trumpet, vocals
* Rosemary Butler: vocals
* Keith Carlock: drums
* Clifford Carter: keyboards
* Neil Young: guitar, vocals
* Valerie Carter: vocals
* Luis Conte: percussion
* David Crosby: backing vocals
* Craig Doerge: keyboards
* Jerry Douglas: dobro
* Dan Dugmore: guitar
* Mark Knopfler: vocals, guitar
* Steve Edney: vocals
* Walt Fowler: horns, keyboards
* Steve Gadd: drums
* Art Garfunkel: vocals
* Andrew Gold: harmonium, vocals
* Larry Goldings: piano, keyboards
* Chris "Sticks" Rubow: drums
* Don Grolnick: piano
* John Guiliton: keyboards
* Abigale "Gail" Haness: vocals
* George Harrison: vocals
* Buzz Heat: guitar
* Don Henley: backing vocals
* John Jarvis: keyboards
* Jimmy Johnson: bass
* Steve Jordan: drums
* Carole King: piano, keyboards, vocals
* Ed Kolakowski: keyboards
* Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar: electric guitar
* Russell Kunkel: drums
* Michael Landau: guitar
* Charles Larkey: bass
* David Lasley: vocals
* Gail Levant: harp
* Tony Levin: bass
* Yo-Yo Ma: cello
* Bob Mann: guitar
* Lou Marini: reeds, horns
* Rick Marotta: drums
* Kate Markowitz: vocals
* Harvey Mason: drums
* Linda McCartney: vocals
* Paul McCartney: bass, vocals
* Hugh McCracken: harmonica, guitar
* Arnold McCuller: vocals
* Clarence McDonald: piano, keyboards
* Edgar Meyer: double bass
* Joni Mitchell: backing vocals
* Andy Muson: bass
* Milton Nascimento: vocals, guitar
* Graham Nash: backing vocals
* Joel Bishop O'Brien: drums
* Mark O'Connor: fiddle
* Billy Payne: keyboards
* Herb Pedersen: banjo
* John Pizzarelli: guitar
* Russ Powell: bass
* Bonnie Raitt: vocals
* Red Rhodes: pedal steel guitar
* David Sanborn: saxophone
* Rick Schlosser: drums
* Ralph Schuckett: keyboards
* Michael B. Siegel: bass
* Carly Simon: vocals
* Ricky Skaggs: vocals
* Leland Sklar: bass
* David Spinozza: guitar
* J. D. Souther: guitar, vocals
* Carlos Vega: drums
* Waddy Wachtel: guitar
* Joe Walsh: guitar
* Willie Weeks: bass
* Owen Young: cello
* Zachary Wiesner: bass
* Stevie Wonder: harmonica
* Andrea Zonn: violin, vocals
* Elio e le Storie Tese vocals
Dixie Chicks vocals
Awards and recognition
Grammy Awards
* 1971 — Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, "You've Got a Friend"
* 1977 — Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, "Handy Man"
* 1998 — Best Pop Album, Hourglass
* 2001 — Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight"
* 2003 — Best Country Collaboration With Vocals, "How's the World Treating You" with Alison Krauss
* 2006 — Grammy Award-sponsored MusiCares Person of the Year. At a black tie ceremony held in Los Angeles, musicians from several eras paid tribute to Taylor by performing his songs, often prefacing them with remarks on his influence on their decisions to become musicians. These artists included Carole King, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Taj Mahal, Dr. John, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, David Crosby, Sheryl Crow, India.Arie, the Dixie Chicks, Jerry Douglas, Alison Krauss, and Keith Urban. Paul Simon performed as well, although he was not included in the televised program; Taylor's brother Livingston appeared on stage as a "backup singer" for the finale, along with Taylor's twin boys, Rufus and Henry.
Other recognition
James Taylor Bridge, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
* 1995 — Honorary doctorate of music from the Berklee College of Music, Boston, 1995.
* 2000 — Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2000.
* 2000 — Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, 2000.
* 2003 — The Chapel Hill Museum in Chapel Hill, North Carolina opened a permanent exhibit dedicated to Taylor. At the same occasion the US-15-501 highway bridge over Morgan Creek, near the site of the Taylor family home and mentioned in Taylor's song "Copperline", was named in honor of Taylor.
* 2004 — George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement, UCLA Spring Sing.
* 2004 — Ranked 84th in Rolling Stone's list of "The Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time."
* 2006 — Honorary Doctorate of Music from Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts.
Discography
Main article: James Taylor discography
U.S. Billboard Top 10 Albums
* 1970 – Sweet Baby James (#3)
* 1971 – Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon (#2)
* 1972 – One Man Dog (#4)
* 1975 – Gorilla (#6)
* 1976 – In The Pocket (#16)
* 1977 – JT (#4)
* 1979 – Flag (#10)
* 1981 – Dad Loves His Work (#10)
* 1997 – Hourglass (#9)
* 2002 – October Road (#4)
* 2008 – Covers (#4)
U.S. Billboard Top 10 'Pop' Singles
* 1970 - "Fire and Rain" (#3)
* 1971 – "You've Got a Friend" (#1)
* 1975 – "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" (#5)
* 1977 – "Handy Man" (#4)
Other appearances
* He provided a guest voice to The Simpsons episode "Deep Space Homer" where he played some of his songs to Homer, Buzz Aldrin, and Race Bannon when they were in space. He also appeared later on in the series when the family put together a jigsaw puzzle. His face was the missing final piece.
* Performed "Second Star to the Right" on Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films in 1988 as one of Various Artists.
* Taylor performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Game 2 of the World Series in Boston on October 25, 2007, at Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals in Boston on June 5, 2008, and at the NHL's Winter Classic game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins, the first hockey game ever held at Boston's Fenway Park.
* He appeared on Sesame Street performing the song "Your Smiling Face" although the song was sung "Your Grouchy Face" as he sang it to Oscar the Grouch. He also appeared on the Sesame Street video compilation Silly Songs, and the album In Harmony: A Sesame Street Record, performing the song "Jellyman Kelly".
* Has appeared on NBC's Saturday Night Live six times as a musical guest: in 1976 performing "Shower the People," "Roadrunner" (with David Sanborn), and "Sweet Baby James" (host: Lily Tomlin); in 1979 performing "Johnnie Comes Back," "Up on the Roof," and "Millworker" (host: Michael Palin); in 1980 performing with Paul Simon "Cathy's Clown / Take Me to the Mardi Gras" (host: Paul Simon); in 1988 performing "Never Die Young," "Sweet Potato Pie," and "Lonesome Road" (host: Robin Williams); in 1991 performing "Stop Thinkin' About That," "Shed A Little Light," and "Sweet Baby James" (Host: Steve Martin); and in 1993 performing "Memphis," "Slap Leather," and "Secret of Life" (host: Rosie O'Donnell).
* He provided background vocals for "Back In The High Life Again" by Steve Winwood in 1986.
* He performed at a benefit concert supporting John B. Anderson's U.S. presidential campaign at Charleston, West Virginia in 1980.
* He provided background vocals for "Perfect Love" by Marc Cohn.
* He appeared on The West Wing.
* He appeared on the The Johnny Cash Show, singing "Sweet Baby James", "Fire and Rain", and "Country Road", on February 17, 1971.
* His song "Fire and Rain" was in the movie Remember the Titans.
* He provided vocals for the song "First Me, Second Me" by the Italian band Elio e le Storie Tese
* Along with Linda Ronstadt, he did backup vocals for two hit singles on Neil Young's Harvest: "Old Man" and "Heart of Gold". Twenty years later, the two would reunite with Young on his Harvest Moon album, singing backup on "From Hank to Hendrix," "War of Man," and the title track.
* He made his debut for his 24th album Other Covers on The Oprah Winfrey Show on April 10, 2009.
* He appeared on the final of Star Académie, the Quebec version of American Idol, on April 13, 2009.
* On May 29, 2009, he made a guest appearance and sang "Sweet Baby James" on the final episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno before Leno was replaced by Conan O'Brien.
* Taylor appeared briefly in the 2009 movie Funny People, where he played "Carolina on My Mind" for a MySpace corporate event as the opening act for the main character.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/12/10 at 6:48 am
The person who died on this day...Charlie Parker
harles Parker, Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer.
Parker, with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, is largely considered one of the most influential of jazz musicians. Parker acquired the nickname "Yardbird" early in his career, and the shortened form "Bird" remained Parker's sobriquet for the rest of his life, inspiring the titles of a number of Parker compositions, such as "Yardbird Suite", "Ornithology" and "Bird of Paradise."
Parker played a leading role in the development of bebop, a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos, virtuosic technique, and improvisation based on harmonic structure. Parker's innovative approaches to melody, rhythm, and harmony exercised enormous influence on his contemporaries. Several of Parker's songs have become standards, including "Billie's Bounce", "Anthropology", "Ornithology", and "Confirmation". He introduced revolutionary harmonic ideas including a tonal vocabulary employing 9ths, 11ths and 13ths of chords, rapidly implied passing chords, and new variants of altered chords and chord substitutions. His tone was clean and penetrating, but sweet and plaintive on ballads. Although many Parker recordings demonstrate dazzling virtuosic technique and complex melodic lines – such as "Ko-Ko", "Kim", and "Leap Frog" – he was also one of the great blues players. His themeless blues improvisation "Parker's Mood" represents one of the most deeply affecting recordings in jazz. At various times, Parker fused jazz with other musical styles, from classical to Latin music, blazing paths followed later by others.
Parker was an icon for the hipster subculture and later the Beat generation, personifying the conception of the jazz musician as an uncompromising artist and intellectual, rather than just a popular entertainer. His style – from a rhythmic, harmonic and soloing perspective – influenced countless peers on every instrument.
has been said that, in early 1936, Parker participated in a 'cutting contest' that included Jo Jones on drums, who tossed a cymbal at Parker's feet in impatience with his playing. However, in the numerous interviews throughout his life, Jones made no mention of this incident. Exasperated and determined, in any case, at this time Parker improved the quality of practicing, learning the blues, "Cherokee" and "rhythm changes" in all twelve keys. In this wood-shedding period, Parker mastered improvisation and developed some of the ideas of be-bop. In an interview with Paul Desmond, he said he spent 3-4 years practicing up to 15 hours a day. Rumor has it that he used to play many other tunes in all twelve keys. The story, though undocumented, would help to explain the fact that he often played in unconventional concert pitch key signatures, like E (which transposes to C# for the alto sax). Groups led by Count Basie and Bennie Moten were the leading Kansas City ensembles, and undoubtedly influenced Parker. He continued to play with local bands in jazz clubs around Kansas City, Missouri, where he perfected his technique with the assistance of Buster Smith, whose dynamic transitions to double and triple time certainly influenced Parker's developing style.
In 1938, Parker joined pianist Jay McShann's territory band. The band toured nightclubs and other venues of the southwest, as well as Chicago and New York City. Parker made his professional recording debut with McShann's band. It was said at one point in McShann's band that he "sounded like a machine", owing to his virtuosity without implying a lack of musicality.
As a teenager, Parker developed a morphine addiction while in hospital after an automobile accident, and subsequently became addicted to heroin. Heroin would haunt him throughout his life and ultimately contribute to his death.
In NYC
In 1939, Parker moved to New York City. There he pursued a career in music, but held several other jobs as well. He worked for $9 a week as a dishwasher at Jimmie's Chicken Shack where pianist Art Tatum performed. Parker's later style in some ways recalled Tatum's, with dazzling, high-speed arpeggios and sophisticated use of harmony.
In 1942 Parker left McShann's band and played with Earl Hines for one year. Also in the band was trumpet player Dizzy Gillespie, which is where the soon to be famous duo met for the first time. Unfortunately, this period is virtually undocumented because of the strike of 1942–1943 by the American Federation of Musicians, during which no official recordings were made. Nevertheless we know that Parker joined a group of young musicians in after-hours clubs in Harlem such as Clark Monroe's Uptown House and (to a much lesser extent) Minton's Playhouse. These young iconoclasts included Gillespie, pianist Thelonious Monk, guitarist Charlie Christian, and drummer Kenny Clarke. The beboppers' attitude was summed up in a famous quotation attributed to Monk by Mary Lou Williams: "We wanted a music that they couldn't play" – "they" being the (white) bandleaders who had taken over and profited from swing music. The group played in venues on 52nd Street including the Three Deuces and The Onyx. In his time in New York City, Parker also learned much from notable music teacher Maury Deutsch.
Bebop
Right side view of a Conn 6M "Lady Face" alto sax with highly distinctive underslung octave key, a model that Parker is known to have used.
According to an interview Parker gave in the 1950s: one night in 1939, he was playing "Cherokee" in a jam session with guitarist William 'Biddy' Fleet when he hit upon a method for developing his solos that enabled him to play what he had been hearing in his head for some time, by building on the chords' extended intervals, such as ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths. Still with McShann's orchestra, Parker at this time realized that the twelve tones of the chromatic scale can each be quickly led melodically to any key, breaking some of the confines of simpler jazz soloing.
Early in its development, this new type of jazz was rejected by many of the established, traditional jazz musicians who disdained their younger counterparts with comments like Eddie Condon's putdown: "They flat their fifths; we drink ours." The beboppers, in response, called these traditionalists "moldy figs". However, some musicians, such as Coleman Hawkins and Benny Goodman, were more positive about its development, and participated in jam sessions and recording dates in the new approach with its adherents.
Because of the 2-year Musicians' Union recording ban on all commercial recordings from 1942 to 1944 (part of a struggle to get royalties from record sales for a union fund for out-of-work musicians), much of bebop's early development was not captured for posterity; as a result, the new musical concepts only gained limited radio exposure. Bebop musicians had a difficult time gaining widespread recognition. It was not until 1945, when the recording ban was lifted, that Parker's collaborations with Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Bud Powell and others had a substantial effect on the jazz world. One of their first (and greatest) small-group performances together was rediscovered and issued in 2005: a concert in New York's Town Hall on June 22, 1945. Bebop began to grab hold and gain wider appeal among musicians and fans alike.
On November 26, 1945, Parker led a record date for the Savoy label, marketed as the "greatest Jazz session ever." The tracks recorded during this session include "Ko-Ko" (based on the chords of "Cherokee"), "Now's the Time" (a twelve bar blues incorporating a riff later used in the late 1949 R&B dance hit "The Hucklebuck"), "Billie's Bounce", and "Thriving on a Riff".
Shortly afterwards, the Parker/Gillespie band traveled to an unsuccessful engagement at Billy Berg's club in Los Angeles. Most of the group returned to New York, but Parker remained in California, cashing in his return ticket to buy heroin. He experienced great hardship in California, eventually being committed to Camarillo State Mental Hospital for a six month period.
Addiction
Parker's addiction to heroin, which began in his late teens, caused him to miss gigs and to be fired for being high. To satisfy his habit, he frequently resorted to busking on the streets for drug money, receiving loans from fellow musicians/admirers, pawning his own horn and borrowing other sax players' instruments as a result. Parker's situation was typical of the strong connection between drug abuse and jazz at the time.
Although he produced many brilliant recordings during this period, Parker's behavior became increasingly erratic due to his habit. Heroin was difficult to obtain after he moved to California for a short time where the drug was less abundant, and Parker began to drink heavily to compensate for this. A recording for the Dial label from July 29, 1946, provides evidence of his condition. Prior to this session, Parker drank about a quart of whiskey. According to the liner notes of Charlie Parker on Dial Volume 1, Parker missed most of the first two bars of his first chorus on the track, "Max Making Wax." When he finally did come in, he swayed wildly and once spun all the way around, going badly off mic. On the next tune, "Lover Man", producer Ross Russell physically supported Parker in front of the microphone. On "Bebop" (the final track Parker recorded that evening) he begins a solo with a solid first eight bars. On his second eight bars, however, Parker begins to struggle, and a desperate Howard McGhee, the trumpeter on this session, shouts, "Blow!" at Parker. McGhee's bellow is audible on the recording. Charles Mingus considered this version of "Lover Man" to be among Parker's greatest recordings despite its flaws. Nevertheless, Parker hated the recording and never forgave Ross Russell for releasing the sub-par performance (and re-recorded the tune in 1953 for Verve, this time in stellar form, but perhaps lacking some of the passionate emotion in the earlier, problematic attempt).
During the night following the "Lover Man" session, Parker was drinking in his hotel room. He entered the hotel lobby stark naked on several occasions and asked to use the phone, but was refused on each attempt; the hotel manager eventually locked him in his room. At some point during the night, he set fire to his mattress with a cigarette, then ran through the hotel lobby wearing only his socks. He was arrested and committed to Camarillo State Mental Hospital, where he remained for six months.
Coming out of the hospital, Parker was initially clean and healthy, and proceeded to do some of the best playing and recording of his career. Before leaving California, he recorded "Relaxin' at Camarillo", in reference to his hospital stay. He returned to New York – and his addiction – and recorded dozens of sides for the Savoy and Dial labels that remain some of the high points of his recorded output. Many of these were with his so-called "classic quintet" including trumpeter Miles Davis and drummer Max Roach. The highlights of these sessions include a series of slower-tempo performances of American popular songs including "Embraceable You" and "Bird of Paradise" (based on "All the Things You Are").
Charlie Parker with strings
A longstanding desire of Parker's was to perform with a string section. He was a keen student of classical music, and contemporaries reported he was most interested in the music and formal innovations of Igor Stravinsky, and longed to engage in a project akin to what later became known as 'Third Stream Music'; a new kind of music, incorporating both jazz and classical elements as opposed to merely incorporating a string section into performance of jazz standards. On November 30, 1949, Norman Granz arranged for Parker to record an album of ballads with a mixed group of jazz and chamber orchestra musicians. Six master takes from this session comprised the album Bird With Strings: "Just Friends", "Everything Happens to Me", "April in Paris", "Summertime", "I Didn't Know What Time It Was", and "If I Should Lose You." The sound of these recordings is rare in Parker's catalog. Parker's improvisations are, relative to his usual work, more distilled and economical. His tone is darker and softer than on his small-group recordings, and the majority of his lines are beautiful embellishments on the original melodies rather than harmonically based improvisations. These are among the few recordings Parker made during a brief period when he was able to control his heroin habit, and his sobriety and clarity of mind are evident in his playing. Parker stated that, of his own records, Bird With Strings was his favorite. Although using classical music instrumentation with jazz musicians was not entirely original, this was the first major work where a composer of bebop was matched with a string orchestra.
Some fans thought it was a "sell out" and a pandering to popular tastes. Time demonstrated Parker's move a wise one: Charlie Parker with Strings sold better than his other releases, and his version of "Just Friends" is seen as one of his best performances. In an interview, he considered it to be his best recording to that date.
Prominence
By 1950, much of the jazz world had fallen under Parker's spell. Many musicians transcribed and copied his solos. Legions of saxophonists imitated his playing note-for-note. In response to these pretenders, Parker's admirer, the bass player Charles Mingus, titled a tune "Gunslinging Bird" (meaning "If Charlie Parker were a gunslinger, there would be a whole lot of dead copycats") featured on the album Mingus Dynasty. In this regard, he is perhaps only comparable to Louis Armstrong: both men set the standard for their instruments for decades, and few escaped their influence.
In 1953, Parker performed at Massey Hall in Toronto, Canada, joined by Gillespie, Mingus, Bud Powell and Max Roach. Unfortunately, the concert clashed with a televised heavyweight boxing match between Rocky Marciano and Jersey Joe Walcott and as a result was poorly attended. Thankfully, Mingus recorded the concert, and the album Jazz at Massey Hall is often cited as one of the finest recordings of a live jazz performance, with the saxophonist credited as "Charlie Chan" for contractual reasons.
At this concert, he played a plastic Grafton saxophone (serial number 10265); later, saxophonist Ornette Coleman used this brand of plastic sax in his early career. Parker had sold his alto saxophone to buy drugs, and at the last minute, he, Dizzy Gillespie and other members of Charlie's entourage went running around Toronto trying to find Parker a saxophone. After scouring all the downtown pawnshops open at the time, they were only able to find a Grafton, which Parker proceeded to use at the concert that night.
Parker was known for often showing up to performances without an instrument, necessitating a loan at the last moment. There are various photos that show him playing a Conn 6M saxophone, a high quality instrument that was noted for having a very fast actionand a unique "underslung" octave key. Some of the photographs showing Parker with a Conn 6M were taken on separate occasions. because Parker can be seen wearing different clothing and there are different backgrounds. However, other photos exist that show Parker holding alto saxophones with a more conventional octave key arrangement, i.e. mounted above the crook of the saxophone e.g. the Martin Handicraft and Selmer Model 22 saxophones, among others. Parker is also known to have performed with a King 'Super 20' saxophone, with a semi-underslung octave key that bears some resemblance to those fitted on modern Yanagisawa instruments. Parker's King Super 20 saxophone was made specially for him in 1947.
Death
Parker's grave at Lincoln Cemetery.
Parker died in the suite of his friend and patron Nica de Koenigswarter at the Stanhope Hotel in New York City while watching The Dorsey Brothers' Stage Show on television. The official causes of death were lobar pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer. The coroner who performed his autopsy mistakenly estimated Parker's 34-year-old body to be between 50 and 60 years of age.
It was well known that Parker never wanted to return to Kansas City, even in death. Parker had told his common-law wife, Chan, that he didn’t want to be buried in the city of his birth; that New York was his home and he didn’t want any fuss or memorials when he died. At the time of his death, though, he hadn’t divorced his previous wife Doris, nor had he officially married Chan, which left Parker in the rather awkward post-mortem situation of having two widows, a scenario that muddied the issue of next of kin and would ultimately serve to frustrate his wish to be quietly interred in his adopted hometown. Dizzy Gillespie was able to co-opt the funeral arrangements that Chan had been putting together and coordinated a ‘lying-in-state’, a Harlem procession officiated by Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., and a memorial concert before flying Parker's body back to Missouri to be buried there per his mother's wishes. Parker was buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri.
Charlie Parker was survived by his widows Doris Parker and Chan Parker; a stepdaughter, Kim Parker, who is also a musician; and a son, Baird Parker; their later lives are chronicled in Chan Parker's autobiography, My Life in E Flat.
Shortly after Parker died, graffiti began appearing around New York with the words "Bird Lives", the ultimate source for this is usually considered to be the poet Ted Joans.
Musical approach
Parker's style of composition involved interpolation of original melodies over pre-existing jazz forms and standards, a practice still common in jazz today. Examples include "Ornithology" ("How High The Moon"), "Yardbird Suite" ("What Price Love") and "Donna Lee" ("Indiana"). The practice was not uncommon prior to bebop; however, it became a signature of the movement as artists began to move away from arranging popular standards and began to compose their own material .
While tunes such as "Now's The Time", "Billie's Bounce", and "Cool Blues" were based on conventional 12-bar blues changes, Parker also created a unique version of the 12-bar blues for his tune "Blues for Alice". These unique chords are known popularly as "Bird Changes". Like his solos, some of his compositions are characterised by long, complex melodic lines and a minimum of repetition although he did employ the use of repetitive (yet relatively rhythmically complex) motifs in many other tunes as well, most notably "Now's The Time".
Parker also contributed a vast rhythmic vocabulary to the modern jazz solo, one in which triplets and pick-up notes were used in (then) unorthodox ways to lead into chord tones, affording the soloist with more freedom to use passing tones, which soloists would have previously avoided. Within this context, Parker was admired for his unique style of phrasing and innovative use of rhythm. Via his recordings and the popularity of the posthumously published Charlie Parker Omnibook, Parker's uniquely identifiable vocabulary of "licks" and "riffs" dominated jazz for many years to come. Today his concepts and ideas are transcribed, studied, and analyzed by a great deal of jazz students and are part of any player's basic jazz vocabulary.
Discography
Main article: Charlie Parker discography
Awards and recognitions
Grammy Award
Charlie Parker Grammy Award History
Year Category Title Genre Label Result
1974 Best Performance By A Soloist First Recordings! Jazz Onyx Winner
Grammy Hall of Fame
Recordings of Charlie Parker were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance."
Charlie Parker: Grammy Hall of Fame Awards
Year Recorded Title Genre Label Year Inducted
1945 "Billie's Bounce" Jazz (Single) Savoy 2002
1953 Jazz at Massey Hall Jazz (Album) Debut 1995
1946 "Ornithology" Jazz (Single) Dial 1989
1950 Charlie Parker with Strings Jazz (Album) Mercury 1988
Inductions
Year Inducted Title
2004 Jazz at Lincoln Center: Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame
1984 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
1979 Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame
National Recording Registry
In 2002, the Library of Congress honored his recording "Ko-Ko" (1945) by adding it to the National Recording Registry.
U.S. Postage Stamp
Year Issued Stamp USA Note
1995 32 cents Commemorative stamp U.S. Postal Stamps Photo (Scott #2987)
Musical tributes
* Lennie Tristano's overdubbed solo piano piece "Requiem" was recorded in tribute to Parker shortly after his death. It begins with a classically-tinged introduction, and then turns into a slow blues that gradually accumulates layers of overdubbing – one of the earliest experiments in jazz with multiple overdubbing.
* Deeply touched by Charlie Parker's death, street musician Moondog wrote his famous "Bird's Lament" in his memory. Moondog affirmed that he had met Charlie Parker in the streets of New York and that they had planned to jam together.
* The Californian ensemble Supersax harmonized many of Parker's improvisations for a five-piece saxophone section, which to many listeners bring new life to them, whereas others consider the arrangements as somewhat constructed.
* Saxophonist Phil Woods recorded a tribute concert for Parker, and in an interview stated that he thought Parker had said everything he needed to say.
* Weather Report's jazz fusion track and highly acclaimed big band standard "Birdland", from the Heavy Weather album (1977), was a dedication by bandleader Joe Zawinul to both Charlie Parker and the New York 52nd Street club itself. The piece featured Jaco Pastorius playing electric fretless bass. (Pastorius had made a name for himself when he included on his debut solo album an astounding rendition of the Charlie Parker and Miles Davis standard "Donna Lee".) The Manhattan Transfer made a vocalese cover version of the composition with lyrics by Jon Hendricks.
* In 2003 various artists including Serj Tankian and Dan the Automator put out Bird Up: The Charlie Parker Remix Project. This album created new songs by remixing Charlie Parker's originals.
* The biographical song "Parker's Band" was recorded by Steely Dan on its 1974 album Pretzel Logic.
* British jazz-rock band If paid tribute to Parker in the title track of their last album, Tea Break Over, Back on Your 'Eads (1975), including a Parker-styled saxophone solo and the lyrics "The Bird was the man to be heard" and "The music was the word".
* The avant-garde trombonist George Lewis recorded Homage to Charles Parker (1979), an album that offers a unique combination of electronic music and the blues.
* TISM's The White Albun (2004) contains the song "Tonight Harry's Practice Visits the Home of Charlie 'Bird' Parker". The song focuses on celebrity resentment and the possibility that taking drugs will make the otherwise dull celebrities more interesting. The title of the song refers to Australian television show Harry's Practice and, more specifically, the segment where Dr. Harry Cooper would visit a celebrity, in this case, the visit is to Charlie "Bird" Parker's house.
* Sparks released the song "(When I Kiss You) I Hear Charlie Parker Playing" on their 1994 album Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins, which prominently features Charlie Parker's name in the lyrics and makes references to his saxophone playing.
* Duane Allman devised a unique slide guitar technique that enabled him to mimic the sounds of chirping birds, stating in at least one interview that this was his tribute to Parker. This can be heard in numerous live recordings, most notably "Mountain Jam" on The Allman Brothers Band's CDs Eat a Peach and The Fillmore Concerts (shortly before the drum interlude). Another, more delicate, version is in the song "Finding Her" on Boz Scaggs' self-titled debut album, first released in 1969. This technique can also be heard at the end of Derek & the Dominos 1970 hit "Layla" on which Allman played.
* The Only World by poet Lynda Hull includes the poem "Ornithology" about Charlie Parker.
* The poem "Song for Bird and Myself" by Jack Spicer was written in memory of Charlie Parker.
* The song Jack & Neal/California, Here I Come, on the album Foreign Affairs by Tom Waits has a line that goes: with charlie parker on the bandstand not a worry in the world.
* In the song "Can't Stop" by Red Hot Chili Peppers, the lyrics refer to Parker with the line "birds that blow the meaning into bebop."
* Richard Thompson references Charlie Parker in his song "Outside of the Inside" on the album The Old Kit Bag (2005).
* Charlie Parker is referenced in the song "Rothko Chapel" by David Dondero on the album Simple Love (2007).
* Harry Chapin references Charlie Parker in the song 'There Only Was One Choice' from the 'Dance Band On The Titanic' album.
* Refused included live recordings of Parker at the end of the song "Liberation Frequency" and transitioned it into "The Deadly Rhythm" on the album The Shape of Punk to Come.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/12/10 at 8:06 am
The word of the day...Shower
A shower is a device for washing yourself. It consists of a pipe which ends in a flat cover with a lot of holes in it so that water comes out in a spray.
A shower is a small enclosed area containing a shower.
A shower is a short period of rain, especially light rain
If you shower a person with presents or kisses, you give them a lot of presents or kisses in a very generous and extravagant way.
A shower is a party or celebration at which the guests bring gifts.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s284/kstoner03/shower.jpg
http://i804.photobucket.com/albums/yy321/crankbait09/shower.jpg
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg215/magsporter/Baby%20Shower/invitation2070.jpg
http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg78/starboy170/cool/SHOWERTIME.jpg
http://i774.photobucket.com/albums/yy21/tilestoneworkz/Pocket%20Shower/Redguardingtheshowerpan.jpg
http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af82/vversatile27/Shower-Gel_2preview.jpg
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp27/jeffsamber/Rain-shower.jpg
I love a nice hot shower after work. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/12/10 at 8:22 am
I love a nice hot shower after work. :)
And when you first get up.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/12/10 at 8:27 am
And when you first get up.
Yes it refreshes you.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/12/10 at 1:28 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2EZUw2mvjs
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/12/10 at 1:42 pm
I also like "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You".
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 03/12/10 at 4:49 pm
The person born on this day...James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in Carrboro, North Carolina. He owns a home in the Town of Washington, Massachusetts in Berkshire County . A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
Taylor achieved his major breakthrough in 1970 with the #3 single "Fire and Rain" and had his first #1 hit the following year with "You've Got a Friend", a cover of Carole King's classic song. His 1976 Greatest Hits album was certified Diamond and has sold 12 million US copies. Following his classic 1977 album, JT, he has retained a large audience over the decades. His commercial achievements declined slightly until a big resurgence during the late 1990s and 2000s, when some of his best-selling and most-awarded albums (including Hourglass, October Road and Covers) were released.
1970-1973: Breakthrough
Once recovered, Taylor moved to California, keeping Asher as his manager and record producer. In December 1969, he held the recording sessions for his second album there. Entitled Sweet Baby James, and with the participation of Carole King, the album was released in February 1970 and was Taylor's critical and popular triumph, buoyed by the single "Fire and Rain," a song about Taylor's experience in psychiatric institutions and the suicide of his friend, Suzanne Schnerr. Both the album and the single reached #3 in the Billboard charts, with Sweet Baby James selling more than 3 million copies in the United States alone. This success piqued tremendous interest in Taylor - prompting a 1971 Time Magazine cover story - and the single, "Carolina in My Mind," put him back into the charts. Sweet Baby James was received at its time as a folk-rock masterpiece, an album that effectively showcased Taylor's talents to the mainstream public, marked the direction he would take in following years, and made Taylor one of the main forces of the nascent movement. It earned several Grammy Award nominations including one for Album of the Year, and would be listed at #103 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003. ("Fire and Rain" was also listed #227 on Rolling Stone's list of the Greatest Songs of All Time).
During the time Sweet Baby James was released, Taylor appeared with Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys in a Monte Hellman film, Two-Lane Blacktop. In October 1970, he performed with Joni Mitchell, Phil Ochs, and the Canadian band Chilliwack at a Vancouver benefit concert that funded Greenpeace's protests of 1971 nuclear weapons tests by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission at Amchitka, Alaska. (This performance was released in 2009 on the album Amchitka, The 1970 Concert That Launched Greenpeace.) In January 1971, sessions for Taylor's next album, Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, began. Released in April, the album also gained massive critical acclaim and contained Taylor's biggest Pop single in the U.S., a version of the Carole King standard "You've Got a Friend" (featuring backing vocals by Joni Mitchell, which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late July. The album itself reached #2 in the album charts, which would be Taylor's highest position ever on this list). In early 1972, Taylor received his first Grammy Award, for (Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male) for "You've Got a Friend" (King also won Song of the Year for the same song on that ceremony). The album went on to sell 2 1/2 million copies in the United States alone.
November 1972 saw the release of Taylor's following album, One Man Dog. A concept album primarily recorded on his home recording studio, it featured cameos by Linda Ronstadt and consisted of eighteen short pieces of music put together. It was received with generally lukewarm reviews and, despite making the Top 10 of the Billboard Album Charts, overall sales were disappointing. The lead single "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" peaked at #18 on the Hot 100, and the follow-up, "One Man Parade", barely reached the Top 75. Almost simultaneously, Taylor married fellow singer-songwriter Carly Simon on November 3, in a small ceremony at her Murray Hill, Manhattan apartment. A post-concert party following a Taylor performance at Radio City Music Hall turned into a large-scale wedding party, and the Simon-Taylor marriage would find much public attention over the following years. They had two children, Sarah Maria "Sally" Taylor, born January 7, 1974, and Benjamin Simon "Ben" Taylor, born January 22, 1977.
1974-1976: Career ups and downs
Taylor spent most of 1973 enjoying his new life as a married man, and he didn't return to the recording studio until January 1974, when sessions for his fifth album began. Walking Man was released in June and featured appearances of Paul and Linda McCartney and guitarist David Spinozza. The album was a critical and commercial disaster, being his first album to miss the Top 5 since his contract with Warner. It received poor reviews and sold a mere 300,000 copies in the United States. The title track was a huge disappointment, and failed to even appear on the Top 100 – nevertheless, it stands today as an often reprised fan favorite in concerts).
However, James Taylor's artistic fortunes spiked again 1975 when the Gold album Gorilla reached #6 and provided one of his biggest hit singles, a cover version of Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)," which featured wife Carly in backing vocals and reached #5 in America and #1 in Canada. On the Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, the track also reached the top, and the follow-up single, the feel-good "Mexico" also reached the Top 5 of that list. A critically very-well received album, Gorilla showcased Taylor's electric, lighter side that was evident on Walking Man. However, it was arguably a more consistent and fresher sounding Taylor with classics such as "Wandering" and "Angry Blues." It also featured a song about his daughter Sally, "Sarah Maria".
Gorilla was followed in 1976 by In the Pocket, Taylor's last studio album to be released under Warner Bros. Records. The album found him with many colleagues and friends, including Art Garfunkel, David Crosby, Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Wonder (who co-wrote a song with Taylor and contributed an harmonica solo). A very melodic album, it was highlighted with the single "Shower the People", an enduring classic that hit #1 Adult Contemporary and almost hit the Top 20 of the Pop Charts. But the album was not very well-received, reaching only #16 and being highly criticized, particularly by Rolling Stone. Nevertheless 1976 was a huge boom year in the recording business - the year of inception of the "Platinum" disc - and In The Pocket was certified Gold.
Finished his contract with Warner, in November the label released Greatest Hits, the album that comprised most of his best work between 1970 and 1976 and it became with time his best-selling album ever. It was certified eleven times platinum in the US, earning a Diamond certification by the RIAA and eventually selling close to twenty million copies worldwide. It still stands as the best-selling folk album by any artist.
1977-1981: Move to Columbia and maintained success
In 1977 Taylor signed with Columbia Records. Between March and April, he quickly recorded his first album for the label. JT, released that June, gave Taylor his best reviews since Sweet Baby James, earning a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year in 1978. Rolling Stone was particularly favorable to the album – "JT is the least stiff and by far the most various album Taylor has done. That's not meant to criticize Taylor's earlier efforts . But it's nice to hear him sounding so healthy." JT reached #4 in the Billboard charts, selling more than 3 million copies in the United States alone. The album's Triple Platinum status ties it with Sweet Baby James as Taylor's all-time biggest selling studio album. It was propelled by the highly successful cover of Jimmy Jones and Otis Blackwell's "Handy Man", which hit #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and reached #4 on the Hot 100, earning Taylor another Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for his cover version. The song also topped the Canadian charts. The success of the album propelled the released of two further singles – the rocking "Your Smiling Face" (an enduring live favourite) reached the American Top 20 and "Honey Don't Leave L.A." didn't enjoy much success, barely reaching the Top 75.
Back in the forefront of popular music, Taylor collaborated with Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel in the recording of a cover of Sam Cooke's "Wonderful World", which reached the Top 20 in the U.S. and topped the AC charts in early 1978. After briefly working on Broadway, he took a one-year break, reappearing in the summer of 1979 with the cover-studded Platinum album Flag, featuring a Top 30 version of Gerry Goffin and Carole King's "Up on the Roof." Taylor also appeared on the No Nukes concert in Madison Square Garden, where he made a memorable live performance of "Mockingbird" with his wife Carly. The concert appeared on both the No Nukes album and film.
In March 1981, James Taylor released the album Dad Loves His Work, whose themes concerned his relationship with his father, the course his ancestors had taken, and the effect he and Simon had had on each other. The album was another Platinum success, reaching #10 and providing Taylor's final real hit single in a duet with J. D. Souther, "Her Town Too", which reached #5 Adult Contemporary and #11 on the Hot 100 in Billboard. The album's title was, in part, drawn from the reasons for Taylor's divorce from Carly Simon. She gave him an ultimatum: cut back on his music and touring, and spend more time with her and their children, or the marriage was through. The album's title was Taylor's answer, and Simon asked for divorce. (The emotional repercussions of the divorce likely served as at least part of the inspiration for "Her Town Too".)
1981-1996: Troubled times and new beginnings
Simon announced her separation from Taylor in September 1981 – saying "Our needs are different; it seem impossible to stay together" – and their divorce became final in 1983. Taylor was living on West End Avenue in Manhattan and on a methadone maintenance program. Over the course of four months starting in September 1983, spurred on in part by the deaths of his friends John Belushi and Dennis Wilson and in part by the desire to be a better father to his children, he dropped methadone and finally kicked his drug habit for good.
Taylor had thoughts of retiring by the time he played the massive Rock in Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro in January 1985. He was encouraged by the nascent democracy in Brazil at the time, buoyed by the positive reception he got from the large crowd and other musicians, and musically energized by the sounds and nature of Brazilian music. "I had... sort of bottomed-out in a drug habit, my marriage with Carly had dissolved, and I had basically been depressed and lost for a while, " he recalled in 1995. "I sort of hit a low spot. I was asked to go down to Rio de Janeiro to play in this festival down there. We put the band together and went down and it was just an amazing response. I played to 300,000 people. They not only knew my music, they knew things about it and were interested in aspects of it that to that point had only interested me. To have that kind of validation right about then was really what I needed. It helped get me back on track." The song "Only a Dream in Rio" was written in tribute to that night, with lines like I was there that very day and my heart came back alive. The October 1985 album, That's Why I'm Here, from which that song came, started a series of studio recordings that, while spaced further apart than his previous records, showed a more consistent level of quality and fewer covers.
On December 14, 1985, Taylor married actress Kathryn Walker at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. Taylor's next albums were partially successful – in 1988, he released Never Die Young, highlighted with the charting title track, and in 1991, the platinum New Moon Shine provided Taylor some popular songs with the melancholic "Copperline" and the upbeat "(I've Got to) Stop Thinkin' About That", both hit singles in the AC radio. During the late eighties, he began touring regularly, especially on the summer amphitheater circuit. His later concerts feature songs from throughout his career and are marked by the musicianship of his band and backup singers. The 1993 two-disc (LIVE) album captures this, with a highlight being Arnold McCuller's descants in the codas of "Shower the People" and "I Will Follow." In 1995, Taylor performed the role of the Lord in Randy Newman's Faust.
1997-2003: Successful comeback
After six years since his last studio album, Taylor released Hourglass, an introspective album that gave him the best critical reviews in almost twenty years. The album had much of its focus on Taylor's troubled past and family. "Jump Up Behind Me" paid tribute to his father's rescue of him after The Flying Machine days, and the long drive from New York City back to his home in Chapel Hill. "Enough To Be On Your Way" was inspired by the alcoholism-related death of his brother Alex earlier in the decade. The themes were also inspired by Taylor and Walker's divorce, which took place in 1996. Critics embraced the dark themes on the album, and Hourglass was a huge commercial success, reaching #9 on the Billboard 200 (Taylor's first Top 10 album in sixteen years) and also provided a big adult contemporary hit on "Little More Time With You". The album also gave Taylor his first Grammy since JT, when he was honored with Best Pop Album in 1998.
On February 18, 2001 at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Boston, Taylor wed for the third time, marrying Caroline ("Kim") Smedvig, the director of public relations and marketing for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. They had begun dating in 1995, when they met as he appeared with John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra. Part of their relationship was worked into the album October Road, on the song "On the 4th of July." The couple reside in the town of Washington, Massachusetts with their twin boys, Rufus and Henry, born in April 2001 to a surrogate mother via in vitro fertilization.
Flanked by two greatest hit releases, Taylor's Platinum-certified October Road appeared in 2002 to a receptive audience. It featured a number of quiet instrumental accompaniments and passages. Overall, it found Taylor in a more peaceful frame of mind; rather than facing a crisis now, Taylor said in an interview that "I thought I'd passed the midpoint of my life when I was 17." The album appeared in two versions, a single-disc version and a "limited edition" two-disc version which contained three extra songs including a duet with Mark Knopfler, "Sailing to Philadelphia," which also appeared on Knopfler's Sailing to Philadelphia album. Also in 2002, Taylor teamed with bluegrass musician Alison Krauss in singing "The Boxer" at the Kennedy Center Honors Tribute to Paul Simon. They later recorded the Louvin Brothers duet, "How's the World Treating You?" In 2004, after he chose not to renew his record contract with Columbia/Sony, he released James Taylor: A Christmas Album with distribution through Hallmark Cards.
Taylor's four siblings—Alex, Livingston, Hugh, and Kate—have also been musicians with recorded albums. Livingston is still an active musician; Kate was active in the 1970s but did not record another album until 2003; Hugh operates a bed-and-breakfast with his wife, The Outermost Inn in Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard; and Alex died in 1993. Taylor's children with Carly Simon—Ben and Sally—have also embarked on musical careers.
James Taylor collaborators
The following is a complete list of the musicians who have played or sung with James Taylor either in concert or on recordings.
* Ray Charles: Piano/ Vocals
* Jeff Babko: keyboard/organ
* Phillip Ballou: vocals
* Dave Bargeron: trombone
* Gregg Bissonette: drums
* Michael Brecker: saxophone
* Randy Brecker: trumpet, vocals
* Rosemary Butler: vocals
* Keith Carlock: drums
* Clifford Carter: keyboards
* Neil Young: guitar, vocals
* Valerie Carter: vocals
* Luis Conte: percussion
* David Crosby: backing vocals
* Craig Doerge: keyboards
* Jerry Douglas: dobro
* Dan Dugmore: guitar
* Mark Knopfler: vocals, guitar
* Steve Edney: vocals
* Walt Fowler: horns, keyboards
* Steve Gadd: drums
* Art Garfunkel: vocals
* Andrew Gold: harmonium, vocals
* Larry Goldings: piano, keyboards
* Chris "Sticks" Rubow: drums
* Don Grolnick: piano
* John Guiliton: keyboards
* Abigale "Gail" Haness: vocals
* George Harrison: vocals
* Buzz Heat: guitar
* Don Henley: backing vocals
* John Jarvis: keyboards
* Jimmy Johnson: bass
* Steve Jordan: drums
* Carole King: piano, keyboards, vocals
* Ed Kolakowski: keyboards
* Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar: electric guitar
* Russell Kunkel: drums
* Michael Landau: guitar
* Charles Larkey: bass
* David Lasley: vocals
* Gail Levant: harp
* Tony Levin: bass
* Yo-Yo Ma: cello
* Bob Mann: guitar
* Lou Marini: reeds, horns
* Rick Marotta: drums
* Kate Markowitz: vocals
* Harvey Mason: drums
* Linda McCartney: vocals
* Paul McCartney: bass, vocals
* Hugh McCracken: harmonica, guitar
* Arnold McCuller: vocals
* Clarence McDonald: piano, keyboards
* Edgar Meyer: double bass
* Joni Mitchell: backing vocals
* Andy Muson: bass
* Milton Nascimento: vocals, guitar
* Graham Nash: backing vocals
* Joel Bishop O'Brien: drums
* Mark O'Connor: fiddle
* Billy Payne: keyboards
* Herb Pedersen: banjo
* John Pizzarelli: guitar
* Russ Powell: bass
* Bonnie Raitt: vocals
* Red Rhodes: pedal steel guitar
* David Sanborn: saxophone
* Rick Schlosser: drums
* Ralph Schuckett: keyboards
* Michael B. Siegel: bass
* Carly Simon: vocals
* Ricky Skaggs: vocals
* Leland Sklar: bass
* David Spinozza: guitar
* J. D. Souther: guitar, vocals
* Carlos Vega: drums
* Waddy Wachtel: guitar
* Joe Walsh: guitar
* Willie Weeks: bass
* Owen Young: cello
* Zachary Wiesner: bass
* Stevie Wonder: harmonica
* Andrea Zonn: violin, vocals
* Elio e le Storie Tese vocals
Dixie Chicks vocals
Awards and recognition
Grammy Awards
* 1971 — Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, "You've Got a Friend"
* 1977 — Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, "Handy Man"
* 1998 — Best Pop Album, Hourglass
* 2001 — Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight"
* 2003 — Best Country Collaboration With Vocals, "How's the World Treating You" with Alison Krauss
* 2006 — Grammy Award-sponsored MusiCares Person of the Year. At a black tie ceremony held in Los Angeles, musicians from several eras paid tribute to Taylor by performing his songs, often prefacing them with remarks on his influence on their decisions to become musicians. These artists included Carole King, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Taj Mahal, Dr. John, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, David Crosby, Sheryl Crow, India.Arie, the Dixie Chicks, Jerry Douglas, Alison Krauss, and Keith Urban. Paul Simon performed as well, although he was not included in the televised program; Taylor's brother Livingston appeared on stage as a "backup singer" for the finale, along with Taylor's twin boys, Rufus and Henry.
Other recognition
James Taylor Bridge, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
* 1995 — Honorary doctorate of music from the Berklee College of Music, Boston, 1995.
* 2000 — Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2000.
* 2000 — Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, 2000.
* 2003 — The Chapel Hill Museum in Chapel Hill, North Carolina opened a permanent exhibit dedicated to Taylor. At the same occasion the US-15-501 highway bridge over Morgan Creek, near the site of the Taylor family home and mentioned in Taylor's song "Copperline", was named in honor of Taylor.
* 2004 — George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement, UCLA Spring Sing.
* 2004 — Ranked 84th in Rolling Stone's list of "The Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time."
* 2006 — Honorary Doctorate of Music from Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts.
Discography
Main article: James Taylor discography
U.S. Billboard Top 10 Albums
* 1970 – Sweet Baby James (#3)
* 1971 – Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon (#2)
* 1972 – One Man Dog (#4)
* 1975 – Gorilla (#6)
* 1976 – In The Pocket (#16)
* 1977 – JT (#4)
* 1979 – Flag (#10)
* 1981 – Dad Loves His Work (#10)
* 1997 – Hourglass (#9)
* 2002 – October Road (#4)
* 2008 – Covers (#4)
U.S. Billboard Top 10 'Pop' Singles
* 1970 - "Fire and Rain" (#3)
* 1971 – "You've Got a Friend" (#1)
* 1975 – "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" (#5)
* 1977 – "Handy Man" (#4)
Other appearances
* He provided a guest voice to The Simpsons episode "Deep Space Homer" where he played some of his songs to Homer, Buzz Aldrin, and Race Bannon when they were in space. He also appeared later on in the series when the family put together a jigsaw puzzle. His face was the missing final piece.
* Performed "Second Star to the Right" on Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films in 1988 as one of Various Artists.
* Taylor performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Game 2 of the World Series in Boston on October 25, 2007, at Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals in Boston on June 5, 2008, and at the NHL's Winter Classic game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins, the first hockey game ever held at Boston's Fenway Park.
* He appeared on Sesame Street performing the song "Your Smiling Face" although the song was sung "Your Grouchy Face" as he sang it to Oscar the Grouch. He also appeared on the Sesame Street video compilation Silly Songs, and the album In Harmony: A Sesame Street Record, performing the song "Jellyman Kelly".
* Has appeared on NBC's Saturday Night Live six times as a musical guest: in 1976 performing "Shower the People," "Roadrunner" (with David Sanborn), and "Sweet Baby James" (host: Lily Tomlin); in 1979 performing "Johnnie Comes Back," "Up on the Roof," and "Millworker" (host: Michael Palin); in 1980 performing with Paul Simon "Cathy's Clown / Take Me to the Mardi Gras" (host: Paul Simon); in 1988 performing "Never Die Young," "Sweet Potato Pie," and "Lonesome Road" (host: Robin Williams); in 1991 performing "Stop Thinkin' About That," "Shed A Little Light," and "Sweet Baby James" (Host: Steve Martin); and in 1993 performing "Memphis," "Slap Leather," and "Secret of Life" (host: Rosie O'Donnell).
* He provided background vocals for "Back In The High Life Again" by Steve Winwood in 1986.
* He performed at a benefit concert supporting John B. Anderson's U.S. presidential campaign at Charleston, West Virginia in 1980.
* He provided background vocals for "Perfect Love" by Marc Cohn.
* He appeared on The West Wing.
* He appeared on the The Johnny Cash Show, singing "Sweet Baby James", "Fire and Rain", and "Country Road", on February 17, 1971.
* His song "Fire and Rain" was in the movie Remember the Titans.
* He provided vocals for the song "First Me, Second Me" by the Italian band Elio e le Storie Tese
* Along with Linda Ronstadt, he did backup vocals for two hit singles on Neil Young's Harvest: "Old Man" and "Heart of Gold". Twenty years later, the two would reunite with Young on his Harvest Moon album, singing backup on "From Hank to Hendrix," "War of Man," and the title track.
* He made his debut for his 24th album Other Covers on The Oprah Winfrey Show on April 10, 2009.
* He appeared on the final of Star Académie, the Quebec version of American Idol, on April 13, 2009.
* On May 29, 2009, he made a guest appearance and sang "Sweet Baby James" on the final episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno before Leno was replaced by Conan O'Brien.
* Taylor appeared briefly in the 2009 movie Funny People, where he played "Carolina on My Mind" for a MySpace corporate event as the opening act for the main character.
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I like some of his stuff when I'm in a relaxing mood. Pleasant voice.
Fire and rain is nice, You've got a friend, How sweet it is, Handy man, and others.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 03/13/10 at 3:52 am
I like some of his stuff when I'm in a relaxing mood. Pleasant voice.
Fire and rain is nice, You've got a friend, How sweet it is, Handy man, and others.
Yeah, he had lots of great songs, which I often listen to as well. Also, his arrangement of "Everyday" (originally by Buddy Holly) is excellent.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/13/10 at 3:59 am
I have several days to catch up on here!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/13/10 at 9:34 am
I have several days to catch up on here!
Take your time :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/13/10 at 9:41 am
The word of the day...Solitaire
#
Solitaire is a game for one person in which you move and remove objects on a board, with the aim of having one object left at the end of the game. N-UNCOUNT
#
Solitaire is a card game for only one player. N-UNCOUNT US
#
A solitaire is a diamond or other jewel that is set on its own in a ring or other piece of jewellery.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/13/10 at 9:44 am
The person born on this day...Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka (born March 13, 1939; Brooklyn, New York) is an American pop singer, pianist, and songwriter . His career has spanned over 50 years, during which time he has written many songs for himself and others, often working with lyricists Howard Greenfield and Phil Cody.
Sedaka's father, Mac Sedaka, a taxi driver, was the son of Turkish Jewish immigrants ("Sedaka" is a variant of tzedaka — Hebrew for charity); his mother, Eleanor (Appel) Sedaka, was of Polish-Russian Jewish descent. He grew up in an apartment in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. He is the cousin of singer Eydie Gorme.
He demonstrated musical aptitude in his second-grade choral class, and when his teacher sent a note home suggesting he take piano lessons, his mother took a part-time job in an Abraham & Straus department store for six months to pay for a second-hand upright. He took to the instrument immediately. In 1947, he auditioned successfully for a piano scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music's Preparatory Division for Children, which he attended on Saturdays. He also maintained an interest in popular music, and when he was 13, a neighbor heard him playing and introduced him to her 16-year-old son, Howard Greenfield, an aspiring poet and lyricist. The two began writing together.
The best-known Billboard Hot 100 hits of his early career are "The Diary" (#14, 1958), a song that he offered to Little Anthony and the Imperials; "Oh! Carol" (#9, 1959); "You Mean Everything to Me" (#17, 1960); "Calendar Girl" (#4, 1960); "Stairway to Heaven" (#9, 1960); "Run Samson Run" (top 30, 1960); "Little Devil" (#11, 1961); "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" (#6, 1961); "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (#1, 1962); and "Next Door to an Angel" (#5, 1962). "Oh! Carol" refers to Sedaka's Brill Building compatriot and former girlfriend Carole King. King responded with her answer song, "Oh, Neil". A Scopitone exists for "Calendar Girl".
A similar sharing came earlier with Sedaka and singer Connie Francis. As Francis explains at her concerts, she began searching for a new hit after her 1958 single "Who's Sorry Now?". She was introduced to Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, who played every ballad they had written for her. Francis began writing her diary while the two played the last of their songs. After they finished, Francis told them they wrote beautiful ballads but that they were too intellectual for the young generation. Sedaka suggested to Greenfield a song they had written that morning for a girl group. Greenfield protested because the song had been promised to the girl group, but Sedaka insisted on playing "Stupid Cupid". Francis told them they had just played her new hit. Francis' song reached #14 on the Billboard charts.
While Francis was writing her diary, Sedaka asked her if he could read what she had written. After she refused, Sedaka was inspired to write "The Diary", his first hit single. Sedaka and Greenfield wrote many of Connie Francis' hits such as "Fallin'" and "Where the Boys Are".
In 1961, Sedaka began to record some of his hits in Italian. At first he published "Esagerata" and "Un Giorno Inutile", local versions of "Little Devil" and "I Must Be Dreaming". Other recordings were to follow, such as "Tun Non Lo Sai" ("Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"), "Il Re Dei Pagliacci" ("King of Clowns"), "I Tuoi Capricci" ("Look Inside Your Heart"), and "La Terza Luna" ("Waiting For Never") to name only a few. Sedaka also recorded in Spanish, German, Hebrew, Yiddish, and Japanese.
Between 1960 and 1962, Sedaka had eight Top 40 hits, but he was one of many American performers of the era whose popularity declined due to the British Invasion and the evolution of the Rock and Pop genres of music. His commercial success declined rapidly after 1964: he scored only two minor hits in 1965, and none of his 1966 singles charted. His RCA contract was not renewed when it ended in 1967, and he was left without a record label.
Although Sedaka's stature as a recording artist was at a low ebb in the late 1960s, he was able to maintain his career through songwriting. Thanks to the fact that his publisher, Aldon Music, was acquired by Screen Gems, two of his songs were recorded by The Monkees, and other hits in this period written by Sedaka included The Cyrkle's version of "We Had a Good Thing Goin'" and "Workin' on a Groovy Thing", a Top 40 R&B hit for Patti Drew in 1968 and a US Top 20 hit for The 5th Dimension in 1969. Also, "Make the Music Play" was included on Frankie Valli's charting album Timeless.
On an episode of the quiz show I've Got a Secret in 1965, Sedaka's secret was that he was to represent the United States in classical piano at the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow, and he played "Fantasie Impromptu" on the show. Panelist Henry Morgan made a point that the Russians, at least older ones, hated rock and roll. Sedaka's participation in the competition, which Van Cliburn had won in 1958, was canceled by the USSR because of Sedaka's rock and roll connection.
1970s comeback
Sedaka revived his solo career in the early 1970s. Despite his waning chart appeal in the USA in the late sixties, he remained very popular as a concert attraction, notably in the UK and Australia. He made several trips to Australia to play cabaret dates, and his commercial comeback began when the single "Star Crossed Lovers" became a major hit there. The song went to #5 nationally in April 1969 -- giving Sedaka his first charting single in four years—and it also came in at #5 in Go-Set magazine's list of the Top 40 Australian singles of 1969.
Later that year, with the support of Festival Records, he recorded a new LP of original material entitled Workin' On A Groovy Thing at Festival Studios in Sydney. It was co-produced by Festival staff producer Pat Aulton, with arrangements by John Farrar (who later achieved international fame for his work with Olivia Newton-John) and backing by Australian session musicians including guitarist Jimmy Doyle (Ayers Rock) and noted jazz musician-composer John Sangster.
The single lifted from the album, "Wheeling West Virginia", reached #20 in Australia in early 1970. The LP is also notable because it was Sedaka's first album to include collaborations with writers other than longtime lyricist Howard Greenfield -- the title track featured lyrics by Roger Atkins and four other songs were co-written with Carole Bayer Sager, who subsequently embarked on a successful collaboration with expatriate Australian singer-songwriter Peter Allen.
In 1972, Sedaka embarked on a successful English tour and in June recorded the Solitaire album in England at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, working with the four future members of 10cc. As well as the title track, which was successfully covered by Andy Williams and The Carpenters, it included two UK Top 40 singles, including "Beautiful You" which also charted in America—Sedaka's first US hit in ten years.
A year later he reconvened with the Strawberry team – who had by then charted with their own debut 10cc album – to record The Tra-La Days Are Over, which started the second phase of his career and included his original version of the hit song "Love Will Keep Us Together" (a US #1 hit two years later for Captain & Tennille). This album also marked the effective end of his writing partnership with Greenfield, commemorated by the track "Our Last Song Together"
He worked with Elton John, who signed him to his Rocket Records label (During the ensuing years, Sedaka's records would be distributed in Europe on the Polydor label). Sedaka returned with a flourish, topping the charts twice with "Laughter in the Rain" and "Bad Blood" (both 1975). John provided backing vocals for the latter song. The flipside of "Laughter in the Rain" was "The Immigrant" (US pop #22, US AC #1), a wistful, nostalgic piece dedicated to John Lennon, which recalled the by-gone era when America was welcoming of immigrants, in contrast to the U.S. government's then-refusal to grant Lennon permanent resident status.
Sedaka and Greenfield co-wrote "Love Will Keep Us Together", a No. 1 hit for Captain and Tennille and the best-selling record of 1975. The song says "Sedaka is back" in the coda; Toni Tennille sang it in an ad lib while laying down background vocals.
In 1975, Sedaka was the opening act for the The Carpenters on their world tour. According to The Carpenters: The Untold Story by Ray Coleman, manager Sherwin Bash fired Sedaka at the request of Richard Carpenter. The firing resulted in a media backlash against The Carpenters after Sedaka publicly announced he was off the tour. This, however, was before Karen and Richard recorded Sedaka's "Solitaire" which became a Top 20 hit for the duo. Richard Carpenter denied that he fired Sedaka for "stealing their show," stating they were proud of Sedaka's success. However, Bash was fired as The Carpenters' manager a short time after.
"Solitaire" would find success again in the 21st century, when American Idol finalist Clay Aiken sang the song when Sedaka appeared as a judge in the second season, won by Ruben Studdard. The "guest judge" has since been eliminated. Aiken explained that the song was his mother's favorite and that she begged him to sing it when she learned that Sedaka would be on the show. After he was awarded a recording contract, he added "Solitaire" as the B-side to his single "The Way," whose sales were faltering. When "Solitaire" moved to the A-side, radio and record sales responded and the single hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart, one of the biggest hits of 2004. Sedaka was invited back to American Idol to celebrate its success and could be seen in the audience several times.
In 1975, Sedaka recorded a new version of "Breaking Up is Hard to Do." The 1962 original was fast-tempo and bouncy teen pop, but the remake was slower and in the style of a jazz/torch piano arrangement. Lenny Welch had recorded the song in this style in 1970. It reached #8 on the pop charts in early 1976, making him the second artist to hit the US Top Ten twice with separate versions of the song, and the only artist to return to the Top Ten with a remake of their own #1 hit. (The Ventures had hits in 1960 and 1964 with recordings of "Walk, Don't Run,"and Elton John later accomplished the feat twice, with 1991's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" and "Candle in the Wind 1997".)
Sedaka's second version of "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. The same year, Elvis Presley recorded the Sedaka song "Solitaire". This was followed by a #16 hit in 1976, "Love in the Shadows." In 1980, Sedaka had a Top 20 hit with "Should've Never Let You Go," which he recorded with his daughter, Dara.
Sedaka is also composer of "Is This The Way to Amarillo", a song he wrote for Britain's Tony Christie. It reached #18 on the UK charts in 1971, but #1 when reissued in 2005, thanks to a video starring comedian Peter Kay. Sedaka recorded the song in 1977, when it became a #44 hit. On April 7, 2006, during a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Sedaka was presented with an award from the Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles and Albums as writer of the best-selling single of the 21st century (so far), "Amarillo."
Ben Folds, an American pop singer, credited Sedaka on his "iTunes Originals" album as inspiration for song publishing. Hearing Sedaka had a song published by the age of 13 gave Folds the goal of also getting a song published by his 13th birthday, despite the fact that Sedaka didn't actually publish his first song until he was 16.
Sedaka today
Sedaka continues to perform. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in October 2006.
A concert performance on 26 October 2007 at the Lincoln Center in New York City honored the 50th anniversary of Sedaka's debut in show business. Guests included Captain and Tennille, Natalie Cole, Connie Francis, and Clay Aiken.
During his 2008 Australian tour, Sedaka premiered a new classical orchestral composition entitled "Joie de Vivre". Sedaka also toured the Philippines for his May 17, 2008 concert at the Araneta Coliseum.
Other musical works
In 1985, songs composed by Sedaka were adapted for the Japanese anime TV series Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. These included the two opening themes "Zeta - Toki wo Koete" (originally in English as "Better Days are Coming") and "Mizu no Hoshi e Ai wo Komete" (originally in English as "For Us to Decide", but the English version was never recorded), as well as the end theme "Hoshizora no Believe" (written as "Bad and Beautiful"). Due to copyright, the songs were replaced for the North American DVD.
In 1994, Sedaka provided the voice for Neil Moussaka, a parody of himself in Food Rocks, an attraction at Epcot from 1994-2006.
A musical comedy based around the songs of Sedaka, titled Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, was written in 2005 by Erik Jackson and Ben H. Winters; it is now under license to Theatrical Rights Worldwide.
A biographical musical "Laughter in the Rain", produced by Bill Kenwright and Laurie Mansfield, and starring Wayne Smith as Sedaka, had its world premiere at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley on 4th March, 2010. Sedaka himself attended the opening and joined the cast on stage for an impromptu curtain call of the title song.
Personal life
Sedaka attended Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, graduating in 1956. He has been married to his wife, Leba (Strassberg), since 1962. They have two children: a daughter, Dara, a recording artist and vocalist for television and radio commercials (who sang the female part on the Sedaka duet "Should've Never Let You Go"), and a son, Marc, a screenwriter who lives in Los Angeles with his wife Samantha and three children.
Pop culture references
Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (August 2008)
In the Friends episode "The One With the Two Parties", Ross says that he is wearing the same glasses frames as Neil Sedaka.
In the lyrics to mini-opera "Billy the Mountain", on the album Just Another Band from L.A. by Frank Zappa and The Mothers, it is alleged that Studabacher Hoch "could sing like Neil Sedaka."
In the Boy Meets World episode "Killer Bees", Alan Matthews is being sarcastic when he says he couldn't find tickets to the Neil Sedaka concert.
In Career Day on That '70s Show, Kitty starts out singing "Bad Blood" on the radio, which makes everyone, including Fez and Hyde's mother sing, too, in the lunchroom.
On the Canadian sketch comedy show Second City Television, Eugene Levy portrays Sedaka during a sketch entitled Farm Film Report Celebrity Blowup. The sketch also features John Candy and Joe Flaherty who make references to Sedaka's career and then watch as he explodes while performing.
Discography
Albums
* 1959 Neil Sedaka (Rock With Sedaka)
* 1961 Circulate
* 1961 Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits (Re-released in 1993 with eight bonus tracks)
* 1963 Neil Sedaka Sings His Greatest Hits (Re-released in 1975 and 1992)(RCA 2627)
* 1963 Stupid Cupid (RCA Camden album)
* 1964 Italiano
* 1969 Workin' On A Groovy Thing (Festival 1969)
* 1971 Emergence
* 1972 Neil Sedaka (UK)
* 1972 Solitaire (UK)
* 1973 The Tra-La Days Are Over (UK)
* 1974 Laughter in the Rain (UK)
* 1974 Live at the Royal Festival Hall (UK; live)
* 1974 Sedaka's Back (USA)
* 1975 Overnight Success (UK)
* 1975 The Hungry Years (USA)
* 1976 Let's Go Steady Again (RCA Victor edition; Compilation of mid-1960s hits)
* 1976 Pure Gold (Another compilation of early 1960s hits)
* 1976 Sedaka Live in Australia at the South Sydney Junior Leagues Club
* 1976 Steppin' Out
* 1977 Neil Sedaka's Greatest Hits
* 1977 Neil Sedaka and Songs — A Solo Concert (Live 2-LP)
* 1977 A Song
* 1977 Neil Sedaka and Songs
* 1978 All You Need Is the Music
* 1979 In the Pocket
* 1979 Oh Carol! and Other Big Hits (Re-released in 1989)
* 1979 Let's Go Steady Again (RCA Camden edition; different compilation from the 1976 RCA Victor album of the same name)
* 1981 Now!
* 1984 Come See About Me
* 1986 The Good Times
* 1990 All Time Greatest Hits
* 1991 All Time Greatest Hits Vol. 2
* 1991 Timeless — The Very Best of Neil Sedaka (Includes both old and new songs)
* 1993 Love Will Keep Us Together (Compilation and new songs)
* 1994 Laughter In The Rain: The Best Of Neil Sedaka, 1974-1980
* 1995 Song Cycle (songs culled from "Emergence" and "Solitaire" , the latter previously unavailable in USA)
* 1995 Classically Sedaka
* 1995 Tuneweaver
* 1997 Tales of Love (and Other Passions)
* 1999 Neil Sedaka In Italiano (2-CD edition of his 1960s Italian recordings)
* 2000 The Singer and His Songs
* 2001 RCA 100th Anniversary Series: The Very Best Of Neil Sedaka
* 2003 Brighton Beach Memories — Neil Sedaka Sings Yiddish
* 2003 Oh! Carol: The Complete Recordings, 1955-66 (8-CD box with previously unreleased material)
* 2004 Stairway To Heaven: The Best Of Neil Sedaka
* 2005 Love Songs (compilation of slow-rock love songs, most of them B-side songs from the early 1960s)
* 2006 The Very Best of Neil Sedaka: The Show Goes On (2-CD, 46-track career retrospective with 7 "new" recordings); tie-in with release of DVD (filmed 7 April 2006) in London, Neil Sedaka: Live at the Royal Albert Hall—The Show Goes On
* 2006 The Miracle of Christmas
* 2007 The Definitive Collection (2-CD career retrospective including never-released early-career demos)
* 2007 Oh Carol! (compilation of 1970s hits recorded live in concert)
* 2008 The Miracle of Christmas (special 2-disc version)
* 2009 Waking Up Is Hard to Do (children's recording)
* 2009 Flashback (compilation of Italian recordings)
* 2009 The Music Of My Life (UK)
* 2010 The Music Of My Life (US)
Singles
* "The Diary" (US #14, 1958)
* "I Go Ape" (US #42, 1959)
* "Crying My Heart Out For You" (US #111, 1959)
* "Oh! Carol" (US #9, 1959)
* "Stairway to Heaven" (US #9, 1960)
* "You Mean Everything to Me" (US #17, 1960)
* "Run, Samson, Run" (US #28, 1960)
* "Calendar Girl" (US #4, 1961)
* "Little Devil" (US #11, 1961)
* "Sweet Little You" (US #59, 1961)
* "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" (US #6, 1962)
* "King Of Clowns" (US #45, 1962)
* "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (US #1, 1962)
* "Next Door to an Angel" (US #5,1962)
* "Alice In Wonderland" (US #17, 1963)
* "Let's Go Steady Again" (US #26, 1963)
* "The Dreamer" (US #47, 1963)
* "Bad Girl" (US #33, 1963)
* "The Closest Thing To Heaven" (US #107, 1964)
* "Sunny" (US #86, 1964)
* "I Hope He Breaks Your Heart" (US #104, 1964)
* "Let The People Talk" (US #107, 1965)
* "The World Through A Tear" (US #76, 1965)
* "The Answer To My Prayer" (US #89, 1966)
* "We Can Make It If We Try" (US #121, 1967)
* "Laughter in the Rain" (US #1 ,US AC #1 1975)
* "The Immigrant" (US #22, US AC #1 1975) (dedicated to John Lennon)
* "That's When the Music Takes Me" (US #25, US AC #7 1975)
* "Bad Blood" w/Elton John (noncredited backing vocal) (US #1 ,US AC #25 1975-76; certified gold; most commercially successful individual US single released in Sedaka's career)
* "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (US #8,US AC #1 1976)
* "Love in the Shadows" (US #16,US AC #4 1976)
* "Steppin' Out" w/Elton John (noncredited backing vocal) (US #36,US AC #45 1976)
* "You Gotta Make Your Own Sunshine" (US #52,US AC #4 1977)
* "Amarillo" (US #44, US AC #4 1977)
* "Alone At Last" (US #104, US AC #17 1977)
* "Should've Never Let You Go" (US #19, US AC #3 1980)
* "Letting Go" (US #107, 1980)
* "My World Keeps Slipping Away" (US AC #36, 1981)
* "Your Precious Love" (US AC #15 1984)
* "Rhythm Of The Rain" (US AC #37, 1984)
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/13/10 at 9:50 am
The person who died on this day...Maureen Stapleton
Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress in film, theater and television. She was also elected to the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
Stapleton was born Lois Maureen Stapleton in Troy, New York, the daughter of Irene (née Walsh) and John P. Stapleton, and grew up in a strict Irish American Catholic family. Her father was an alcoholic and her parents separated during her childhood.
Career
Stapleton moved to New York City at the age of eighteen, and did modeling to pay the bills. She once said that it was her infatuation with the handsome Hollywood actor Joel McCrea which led her into acting. She made her Broadway debut in the production featuring Burgess Meredith of The Playboy of the Western World in 1946. That same year, she played the role of Iras in Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" in a touring production by actress and producer Katharine Cornell. Stepping in because Anna Magnani refused the role due to her limited English, Stapleton won a Tony Award for her role in Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo in 1951. (Magnani's English improved, however, and she was able to play the role in the film version, winning an Oscar.) Stapleton played in other Williams' productions, including Twenty-Seven Wagons Full of Cotton and Orpheus Descending (and its film adaptation, The Fugitive Kind), as well as Lillian Hellman's Toys in the Attic. She won a second Tony Award for Neil Simon's The Gingerbread Lady, which was written especially for her, in 1971. Later Broadway roles included "Birdie" in The Little Foxes opposite Elizabeth Taylor and as a replacement for Jessica Tandy in The Gin Game.
Stapleton's film career, though limited, brought her immediate success, with her debut in Lonelyhearts (1958) earning a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She appeared in the 1963 film version of Bye Bye Birdie, in the role of Mama Mae Peterson, with Dick Van Dyke, Janet Leigh, Paul Lynde and Ann-Margret. She was nominated again for an Oscar for Airport (1970) and Woody Allen's Interiors (1978). She won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Reds (1981), directed by Warren Beatty, in which she portrayed the Lithuanian-born anarchist, Emma Goldman. She ended her acceptance speech with the quip "I would like to thank everyone I've ever met in my entire life."
Stapleton won a 1968 Emmy Award for her performance in Among the Paths of Eden. She was nominated for the television version of All the King's Men (1959), Queen of the Stardust Ballroom (1975), and The Gathering (1977). Her more recent appearances included Johnny Dangerously (1984), Cocoon (1985) and its sequel Cocoon: The Return (1988).
Personal life
Stapleton's first husband was Max Allentuck, general manager to the producer Kermit Bloomgarden, and her second, playwright David Rayfiel, from whom she divorced. She had a son, Daniel, and a daughter, Katherine, by her first husband. Her daughter, Katherine Allentuck, garnered good reviews for her single movie role, that of "Aggie" in Summer of '42 (Stapleton herself also had a minor, uncredited role in the film as the protagonist's mother, though only her voice is heard, she does not appear on camera).
Stapleton suffered from anxiety and alcoholism for many years and once told an interviewer, "The curtain came down and I went into the vodka." She also said that her unhappy childhood contributed to her insecurities. In 2006, Maureen Stapleton, who was a heavy smoker, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at her home in Lenox, Massachusetts, at the age of 80.
In 1981 Hudson Valley Community College in Stapleton's childhood city of Troy, New York dedicated a theater in her name.
Stapleton is not related to the actress Jean Stapleton (best known for her role as Edith Bunker on the hit CBS-TV ground-breaking comedy show All in the Family).
Filmography
Year Film Role Other notes
1958 All the King's Men TV; Nominated - Emmy Award
Lonelyhearts Fay Doyle Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
1959 The Fugitive Kind Vee Talbot
1961 Vu du pont Beatrice Carbone aka A View from the Bridge
1963 Bye Bye Birdie Mama Mae Peterson
1967 Among the Paths to Eden Mary O'Meaghan TV; Emmy Award
1969 Truman Capote's Trilogy Mary O'Meaghan Reprise of Emmy winning 1967 role
1970 Airport Inez Guerrero Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
1971 Plaza Suite Karen Nash Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
Summer of '42 Hermie's mother Voice (Uncredited)
1972 Dig Mother
1974 Voyage to Next Mother Earth Voice
1975 Queen of the Stardust Ballroom Beatrice 'Bea' Asher Nominated - Emmy Award
1977 The Gathering Kate Thornton Nominated - Emmy Award
1978 Interiors Pearl Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
1979 The Runner Stumbles Mrs. Shandig
Lost and Found Jemmy
1981 Reds Emma Goldman Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
The Fan Belle Goldman
On the Right Track Mary the Bag Lady
1982 The Electric Grandmother Grandmother TV
1984 Johnny Dangerously Ma Kelly
1985 Cocoon Marilyn Luckett
1986 Heartburn Vera
The Cosmic Eye Mother Earth Voice
The Money Pit Estelle
1987 Nuts Rose Kirk
Made in Heaven Aunt Lisa
Sweet Lorraine Lillian Garber
1988 Liberace: Behind the Music Frances Liberace TV
The Thorns Peggy/Mrs. Hamilton TV series
Doin' Time on Planet Earth Helium Balloon Saleslady
Cocoon: The Return Marilyn 'Mary' Luckett
1989 B.L. Stryker Auntie Sue (1 episode) Nominated - Emmy Award
1992 Lincoln Sarah Bush Lincoln TV, voice
Miss Rose White Tanta Perla Nominated - Emmy Award
1994 Trading Mom Mrs. Cavour, the Gardener
The Last Good Time Ida Cutler
1995 Road to Avonlea Maggie MacPhee - 1 episode Nominated - Emmy Award
1996 My Universe Inside Out Voice
1997 Addicted to Love Nana
1998 Wilbur Falls Wilbur Falls High Secretary
2003 Living and Dining Mrs. Lundt
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/13/10 at 11:49 am
The person who died on this day...Neil Sedaka
Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress in film, theater and television. She was also elected to the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
Oops. ;)
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/13/10 at 2:46 pm
The person born on this day...Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka (born March 13, 1939; Brooklyn, New York) is an American pop singer, pianist, and songwriter . His career has spanned over 50 years, during which time he has written many songs for himself and others, often working with lyricists Howard Greenfield and Phil Cody.
Sedaka's father, Mac Sedaka, a taxi driver, was the son of Turkish Jewish immigrants ("Sedaka" is a variant of tzedaka — Hebrew for charity); his mother, Eleanor (Appel) Sedaka, was of Polish-Russian Jewish descent. He grew up in an apartment in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. He is the cousin of singer Eydie Gorme.
He demonstrated musical aptitude in his second-grade choral class, and when his teacher sent a note home suggesting he take piano lessons, his mother took a part-time job in an Abraham & Straus department store for six months to pay for a second-hand upright. He took to the instrument immediately. In 1947, he auditioned successfully for a piano scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music's Preparatory Division for Children, which he attended on Saturdays. He also maintained an interest in popular music, and when he was 13, a neighbor heard him playing and introduced him to her 16-year-old son, Howard Greenfield, an aspiring poet and lyricist. The two began writing together.
The best-known Billboard Hot 100 hits of his early career are "The Diary" (#14, 1958), a song that he offered to Little Anthony and the Imperials; "Oh! Carol" (#9, 1959); "You Mean Everything to Me" (#17, 1960); "Calendar Girl" (#4, 1960); "Stairway to Heaven" (#9, 1960); "Run Samson Run" (top 30, 1960); "Little Devil" (#11, 1961); "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" (#6, 1961); "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (#1, 1962); and "Next Door to an Angel" (#5, 1962). "Oh! Carol" refers to Sedaka's Brill Building compatriot and former girlfriend Carole King. King responded with her answer song, "Oh, Neil". A Scopitone exists for "Calendar Girl".
A similar sharing came earlier with Sedaka and singer Connie Francis. As Francis explains at her concerts, she began searching for a new hit after her 1958 single "Who's Sorry Now?". She was introduced to Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, who played every ballad they had written for her. Francis began writing her diary while the two played the last of their songs. After they finished, Francis told them they wrote beautiful ballads but that they were too intellectual for the young generation. Sedaka suggested to Greenfield a song they had written that morning for a girl group. Greenfield protested because the song had been promised to the girl group, but Sedaka insisted on playing "Stupid Cupid". Francis told them they had just played her new hit. Francis' song reached #14 on the Billboard charts.
While Francis was writing her diary, Sedaka asked her if he could read what she had written. After she refused, Sedaka was inspired to write "The Diary", his first hit single. Sedaka and Greenfield wrote many of Connie Francis' hits such as "Fallin'" and "Where the Boys Are".
In 1961, Sedaka began to record some of his hits in Italian. At first he published "Esagerata" and "Un Giorno Inutile", local versions of "Little Devil" and "I Must Be Dreaming". Other recordings were to follow, such as "Tun Non Lo Sai" ("Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"), "Il Re Dei Pagliacci" ("King of Clowns"), "I Tuoi Capricci" ("Look Inside Your Heart"), and "La Terza Luna" ("Waiting For Never") to name only a few. Sedaka also recorded in Spanish, German, Hebrew, Yiddish, and Japanese.
Between 1960 and 1962, Sedaka had eight Top 40 hits, but he was one of many American performers of the era whose popularity declined due to the British Invasion and the evolution of the Rock and Pop genres of music. His commercial success declined rapidly after 1964: he scored only two minor hits in 1965, and none of his 1966 singles charted. His RCA contract was not renewed when it ended in 1967, and he was left without a record label.
Although Sedaka's stature as a recording artist was at a low ebb in the late 1960s, he was able to maintain his career through songwriting. Thanks to the fact that his publisher, Aldon Music, was acquired by Screen Gems, two of his songs were recorded by The Monkees, and other hits in this period written by Sedaka included The Cyrkle's version of "We Had a Good Thing Goin'" and "Workin' on a Groovy Thing", a Top 40 R&B hit for Patti Drew in 1968 and a US Top 20 hit for The 5th Dimension in 1969. Also, "Make the Music Play" was included on Frankie Valli's charting album Timeless.
On an episode of the quiz show I've Got a Secret in 1965, Sedaka's secret was that he was to represent the United States in classical piano at the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow, and he played "Fantasie Impromptu" on the show. Panelist Henry Morgan made a point that the Russians, at least older ones, hated rock and roll. Sedaka's participation in the competition, which Van Cliburn had won in 1958, was canceled by the USSR because of Sedaka's rock and roll connection.
1970s comeback
Sedaka revived his solo career in the early 1970s. Despite his waning chart appeal in the USA in the late sixties, he remained very popular as a concert attraction, notably in the UK and Australia. He made several trips to Australia to play cabaret dates, and his commercial comeback began when the single "Star Crossed Lovers" became a major hit there. The song went to #5 nationally in April 1969 -- giving Sedaka his first charting single in four years—and it also came in at #5 in Go-Set magazine's list of the Top 40 Australian singles of 1969.
Later that year, with the support of Festival Records, he recorded a new LP of original material entitled Workin' On A Groovy Thing at Festival Studios in Sydney. It was co-produced by Festival staff producer Pat Aulton, with arrangements by John Farrar (who later achieved international fame for his work with Olivia Newton-John) and backing by Australian session musicians including guitarist Jimmy Doyle (Ayers Rock) and noted jazz musician-composer John Sangster.
The single lifted from the album, "Wheeling West Virginia", reached #20 in Australia in early 1970. The LP is also notable because it was Sedaka's first album to include collaborations with writers other than longtime lyricist Howard Greenfield -- the title track featured lyrics by Roger Atkins and four other songs were co-written with Carole Bayer Sager, who subsequently embarked on a successful collaboration with expatriate Australian singer-songwriter Peter Allen.
In 1972, Sedaka embarked on a successful English tour and in June recorded the Solitaire album in England at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, working with the four future members of 10cc. As well as the title track, which was successfully covered by Andy Williams and The Carpenters, it included two UK Top 40 singles, including "Beautiful You" which also charted in America—Sedaka's first US hit in ten years.
A year later he reconvened with the Strawberry team – who had by then charted with their own debut 10cc album – to record The Tra-La Days Are Over, which started the second phase of his career and included his original version of the hit song "Love Will Keep Us Together" (a US #1 hit two years later for Captain & Tennille). This album also marked the effective end of his writing partnership with Greenfield, commemorated by the track "Our Last Song Together"
He worked with Elton John, who signed him to his Rocket Records label (During the ensuing years, Sedaka's records would be distributed in Europe on the Polydor label). Sedaka returned with a flourish, topping the charts twice with "Laughter in the Rain" and "Bad Blood" (both 1975). John provided backing vocals for the latter song. The flipside of "Laughter in the Rain" was "The Immigrant" (US pop #22, US AC #1), a wistful, nostalgic piece dedicated to John Lennon, which recalled the by-gone era when America was welcoming of immigrants, in contrast to the U.S. government's then-refusal to grant Lennon permanent resident status.
Sedaka and Greenfield co-wrote "Love Will Keep Us Together", a No. 1 hit for Captain and Tennille and the best-selling record of 1975. The song says "Sedaka is back" in the coda; Toni Tennille sang it in an ad lib while laying down background vocals.
In 1975, Sedaka was the opening act for the The Carpenters on their world tour. According to The Carpenters: The Untold Story by Ray Coleman, manager Sherwin Bash fired Sedaka at the request of Richard Carpenter. The firing resulted in a media backlash against The Carpenters after Sedaka publicly announced he was off the tour. This, however, was before Karen and Richard recorded Sedaka's "Solitaire" which became a Top 20 hit for the duo. Richard Carpenter denied that he fired Sedaka for "stealing their show," stating they were proud of Sedaka's success. However, Bash was fired as The Carpenters' manager a short time after.
"Solitaire" would find success again in the 21st century, when American Idol finalist Clay Aiken sang the song when Sedaka appeared as a judge in the second season, won by Ruben Studdard. The "guest judge" has since been eliminated. Aiken explained that the song was his mother's favorite and that she begged him to sing it when she learned that Sedaka would be on the show. After he was awarded a recording contract, he added "Solitaire" as the B-side to his single "The Way," whose sales were faltering. When "Solitaire" moved to the A-side, radio and record sales responded and the single hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart, one of the biggest hits of 2004. Sedaka was invited back to American Idol to celebrate its success and could be seen in the audience several times.
In 1975, Sedaka recorded a new version of "Breaking Up is Hard to Do." The 1962 original was fast-tempo and bouncy teen pop, but the remake was slower and in the style of a jazz/torch piano arrangement. Lenny Welch had recorded the song in this style in 1970. It reached #8 on the pop charts in early 1976, making him the second artist to hit the US Top Ten twice with separate versions of the song, and the only artist to return to the Top Ten with a remake of their own #1 hit. (The Ventures had hits in 1960 and 1964 with recordings of "Walk, Don't Run,"and Elton John later accomplished the feat twice, with 1991's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" and "Candle in the Wind 1997".)
Sedaka's second version of "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. The same year, Elvis Presley recorded the Sedaka song "Solitaire". This was followed by a #16 hit in 1976, "Love in the Shadows." In 1980, Sedaka had a Top 20 hit with "Should've Never Let You Go," which he recorded with his daughter, Dara.
Sedaka is also composer of "Is This The Way to Amarillo", a song he wrote for Britain's Tony Christie. It reached #18 on the UK charts in 1971, but #1 when reissued in 2005, thanks to a video starring comedian Peter Kay. Sedaka recorded the song in 1977, when it became a #44 hit. On April 7, 2006, during a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Sedaka was presented with an award from the Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles and Albums as writer of the best-selling single of the 21st century (so far), "Amarillo."
Ben Folds, an American pop singer, credited Sedaka on his "iTunes Originals" album as inspiration for song publishing. Hearing Sedaka had a song published by the age of 13 gave Folds the goal of also getting a song published by his 13th birthday, despite the fact that Sedaka didn't actually publish his first song until he was 16.
Sedaka today
Sedaka continues to perform. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in October 2006.
A concert performance on 26 October 2007 at the Lincoln Center in New York City honored the 50th anniversary of Sedaka's debut in show business. Guests included Captain and Tennille, Natalie Cole, Connie Francis, and Clay Aiken.
During his 2008 Australian tour, Sedaka premiered a new classical orchestral composition entitled "Joie de Vivre". Sedaka also toured the Philippines for his May 17, 2008 concert at the Araneta Coliseum.
Other musical works
In 1985, songs composed by Sedaka were adapted for the Japanese anime TV series Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. These included the two opening themes "Zeta - Toki wo Koete" (originally in English as "Better Days are Coming") and "Mizu no Hoshi e Ai wo Komete" (originally in English as "For Us to Decide", but the English version was never recorded), as well as the end theme "Hoshizora no Believe" (written as "Bad and Beautiful"). Due to copyright, the songs were replaced for the North American DVD.
In 1994, Sedaka provided the voice for Neil Moussaka, a parody of himself in Food Rocks, an attraction at Epcot from 1994-2006.
A musical comedy based around the songs of Sedaka, titled Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, was written in 2005 by Erik Jackson and Ben H. Winters; it is now under license to Theatrical Rights Worldwide.
A biographical musical "Laughter in the Rain", produced by Bill Kenwright and Laurie Mansfield, and starring Wayne Smith as Sedaka, had its world premiere at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley on 4th March, 2010. Sedaka himself attended the opening and joined the cast on stage for an impromptu curtain call of the title song.
Personal life
Sedaka attended Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, graduating in 1956. He has been married to his wife, Leba (Strassberg), since 1962. They have two children: a daughter, Dara, a recording artist and vocalist for television and radio commercials (who sang the female part on the Sedaka duet "Should've Never Let You Go"), and a son, Marc, a screenwriter who lives in Los Angeles with his wife Samantha and three children.
Pop culture references
Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (August 2008)
In the Friends episode "The One With the Two Parties", Ross says that he is wearing the same glasses frames as Neil Sedaka.
In the lyrics to mini-opera "Billy the Mountain", on the album Just Another Band from L.A. by Frank Zappa and The Mothers, it is alleged that Studabacher Hoch "could sing like Neil Sedaka."
In the Boy Meets World episode "Killer Bees", Alan Matthews is being sarcastic when he says he couldn't find tickets to the Neil Sedaka concert.
In Career Day on That '70s Show, Kitty starts out singing "Bad Blood" on the radio, which makes everyone, including Fez and Hyde's mother sing, too, in the lunchroom.
On the Canadian sketch comedy show Second City Television, Eugene Levy portrays Sedaka during a sketch entitled Farm Film Report Celebrity Blowup. The sketch also features John Candy and Joe Flaherty who make references to Sedaka's career and then watch as he explodes while performing.
Discography
Albums
* 1959 Neil Sedaka (Rock With Sedaka)
* 1961 Circulate
* 1961 Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits (Re-released in 1993 with eight bonus tracks)
* 1963 Neil Sedaka Sings His Greatest Hits (Re-released in 1975 and 1992)(RCA 2627)
* 1963 Stupid Cupid (RCA Camden album)
* 1964 Italiano
* 1969 Workin' On A Groovy Thing (Festival 1969)
* 1971 Emergence
* 1972 Neil Sedaka (UK)
* 1972 Solitaire (UK)
* 1973 The Tra-La Days Are Over (UK)
* 1974 Laughter in the Rain (UK)
* 1974 Live at the Royal Festival Hall (UK; live)
* 1974 Sedaka's Back (USA)
* 1975 Overnight Success (UK)
* 1975 The Hungry Years (USA)
* 1976 Let's Go Steady Again (RCA Victor edition; Compilation of mid-1960s hits)
* 1976 Pure Gold (Another compilation of early 1960s hits)
* 1976 Sedaka Live in Australia at the South Sydney Junior Leagues Club
* 1976 Steppin' Out
* 1977 Neil Sedaka's Greatest Hits
* 1977 Neil Sedaka and Songs — A Solo Concert (Live 2-LP)
* 1977 A Song
* 1977 Neil Sedaka and Songs
* 1978 All You Need Is the Music
* 1979 In the Pocket
* 1979 Oh Carol! and Other Big Hits (Re-released in 1989)
* 1979 Let's Go Steady Again (RCA Camden edition; different compilation from the 1976 RCA Victor album of the same name)
* 1981 Now!
* 1984 Come See About Me
* 1986 The Good Times
* 1990 All Time Greatest Hits
* 1991 All Time Greatest Hits Vol. 2
* 1991 Timeless — The Very Best of Neil Sedaka (Includes both old and new songs)
* 1993 Love Will Keep Us Together (Compilation and new songs)
* 1994 Laughter In The Rain: The Best Of Neil Sedaka, 1974-1980
* 1995 Song Cycle (songs culled from "Emergence" and "Solitaire" , the latter previously unavailable in USA)
* 1995 Classically Sedaka
* 1995 Tuneweaver
* 1997 Tales of Love (and Other Passions)
* 1999 Neil Sedaka In Italiano (2-CD edition of his 1960s Italian recordings)
* 2000 The Singer and His Songs
* 2001 RCA 100th Anniversary Series: The Very Best Of Neil Sedaka
* 2003 Brighton Beach Memories — Neil Sedaka Sings Yiddish
* 2003 Oh! Carol: The Complete Recordings, 1955-66 (8-CD box with previously unreleased material)
* 2004 Stairway To Heaven: The Best Of Neil Sedaka
* 2005 Love Songs (compilation of slow-rock love songs, most of them B-side songs from the early 1960s)
* 2006 The Very Best of Neil Sedaka: The Show Goes On (2-CD, 46-track career retrospective with 7 "new" recordings); tie-in with release of DVD (filmed 7 April 2006) in London, Neil Sedaka: Live at the Royal Albert Hall—The Show Goes On
* 2006 The Miracle of Christmas
* 2007 The Definitive Collection (2-CD career retrospective including never-released early-career demos)
* 2007 Oh Carol! (compilation of 1970s hits recorded live in concert)
* 2008 The Miracle of Christmas (special 2-disc version)
* 2009 Waking Up Is Hard to Do (children's recording)
* 2009 Flashback (compilation of Italian recordings)
* 2009 The Music Of My Life (UK)
* 2010 The Music Of My Life (US)
Singles
* "The Diary" (US #14, 1958)
* "I Go Ape" (US #42, 1959)
* "Crying My Heart Out For You" (US #111, 1959)
* "Oh! Carol" (US #9, 1959)
* "Stairway to Heaven" (US #9, 1960)
* "You Mean Everything to Me" (US #17, 1960)
* "Run, Samson, Run" (US #28, 1960)
* "Calendar Girl" (US #4, 1961)
* "Little Devil" (US #11, 1961)
* "Sweet Little You" (US #59, 1961)
* "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" (US #6, 1962)
* "King Of Clowns" (US #45, 1962)
* "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (US #1, 1962)
* "Next Door to an Angel" (US #5,1962)
* "Alice In Wonderland" (US #17, 1963)
* "Let's Go Steady Again" (US #26, 1963)
* "The Dreamer" (US #47, 1963)
* "Bad Girl" (US #33, 1963)
* "The Closest Thing To Heaven" (US #107, 1964)
* "Sunny" (US #86, 1964)
* "I Hope He Breaks Your Heart" (US #104, 1964)
* "Let The People Talk" (US #107, 1965)
* "The World Through A Tear" (US #76, 1965)
* "The Answer To My Prayer" (US #89, 1966)
* "We Can Make It If We Try" (US #121, 1967)
* "Laughter in the Rain" (US #1 ,US AC #1 1975)
* "The Immigrant" (US #22, US AC #1 1975) (dedicated to John Lennon)
* "That's When the Music Takes Me" (US #25, US AC #7 1975)
* "Bad Blood" w/Elton John (noncredited backing vocal) (US #1 ,US AC #25 1975-76; certified gold; most commercially successful individual US single released in Sedaka's career)
* "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (US #8,US AC #1 1976)
* "Love in the Shadows" (US #16,US AC #4 1976)
* "Steppin' Out" w/Elton John (noncredited backing vocal) (US #36,US AC #45 1976)
* "You Gotta Make Your Own Sunshine" (US #52,US AC #4 1977)
* "Amarillo" (US #44, US AC #4 1977)
* "Alone At Last" (US #104, US AC #17 1977)
* "Should've Never Let You Go" (US #19, US AC #3 1980)
* "Letting Go" (US #107, 1980)
* "My World Keeps Slipping Away" (US AC #36, 1981)
* "Your Precious Love" (US AC #15 1984)
* "Rhythm Of The Rain" (US AC #37, 1984)
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r200/000971453/MUSIC/Neil_Sedaka.jpg
http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab34/alessandrorasman/Autografi/SedakaNeil.jpg
His music is always good to hear. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/13/10 at 6:28 pm
Oops. ;)
Cat
Good catch, I hope I didn't jinx poor Neil. :-[
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/14/10 at 6:02 am
The word of the day...Soap
Soap is a substance that you use with water for washing yourself or sometimes for washing clothes
If you soap yourself, you rub soap on your body in order to wash yourself
A soap is the same as a soap opera
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj93/laurelharrington/Handmadesoap010.jpg
http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy288/nadira-cantique/essentialfairnessSoapharga15rb.jpg
http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy12/ebuzzle/autumnspice.jpg
http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/frenchvanilla777/clinique/Photo005.jpg
http://i663.photobucket.com/albums/uu352/azida90/belina%20soap/pic_baby_bonney_baby_soap.gif
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j147/melbabs123/DSCF0277.jpg
http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/MKetchuhm/epic-fail-soap-dispenser-fail.jpg
http://i663.photobucket.com/albums/uu355/sjmillerAZ/SWEETHEARTSOAPS.jpg
http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae115/SamSnyder/Soap%20Box%20Derby%201968-1970/Z25ID1970Inspection3.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/twins10272005/soap-opera.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/14/10 at 6:04 am
The person born on this day...Billy Crystal
William Edward "Billy" Crystal (born March 14, 1948) is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes When Harry Met Sally... and City Slickers. Additionally, he has hosted the Academy Awards eight times. Crystal was born in the Doctor's Hospital in Manhattan and grew up in Long Beach, New York, the son of Helen (née Gabler), a housewife, and Jack Crystal, a record company executive and producer of jazz records, who owned and operated the Commodore Record store. His uncle was a musician and songwriter Milt Gabler, and his brother, Richard Crystal, is a television producer. Crystal grew up in a Jewish family that he has described as "large" and "loving". After graduation from Long Beach High School, Crystal attended Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, on a baseball scholarship, having learned the game from his father, who pitched for St. John's University. Crystal never played a game at Marshall because the program was suspended during his freshman year and he didn't return as a sophomore, staying back in New York with his future wife. He then went on to Nassau Community College, and later attended New York University where he graduated with a B.F.A. from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 1970.
Billy Crystal and his wife Janice have two daughters, actresses Jennifer and Lindsay, and are now grandparents. They reside in Pacific Palisades, California.
Career
Start in television
Crystal returned to New York and performed regularly at The Improv and Catch a Rising Star. He studied film and television direction under Martin Scorsese at New York University. Crystal's earliest prominent role was as Jodie Dallas on Soap, one of the first gay characters portrayed on American television. In 1976, Crystal appeared on an episode of All in the Family. He also was on the dais for the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast of Muhammad Ali on February 19, 1976 where he made dead-on impersonations of both The Champ and sportscaster Howard Cosell. He was scheduled to appear on the first episode of Saturday Night Live (October 11, 1975), but his sketch was cut. He did do a stand-up bit later on that first season as "Bill Crystal", on the April 17, 1976, episode. After hosting a show years later, in 1984, he joined the cast. His most famous recurring sketch was his parody of Fernando Lamas – Fernando, a smarmy talk show host whose catch phrase, "You look... mahvelous!," became a media sensation. Crystal subsequently released an album of his stand-up material titled Mahvelous! in 1985, as well as the single "You Look Marvelous", which peaked at #58 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the same year.
Acting in film and hosting the Oscars
Crystal's first film role was in Joan Rivers's 1978 film Rabbit Test. Crystal also made game show appearances such as The Hollywood Squares, All Star Secrets and The $20,000 Pyramid. He holds the record for getting his contestant partner to the top of the pyramid in the bonus round in the fastest time, 26 seconds.
Crystal appeared briefly in Rob Reiner's 1984 "rockumentary" This Is Spinal Tap as Morty The Mime, a waiter dressed as a mime at one of Spinal Tap's parties. He shared the scene with a then-unknown, non-speaking Dana Carvey. Crystal's line in the film was "Mime is money." Reiner directed Crystal again in The Princess Bride (1987).
Reiner directed Crystal for a third time in the classic romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally... (1989), for which Crystal was nominated for a Golden Globe. Many consider Crystal's lead role in this film as his most iconic. Crystal then starred in the buddy comedy City Slickers (1991), which proved very successful both commercially and critically and for which Crystal was nominated for his second Golden Globe.
Following the success of these films, Crystal wrote, directed, and starred in Mr. Saturday Night (1992) and Forget Paris (1995). In the former, Crystal played a serious role in aging makeup, as an egotistical comedian who reflects back on his career. He directed the made-for-television movie 61* (2001) based on Roger Maris's and Mickey Mantle's race to break Babe Ruth's single-season home run record in 1961. This earned Crystal an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special.
Crystal has continued working in film, including Analyze This (1999) and Analyze That (2002) with Robert De Niro, and in the English version of Howl's Moving Castle as the voice of Calcifer. Pixar originally approached him to provide the voice of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story (1995). He turned down that offer, but regretted it after the film became one of the most popular releases of the year. Crystal later went on to provide the voice of Mike Wazowski in the Pixar film, Monsters, Inc. (2001), which was nominated for the inaugural Best Animated Feature Oscar.
Crystal hosted the Academy Awards broadcast in 1990–1993, 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2004; and he reportedly turned down hosting the 2006 ceremony to concentrate on his one-man show, 700 Sundays. His eight times as the M.C. is second only to Bob Hope in most ceremonies hosted.
Broadway
Crystal won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event for 700 Sundays, a two-act, one-man play, which he conceived and wrote about his parents and his childhood growing up on Long Island. He toured the U.S. with the show in 2006 and Australia in 2007.
Following the initial success of the play, Crystal wrote the book 700 Sundays for Warner Books, which was published on October 31, 2005. In conjunction with the book and the play that also paid tribute to his uncle, Milt Gabler, Crystal produced two CD compilations: Billy Crystal Presents: The Milt Gabler Story, which featured his uncle's most influential recordings from Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" to "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets; and Billy Remembers Billie featuring Crystal's favorite Holiday recordings.
Philanthropy
In 1986, Crystal started hosting Comic Relief on HBO with Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg. Founded by Bob Zmuda, Comic Relief raises money for homeless people in the United States.
On September 6, 2005, on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Crystal and Jay Leno were the first celebrities to sign a Harley-Davidson motorcycle to be auctioned off for Gulf Coast relief.
Crystal has participated in the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. Portraying himself in a video, Crystal introduces museum guests to the genealogy wing of the museum.
New York Baseball
On March 12, 2008, Crystal signed a minor league contract, for a single day, to play with the New York Yankees, and was invited to the team's major league spring training. He wore uniform number 60, in honor of his upcoming 60th birthday. On March 13, in a spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Crystal led off as the designated hitter. He managed to make contact, fouling a fastball up the first base line, but was eventually struck out by Pirates pitcher Paul Maholm on 6 pitches and was later replaced in the batting order by Johnny Damon. He was released on March 14, his 60th birthday. Although a life-long Yankee fan, he is a part-owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, even earning a World Series ring in 2001 when the Diamondbacks beat his beloved Yankees.
In the movie City Slickers, Crystal wears a New York Mets baseball cap.
Awards
In addition to his Golden Globe Award-nominations, Emmy Awards, and Tony Award, Crystal won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show for 700 Sundays and received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2007.
Filmography
Year Title Role Other notes
1977–1981 Soap Jodie Dallas TV series
1977 SST: Death Flight David
1978 Rabbit Test Lionel Carpenter
Human Feelings Angel Made for TV
1980 Animalympics Lodge Turkell Voice
1984 This Is Spinal Tap Morty the Mime
1986 Running Scared Danny Constanzo
1987 The Princess Bride Miracle Max
Throw Momma from the Train Larry Donner
1988 Memories of Me Abbie Writer/Producer
1989 When Harry Met Sally... Harry Burns American Comedy Award for Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1991 City Slickers Mitch Robbins Executive Producer
American Comedy Award for Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1992 Horton Hatches the Egg Narrator Voice
Mr. Saturday Night Buddy Young, Jr. Writer/Director/Producer
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1994 City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold Mitch Robbins Writer/Producer
1995 Forget Paris Mickey Gordon Writer/Director/Producer
1996 Hamlet First Gravedigger
1997 Deconstructing Harry Larry
Fathers' Day Jack Lawrence
Friends The Gynecologist (with Robin Williams) TV Series
1998 My Giant Sam 'Sammy' Kamin Writer/Producer
1999 Analyze This Dr. Ben Sobel Executive Producer
2000 The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle Mattress salesman Uncredited
2001 61* Director
America's Sweethearts Lee Phillips Writer/Producer
Monsters, Inc. Michael "Mike" Wazowski Voice
2002 Mike's New Car Mike Wazowski Short Film Subject
Voice
Analyze That Dr. Ben Sobel Executive Producer
2004 Howl's Moving Castle Calcifer Voice
2005 Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone Karl Scott Voice
2006 Cars Mike Car Voice
2010 Tooth Fairy Jerry
Saturday Night Live
Characters
* Al Minkman, a shady businessman
* Fernando, host of Fernando's Hideaway, a celebrity interview show; based on actor Fernando Lamas
* Buddy Young, Jr. (an insult comic who appears on Weekend Update)
* Lew Goldman
* Ricky, a bowler
* Tony Minetti, a butcher
* Willie, a man who, along with his friend, Frankie (played by Christopher Guest), discuss their masochistic tendencies
Impersonations
* Fernando Lamas
* Howard Cosell
* Muhammad Ali
* John F. Kennedy
* Joe Franklin
* Hervé Villechaize
* Joe Garagiola
* Adam Ant
* Prince
* Sammy Davis, Jr.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/14/10 at 6:08 am
The person who died on this day...Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley (November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976), born William Berkeley Enos in Los Angeles, California, was a highly influential Hollywood movie director and musical choreographer.
Berkeley was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berkeley's works used large numbers of showgirls and props as fantasy elements in kaleidoscopic on-screen performances.
Berkeley was born to stage actress Gertrude Berkeley. In addition to her stage work, Gertrude played mother roles in silent films while Busby was still a youngster. Berkeley made his stage debut at five, acting in the company of his performing family. During World War I, Berkeley served as a field artillery lieutenant. Watching soldiers drill may have inspired his later complex choreography. During the 1920s, Berkeley was a dance director for nearly two dozen Broadway musicals, including such hits as A Connecticut Yankee. As a choreographer, Berkeley was less concerned with the terpsichorean skill of his chorus girls as he was with their ability to form themselves into attractive geometric patterns. His musical numbers were among the largest and best-regimented on Broadway.
The “By A Waterfall” production number from Footlight Parade (1933) made use of one of the largest soundstages ever built, constructed especially by Warner Bros. to film Berkeley's creations.
His earliest movie jobs were on Samuel Goldwyn's Eddie Cantor musicals, where he began developing such techniques as a “parade of faces” (individualizing each chorus girl with a loving close-up), and moving his dancers all over the stage (and often beyond) in as many kaleidoscopic patterns as possible. Berkeley's top shot technique (the kaleidoscope again, this time shot from overhead) appeared seminally in the Cantor films, and also the 1932 Universal programmer Night World (where he chorographed the number "Who's Your Little Who-Zis?"). His numbers were known for starting out in the realm of the stage, but quickly exceeding this space by moving into a time and place that could only be cinematic, only to return to shots of an applauding audience and the fall of a curtain. As choreographer, Berkeley was allowed a certain degree of independence in his direction of musical numbers, and they were often markedly distinct from (and sometimes in contrast to) the narrative sections of the films. The numbers he choreographed were mostly upbeat and focused on decoration as opposed to substance; one exception to this is the number “Remember My Forgotten Man” from Gold Diggers of 1933, which dealt with the treatment of soldiers in a post-World War I Depression.
Berkeley's popularity with an entertainment-hungry Great Depression audience was secured when he choreographed four musicals back-to-back for Warner Bros.: 42nd Street, Footlight Parade, the aforementioned Gold Diggers of 1933 and Fashions of 1934, as well as In Caliente and Wonder Bar with Dolores del Río. Berkeley's innovative and often sexually-charged dance numbers have been analyzed at length by cinema scholars. In particular, the numbers have been critiqued for their display (and some say exploitation) of the female form as seen through the “male gaze”, and for their depiction of collectivism (as opposed to traditionally American rugged individualism) in the spirit of Roosevelt's New Deal. Berkeley always denied any deep significance to his work, arguing that his main professional goals were to constantly top himself and to never repeat his past accomplishments.
As the outsized musicals in which Berkeley specialized became passé, he turned to straight directing. The result was 1939's They Made Me a Criminal, one of John Garfield's best films. Berkeley had several well-publicized run-ins with MGM stars such as Judy Garland. In 1943, he was removed as director of Girl Crazy because of disagreements with Garland, although the lavish musical number "I Got Rhythm", which he directed, remained in the picture.
His next stop was at 20th Century-Fox for 1943's The Gang's All Here, in which Berkeley choreographed Carmen Miranda's “Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat” number. The film made money, but Berkeley and the Fox brass disagreed over budget matters. Berkeley returned to MGM in the late 1940s, where among many other accomplishments he conceived the Technicolor finales for the studio's Esther Williams films. Berkeley's final film as choreographer was MGM's Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962).
A typical Busby Berkeley geometrical arrangement of dancers, from Dames (1934)
Later career
In the late 1960s, the camp craze brought the Berkeley musicals back to the forefront. He toured the college and lecture circuit, and even directed a 1930s-style cold medication commercial, complete with a top shot of a dancing clock. In his 75th year, Busby Berkeley returned to Broadway to direct a successful revival of No No Nanette, starring his old Warner Brothers colleague and “42nd Street” star Ruby Keeler.
Personal life
Berkeley was married six times and was survived by his wife Etta Dunn. He was also involved in an alienation of affections lawsuit in 1938 involving Carole Landis. In September 1935, Berkeley was the driver responsible for an automobile accident in which two people were killed, five seriously injured; Berkeley himself was badly cut and bruised. Berkeley, brought to court on a stretcher, heard testimony that Time magazine said made him wince:
Witnesses testified that motorist Berkeley whizzed down Roosevelt Highway in Los Angeles County one night, cut out of line, crashed headlong into one car, sideswiped another. Some said they smelled liquor on his breath.
Berkeley died on March 14, 1976 in Palm Springs, California at the age of 80 from natural causes.
Selected works
* A Connecticut Yankee (1927) (Broadway)
* Whoopee! (1930) (choreographer)
* Kiki (1931) (choreographer)
* Palmy Days (1931) (choreographer)
* Flying High (1931) (choreographer)
* The Kid from Spain (1932) (choreographer)
* 42nd Street (1933) (choreographer)
* Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) (choreographer)
* Footlight Parade (1933) (choreographer)
* Roman Scandals (1933) (choreographer)
* Fashions of 1934 (1934) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)
* Wonder Bar (1934) (designer of musical numbers)
* Dames (1934) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)
* Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935) (also director)
* In Caliente (1935) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)
* Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)
* Stage Struck (1936) (director)
* The Singing Marine (1937) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)
* Hollywood Hotel (1937) (director)
* Varsity Show (1937) (director of finale)
* Gold Diggers in Paris (1938) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)
* They Made Me a Criminal (1939) (director)
* Fast and Furious (1939) (director)
* Broadway Serenade (1939) (director of finale)
* Babes in Arms (1939) (director)
* Strike Up the Band (film) (1940) (director)
* Forty Little Mothers (1940) (director)
* Ziegfeld Girl (1941) (director of musical numbers)
* Babes on Broadway (1941) (director)
* Lady Be Good (1941) (director of musical numbers)
* For Me and My Gal (1942) (director)
* Cabin in the Sky (1943) (director of "Shine" sequence)
* Girl Crazy (1943) (director of "I Got Rhythm" finale)
* The Gang's All Here (1943 film) (1943) (director)
* Cinderella Jones (1946) (director)
* Romance on the High Seas (1948) (choreographer)
* Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) (director)
* Two Weeks with Love (1950) (choreographer)
* Call Me Mister (1951) (choreographer)
* Two Tickets to Broadway (1951) (choreographer)
* Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) (choreographer)
* Small Town Girl (1953) (choreographer)
* Easy to Love (1953) (choreographer)
* Rose Marie (1954) (choreographer)
* Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962) (choreographer)
* No, No, Nanette (1971) (production supervisor) (Broadway)
In popular culture
This "In popular culture" section may contain minor or trivial references. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances, and remove trivia references. (July 2009)
* In the movie Brewster's Millions, Marilyn (Brewster's decorator) says, "Shut your eyes, and see....Mesopotamia...meeting...Busby-Berkeley!! "
* On The Jackie Gleason Show, an hour-long comedy-variety program which ran on the American CBS television network from 1966 to 1970, the June Taylor Dancers often provided dances which created Busby Berkeley-like patterns—shown with an overhead camera—only on a much smaller scale.
* The "Miss Piggy's Fantasy" musical number from The Great Muppet Caper (1981) involving Miss Piggy and a number of chorus girls is directly influenced by the aesthetic.
* The music video for the Take That single, "Shine" was inspired by the work of Busby Berkeley.
* The music video for the Chemical Brothers song "Let Forever Be" features Berkeley-style choreographies.
* The "Be Our Guest" sequence from Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast movie was inspired by the work of Busby Berkley
* The ending sequence of the film Jackass Number Two, in which the actors spoof a highly-stylized dance number, is based largely on Busby Berkeley's work.
* In the film The Big Lebowski, actor Jeff Bridges has a psychedelic dream sequence that mimics the style of Berkeley's choreography.
* In the film Blazing Saddles, Dom DeLuise plays a cameo role as effeminate film director/choreographer Buddy Bizarre, who is filming a number similar to those made by Busby Berkeley.
* The new "Bonds Kaledioscope" clothing advertisement is influenced by Busby Berkeley's style.
* In the British 2006 film Confetti in which three couples compete to have the most original wedding to win a house, one couple have a Hollywood Musicals themed wedding based on the films of Busby Berkeley.
* In "Hollywood Babble On II", an issue of Shade, The Changing Man, the opening sequence is "just like a Busby Berkeley movie" except all of the performers are plucked from their "ordinary folk" activities and thus unsynchronized until they are all devoured by a shark they fail to jump.
* In the animated short, "Harvie Krumpet," the lead character is mesmerized by a Busby Berkley television show when he first gets to Australia.
* The nip/tuck Season 5 part 2 promo featuring the song Flashing lights
* A number of songs make reference to Busby Berkeley:
o "The Wonderful Tundra" by The Whiskers
o "Busby Berkeley Dreams" and "The Way You Say Goodnight" by The Magnetic Fields on 69 Love Songs
o "Brawl" and "Da' Girlz, They Luv Me" by rapper R.A. The Rugged Man on Die, Rugged Man, Die (2005)
* Icelandic singer Björk's infamous swan dress at the 2001 Academy Awards was supposedly inspired by Berkeley's musicals.
* Red Hot Chili Peppers video Aeroplane was influenced by Berkeleys' work.
See also
* Busby Berkeley using alternate takes to circumvent censorship
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/14/10 at 6:47 am
The word of the day...Soap
Soap is a substance that you use with water for washing yourself or sometimes for washing clothes
If you soap yourself, you rub soap on your body in order to wash yourself
A soap is the same as a soap opera
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soap is always good for killing germs.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/14/10 at 8:18 am
soap is always good for killing germs.
Yes, there are lots of soaps out there and they all do the same thing, it just depends on how much you are willing to pay.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/14/10 at 7:07 pm
Yes, there are lots of soaps out there and they all do the same thing, it just depends on how much you are willing to pay.
and you have these soaps you buy at the dollar store,not good at all.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/15/10 at 5:16 am
The word of the day...People
People are men, women, and children. People is normally used as the plural of person, instead of `persons'
The people is sometimes used to refer to ordinary men and women, in contrast to the government or the upper classes
A people is all the men, women, and children of a particular country or race.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/15/10 at 5:19 am
The person born on this day...Sly Stone
Sly Stone (born Sylvester Stewart, March 15, 1943, Denton, Texas) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. Sly & the Family Stone was started in San Francisco, California.
Sylvester was a musical prodigy from a young age. By the time he was seven Sylvester had already become proficient on the keyboards. By the age eleven Sylvester had mastered the guitar, bass, and drums as well. While still in High School, Sylvester learned to play a number of instruments, settling primarily with the guitar, and joined a number of high school bands. One of these was The Viscaynes, a doo-wop group which, Sylvester and his Filipino friend, Frank Arelano, were the only non-white members. The fact that the group was integrated made the Viscaynes "hip" in the eyes of their audiences, and would later inspire Sylvester's idea of a multicultural Family Stone. The Viscaynes released a few local singles, including "Yellow Moon" and "Stop What You Are"; during the same period, Sylvester also recorded a few solo singles under the name Danny Stewart. With his brother, Fred, he formed several short-lived groups, like the Stewart Bros.
The name Sly was a common nickname for Sylvester throughout his years in grade school. A classmate misspelled his name Slyvester and ever since the nickname followed him. In the mid-1960s, Stone worked as a disc jockey for San Francisco, California soul radio station KSOL, where he included white performers such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones into his playlists. During the same period, he worked as a record producer for Autumn Records, producing for San Francisco-area bands such as The Beau Brummels, The Mojo Men, Bobby Freeman, and Grace Slick's first band, the Great Society. Adopting the stage name "Sly Stone," he then formed "The Stoners" in 1966 which included Cynthia Robinson on trumpet. With her he started his next band, Sly and the Family Stone. Stone, Robinson, and Fred Stewart were joined by Larry Graham, Greg Errico, and Jerry Martini, all of whom had studied music and worked in numerous amateur groups. Rosie Stone joined the group soon after. Working around the Bay Area in 1967, this multiracial band made a strong impression. On the first recordings Little Sister: Vet Stone, Mary McCreary, and Elva Mouton did backup vocals. In 1968 sister Rosie Stone (piano and vocals) joined the band.
Stone was influential in guiding KSOL-AM into soul music and started calling the station K-SOUL. The second was a popular soul music station (sans the K-SOUL moniker), at 107.7 FM (now known as KSAN). The current KSOL has a different format and is unrelated to the previous two stations.
Sly & the Family Stone's success
Along with James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic, Sly & the Family Stone were the pioneers of 1970s funk. Their fusion of R&B rhythms, infectious melodies, and psychedelia created a new pop/soul/rock hybrid the impact of which has proven lasting and widespread. Motown producer Norman Whitfield, for example, patterned the label's forays into harder-driving, socially relevant material (such as The Temptations' "Runaway Child" and "Ball of Confusion") based on their sound. The pioneering precedent of Stone's racial, sexual, and stylistic mix, had a major influence in the 1980s on artists such as Prince and Rick James. Legions of artists from the 1990s forward — including Public Enemy, Fatboy Slim, Beck and many others — mined Stone’s seminal back catalog for hook-laden samples.
After a mildly received debut album, A Whole New Thing (1967), Sly & The Family Stone had their first hit single with "Dance to the Music", which was later included on an album of the same name. Although their third album, Life (also 1968), also suffered from low sales, their fourth album, Stand! (1969), became a runaway success, selling over three million copies and spawning a number one hit single, "Everyday People." By the summer of 1969, Sly & The Family Stone were one of the biggest names in music, releasing three more top five singles, "Hot Fun in the Summertime" and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" / "Everybody is a Star", before the end of the year, and appearing at Woodstock.
Personal problems and decline
With the band's newfound fame and success came numerous problems. Relationships within the band were deteriorating; there was friction in particular between the Stone brothers and Larry Graham. Epic requested more product. The Black Panther Party demanded that Stone make his music more militant and more reflective of the black power movement, replace Greg Errico and Jerry Martini with black instrumentalists, and replace manager David Kapralik.
After moving to the Los Angeles area in fall 1969, Stone and his bandmates became heavy users of illegal drugs, primarily cocaine and PCP. As the members became increasingly focused on drug use and partying (Stone carried a violin case filled with illegal drugs wherever he went), recording slowed significantly. Between summer 1969 and fall 1971, the band released only one single, "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" / "Everybody Is a Star", released in December 1969. The former song was one of the first recordings to employ the heavy, funky beats that would be featured in the funk music of the following decade. It showcased bass player Larry Graham's innovative percussive playing technique of bass "slapping". Graham later said that he developed this technique in an earlier band in order to compensate for that band's lack of a drummer.
"Thank You" reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1970. The single also peaked at #5 on the R&B chart and remained there for five weeks, while also remaining at #1 on the Pop chart for two weeks in the spring of 1970, before selling over a million copies.
In the fall of 1969, Stone moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles with his then girlfriend Deborah King, later Deborah Santana (wife of Carlos Santana from 1973 until filing for divorce in 2007). The band's fifth album, There's a Riot Goin' On (1971), reflected the turmoil. Most of Riot was recorded with overdubbing as opposed to The Family Stone all playing at the same time; Stone played most of the parts himself and performed more of the lead vocals than usual.
The band's cohesion slowly began to erode, and its sales and popularity began to decline as well. Errico withdrew from the group in 1971 and was eventually replaced with Andy Newmark. Larry Graham and Stone were no longer on friendly terms, and Graham was fired in early 1972 and replaced with Rustee Allen. The band's later releases, Fresh (1973) and Small Talk (1974), featured even less of the band and more of Stone. The band's reputation for not arriving at performances caused promoters to avoid booking them, and after a disastrous engagement at the Radio City Music Hall in January 1975, The Family Stone broke apart completely.
Later years
Stone went on to record four more albums as a solo artist (only High on You (1975) was released under just his name; the other three were released under the "Sly & The Family Stone" name). He also collaborated with Funkadelic on The Electric Spanking of War Babies (1981), but was unable to reinvigorate his career.
Stone did do a short tour with Bobby Womack in the summer of 1984, and he continued to make sporadic appearances on compilations and other artists' records. In 1986, Stone was featured on a track from The Time member Jesse Johnson's solo album Shockadelica called "Crazay". The music video featured Stone on keyboards and vocals, and received some airplay on the BET music network.
In 1987, Stone released a single, "Eek-a-Boo Static Automatic", from the Soul Man soundtrack. He also co-wrote and co-produced "Just Like A Teeter-Totter," which appeared on a Bar-Kays album from 1989.
In 1990, he gave an energetic vocal performance on the Earth, Wind and Fire song, "Good Time." In 1991, he appeared on a cover of "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" performed by the Japanese band 13CATS. And he shared lead vocals with Bobby Womack on "When the Weekend Comes" from Womack's 1993 album I Still Love You. His last major public appearance until 2006 was during the 1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony where Stone showed up onstage to be entered into the Hall of Fame along with the Family Stone. In 2003, the other six members of the original Family Stone entered the studio to record a new album. Stone was invited to participate, but declined.
Stone reportedly lives near Beverly Hills or Napa Valley with two female assistants, where he records at a home studio and rides his motorcycle. A few home-studio recordings (most likely from the late 1980s) with Stone's voice and keyboards over a drum machine have made their way onto a bootleg. One Stone-penned demo called "Coming Back for More" appears to be autobiographical and includes the verse: "Been so high, I touched the sky and the sky says 'Sly, why you tryin' to get by?' Comin' back for more." His son, Sylvester Jr., told People Magazine in 1997 that his father had composed an album's worth of material, including a tribute to Miles Davis called "Miles and Miles."
On August 15, 2005, Stone drove his younger sister Vet Stone on his motorcycle to Los Angeles' Knitting Factory, where Vet was performing with her Sly & the Family Stone tribute band, the Phunk Phamily Affair. Stone kept his helmet on during the entire performance, and was described by one concertgoer as looking a little like Bootsy Collins. A film crew doing a documentary on Sly & the Family Stone was at the show and apparently captured this rare sighting on film. Stone, according to his web site, is producing and writing material for the group's new album. In addition, Stone renamed the group "Family Stone."
Friends and family say Stone continues to write songs and record in his home studio. Family Stone drummer Greg Errico told Rolling Stone in the March 2006 issue, "Sly's been calling two or three times a day lately, singing over the phone."
A new Stone instrumental can be heard at the artist's Web site . Stone's sister, Vet, said in a recent radio interview that the song will be recorded with vocals.
Live bookings for Sly & the Family Stone had steadily dropped since 1970, because promoters were afraid that Stone or one of the band members might miss the gig, refuse to play, or pass out from drug use. These issues were regular occurrences for the band during the 1970s, and had an adverse effect on their ability to demand money for live bookings. At many of these gigs, concert-goers rioted if the band failed to show up, or if Stone walked out before finishing his set. Ken Roberts became the group's promoter, and later their general manager, when no other representatives would work with the band because of their erratic gig attendance record. In January 1975, the band booked itself at Radio City Music Hall. The famed music hall was only one-eighth occupied, and Stone and company had to scrape together money to return home. Following the Radio City engagement, the band was dissolved.
Rose Stone was pulled out of the band by Bubba Banks, who was by then her husband. She began a solo career, recording a Motown-style album under the name Rose Banks in 1976. Freddie Stone joined Larry Graham's group, Graham Central Station, for a time; after collaborating with his brother one last time in 1979 for Back on the Right Track, he retired from the music industry and eventually became the pastor of the Evangelist Temple Fellowship Center in Vallejo, California. Little Sister was also dissolved; Mary McCrary married Leon Russell and worked with him on music projects. Andy Newmark became a successful session drummer, playing with Roxy Music, B. B. King, Steve Winwood and others.
Lawsuit
Stone filed suit against Jerry Goldstein, the former manager of Sly and the Family Stone for $50 million in January 2010. The suit claims that Goldstein used fraudulent practices to convince him to deliver the rights to his songs to Goldstein. In the suit, he makes the same claim about the Sly and the Family Stone trademark.
Mid 2000s tributes
A Sly & the Family Stone tribute took place at the 2006 Grammy Awards on February 8, 2006, at which Stone gave his first live musical performance since 1987. Sly & the original Family Stone lineup (minus Larry Graham) performed briefly during a tribute to the band, for which the headliners included Steven Tyler, John Legend, Van Hunt, and Robert Randolph. Sporting an enormous blonde mohawk, thick sunglasses, a "Sly" beltbuckle and a silver lamé suit, he joined in on "I Want To Take You Higher." Hunched over the keyboards, he wore a cast on his right hand (the result of a recent motorcycle mishap), and a hunched back caused him to look down through most of the performance. His voice, though strong, was barely audible over the production. Stone walked to the front of the stage toward the end of the performance, sang a verse and then with a wave to the audience, sauntered offstage before the song was over. "He went up the ramp , got on a motorcycle and took off," Ken Ehrlich, executive producer of the Grammy Awards show told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Ehrlich said Stone refused to leave his hotel room until he was given a police escort to the show and then waited in his car until the performance began.
A Sly & The Family Stone tribute album, Different Strokes By Different Folks, was released on July 12, 2005 by Starbucks' Hear Music label, and on February 7, 2006 by Epic Records. The project features both cover versions of the band's songs and songs which sample the original recordings. Among the artists for the set are The Roots ("Star", which samples "Everybody is a Star"), Maroon 5 and Ciara ("Everyday People"), John Legend, Joss Stone & Van Hunt ("Family Affair"), the Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am ("Dance to the Music"), and Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and Robert Randolph ("I Want to Take You Higher"). Epic Records' version of the tribute album, which included two additional covers ("Don't Call Me ******, Whitey" and "Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin)") was released in January 2006.
Re-emergence
On Sunday, January 14, 2007 Stone made a short guest appearance at a show of The New Family Stone band he supports at the House of Blues.
On April 1, 2007, Stone appeared with the Family Stone at the Flamingo Las Vegas Showroom, after George Wallace's standup act.
On July 7, 2007 Stone made a short appearance with the Family Stone at the San Jose, CA Summerfest. He sang "Sing a Simple Song" and "If You Want Me to Stay," and walked off stage before the end of "Higher." He wore a baseball cap, dark glasses, a white hooded sweatshirt, baggy pants and gold chains. Stone, who took the stage at about 8:45 p.m., cut the set short, in part, because the promoter was told that the show had to end by 9:00. The band began their set over 90 minutes late reportedly because the stage management was poor and the promoter's band played for 30 minutes longer than scheduled. Stone's 15-minute set came only after his sister, Vet, and the rest of the band performed for 35 minutes. As he exited the stage he told the audience near the front of the stage that he would return. He did return, but only to tell the crowd that the police were shutting down the show. While many blamed Stone for this incident, others believed that the promoter was at fault.
The same scenes were repeated at the Montreux Jazz Festival on the 13th July 2007 with over half the sold-out venue walking out in disgust even earlier than his stage exit.
The same happened again one day later at the Blue Note Records Festival in Ghent, Belgium. Here he left the stage after saying to the audience that "when waking up this morning he realized he was old, and so he needed to take a break now". He did the same again one day later, performing at the North Sea Jazz Festival.
But as the tour progressed, Stone seemed to be more confident and animated, often dancing and engaging the audience. By the time the tour rolled into Paris, things appeared to be improving, and Stone sporting an afro and a headband, performed an energetic and absorbing show, with one his finest performances of "Family Affair." He performed soulful versions of "Stand", "I Want To Take You Higher", "Sing A Simple Song", "If You Want Me To Stay", and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)", (which at one point morphed into "Thank you For Talkin' To Me Africa", a track rarely performed in public). But the show was marred by sound problems and the vocals were barely audible through much of the show.
On Memorial Day, May 25, 2009, Stone re-emergeed once again, granting an hour-long interview with KCRW-FM Los Angeles, An NPR affiliate, to discuss his life and career.
On 18 August 2009 the Guardian reported that a forthcoming documentary claims Stone was living on welfare and staying in cheap hotels and campervans. The film alleges that Stone's former manager, Jerry Goldstein, cut off his access to royalty payments following a dispute over a 'debt agreement', forcing Stone to depend on social security payments.
On Labor Day, September 7, 2009, Stone emerged at the 20th annual African Festival of the Arts in Chicago, Il. He performed a 15 minute set during George Clinton's Performance. He performed his popular hits along with George Clinton's band, stealing the show. He left immediately after his short performance.
On December 6, 2009, Sly signed a new recording contract with the LA based Cleopatra Records. A new album is expected sometime in 2010.
Discography
* 1967: A Whole New Thing
* 1968: Dance to the Music
* 1968: Life
* 1969: Stand!
* 1971: There's a Riot Goin' On
* 1973: Fresh
* 1974: Small Talk
* 1975: High on You (credited only to "Sly Stone")
* 1976: Heard You Missed Me, Well I'm Back
* 1979: Back on the Right Track
* 1982: Ain't But the One Way
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii314/yasmin8279/sly_stone_1.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d142/djshalope/sly.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/15/10 at 5:25 am
The person who died on this day...Ron Silver
Ronald Arthur "Ron" Silver (July 2, 1946 – March 15, 2009) was an American actor, director, producer, radio host and political activist.
Silver made his film debut in Tunnel Vision in 1976. He played downstairs neighbor Gary Levy from 1976-78 in the series Rhoda, a spinoff from The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Additional screen roles include a performance as the devoted son of Anne Bancroft in Garbo Talks (1984), an incompetent detective in Eat and Run (1986), the pistol-wielding psychopath stalking Jamie Lee Curtis in 1989's Blue Steel, and the lead in Paul Mazursky's Oscar-nominated Enemies: A Love Story (1989).
Silver starred opposite Jerry Lewis in the critically acclaimed "Garment District Arc" of the crime show Wiseguy (1988). He often said in interviews that growing up the son of a man working in the garment industry was a great help in preparing for the role.
He portrayed defense attorney Alan Dershowitz in the true story Reversal of Fortune (1990), based on the trial of Claus von Bülow. He played a film producer in Best Friends opposite Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn and a famous film director in a 1992 movie that Billy Crystal starred in and directed, Mr. Saturday Night.
Silver was featured as Muhammad Ali's boxing trainer and cornerman Angelo Dundee in the biopic Ali (2001), directed by Michael Mann.
From 2001-02 and again from 2005-06, Silver appeared as presidential campaign advisor Bruno Gianelli on The West Wing. In 1998, he starred opposite Kirstie Alley for season two of her TV comedy series Veronica's Closet.
Silver provided the narration for the 2004 political documentary film FahrenHYPE 9/11 that was produced as a conservative political response to the award-winning and controversial Michael Moore documentary film, Fahrenheit 9/11.
He portrayed tennis player Bobby Riggs in the TV docudrama "When Billie Beat Bobby," the story of Riggs' exhibition match against Billie Jean King.
Silver portrayed Robert Shapiro in one of the most watched television shows of all time, American Tragedy, the story of the O.J. Simpson trial.
One of his final film performances was as a judge in another true story, 2006's Find Me Guilty, directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Vin Diesel.
From 1991 to 2000, Silver served as president of the Actors' Equity Association.
In February 2008, Silver began hosting The Ron Silver Show on Sirius Satellite Radio, which focused on politics and public affairs. The show aired live from 9–11am ET, during morning drive time, on Indie Talk, Sirius 110.
Personal life and politics
Silver traveled to more than 30 countries and spoke fluent Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. He taught at the high school level and was a social worker for the Department of Social Services.
He was a co-founder in 1989 of the entertainment industry political advocacy organization the Creative Coalition.
Silver was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2000, he co-founded the organization One Jerusalem to oppose the Oslo Peace Agreement. Its purpose is to maintain "a united Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel."
Silver, a Democrat for many years, left the party and became an Independent, and a supporter of President George W. Bush after the September 11, 2001 attacks, citing those attacks and Democratic policies regarding terrorism as reasons. He spoke at the United States 2004 Republican National Convention, continued to support President Bush, and was appointed Chairman for the Millennium Committee by New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Silver and some of his friends said that following his endorsement of President Bush he was ostracized by erstwhile friends and onetime colleagues. In Silver's blog on the Pajamas Media website, he also remarked that his colleagues on the set of The West Wing referred to him as "Ron, Ron, the Neo-Con."
On October 7, 2005, Silver was nominated by President Bush to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace. On September 8, 2006, it was announced that Silver had joined an advisory committee to the Lewis Libby Legal Defense Trust.
President George W. Bush appointed Silver to serve on the Honorary Delegation to accompany him to Jerusalem for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel in May 2008.
Despite Silver's affiliation with Republican Party politics, he still thought of himself as a liberal, albeit a "hawkish" one. In one of his last televised interviews, he told Sky News that Senator John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his Vice-Presidential candidate in the 2008 Presidential Election had been a "deal breaker" for him. According to the obituary printed by the New York Times, Silver's brother asserted that "Ron ended up voting for Obama in the end".
Death
Silver died on March 15, 2009 of esophageal cancer, which had been diagnosed two years earlier. He was 62 years old. Silver is survived by both parents, brothers Mitchell and Keith, son Adam, and daughter Alexandra.
Work
Television
* Crossing Jordan
* Chicago Hope
* Law & Order
* Rhoda
* Skin
* Veronica's Closet
* Heat Vision and Jack
* Billionaire Boys Club
* The West Wing
* Wiseguy
Stage
* Hurlyburly
* Speed The Plow (Tony and Drama Desk Awards)
* Social Security
Film
* Reversal of Fortune
* Enemies, a Love Story
* Silkwood
* Ali
* Married to It
* Find Me Guilty
* Blue Steel
* The Arrival
* Word of Honor
* Best Friends
* The Entity
* Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story
* Silent Rage
* Garbo Talks
* Festival in Cannes
* Jack
* The Ten
* Mr. Saturday Night
* Timecop
* FahrenHYPE 9/11
* Live Wire
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n156/JAIMEDANCE3/RONSILVER2.jpg
http://i543.photobucket.com/albums/gg470/FindHawkeye/AW%20Hunt%20Puzzle%202/AWHunt17RonSilver.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/15/10 at 7:13 am
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d142/djshalope/sly.jpg
Is that him? You must be joking? WTH? :o
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/15/10 at 7:43 am
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d142/djshalope/sly.jpg
Is that him? You must be joking? WTH? :o
i know I thought it was Dennis Rodman at first :-\\
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/15/10 at 11:20 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgVOR28iG_o
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 03/15/10 at 12:30 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgVOR28iG_o
Cat
Probably the song I like best by that group.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/15/10 at 2:29 pm
i know I thought it was Dennis Rodman at first :-\\
What happened to his classic 'fro? :o
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/15/10 at 2:31 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgVOR28iG_o
Cat
one of his best.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/16/10 at 1:54 am
People who meet people!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/16/10 at 5:48 am
People who meet people!
Are the luckiest people. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/16/10 at 5:54 am
The word of the day...Spawn
Spawn is a soft, jelly-like substance containing the eggs of fish, or of animals such as frogs.
When fish or animals such as frogs spawn, they lay their eggs.
If something spawns something else, it causes it to happen or to be created.
Spawn is a fictional comic book character created by Todd McFarlane
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/polgas20/DSC00869.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m147/Honza-01/31010Sunflowerspawn2S.jpg
http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss256/foxwagon930/Eggs_1.jpg
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z154/selenegirl14/movei%20icons/SPAWN1.jpg
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp26/samarijack2/FishTank/FrogSpawn.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m147/Honza-01/31010Gumbootspawn2S.jpg
http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae285/Cyberwatt/Hive%20Fleet%20Minotaur/IMG_0616.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c175/lax2ams/random/DSC02943.jpg
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm51/Ronisan1/Spawn.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/16/10 at 5:55 am
The word of the day...Spawn
Spawn is a soft, jelly-like substance containing the eggs of fish, or of animals such as frogs.
When fish or animals such as frogs spawn, they lay their eggs.
If something spawns something else, it causes it to happen or to be created.
Spawn is a fictional comic book character created by Todd McFarlane
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/polgas20/DSC00869.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m147/Honza-01/31010Sunflowerspawn2S.jpg
http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss256/foxwagon930/Eggs_1.jpg
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z154/selenegirl14/movei%20icons/SPAWN1.jpg
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp26/samarijack2/FishTank/FrogSpawn.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m147/Honza-01/31010Gumbootspawn2S.jpg
http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae285/Cyberwatt/Hive%20Fleet%20Minotaur/IMG_0616.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c175/lax2ams/random/DSC02943.jpg
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm51/Ronisan1/Spawn.jpg
Wow,I love those pictures. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/16/10 at 5:56 am
The person born on this day...Todd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane (born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian cartoonist, writer, toy designer and entrepreneur, best known for his work in comic books, such as the fantasy series Spawn.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, McFarlane became a comic book superstar due to his work on Marvel Comics' Spider-Man franchise. In 1992, he helped form Image Comics, pulling the occult anti-hero character Spawn from his high school portfolio and updating him for the 1990s. Spawn was a popular hero in the 1990s and encouraged a trend in creator-owned comic book properties.
In recent years, McFarlane has illustrated comic books less often, focusing on entrepreneurial efforts, such as McFarlane Toys and Todd McFarlane Entertainment, a film and animation studio. In September, 2006, it was announced that McFarlane will be the Art Director of the newly formed 38 Studios, formerly Green Monster Games, founded by major league baseball pitcher Curt Schilling. McFarlane used to be co-owner of National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers but sold his shares to Daryl Katz. He's also a high-profile collector of history-making baseballs.
McFarlane's first published work was a 1984 backup story in Epic Comics' Coyote. He soon began drawing for both DC Comics and Marvel, with his first major body of work being a two-year run (1985–1987) on DC's Infinity, Inc. In 1987, McFarlane also illustrated several issues of Detective Comics' Batman: Year Two storyline. From there, he moved to Marvel's Incredible Hulk, which he drew from 1987–1988.
McFarlane's Spider-Man #1 cover. (Second printing black & gold edition).
In 1988, McFarlane joined writer David Michelinie on Marvel's The Amazing Spider-Man beginning with issue 298. McFarlane was also the first artist to draw the first, full appearance of Eddie Brock, the first original incarnation of the popular villain Venom. He has been credited as the character's co-creator, though this has been a topic of dispute within the comic book industry. (See Eddie Brock: Creation and conception.)
McFarlane's work on Amazing Spider-Man turned him into an industry superstar. In 1990, after a 28-issue run of Amazing Spider-Man, McFarlane told editor Jim Salicrup he'd grown tired of drawing other people's stories and would be leaving the book with issue #328 to write his own work. Salicrup offered McFarlane a new Spider-Man book, prompting the launch of a new monthly title simply called Spider-Man, which McFarlane both wrote and illustrated. Spider-Man #1 sold 2.5 million copies, partially due to the variant covers that were used to encourage collectors into buying more than one edition. McFarlane wrote and illustrated Spider-Man's first 14 issues, as well as #16; many issues of which were crossovers with characters such as Wolverine, X-Force, and Ghost Rider. After issue #16 (Nov. 1991), McFarlane left the book due to creative clashes with new editor Danny Fingeroth. He was replaced on the title by future Image Comics co-founder Erik Larsen. It is believed that McFarlane's often bloody and gruesome storylines were the major source of the conflict, as Marvel had not been particularly known for bloody comic books, particularly in such a universally "family friendly" title as Spider-man.
Image comics and Spawn
McFarlane then left Marvel with six other popular artists to form Image Comics, an umbrella company under which each owned a publishing house. McFarlane's studio, Todd McFarlane Productions, published his creation, the occult-themed Spawn. Spawn #1 sold 1.7 million copies, still a record for an independent comic book.
Main article: Spawn (comics)
The cover to Spawn #1 (1992)
Spawn was launched in 1992 with McFarlane as artist/writer for the first 7 issues. Guest writers Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Dave Sim and Frank Miller were brought on for issues 8 to 11 (respectively) while McFarlane continued as the artist. In order to concentrate on the 1994 Spawn/Batman crossover (with Miller writing), he brought on Grant Morrison (as writer) and Greg Capullo (penciller) from issues #16-#18. Then Andrew Grossberg and Tom Orzechowski took over writing issues #19 and 20 with Capullo still penciling. McFarlane returned as writer/artist for issue 21 and remained so until issue 24. Greg Capullo took over as pencil artist with issue 26, McFarlane remained writer and inker on the book until issue 70.
McFarlane eventually would hand off scripting duties (while still overseeing plotlines) to other writers, and the book continued to retain a respectable following. He has story input and inks covers on occasion.
In 2006 McFarlane announced plans for Spawn/Batman with artist Greg Capullo, which McFarlane wrote and inked, which paid tribute to Jack Kirby. He also began taking an active role in comics publishing again, publishing collections of his Spawn comics in paperback form. Spawn Collection Volume 1 collecting issues 1-12 minus issue 9 (due to royalty issues with Neil Gaiman) and 10 (due to a vow he made to Sim) was released in December 2005. The first volume achieved moderate success, ranking 17 in the top one hundred graphic novels, with pre-order sales of 3227 for that period.
Haunt
Main article: Haunt (comics)
Haunt, an ongoing series co-created by McFarlane and Robert Kirkman, was first announced in 2007, and launched October 7, 2009. The comic is written by Kirkman, penciled by Ryan Ottley, inked by McFarlane, with Greg Capullo providing layouts.
McFarlane Entertainment
Todd McFarlane Productions has also published multiple Spawn spin-off mini-series, but, unlike other Image studios, such as Jim Lee's Wildstorm, McFarlane's studio was never intended to focus on being a comic book company, and had always intended to diversify into other areas, like the short lived Spawntastic Apparel, a T-shirt line. McFarlane increasingly concentrated his own personal attention to those other ventures, which resulted in irregular work as an illustrator. By 1994, he ceased to be the regular illustrator of his own "signature" book, and would only re-visit Spawn sporadically, or as a promotional stunt for the title.
That same year, McFarlane created McFarlane Toys. Its line of meticulously sculpted Spawn action figures changed the entire industry by focusing on more mature consumers and non-traditional action figure inspirations such as musicians. The company has licensed the right to produce action figures of athletes in all four major North American sports — baseball, hockey, football and basketball — and several recent, successful film franchises, including The Terminator, The Matrix and Shrek. He has also created figures of rock musicians, including the members of Kiss, Jim Morrison, and Jimi Hendrix and toys related to video games, like Halo 3.
In 1996, McFarlane founded Todd McFarlane Entertainment, a film and animation studio. In collaboration with New Line Cinema, it produced the 1997 Spawn film and a new Spawn movie, planned in 2008. Spawn, while critically panned, was a modest box office success, earning $54.97 million domestically, a little over $69 million worldwide. It also produced the animated series Todd McFarlane’s Spawn, (featuring voice work by actor Keith David) which aired on HBO from 1997 until 1999. The animated series received significantly more positive press than the film, received two Primetime Emmy awards (including "Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming More Than One Hour)," and was a moderate success when eventually released on DVD.
The studio has produced acclaimed music videos for Pearl Jam's "Do the Evolution" (1998), KoЯn's "Freak on a Leash" (1999) and Disturbed's "Land of Confusion" (2006). They also produced an animated segment of the film The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002). He also fully animated "The Guy", the mascot for Disturbed.
Sports
McFarlane is an avid baseball fan; he briefly tried to achieve a pro career in the sport as a young adult. McFarlane has bought, at auction, multiple balls from Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa's 1998 race to establish a record for the greatest number of home runs hit in a single season. McFarlane owns Sosa's 33rd, 61st and 66th home run balls, and McGwire's first, 63rd, 67th, 68th, 69th and 70th. (McGwire's 61st was the ball which tied Roger Maris' then-record, while McGwire's 70th, bought by McFarlane at auction for US $3 million, set a new record at the time — broken in 2001 by Barry Bonds.) He later purchased Bonds' record breaking 73rd home run ball for $450,000.
As well as being a former part owner of the Edmonton Oilers, McFarlane also designed the logo used on the team's alternate (third) jerseys. This jersey has not been worn since 2007.
Recently, baseball pitcher Curt Schilling of the Boston Red Sox has teamed up with McFarlane, forming 38 Studios (formerly Green Monster Games), LLC. This gaming studio will feature McFarlane's art direction and will also feature R.A. Salvatore as creative director. The studio's focus will be massive multiplayer online games of which Schilling is an avid fan.
Other media
Todd McFarlane continues to spread his influence into other media areas including film, television, gaming, and music.
For the release of Halo 3, McFarlane was enlisted to design a series of action figures.
McFarlane also created the character Necrid for the console versions of the video game Soul Calibur II. Spawn appears as a playable character in the Xbox version of SCII.
A PlayStation 2 game, McFarlane's Evil Prophecy, was released in 2004 by Konami. In it, players battle creatures based on a line of Todd McFarlane's action figures including classic movie monsters such as Frankenstein's monster and Dracula.
In January 2005, McFarlane announced that he was set to produce a half-hour anthology television series for Fox called Twisted Tales, based on the Bruce Jones' comic book to which McFarlane had purchased the rights.
In December 2002, Todd McFarlane directed the music video "Breathe" for Canadian hip-hop group Swollen Members that featured Nelly Furtado. He later drew both the Canadian and International covers for their next album Heavy, released October 2003.
Todd McFarlane is also the cartoonist responsible for the cover art of the albums Ten Thousand Fists, released in September 2005 and Indestructible, released June 2008 by metal band Disturbed, and the art in their single "Land of Confusion", as well as that of metal band Iced Earth's 1996 Spawn-based concept album The Dark Saga and Korn's third studio album Follow the Leader, which was released in 1998.
McFarlane is also doing artwork for the Lord of Vermilion game published by Square Enix.
Lawsuits
McFarlane lost judgments in two lawsuits in the 2000s. The first was a 2002 suit in which McFarlane contested with writer Neil Gaiman over the rights to some supporting Spawn characters created by Gaiman in issue #9 of the Spawn series and over payment for later works featuring those characters. In 1997 the two signed a deal in which Gaiman would give his share of characters Angela, Medieval Spawn and Cogliostro to McFarlane in exchange of McFarlane's share of British superhero Marvelman (in reality, what McFarlane actually owned were two trademarks for Miracleman logos, not the character, which would become clear only after the lawsuit concluded). However, this deal was broken by McFarlane, which motivated Neil Gaiman to start the lawsuit. The jury was unanimous in favor of Gaiman. The two were involved in a lengthy dispute over ownership of Miracleman, but no lawsuit has been filed in that dispute. In 2009, Marvel Comics brought resolution to the matter by purchasing the property.
The second was a December 2004 suit in which hockey player Tony Twist sued Todd McFarlane because he named a mobster character in Spawn after Twist.
Awards
McFarlane's work has won him numerous awards over the years, including:
* a 1992 National Cartoonists Society Award for Best Comic Book.
* a 1992 Inkpot Award
* McFarlane received the National Football League's Artist of the Year award for 2005, for his work on program covers for the Baltimore Ravens.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b106/bloodydagger4u666/Todd.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa281/SICBOY7/todd_nhl.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/16/10 at 6:21 am
Wow,I love those pictures. :)
I'm glad you like them Howie :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/16/10 at 6:26 am
The person who died on this day...Gary Hart
Gary Richard Williams, (January 24, 1942 – March 16, 2008) was a former professional wrestling manager, as well as a professional wrestler in his early career, best known by his ring name Gary Hart. Hart was one of the pivotal driving forces behind what is considered to be World Class Championship Wrestling's "golden years" in the early 1980s.
Gary Hart started out as a wrestler in 1963 in the Illinois and Wisconsin territories. In the late 1960s, he became a manager called "Playboy" Gary Hart.
World Class Championship Wrestling (1979–1987)
Gary Hart became the booker for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW; then known as Big Time Wrestling) in 1979, a position he held on and off until 1987. Hart is largely credited (alongside Bill Mercer, Fritz and David Von Erich) with the success of WCCW, as 1982-1985 are largely considered to be the "Golden Years" of the promotion. Hart created the classic feud between the Von Erichs and the Fabulous Freebirds, as well as introducing memorable characters like the Great Kabuki, the Great Muta, King Kong Bundy, the One Man Gang and the Samoan Swat Team. Hart additionally managed talent such as the lates "Gorgeous" Gino Hernandez and "Gentleman" Chris Adams. Along with booking, he also managed Nord the Barbarian, Abdullah The Butcher, Al Perez and Jeep Swenson under the stable "New Age Management", and always feuded with the top faces of the promotion. In 1984, Hart managed Gentleman Chris Adams, who turned heel and engaged in a major feud with Kevin and Kerry Von Erich. As a result, Adams was propelled to the top of the wrestling world and eventually won the NWA American title in 1985.
Hart in the Georgia and Mid-Atlantic regions of the NWA
During World Class' golden era, Hart was also a manager in the Georgia and Mid-Atlantic regions of the NWA; joining these two areas exclusively in 1983 shortly after the start of the Freebirds-Von Erichs feud, when he left World Class due to a pay dispute. Hart returned to Texas in the summer of 1984 and following a short hiatus in 1986; stayed with the federation until 1988. Hart was also a promoter and manager in San Antonio for Texas All-Star Wrestling, the successor of Joe Blanchard's Southwest Championship Wrestling group; and featured most of the SCW wrestlers, as well as a handful of World Class names (including Chris Adams, Scott Casey and Bruiser Brody). He also worked for the ICW, first as the heel manager of Bruiser Brody, Kevin Sullivan and Mark Lewin. After a kayfabe falling out with Sullivan, Lewin attacked Hart with a sleeper hold. At the tail end of the ICW stint, Hart and Brody were babyfaces.
Hart looking after all of the wrestlers, face or heel
Despite being a heel manager, Hart always looked after all of the wrestlers, face or heel. During one instance, when Adams smashed a wooden chair onto the head of Kevin Von Erich during the 1984 Cotton Bowl event, he noticed blood coming out of Kevin's head. Hart immediately told Adams to exit the ring and return to the dressing room, and advised ring announcer Ralph Pulley that medical aid may be needed. During another bout in 1985, he revived Iceman King Parsons following a sleeperhold applied on him by Mark Lewin.
Noteworthy interviews
Hart, who was known for delivering excellent ringside interviews, participated in one of World Class' most famous outside the ring interviews, when he sat down with Bill Mercer in a 1985 interview outside of Hart's home to talk about his rift with Chris Adams. The interview, which was done on one take, featured Hart pounding the glass table continuously with his fist, calling Adams an egotistical maniac but a very bright young boy, then berating Gino Hernandez calling him a moron and a young punk that is nothing in the wrestling business. As the interview wound down, Hart went on a tirade, vowing revenge against Adams while shoving the tableware and ice tea away and then throwing the table in disgust.
He also conducted a memorable interview on World Championship Wrestling in 1989, berating Dusty Rhodes and his family.
Feuds with fellow heel managers
During his time in World Class, Hart was involved in feuds with fellow heel managers Skandor Akbar and Percy Pringle.
Jim Crockett Promotions
Shortly after the folding of WCCW, Hart continued to manage Al Perez in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s Jim Crockett Promotions in 1988, along with Larry Zbyszko. In 1989, he managed the stable J-Tex Corporation, which included Terry Funk, Dick Slater, Buzz Sawyer, The Dragonmaster, and The Great Muta. They feuded primarily with Ric Flair and Sting, but Ole and Arn Anderson later teamed up with Flair and Sting to even the sides up (and thus bringing back The Four Horseman briefly). J-Tex disbanded in early 1990.
Later career
After leaving WCW, Hart returned to Texas and began a new wrestling promotion in North Dallas, Texas Wrestling Federation, which showcased many former stars of World Class and those who are competing in the USWA/World Class promotion.
During the 1990s, following the demise of the Global Wrestling Federation, Hart and Chris Adams were involved in many Texas-based wrestling promotions, including an ill-fated attempt to revive World Class (billed as World Class II: The Next Generation) at the Dallas Sportatorium. Hart retired in 1999, but made a surprise return in Major League Wrestling, during the promotion's Reloaded Tour on January 9-10, 2004. Hart appeared following the main event (on January 9) pitting Low-Ki against Homicide, where the three laid out several wrestlers from the locker room, as well MLW president Court Bauer.
During the tour, Hart's son Chad (who was trained by Chris Adams, Skandor Akbar and Gary Hart) debuted and wrestled on both events. On January 10, Chad Hart attacked Terry Funk immediately after his barbed-wire "I Quit" match with Steve Corino. It would prove to be MLW's final show, as the promotion folded in February of the same year.
Personal relationship with Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez
Hart was close to both Adams and Gino Hernandez; and was very strong in encouraging wrestlers and fellow fans alike not to use controlled substances such as cocaine, GHB,and alcohol; substances that resulted in the deaths of both Adams in 2001 and Hernandez in 1986. Regarding Hernandez, Hart was not able to place a picture of Gino on the wall alongside other wrestlers he managed, due to the failure in encouraging Hernandez to kick the habit. Hart was also despondent over the death of Adams (the victim of a shooting incident during a drunken fight with a former roommate) for a short time as he revealed during the Heroes of World Class DVD that Hart didn't return one of Adams' calls days prior to his death.
Death
Hart died on March 16, 2008, following a heart attack at his home in Euless, TX, after returning from an autograph session in Pennsylvania.
On April 5, 2008; Peach State Pandemonium, an internet wrestling program; aired a two-hour tribute program in the memory of Gary Hart. "Cowboy" Bill Watts, Jack Brisco, James Beard, Abdullah The Butcher, Michael "P.S." Hayes, Kevin Sullivan, George Steele, Skandor Akbar, and Jim Ross were among those who attended.
Autobiography
His autobiography, entitled "My Life In Wrestling...With A Little Help From My Friends," was released in 2009.
In wrestling
* Wrestlers managed
* Roddy Piper
* Low Ki
* Homicide
* Great Kabuki
* Bruiser Brody
* Brian Adias
* Chris Adams
* Toru Tanaka
* Don Kernodle
* Buzz Sawyer
* Mark Lewin
* Big John Studd
* One Man Gang
* Al Perez
* Nord the Barbarian
* Jeep Swenson
* Kendo Nagasaki
* Killer Khan
* Abdullah the Butcher
* Ivan Koloff
* Black Angus
* Bob Orton, Jr.
* Bobby Duncum, Sr.
* "Killer" Tim Brooks
* Dingo Warrior
* Dick Slater
* Terry Funk
* The Great Muta
* Rod Price
* John Tatum
* Ron Garvin
* Kevin Sullivan
* Larry Zbyszko
* The Spoiler
* Pak Song
* Dusty Rhodes
* The Samoans (Tio Tio and Reno Tufuuli)
* Magic Dragon
* Ron Bass
* Black Bart
* Dory Funk Jr.
* Jerry Lawler
* Gorgeous George Jr.
* Bobby Shane
* Nicknames
o "Playboy" Gary Hart
Championships and accomplishments
* Big Time Wrestling
* NWA American Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with The Spoiler
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/jakeyourbooty/Deceased%20Wrestlers/GaryHart.jpg
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee153/brandonryche/01.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/16/10 at 10:58 am
Are the luckiest people. :)
People are strange.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/16/10 at 3:00 pm
The person who died on this day...Gary Hart
Gary Richard Williams, (January 24, 1942 – March 16, 2008) was a former professional wrestling manager, as well as a professional wrestler in his early career, best known by his ring name Gary Hart. Hart was one of the pivotal driving forces behind what is considered to be World Class Championship Wrestling's "golden years" in the early 1980s.
Gary Hart started out as a wrestler in 1963 in the Illinois and Wisconsin territories. In the late 1960s, he became a manager called "Playboy" Gary Hart.
World Class Championship Wrestling (1979–1987)
Gary Hart became the booker for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW; then known as Big Time Wrestling) in 1979, a position he held on and off until 1987. Hart is largely credited (alongside Bill Mercer, Fritz and David Von Erich) with the success of WCCW, as 1982-1985 are largely considered to be the "Golden Years" of the promotion. Hart created the classic feud between the Von Erichs and the Fabulous Freebirds, as well as introducing memorable characters like the Great Kabuki, the Great Muta, King Kong Bundy, the One Man Gang and the Samoan Swat Team. Hart additionally managed talent such as the lates "Gorgeous" Gino Hernandez and "Gentleman" Chris Adams. Along with booking, he also managed Nord the Barbarian, Abdullah The Butcher, Al Perez and Jeep Swenson under the stable "New Age Management", and always feuded with the top faces of the promotion. In 1984, Hart managed Gentleman Chris Adams, who turned heel and engaged in a major feud with Kevin and Kerry Von Erich. As a result, Adams was propelled to the top of the wrestling world and eventually won the NWA American title in 1985.
Hart in the Georgia and Mid-Atlantic regions of the NWA
During World Class' golden era, Hart was also a manager in the Georgia and Mid-Atlantic regions of the NWA; joining these two areas exclusively in 1983 shortly after the start of the Freebirds-Von Erichs feud, when he left World Class due to a pay dispute. Hart returned to Texas in the summer of 1984 and following a short hiatus in 1986; stayed with the federation until 1988. Hart was also a promoter and manager in San Antonio for Texas All-Star Wrestling, the successor of Joe Blanchard's Southwest Championship Wrestling group; and featured most of the SCW wrestlers, as well as a handful of World Class names (including Chris Adams, Scott Casey and Bruiser Brody). He also worked for the ICW, first as the heel manager of Bruiser Brody, Kevin Sullivan and Mark Lewin. After a kayfabe falling out with Sullivan, Lewin attacked Hart with a sleeper hold. At the tail end of the ICW stint, Hart and Brody were babyfaces.
Hart looking after all of the wrestlers, face or heel
Despite being a heel manager, Hart always looked after all of the wrestlers, face or heel. During one instance, when Adams smashed a wooden chair onto the head of Kevin Von Erich during the 1984 Cotton Bowl event, he noticed blood coming out of Kevin's head. Hart immediately told Adams to exit the ring and return to the dressing room, and advised ring announcer Ralph Pulley that medical aid may be needed. During another bout in 1985, he revived Iceman King Parsons following a sleeperhold applied on him by Mark Lewin.
Noteworthy interviews
Hart, who was known for delivering excellent ringside interviews, participated in one of World Class' most famous outside the ring interviews, when he sat down with Bill Mercer in a 1985 interview outside of Hart's home to talk about his rift with Chris Adams. The interview, which was done on one take, featured Hart pounding the glass table continuously with his fist, calling Adams an egotistical maniac but a very bright young boy, then berating Gino Hernandez calling him a moron and a young punk that is nothing in the wrestling business. As the interview wound down, Hart went on a tirade, vowing revenge against Adams while shoving the tableware and ice tea away and then throwing the table in disgust.
He also conducted a memorable interview on World Championship Wrestling in 1989, berating Dusty Rhodes and his family.
Feuds with fellow heel managers
During his time in World Class, Hart was involved in feuds with fellow heel managers Skandor Akbar and Percy Pringle.
Jim Crockett Promotions
Shortly after the folding of WCCW, Hart continued to manage Al Perez in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s Jim Crockett Promotions in 1988, along with Larry Zbyszko. In 1989, he managed the stable J-Tex Corporation, which included Terry Funk, Dick Slater, Buzz Sawyer, The Dragonmaster, and The Great Muta. They feuded primarily with Ric Flair and Sting, but Ole and Arn Anderson later teamed up with Flair and Sting to even the sides up (and thus bringing back The Four Horseman briefly). J-Tex disbanded in early 1990.
Later career
After leaving WCW, Hart returned to Texas and began a new wrestling promotion in North Dallas, Texas Wrestling Federation, which showcased many former stars of World Class and those who are competing in the USWA/World Class promotion.
During the 1990s, following the demise of the Global Wrestling Federation, Hart and Chris Adams were involved in many Texas-based wrestling promotions, including an ill-fated attempt to revive World Class (billed as World Class II: The Next Generation) at the Dallas Sportatorium. Hart retired in 1999, but made a surprise return in Major League Wrestling, during the promotion's Reloaded Tour on January 9-10, 2004. Hart appeared following the main event (on January 9) pitting Low-Ki against Homicide, where the three laid out several wrestlers from the locker room, as well MLW president Court Bauer.
During the tour, Hart's son Chad (who was trained by Chris Adams, Skandor Akbar and Gary Hart) debuted and wrestled on both events. On January 10, Chad Hart attacked Terry Funk immediately after his barbed-wire "I Quit" match with Steve Corino. It would prove to be MLW's final show, as the promotion folded in February of the same year.
Personal relationship with Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez
Hart was close to both Adams and Gino Hernandez; and was very strong in encouraging wrestlers and fellow fans alike not to use controlled substances such as cocaine, GHB,and alcohol; substances that resulted in the deaths of both Adams in 2001 and Hernandez in 1986. Regarding Hernandez, Hart was not able to place a picture of Gino on the wall alongside other wrestlers he managed, due to the failure in encouraging Hernandez to kick the habit. Hart was also despondent over the death of Adams (the victim of a shooting incident during a drunken fight with a former roommate) for a short time as he revealed during the Heroes of World Class DVD that Hart didn't return one of Adams' calls days prior to his death.
Death
Hart died on March 16, 2008, following a heart attack at his home in Euless, TX, after returning from an autograph session in Pennsylvania.
On April 5, 2008; Peach State Pandemonium, an internet wrestling program; aired a two-hour tribute program in the memory of Gary Hart. "Cowboy" Bill Watts, Jack Brisco, James Beard, Abdullah The Butcher, Michael "P.S." Hayes, Kevin Sullivan, George Steele, Skandor Akbar, and Jim Ross were among those who attended.
Autobiography
His autobiography, entitled "My Life In Wrestling...With A Little Help From My Friends," was released in 2009.
In wrestling
* Wrestlers managed
* Roddy Piper
* Low Ki
* Homicide
* Great Kabuki
* Bruiser Brody
* Brian Adias
* Chris Adams
* Toru Tanaka
* Don Kernodle
* Buzz Sawyer
* Mark Lewin
* Big John Studd
* One Man Gang
* Al Perez
* Nord the Barbarian
* Jeep Swenson
* Kendo Nagasaki
* Killer Khan
* Abdullah the Butcher
* Ivan Koloff
* Black Angus
* Bob Orton, Jr.
* Bobby Duncum, Sr.
* "Killer" Tim Brooks
* Dingo Warrior
* Dick Slater
* Terry Funk
* The Great Muta
* Rod Price
* John Tatum
* Ron Garvin
* Kevin Sullivan
* Larry Zbyszko
* The Spoiler
* Pak Song
* Dusty Rhodes
* The Samoans (Tio Tio and Reno Tufuuli)
* Magic Dragon
* Ron Bass
* Black Bart
* Dory Funk Jr.
* Jerry Lawler
* Gorgeous George Jr.
* Bobby Shane
* Nicknames
o "Playboy" Gary Hart
Championships and accomplishments
* Big Time Wrestling
* NWA American Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with The Spoiler
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/jakeyourbooty/Deceased%20Wrestlers/GaryHart.jpg
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee153/brandonryche/01.jpg
Ah yes,I remember Gary Hart,was a great manager. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/17/10 at 5:33 am
The word of the day...Forest
A forest is a large area where trees grow close together.
A forest of tall or narrow objects is a group of them standing or sticking upright.
http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt264/Rawr_81/Landscapes/Autumn_Forest_in_the_Sun.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z15/submarinr/forest.jpg
http://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/a460/y68475riuhrwe/forest.jpg
http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss161/sarbatra/Bosqueenfinlandia.jpg
http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx293/childofnature/forestpics057.jpg
http://i819.photobucket.com/albums/zz113/RomanV101/forest%20and%20nature%20images/redwood_national_forest_t2051.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n258/quntmphscs/LogginginStateforest.jpg
http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l442/Nethlindorniel/blends/robinhood2009.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh12/MaeAtNight/Scrap/Other/Extra/Untitled.png
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/17/10 at 5:37 am
The person born on this day...Gary Sinise
Gary Alan Sinise (pronounced /səˈniːs/; born March 17, 1955) is an American actor and film director. During his career, Sinise has won an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for Palme d'Or and an Academy Award. In 1992, Sinise directed the film and played the role of George Milton in the movie adaptation of Of Mice and Men. Sinise was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1994 for his role as Lieutenant Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump. He won a Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries for his role in Truman. In 1996, he played a corrupt police officer in the Ron Howard dramatic hit Ransom. In 1998, Sinise was awarded an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for the television film George Wallace, a portrayal of the late Governor George C. Wallace, Jr., of Alabama.
Sinise currently stars in CBS's CSI: NY as Detective Mac Taylor. He recently narrated a biography for Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor recipient Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor at the Republican National Convention in support of John McCain's candidacy for President of the United States of America. In December 2008 he was awarded the Presidential Citizen Medal, the second highest civilian medal awarded to U.S. civilians. He received the medal from President George W. Bush for his humanitarian contributions to Iraqi school children and his involvement in the USO. He is the executive producer of Brothers at War, the award winning documentary about an American military family and the Iraq war.
1982, Sinise's career began to take off when he directed and starred in Steppenwolf's production of True West. In 1983, he earned an Obie Award for his direction and a year later appeared with John Malkovich in the PBS' American Playhouse production of the play. In 1988, Gary directed Miles from Home, a movie starring Richard Gere, about two brothers' fight against the foreclosure of the family farm. Sinise has appeared in many films including: Forrest Gump, Of Mice and Men (which he also directed), Apollo 13, Reindeer Games, Snake Eyes, Ransom, Mission to Mars, The Stand, Impostor and The Green Mile. He also narrated the audio books for John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley and Of Mice and Men.
In 2004, he began his first regular television series, in the crime drama CSI: New York, in which he plays Detective Mac Taylor. He was credited as a producer from season 2 onwards and also wrote the storyline of an episode. Several episodes have allowed Sinise to demonstrate his musical prowess, including a Season 2 episode where Mac Taylor plays the bass guitar in a jazz club with musicians Kimo and Carol Williams and Danny Gottlieb, members of the Lt. Dan Band, which Sinise and Kimo Williams co-founded in 2003. The band is named for Sinise's character in Forrest Gump.
Apart from his television and movie work, Sinise is the host in the video for the Epcot ride Mission: SPACE, at Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL and the current model for Baume & Mercier watches. He also co-founded Operation Iraqi Children.
Sinise is also the narrator for the Discovery Channel's mini series When We Left Earth in 2008.
Gary Sinise playing bass in the Lt. Dan Band
Sinise was awarded the Presidential Citizen Medal by George W. Bush for work he did supporting the U.S Military and humanitarian work supporting Iraqi children.
Sinise narrated Army and Army Reserve Army Strong recruitment ads in late 2008.
Sinise is the Executive Producer—along with David Scantling—of the Iraq War documentary Brothers at War. The film features an American military family and the experiences of three brothers: Jake Rademacher, Isaac Rademacher and Joseph Rademacher.
In 2009, Sinise co-narrated the National Memorial Day Concert on the Mall in Washington, D.C. with Joe Mantegna.
Sinise currently serves as the National Spokesperson for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. He spends much of his time raising awareness for the Memorial and other veterans' service organizations.
In November 2009, Sinise narrated the highly acclaimed World War II in HD on the History Channel.
Personal life
Sinise has been married to actress Moira Harris since 1981 and they have three children together: Sophia Ana (b. 1988), McCanna Anthony (b. 1990), and Ella Jane (b. 1992). In 2003, Sinise was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters by Amherst College.
Politics
Sinise's name was in an advertisement in the Los Angeles Times (17 August 2006) that condemned Hamas and Hezbollah and supported Israel in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.
Sinise has conservative Republican leanings. His CSI: NY co-star Hill Harper, a staunch supporter of President Barack Obama has noted that Sinise's political beliefs are much more conservative (than Harper's) but also says he and Sinise get along with each other on set and have decided not to discuss politics.
In June 2008, Sinise donated $2,300 to the Republican primary campaign of Arizona Senator John McCain.
Nicolle Wallace, a former adviser to George W. Bush and the presidential campaign of John McCain, stated in May 2009 that she believed Sinise could help bring about a resurgence of the Republican Party. Wallace stated, "The natural strengths that an actor brings to politics would come in handy to anyone going up against Obama in 2012. We will need an effective communicator who can stand toe to toe with Obama’s eloquence." Other names mentioned were those of Generals David Petraeus and Ray Odierno. Sinise later stated he had no intention of entering politics.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1984 Family Secrets Motorcyclist (TV)
True West Austin (TV broadcast of the play)
1989 The Final Days Richard Ben-Veniste (TV)
My Name is Bill W. Ebby, Bill's best friend (TV)
1991 The Grapes of Wrath Tom Joad (TV)
1992 Of Mice and Men George Milton Also directed.
A Midnight Clear Vance 'Mother' Wilkins
The Witness Young Soldier (TV)
1993 Jack the Bear Norman Strick
1994 Forrest Gump Lt. Dan Taylor Chlotrudis 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
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
The Stand Stu Redman (TV miniseries)
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
1995 Truman Harry S. Truman (TV)
CableACE Award for Best Actor in a Movie or Miniseries
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
Apollo 13 Ken Mattingly Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
The Quick and the Dead The Marshal
1996 Ransom Det. Jimmy Shaker
Albino Alligator Milo
1997 George Wallace George C. Wallace (TV)
CableACE Award for Best Actor in a Movie or Miniseries
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
1998 Snake Eyes Commander Kevin Dunne
1999 The Green Mile Burt Hammersmith
It's the Rage Morgan
That Championship Season Tom Daley (TV)
2000 Bruno Dino Battaglia
Mission to Mars Jim McConnell
Reindeer Games Gabriel Mercer
2002 A Gentleman's Game Foster Pearse
Path to War George Wallace
Made-Up Duncan Tivey
Impostor Spencer Olham
2003 Fallen Angel Terry (TV)
The Human Stain Nathan Zuckerman
Mission: SPACE (Disney Ride) Capcom
2004 The Forgotten Dr. Jack Munce
CSI: NY Det. Mac Taylor (TV series; 2004-present)
The Big Bounce Ray Ritchie
2006 Open Season Shaw (voice)http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d33/xxxxicexxxx/gary.jpg
2008 When We Left Earth Narrator (TV)
2009 On the Road in Iraq With Our Troops and Gary Sinise Himself
2009 WWII in HD Narrator (TV)
2010 One Last Wish Devon Johnson
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/flower_of_carnage/Famous%20Folk/CSI%20NY/gary-sinise-csi-781956.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/17/10 at 5:42 am
The person who died on this day...Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes (October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of only twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award. Hayes also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor, from President Ronald Reagan in 1986. In 1988, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts.
Her sound film debut was The Sin of Madelon Claudet, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She followed that with starring roles in Arrowsmith (with Myrna Loy), A Farewell to Arms (with actor Gary Cooper, whom Hayes admitted to finding extremely attractive), The White Sister, What Every Woman Knows (a reprise from her Broadway hit) and Vanessa: Her Love Story. However, she never became a fan favorite and Hayes did not prefer the medium to the stage.
Hayes eventually returned to Broadway in 1935, where for three years she played the title role in the Gilbert Miller production of Victoria Regina, with Vincent Price as Prince Albert, first at the Broadhurst Theatre and later at the Martin Beck Theatre.
In 1953, she was the first-ever recipient of the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre, repeating as the winner in 1969. She returned to Hollywood in the 1950s, and her film star began to rise. She starred in My Son John (1952) and Anastasia (1956), and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as an elderly stowaway in the disaster film Airport (1970). She followed that up with several roles in Disney films such as Herbie Rides Again, One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing and Candleshoe. Her performance in Anastasia was considered a comeback—she had suspended her career for several years due to the death of her daughter Mary, and her husband's failing health.
In 1955 the Fulton Theatre was renamed for her. However, business interests in the 1980s wished to raze that theatre and four others to construct a large hotel that included the Marquis Theatre. To accomplish razing this theatre and three others, as well as the Astor Hotel, the business interests received Hayes' consent to raze the theatre named for her, even though she had no ownership interest in the buildings. Parts of the original Helen Hayes theatre on Broadway were used to construct The Shakespeare Center on the Upper Westside of Manhattan, which Hayes dedicated with Joseph Papp in 1982. In 1983 the Little Theater on West 45th Street was re-named The Helen Hayes Theatre in her honor; as was a theatre in Nyack, which has since been re-named the Riverspace-Arts Center.
In 1982, with friend Lady Bird Johnson, she founded the National Wildflower Research Center, now the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. The center protects and preserves North America's native plants and natural landscapes.
The Helen Hayes Award for theater in the Washington D.C. area is named in her honor. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6220 Hollywood Blvd.
Personal life
Hayes was a Catholic and a pro-business Republican who attended many Republican National Conventions (including the one held in New Orleans in 1988), but she was not as politically vocal as some others (e.g., Adolphe Menjou, Ginger Rogers, John Wayne, etc.) in the Hollywood community of that time.
Hayes wrote three memoirs: A Gift of Joy, On Reflection and My Life in Three Acts. Some of the themes in these books include her return to Roman Catholicism (she had been denied communion from the Church for the length of her marriage to MacArthur, who was a Protestant and a divorcé); and the death of her only daughter, Mary, who was an aspiring actress, from polio at the age of 19. Hayes's adopted son, James MacArthur, also went on to a career in acting, starring in Hawaii Five-O on television. (Hayes herself guest starred on a 1975 episode of Hawaii Five-0, playing the aunt of MacArthur's character.)
Hayes was hospitalized a number of times for her asthma condition, which was aggravated by stage dust, forcing her to retire from legitimate theater in 1971, at age 71. Her last Broadway show was a 1970 revival of Harvey, in which she co-starred with James Stewart. She spent most of her last years writing and raising money for organizations that fight asthma.
Philanthropy
Hayes was also a generous donor of time and money to a number of causes and organizations, including the Riverside Shakespeare Company of New York City, of which she, along with Mildred Natwick, became a founding member of the company's Board of Advisors in 1981. In 1983, Hayes dedicated Riverside's The Shakespeare Center with New York theatre producer, Joseph Papp, and in 1985 returned to the New York stage in a benefit for the company of A Christmas Carol with the late Raul Julia, Len Cariou, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Carole Shelley, Celeste Holm and Harold Scott, directed by W. Stuart McDowell. The next year Hayes performed a second benefit for the Riverside Shakespeare Company, this time, ironically, at the Marquis Theatre, the same theatre the construction of which had been made possible by the demolition of the original Helen Hayes Theatre three years before. The production featured Rex Smith, Ossie Davis and F. Murray Abraham, produced by McDowell and directed by Robert Small, with Hayes narrating the performance.
Death
Hayes died on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1993 from congestive heart failure in Nyack, New York. Lillian Gish had made Hayes the beneficiary of her estate, but Hayes survived her by less than a month. Hayes was interred in the Oak Hill Cemetery, Nyack, New York.
Quotes
* "The hardest years in life are the ones that live upon life itself." (age 64)
* "If you rest, you rust." (ca. age 60)
* "From your parents you learn love and laughter and how to put one foot in front of the other. But when books are opened you discover you have wings."
* "I'm absolutely crazy about life...about the value of living and doing. I have a belief, too, that's there's another world out there and that one day I will be joining Charlie and Mary (the daughter who died at 19 from polio) and other people I love, and it consoles me to think about that."
Body of work
Stage and awards
Year Production Role Notes
1905 Miss Hawke's May Ball Irish Dancer
A Midsummer Night's Dream Peaseblossom
1908 Babe in the Woods Boy Babe
1909 Jack the Giant Killer Gibson Girl, Nell Brinkley, Girl impersonators
A Royal Family Prince Charles Ferdinand
Children's Dancing Kermess Impersonation of "The Nell Brinkley Girl"
The Prince Chap Claudia, Age 5
A Poor Relation Patch
1910 Old Dutch Little Mime
The Summer Widowers Pacyche Finnegan, Pinkie's playmate
1911 The Barrier Molly, an Alaskan Child
Little Lord Fauntleroy Cedric Errol
The Never Homes Fannie Hicks, Another Near Orphan
The Seven Sisters Klara, the Youngest Daughter
Mary Jane's Pa
1912 The June Bride The Holder's Child
1913 Flood Victim's Benefit
The Girl with Green Eyes Susie, the Flower Girl
His House in Order Derek Jesson, his son
A Royal Family Prince Charles Ferdinand
The Prince Chap
The Prince and the Pauper Tom Canty and Edward, Prince of Wales
1914 The Prodigal Husband Young Simone
1916 The Dummy Beryl Meredith, the Kidnapper's Hostage
On Trial His Daughter, Doris Strickland
1917 It Pays to Advertise Marie, Maid at the Martins
Romance Suzette
Just a Woman Hired girl
Mile-a-Minute Kendall Beth
Rich Man, Poor Man Linda Hurst
Alma, Where Do You Live? Germain
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch Asia
Within the Law
Pollyanna Pollyanna Whittier, The Glad Girl
1918 Penrod
Dear Brutus Margaret, his daughter
1919 On the Hiring Line Dorothy Fessenden, his daughter
Clarence Cora Wheeler
The Golden Age
1920 Bab Bab
1921 The Wren Seeby Olds
The Golden Days Mary Ann
1922 To the Ladies Elsie Beebe
No Siree!: An Anonymous Entertainment by the
Vicious Circus of the Hotel Algonquin
1923 Loney Lee Loney Lee
1924 We Moderns Mary Sundale, their Daughter
The Dragon
She Stoops to Conquer Constance Neville
Dancing Mothers Catherine (Kittens) Westcourt
Quarantine Dinah Partlett
1925 Caesar and Cleopatra Cleopatra
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney Maria
Young Blood Georgia Bissell
1926 What Every Woman Knows Maggie Wylie
1927 Coquette Norma Besant
Ziegfeld Follies of 1927
1928 Coquette Norma Besant London version
1930 Mr. Gilhooley A girl
Petticoat Influence Peggy Chalfont
1931 The Good Fairy Lu
1933 Mary of Scotland Mary Stuart
1935 Caesar and Cleopatra Cleopatra
Victoria Regina Victoria
1936 Victoria Regina Victoria Revival
1938 The Merchant of Venice Portia
What Every Woman Knows
Victoria Regina Victoria Revival
1939 Ladies and Gentlemen Miss Terry Scott
1940 Twelfth Night Viola
1941 Candle in the Wind Madeline Guest
1943 Harriet Harriet Beecher Stowe
1944 Harriet Harriet Beecher Stowe Revival
1947 Alice-Sit-By-The-Fire Mrs. Alice Grey
Happy Birthday Addie Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
1948 The Glass Menagerie Amanda Wingfield
1949 Good Housekeeping
1950 The Wisteria Trees Lucy Andree Ransdell
1952 Mrs. McThing Mrs. Howard V. Larue III
1955 Gentleman, The Queens Catherine, Lady Macbeth, Mary and Queen Victoria
The Skin of Our Teeth Mrs. Antrobus
1956 Lovers, Villains and Fools Narrator, Puck and the Chorus from Henry V
The Glass Menagerie The Mother
1958 Time Remembered The Duchess of Pont-Au-Bronc Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
1958 A Adventure Lulu Specer
Mid-Summer Rose, the Maid
A Touch of the Poet Nora Melody
1960 The Cherry Orchard Lyuboff Ranevskaya
The Chalk Garden Mrs. Maugham
1962 Shakespeare Revisited: A Program for Two Players
1964 Good Morning Miss Dove Miss Lucerna Dove
The White House Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, Edith Wilson, Julia Grant, Leonora Clayton, Mary Todd Lincoln, Mrs. Benjamin Harrison, Mrs. Franklin Pierce, Mrs. Grover Cleveland, Mrs. James G. Blaine, Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, Rachel Jackson
1965 Helen Hayes' Tour of the Far East
1966 The Circle
The School for Scandal Mrs. Candour
Right You Are If You Think You Are Signora Frola
We Comrades Three Mother
You Can't Take It With You Olga
1967 The Show-Off Mrs. Fisher Tony Award's Vernon Rice-Drama Desk Award
1968 The Show-Off Mrs. Fisher return engagement
1969 The Front Page Mrs. Grant
1970 Harvey Veta Louise Simmons Nominated - Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
1971 Long Day's Journey Into Night Mary Cavan Tyrone
1980 Tony Award's Lawrence Langner Memorial Award
Filmography and awards
Year Film Role Notes
1917 The Weavers of Life Peggy
1920 Babs uncredited
1928 The Dancing Town short subject
1931 Arrowsmith Leora Arrowsmith
The Sin of Madelon Claudet Madelon Claudet Academy Award for Best Actress
1932 A Farewell to Arms Catherine Barkley
The Son-Daughter Lian Wha 'Star Blossom'
1933 The White Sister Angela Chiaromonte
Another Language Stella 'Stell' Hallam
Night Flight Madame Fabian
1934 Crime Without Passion Extra in hotel lobby Uncredited
What Every Woman Knows Maggie Wylie
1935 Vanessa: Her Love Story Vanessa Paris
1938 Hollywood Goes to Town Herself, uncredited short subject
1943 Stage Door Canteen Herself
1952 My Son John Lucille Jefferson
1953 Main Street to Broadway Herself
1956 Anastasia Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1959 Third Man on the Mountain Tourist Uncredited
1961 The Challenge of Ideas Narrator short subject
1970 Airport Ada Quonsett Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
1974 Herbie Rides Again Mrs. Steinmetz Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1975 One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing Hettie
1977 Candleshoe Lady St. Edmund
Television appearances and awards
Year Title Role Notes
1950 Showtime, U.S.A. Episode #1.1
The Prudential Family Playhouse The Barretts of Wimpole Street
Pulitzer Prize Playhouse Mary, Queen of Scots The Late Christopher Bean
1951 Pulitzer Prize Playhouse Mary, Queen of Scots Mary of Scotland
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Dark Fleece
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars The Lucky Touch
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Not a Chance
Robert Montgomery Presents Queen Victoria Victoria Regina
Nominated — Emmy Award for Best Actress (nonspecific role)
1952 Omnibus The Twelve Pound Look
Nominated — Emmy Award for Best Actress (nonspecific role)
1953 Omnibus The Happy Journey
Omnibus Mom and Leo
Christmas with the Stars
Medallion Theatre Harriet Beecher Stowe "Battle Hymn"
Emmy Award for Best Actress (nonspecific role)
1954 The United States Steel Hour Mrs. Austin Welcome Home
The Best of Broadway Fanny Cavendish The Royal Family
The Motorola Television Hour Frances Parry Side by Side
1955 Producers' Showcase Mrs. Antrobus The Skin of Our Teeth
The Best of Broadway Abby Brewster Arsenic and Old Lace
1956 Omnibus Dear Brutus
Omnibus The Christmas Tie
1957 The Alcoa Hour Mrs. Gilling and the Skyscraper
Nominated - Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
Playhouse 9 Sister Theresa Four Women in Black
1958 Omnibus Mrs. McThing
The United States Steel Hour Mother Seraphim One Red Rose for Christmas
Nominated - Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
1959 Hallmark Hall of Fame Essie Ah, Wilderness!
Play of the Week Madame Ranevskaya The Cherry Orchard
1960 The Bell Telephone Hour Baroness Nadedja von Meck The Music of Romance
Play of the Week Madame Ranevskaya The Velvet Glove
Dow Hour of Great Mysteries The Bat
1961 Michael Shayne Murder Round My Wrist
1963 The Christophers What One Bootmaker Did
1967 Tarzan Mrs. Wilson The Pride of the Lioness
1969 Arsenic and Old Lace Abby Brewster
1970 The Front Page Narrator
1971 Do Not Fold, Spindle, or Mutilate Sophie Tate Curtis Nominated - Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
1972 Harvey Veta Louise Simmons
Here's Lucy Mrs. Kathleen Brady Lucy and the Little Old Lady
Ghost Story Miss Gilden Alter-Ego
1973-1974 The Snoop Sisters Ernesta Snoop Nominated - Emmy Award for Best Lead Actress in a Limited Series
1974 Black Day for Bluebeard Ernesta Snoop
1975 Hawaii Five-O Aunt Clara Retire in Sunny Hawaii - Forever
Nominated - Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series
1976 Arthur Hailey's the Moneychangers Dr. McCartney miniseries
Victory at Entebbe Etta Grossman-Wise
1978 A Family Upside Down Emma Long Nominated - Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
1980 The Love Boat Agatha Winslow 1 episode
1982 Love, Sidney Mrs. Clovis Pro and Cons
Murder is Easy Lavinia Fullerton
1983 A Caribbean Mystery Miss Marple
1984 Highway to Heaven Estelle Wicks
1985 Murder with Mirrors Miss Marple
http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu77/dalechevy32009/PBDHEHA-EC053.jpg
http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp19/MicheleBE_photos/LGwithHelenHayes1976NatlArtistAward.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/17/10 at 6:44 am
The person born on this day...Gary Sinise
Gary Alan Sinise (pronounced /səˈniːs/; born March 17, 1955) is an American actor and film director. During his career, Sinise has won an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for Palme d'Or and an Academy Award. In 1992, Sinise directed the film and played the role of George Milton in the movie adaptation of Of Mice and Men. Sinise was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1994 for his role as Lieutenant Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump. He won a Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries for his role in Truman. In 1996, he played a corrupt police officer in the Ron Howard dramatic hit Ransom. In 1998, Sinise was awarded an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for the television film George Wallace, a portrayal of the late Governor George C. Wallace, Jr., of Alabama.
Sinise currently stars in CBS's CSI: NY as Detective Mac Taylor. He recently narrated a biography for Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor recipient Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor at the Republican National Convention in support of John McCain's candidacy for President of the United States of America. In December 2008 he was awarded the Presidential Citizen Medal, the second highest civilian medal awarded to U.S. civilians. He received the medal from President George W. Bush for his humanitarian contributions to Iraqi school children and his involvement in the USO. He is the executive producer of Brothers at War, the award winning documentary about an American military family and the Iraq war.
1982, Sinise's career began to take off when he directed and starred in Steppenwolf's production of True West. In 1983, he earned an Obie Award for his direction and a year later appeared with John Malkovich in the PBS' American Playhouse production of the play. In 1988, Gary directed Miles from Home, a movie starring Richard Gere, about two brothers' fight against the foreclosure of the family farm. Sinise has appeared in many films including: Forrest Gump, Of Mice and Men (which he also directed), Apollo 13, Reindeer Games, Snake Eyes, Ransom, Mission to Mars, The Stand, Impostor and The Green Mile. He also narrated the audio books for John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley and Of Mice and Men.
In 2004, he began his first regular television series, in the crime drama CSI: New York, in which he plays Detective Mac Taylor. He was credited as a producer from season 2 onwards and also wrote the storyline of an episode. Several episodes have allowed Sinise to demonstrate his musical prowess, including a Season 2 episode where Mac Taylor plays the bass guitar in a jazz club with musicians Kimo and Carol Williams and Danny Gottlieb, members of the Lt. Dan Band, which Sinise and Kimo Williams co-founded in 2003. The band is named for Sinise's character in Forrest Gump.
Apart from his television and movie work, Sinise is the host in the video for the Epcot ride Mission: SPACE, at Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL and the current model for Baume & Mercier watches. He also co-founded Operation Iraqi Children.
Sinise is also the narrator for the Discovery Channel's mini series When We Left Earth in 2008.
Gary Sinise playing bass in the Lt. Dan Band
Sinise was awarded the Presidential Citizen Medal by George W. Bush for work he did supporting the U.S Military and humanitarian work supporting Iraqi children.
Sinise narrated Army and Army Reserve Army Strong recruitment ads in late 2008.
Sinise is the Executive Producer—along with David Scantling—of the Iraq War documentary Brothers at War. The film features an American military family and the experiences of three brothers: Jake Rademacher, Isaac Rademacher and Joseph Rademacher.
In 2009, Sinise co-narrated the National Memorial Day Concert on the Mall in Washington, D.C. with Joe Mantegna.
Sinise currently serves as the National Spokesperson for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. He spends much of his time raising awareness for the Memorial and other veterans' service organizations.
In November 2009, Sinise narrated the highly acclaimed World War II in HD on the History Channel.
Personal life
Sinise has been married to actress Moira Harris since 1981 and they have three children together: Sophia Ana (b. 1988), McCanna Anthony (b. 1990), and Ella Jane (b. 1992). In 2003, Sinise was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters by Amherst College.
Politics
Sinise's name was in an advertisement in the Los Angeles Times (17 August 2006) that condemned Hamas and Hezbollah and supported Israel in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.
Sinise has conservative Republican leanings. His CSI: NY co-star Hill Harper, a staunch supporter of President Barack Obama has noted that Sinise's political beliefs are much more conservative (than Harper's) but also says he and Sinise get along with each other on set and have decided not to discuss politics.
In June 2008, Sinise donated $2,300 to the Republican primary campaign of Arizona Senator John McCain.
Nicolle Wallace, a former adviser to George W. Bush and the presidential campaign of John McCain, stated in May 2009 that she believed Sinise could help bring about a resurgence of the Republican Party. Wallace stated, "The natural strengths that an actor brings to politics would come in handy to anyone going up against Obama in 2012. We will need an effective communicator who can stand toe to toe with Obama’s eloquence." Other names mentioned were those of Generals David Petraeus and Ray Odierno. Sinise later stated he had no intention of entering politics.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1984 Family Secrets Motorcyclist (TV)
True West Austin (TV broadcast of the play)
1989 The Final Days Richard Ben-Veniste (TV)
My Name is Bill W. Ebby, Bill's best friend (TV)
1991 The Grapes of Wrath Tom Joad (TV)
1992 Of Mice and Men George Milton Also directed.
A Midnight Clear Vance 'Mother' Wilkins
The Witness Young Soldier (TV)
1993 Jack the Bear Norman Strick
1994 Forrest Gump Lt. Dan Taylor Chlotrudis 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
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
The Stand Stu Redman (TV miniseries)
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
1995 Truman Harry S. Truman (TV)
CableACE Award for Best Actor in a Movie or Miniseries
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
Apollo 13 Ken Mattingly Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
The Quick and the Dead The Marshal
1996 Ransom Det. Jimmy Shaker
Albino Alligator Milo
1997 George Wallace George C. Wallace (TV)
CableACE Award for Best Actor in a Movie or Miniseries
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
1998 Snake Eyes Commander Kevin Dunne
1999 The Green Mile Burt Hammersmith
It's the Rage Morgan
That Championship Season Tom Daley (TV)
2000 Bruno Dino Battaglia
Mission to Mars Jim McConnell
Reindeer Games Gabriel Mercer
2002 A Gentleman's Game Foster Pearse
Path to War George Wallace
Made-Up Duncan Tivey
Impostor Spencer Olham
2003 Fallen Angel Terry (TV)
The Human Stain Nathan Zuckerman
Mission: SPACE (Disney Ride) Capcom
2004 The Forgotten Dr. Jack Munce
CSI: NY Det. Mac Taylor (TV series; 2004-present)
The Big Bounce Ray Ritchie
2006 Open Season Shaw (voice)http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d33/xxxxicexxxx/gary.jpg
2008 When We Left Earth Narrator (TV)
2009 On the Road in Iraq With Our Troops and Gary Sinise Himself
2009 WWII in HD Narrator (TV)
2010 One Last Wish Devon Johnson
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/flower_of_carnage/Famous%20Folk/CSI%20NY/gary-sinise-csi-781956.jpg
I like him, He's a fine actor. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/17/10 at 8:56 am
I like him, He's a fine actor. :)
Yes he is. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 03/17/10 at 4:11 pm
The word of the day...Forest
A forest is a large area where trees grow close together.
A forest of tall or narrow objects is a group of them standing or sticking upright.
http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt264/Rawr_81/Landscapes/Autumn_Forest_in_the_Sun.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z15/submarinr/forest.jpg
http://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/a460/y68475riuhrwe/forest.jpg
http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss161/sarbatra/Bosqueenfinlandia.jpg
http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx293/childofnature/forestpics057.jpg
http://i819.photobucket.com/albums/zz113/RomanV101/forest%20and%20nature%20images/redwood_national_forest_t2051.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n258/quntmphscs/LogginginStateforest.jpg
http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l442/Nethlindorniel/blends/robinhood2009.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh12/MaeAtNight/Scrap/Other/Extra/Untitled.png
I love 'em all. Very colorful. http://www.inthe00s.com/Smileys/stpatrick/smiley.gif
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 03/17/10 at 6:19 pm
The person born on this day...Gary Sinise
Gary Alan Sinise (pronounced /səˈniːs/; born March 17, 1955) is an American actor and film director. During his career, Sinise has won an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for Palme d'Or and an Academy Award. In 1992, Sinise directed the film and played the role of George Milton in the movie adaptation of Of Mice and Men. Sinise was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1994 for his role as Lieutenant Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump. He won a Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries for his role in Truman. In 1996, he played a corrupt police officer in the Ron Howard dramatic hit Ransom. In 1998, Sinise was awarded an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for the television film George Wallace, a portrayal of the late Governor George C. Wallace, Jr., of Alabama.
Sinise currently stars in CBS's CSI: NY as Detective Mac Taylor. He recently narrated a biography for Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor recipient Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor at the Republican National Convention in support of John McCain's candidacy for President of the United States of America. In December 2008 he was awarded the Presidential Citizen Medal, the second highest civilian medal awarded to U.S. civilians. He received the medal from President George W. Bush for his humanitarian contributions to Iraqi school children and his involvement in the USO. He is the executive producer of Brothers at War, the award winning documentary about an American military family and the Iraq war.
1982, Sinise's career began to take off when he directed and starred in Steppenwolf's production of True West. In 1983, he earned an Obie Award for his direction and a year later appeared with John Malkovich in the PBS' American Playhouse production of the play. In 1988, Gary directed Miles from Home, a movie starring Richard Gere, about two brothers' fight against the foreclosure of the family farm. Sinise has appeared in many films including: Forrest Gump, Of Mice and Men (which he also directed), Apollo 13, Reindeer Games, Snake Eyes, Ransom, Mission to Mars, The Stand, Impostor and The Green Mile. He also narrated the audio books for John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley and Of Mice and Men.
In 2004, he began his first regular television series, in the crime drama CSI: New York, in which he plays Detective Mac Taylor. He was credited as a producer from season 2 onwards and also wrote the storyline of an episode. Several episodes have allowed Sinise to demonstrate his musical prowess, including a Season 2 episode where Mac Taylor plays the bass guitar in a jazz club with musicians Kimo and Carol Williams and Danny Gottlieb, members of the Lt. Dan Band, which Sinise and Kimo Williams co-founded in 2003. The band is named for Sinise's character in Forrest Gump.
Apart from his television and movie work, Sinise is the host in the video for the Epcot ride Mission: SPACE, at Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL and the current model for Baume & Mercier watches. He also co-founded Operation Iraqi Children.
Sinise is also the narrator for the Discovery Channel's mini series When We Left Earth in 2008.
Gary Sinise playing bass in the Lt. Dan Band
Sinise was awarded the Presidential Citizen Medal by George W. Bush for work he did supporting the U.S Military and humanitarian work supporting Iraqi children.
Sinise narrated Army and Army Reserve Army Strong recruitment ads in late 2008.
Sinise is the Executive Producer—along with David Scantling—of the Iraq War documentary Brothers at War. The film features an American military family and the experiences of three brothers: Jake Rademacher, Isaac Rademacher and Joseph Rademacher.
In 2009, Sinise co-narrated the National Memorial Day Concert on the Mall in Washington, D.C. with Joe Mantegna.
Sinise currently serves as the National Spokesperson for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. He spends much of his time raising awareness for the Memorial and other veterans' service organizations.
In November 2009, Sinise narrated the highly acclaimed World War II in HD on the History Channel.
Personal life
Sinise has been married to actress Moira Harris since 1981 and they have three children together: Sophia Ana (b. 1988), McCanna Anthony (b. 1990), and Ella Jane (b. 1992). In 2003, Sinise was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters by Amherst College.
Politics
Sinise's name was in an advertisement in the Los Angeles Times (17 August 2006) that condemned Hamas and Hezbollah and supported Israel in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.
Sinise has conservative Republican leanings. His CSI: NY co-star Hill Harper, a staunch supporter of President Barack Obama has noted that Sinise's political beliefs are much more conservative (than Harper's) but also says he and Sinise get along with each other on set and have decided not to discuss politics.
In June 2008, Sinise donated $2,300 to the Republican primary campaign of Arizona Senator John McCain.
Nicolle Wallace, a former adviser to George W. Bush and the presidential campaign of John McCain, stated in May 2009 that she believed Sinise could help bring about a resurgence of the Republican Party. Wallace stated, "The natural strengths that an actor brings to politics would come in handy to anyone going up against Obama in 2012. We will need an effective communicator who can stand toe to toe with Obama’s eloquence." Other names mentioned were those of Generals David Petraeus and Ray Odierno. Sinise later stated he had no intention of entering politics.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1984 Family Secrets Motorcyclist (TV)
True West Austin (TV broadcast of the play)
1989 The Final Days Richard Ben-Veniste (TV)
My Name is Bill W. Ebby, Bill's best friend (TV)
1991 The Grapes of Wrath Tom Joad (TV)
1992 Of Mice and Men George Milton Also directed.
A Midnight Clear Vance 'Mother' Wilkins
The Witness Young Soldier (TV)
1993 Jack the Bear Norman Strick
1994 Forrest Gump Lt. Dan Taylor Chlotrudis 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
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
The Stand Stu Redman (TV miniseries)
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
1995 Truman Harry S. Truman (TV)
CableACE Award for Best Actor in a Movie or Miniseries
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
Apollo 13 Ken Mattingly Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
The Quick and the Dead The Marshal
1996 Ransom Det. Jimmy Shaker
Albino Alligator Milo
1997 George Wallace George C. Wallace (TV)
CableACE Award for Best Actor in a Movie or Miniseries
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
1998 Snake Eyes Commander Kevin Dunne
1999 The Green Mile Burt Hammersmith
It's the Rage Morgan
That Championship Season Tom Daley (TV)
2000 Bruno Dino Battaglia
Mission to Mars Jim McConnell
Reindeer Games Gabriel Mercer
2002 A Gentleman's Game Foster Pearse
Path to War George Wallace
Made-Up Duncan Tivey
Impostor Spencer Olham
2003 Fallen Angel Terry (TV)
The Human Stain Nathan Zuckerman
Mission: SPACE (Disney Ride) Capcom
2004 The Forgotten Dr. Jack Munce
CSI: NY Det. Mac Taylor (TV series; 2004-present)
The Big Bounce Ray Ritchie
2006 Open Season Shaw (voice)http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d33/xxxxicexxxx/gary.jpg
2008 When We Left Earth Narrator (TV)
2009 On the Road in Iraq With Our Troops and Gary Sinise Himself
2009 WWII in HD Narrator (TV)
2010 One Last Wish Devon Johnson
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/flower_of_carnage/Famous%20Folk/CSI%20NY/gary-sinise-csi-781956.jpg
Lieutenant Dan!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 03/17/10 at 6:51 pm
Lieutenant Dan!
Oh yes...I did see Forrest Gump and I remember the character 'Lieutenant Dan' quite well.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/17/10 at 6:52 pm
Oh yes...I did see Forrest Gump and I remember the character 'Lieutenant Dan' quite well.
and Forrest Gump helped him.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/18/10 at 4:55 am
I love 'em all. Very colorful. http://www.inthe00s.com/Smileys/stpatrick/smiley.gif
Thanks. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/18/10 at 4:59 am
The word of the day...Airplane
An airplane is a vehicle with wings and one or more engines that enable it to fly through the air.
http://i883.photobucket.com/albums/ac39/commoditycity/IMG_0120.jpg
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l271/papayalovesyou/Bob1.jpg
http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx212/thatlittleboutique/Fabric%20Choices/IMG_4724.jpg
http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/xx140/Backwoodspilot/Airplane/Mar2010panel01.jpg
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm55/Scooter_in_Korea/Korean_War_Museum_03May2008/KoreanWarMuseum016.jpg
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp333/closelywt/p14700sv275JPG.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z41/bigwheels4g/airplane.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z24/dragonflame88D/airplane.jpg
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m98/aktraveler/Fairbanks/Pioneer%20Park/AirplaneDisplay2.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/18/10 at 5:03 am
The person who was born on this day...Peter Graves
Peter Aurness (March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010), known professionally as Peter Graves, was an American film and television actor. He was best known for his starring role in the CBS television series Mission: Impossible from 1967 to 1973. His brother is actor James Arness (born 1923). Graves was born Peter Aurness in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a son of Rolf Cirkler Aurness (1894-1982), a businessman, and his wife Ruth (nee Duesler, died 1986), a journalist. Graves' ancestry was Norwegian and German. The family name originally was "Aursnes," but when Rolf's father, Peter Aursnes, immigrated to New York City in 1887, he changed the spelling.
Graves graduated from Southwest High School in 1944, and spent two years in the United States Army Air Force near the end of World War II. He then enrolled at the University of Minnesota on the G.I. Bill, and was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.
Career
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Graves appeared in more than seventy films, TV shows and TV movies. He was featured as:
* The rancher (Broken Wheel Ranch) and adoptive single father, Jim Newton, to a son played by child actor Bobby Diamond on the 1950s NBC television series Fury. The other costars were William Fawcett, who played the housekeeper and general ranch hand Pete Wilkey, and Roger Mobley, who appeared as Joey's friend Homer "Packy" Lambert.
* Price, a German spy pretending to be a prisoner of war in the World War II film Stalag 17
* A father on the run from the law in Night of the Hunter
* Jim Phelps, the leader of the elite Impossible Missions Force in the CBS TV series Mission: Impossible
* The host of a documentary concerning the Bigfoot craze of the 1970's called The Mysterious Monsters in 1976.
* Major Noah Cooper, commander of the Fighting 69th squadron in the NBC TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
* Captain Clarence Oveur in the comedies Airplane! and Airplane II: The Sequel
* Colonel John Camden on the WB Network TV series 7th Heaven, with Barbara Rush as his wife, Ruth
From 1960–1961, Graves starred as leading character Christopher Cobb in 34 episodes of the TV series Whiplash. In the story line, Cobb is an American who arrives in Australia in the 1850s to establish the country's first stagecoach line, using a bullwhip rather than a gun to fight the crooks that he encounters. The series also starred Anthony Wickert. Graves also starred in Court Martial as well as guest roles in such series as Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Route 66.
In 1967, Graves was recruited by Desilu Studios to replace Steven Hill as the lead actor on Mission: Impossible. Graves played Jim Phelps, the sometimes gruff leader of the Impossible Missions Force or IMF, for the remaining six seasons of the series.
After the series ended in 1973, Graves played a cameo-type support role in the feature film Sidecar Racers in Australia which was released in 1975. Graves also made a guest appearance in the teen soap opera Class of '74 in mid-1974, playing himself.
In 1988, a Hollywood writers' strike resulted in a new Mission: Impossible series being commissioned. Graves was the only original cast member to return as a regular (although others made guest appearances). The series was filmed in Australia, and Graves made his third journey there for acting work. The new version of Mission: Impossible lasted for two seasons, ending in 1990. Bookending his work on Mission: Impossible, Graves starred in two pilot films called Call to Danger, which were an attempt to create a Mission: Impossible-style series in which Graves played a government agent (the Bureau of National Resources) who recruited civilians with special talents for secret missions. The 1960s version of the pilot, according to Patrick White in The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier (which White reports was actually the second such pilot, but Graves was not involved in the first), is credited with winning Graves the role of Phelps; after Mission: Impossible ended in 1973, Graves filmed a third version of the pilot (this one structured as a made-for-TV movie), but it did not sell as a series. The concept was later used in the brief 1980s adventure series Masquerade.
Handprints of Peter Graves in front of Hollywood Hills Amphitheater at the Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park
During the 1990s, he hosted the documentary series Biography on A&E. He also acted in a number of films featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000, which subsequently featured running jokes about Graves' Biography work and presumed sibling rivalry with Arness. The films that have been featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 include SST: Death Flight, It Conquered the World, Beginning of the End, Parts: The Clonus Horror, and an uncredited voiceover in Attack of the the Eye Creatures. The movie Killers from Space was featured in The Film Crew, Michael J. Nelson's follow-up to MST3K. Graves himself parodied his Biography work in the film Men in Black II, hosting an exposé television show.
In the 1996 film update of Mission: Impossible, the character of Phelps was reimagined as a traitor who murders three fellow IMF agents, a decision that disappointed Graves. Jon Voight was cast as Phelps.
On October 30, 2009 Graves was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2009, AirTran Airways featured Graves in a series of web-only "Internetiquette" videos in which Graves appeared in a pilot's uniform and references classic Airplane! lines. The videos were part of an AirTran Airways campaign to promote their in-flight wireless Internet access.
In the summer of 2009, Graves signed on as a spokesperson for reverse mortgage lender American Advisors Group (AAG). Graves appeared in a national commercial in which he educated seniors about the benefits of reverse mortgages.
Personal life
Graves was a devout Christian. He was married to Joan Endress from 1950 until his death. Their marriage produced three daughters: Kelly Jean, Claudia King and Amanda Lee, all of whom survive him. Graves had six grandchildren.
Death
Graves died of a heart attack on March 14, 2010, four days prior to his 84th birthday. The actor had just returned from brunch with his wife and children, collapsing before he could enter the house. Although one of his daughters administered CPR, she could not revive him.
Awards
Graves was awarded a Golden Globe Award in 1971 for his role as Jim Phelps in the series Mission: Impossible. He also received nominations for an Emmy Award and Golden Globe awards in other seasons of that show. Graves also won a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding informational series in 1997 as host of Biography.
Filmography
* Winning Your Wings (1942) (short subject)
* Up Front (1951)
* Fort Defiance (1951)
* The Congregation (1952)
* Red Planet Mars (1952)
* Stalag 17 (1953)
* War Paint (1953)
* East of Sumatra (1953)
* Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953)
* Killers from Space (1954)
* The Yellow Tomahawk (1954)
* The Raid (1954)
* Black Tuesday (1954)
* Fort Yuma (1955)
* The Long Gray Line (1955)
* Robbers' Roost (1955)
* Wichita (1955)
* The Naked Street (1955)
* The Night of the Hunter (1955)
* The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
* It Conquered the World (1956)
* Hold Back the Night (1956)
* Canyon River (1956)
* Beginning of the End (1957)
* Bayou (1957)
* Death in Small Doses (1957)
* Wolf Larsen (1958)
* A Stranger in My Arms (1959)
* A Rage to Live (1965)
* Texas Across the River (1966)
* The Ballad of Josie (1967)
* Mission: Impossible vs. the Mob (1968) (compilation of episodes released to European theaters)
* Sergeant Ryker (1968)
* The Five Man Army (1969)
* Where Have All The People Gone? (1974) (TV movie)
* Scream of the Wolf (1974)
* Sidecar Racers (1975)
* The Mysterious Monsters (1976) (documentary) (narrator)
* High Seas Hijack (1978) (in English version)
* The Clonus Horror (1979)
* Survival Run (1980)
* Airplane! (1980)
* The Guns and the Fury (1981)
* Savannah Smiles (1982)
* Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
* The Winds of War (1983)
* Aces Go Places 3 (1984)
* Number One with a Bullet (1987)
* War and Remembrance (1988)
* Addams Family Values (1993)
* 7th Heaven 11 episodes (1996–2007)
* House on Haunted Hill (1999)
* Men in Black II (2002)
* Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
* House 1 episode (2005)
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http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i219/tracyharbur/PeterGravesAmandaBlakeandmydad.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/18/10 at 5:06 am
The person who died on this day...Natasha Richardson
Natasha Jane Richardson (11 May 1963 – 18 March 2009) was an English-born American stage and screen actress. 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, 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.
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 unreleased 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 UK 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
Search Wikinews 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 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, 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 and in London's West End as a mark of respect to 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 in the church cemetery.
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
TBA The Wildest Dream Ruth Mallory (wife of George Mallory) Voice only, final performance, 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://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa177/keancharles/Natasha_Richardson.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk90/notiziegossip/album2/NatashaRichardson.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/18/10 at 6:59 am
The person who died on this day...Natasha Richardson
Natasha Jane Richardson (11 May 1963 – 18 March 2009) was an English-born American stage and screen actress. 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, 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.
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 unreleased 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 UK 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
Search Wikinews 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 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, 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 and in London's West End as a mark of respect to 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 in the church cemetery.
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
TBA The Wildest Dream Ruth Mallory (wife of George Mallory) Voice only, final performance, 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://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa177/keancharles/Natasha_Richardson.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk90/notiziegossip/album2/NatashaRichardson.jpg
Gone too soon. :(
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/18/10 at 7:19 am
Gone too soon. :(
Yes, another tragic accident :\'(
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 03/18/10 at 10:42 am
The word of the day...Airplane
An airplane is a vehicle with wings and one or more engines that enable it to fly through the air.
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http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx212/thatlittleboutique/Fabric%20Choices/IMG_4724.jpg
http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/xx140/Backwoodspilot/Airplane/Mar2010panel01.jpg
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm55/Scooter_in_Korea/Korean_War_Museum_03May2008/KoreanWarMuseum016.jpg
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp333/closelywt/p14700sv275JPG.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z41/bigwheels4g/airplane.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z24/dragonflame88D/airplane.jpg
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m98/aktraveler/Fairbanks/Pioneer%20Park/AirplaneDisplay2.jpg
AIRPLANE!
Gotta be just about my favorite comedy movie ever.
Peter Graves was the pilot.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/18/10 at 10:45 am
We lost both people of the day. :\'( :\'( :\'( This is so sad about Natasha Richardson. We have all of the Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett and we have watched all of them at least a million times each-ok, maybe not THAT much but we have watched them so much that we had to replace a few. The other day we were watching Copper Beeches and every time I watched I never really paid attention to the opening credits. This time, a name caught my eye, "Introducing Natasha Richardson"
WHAT??!!! She is in that? All this time of watching that episode I didn't realize it was her until just last week or so. :-[
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 03/18/10 at 11:55 am
Gone too soon. :(
Yes, another tragic accident :\'(
Of course. :\'( :\'( I bet she had lots of potential. Had it not been for that tragic accident, who knows how long she would've lived (naturally)?
She was great in her role as the mom in the "Parent Trap" remake.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 03/18/10 at 11:57 am
The person who was born on this day...Peter Graves
Peter Aurness (March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010), known professionally as Peter Graves, was an American film and television actor. He was best known for his starring role in the CBS television series Mission: Impossible from 1967 to 1973. His brother is actor James Arness (born 1923). Graves was born Peter Aurness in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a son of Rolf Cirkler Aurness (1894-1982), a businessman, and his wife Ruth (nee Duesler, died 1986), a journalist. Graves' ancestry was Norwegian and German. The family name originally was "Aursnes," but when Rolf's father, Peter Aursnes, immigrated to New York City in 1887, he changed the spelling.
Graves graduated from Southwest High School in 1944, and spent two years in the United States Army Air Force near the end of World War II. He then enrolled at the University of Minnesota on the G.I. Bill, and was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.
Career
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Graves appeared in more than seventy films, TV shows and TV movies. He was featured as:
* The rancher (Broken Wheel Ranch) and adoptive single father, Jim Newton, to a son played by child actor Bobby Diamond on the 1950s NBC television series Fury. The other costars were William Fawcett, who played the housekeeper and general ranch hand Pete Wilkey, and Roger Mobley, who appeared as Joey's friend Homer "Packy" Lambert.
* Price, a German spy pretending to be a prisoner of war in the World War II film Stalag 17
* A father on the run from the law in Night of the Hunter
* Jim Phelps, the leader of the elite Impossible Missions Force in the CBS TV series Mission: Impossible
* The host of a documentary concerning the Bigfoot craze of the 1970's called The Mysterious Monsters in 1976.
* Major Noah Cooper, commander of the Fighting 69th squadron in the NBC TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
* Captain Clarence Oveur in the comedies Airplane! and Airplane II: The Sequel
* Colonel John Camden on the WB Network TV series 7th Heaven, with Barbara Rush as his wife, Ruth
From 1960–1961, Graves starred as leading character Christopher Cobb in 34 episodes of the TV series Whiplash. In the story line, Cobb is an American who arrives in Australia in the 1850s to establish the country's first stagecoach line, using a bullwhip rather than a gun to fight the crooks that he encounters. The series also starred Anthony Wickert. Graves also starred in Court Martial as well as guest roles in such series as Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Route 66.
In 1967, Graves was recruited by Desilu Studios to replace Steven Hill as the lead actor on Mission: Impossible. Graves played Jim Phelps, the sometimes gruff leader of the Impossible Missions Force or IMF, for the remaining six seasons of the series.
After the series ended in 1973, Graves played a cameo-type support role in the feature film Sidecar Racers in Australia which was released in 1975. Graves also made a guest appearance in the teen soap opera Class of '74 in mid-1974, playing himself.
In 1988, a Hollywood writers' strike resulted in a new Mission: Impossible series being commissioned. Graves was the only original cast member to return as a regular (although others made guest appearances). The series was filmed in Australia, and Graves made his third journey there for acting work. The new version of Mission: Impossible lasted for two seasons, ending in 1990. Bookending his work on Mission: Impossible, Graves starred in two pilot films called Call to Danger, which were an attempt to create a Mission: Impossible-style series in which Graves played a government agent (the Bureau of National Resources) who recruited civilians with special talents for secret missions. The 1960s version of the pilot, according to Patrick White in The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier (which White reports was actually the second such pilot, but Graves was not involved in the first), is credited with winning Graves the role of Phelps; after Mission: Impossible ended in 1973, Graves filmed a third version of the pilot (this one structured as a made-for-TV movie), but it did not sell as a series. The concept was later used in the brief 1980s adventure series Masquerade.
Handprints of Peter Graves in front of Hollywood Hills Amphitheater at the Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park
During the 1990s, he hosted the documentary series Biography on A&E. He also acted in a number of films featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000, which subsequently featured running jokes about Graves' Biography work and presumed sibling rivalry with Arness. The films that have been featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 include SST: Death Flight, It Conquered the World, Beginning of the End, Parts: The Clonus Horror, and an uncredited voiceover in Attack of the the Eye Creatures. The movie Killers from Space was featured in The Film Crew, Michael J. Nelson's follow-up to MST3K. Graves himself parodied his Biography work in the film Men in Black II, hosting an exposé television show.
In the 1996 film update of Mission: Impossible, the character of Phelps was reimagined as a traitor who murders three fellow IMF agents, a decision that disappointed Graves. Jon Voight was cast as Phelps.
On October 30, 2009 Graves was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2009, AirTran Airways featured Graves in a series of web-only "Internetiquette" videos in which Graves appeared in a pilot's uniform and references classic Airplane! lines. The videos were part of an AirTran Airways campaign to promote their in-flight wireless Internet access.
In the summer of 2009, Graves signed on as a spokesperson for reverse mortgage lender American Advisors Group (AAG). Graves appeared in a national commercial in which he educated seniors about the benefits of reverse mortgages.
Personal life
Graves was a devout Christian. He was married to Joan Endress from 1950 until his death. Their marriage produced three daughters: Kelly Jean, Claudia King and Amanda Lee, all of whom survive him. Graves had six grandchildren.
Death
Graves died of a heart attack on March 14, 2010, four days prior to his 84th birthday. The actor had just returned from brunch with his wife and children, collapsing before he could enter the house. Although one of his daughters administered CPR, she could not revive him.
Awards
Graves was awarded a Golden Globe Award in 1971 for his role as Jim Phelps in the series Mission: Impossible. He also received nominations for an Emmy Award and Golden Globe awards in other seasons of that show. Graves also won a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding informational series in 1997 as host of Biography.
Filmography
* Winning Your Wings (1942) (short subject)
* Up Front (1951)
* Fort Defiance (1951)
* The Congregation (1952)
* Red Planet Mars (1952)
* Stalag 17 (1953)
* War Paint (1953)
* East of Sumatra (1953)
* Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953)
* Killers from Space (1954)
* The Yellow Tomahawk (1954)
* The Raid (1954)
* Black Tuesday (1954)
* Fort Yuma (1955)
* The Long Gray Line (1955)
* Robbers' Roost (1955)
* Wichita (1955)
* The Naked Street (1955)
* The Night of the Hunter (1955)
* The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
* It Conquered the World (1956)
* Hold Back the Night (1956)
* Canyon River (1956)
* Beginning of the End (1957)
* Bayou (1957)
* Death in Small Doses (1957)
* Wolf Larsen (1958)
* A Stranger in My Arms (1959)
* A Rage to Live (1965)
* Texas Across the River (1966)
* The Ballad of Josie (1967)
* Mission: Impossible vs. the Mob (1968) (compilation of episodes released to European theaters)
* Sergeant Ryker (1968)
* The Five Man Army (1969)
* Where Have All The People Gone? (1974) (TV movie)
* Scream of the Wolf (1974)
* Sidecar Racers (1975)
* The Mysterious Monsters (1976) (documentary) (narrator)
* High Seas Hijack (1978) (in English version)
* The Clonus Horror (1979)
* Survival Run (1980)
* Airplane! (1980)
* The Guns and the Fury (1981)
* Savannah Smiles (1982)
* Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
* The Winds of War (1983)
* Aces Go Places 3 (1984)
* Number One with a Bullet (1987)
* War and Remembrance (1988)
* Addams Family Values (1993)
* 7th Heaven 11 episodes (1996–2007)
* House on Haunted Hill (1999)
* Men in Black II (2002)
* Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
* House 1 episode (2005)
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That's right...we lost him just a few days ago. How sad it must be for anyone to check out just a couple days before their birthday. :\'( :\'(
Yet the Ventura County Star newspaper lists him as turning 84 today. Not very good editing on their part...
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 03/18/10 at 11:59 am
The word of the day...Airplane
An airplane is a vehicle with wings and one or more engines that enable it to fly through the air.
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Air travel can be fun. I never actually rode in one until I was 11 3/4 years old (due to my early fear of heights). But once I got up in the air, I loved the experience and wondered when we were gonna do it again.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/18/10 at 1:36 pm
Of course. :\'( :\'( I bet she had lots of potential. Had it not been for that tragic accident, who knows how long she would've lived (naturally)?
She was great in her role as the mom in the "Parent Trap" remake.
When was that? ???
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/18/10 at 2:43 pm
Air travel can be fun. I never actually rode in one until I was 11 3/4 years old (due to my early fear of heights). But once I got up in the air, I loved the experience and wondered when we were gonna do it again.
I never got on a plane until my early 20's.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/18/10 at 2:44 pm
When was that? ???
1998 with Lindsay Lohan.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/18/10 at 3:51 pm
I never got on a plane until my early 20's.
I was about 11 the first time I flew. I was ok with it back than but the more & more I fly, the more & more I absolutely HATE it with a passion. If I never had to fly again in my life, I would be very happy. But, I married someone who has roots in Puerto Rico and convinced me to buy a house down there. :-\\ The only way to get to it is by flying because they haven't built the bridge yet.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 03/18/10 at 4:17 pm
At the time....it was shocking news of Natasha Richardson's death.
Peter Graves...I always think of Mission Impossible, Beneath the Twelve Mile Reef (with a young Robert Wagner), Airplane (or Flying High, as we knew it in Oz)....and he starred in a early 60's western (made in Australia) called ....Whiplash.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/18/10 at 4:20 pm
At the time....it was shocking news of Natasha Richardson's death.
Peter Graves...I always think of Mission Impossible, Beneath the Twelve Mile Reef (with a young Robert Wagner), Airplane (or Flying High, as we knew it in Oz)....and he starred in a early 60's western (made in Australia) called ....Whiplash.
You ever seen a grown man naked?
Joey, have you ever been in a... in a Turkish prison?
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 03/19/10 at 12:32 am
You ever seen a grown man naked?
Joey, have you ever been in a... in a Turkish prison?
Cat
Well well well, Scraps is a boy dog, isn't he?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/19/10 at 6:58 am
The word of the day...Plain
A plain object, surface, or fabric is entirely in one colour and has no pattern, design, or writing on it.
Something that is plain is very simple in style.
If you describe someone as plain, you think they look ordinary and not at all beautiful.
A plain is a large flat area of land with very few trees on it.
You can use plain before an adjective in order to emphasize it.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/19/10 at 7:00 am
The person born on this day...Glenn Close
Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of stage and screen, perhaps best known for her role as deranged stalker Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction (1987) and more recently the FX TV series Damages. She has been nominated five times for an Oscar, and has won three Tonys, an Obie, four Emmys, two Golden Globes, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Close started her professional stage work in 1974 and her film work in 1982, has had a lengthy career as a versatile actress and performer. She is remembered for her chilling roles as the scheming aristocrat The Marquise de Merteuil in Dangerous Liaisons and as the psychotic book editor Alex in Fatal Attraction. She has been nominated for five Academy Awards, for Best Actress in Dangerous Liaisons and Fatal Attraction, and for Best Supporting Actress in The Natural, The Big Chill, and The World According to Garp, her first film. In 1984, Close starred in the critically acclaimed drama Something about Amelia, a Golden Globe winning television movie about a family destroyed by sexual abuse. She played the role of Sunny von Bülow in the 1990 film Reversal of Fortune to critical acclaim.
In the 1990s, Close took on challenging roles on television as well. She starred in the highly rated presentation of the 1991 Hallmark Hall of Fame drama Sarah, Plain and Tall (and its two sequels) and also in the made-for-TV movie Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (1995); from these roles she was nominated for 8 Emmys (winning one) and 9 Golden Globes (winning one in 2005 and 2007). She also appeared in the newsroom comedy-drama The Paper (1994), the alien invasion satire Mars Attacks! (1996, as The First Lady), the Disney hit 101 Dalmatians (1996, as the sinister Cruella de Vil) and its sequel 102 Dalmatians (2000) and the blockbuster Air Force One (1997), as the trustworthy vice-president to Harrison Ford's president. In 2001, she starred in an elaborate production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic musical South Pacific. In 2005, Close joined the FX crime series The Shield, in which she played a no-nonsense precinct captain. Her appearance on the cop drama was such a success that she is now starring in a new hit series of her own for 2007, Damages (also on FX) instead of continuing her character on The Shield. So far the Academy's Oscar has eluded her, being nominated several times during the 1980s, but never being named the winner.
Close has had an extensive career performing in many Broadway musicals. One of her most notable roles on stage was Norma Desmond in the Andrew Lloyd Webber production of Sunset Boulevard, for which Close won a Tony award playing the role on Broadway in 1994. Close was also a guest star, at the Andrew Lloyd Webber fiftieth birthday party celebration, in the Royal Albert Hall in 1998. She appeared as Norma Desmond and performed songs from Sunset Boulevard. Close is being considered to reprise the role of Norma Desmond in the long talked- about film of Sunset Boulevard, based on the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. The film and cast have not officially been announced. In addition to Sunset Boulevard, Close also won Tony Awards in 1984 for The Real Thing and in 1992 for Death and the Maiden.
Recently, Close performed at Carnegie Hall narrating the violin concerto The Runaway Bunny, a concerto for reader, violin and orchestra, composed and conducted by Glen Roven.
Close won the 2009 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama series for her role in Damages. In an interview after her win, Close admitted her role of Patty Hewes in the series was the role of her life. Also in 2009, she narrated the environmental film Home.
Personal life
In February 2006, Close married her longtime boyfriend David E. (Evans) Shaw. They reside in Scarborough, Maine. The actress was previously married to Cabot Wade (1969–1973) and James Marlas (1984–1987). She has a daughter, Annie Maude Starke, from her previous relationship with John Starke that ended in 1991. Close is an avid New York Mets fan. She has donated money to election campaigns of many Democratic politicians, including Hillary Rodham Clinton, Howard Dean, John Edwards and Barack Obama.
Close is a dog lover and writes a blog for Fetchdog.com, where she interviews other famous people about their relationships with their dogs. She lives in New York City and Wellington, Florida.
Stage productions
Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals
Jim Dale and Glenn Close performing Busker Alley in 2006.
* Rex (Broadway, 1976), Richard Rodgers-Sheldon Harnick musical about Henry VIII
* Barnum (Charity Barnum, Broadway, 1980), Cy Coleman musical about Phineas T. Barnum
* Sunset Boulevard (Norma Desmond, Broadway, 1994), Andrew Lloyd Webber musical based on the classic 1950 motion picture Sunset Boulevard
* Busker Alley (Off-Broadway, 2006, one-performance benefit concert), Sherman Brothers musical based on the 1938 movie St. Martin's Lane, directed by Tony Walton
Broadway plays
* Love for Love by William Congreve (New Phoenix Repertory Co. at the Helen Hayes Theatre, November 1974)
* The Rules of the Game by Luigi Pirandello (New Phoenix Repertory Co. at the Helen Hayes Theatre, December 1974)
* The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers (New Phoenix Repertory Co. at the Helen Hayes Theatre, December 1974)
* The Crucifer of Blood by Paul Giovanni (Helen Hayes Theatre, September 1978)
* The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard (Plymouth Theatre, December 1983)
* Benefactors by Michael Frayn (Brooks Atkinson Theatre, December 1985)
* Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman (Brooks Atkinson Theatre, February 1992)
Off-Broadway
* The Crazy Locomotive by Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz (Chelsea Theater Center, 1977)
* Uncommon Women and Others (1977)
* The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs, an adaptation of George Moore's short story directed by French director Simone Benmussa.
Tony Awards
* 1980: Best Featured Actress in a Musical - Barnum (NOM)
* 1984: Best Actress in a Play - The Real Thing (WIN)
* 1992: Best Actress in a Play - Death and the Maiden (WIN)
* 1995: Best Actress in a Musical - Sunset Boulevard (WIN)
Obie Awards
* 1982: Best Actress in a Play - The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs (WIN)
Filmography
Film
Year Film Role Notes
1982 The World According to Garp Jenny Fields Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nomination — Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1983 The Big Chill Sarah Cooper Nomination — Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1984 The Natural Iris Gaines Nomination — Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
The Stone Boy Ruth Hillerman
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes Jane Porter dubbed Andie MacDowell's voice
1985 Maxie Jan / Maxie Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Jagged Edge Teddy Barnes
1987 Fatal Attraction Alex Forrest Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1988 Dangerous Liaisons Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Light Years Queen Ambisextra (voice) French title: Gandahar
1989 Immediate Family Linda Spector
1990 Hamlet Queen Gertrude
Reversal of Fortune Sunny von Bulow
1991 Hook Gutless
Meeting Venus Karin Anderson
1993 The House of the Spirits Ferula Trueba
1994 The Paper Alicia Clark
1996 Mars Attacks! First Lady Marsha Dale
101 Dalmatians Cruella de Vil Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Mary Reilly Mrs. Farraday
1997 In & Out Herself cameo appearance
Air Force One Vice President Kathryn Bennett
Paradise Road Adrienne Pargiter
1999 Tarzan Kala voice
Cookie's Fortune Camille Dixon
2000 102 Dalmatians Cruella de Vil Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her Dr. Elaine Keener
2001 The Safety of Objects Esther Gold
2003 Le Divorce Olivia Pace
Roberto Benigni's Pinocchio The Blue Fairy English voice
2004 Heights Diana
The Stepford Wives Claire Wellington
2005 The Chumscrubber Carrie Johnson
Nine Lives Maggie
2006 Hoodwinked! Granny voice
2007 Evening Mrs. Wittenborn
2010 Hoodwinked 2: Hood vs. Evil Granny voice
Documentary
Year Film Role Notes
1990 Divine Garbo Herself Greta Garbo documentary
1999 The Lady with the Torch Herself-host The 75th Anniversary of Columbia Pictures
2001 Welcome To Hollywood Herself
2003 What I Want My Words To Do To You: Voices From Inside A Women's Maximum Security Prison Herself
A Closer Walk Narrator Robert Bilheimer film. AIDS epidemic.
2007 Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age Herself
2009 Home Narrator Yann Arthus-Bertrand film.
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1975 The Rules of the Game Neighbor
1979 Too Far to Go Rebecca Kuehn
Orphan Train Jessica
1982 The Elephant Man Princess Alexandra
1984 Something About Amelia Gail Bennett Nominated — Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
1988 Stones for Ibarra Sara Everton
1990 She'll Take Romance
1991 Sarah, Plain and Tall Sarah Wheaton Nominated — Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
1993 Skylark Sarah Witting Nominated — Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
1995 Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress - Television Miniseries or Film
The Simpsons (1995-2008) Mona Simpson
1997 In the Gloaming Janet Nominated — Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress - Television Miniseries or Film
1999 Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End Sarah Witting
2000 Baby Adult Sophie (narrator)
2001 The Ballad of Lucy Whipple Arvella Whipple
South Pacific Nellie Forbush
2002 Will and Grace Fanny Lieber Nominated — Emmy Award for Best Guest Actress - Comedy Series
2003 Brush with Fate Cornelia Engelbrecht
The Lion in Winter Eleanor of Aquitaine Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress - Television Miniseries or Film
Nominated — Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
2004 Strip Search Karen Moore
The West Wing Evelyn Baker Lang
2005 The Shield Captain Monica Rawling Nominated — Emmy Award for Best Actress - Drama Series
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama
2007-present Damages Patty Hewes Emmy Award for Best Actress - Drama Series (2008, 2009)
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama
Nominated - Golden Globe for Best Actress - Television Series Drama (2010)
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress
Other awards
* 1988: People's Choice Award - Favorite Motion Picture Actress
* 1992: Golden Camera/ Germany - Best International Actress
* 2008: Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service - For outstanding achievements in the dramatic arts
* 2009: Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion pictures
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/19/10 at 7:01 am
She was good in the film with Michael Douglas.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/19/10 at 7:04 am
The person who died on this day...Arthur C. Clarke
Sri Lankabhimanya Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS (16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008) was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, most famous for the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, written in collaboration with director Stanley Kubrick, a collaboration which also produced the film of the same name; and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke were known as the "Big Three" of science fiction.
Clarke served in the Royal Air Force as a radar instructor and technician from 1941–1946. He proposed a satellite communication system in 1945 which won him the Franklin Institute Stuart Ballantine Gold Medal in 1963. He was the chairman of the British Interplanetary Society from 1947–1950 and again in 1953. Later, he helped fight for the preservation of lowland gorillas.
Clarke emigrated to Sri Lanka in 1956 largely to pursue his interest in scuba diving, and lived there until his death. He was knighted by the British monarchy in 1998, and was awarded Sri Lanka's highest civil honour, Sri Lankabhimanya, in 2005.
While Clarke had a few stories published in fanzines, between 1937 and 1945, his first professional sales appeared in Astounding Science Fiction in 1946: "Loophole" was published in April, while "Rescue Party", his first sale, was published in May. Along with his writing Clarke briefly worked as Assistant Editor of Science Abstracts (1949) before devoting himself to writing full-time from 1951 onward. Clarke also contributed to the Dan Dare series published in Eagle, and his first three published novels were written for children.
Clarke corresponded with C. S. Lewis in the 1940s and 1950s and they once met in an Oxford pub, The Eastgate, to discuss science fiction and space travel. Clarke, after Lewis's death, voiced great praise for him, saying the Ransom Trilogy was one of the few works of science fiction that could be considered literature.
In 1948 he wrote "The Sentinel" for a BBC competition. Though the story was rejected, it changed the course of Clarke's career. Not only was it the basis for A Space Odyssey, but "The Sentinel" also introduced a more mystical and cosmic element to Clarke's work. Many of Clarke's later works feature a technologically advanced but still-prejudiced mankind being confronted by a superior alien intelligence. In the cases of The City and the Stars (and its original version, Against the Fall of Night), Childhood's End, and the 2001 series, this encounter produces a conceptual breakthrough that accelerates humanity into the next stage of its evolution. In Clarke's authorized biography, Neil McAleer writes that: "many readers and critics still consider Arthur C. Clarke's best novel."
Clarke lived in Sri Lanka from 1956 until his death in 2008, having emigrated there when it was still called Ceylon, first in Unawatuna on the south coast, and then in Colombo. Clarke held citizenship of both the UK and Sri Lanka. He was an avid scuba diver and a member of the Underwater Explorers Club. In addition to writing, Clarke and business partner, Mike Wilson set up several diving-related ventures. In 1961, while filming off Great Basses Reef, Wilson found a wreck and retrieved silver coins. Plans to dive on the wreck the following year were stopped when Clarke developed paralysis, ultimately diagnosed as polio. A year later, Clarke observed the salvage from the shore and the surface. The ship, ultimately identified as belonging to the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb, yielded fused bags of silver rupees, cannons, and other artifacts, carefully documented, became the basis for The Treasure of the Great Reef. Living in Sri Lanka and learning its history also inspired the backdrop for his novel The Fountains of Paradise in which he described a space elevator. This, he believed, would make rocket based access to space obsolete and, more so than geostationary satellites, would ultimately be his scientific legacy.
His many predictions culminated in 1958 when he began a series of essays in various magazines that eventually became Profiles of the Future published in book form in 1962. A timetable up to the year 2100 describes inventions and ideas including such things as a "global library" for 2005. The same work also contained "Clarke's First Law" and text which would become Clarke's three laws in later editions.
Later years
In the early 1970s Clarke signed a three-book publishing deal, a record for a science-fiction writer at the time. The first of the three was Rendezvous with Rama in 1973, which won him all the main genre awards and has spawned sequels that, along with the 2001 series, formed the backbone of his later career.
In 1975 Clarke's short story "The Star" was not included in a new high school English textbook in Sri Lanka because of concerns that it might offend Roman Catholics even though it had already been selected. The same textbook also caused controversy because it replaced Shakespeare's work with that of Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Isaac Asimov.
In the 1980s Clarke became well known to many for his television programmes Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World, Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Powers and Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious Universe. In 1986 he was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America. In 1988 he was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome, having originally contracted polio in 1962, and needed to use a wheelchair most of the time thereafter. Sir Arthur C Clarke was for many years a Vice Patron of the British Polio Fellowship.
In the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours Clarke was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) "for services to British cultural interests in Sri Lanka". The same year he became the first Chancellor of the International Space University, serving from 1989 to 2004 and he also served as Chancellor of Moratuwa University in Sri Lanka from 1979 to 2002.
In 1994, Clarke appeared in a science fiction film; he portrayed himself in the telefilm Without Warning, an American production about an apocalyptic alien first contact scenario presented in the form of a faux newscast.
On 26 May 2000 he was made a Knight Bachelor "for services to literature" at a ceremony in Colombo. The award of a knighthood had been announced in the 1998 New Year Honours, but investiture with the award had been delayed, at Clarke's request, because of an accusation, by the British tabloid The Sunday Mirror, of paedophilia. The charge was subsequently found to be baseless by the Sri Lankan police. According to The Daily Telegraph (London), the Mirror subsequently published an apology, and Clarke chose not to sue for defamation. Clarke was then duly knighted.
Although he and his home were unharmed by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake tsunami, his "Arthur C. Clarke Diving School" at Hikkaduwa was destroyed. He made humanitarian appeals, and the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation worked towards a better disaster notification systems. The school has since been rebuilt.
In September 2007, he provided a video greeting for NASA's Cassini probe's flyby of Iapetus (which plays an important role in 2001: A Space Odyssey). In December 2007 on his 90th birthday, Clarke recorded a video message to his friends and fans bidding them good-bye.
Clarke died in Sri Lanka on 19 March 2008 after suffering from breathing problems, according to Rohan de Silva, one of his aides. His aide described the cause as respiratory complications and heart failure stemming from post-polio syndrome.
Only a few days before he died, he had reviewed the manuscript of his final work, The Last Theorem, on which he had collaborated by e-mail with his contemporary Frederik Pohl. The book was published after Clarke's death. Clarke was buried in Colombo in traditional Sri Lankan fashion on 22 March. His younger brother, Fred Clarke, and his Sri Lankan adoptive family were among the thousands in attendance.
The Big Three
Clarke, Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein became known as the "Big Three" of science fiction. Clarke and Heinlein began writing to each other after The Exploration of Space was published in 1951, and first met in person the following year. They remained on cordial terms for many years, including visits in the United States and Sri Lanka. During a 1984 meeting at the home of Larry Niven in California, however, Heinlein attacked Clarke verbally over his views on United States foreign and space policy (especially the Strategic Defense Initiative). Although the two reconciled, formally, they remained distant until Heinlein's death in 1988.
Clarke and Asimov first met in New York City in 1973, and they traded friendly insults and jabs for decades. They established a verbal agreement, the "Clarke–Asimov Treaty", that when asked who was best, the two would say Clarke was the best science fiction writer and Asimov was the best science writer. In 1972, Clarke put the "treaty" on paper in his dedication to Report on Planet Three and Other Speculations.
Position on religion
Themes of religion and spirituality appear in much of Clarke's writing, though his position on "Religion" is ultimately somewhat complicated. He said, "Any path to knowledge is a path to God—or Reality, whichever word one prefers to use". and described himself as 'fascinated by the concept of God'. When he entered the RAF, he insisted that his dog tags be marked "pantheist" rather than the default, Church of England. In 2000, Clarke told the Sri Lankan newspaper, The Island, "I don't believe in God or an afterlife," and he identifies himself as an atheist. He was honoured as a Humanist Laureate in the International Academy of Humanism. He has also described himself as a "crypto-Buddhist", insisting that Buddhism is not a religion. He displayed little interest about religion early in his life, for example, only discovering a few months after marrying his wife, that she had strong Presbyterian beliefs.
In a three-day "dialogue on man and his world" with Alan Watts, Clarke stated that he was biased against religion and said that he could not forgive religions for what he perceived as their inability to prevent atrocities and wars over time.
In a reflection of the dialogue where he more broadly stated "mankind", his introduction to the penultimate episode of Mysterious World, entitled, Strange Skies, Clarke said, "I sometimes think that the universe is a machine designed for the perpetual astonishment of astronomers."
Near the very end of that same episode, the last segment of which covered the Star of Bethlehem, he stated that his favourite theory was that it might be a pulsar. Given that pulsars were discovered in the interval between his writing the short story, The Star (1955), and making Mysterious World (1980), and given the more recent discovery of pulsar PSR B1913+16, he said, "How romantic, if even now, we can hear the dying voice of a star, which heralded the Christian era."
Clarke left written instructions for a funeral that stated: "Absolutely no religious rites of any kind, relating to any religious faith, should be associated with my funeral."
A famous quote of Clarke's is often cited: "One of the great tragedies of mankind is that morality has been hijacked by religion."
Views on paranormal phenomena
Early in his career, Clarke had a fascination with the paranormal and stated that it was part of the inspiration for his novel Childhood's End. Citing the numerous promising paranormal claims that were shown to be fraudulent, Clarke described his earlier openness to the paranormal having turned to being "an almost total skeptic" by the time of his 1992 biography. During interviews, both in 1993 and 2004–2005, he stated that he did not believe in reincarnation, citing that there was no mechanism to make it possible, though he stated "I'm always paraphrasing J. B. S. Haldane: 'The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it's stranger than we can imagine.'" (He loved quoting Haldane.) He described the idea of reincarnation as fascinating, but favored a finite existence.
Clarke was well known for his television series investigating paranormal phenomena Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World, Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious Universe and Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Powers, enough to be parodied in an episode of The Goodies in which his show is canceled after it is claimed he does not exist.
Themes, style, and influences
Clarke's work is marked by an optimistic view of science empowering mankind's exploration of the Solar System, and the world's oceans. Clarke's images of the future often feature a Utopian setting with highly developed technology, ecology, and society, based on the author's ideals. His early published stories would usually feature the extrapolation of a technological innovation or scientific breakthrough into the underlying decadence of his own society.
"The Sentinel" (1948) introduced a religious theme to Clarke's work, a theme that he later explored more deeply in The City and the Stars (and its earlier version, Against the Fall of Night). Surprisingly for a writer who is often held up as an example of hard science fiction's obsession with technology, three of Clarke's novels have this as a theme. Another theme of "The Sentinel" was the notion that the evolution of an intelligent species would eventually make them something close to gods, which was also explored in his 1953 novel Childhood's End. He also briefly touched upon this idea in his novel Imperial Earth. This idea of transcendence through evolution seems to have been influenced by Olaf Stapledon, who wrote a number of books dealing with this theme. Clarke has said of Stapledon's 1930 book Last and First Men that "No other book had a greater influence on my life ... and its successor Star Maker (1937) are the twin summits of literary career".
Clarke also took a major interest in "Inner Space", which can be seen in his stories, Big Game Hunt, The Deep Range and The Shining Ones, as well as Dolphin Island.
Adapted screenplays
2001: A Space Odyssey
Clarke's first venture into film was the Stanley Kubrick directed 2001: A Space Odyssey. Kubrick and Clarke had met in New York City in 1964 to discuss the possibility of a collaborative film project. As the idea developed, it was decided that the story for the film was to be loosely based on Clarke's short story "The Sentinel", written in 1948 as an entry in a BBC short story competition. Originally, Clarke was going to write the screenplay for the film, but Kubrick suggested during one of their brainstorming meetings that before beginning on the actual script, they should let their imaginations soar free by writing a novel first, which the film would be based on upon its completion. "This is more or less the way it worked out, though toward the end, novel and screenplay were being written simultaneously, with feedback in both directions. Thus I rewrote some sections after seeing the movie rushes -- a rather expensive method of literary creation, which few other authors can have enjoyed." The novel ended up being published a few months after the release of the movie.
Due to the hectic schedule of the film's production, Kubrick and Clarke had difficulty collaborating on the book. Clarke completed a draft of the novel at the end of 1964 with the plan to publish in 1965 in advance of the film's release in 1966. After many delays the film was released in the spring of 1968, before the book was completed. The book was credited to Clarke alone. Clarke later complained that this had the effect of making the book into a novelisation, that Kubrick had manipulated circumstances to downplay Clarke's authorship. For these and other reasons, the details of the story differ slightly from the book to the movie. The film contains little explanation for the events taking place. Clarke, on the other hand, wrote thorough explanations of "cause and effect" for the events in the novel. James Randi later recounted that upon seeing 2001 for the first time, Clarke left the movie theatre during the first break crying because he was so upset about how the movie had turned out. Despite their differences, both film and novel were well received.
In 1972, Clarke published The Lost Worlds of 2001, which included his accounts of the production, and alternate versions, of key scenes. The "special edition" of the novel A Space Odyssey (released in 1999) contains an introduction by Clarke in which he documents the events leading to the release of the novel and film.
2010
In 1982 Clarke continued the 2001 epic with a sequel, 2010: Odyssey Two. This novel was also made into a film, 2010, directed by Peter Hyams for release in 1984. Because of the political environment in America in the 1980s, the film presents a Cold War theme, with the looming tensions of nuclear warfare not featured in the novel. The film was not considered to be as revolutionary or artistic as 2001, but the reviews were still positive.
Clarke's email correspondence with Hyams was published in 1984. Titled The Odyssey File: The Making of 2010, and co-authored with Hyams, it illustrates his fascination with the then-pioneering medium of email and its use for them to communicate on an almost daily basis at the time of planning and production of the film while living on different continents. The book also includes Clarke's list of the best science-fiction films ever made.
Clarke appeared in the film, first as the man feeding the pigeons while Dr. Heywood Floyd is engaged in a conversation in front of the White House. Later, in the hospital scene with David Bowman's mother, an image of the cover of Time portrays Clarke as the American President and Kubrick as the Russian Premier.
Rendezvous with Rama
Clarke's award-winning 1972 novel Rendezvous with Rama was optioned many years ago, but is currently in "development hell". Director David Fincher is attached to the project, together with actor Morgan Freeman.
Beyond 2001
2001: A Space Odyssey, Clarke's most famous work, was extended well beyond the 1968 movie as the Space Odyssey series. Its 1984 sequel, 2010 was based on Clarke's 1982 novel, 2010: Odyssey Two. There were two further sequels that have not been adapted to the cinema: 2061: Odyssey Three and 3001: The Final Odyssey.
In 2061, Halley's Comet swings back to nearby Earth, and Clarke uses the event as an excuse to take an aged Dr. Heywood Floyd on a romp through the solar system, visiting the comet before crash-landing on Europa, where he discovers the fates of Dave Bowman, HAL 9000, and the Europan life-forms which have been protected by the Monoliths.
With 3001: The Final Odyssey, Clarke returns to examine the character of astronaut Frank Poole, who was killed outside Discovery by HAL in the original novel and film, but whose body was revived in the year 3001.
Essays and short stories
Most of Clarke's essays (from 1934 to 1998) can be found in the book Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds! (2000). Most of his short stories can be found in the book The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke (2001). Another collection of early essays was published in The View from Serendip (1977), which also included one short piece of fiction, "When the Twerms Came". He wrote short stories under the pseudonyms of E. G. O'Brien and Charles Willis.
Concept of the geostationary communications satellite
Geostationary orbit
Main article: Geostationary orbit
Clarke's most important scientific contribution may be his idea that geostationary satellites would be ideal telecommunications relays. He described this concept in a paper titled Extra-Terrestrial Relays — Can Rocket Stations Give Worldwide Radio Coverage?, published in Wireless World in October 1945. The geostationary orbit is now sometimes known as the Clarke Orbit or the Clarke Belt in his honour.
However, it is not clear that this article was actually the inspiration for the modern telecommunications satellite. John R. Pierce, of Bell Labs, arrived at the idea independently in 1954 and he was actually involved in the Echo satellite and Telstar projects. Moreover, Pierce stated that the idea was "in the air" at the time and certain to be developed regardless of Clarke's publication. In an interview given shortly before his death, Clarke was asked whether he thought communications satellites would become important; he replied
"I'm often asked why I didn't try to patent the idea of communications satellites. My answer is always, ‘A patent is really a license to be sued.' "
Though different from Clarke's idea of telecom relay, the idea of communicating with satellites in geostationary orbit itself had been described earlier. For example, the concept of geostationary satellites was described in Hermann Oberth's 1923 book Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen (The Rocket into Interplanetary Space) and then the idea of radio communication with those satellites in Herman Potočnik's (written under the pseudonym Hermann Noordung) 1928 book Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums — der Raketen-Motor (The Problem of Space Travel — The Rocket Motor) sections: Providing for Long Distance Communications and Safety and (possibly referring to the idea of relaying messages via satellite, but not that 3 would be optimal) Observing and Researching the Earth's Surface published in Berlin. Clarke acknowledged the earlier concept in his book Profiles of the Future.
Awards, honours and other recognition
* He won the UNESCO-Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science in 1961.
* Following the release of 2001, Clarke became much in demand as a commentator on science and technology, especially at the time of the Apollo space program. The fame of 2001 was enough to get the Command Module of the Apollo 13 craft named "Odyssey".
* Shared a 1969 Academy Award nomination with Stanley Kubrick in the category, Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen for 2001: A Space Odyssey.
* In 1986, Clarke provided a grant to fund the prize money (initially £1,000) for the Arthur C. Clarke Award for the best science fiction novel published in the United Kingdom in the previous year. In 2001 the prize was increased to £2001, and its value now matches the year (e.g., £2005 in 2005).
* Clarke received a CBE in 1989, and was knighted in 2000. Clarke's health did not allow him to travel to London to receive the honour personally from the Queen, so the United Kingdom's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka invested him as a Knight Bachelor at a ceremony in Colombo.
* In 1994, Clarke was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by law professor Glenn Reynolds.
* In 2000, he was named a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association.
* The 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter is named in honour of Sir Arthur's works.
* In 2003, Sir Arthur was awarded the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology where he appeared on stage via a 3-D hologram with a group of old friends which included Jill Tarter, Neil Armstrong, Lewis Branscomb, Charles Townes, Freeman Dyson, Bruce Murray and Scott Brown.
* In 2004, Sir Arthur was awarded the Heinlein Award for outstanding achievement in hard or science-oriented science fiction.
* In 2005 he lent his name to the inaugural Sir Arthur Clarke Awards — dubbed "the Space Oscars". His brother attended the awards ceremony, and presented an award specially chosen by Arthur (and not by the panel of judges who chose the other awards) to the British Interplanetary Society.
* On 14 November 2005 Sri Lanka awarded Arthur C. Clarke its highest civilian award, the Sri Lankabhimanya (The Pride of Sri Lanka), for his contributions to science and technology and his commitment to his adopted country.
* Sir Arthur was the Honorary Board Chair of the Institute for Cooperation in Space, founded by Carol Rosin, and served on the Board of Governors of the National Space Society, a space advocacy organisation originally founded by Dr. Wernher von Braun.
* An asteroid was named in Clarke's honour, 4923 Clarke (the number was assigned prior to, and independently of, the name - 2001, however appropriate, was unavailable, having previously been assigned to Albert Einstein).
* A species of ceratopsian dinosaur, Serendipaceratops arthurcclarkei, discovered in Inverloch in Australia.
* The Learning Resource Centre at Richard Huish College, Taunton, which Clarke attended when it was Huish Grammar School, is named after him.
* Clarke was a distinguished vice-president of the H. G. Wells Society, being strongly influenced by H. G. Wells as a science-fiction writer.
Partial bibliography
Main article: List of works by Arthur C. Clarke
Select Novels
* Prelude to Space (1951)
* The Sands of Mars (1951)
* Childhood's End (1953)
* The City and the Stars (1956)
* A Fall of Moondust (1961) (Hugo nominee, 1963)
* 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
* Rendezvous with Rama (1972) (BSFA and Nebula Awards winner, 1973; Hugo, Campbell, and Locus Awards winner, 1974)
* A Meeting with Medusa (Nebula Award for best novella) (1972)
* Imperial Earth (1975)
* The Fountains of Paradise (1979) (Hugo Award winner, BSFA nominee, 1979; and Nebula Award winner, Locus Award nominee, 1980)
* 2010: Odyssey Two (1982) (Hugo and Locus Awards nominee, 1983)
* The Songs of Distant Earth (1986)
* 2061: Odyssey Three (1987)
* 3001: The Final Odyssey (1997)
* The Light of Other Days (2000) (with Stephen Baxter)
Short story collections
* Expedition to Earth (1953)
* Reach for Tomorrow (1956)
* Tales from the White Hart (1957)
* The Other Side of the Sky (1958)
* Tales of Ten Worlds (1962)
* The Nine Billion Names of God (1967)
* The Wind from the Sun (1972)
* The Best of Arthur C. Clarke (1973)
* The Sentinel (1983)
* The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke (2001)
Non-fiction
* The Exploration of Space. New York: Harper, 1951
* Voice Across the Sea. New York: Harper, 1958
* Voices from the Sky: Previews of the Coming Space Age. New York: Harper & Row, 1965
* Astounding Days: A Science Fictional Autobiography. London: Gollancz, 1989
* Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds! : Collected Works 1934-1998. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999
* The View From Serendip. Random House. ISBN 0394417968. 1977
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 03/19/10 at 5:56 pm
1998 with Lindsay Lohan.
yes, and I think the remake of the Parent Trap film was Lohan's feature film debut.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 03/20/10 at 1:05 am
Canadian person of the day
Robert Gordon Orr, OC (born March 20, 1948 in Parry Sound, Ontario) is a retired ice hockey player. A defenceman, he is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest hockey players of all time.Orr won two Stanley Cup championships with the Bruins when Boston defeated the St. Louis Blues in the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals in four games and the New York Rangers in the 1972 Stanley Cup Finals in six games, scoring the clinching goals in both series, and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP both years.
http://www.hometownhockeyheroes.com/images/Sale%20Images/Bobby%20Orr%20Memorabilia/Bobby-Orr-Bruins-Photo-FW.jpg
http://www.vintagecardprices.com/pics/2229/85427.jpg
n 1970, he doubled his scoring total from the previous season, to 120 points, six shy of the league record and became the first (and to date, only) defenceman in history to win the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer. In addition to the Norris and the Art Ross, Orr captured the first of three consecutive Hart Trophies as regular-season MVP and later won the Conn Smythe Trophy for his playoff performance, becoming the first player in history to win four major NHL awards in one season.
Orr went on to lead the Bruins in a march through the playoffs that culminated on May 10, 1970, when he scored one of the most famous goals in hockey history – one that gave Boston its first Stanley Cup since 1941. The goal came off a give-and-go pass with teammate Derek Sanderson at the 40-second mark of the first overtime period in Game Four, helping to complete a sweep of the St. Louis Blues. The subsequent image of a horizontal Orr flying through the air, his arms raised in victory – as he made the shot, he had been tripped by Blues' defenceman Noel Picard while watching the puck pass by goaltender Glenn Hall – became a prize-winning photograph and is arguably the most famous and recognized hockey image of all time.
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/0808/playoff.appearance.streaks/images/boston-bruins-bobby-orr(triolo).jpg
Orr led the Bruins to the Stanley Cup again in 1972, leading the league in scoring in the playoffs and scoring the championship-winning goal en route to his second Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, making him the first two-time winner of this award.
His knee problems would take an increasing toll after 1973. Despite being limited by knee injuries which would later force him to retire prematurely, he led the Bruins to another first-place finish in the regular season and the Stanley Cup final in 1974, where they lost to Philadelphia Flyers.
In 1976, despite several knee operations that left him playing in severe pain, Orr was named the most valuable player in the Canada Cup international competition.
On February 12, 2010, Orr was one of the eight bearers of the Olympic flag at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
http://www.cic16.org/photos/golf_classic07/BobbyOrr.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/20/10 at 5:14 am
Canadian person of the day
Robert Gordon Orr, OC (born March 20, 1948 in Parry Sound, Ontario) is a retired ice hockey player. A defenceman, he is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest hockey players of all time.Orr won two Stanley Cup championships with the Bruins when Boston defeated the St. Louis Blues in the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals in four games and the New York Rangers in the 1972 Stanley Cup Finals in six games, scoring the clinching goals in both series, and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP both years.
http://www.hometownhockeyheroes.com/images/Sale%20Images/Bobby%20Orr%20Memorabilia/Bobby-Orr-Bruins-Photo-FW.jpg
http://www.vintagecardprices.com/pics/2229/85427.jpg
n 1970, he doubled his scoring total from the previous season, to 120 points, six shy of the league record and became the first (and to date, only) defenceman in history to win the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer. In addition to the Norris and the Art Ross, Orr captured the first of three consecutive Hart Trophies as regular-season MVP and later won the Conn Smythe Trophy for his playoff performance, becoming the first player in history to win four major NHL awards in one season.
Orr went on to lead the Bruins in a march through the playoffs that culminated on May 10, 1970, when he scored one of the most famous goals in hockey history – one that gave Boston its first Stanley Cup since 1941. The goal came off a give-and-go pass with teammate Derek Sanderson at the 40-second mark of the first overtime period in Game Four, helping to complete a sweep of the St. Louis Blues. The subsequent image of a horizontal Orr flying through the air, his arms raised in victory – as he made the shot, he had been tripped by Blues' defenceman Noel Picard while watching the puck pass by goaltender Glenn Hall – became a prize-winning photograph and is arguably the most famous and recognized hockey image of all time.
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/0808/playoff.appearance.streaks/images/boston-bruins-bobby-orr(triolo).jpg
Orr led the Bruins to the Stanley Cup again in 1972, leading the league in scoring in the playoffs and scoring the championship-winning goal en route to his second Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, making him the first two-time winner of this award.
His knee problems would take an increasing toll after 1973. Despite being limited by knee injuries which would later force him to retire prematurely, he led the Bruins to another first-place finish in the regular season and the Stanley Cup final in 1974, where they lost to Philadelphia Flyers.
In 1976, despite several knee operations that left him playing in severe pain, Orr was named the most valuable player in the Canada Cup international competition.
On February 12, 2010, Orr was one of the eight bearers of the Olympic flag at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
http://www.cic16.org/photos/golf_classic07/BobbyOrr.jpg
How did I know you would do him ;D...Very interesting..Thanks Frank. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/20/10 at 5:20 am
The word of the day...Kiss
If you kiss someone, you touch them with your lips to show affection or sexual desire, or to greet them or say goodbye.
If you kiss something, you touch it lightly with your lips, usually as a sign of respect.
If you say that something kisses another thing, you mean that it touches that thing very gentl
If you blow someone a kiss or blow a kiss, you touch the palm of your hand lightly with your lips, and then blow across your hand towards the person, in order to show them your affection.
If you say that you kiss something goodbye or kiss goodbye to something, you accept the fact that you are going to lose it, although you do not want to.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/20/10 at 5:22 am
The person who was born on this day...William Hurt
William M. Hurt (born March 20, 1950) is an American actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science fiction feature Altered States (1980), for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year. He subsequently landed the leading role as a sleazy lawyer in the well-received film noir Body Heat (1981).
In 1985, Hurt garnered substantial critical acclaim and multiple acting awards, including an Academy and a BAFTA Award for Best Actor, for portraying a homosexual window dresser in Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985). He went on to receive another two Academy Award nominations for his lead performance in Children of a Lesser God (1986) and Broadcast News (1987). Hurt remained an active stage actor throughout the 1980s, appearing in numerous Off-Broadway productions including Henry V, Fifth of July, Richard II, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He also received his first Tony Award nomination in 1985 for the Broadway play Hurlyburly.
After playing a diversity of character roles in the following decade, Hurt earned his fourth Academy Award nomination for his supporting performance in David Cronenberg's crime thriller A History of Violence (2005). His other notable films in recent years have included A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), Syriana (2005), The Good Shepherd (2006), Mr. Brooks (2007), Into the Wild (2007), The Incredible Hulk (2008), and the upcoming Robin Hood (2010).
urt appeared first on stage, only later turning to film. His first major film role was in the sci-fi hit Altered States which gave him wide recognition for playing an obsessed scientist. His performance with Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, and newcomer Kathleen Turner in Lawrence Kasdan's neo-noir classic Body Heat elevated Hurt to stardom. He received the Best Male Performance Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Actor for Kiss of the Spider Woman for 1985. He has received three additional Oscar nominations; one for Children of a Lesser God, one for Broadcast News and one (for Best Supporting Actor) in A History Of Violence. Hurt also starred in Tuck Everlasting as Angus Tuck.
Often cast as an intellectual, Hurt has put this to good use in many films like Lost in Space and The Big Chill, but he is also effective in other kinds of roles, such as those in I Love You to Death, and David Cronenberg's psychological drama A History of Violence (2005), wherein, with less than 10 minutes of screen time, he plays the creepy mob boss Richie Cusack. That same year, Hurt could be seen as a mysterious government operative in Stephen Gaghan's ensemble drama about the politics of big oil, Syriana.
Hurt has been seen in the mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes, in a piece entitled Battleground. He plays "Renshaw", a hitman who receives a package from the widow of a toymaker he killed, unaware of what is waiting inside for him. He appeared in the cast of "Vanya", an adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya playing in the Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, Oregon.
He appeared in Sean Penn's film Into the Wild, the true story of Christopher McCandless. Hurt next starred as General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross in The Incredible Hulk alongside Edward Norton, Liv Tyler and Tim Roth. He also appeared as President Henry Ashton in the 2008 action-thriller Vantage Point. Hurt also played Mr Brooks' alter-ego in Mr. Brooks starring Kevin Costner.
In 2009, Hurt began appearing as a series regular on the critically-acclaimed FX series Damages playing a corporate whistleblower opposite Glenn Close and Marcia Gay Harden. For his role in the series, Hurt earned a 2009 Primetime Emmy Award nomination in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category. He stars also 2010 in the Thriller Shadows alongside Cary Elwes and Paula Taylor, directed is the movie by John Penney.
Hurt's 2009 Sundance film The Yellow Handkerchief will be released in theaters on February 26, 2010 by Samuel Goldwyn Films.
Personal life
Hurt is fluent in French and maintains a home outside Paris. He was previously married to Mary Beth Hurt from 1971 to 1982.
In the 1980s, Hurt was involved in a lawsuit with Sandra Jennings which alleged that the two shared a common law marriage. While he was still married, Hurt and Jennings began a relationship in Saratoga, New York in the summer of 1981. Jennings became pregnant in the Spring of 1982 which precipitated Hurt's divorce from Mary Beth Hurt, after which Hurt and Jennings relocated to South Carolina, which recognized common law marriages. Hurt and Jennings, never officially married, later separated, and Jennings sued in New York, seeking a court order recognizing their purported common law marriage under South Carolina law. The New York court, which did not recognize common law marriage and was reluctant to recognize a common law marriage originating in South Carolina, found in Hurt's favor that no common law marriage existed.
Additionally, Hurt dated Marlee Matlin for two years, and they lived together during 1986. In her 2009 autobiographical book, I'll Scream Later, Matlin claimed their relationship involved considerable drug abuse and physical abuse by Hurt. In response to the accusations aired on CNN on April 13, 2009, Hurt's agent declined to respond. Hurt issued a statement on April 14, 2009, responding to Matlin's remarks. He stated "My own recollection is that we both apologized and both did a great deal to heal our lives. Of course, I did and do apologize for any pain I caused. And I know we have both grown. I wish Marlee and her family nothing but good."
Hurt has four children: Jeanne with actress Sandrine Bonnaire, Alex with Sandra Jennings and two sons, Sam and William Hurt, from his 1989-92 marriage to Heidi Henderson.
During the filming of Kiss of the Spider Woman, Hurt and a friend were kidnapped at gunpoint and threatened with death.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1978 Verna: U.S.O. Girl Walter TV film
1980 Altered States Professor Edward Jessup Nominated Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actor
1981 Eyewitness Daryll Deever
Body Heat Ned Racine
1983 The Big Chill Nick
Gorky Park Arkady Renko
1985 Kiss of the Spider Woman Luis Alberto Molina Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
LAFCA Award for Best Actor
Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)
NBR Award for Best Actor (tied with Raul Julia for the same film)
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
1986 Children of a Lesser God James Leeds Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
1987 Broadcast News Tom Grunick Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1988 A Time of Destiny Martin Larraneta
The Accidental Tourist Macon Leary
1990 I Love You to Death Harlan James
Alice Doug Tate
1991 Until the End of the World Sam Farber, alias Trevor McPhee
The Doctor Dr. Jack MacKee
1993 The Plague Doctor Bernard Rieux
1994 Second Best Graham Holt
1995 Smoke Paul Benjamin
1996 A Couch in New York Henry Harriston
Michael Frank Quinlan
Jane Eyre Rochester
1998 Lost in Space Professor John Robinson
Dark City Inspector Frank Bumstead
One True Thing George Gulden
1999 The 4th Floor Greg Harrison
Sunshine Andor Knorr Nominated - Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
The Big Brass Ring William Blake Pellarin
Do Not Disturb Walter Richmond a.k.a. Silent Witness
2000 Contaminated Man David R. Whitman
Frank Herbert's Dune Duke Leto Atreides TV
The Miracle Maker Jairus Voice Only
2001 Rare Birds Restaurateur
A.I. Artificial Intelligence Professor Allen Hobby
The Simian Line Edward
Varian's War Varian Fry
2002 King of Queens Dr. Taber TV
Episode 120: Shrink Wrap
Tuck Everlasting Angus Tuck
Changing Lanes Doyle Gipson's AA Sponsor
Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story Robert Hanssen TV
Nearest to Heaven (Au Plus Près du Paradis) Matt
2004 The Blue Butterfly Alan Osborne
The Village Edward Walker
Frankenstein Professor Waldman TV
2005 The King David
A History of Violence Richie Cusack AFCA Award for Best Supporting Actor
LAFCA Award for Best Supporting Actor
NYFCC Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated - OFCS Award for Best Supporting Actor
Neverwas Dr. Peter Reed
Syriana Stan Goff
2006 The Good Shepherd CIA Director Philip Allen
The Legend of Sasquatch John Davis Voice Only
Co-Producer
Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King Jason Renshaw TV miniseries (segment "Battleground")
2007 Mr. Brooks Marshall
Beautiful Ohio Simon Messerman
Noise Mayor Schneer
Into the Wild Walt McCandless Nominated - SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2008 Vantage Point President Ashton
The Yellow Handkerchief Brett Hanson
The Incredible Hulk General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross
2009 Damages Daniel Purcell TV
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor – Drama Series
Endgame Willie Esterhuyse
The Countess Gyorgy Thurzo
The River Why H2O in post-production
2010 Robin Hood William Marshal post-production
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff200/Petra210028/WilliamHurt.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v196/paganpriest/Movies/People/WilliamHurt.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/20/10 at 5:25 am
The person who died on this day...Big John Studd
John William Minton (February 19, 1948 – March 20, 1995) was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd. He was born and raised in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Big John Studd was trained by wrestling legend Killer Kowalski. Together, Studd and Kowalski won the WWWF Tag Team titles in 1976 as the masked Executioners.
After leaving the WWWF, Studd became known as Chuck O'Connor, Captain USA, and The Masked Superstar II at certain points in the Mid-Atlantic. In 1978, Studd teamed with Ken Patera to win the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Titles.
Studd also made occasional trips to Canada to wrestle in Emile Duprée's Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling.
On May 25, 1980, Masked Superstar II was unmasked after a match with Blackjack Mulligan in Toronto. After this, Studd was brought into Florida by J.J. Dillon and feuded with Dusty Rhodes, Barry Windham, (the son of Blackjack Mulligan), and Sweet Brown Sugar.
Studd, who was a heel at this point, had a gimmick of bringing a stretcher to the ring as he would beat his opponents so badly that they'd be taken out on the stretcher.
Studd in a wrestling match between André the Giant and King Kong Bundy with Hillbilly Jim on the ring apron.
Early on in 1982, Studd gained several unsuccessful title shots at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which was held by "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair at the time. Studd jumped to the World Wrestling Federation and became a top challenger for the WWF World Championship, which was held by Hulk Hogan. Studd (now managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan) also became involved in a legendary feud with André the Giant. Studd taunted André by proclaiming himself the true giant of professional wrestling and offering $15,000 to anyone who could bodyslam him. This led to a televised tag team match featuring Studd and fellow Heenan Family member Ken Patera against André the Giant and S.D. Jones. The match ended by disqualification after persistent rulebreaking by Studd and Patera, who attacked André afterwards and cut his hair. The André/Studd feud reached its high point at the first WrestleMania, when Studd and André had a $15,000 bodyslam challenge match, which André won. The highlight of André bodyslamming Studd to win the match is one of the most iconic images in wrestling history.
After WrestleMania, Studd formed an alliance with the 468 lb (212 kg) King Kong Bundy. The two attacked André at a WWF house show in the summer of 1985. Studd/Bundy and André continued to feud for the rest of that year and into 1986. Studd participated in the well-publicized 20 man over-the-top battle royal that took place at WrestleMania 2. The battle royale also featured stars from the National Football league. Although André the Giant was also in the battle royale, Studd set his focus on eliminating William "The Refrigerator" Perry, who was fresh from a Super Bowl victory that year. Studd successfully eliminated Perry during the match, only to have Perry to eliminate Studd while the two were shaking hands. André went on to win the battle royale.
After the André feud died down, the team of Studd & Bundy feuded with other established WWF tag teams including The Islanders and the WWF Tag Team Champions, The British Bulldogs. Studd & Bundy faced the Bulldogs for the Tag Team Titles on WWF Championship Wrestling, but they were unsuccessful in winning the match. Studd & Bundy then began arguing in the ring after the match, which seemed to indicate that a feud between the two was forthcoming. However, that would not be the case, and Studd & Bundy continued teaming up regularly for several more months. Studd's last match came on an episode of WWF Superstars (airing 11-15-86), where he teamed with Bundy to defeat The Machines.
After retiring for almost 3 years, Studd announced his return to the WWF on the Brother Love Show in late 1988. An elated Bobby Heenan appeared on the set to welcome Studd back to the Heenan family. Studd however rejected the offer and ran Heenan off the Brother Love set (thus turning face). Studd went on to feud with several members of the Heenan family, including his arch-nemesis André the Giant who had turned heel during Studd's absence. Studd won the 1989 Royal Rumble, which many consider to be the crowning achievement in his WWF career. Studd then served as a special guest referee in the match between Jake "The Snake" Roberts and André the Giant at WrestleMania V. Studd quit the WWF on June 6 1989.
Minton died from liver cancer and Hodgkin's disease on March 20, 1995. He is survived by his son John Minton, Jr., who accepted his plaque upon his posthumous induction to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004. Minton, Jr. also participated in the fourth season of WWE Tough Enough.
Studd is referenced in the Limp Bizkit song "N 2Gether Now" featuring Method Man.
Acting career
Filmography
* Micki + Maude (1984) as himself
* The Protector (1985) as "Huge Hood"
* Double Agent (1987) as "Igor"
* Hyper Space (1989) as "Psycho"
* Caged in Paradiso (1990) as "Big Man"
* Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991) as "Jack Daniels"
* Shock 'Em Dead (1991) as "Officer Meak"
* The Marrying Man (1991) as "Dante"
Television series appearances
* The A-Team (November 12, 1985) in episode "Body Slam" as himself
* Hunter (January 10, 1987) in episode "Bad Company" as "Randy"
* Beauty and the Beast (March 18, 1988) in episode "To Reign in Hell" as "Erlick"
In wrestling
* Finishing moves
o Backbreaker
o Reverse bearhug
* Signature moves
o Airplane spin
o Double underhook suplex
o Heart punch
o Low-angle chokeslam
o Piledriver
* Managers
o Freddie Blassie
o "The Franchise" Justin Lee
o Bobby Heenan
Championships and accomplishments
* Championship Wrestling from Florida
* NWA Florida Global Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jimmy Garvin
* European Wrestling Union
* EWU World Super Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* Georgia Championship Wrestling
* NWA National Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Super Destroyer
* Maple Leaf Wrestling
* NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship (Toronto version) (1 time)
* Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
* NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Ric Flair (1), Ken Patera (1), Masked Superstar #1 (1), and Roddy Piper (1)
* NWA Big Time Wrestling
* NWA American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bull Ramos
* NWA Mid-Pacific Promotions
* NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Hawaii version) (1 time)
* NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Buddy Rose
* NWA Southern Championship Wrestling
* NWA Tennessee Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated
* PWI Tag Team of the Year (1976) – with Killer Kowalski
* World Championship Wrestling
* WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1995)
* World Wrestling Association
* WWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ox Baker
* World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
* WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2004)
* WWWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Killer Kowalski
* Royal Rumble (1989)
* Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
* Most Overrated (1984)
http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr160/fishbulb-suplex/Wrestlers/John%20Studd/Big_John_Studd_-_John_William_Minto.jpg
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii174/Bigshow79_album/Wrestlers/Big%20John%20Studd/c3f3_1.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/20/10 at 5:39 am
The person who died on this day...Big John Studd
John William Minton (February 19, 1948 – March 20, 1995) was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd. He was born and raised in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Big John Studd was trained by wrestling legend Killer Kowalski. Together, Studd and Kowalski won the WWWF Tag Team titles in 1976 as the masked Executioners.
After leaving the WWWF, Studd became known as Chuck O'Connor, Captain USA, and The Masked Superstar II at certain points in the Mid-Atlantic. In 1978, Studd teamed with Ken Patera to win the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Titles.
Studd also made occasional trips to Canada to wrestle in Emile Duprée's Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling.
On May 25, 1980, Masked Superstar II was unmasked after a match with Blackjack Mulligan in Toronto. After this, Studd was brought into Florida by J.J. Dillon and feuded with Dusty Rhodes, Barry Windham, (the son of Blackjack Mulligan), and Sweet Brown Sugar.
Studd, who was a heel at this point, had a gimmick of bringing a stretcher to the ring as he would beat his opponents so badly that they'd be taken out on the stretcher.
Studd in a wrestling match between André the Giant and King Kong Bundy with Hillbilly Jim on the ring apron.
Early on in 1982, Studd gained several unsuccessful title shots at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which was held by "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair at the time. Studd jumped to the World Wrestling Federation and became a top challenger for the WWF World Championship, which was held by Hulk Hogan. Studd (now managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan) also became involved in a legendary feud with André the Giant. Studd taunted André by proclaiming himself the true giant of professional wrestling and offering $15,000 to anyone who could bodyslam him. This led to a televised tag team match featuring Studd and fellow Heenan Family member Ken Patera against André the Giant and S.D. Jones. The match ended by disqualification after persistent rulebreaking by Studd and Patera, who attacked André afterwards and cut his hair. The André/Studd feud reached its high point at the first WrestleMania, when Studd and André had a $15,000 bodyslam challenge match, which André won. The highlight of André bodyslamming Studd to win the match is one of the most iconic images in wrestling history.
After WrestleMania, Studd formed an alliance with the 468 lb (212 kg) King Kong Bundy. The two attacked André at a WWF house show in the summer of 1985. Studd/Bundy and André continued to feud for the rest of that year and into 1986. Studd participated in the well-publicized 20 man over-the-top battle royal that took place at WrestleMania 2. The battle royale also featured stars from the National Football league. Although André the Giant was also in the battle royale, Studd set his focus on eliminating William "The Refrigerator" Perry, who was fresh from a Super Bowl victory that year. Studd successfully eliminated Perry during the match, only to have Perry to eliminate Studd while the two were shaking hands. André went on to win the battle royale.
After the André feud died down, the team of Studd & Bundy feuded with other established WWF tag teams including The Islanders and the WWF Tag Team Champions, The British Bulldogs. Studd & Bundy faced the Bulldogs for the Tag Team Titles on WWF Championship Wrestling, but they were unsuccessful in winning the match. Studd & Bundy then began arguing in the ring after the match, which seemed to indicate that a feud between the two was forthcoming. However, that would not be the case, and Studd & Bundy continued teaming up regularly for several more months. Studd's last match came on an episode of WWF Superstars (airing 11-15-86), where he teamed with Bundy to defeat The Machines.
After retiring for almost 3 years, Studd announced his return to the WWF on the Brother Love Show in late 1988. An elated Bobby Heenan appeared on the set to welcome Studd back to the Heenan family. Studd however rejected the offer and ran Heenan off the Brother Love set (thus turning face). Studd went on to feud with several members of the Heenan family, including his arch-nemesis André the Giant who had turned heel during Studd's absence. Studd won the 1989 Royal Rumble, which many consider to be the crowning achievement in his WWF career. Studd then served as a special guest referee in the match between Jake "The Snake" Roberts and André the Giant at WrestleMania V. Studd quit the WWF on June 6 1989.
Minton died from liver cancer and Hodgkin's disease on March 20, 1995. He is survived by his son John Minton, Jr., who accepted his plaque upon his posthumous induction to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004. Minton, Jr. also participated in the fourth season of WWE Tough Enough.
Studd is referenced in the Limp Bizkit song "N 2Gether Now" featuring Method Man.
Acting career
Filmography
* Micki + Maude (1984) as himself
* The Protector (1985) as "Huge Hood"
* Double Agent (1987) as "Igor"
* Hyper Space (1989) as "Psycho"
* Caged in Paradiso (1990) as "Big Man"
* Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991) as "Jack Daniels"
* Shock 'Em Dead (1991) as "Officer Meak"
* The Marrying Man (1991) as "Dante"
Television series appearances
* The A-Team (November 12, 1985) in episode "Body Slam" as himself
* Hunter (January 10, 1987) in episode "Bad Company" as "Randy"
* Beauty and the Beast (March 18, 1988) in episode "To Reign in Hell" as "Erlick"
In wrestling
* Finishing moves
o Backbreaker
o Reverse bearhug
* Signature moves
o Airplane spin
o Double underhook suplex
o Heart punch
o Low-angle chokeslam
o Piledriver
* Managers
o Freddie Blassie
o "The Franchise" Justin Lee
o Bobby Heenan
Championships and accomplishments
* Championship Wrestling from Florida
* NWA Florida Global Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jimmy Garvin
* European Wrestling Union
* EWU World Super Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* Georgia Championship Wrestling
* NWA National Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Super Destroyer
* Maple Leaf Wrestling
* NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship (Toronto version) (1 time)
* Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
* NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Ric Flair (1), Ken Patera (1), Masked Superstar #1 (1), and Roddy Piper (1)
* NWA Big Time Wrestling
* NWA American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bull Ramos
* NWA Mid-Pacific Promotions
* NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Hawaii version) (1 time)
* NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Buddy Rose
* NWA Southern Championship Wrestling
* NWA Tennessee Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated
* PWI Tag Team of the Year (1976) – with Killer Kowalski
* World Championship Wrestling
* WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1995)
* World Wrestling Association
* WWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ox Baker
* World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
* WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2004)
* WWWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Killer Kowalski
* Royal Rumble (1989)
* Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
* Most Overrated (1984)
http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr160/fishbulb-suplex/Wrestlers/John%20Studd/Big_John_Studd_-_John_William_Minto.jpg
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii174/Bigshow79_album/Wrestlers/Big%20John%20Studd/c3f3_1.jpg
I remember the match with Andre The Giant.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/20/10 at 7:20 am
I remember the match with Andre The Giant.
Me too, I didn't like Big John that much.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/20/10 at 11:31 am
I shall take this as a day-by-day approach.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/20/10 at 11:34 am
Are the luckiest people. :)
In the world!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/20/10 at 11:36 am
Are the luckiest people. :)
In the world!
The word of the day...Forest
A forest is a large area where trees grow close together.
A forest of tall or narrow objects is a group of them standing or sticking upright.
http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt264/Rawr_81/Landscapes/Autumn_Forest_in_the_Sun.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z15/submarinr/forest.jpg
http://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/a460/y68475riuhrwe/forest.jpg
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http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx293/childofnature/forestpics057.jpg
http://i819.photobucket.com/albums/zz113/RomanV101/forest%20and%20nature%20images/redwood_national_forest_t2051.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n258/quntmphscs/LogginginStateforest.jpg
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Anyone using these as their Desktop Background?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/20/10 at 11:37 am
The person born on this day...Gary Sinise
Gary Alan Sinise (pronounced /səˈniːs/; born March 17, 1955) is an American actor and film director. During his career, Sinise has won an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for Palme d'Or and an Academy Award. In 1992, Sinise directed the film and played the role of George Milton in the movie adaptation of Of Mice and Men. Sinise was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1994 for his role as Lieutenant Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump. He won a Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries for his role in Truman. In 1996, he played a corrupt police officer in the Ron Howard dramatic hit Ransom. In 1998, Sinise was awarded an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for the television film George Wallace, a portrayal of the late Governor George C. Wallace, Jr., of Alabama.
Sinise currently stars in CBS's CSI: NY as Detective Mac Taylor. He recently narrated a biography for Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor recipient Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor at the Republican National Convention in support of John McCain's candidacy for President of the United States of America. In December 2008 he was awarded the Presidential Citizen Medal, the second highest civilian medal awarded to U.S. civilians. He received the medal from President George W. Bush for his humanitarian contributions to Iraqi school children and his involvement in the USO. He is the executive producer of Brothers at War, the award winning documentary about an American military family and the Iraq war.
1982, Sinise's career began to take off when he directed and starred in Steppenwolf's production of True West. In 1983, he earned an Obie Award for his direction and a year later appeared with John Malkovich in the PBS' American Playhouse production of the play. In 1988, Gary directed Miles from Home, a movie starring Richard Gere, about two brothers' fight against the foreclosure of the family farm. Sinise has appeared in many films including: Forrest Gump, Of Mice and Men (which he also directed), Apollo 13, Reindeer Games, Snake Eyes, Ransom, Mission to Mars, The Stand, Impostor and The Green Mile. He also narrated the audio books for John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley and Of Mice and Men.
In 2004, he began his first regular television series, in the crime drama CSI: New York, in which he plays Detective Mac Taylor. He was credited as a producer from season 2 onwards and also wrote the storyline of an episode. Several episodes have allowed Sinise to demonstrate his musical prowess, including a Season 2 episode where Mac Taylor plays the bass guitar in a jazz club with musicians Kimo and Carol Williams and Danny Gottlieb, members of the Lt. Dan Band, which Sinise and Kimo Williams co-founded in 2003. The band is named for Sinise's character in Forrest Gump.
Apart from his television and movie work, Sinise is the host in the video for the Epcot ride Mission: SPACE, at Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL and the current model for Baume & Mercier watches. He also co-founded Operation Iraqi Children.
Sinise is also the narrator for the Discovery Channel's mini series When We Left Earth in 2008.
Gary Sinise playing bass in the Lt. Dan Band
Sinise was awarded the Presidential Citizen Medal by George W. Bush for work he did supporting the U.S Military and humanitarian work supporting Iraqi children.
Sinise narrated Army and Army Reserve Army Strong recruitment ads in late 2008.
Sinise is the Executive Producer—along with David Scantling—of the Iraq War documentary Brothers at War. The film features an American military family and the experiences of three brothers: Jake Rademacher, Isaac Rademacher and Joseph Rademacher.
In 2009, Sinise co-narrated the National Memorial Day Concert on the Mall in Washington, D.C. with Joe Mantegna.
Sinise currently serves as the National Spokesperson for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. He spends much of his time raising awareness for the Memorial and other veterans' service organizations.
In November 2009, Sinise narrated the highly acclaimed World War II in HD on the History Channel.
Personal life
Sinise has been married to actress Moira Harris since 1981 and they have three children together: Sophia Ana (b. 1988), McCanna Anthony (b. 1990), and Ella Jane (b. 1992). In 2003, Sinise was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters by Amherst College.
Politics
Sinise's name was in an advertisement in the Los Angeles Times (17 August 2006) that condemned Hamas and Hezbollah and supported Israel in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.
Sinise has conservative Republican leanings. His CSI: NY co-star Hill Harper, a staunch supporter of President Barack Obama has noted that Sinise's political beliefs are much more conservative (than Harper's) but also says he and Sinise get along with each other on set and have decided not to discuss politics.
In June 2008, Sinise donated $2,300 to the Republican primary campaign of Arizona Senator John McCain.
Nicolle Wallace, a former adviser to George W. Bush and the presidential campaign of John McCain, stated in May 2009 that she believed Sinise could help bring about a resurgence of the Republican Party. Wallace stated, "The natural strengths that an actor brings to politics would come in handy to anyone going up against Obama in 2012. We will need an effective communicator who can stand toe to toe with Obama’s eloquence." Other names mentioned were those of Generals David Petraeus and Ray Odierno. Sinise later stated he had no intention of entering politics.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1984 Family Secrets Motorcyclist (TV)
True West Austin (TV broadcast of the play)
1989 The Final Days Richard Ben-Veniste (TV)
My Name is Bill W. Ebby, Bill's best friend (TV)
1991 The Grapes of Wrath Tom Joad (TV)
1992 Of Mice and Men George Milton Also directed.
A Midnight Clear Vance 'Mother' Wilkins
The Witness Young Soldier (TV)
1993 Jack the Bear Norman Strick
1994 Forrest Gump Lt. Dan Taylor Chlotrudis 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
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
The Stand Stu Redman (TV miniseries)
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
1995 Truman Harry S. Truman (TV)
CableACE Award for Best Actor in a Movie or Miniseries
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
Apollo 13 Ken Mattingly Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
The Quick and the Dead The Marshal
1996 Ransom Det. Jimmy Shaker
Albino Alligator Milo
1997 George Wallace George C. Wallace (TV)
CableACE Award for Best Actor in a Movie or Miniseries
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
1998 Snake Eyes Commander Kevin Dunne
1999 The Green Mile Burt Hammersmith
It's the Rage Morgan
That Championship Season Tom Daley (TV)
2000 Bruno Dino Battaglia
Mission to Mars Jim McConnell
Reindeer Games Gabriel Mercer
2002 A Gentleman's Game Foster Pearse
Path to War George Wallace
Made-Up Duncan Tivey
Impostor Spencer Olham
2003 Fallen Angel Terry (TV)
The Human Stain Nathan Zuckerman
Mission: SPACE (Disney Ride) Capcom
2004 The Forgotten Dr. Jack Munce
CSI: NY Det. Mac Taylor (TV series; 2004-present)
The Big Bounce Ray Ritchie
2006 Open Season Shaw (voice)http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d33/xxxxicexxxx/gary.jpg
2008 When We Left Earth Narrator (TV)
2009 On the Road in Iraq With Our Troops and Gary Sinise Himself
2009 WWII in HD Narrator (TV)
2010 One Last Wish Devon Johnson
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/flower_of_carnage/Famous%20Folk/CSI%20NY/gary-sinise-csi-781956.jpg
One very good actor.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/20/10 at 11:38 am
Oh yes...I did see Forrest Gump and I remember the character 'Lieutenant Dan' quite well.
One Great film!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/20/10 at 11:38 am
The person who was born on this day...Peter Graves
Peter Aurness (March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010), known professionally as Peter Graves, was an American film and television actor. He was best known for his starring role in the CBS television series Mission: Impossible from 1967 to 1973. His brother is actor James Arness (born 1923). Graves was born Peter Aurness in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a son of Rolf Cirkler Aurness (1894-1982), a businessman, and his wife Ruth (nee Duesler, died 1986), a journalist. Graves' ancestry was Norwegian and German. The family name originally was "Aursnes," but when Rolf's father, Peter Aursnes, immigrated to New York City in 1887, he changed the spelling.
Graves graduated from Southwest High School in 1944, and spent two years in the United States Army Air Force near the end of World War II. He then enrolled at the University of Minnesota on the G.I. Bill, and was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.
Career
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Graves appeared in more than seventy films, TV shows and TV movies. He was featured as:
* The rancher (Broken Wheel Ranch) and adoptive single father, Jim Newton, to a son played by child actor Bobby Diamond on the 1950s NBC television series Fury. The other costars were William Fawcett, who played the housekeeper and general ranch hand Pete Wilkey, and Roger Mobley, who appeared as Joey's friend Homer "Packy" Lambert.
* Price, a German spy pretending to be a prisoner of war in the World War II film Stalag 17
* A father on the run from the law in Night of the Hunter
* Jim Phelps, the leader of the elite Impossible Missions Force in the CBS TV series Mission: Impossible
* The host of a documentary concerning the Bigfoot craze of the 1970's called The Mysterious Monsters in 1976.
* Major Noah Cooper, commander of the Fighting 69th squadron in the NBC TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
* Captain Clarence Oveur in the comedies Airplane! and Airplane II: The Sequel
* Colonel John Camden on the WB Network TV series 7th Heaven, with Barbara Rush as his wife, Ruth
From 1960–1961, Graves starred as leading character Christopher Cobb in 34 episodes of the TV series Whiplash. In the story line, Cobb is an American who arrives in Australia in the 1850s to establish the country's first stagecoach line, using a bullwhip rather than a gun to fight the crooks that he encounters. The series also starred Anthony Wickert. Graves also starred in Court Martial as well as guest roles in such series as Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Route 66.
In 1967, Graves was recruited by Desilu Studios to replace Steven Hill as the lead actor on Mission: Impossible. Graves played Jim Phelps, the sometimes gruff leader of the Impossible Missions Force or IMF, for the remaining six seasons of the series.
After the series ended in 1973, Graves played a cameo-type support role in the feature film Sidecar Racers in Australia which was released in 1975. Graves also made a guest appearance in the teen soap opera Class of '74 in mid-1974, playing himself.
In 1988, a Hollywood writers' strike resulted in a new Mission: Impossible series being commissioned. Graves was the only original cast member to return as a regular (although others made guest appearances). The series was filmed in Australia, and Graves made his third journey there for acting work. The new version of Mission: Impossible lasted for two seasons, ending in 1990. Bookending his work on Mission: Impossible, Graves starred in two pilot films called Call to Danger, which were an attempt to create a Mission: Impossible-style series in which Graves played a government agent (the Bureau of National Resources) who recruited civilians with special talents for secret missions. The 1960s version of the pilot, according to Patrick White in The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier (which White reports was actually the second such pilot, but Graves was not involved in the first), is credited with winning Graves the role of Phelps; after Mission: Impossible ended in 1973, Graves filmed a third version of the pilot (this one structured as a made-for-TV movie), but it did not sell as a series. The concept was later used in the brief 1980s adventure series Masquerade.
Handprints of Peter Graves in front of Hollywood Hills Amphitheater at the Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park
During the 1990s, he hosted the documentary series Biography on A&E. He also acted in a number of films featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000, which subsequently featured running jokes about Graves' Biography work and presumed sibling rivalry with Arness. The films that have been featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 include SST: Death Flight, It Conquered the World, Beginning of the End, Parts: The Clonus Horror, and an uncredited voiceover in Attack of the the Eye Creatures. The movie Killers from Space was featured in The Film Crew, Michael J. Nelson's follow-up to MST3K. Graves himself parodied his Biography work in the film Men in Black II, hosting an exposé television show.
In the 1996 film update of Mission: Impossible, the character of Phelps was reimagined as a traitor who murders three fellow IMF agents, a decision that disappointed Graves. Jon Voight was cast as Phelps.
On October 30, 2009 Graves was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2009, AirTran Airways featured Graves in a series of web-only "Internetiquette" videos in which Graves appeared in a pilot's uniform and references classic Airplane! lines. The videos were part of an AirTran Airways campaign to promote their in-flight wireless Internet access.
In the summer of 2009, Graves signed on as a spokesperson for reverse mortgage lender American Advisors Group (AAG). Graves appeared in a national commercial in which he educated seniors about the benefits of reverse mortgages.
Personal life
Graves was a devout Christian. He was married to Joan Endress from 1950 until his death. Their marriage produced three daughters: Kelly Jean, Claudia King and Amanda Lee, all of whom survive him. Graves had six grandchildren.
Death
Graves died of a heart attack on March 14, 2010, four days prior to his 84th birthday. The actor had just returned from brunch with his wife and children, collapsing before he could enter the house. Although one of his daughters administered CPR, she could not revive him.
Awards
Graves was awarded a Golden Globe Award in 1971 for his role as Jim Phelps in the series Mission: Impossible. He also received nominations for an Emmy Award and Golden Globe awards in other seasons of that show. Graves also won a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding informational series in 1997 as host of Biography.
Filmography
* Winning Your Wings (1942) (short subject)
* Up Front (1951)
* Fort Defiance (1951)
* The Congregation (1952)
* Red Planet Mars (1952)
* Stalag 17 (1953)
* War Paint (1953)
* East of Sumatra (1953)
* Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953)
* Killers from Space (1954)
* The Yellow Tomahawk (1954)
* The Raid (1954)
* Black Tuesday (1954)
* Fort Yuma (1955)
* The Long Gray Line (1955)
* Robbers' Roost (1955)
* Wichita (1955)
* The Naked Street (1955)
* The Night of the Hunter (1955)
* The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
* It Conquered the World (1956)
* Hold Back the Night (1956)
* Canyon River (1956)
* Beginning of the End (1957)
* Bayou (1957)
* Death in Small Doses (1957)
* Wolf Larsen (1958)
* A Stranger in My Arms (1959)
* A Rage to Live (1965)
* Texas Across the River (1966)
* The Ballad of Josie (1967)
* Mission: Impossible vs. the Mob (1968) (compilation of episodes released to European theaters)
* Sergeant Ryker (1968)
* The Five Man Army (1969)
* Where Have All The People Gone? (1974) (TV movie)
* Scream of the Wolf (1974)
* Sidecar Racers (1975)
* The Mysterious Monsters (1976) (documentary) (narrator)
* High Seas Hijack (1978) (in English version)
* The Clonus Horror (1979)
* Survival Run (1980)
* Airplane! (1980)
* The Guns and the Fury (1981)
* Savannah Smiles (1982)
* Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
* The Winds of War (1983)
* Aces Go Places 3 (1984)
* Number One with a Bullet (1987)
* War and Remembrance (1988)
* Addams Family Values (1993)
* 7th Heaven 11 episodes (1996–2007)
* House on Haunted Hill (1999)
* Men in Black II (2002)
* Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
* House 1 episode (2005)
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/20/10 at 11:39 am
The person who died on this day...Natasha Richardson
Natasha Jane Richardson (11 May 1963 – 18 March 2009) was an English-born American stage and screen actress. 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, 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.
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 unreleased 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 UK 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
Search Wikinews 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 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, 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 and in London's West End as a mark of respect to 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 in the church cemetery.
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
TBA The Wildest Dream Ruth Mallory (wife of George Mallory) Voice only, final performance, 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
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/20/10 at 11:40 am
I never got on a plane until my early 20's.
I never flew in Concorde.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/20/10 at 11:45 am
The person who died on this day...Arthur C. Clarke
Sri Lankabhimanya Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS (16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008) was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, most famous for the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, written in collaboration with director Stanley Kubrick, a collaboration which also produced the film of the same name; and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke were known as the "Big Three" of science fiction.
Clarke served in the Royal Air Force as a radar instructor and technician from 1941–1946. He proposed a satellite communication system in 1945 which won him the Franklin Institute Stuart Ballantine Gold Medal in 1963. He was the chairman of the British Interplanetary Society from 1947–1950 and again in 1953. Later, he helped fight for the preservation of lowland gorillas.
Clarke emigrated to Sri Lanka in 1956 largely to pursue his interest in scuba diving, and lived there until his death. He was knighted by the British monarchy in 1998, and was awarded Sri Lanka's highest civil honour, Sri Lankabhimanya, in 2005.
While Clarke had a few stories published in fanzines, between 1937 and 1945, his first professional sales appeared in Astounding Science Fiction in 1946: "Loophole" was published in April, while "Rescue Party", his first sale, was published in May. Along with his writing Clarke briefly worked as Assistant Editor of Science Abstracts (1949) before devoting himself to writing full-time from 1951 onward. Clarke also contributed to the Dan Dare series published in Eagle, and his first three published novels were written for children.
Clarke corresponded with C. S. Lewis in the 1940s and 1950s and they once met in an Oxford pub, The Eastgate, to discuss science fiction and space travel. Clarke, after Lewis's death, voiced great praise for him, saying the Ransom Trilogy was one of the few works of science fiction that could be considered literature.
In 1948 he wrote "The Sentinel" for a BBC competition. Though the story was rejected, it changed the course of Clarke's career. Not only was it the basis for A Space Odyssey, but "The Sentinel" also introduced a more mystical and cosmic element to Clarke's work. Many of Clarke's later works feature a technologically advanced but still-prejudiced mankind being confronted by a superior alien intelligence. In the cases of The City and the Stars (and its original version, Against the Fall of Night), Childhood's End, and the 2001 series, this encounter produces a conceptual breakthrough that accelerates humanity into the next stage of its evolution. In Clarke's authorized biography, Neil McAleer writes that: "many readers and critics still consider Arthur C. Clarke's best novel."
Clarke lived in Sri Lanka from 1956 until his death in 2008, having emigrated there when it was still called Ceylon, first in Unawatuna on the south coast, and then in Colombo. Clarke held citizenship of both the UK and Sri Lanka. He was an avid scuba diver and a member of the Underwater Explorers Club. In addition to writing, Clarke and business partner, Mike Wilson set up several diving-related ventures. In 1961, while filming off Great Basses Reef, Wilson found a wreck and retrieved silver coins. Plans to dive on the wreck the following year were stopped when Clarke developed paralysis, ultimately diagnosed as polio. A year later, Clarke observed the salvage from the shore and the surface. The ship, ultimately identified as belonging to the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb, yielded fused bags of silver rupees, cannons, and other artifacts, carefully documented, became the basis for The Treasure of the Great Reef. Living in Sri Lanka and learning its history also inspired the backdrop for his novel The Fountains of Paradise in which he described a space elevator. This, he believed, would make rocket based access to space obsolete and, more so than geostationary satellites, would ultimately be his scientific legacy.
His many predictions culminated in 1958 when he began a series of essays in various magazines that eventually became Profiles of the Future published in book form in 1962. A timetable up to the year 2100 describes inventions and ideas including such things as a "global library" for 2005. The same work also contained "Clarke's First Law" and text which would become Clarke's three laws in later editions.
Later years
In the early 1970s Clarke signed a three-book publishing deal, a record for a science-fiction writer at the time. The first of the three was Rendezvous with Rama in 1973, which won him all the main genre awards and has spawned sequels that, along with the 2001 series, formed the backbone of his later career.
In 1975 Clarke's short story "The Star" was not included in a new high school English textbook in Sri Lanka because of concerns that it might offend Roman Catholics even though it had already been selected. The same textbook also caused controversy because it replaced Shakespeare's work with that of Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Isaac Asimov.
In the 1980s Clarke became well known to many for his television programmes Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World, Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Powers and Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious Universe. In 1986 he was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America. In 1988 he was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome, having originally contracted polio in 1962, and needed to use a wheelchair most of the time thereafter. Sir Arthur C Clarke was for many years a Vice Patron of the British Polio Fellowship.
In the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours Clarke was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) "for services to British cultural interests in Sri Lanka". The same year he became the first Chancellor of the International Space University, serving from 1989 to 2004 and he also served as Chancellor of Moratuwa University in Sri Lanka from 1979 to 2002.
In 1994, Clarke appeared in a science fiction film; he portrayed himself in the telefilm Without Warning, an American production about an apocalyptic alien first contact scenario presented in the form of a faux newscast.
On 26 May 2000 he was made a Knight Bachelor "for services to literature" at a ceremony in Colombo. The award of a knighthood had been announced in the 1998 New Year Honours, but investiture with the award had been delayed, at Clarke's request, because of an accusation, by the British tabloid The Sunday Mirror, of paedophilia. The charge was subsequently found to be baseless by the Sri Lankan police. According to The Daily Telegraph (London), the Mirror subsequently published an apology, and Clarke chose not to sue for defamation. Clarke was then duly knighted.
Although he and his home were unharmed by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake tsunami, his "Arthur C. Clarke Diving School" at Hikkaduwa was destroyed. He made humanitarian appeals, and the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation worked towards a better disaster notification systems. The school has since been rebuilt.
In September 2007, he provided a video greeting for NASA's Cassini probe's flyby of Iapetus (which plays an important role in 2001: A Space Odyssey). In December 2007 on his 90th birthday, Clarke recorded a video message to his friends and fans bidding them good-bye.
Clarke died in Sri Lanka on 19 March 2008 after suffering from breathing problems, according to Rohan de Silva, one of his aides. His aide described the cause as respiratory complications and heart failure stemming from post-polio syndrome.
Only a few days before he died, he had reviewed the manuscript of his final work, The Last Theorem, on which he had collaborated by e-mail with his contemporary Frederik Pohl. The book was published after Clarke's death. Clarke was buried in Colombo in traditional Sri Lankan fashion on 22 March. His younger brother, Fred Clarke, and his Sri Lankan adoptive family were among the thousands in attendance.
The Big Three
Clarke, Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein became known as the "Big Three" of science fiction. Clarke and Heinlein began writing to each other after The Exploration of Space was published in 1951, and first met in person the following year. They remained on cordial terms for many years, including visits in the United States and Sri Lanka. During a 1984 meeting at the home of Larry Niven in California, however, Heinlein attacked Clarke verbally over his views on United States foreign and space policy (especially the Strategic Defense Initiative). Although the two reconciled, formally, they remained distant until Heinlein's death in 1988.
Clarke and Asimov first met in New York City in 1973, and they traded friendly insults and jabs for decades. They established a verbal agreement, the "Clarke–Asimov Treaty", that when asked who was best, the two would say Clarke was the best science fiction writer and Asimov was the best science writer. In 1972, Clarke put the "treaty" on paper in his dedication to Report on Planet Three and Other Speculations.
Position on religion
Themes of religion and spirituality appear in much of Clarke's writing, though his position on "Religion" is ultimately somewhat complicated. He said, "Any path to knowledge is a path to God—or Reality, whichever word one prefers to use". and described himself as 'fascinated by the concept of God'. When he entered the RAF, he insisted that his dog tags be marked "pantheist" rather than the default, Church of England. In 2000, Clarke told the Sri Lankan newspaper, The Island, "I don't believe in God or an afterlife," and he identifies himself as an atheist. He was honoured as a Humanist Laureate in the International Academy of Humanism. He has also described himself as a "crypto-Buddhist", insisting that Buddhism is not a religion. He displayed little interest about religion early in his life, for example, only discovering a few months after marrying his wife, that she had strong Presbyterian beliefs.
In a three-day "dialogue on man and his world" with Alan Watts, Clarke stated that he was biased against religion and said that he could not forgive religions for what he perceived as their inability to prevent atrocities and wars over time.
In a reflection of the dialogue where he more broadly stated "mankind", his introduction to the penultimate episode of Mysterious World, entitled, Strange Skies, Clarke said, "I sometimes think that the universe is a machine designed for the perpetual astonishment of astronomers."
Near the very end of that same episode, the last segment of which covered the Star of Bethlehem, he stated that his favourite theory was that it might be a pulsar. Given that pulsars were discovered in the interval between his writing the short story, The Star (1955), and making Mysterious World (1980), and given the more recent discovery of pulsar PSR B1913+16, he said, "How romantic, if even now, we can hear the dying voice of a star, which heralded the Christian era."
Clarke left written instructions for a funeral that stated: "Absolutely no religious rites of any kind, relating to any religious faith, should be associated with my funeral."
A famous quote of Clarke's is often cited: "One of the great tragedies of mankind is that morality has been hijacked by religion."
Views on paranormal phenomena
Early in his career, Clarke had a fascination with the paranormal and stated that it was part of the inspiration for his novel Childhood's End. Citing the numerous promising paranormal claims that were shown to be fraudulent, Clarke described his earlier openness to the paranormal having turned to being "an almost total skeptic" by the time of his 1992 biography. During interviews, both in 1993 and 2004–2005, he stated that he did not believe in reincarnation, citing that there was no mechanism to make it possible, though he stated "I'm always paraphrasing J. B. S. Haldane: 'The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it's stranger than we can imagine.'" (He loved quoting Haldane.) He described the idea of reincarnation as fascinating, but favored a finite existence.
Clarke was well known for his television series investigating paranormal phenomena Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World, Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious Universe and Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Powers, enough to be parodied in an episode of The Goodies in which his show is canceled after it is claimed he does not exist.
Themes, style, and influences
Clarke's work is marked by an optimistic view of science empowering mankind's exploration of the Solar System, and the world's oceans. Clarke's images of the future often feature a Utopian setting with highly developed technology, ecology, and society, based on the author's ideals. His early published stories would usually feature the extrapolation of a technological innovation or scientific breakthrough into the underlying decadence of his own society.
"The Sentinel" (1948) introduced a religious theme to Clarke's work, a theme that he later explored more deeply in The City and the Stars (and its earlier version, Against the Fall of Night). Surprisingly for a writer who is often held up as an example of hard science fiction's obsession with technology, three of Clarke's novels have this as a theme. Another theme of "The Sentinel" was the notion that the evolution of an intelligent species would eventually make them something close to gods, which was also explored in his 1953 novel Childhood's End. He also briefly touched upon this idea in his novel Imperial Earth. This idea of transcendence through evolution seems to have been influenced by Olaf Stapledon, who wrote a number of books dealing with this theme. Clarke has said of Stapledon's 1930 book Last and First Men that "No other book had a greater influence on my life ... and its successor Star Maker (1937) are the twin summits of literary career".
Clarke also took a major interest in "Inner Space", which can be seen in his stories, Big Game Hunt, The Deep Range and The Shining Ones, as well as Dolphin Island.
Adapted screenplays
2001: A Space Odyssey
Clarke's first venture into film was the Stanley Kubrick directed 2001: A Space Odyssey. Kubrick and Clarke had met in New York City in 1964 to discuss the possibility of a collaborative film project. As the idea developed, it was decided that the story for the film was to be loosely based on Clarke's short story "The Sentinel", written in 1948 as an entry in a BBC short story competition. Originally, Clarke was going to write the screenplay for the film, but Kubrick suggested during one of their brainstorming meetings that before beginning on the actual script, they should let their imaginations soar free by writing a novel first, which the film would be based on upon its completion. "This is more or less the way it worked out, though toward the end, novel and screenplay were being written simultaneously, with feedback in both directions. Thus I rewrote some sections after seeing the movie rushes -- a rather expensive method of literary creation, which few other authors can have enjoyed." The novel ended up being published a few months after the release of the movie.
Due to the hectic schedule of the film's production, Kubrick and Clarke had difficulty collaborating on the book. Clarke completed a draft of the novel at the end of 1964 with the plan to publish in 1965 in advance of the film's release in 1966. After many delays the film was released in the spring of 1968, before the book was completed. The book was credited to Clarke alone. Clarke later complained that this had the effect of making the book into a novelisation, that Kubrick had manipulated circumstances to downplay Clarke's authorship. For these and other reasons, the details of the story differ slightly from the book to the movie. The film contains little explanation for the events taking place. Clarke, on the other hand, wrote thorough explanations of "cause and effect" for the events in the novel. James Randi later recounted that upon seeing 2001 for the first time, Clarke left the movie theatre during the first break crying because he was so upset about how the movie had turned out. Despite their differences, both film and novel were well received.
In 1972, Clarke published The Lost Worlds of 2001, which included his accounts of the production, and alternate versions, of key scenes. The "special edition" of the novel A Space Odyssey (released in 1999) contains an introduction by Clarke in which he documents the events leading to the release of the novel and film.
2010
In 1982 Clarke continued the 2001 epic with a sequel, 2010: Odyssey Two. This novel was also made into a film, 2010, directed by Peter Hyams for release in 1984. Because of the political environment in America in the 1980s, the film presents a Cold War theme, with the looming tensions of nuclear warfare not featured in the novel. The film was not considered to be as revolutionary or artistic as 2001, but the reviews were still positive.
Clarke's email correspondence with Hyams was published in 1984. Titled The Odyssey File: The Making of 2010, and co-authored with Hyams, it illustrates his fascination with the then-pioneering medium of email and its use for them to communicate on an almost daily basis at the time of planning and production of the film while living on different continents. The book also includes Clarke's list of the best science-fiction films ever made.
Clarke appeared in the film, first as the man feeding the pigeons while Dr. Heywood Floyd is engaged in a conversation in front of the White House. Later, in the hospital scene with David Bowman's mother, an image of the cover of Time portrays Clarke as the American President and Kubrick as the Russian Premier.
Rendezvous with Rama
Clarke's award-winning 1972 novel Rendezvous with Rama was optioned many years ago, but is currently in "development hell". Director David Fincher is attached to the project, together with actor Morgan Freeman.
Beyond 2001
2001: A Space Odyssey, Clarke's most famous work, was extended well beyond the 1968 movie as the Space Odyssey series. Its 1984 sequel, 2010 was based on Clarke's 1982 novel, 2010: Odyssey Two. There were two further sequels that have not been adapted to the cinema: 2061: Odyssey Three and 3001: The Final Odyssey.
In 2061, Halley's Comet swings back to nearby Earth, and Clarke uses the event as an excuse to take an aged Dr. Heywood Floyd on a romp through the solar system, visiting the comet before crash-landing on Europa, where he discovers the fates of Dave Bowman, HAL 9000, and the Europan life-forms which have been protected by the Monoliths.
With 3001: The Final Odyssey, Clarke returns to examine the character of astronaut Frank Poole, who was killed outside Discovery by HAL in the original novel and film, but whose body was revived in the year 3001.
Essays and short stories
Most of Clarke's essays (from 1934 to 1998) can be found in the book Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds! (2000). Most of his short stories can be found in the book The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke (2001). Another collection of early essays was published in The View from Serendip (1977), which also included one short piece of fiction, "When the Twerms Came". He wrote short stories under the pseudonyms of E. G. O'Brien and Charles Willis.
Concept of the geostationary communications satellite
Geostationary orbit
Main article: Geostationary orbit
Clarke's most important scientific contribution may be his idea that geostationary satellites would be ideal telecommunications relays. He described this concept in a paper titled Extra-Terrestrial Relays — Can Rocket Stations Give Worldwide Radio Coverage?, published in Wireless World in October 1945. The geostationary orbit is now sometimes known as the Clarke Orbit or the Clarke Belt in his honour.
However, it is not clear that this article was actually the inspiration for the modern telecommunications satellite. John R. Pierce, of Bell Labs, arrived at the idea independently in 1954 and he was actually involved in the Echo satellite and Telstar projects. Moreover, Pierce stated that the idea was "in the air" at the time and certain to be developed regardless of Clarke's publication. In an interview given shortly before his death, Clarke was asked whether he thought communications satellites would become important; he replied
"I'm often asked why I didn't try to patent the idea of communications satellites. My answer is always, ‘A patent is really a license to be sued.' "
Though different from Clarke's idea of telecom relay, the idea of communicating with satellites in geostationary orbit itself had been described earlier. For example, the concept of geostationary satellites was described in Hermann Oberth's 1923 book Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen (The Rocket into Interplanetary Space) and then the idea of radio communication with those satellites in Herman Potočnik's (written under the pseudonym Hermann Noordung) 1928 book Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums — der Raketen-Motor (The Problem of Space Travel — The Rocket Motor) sections: Providing for Long Distance Communications and Safety and (possibly referring to the idea of relaying messages via satellite, but not that 3 would be optimal) Observing and Researching the Earth's Surface published in Berlin. Clarke acknowledged the earlier concept in his book Profiles of the Future.
Awards, honours and other recognition
* He won the UNESCO-Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science in 1961.
* Following the release of 2001, Clarke became much in demand as a commentator on science and technology, especially at the time of the Apollo space program. The fame of 2001 was enough to get the Command Module of the Apollo 13 craft named "Odyssey".
* Shared a 1969 Academy Award nomination with Stanley Kubrick in the category, Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen for 2001: A Space Odyssey.
* In 1986, Clarke provided a grant to fund the prize money (initially £1,000) for the Arthur C. Clarke Award for the best science fiction novel published in the United Kingdom in the previous year. In 2001 the prize was increased to £2001, and its value now matches the year (e.g., £2005 in 2005).
* Clarke received a CBE in 1989, and was knighted in 2000. Clarke's health did not allow him to travel to London to receive the honour personally from the Queen, so the United Kingdom's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka invested him as a Knight Bachelor at a ceremony in Colombo.
* In 1994, Clarke was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by law professor Glenn Reynolds.
* In 2000, he was named a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association.
* The 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter is named in honour of Sir Arthur's works.
* In 2003, Sir Arthur was awarded the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology where he appeared on stage via a 3-D hologram with a group of old friends which included Jill Tarter, Neil Armstrong, Lewis Branscomb, Charles Townes, Freeman Dyson, Bruce Murray and Scott Brown.
* In 2004, Sir Arthur was awarded the Heinlein Award for outstanding achievement in hard or science-oriented science fiction.
* In 2005 he lent his name to the inaugural Sir Arthur Clarke Awards — dubbed "the Space Oscars". His brother attended the awards ceremony, and presented an award specially chosen by Arthur (and not by the panel of judges who chose the other awards) to the British Interplanetary Society.
* On 14 November 2005 Sri Lanka awarded Arthur C. Clarke its highest civilian award, the Sri Lankabhimanya (The Pride of Sri Lanka), for his contributions to science and technology and his commitment to his adopted country.
* Sir Arthur was the Honorary Board Chair of the Institute for Cooperation in Space, founded by Carol Rosin, and served on the Board of Governors of the National Space Society, a space advocacy organisation originally founded by Dr. Wernher von Braun.
* An asteroid was named in Clarke's honour, 4923 Clarke (the number was assigned prior to, and independently of, the name - 2001, however appropriate, was unavailable, having previously been assigned to Albert Einstein).
* A species of ceratopsian dinosaur, Serendipaceratops arthurcclarkei, discovered in Inverloch in Australia.
* The Learning Resource Centre at Richard Huish College, Taunton, which Clarke attended when it was Huish Grammar School, is named after him.
* Clarke was a distinguished vice-president of the H. G. Wells Society, being strongly influenced by H. G. Wells as a science-fiction writer.
Partial bibliography
Main article: List of works by Arthur C. Clarke
Select Novels
* Prelude to Space (1951)
* The Sands of Mars (1951)
* Childhood's End (1953)
* The City and the Stars (1956)
* A Fall of Moondust (1961) (Hugo nominee, 1963)
* 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
* Rendezvous with Rama (1972) (BSFA and Nebula Awards winner, 1973; Hugo, Campbell, and Locus Awards winner, 1974)
* A Meeting with Medusa (Nebula Award for best novella) (1972)
* Imperial Earth (1975)
* The Fountains of Paradise (1979) (Hugo Award winner, BSFA nominee, 1979; and Nebula Award winner, Locus Award nominee, 1980)
* 2010: Odyssey Two (1982) (Hugo and Locus Awards nominee, 1983)
* The Songs of Distant Earth (1986)
* 2061: Odyssey Three (1987)
* 3001: The Final Odyssey (1997)
* The Light of Other Days (2000) (with Stephen Baxter)
Short story collections
* Expedition to Earth (1953)
* Reach for Tomorrow (1956)
* Tales from the White Hart (1957)
* The Other Side of the Sky (1958)
* Tales of Ten Worlds (1962)
* The Nine Billion Names of God (1967)
* The Wind from the Sun (1972)
* The Best of Arthur C. Clarke (1973)
* The Sentinel (1983)
* The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke (2001)
Non-fiction
* The Exploration of Space. New York: Harper, 1951
* Voice Across the Sea. New York: Harper, 1958
* Voices from the Sky: Previews of the Coming Space Age. New York: Harper & Row, 1965
* Astounding Days: A Science Fictional Autobiography. London: Gollancz, 1989
* Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds! : Collected Works 1934-1998. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999
* The View From Serendip. Random House. ISBN 0394417968. 1977
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/20/10 at 12:05 pm
British Person of the Day: David Thewlis
David Thewlis (né Wheeler; born 20 March 1963) is an English film, television and stage actor, as well as a writer. He is best known as an actor in the U.S. for his portrayal of Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter movie series.
Early life
Thewlis, second of three children, was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, the son of Maureen (née Thewlis) and Alec Raymond Wheeler. Both of his parents worked at his father's shop, which sold toys in the summer and wallpaper and paint in the winter. As a teenager, he played in a rock band called QED, in which he, Cliff Ashcroft and Chris Swift wrote much of their own music and lyrics. QED played at some of the Blackpool hotels to earn money for equipment and their first recording session at Storm Studios in Blackpool. Later, Thewlis played lead guitar with a punk-rock band called Door 66. As a musician he was "doing nicely, doing good" and did not want to be an actor. He enrolled in the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London only because his friends did.
Thewlis graduated in 1984. When he went to register with the actors' union, he intended to use Wheeler as his stage name, but a "David Wheeler" already existed. His mother's maiden name was the first that came to mind.
Career
His first acting job was in a play entitled Buddy Holly at the Regal in Greenwich. Thewlis' first major film role was as the rambling street philosopher Johnny in Naked (1993; dir. Mike Leigh), for which he was named best actor by the National Society of Film Critics (United States), the London Film Critics Circle, the Evening Standard, the New York Film Critics' Circle and the Cannes Film Festival. Despite the dark nature of the film, he has been critically acclaimed for the role and it is seen as one of his best roles. The same year he appeared on television as the sexual predator James Jackson in Prime Suspect 3, opposite Helen Mirren and Ciaran Hinds. Prior to this Thewlis's first television appearance was alongside Ken Jones in Valentine Park.
Through the 1990s, Thewlis appeared in a variety of films, mostly fantasy and period, including Restoration (1995), Black Beauty (1994), Total Eclipse (1995) with Leonardo DiCaprio, The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), Dragonheart (1996), and Seven Years in Tibet (1997), opposite Brad Pitt (because of this film, Thewlis is barred from entering China). He was nominated for a British Independent Film Award for Divorcing Jack (1998), and played Clov in a (2000) television film of Samuel Beckett's Endgame. Notable appearances also include Bernardo Bertolucci's Besieged (1998) and Paul McGuigan's Gangster No. 1 (2000), opposite Malcolm McDowell.
He auditioned for the role of Professor Quirrell in the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, but the role was given to Ian Hart. Despite missing out for the first film, in 2004, he was cast as Remus Lupin in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Thewlis did not have to audition for the part as he was director Alfonso Cuarón's first choice for the role. He accepted it on advice from Ian Hart, who told him that Lupin was "the best part in the book". He reprised the role in the fifth and sixth films in the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and is slated to play the character again in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows which is to be split into two films. He also appears in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.
Recent credits include Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Terrence Malick's The New World (2005) and The Omen (2006). As a director, he was nominated for a BAFTA for best short film for Hello, Hello, Hello (1995); he has also written, directed and starred in the feature Cheeky (2003). When researching for his role in Kingdom of Heaven, Thewlis went to the Hospitaller museum near his home, and the first thing he saw was a mannequin wearing the exact same costume that he wore in the film.
Personal life
In 1992, Thewlis married director Sara Sugarman; they divorced in 1993. He then had a relationship with Bill Oddie's daughter Kate Hardie.
In 2001 he began a relationship with actress Anna Friel, whom he met on a flight to Cannes. Friel had, coincidentally, starred in Sara Sugarman's 1999 film Mad Cows. They both starred in the 2003 film Timeline although they shared no scenes together.
Together they have one daughter, Gracie Ellen Mary Friel (born 9 July 2005). Thewlis noted that he was "excited" and "not at all scared" by fatherhood, and that he loves children. If he was not an actor he would be a teacher as he believes "the most beautiful sound is a child laughing". During Friel's pregnancy he gave up smoking, began jogging and eating more healthily and lost weight.
Thewlis owns a converted Victorian ballroom in Clerkenwell, whilst Friel owns a house in Windsor, so the couple divide their time in each property. Their house in Windsor is located near the Long Walk and Windsor Castle; Thewlis once recounted that he "can lie in bed and watch the Queen ride by". He also is often mistaken for fellow actor Rhys Ifans: "Twice a week, people come up to me and say, 'You were great in Notting Hill'. The public seem to think we are the same person." Thewlis has also recently published a novel called The Late Hector Kipling (2007).
Filmography
Actor- Filmography:
London Boulevard (2010) .... Jordan
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (2010) .... Remus Lupin
Mr. Nice (2010) .... Jim McCann
Veronika Decides to Die (2009) .... Dr. Blake
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) .... Remus Lupin
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008) .... Father
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) .... Remus Lupin
The Inner Life of Martin Frost (2007) .... Martin Frost
Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction (2006) .... Roy Washburn
Take 7 (2006) .... Jonathan
New World, The (2005) .... Capt. Wingfield
Kingdom of Heaven (2005) .... Hospitaller
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) .... Remus Lupin
Timeline (2003) .... Robert Doniger
Cheeky (2003) .... Harry Sankey
D.I.Y. Hard (2002)
"Dinotopia" (2002/II) (mini) TV Series .... Cyrus Crabb
Hamilton Mattress (2001) (TV) (voice) .... Hamilton Mattress
Goodbye Charlie Bright (2001) .... Dad
Endgame (2000) (TV) .... Clov
Gangster No. 1 (2000) .... Freddie Mays
Miracle Maker, The (2000) (TV) (voice) .... Judas Iscariot
Love Story (1999/I) (TV)
Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? (1999) .... Nesbit
Besieged (1998) .... Jason Kinsky
Divorcing Jack (1998) .... Dan Starkey
Big Lebowski, The (1998) .... Knox Harrington
Seven Years in Tibet (1997) .... Peter Aufschnaiter
American Perfekt (1997) .... Santini
Island of Dr. Moreau, The (1996) .... Edward Douglas
Dragonheart (1996) .... King Einon
James and the Giant Peach (1996) (voice) .... Earthworm
Restoration (1995) .... John Pearce
Total Eclipse (1995) .... Paul Verlaine
Black Beauty (1994) .... Jerry Barker
"Dandelion Dead" (1993) (mini) TV Series .... Oswald Martin
"Prime Suspect 3" (1993) (mini) TV Series .... James Jackson
Naked (1993) .... Johnny
Trial, The (1993) .... Franz
Black and Blue (1992) (TV) .... Crematorium attendant
Fatale (1992) .... Detective
Journey to Knock (1991) (TV) .... Terry
Screen One: Filipina Dreamgirls (1991) (TV) .... Tim Shanks
Afraid of the Dark (1991) .... Locksmith/Tom Miller
Life Is Sweet (1990) .... Nicola's Lover
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1990) (TV) .... Doctor
Skulduggery (1989) (TV) .... Tony
Resurrected (1989) .... Kevin Deakin
"Bit of a Do, A" (1989) TV Series .... Paul Simcock (Series 1)
Vroom (1988) .... Ringe
Little Dorrit (1988) .... George Braddle
Road (1987) .... Joey
Short and Curlies, The (1987) (TV) .... Clive
"Singing Detective, The" (1986) (mini) TV Series .... 2nd Soldier
"Valentine Park" (1985) TV Series .... Max
Director-Filmography:
Cheeky (2003)
Hello, Hello, Hello (1995)
Writer-Filmography:
Cheeky (2003)
Hello, Hello, Hello (1995)
Himself - filmography:
Discovering Dinotopia (2002) (TV) .... Cyrus
Notable TV Guest Appearances:
"Frank Stubbs Promotes" (1993) playing "Mike Bence" in episode: "Striker" (episode # 1.6) 16 August 1993
"Only Fools and Horses" (1981) playing "Stew" in episode: "It's Only Rock and Roll" (episode # 4.4) 14 March 1985
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 03/20/10 at 1:26 pm
In the world!Anyone using these as their Desktop Background?
I might like to, but not at the moment; I have a nice picturesque desktop background.
Maybe I'll just save them to my pictures folder.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/20/10 at 2:48 pm
Me too, I didn't like Big John that much.
he went from heel to fan favorite.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 03/20/10 at 3:43 pm
How did I know you would do him ;D...Very interesting..Thanks Frank. :)
Bobby Orr was my favorite player growing up. He was the man. Got my 1st Bobby Orr #4 hockey jersey back in about 1971 or 1972.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/21/10 at 2:48 am
British Person of the Day: Gary Oldman
Almost from the start of his career, Gary Oldman displayed an edgy intensity that brought verve to his portrayals of ambiguous and obsessive personalities. Equally at home as either heroes or villains (although his resume boasted far more of the latter), this lean, wiry actor from South London gained a well-earned reputation as a brilliant chameleon. Decidedly private about his personal life, Oldman was briefly married to actress Uma Thurman, whom he had met during the shooting of “Henry and June” (1990). Despite a twelve-year age difference, the two stars wed soon after the film, but their union would last just two years. An acknowledged inspiration to such young up-and- comers as Bo Barrett, Ryan Gosling and Shia LaBeouf, Oldman’s status as an elder statesman seemed assured. But despite his high standing among fellow actors and scores of critically acclaimed roles under his belt, Oldman had yet to be nominated for an Academy Award – a shame given his stature as one of the most gifted actors of his generation.
The son of a welder and a housewife, Leonard Gary Oldman was born on Mar. 21, 1958 in New Cross, London, England. An academically indifferent student, Oldman dropped out of school at 16 and found a job as a store clerk. He soon discovered his métier on stage, becoming active in the Young People's Theater in Greenwich, England. He later won a scholarship to attend the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Kent. Graduating in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in theater arts, Oldman quickly found regular gigs on stage. Oldman’s hard work and trademark intensity made him a favorite in Glasgow in the mid 1980s, culminating in the lead role in Edward Bond’s socially-conscious drama, “The Pope’s Wedding.” A huge hit with critics, the play earned Oldman’s two of the British stage’s top honors: the Time Out's Fringe Award for Best Newcomer of 1985-86 and the British Theatre Association's Drama Magazine Award as Best Actor of 1985.
Segueing into television in the mid-to-late 1980s, Oldman brought some of his famous intensity to his small screen roles. An early example was evidenced in one of Oldman’s first screen performances as an explosive skinhead in director Mike Leigh's telefilm "Meantime" (BBC, 1983). Oldman later consolidated his wild man persona with two very different, yet similarly doomed iconoclastic figures from English culture: punk rock legend Sid Vicious in the poignant and uncompromising cult classic "Sid and Nancy" (1986), and later the irreverent gay playwright Joe Orton in the finely tuned biopic "Prick up Your Ears" (1987). Though excellent in both roles, Oldman was more remembered for his turn as Vicious, portraying the heroin-addicted bassist in frighteningly accurate fashion. Meanwhile, Oldman continued his exploration of human darkness, traveling to North Carolina to play the mysterious long-lost son of Theresa Russell in Nicolas Roeg's bizarre psychological drama "Track 29" (1987).
In the United States, Oldman displayed his remarkable talent for mimicking American accents and myriad regional dialects. The fruits of his labor resulted in Oldman giving convincing performances as a coldhearted big-city attorney in "Criminal Law" (1988), a down-home Southern fried mental institution inmate in "Chattahoochee" (1990) and an Irish-American gangster in "State of Grace" (1990). But it was his dead-on impersonation of assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in Oliver Stone's "JFK" (1991) that truly cemented his status as a human chameleon – few were able to distinguish the actor’s characterization from the stock footage of the real Oswald. Based on the strength of his performance in “JFK,” director Francis Ford Coppola offered him the lead in “Bran Stoker’s Dracula” (1992). As the titular bloodsucker, Oldman proved equally compelling in various incarnations – as a wizened old man, a dapper aristocrat and a snarling monster – standing out amid the lavish makeup and visually sumptuous costumes and sets. Oldman was predictably electrifying in his next outing, playing ruthless wannabe Rastafarian pimp Drexl Spivy in the Quentin Tarantino-scripted "True Romance" (1993). Though Oldman was onscreen for only a few minutes, his dominating performance echoed throughout the rest of the movie.
Like many actors, Oldman had his share of demons to battle – in his case, alcohol. Oldman’s off-screen binges led to occasional brushes with the law, including a 1991 arrest for driving under the influence. After he completed "The Scarlet Letter" (1995), Oldman checked into rehab and underwent treatment. Once sober, he returned to Hollywood to reactivate his career and raise money for “Nil By Mouth” (1997), a dream project he wanted to write and direct. Meanwhile, Oldman was seen in varying degrees of success, making villainous turns in "The Fifth Element" (1997), "Air Force One" (1997) and "Lost in Space" (1998). Finally, he managed to raise enough dough – thanks to an assist from “Fifth Element” director Luc Besson – and was able to make “Nil By Mouth,” a blistering semiautobiographical examination of a working-class family torn apart by alcoholism. From its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it picked up the Best Actress trophy for Kathy Burke (as the abused wife), to its 1998 theatrical release, the film earned substantial critical praise for its unflinching writing, assured direction and stunning performances.
Oldman next lent his vocal talents to the animated feature "The Quest for Camelot" (1998), then made a rare excursion into television to play Pontius Pilate in the CBS miniseries "Jesus” (1999-2000). Later in 2000, he was back on the big screen as a conservative U.S. senator attempting to block the appointment of a female colleague as the first woman vice president in "The Contender," written and directed by Rod Lurie. The timely material – which included a sex scandal and pointed references to embattled U.S. president Bill Clinton – marked the actor's first time as an executive producer. Rumors of a tension-filled the set were rampant prior to the film's release and disputes between Oldman and Lurie soon became fodder for public consumption. Not one to suffer fools, Oldman expressed his unhappiness with his character’s depiction as the villain. While his arguments with Lurie and the film's distributor DreamWorks played out in the press, “The Contender” failed to make its mark with audiences.
Oldman found himself in another situation with his prominent follow-up role as the exorbitantly wealthy, but hideously disfigured Mason Verger in "Hannibal" (2001). Some reported that the actor originally wanted screen credit. But when he was relegated to third billing, he allegedly opted to take no credit at all. Other articles claimed that he did not want to be identified for the sake of surprise, since the character required prosthetics that would render whoever played the role unrecognizable. Producer Dino De Laurentiis clearly stated at a press conference, however, that Oldman was indeed playing the role, pointing out that an actor of that stature deserved to be recognized for his contribution to the film. Although he spent much of his career playing psychotics and sadistic characters, Oldman underwent a career makeover in the mid-2000s similar to that of Sir Ian McKellan. Eschewing his more typical adult-oriented fair, Oldman began accepting a string of roles that played to younger audiences.
Among his likeable, more sympathetic characters was Sirius Black, a recurring character in the “Harry Potter” series. First introduced in “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (2004), Oldman reprised his role for its two subsequent sequels, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (2005) and “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” (2007). Around the same period, Oldman delighted comic book fan boys around the world by taking the role of Gotham City Police Lieutenant (and later Commissioner) Jim Gordon in “Batman Begins” (2005), a re-boot of the lucrative Batman film franchise. Oldman later reprised the role in “The Dark Knight” (2008). He next portrayed several characters in Disney’s 3-D animated take on the Charles Dickens classic, “A Christmas Carol” (2009), lending both voice and image to Jacob Marley, former business partner of Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey), Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim. Goldman also voiced General Grawl in “Planet 51” (2009), an animated spoof on alien culture and 1950s Americana.
* Also Credited As:
Gary Leonard Oldman, Leonard Gary Oldman, Maurice Escargot
* Born:
Gary Leonard Oldman on March 21, 1958 in London, England, United Kingdom
* Job Titles:
Actor, Director, Screenwriter, Musician, Producer, Sporting goods store clerk
Family
* Father: Len Oldman. An abusive alcoholic who left his family when Oldman was seven; died of alcoholism c. 1984
* Mother: Kathleen Oldman. Irish
* Sister: Laila Morse. Born c. 1947; co-starred in Oldman s directorial debut Nil by Mouth (1997); best known as Mo Harris in the BBC s long-running series EastEnders
* Son: Alfred Oldman. Born in 1988; mother, Lesley Manville
* Son: Charlie John Oldman. Born in 1999; mother, Donya Fiorentino
* Son: Gulliver Flynn Oldman. Born in Aug. 20, 1997; mother, Donya Fiorentino
Significant Others
* Companion: Isabella Rossellini. Reportedly engaged to be married in 1994, but ended relationship in 1996
* Wife: Alexandra Edenborough. Married in December 2008 in Santa Barbara, CA
* Wife: Uma Thurman. Met on the set of State Of Grace (1990); married from 1990-1992
* Companion: Isabella Rossellini. reportedly became engaged to be married in July 1994; separated in 1996
Education
* Rose Bruford College, Kent, England, theater arts, BA, 1979
Milestones
* 1974 Left school at age 16 and worked as a clerk in a sporting goods store
* 1980 Joined Citizen s Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland; also toured Europe and South America with company
* 1981 Film acting debut, Colin Gregg s Remembrance
* 1983 Had a brief part as a skinhead in Mike Leigh s Meantime (BBC)
* 1985 Came to prominence under the guidance of Max Stafford-Clark (artistic director of the Royal Court Theatre); made London stage debut in Edward Bond s The Pope s Wedding
* 1986 First starring role in a feature, playing Sex Pistols member Sid Vicious in Alex Cox s Sid and Nancy
* 1987 Offered a fine turn as playwright Joe Orton in the biopic Prick Up Your Ears
* 1988 Re-teamed with director Colin Gregg on We Think the World of You ; played a young married man who is the object of a crush of an older gay man (Alan Bates)
* 1989 American film debut portraying a slick attorney matching wits with a psychopath (Kevin Bacon) in Criminal Law
* 1990 Portrayed a Southern man erroneously incarcerated in a mental institution in Chattahoochee
* 1991 Offered an eerie portrayal of the alleged presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in the Oliver Stone-directed JFK
* 1991 With Tim Roth played the title characters in the film version of Tom Stoppard s play Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
* 1992 First US TV appearance in the A&E rebroadcast of the British TV-movie Heading Home
* 1992 Gave a memorable interpretation of the titular bloodsucker in Francis Ford Coppola s Bram Stoker s Dracula
* 1993 Delivered a mesmerizing turn as a dreadlocked drug dealer in Tony Scott s True Romance ; scripted by Quentin Tarantino
* 1994 Cast as Ludwig von Beethoven in the biopic Immortal Beloved
* 1994 Cast as a crooked cop in Romeo Is Bleeding
* 1994 Portrayed a murderous DEA agent in Léon/The Professional ; first collaboration with director Luc Besson
* 1995 Re-teamed with Kevin Bacon for Murder in the First ; played the sadistic prison warden opposite Bacon s portrayal of an Alcatraz inmate
* 1996 Cast as art representative Albert Milo in Basquiat
* 1997 Continued in the evil vein as the leader of a terrorist band that hijacks the presidential plane in Air Force One
* 1997 Feature directorial debut, Nil by Mouth ; also scripted and served as one of the producers along with Luc Besson
* 1997 Offered a scenery-chewing romp as the villain in Besson s The Fifth Element
* 1998 Played Dr. Smith in the screen version of Lost in Space
* 2000 Cast as a conservative US Senator challenging the appointment of a woman to the office of Vice President in The Contender ; also executive produced
* 2000 Made rare television appearance as Pontius Pilate in the CBS biblical miniseries Jesus
* 2001 Received an Emmy nomination for two guest appearances in NBC s Friends appearing as Richard Crosby, a pedantic actor who insists that real actors spit on one another when they enunciate
* 2001 Starred opposite Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal, as Mason Verger, the only surviving victim of Hannibal Lecter
* 2004 Landed a major role in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as Potter s godfather Sirius Black
* 2005 Cast as Lieutenant Gordon, a detective on the Gotham police force in Christopher Nolan s commercially and critically acclaimed Batman Begins
* 2005 Reprised role of Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, adapted from the fourth book in the series
* 2007 Reprised role of Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, adapted from the fifth book in the series
* 2008 Reprised role of Lieutenant Gordon in the second installment of the revived Batman series, The Dark Knight
* 2009 Lent his voice to the animated sci-fi film, Planet 51
* 2009 Voiced several character s, including Bob Cratchit, in Robert Zemeckis animated adaptation of A Christmas Carol
* 2010 Played Carnegie, a corrupted mayor, alongside Denzel Washington in The Book of Eli, the post-apocalyptic drama directed by the Hughes brothers
* Acted in productions at the Theatre Royal in York, England
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/21/10 at 2:49 am
British Person of the Day: Gary Oldman
Actor Credits
* The Book of Eli (2010)
Carnegie
* Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009)
Bob Cratchit / Marley / Tiny Tim/ Voice of Bob Cratchit/ Marley/ Tiny Tim
* Planet 51 (2009)
Voice of General Grawl/ Voice of General Grawl
* The Unborn (2009)
Rabbi Sendak
* The Dark Knight (2008)
James Gordon
* Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Sirius Black
* The Backwoods (2007)
* Batman Begins (2005)
Jim Gordon
* Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Sirius Black
* Dead Fish (2004)
Lynch
* Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Sirius Black
* Tiptoes (2004)
Rolfe
* Interstate 60 (2003)
OW Grant
* Sin (2003)
* Nobody's Baby (2001)
Buford Dill
* The Contender (2000)
Shelly Runyon
* Lost in Space (1998)
Dr Smith/ Spider Smith
* Quest for Camelot (1998)
Voice of of Sir Ruber
* Air Force One (1997)
Ivan Korshunov
* The Fifth Element (1997)
Zorg
* Basquiat (1996)
Albert Milo
* Murder in the First (1995)
Warden Glenn
* The Scarlet Letter (1995)
Arthur Dimmesdale
* Immortal Beloved (1994)
Ludwig van Beethoven
* Romeo Is Bleeding (1994)
Jack Grimaldi
* The Professional (1994)
Stansfield
* True Romance (1993)
Drexl Spivey
* Beyond JFK: The Question of Conspiracy (1992)
Himself
* Bram Stoker s Dracula (1992)
Dracula
* J.F.K. (1991)
Lee Harvey Oswald
* Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1991)
Rosencrantz
* Chattahoochee (1990)
Emmett Foley
* Henry & June (1990)
Pop
* State of Grace (1990)
Jackie
* Criminal Law (1989)
Ben Chase
* Track 29 (1988)
Martin
* We Think the World of You (1988)
Johnny
* Prick Up Your Ears (1987)
Joe Orton
* Sid and Nancy (1986)
Sid Vicious
* Honest, Decent and True (1985)
Derek
* Remembrance (1981)
Daniel
* The Secret World of Superfans
Himself
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/21/10 at 6:21 am
British Person of the Day: Gary Oldman
Almost from the start of his career, Gary Oldman displayed an edgy intensity that brought verve to his portrayals of ambiguous and obsessive personalities. Equally at home as either heroes or villains (although his resume boasted far more of the latter), this lean, wiry actor from South London gained a well-earned reputation as a brilliant chameleon. Decidedly private about his personal life, Oldman was briefly married to actress Uma Thurman, whom he had met during the shooting of “Henry and June” (1990). Despite a twelve-year age difference, the two stars wed soon after the film, but their union would last just two years. An acknowledged inspiration to such young up-and- comers as Bo Barrett, Ryan Gosling and Shia LaBeouf, Oldman’s status as an elder statesman seemed assured. But despite his high standing among fellow actors and scores of critically acclaimed roles under his belt, Oldman had yet to be nominated for an Academy Award – a shame given his stature as one of the most gifted actors of his generation.
The son of a welder and a housewife, Leonard Gary Oldman was born on Mar. 21, 1958 in New Cross, London, England. An academically indifferent student, Oldman dropped out of school at 16 and found a job as a store clerk. He soon discovered his métier on stage, becoming active in the Young People's Theater in Greenwich, England. He later won a scholarship to attend the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Kent. Graduating in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in theater arts, Oldman quickly found regular gigs on stage. Oldman’s hard work and trademark intensity made him a favorite in Glasgow in the mid 1980s, culminating in the lead role in Edward Bond’s socially-conscious drama, “The Pope’s Wedding.” A huge hit with critics, the play earned Oldman’s two of the British stage’s top honors: the Time Out's Fringe Award for Best Newcomer of 1985-86 and the British Theatre Association's Drama Magazine Award as Best Actor of 1985.
Segueing into television in the mid-to-late 1980s, Oldman brought some of his famous intensity to his small screen roles. An early example was evidenced in one of Oldman’s first screen performances as an explosive skinhead in director Mike Leigh's telefilm "Meantime" (BBC, 1983). Oldman later consolidated his wild man persona with two very different, yet similarly doomed iconoclastic figures from English culture: punk rock legend Sid Vicious in the poignant and uncompromising cult classic "Sid and Nancy" (1986), and later the irreverent gay playwright Joe Orton in the finely tuned biopic "Prick up Your Ears" (1987). Though excellent in both roles, Oldman was more remembered for his turn as Vicious, portraying the heroin-addicted bassist in frighteningly accurate fashion. Meanwhile, Oldman continued his exploration of human darkness, traveling to North Carolina to play the mysterious long-lost son of Theresa Russell in Nicolas Roeg's bizarre psychological drama "Track 29" (1987).
In the United States, Oldman displayed his remarkable talent for mimicking American accents and myriad regional dialects. The fruits of his labor resulted in Oldman giving convincing performances as a coldhearted big-city attorney in "Criminal Law" (1988), a down-home Southern fried mental institution inmate in "Chattahoochee" (1990) and an Irish-American gangster in "State of Grace" (1990). But it was his dead-on impersonation of assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in Oliver Stone's "JFK" (1991) that truly cemented his status as a human chameleon – few were able to distinguish the actor’s characterization from the stock footage of the real Oswald. Based on the strength of his performance in “JFK,” director Francis Ford Coppola offered him the lead in “Bran Stoker’s Dracula” (1992). As the titular bloodsucker, Oldman proved equally compelling in various incarnations – as a wizened old man, a dapper aristocrat and a snarling monster – standing out amid the lavish makeup and visually sumptuous costumes and sets. Oldman was predictably electrifying in his next outing, playing ruthless wannabe Rastafarian pimp Drexl Spivy in the Quentin Tarantino-scripted "True Romance" (1993). Though Oldman was onscreen for only a few minutes, his dominating performance echoed throughout the rest of the movie.
Like many actors, Oldman had his share of demons to battle – in his case, alcohol. Oldman’s off-screen binges led to occasional brushes with the law, including a 1991 arrest for driving under the influence. After he completed "The Scarlet Letter" (1995), Oldman checked into rehab and underwent treatment. Once sober, he returned to Hollywood to reactivate his career and raise money for “Nil By Mouth” (1997), a dream project he wanted to write and direct. Meanwhile, Oldman was seen in varying degrees of success, making villainous turns in "The Fifth Element" (1997), "Air Force One" (1997) and "Lost in Space" (1998). Finally, he managed to raise enough dough – thanks to an assist from “Fifth Element” director Luc Besson – and was able to make “Nil By Mouth,” a blistering semiautobiographical examination of a working-class family torn apart by alcoholism. From its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it picked up the Best Actress trophy for Kathy Burke (as the abused wife), to its 1998 theatrical release, the film earned substantial critical praise for its unflinching writing, assured direction and stunning performances.
Oldman next lent his vocal talents to the animated feature "The Quest for Camelot" (1998), then made a rare excursion into television to play Pontius Pilate in the CBS miniseries "Jesus” (1999-2000). Later in 2000, he was back on the big screen as a conservative U.S. senator attempting to block the appointment of a female colleague as the first woman vice president in "The Contender," written and directed by Rod Lurie. The timely material – which included a sex scandal and pointed references to embattled U.S. president Bill Clinton – marked the actor's first time as an executive producer. Rumors of a tension-filled the set were rampant prior to the film's release and disputes between Oldman and Lurie soon became fodder for public consumption. Not one to suffer fools, Oldman expressed his unhappiness with his character’s depiction as the villain. While his arguments with Lurie and the film's distributor DreamWorks played out in the press, “The Contender” failed to make its mark with audiences.
Oldman found himself in another situation with his prominent follow-up role as the exorbitantly wealthy, but hideously disfigured Mason Verger in "Hannibal" (2001). Some reported that the actor originally wanted screen credit. But when he was relegated to third billing, he allegedly opted to take no credit at all. Other articles claimed that he did not want to be identified for the sake of surprise, since the character required prosthetics that would render whoever played the role unrecognizable. Producer Dino De Laurentiis clearly stated at a press conference, however, that Oldman was indeed playing the role, pointing out that an actor of that stature deserved to be recognized for his contribution to the film. Although he spent much of his career playing psychotics and sadistic characters, Oldman underwent a career makeover in the mid-2000s similar to that of Sir Ian McKellan. Eschewing his more typical adult-oriented fair, Oldman began accepting a string of roles that played to younger audiences.
Among his likeable, more sympathetic characters was Sirius Black, a recurring character in the “Harry Potter” series. First introduced in “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (2004), Oldman reprised his role for its two subsequent sequels, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (2005) and “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” (2007). Around the same period, Oldman delighted comic book fan boys around the world by taking the role of Gotham City Police Lieutenant (and later Commissioner) Jim Gordon in “Batman Begins” (2005), a re-boot of the lucrative Batman film franchise. Oldman later reprised the role in “The Dark Knight” (2008). He next portrayed several characters in Disney’s 3-D animated take on the Charles Dickens classic, “A Christmas Carol” (2009), lending both voice and image to Jacob Marley, former business partner of Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey), Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim. Goldman also voiced General Grawl in “Planet 51” (2009), an animated spoof on alien culture and 1950s Americana.
* Also Credited As:
Gary Leonard Oldman, Leonard Gary Oldman, Maurice Escargot
* Born:
Gary Leonard Oldman on March 21, 1958 in London, England, United Kingdom
* Job Titles:
Actor, Director, Screenwriter, Musician, Producer, Sporting goods store clerk
Family
* Father: Len Oldman. An abusive alcoholic who left his family when Oldman was seven; died of alcoholism c. 1984
* Mother: Kathleen Oldman. Irish
* Sister: Laila Morse. Born c. 1947; co-starred in Oldman s directorial debut Nil by Mouth (1997); best known as Mo Harris in the BBC s long-running series EastEnders
* Son: Alfred Oldman. Born in 1988; mother, Lesley Manville
* Son: Charlie John Oldman. Born in 1999; mother, Donya Fiorentino
* Son: Gulliver Flynn Oldman. Born in Aug. 20, 1997; mother, Donya Fiorentino
Significant Others
* Companion: Isabella Rossellini. Reportedly engaged to be married in 1994, but ended relationship in 1996
* Wife: Alexandra Edenborough. Married in December 2008 in Santa Barbara, CA
* Wife: Uma Thurman. Met on the set of State Of Grace (1990); married from 1990-1992
* Companion: Isabella Rossellini. reportedly became engaged to be married in July 1994; separated in 1996
Education
* Rose Bruford College, Kent, England, theater arts, BA, 1979
Milestones
* 1974 Left school at age 16 and worked as a clerk in a sporting goods store
* 1980 Joined Citizen s Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland; also toured Europe and South America with company
* 1981 Film acting debut, Colin Gregg s Remembrance
* 1983 Had a brief part as a skinhead in Mike Leigh s Meantime (BBC)
* 1985 Came to prominence under the guidance of Max Stafford-Clark (artistic director of the Royal Court Theatre); made London stage debut in Edward Bond s The Pope s Wedding
* 1986 First starring role in a feature, playing Sex Pistols member Sid Vicious in Alex Cox s Sid and Nancy
* 1987 Offered a fine turn as playwright Joe Orton in the biopic Prick Up Your Ears
* 1988 Re-teamed with director Colin Gregg on We Think the World of You ; played a young married man who is the object of a crush of an older gay man (Alan Bates)
* 1989 American film debut portraying a slick attorney matching wits with a psychopath (Kevin Bacon) in Criminal Law
* 1990 Portrayed a Southern man erroneously incarcerated in a mental institution in Chattahoochee
* 1991 Offered an eerie portrayal of the alleged presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in the Oliver Stone-directed JFK
* 1991 With Tim Roth played the title characters in the film version of Tom Stoppard s play Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
* 1992 First US TV appearance in the A&E rebroadcast of the British TV-movie Heading Home
* 1992 Gave a memorable interpretation of the titular bloodsucker in Francis Ford Coppola s Bram Stoker s Dracula
* 1993 Delivered a mesmerizing turn as a dreadlocked drug dealer in Tony Scott s True Romance ; scripted by Quentin Tarantino
* 1994 Cast as Ludwig von Beethoven in the biopic Immortal Beloved
* 1994 Cast as a crooked cop in Romeo Is Bleeding
* 1994 Portrayed a murderous DEA agent in Léon/The Professional ; first collaboration with director Luc Besson
* 1995 Re-teamed with Kevin Bacon for Murder in the First ; played the sadistic prison warden opposite Bacon s portrayal of an Alcatraz inmate
* 1996 Cast as art representative Albert Milo in Basquiat
* 1997 Continued in the evil vein as the leader of a terrorist band that hijacks the presidential plane in Air Force One
* 1997 Feature directorial debut, Nil by Mouth ; also scripted and served as one of the producers along with Luc Besson
* 1997 Offered a scenery-chewing romp as the villain in Besson s The Fifth Element
* 1998 Played Dr. Smith in the screen version of Lost in Space
* 2000 Cast as a conservative US Senator challenging the appointment of a woman to the office of Vice President in The Contender ; also executive produced
* 2000 Made rare television appearance as Pontius Pilate in the CBS biblical miniseries Jesus
* 2001 Received an Emmy nomination for two guest appearances in NBC s Friends appearing as Richard Crosby, a pedantic actor who insists that real actors spit on one another when they enunciate
* 2001 Starred opposite Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal, as Mason Verger, the only surviving victim of Hannibal Lecter
* 2004 Landed a major role in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as Potter s godfather Sirius Black
* 2005 Cast as Lieutenant Gordon, a detective on the Gotham police force in Christopher Nolan s commercially and critically acclaimed Batman Begins
* 2005 Reprised role of Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, adapted from the fourth book in the series
* 2007 Reprised role of Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, adapted from the fifth book in the series
* 2008 Reprised role of Lieutenant Gordon in the second installment of the revived Batman series, The Dark Knight
* 2009 Lent his voice to the animated sci-fi film, Planet 51
* 2009 Voiced several character s, including Bob Cratchit, in Robert Zemeckis animated adaptation of A Christmas Carol
* 2010 Played Carnegie, a corrupted mayor, alongside Denzel Washington in The Book of Eli, the post-apocalyptic drama directed by the Hughes brothers
* Acted in productions at the Theatre Royal in York, England
A fine actor :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/21/10 at 6:36 am
The word of the day...Lion
A lion is a large wild member of the cat family that is found in Africa. Lions have yellowish fur, and male lions have long hair on their head and neck
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k244/OhFunkIt/lion.jpg
http://i429.photobucket.com/albums/qq11/MR2BOY23/lion-stare.jpg
http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/tt111/mark1234uk/2sideslion.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h118/hollywood43/myspace%20stuff/The-Lion-King.jpg
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s63/ProleArtThreat/White-Lion-Standard.jpg
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/mzapache58/ANIMALS/th1096085303.jpg
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae277/kitesurfing_album/lion-bank4.jpg
http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww320/Anderson_033/Pets%20and%20Animals/lionsound.jpg
http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae170/cyhuffman/Lionkin.gif
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/21/10 at 6:38 am
The person born on this day...Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American film and stage actor who played the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Nick Tatopoulos in Godzilla and David Lightman in WarGames. He voiced the characters of the adult Simba in The Lion King and The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. He voiced Tack the Cobbler in The Thief and the Cobbler, Adam Flaymen in Bee Movie, alongside Jerry Seinfeld, and Despereaux in The Tale of Despereaux. He played Leo Bloom in the film and Broadway productions of The Producers, and Colonel Robert Gould Shaw in the Civil War drama Glory.
Broderick was born in New York City, the son of Patricia (née Biow), a playwright, actress, and painter; and James Wilke Broderick, an actor. Broderick's mother was Jewish, and his father a Catholic of Irish descent. Broderick attended grade school at the City & Country School (a progressive K–8 school in Manhattan) and attended high school at Walden School (a defunct private school in Manhattan with a strong drama program). After the death of his mother, her paintings were exhibited at the Tibor de Nagy gallery in New York.
Career
Broderick's first major acting role came in an HB Studio workshop production of playwright Horton Foote's On Valentine's Day, playing opposite his father, who was a friend of Foote's. This was followed by a lead role in the off-Broadway production of Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy; then, a good review by New York Times theater critic Mel Gussow brought him to the attention of Broadway. Broderick commented on the effects of that review in a 2004 60 Minutes II interview:
“ Before I knew it, I was like this guy in a hot play. And suddenly, all these doors opened. And it’s only because Mel Gussow happened to come by right before it closed and happened to like it. It’s just amazing. All these things have to line up that are out of your control. ”
Broderick in Sweden during his promotion of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, December 1986.
He followed that with the role of Eugene Morris Jerome in the Neil Simon Eugene Trilogy including the plays, Brighton Beach Memoirs and Biloxi Blues. His first movie role was also written by Neil Simon. Broderick debuted in Max Dugan Returns (1983). His first big hit film was WarGames, a summer hit in 1983. This was followed by the role of Philippe Gaston in Ladyhawke, in 1985.
Broderick then got the role as the charming, clever slacker in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. At age 23, Broderick played a high-school student who, with his girlfriend and best friend, plays hooky and explores Chicago. The movie remains a 1980s comedy favorite today and is one of Broderick's best-known roles (particularly with teenage audiences). In the 1989 Glory, Broderick received good notices for his portrayal of the American Civil War hero Robert Gould Shaw.
In the 1990s, Broderick took on the role as the adult lion, Simba, in the successful animated film, The Lion King, and also voiced Tack the Cobbler in The Thief and the Cobbler. He won recognition for two dark-comedy roles. The first was that of a bachelor in The Cable Guy. The second was that of a high-school teacher in Alexander Payne's Election.
Broderick returned to Broadway as a musical star in the 1990s, most notably with his Tony Award–winning performance in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and his Tony Award–nominated performance in the Mel Brooks' stage version of The Producers in 2001. He continued to make feature films, including the 2005 adaptation of The Producers. Broderick played the role of Leopold “Leo” Bloom, an accountant who co-produces a musical designed to fail, but which turns out to be successful.
Broderick reunited with his co-star from The Lion King and The Producers, Nathan Lane, in The Odd Couple, which opened on Broadway in October 2005. He appeared on Broadway as a college professor in The Philanthropist, running April 10 through June 28, 2009.
Awards
He has won two Tony Awards, one in 1983 for his featured role in the play Brighton Beach Memoirs and one in 1995 for his leading role in the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He was also nominated for the Tony Award, Best Actor in a Musical, for the The Producers but lost to Lane. To date, Matthew Broderick is the youngest winner of the Tony Award, Best Featured Actor in a Play.
Personal life
Broderick and his wife Sarah Jessica Parker in 2009.
Broderick met actress Jennifer Grey on the set of Ferris Bueller's Day Off and in 1986 was briefly engaged to her. Broderick met actress Sarah Jessica Parker through her brother. The couple married on May 19, 1997 in a civil ceremony in an historic deconsecrated synagogue on the Lower East Side; and although Broderick considers himself culturally Jewish, the ceremony was performed by his sister, Janet Broderick Kraft, an Episcopal priest. Parker and Broderick have a son, James Wilke Broderick, born on October 28, 2002. On April 28, 2009, it was confirmed that Broderick and Parker were expecting twin girls through surrogacy. Broderick and Parker's surrogate delivered their twin daughters, Marion Loretta Elwell and Tabitha Hodge, on June 22, 2009. Marion Loretta Elwell weighed 5 pounds, 11 ounces, while Tabitha Hodge was 6 pounds.
Although they live in New York City, they spend a considerable amount of time at their holiday home in County Donegal, Ireland, where Broderick spent his summers as a child. He is left-handed, a fact made evident in his first movie, Max Dugan Returns, in which he plays baseball. Broderick is an avid baseball fan. His favorite team is the New York Mets. He narrated the DVD "Shea Goodbye: 45 Years of Amazin", which chronicled the life of Shea Stadium. Broderick is good friends with his The Producers co-star, Nathan Lane. Fellow '80s teen actor Jon Cryer is often said to look like Broderick; their striking resemblance has been portrayed in two episodes of Cryer's TV show, Two and a Half Men. They also have a house in The Hamptons. Sarah and their son James are also left-handed.
Auto accident
On August 5, 1987, Broderick was in Northern Ireland, vacationing with Grey, when his rented BMW veered into the wrong lane on a country road in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh and smashed head-on into a car driven by Anna Gallagher, 30. She and her mother, Margaret Doherty, 63, died instantly.
Broderick spent four weeks in a Belfast hospital with a fractured leg and ribs, collapsed lung and concussion. Grey suffered minor injuries.
Broderick told authorities he had no recollection of the crash and did not know why he was in the wrong lane. "I don't remember the day. I don't remember even getting up in the morning. I don't remember making my bed. What I first remember is waking up in the hospital, with a very strange feeling going on in my leg," he said at the time.
Broderick was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and faced a prison term of up to five years. He was later convicted of the lesser charge of careless driving and fined $175. The victims' family called the case "a travesty of justice."
Broderick agreed to meet with the family of the two women in the spring of 2003 so that the family could gain some sense of closure on the accident.
Work
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1983 Max Dugan Returns Michael McPhee Debut role
WarGames David Lightman Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actor
1985 1918 Brother
Master Harold...and the Boys Harold "Hally" Nominated — CableACE Award for Actor in a Theatrical or Dramatic Special
Ladyhawke Phillipe Gaston
1986 Ferris Bueller's Day Off Ferris Bueller
On Valentine's Day Brother
1987 Project X James "Jimmy" Garrett
1988 She's Having a Baby cameo "Ferris Bueller"
Biloxi Blues Eugene Morris Jerome
Torch Song Trilogy Alan Simon
1989 Family Business Adam McMullen
Glory Colonel Robert Gould Shaw
1990 The Freshman Clark Kellogg / The Narrator
1992 Out on a Limb William "Bill" Campbell
1993 The Night We Never Met Samuel "Sam" Lester
1994 The Lion King Simba the Lion (adult) (voice only)
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle Charles MacArthur
The Road to Wellville William "Will" Lightbody
1995 The Thief and the Cobbler Tack the Cobbler (voice only)
1996 The Cable Guy Steven M. Kovacs Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Fight with Jim Carrey
Infinity Richard Feynman
1997 Addicted to Love Sam
1998 Godzilla Dr. Niko "Nick" Tatopoulos
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride Simba the Lion (voice only)
Walking to the Waterline Michael Woods
1999 Election James "Jim" McAllister Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor
Inspector Gadget Inspector Gadget / Robo-Gadget / Jonathan "John" Brown
2000 You Can Count on Me Brian Everett
2003 The Music Man Professor Harold Hill Made for television movie
Good Boy! Canid 3492 the Dog ("Hubble") (voice only)
2004 The Lion King 1½ Simba the Lion (teenager and adult) (voice only)
Marie and Bruce Bruce
The Stepford Wives Walter Kresby
The Last Shot Steven Schats
2005 The Producers Leopold Bloom
2006 Strangers with Candy Roger Beekman
Deck the Halls Steven "Steve" Finch
2007 Then She Found Me Benjamin "Ben" Green
Bee Movie Adam Flayman (voice only)
2008 Diminished Capacity Cooper
Finding Amanda Taylor Peters Mendon Nominated — Prism Award for Performance in a Feature Film
The Tale of Despereaux Despereaux (voice only)
2009 Wonderful World Benjamin "Ben" Singer
2010 Margaret Andrew "Andy" Van Tassel awaiting release
Ghost Stadium Phillip "Phil" Waltersen awaiting release
Stage
* Torch Song Trilogy (1981)
* Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983)
* Biloxi Blues (1985)
* How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1995) (revival)
* Night Must Fall (1999) (revival)
* Taller Than a Dwarf (2000)
* The Producers (2001–2002, 2003)
* Short Talks on the Universe (2002)
* The Foreigner (2004)
* The Odd Couple (2005) (revival)
* The Philanthropist (2009) (revival)
* The Starry Messenger (2009)
Television
* Faerie Tale Theatre: Cinderella (1985)
* Master Harold...and the Boys (1985)
* A Life in the Theater (1993)
* The Music Man (2003)
* 30 Rock: "Cooter" (2008)
* Cyberchase: "Father's Day" (2009)
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g89/billie33gd/Matthew%20Broderick/ferris.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g89/billie33gd/Matthew%20Broderick/leo1.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/21/10 at 6:41 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUMwu_gXK7Q
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/21/10 at 6:45 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUMwu_gXK7Q
:\'( :\'( It's not available :-\\
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/21/10 at 6:48 am
The person who died on this day...Robert Preston
Robert Preston (June 8, 1918–March 21, 1987) was an American stage and film actor.
Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth L. (née Rea) and Frank Wesley Meservey, a garment worker and billing clerk for American Express. After attending Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California, he studied acting at the Pasadena Community Playhouse. He would later serve in the United States Army Air Forces as an intelligence officer with the U.S. 9th Air Force during World War II.
In 1940, he married actress Catherine Craig, to whom he remained married until his death.
Career
Preston appeared in many Hollywood films, predominantly Westerns, but is probably best remembered for his portrayal of "Professor" Harold Hill in Meredith Willson's musical The Music Man (1962). He won a Tony Award for his performance in the original Broadway production (1957). He appeared on the cover of Time magazine on July 21, 1958. In 1965 he was the male part of a duo-lead musical, "I Do! I Do!" with Mary Martin and in 1974, he starred opposite Bernadette Peters in Jerry Herman's Broadway musical "Mack and Mabel" as Mack Sennett, the famous silent film director.
In 1961, Preston was asked to make a recording as part of a program by the President's Council on Physical Fitness to get schoolchildren to do more daily exercise. The song, "Chicken Fat," written by Meredith Willson and performed by Preston with full orchestral accompaniment, was distributed to schools across the nation and played for students in calisthenics every morning. The song later became a surprise novelty hit and a part of many baby-boomers' childhood memories.
In 1979 and 1980, Preston portrayed determined family patriarch Hadley Chisholm in the CBS western miniseries, The Chisholms. Rosemary Harris played his wife, Minerva. The Preston character died in the ninth of the thirteen episodes of the program. Other co-stars were Ben Murphy, Lance Kerwin, Brett Cullen, and James Van Patten. In the story line, the Chisholms lost their land in Virginia by fraud and left for California to begin a new life.
Although he was not known for his singing voice, Preston appeared in several other stage and film musicals, notably Mame (1974) and Victor/Victoria (1982), for which he received an Academy Award nomination. His last role in a theatrical film was in The Last Starfighter (1984), in which he played intergalactic con man/military recruiter "Centauri." Preston said that he based the character of Centauri on Professor Harold Hill. He also starred in the HBO 1985 movie Finnegan Begin Again along with Mary Tyler Moore. His final role was in the TV movie Outrage! (1986).
Preston died of lung cancer in 1987, at the age of 68.
Work
Stage productions
* The Male Animal (May 15, 1952 - Jan 31, 1953)
* Men of Distinction (Apr 30, 1953 - May 2, 1953)
* His and Hers (Jan 7, 1954 - Mar 13, 1954)
* The Magic and the Loss (Apr 9, 1954 - May 1, 1954)
* The Tender Trap (Oct 13, 1954 - Jan 8, 1955)
* Janus (Nov 24, 1955 - Jun 30, 1956)
* The Hidden River (Jan 23, 1957 - Mar 16, 1957)
* The Music Man (Dec 19, 1957 - Apr 15, 1961)
* Too True to be Good (Mar 12, 1963 - Jun 1, 1963)
* Nobody Loves an Albatross (Dec 19, 1963 - Jun 20, 1964)
* Ben Franklin in Paris (Oct 27, 1964 - May 1, 1965)
* The Lion in Winter (Mar 3, 1966 - May 21, 1966)
* I Do! I Do! (December 5, 1966 - June 15, 1968)
* Mack & Mabel (Oct 6, 1974 - Nov 30, 1974)
* Sly Fox (Dec 14, 1976 - Feb 19, 1978)
Filmography
* King of Alcatraz (1938)
* Illegal Traffic (1938)
* Disbarred (1939)
* Union Pacific (1939)
* Beau Geste (1939)
* Typhoon (1940)
* North West Mounted Police (1940)
* Moon Over Burma (1940)
* The Lady from Cheyenne (1941)
* Parachute Battalion (1941)
* New York Town (1941)
* Night of January 16th (1941)
* Pacific Blackout (1941)
* Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
* This Gun for Hire (1942)
* Wake Island (1942)
* Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)
* Night Plane from Chungking (1943)
* Wings Up (1943)
* The Macomber Affair (1947)
* Variety Girl (1947)
* Wild Harvest (1947)
* Big City (1948)
* Blood on the Moon (1948)
* Whispering Smith (1948)
* The Lady Gambles (1949)
* Tulsa (1949)
* The Sundowners (1950)
* Cloudburst (1951)
* When I Grow Up (1951)
* Best of the Badmen (1951)
* My Outlaw Brother (1951)
* Face to Face (1952)
* The Last Frontier (1955)
* Sentinels in the Air (1956) (narrator)
* The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960)
* The Music Man (1962)
* How the West Was Won (1962)
* Island of Love (1963)
* All the Way Home (1963)
* Junior Bonner (1972)
* Child's Play (1972)
* Mame (1974)
* Semi-Tough (1977)
* S.O.B. (1981)
* Victor/Victoria (1982)
* The Last Starfighter (1984)
* Finnegan Begin Again (1985)
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k281/wicked1lesmis/robertpreston.jpg
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m259/jeffman52001/laststarfighter-e.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/21/10 at 6:49 am
http://www.gonemovies.com/WWW/MyWebFilms/Drama/WizardLionClose.jpg
The Cowardly Lion.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/21/10 at 7:15 am
http://www.gonemovies.com/WWW/MyWebFilms/Drama/WizardLionClose.jpg
The Cowardly Lion.
Who had courage.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/21/10 at 7:17 am
Who had courage.
he was King of the Forest.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/21/10 at 8:42 am
he was King of the Forest.
Yes he was.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/21/10 at 10:21 am
:\'( :\'( It's not available :-\\
Google Videos may have a version of it?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/21/10 at 11:19 am
It is interesting that Matthew Broderick & Robert Preston are the people of the day together since they both portrayed Prof. Harold Hill in the Music Man. While Matthew did ok, he was no Robert Preston.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/21/10 at 11:20 am
Google Videos may have a version of it?
I went on YouTube and it played just fine.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/21/10 at 11:21 am
It is interesting that Matthew Broderick & Robert Preston are the people of the day together since they both portrayed Prof. Harold Hill in the Music Man. While Matthew did ok, he was no Robert Preston.
Cat
Wow Cat I never even realized that. Robert Preston was the Music Man.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/21/10 at 2:08 pm
I went on YouTube and it played just fine.
That is good news!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 03/21/10 at 4:23 pm
It is interesting that Matthew Broderick & Robert Preston are the people of the day together since they both portrayed Prof. Harold Hill in the Music Man. While Matthew did ok, he was no Robert Preston.
Cat
While I don't consider Preston's voice very musical...he did very well in The Music Man. I have this musical on DVD... (along with Camelot, West Side Story and Paint Your Wagon and most of the Rogers and Hammerstein films) ;)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/21/10 at 4:42 pm
While I don't consider Preston's voice very musical...he did very well in The Music Man. I have this musical on DVD... (along with Camelot, West Side Story and Paint Your Wagon and most of the Rogers and Hammerstein films) ;)
I have a lot of musicals, too. I didn't like the movie version of Camelot because I thought Vanessa Redgrave was just awful as Guenevere. 8-P And with West Side Story, why did they always insist on casting people who could not sing or dance in musicals (i.e. Natalie Wood). Yeah, yeah, I know that neither Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin could be considered musical-but at least they sang themselves rather than being dubbed. And Paint Your Wagon was VERY entertaining. ;D ;D ;D
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 03/21/10 at 8:27 pm
I have a lot of musicals, too. I didn't like the movie version of Camelot because I thought Vanessa Redgrave was just awful as Guenevere. 8-P And with West Side Story, why did they always insist on casting people who could not sing or dance in musicals (i.e. Natalie Wood). Yeah, yeah, I know that neither Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin could be considered musical-but at least they sang themselves rather than being dubbed. And Paint Your Wagon was VERY entertaining. ;D ;D ;D
Cat
I listened to the record of Camelot when Mum and Dad played it (in the 60's)....and came to love the music. I only saw the film for the first time in the 80's and thought Redgrave and Harris were fanatasic (and they were obviously doing their own singing...unlike Natalie Wood). Franco Nero really surprized me with his voice quality though. He had some big songs and performed them excellently.
As for Paint Your Wagon....Marvin actually charted with Wanderin' Star! :o I watched that movie just a couple of weeks ago now.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/22/10 at 4:47 am
I listened to the record of Camelot when Mum and Dad played it (in the 60's)....and came to love the music. I only saw the film for the first time in the 80's and thought Redgrave and Harris were fanatasic (and they were obviously doing their own singing...unlike Natalie Wood). Franco Nero really surprized me with his voice quality though. He had some big songs and performed them excellently.
As for Paint Your Wagon....Marvin actually charted with Wanderin' Star! :o I watched that movie just a couple of weeks ago now.
I went to the Rochester auditorium and saw Camelot in the mid 1980's and enjoyed it it was memorable because Richard Harris performed.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/22/10 at 4:53 am
The word of the day...Heights
heights is a morphological form of height /h'aɪt/ listen
*
heights plural listen
*
The height of a person or thing is their size or length from the bottom to the top.
A particular height is the distance that something is above the ground or above something else mentioned.
A height is a high position or place above the ground.
http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab257/Virraddon/Hiking/PCT%203-14-10/CIMG0325.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq300/morbalt/WutheringHeights036.jpg
http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad217/ancientsummers/General/Henry_wasnt_Afraid_of_Heights.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj10/TOW-Hutch/DDS_0307.jpg
http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae191/TheHiro818/2_5_09_boyle_heights.jpg
http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y368/bellshirley/R1-7A-1.jpg
http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp113/brendakay_bucket/October09080.jpg
http://i619.photobucket.com/albums/tt273/Intercession/Our%20Family%20Wedding/4RealKutzChicagoHeightsIL3.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/22/10 at 4:56 am
The person born on this day...Matthew Modine
Matthew Avery Modine (born March 22, 1959) is an American actor. His film roles include Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick's 1987 film Full Metal Jacket and high school wrestler Louden Swain in Vision Quest.
Modine, the youngest of seven children, was born in Loma Linda, California, the son of Dolores (née Warner), a bookkeeper, and Mark Alexander Modine, who managed drive-in theaters. His father moved the large family when necessary to keep them in food and clothing.
The first move for Modine was from his birthplace in Loma Linda to Imperial Beach, California. The family lived in Imperial Beach for two years before Mark was transferred to Utah. The family's first home was in Salt Lake City where his father became the District Manager for Sero Amusement Company. Mark was the manager of the Lyric Theater in downtown Salt Lake City. It was here that Matthew had his first brush with fame. He met Robert Redford when he visited the Lyric Theater doing publicity for the film Barefoot in the Park.
When Matthew was ten years old, he saw a documentary about the making of the film Oliver!. Inspired by the young actors and their performances, Modine decided to become an actor. At age 11, he found a dance school in Provo, Utah and began taking tap dancing lessons. He also joined the junior high school Glee Club when his family moved to Midvale, Utah.
When Matthew was fourteen, his father was transferred back to Imperial Beach and Matthew began eighth grade at Mar Vista Junior High. He spent sophomore year at Mar Vista High School and performed in a production of Our Town as George Gibbs. In his junior year, Matthew transferred to Southwest High School, but after the murder of a classmate, the school had fears of retaliation and gang violence, so Matthew convinced his parents to allow him to attend Marian Catholic High School. He later transferred and graduated from Mar Vista.
Modine moved to New York to pursue his acting career and struggled to get a foothold. His uncle, a Mormon, convinced Matthew to move to Provo and attend theater classes at Brigham Young University. After a month he realized this was a mistake. Modine moved to Salt Lake City where he began working for United Concerts as a gopher, putting candy and alcohol in the dressing rooms of touring rock and roll bands. After several months he returned to Imperial Beach. The violence and drug and alcohol problems that plagued the border town had begun to take a toll on his friends and it was clear to Matthew that to remain in San Diego could prove disastrous.
Modine moved back to NYC to study acting. It was there that he began working with legendary acting teacher Stella Adler and where he has maintained his residence since 1980.
Career
His first film role was in John Sayles' Baby It's You. His performance caught the eye of director Harold Becker, who cast him in Vision Quest (Crazy for You) based on the novel by Terry Davis. The director Robert Altman propelled Modine to international stardom with his film adaptation of David Rabe's play Streamers. Modine and his fellow castmates won an unprecedented Best Actor prize from the Venice Film Festival for this tragic story of young American soldiers about to be shipped to Vietnam. Modine played Mel Gibson's brother in Mrs. Soffel and starred with Nicolas Cage in Alan Parker's Birdy. The film was awarded a prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
Modine photographed by Brian Smith
Modine might be best known for his role as "Private Joker," the main character of Stanley Kubrick's 1987 war movie Full Metal Jacket. Afterwards, he played the dangerous young criminal, Treat, in Alan Pakula's film version of the hugely successful play Orphans by writer Lyle Kessler; and the goofy, earnest FBI agent Mike Downey in Jonathan Demme's screwball comedy Married to the Mob opposite Michelle Pfeiffer. Modine was nominated for an Emmy Award for his performances in And the Band Played On and What the Deaf Man Heard.
In 1995, he worked opposite Geena Davis in Cutthroat Island. Modine made his feature directorial debut with If... Dog... Rabbit. This came after the success of three short films that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival: When I was a Boy (co-directed with Todd Field) Smoking written by David Sedaris, and Ecce Pirate. Modine's recent short films have played throughout the world.
His most recent films include "The Trail" The Go Go Tales, Transporter 2, Opa!, and Mary, which won a prize at the Venice Film Festival.
In 2003, he guest starred on The West Wing in the episode "The Long Goodbye", as a foil to C. J. Cregg. He portrays the character Marco, who went to high school with Cregg, and helps her deal with her father's steady decline into Alzheimer's disease. He also guest starred in the Law and Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Rage" as a serial killer. Modine agreed to the role because he is a longtime friend of Allison Janney. The two appeared in a theatrical production of the play, BREAKING UP directed by Stuart Ross.
Modine plays a hilariously corrupt Majestic City developer named "Sullivan Groff" throughout Season 3 on Weeds. Groff has affairs with Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) and Celia Hodes (Elizabeth Perkins).
Theatre
His theater, Matthew worked in Arthur Miller's Finishing the Picture at Chicago's Goodman Theatre, Miller's Resurrection Blues at London's Old Vic. He played Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird at Connecticut's Hartford Stage. This production became the most successful play in the theatre's 45 year history. He is currently starring in the Broadway revival of The Miracle Worker at the Circle in the Square theatre. This is the first time the play has been produced since its award winning production 50 years ago.
Sports
Modine is a staunch supporter of the NBA and the WNBA. Modine is frequently seen at Madison Square Garden celebrating and cheering his two favorite teams, the NY KNICKS and the NY LIBERTY.
Other work
Full Metal Jacket Diary is a critically acclaimed book written by Modine. The book is a day-to-day account of his experience while working on Full Metal Jacket. In addition to the diary, the book is filled with photos Modine shot using a Rolleiflex camera.
Bicycle For a Day (BFAD) is an environmental initiative Modine created with Charles Finch. Modine directed the BFAD film for Young Global Leaders presented to an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (2006). BFAD's goal is to raise awareness of the need to reduce carbon emissions and demonstrate simple things that each of us can do everyday to make a cleaner world. On September 20, 2008 BFAD had its first event at the South Street Seaport in New York City. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke to the 14,000 people who attended the event. Ben Jellen and Lukas Haas sang and performed visitors learned about the two charities BFAD supports, Water Keeper Alliance and American Forests: Global ReLeaf.
Card Carrying Liberal (CCL) is a foundation that Modine started in 2007. The stated aim is to restore the meaning of the word "liberal". Modine believes the ideals of liberalism have been forced into disrepute because of a dishonest attempt to place them only in a political context. The foundation, which does not describe itself as a political entity, also has the objective of protecting the ideals of liberalism and supporting the liberties and human rights that liberal societies helped to establish.
Filmography
* Private School (1983)
* Streamers (1983) by Robert Altman
* Birdy (1984)
* The Hotel New Hampshire (1984)
* Mrs. Soffel (1984)
* Vision Quest (1985)
* Orphans (1987)
* Full Metal Jacket (1987) by Stanley Kubrick
* Married to the Mob (1988) by Jonathan Demme
* Gross Anatomy (1989)
* Memphis Belle (1990)
* Pacific Heights (1990) by John Schlesinger
* Wind (1992)
* Equinox (1992) by Alan Rudolph
* Short Cuts (1993) by Robert Altman
* And the Band Played On (1993, TV)
* The Browning Version (1994)
* Cutthroat Island (1995)
* Bye Bye Love (1995)
* Fluke (1995)
* What the Deaf Man Heard (1996)
* The Maker (1997)
* The Blackout (1997)
* The Real Blonde (1997)
* Any Given Sunday (1999) by Oliver Stone
* Notting Hill (1999) - Uncredited
* Flowers for Algernon (2000, TV)
* In the Shadows (2001)
* The American (2001, TV)
* Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story (2001, TV)
* Redeemer (2002, TV)
* Hitler: The Rise of Evil (2003)
* Le Divorce (2003) by James Ivory
* Funky Monkey (2004)
* The Winning Season (2004, TV)
* Transporter 2 (2005)
* Into The West (2005, TV)
* Kettle of Fish (2006)
* Mary (2006)
* The Bedford Diaries (2006, TV)
* Go Go Tales (2007)
* The Neighbor (2007)
* Weeds (2007, TV)
* Have Dreams, Will Travel (2007)
* Little Fish, Strange Pond (2009)
* PoliWood (2009)
* OPA! (2009)
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j201/RYJALI/Autographs/Matthew_Modine_4x6_Autographs_01.jpg
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll284/TravelChick/matthewmodine.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/22/10 at 5:00 am
The person who died on this day...Dan Hartman
Daniel Earl "Dan" Hartman (December 8, 1950—March 22, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer best known for the songs "I Can Dream About You" and "Instant Replay".
Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Hartman joined his first band, The Legends, at the age of 13, with his brother, Dave. Hartman played keyboards and wrote much of the band's music. The band released several records, but none was a hit. He joined the Edgar Winter Group and played bass on three of their albums; he wrote the band's second biggest pop hit "Free Ride" in 1972. He launched a solo career in 1976. A re-recorded version of "Free Ride" was used in the movie, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, in 1995.
In late 1978, Hartman reached #1 on the Dance Charts with the discofied single, "Instant Replay", which crossed over to #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979. Musicians Hartman worked with on the associated album included Vinnie Vincent and G.E. Smith. This was followed by his second chart topper, "Relight My Fire", which featured friend Loleatta Holloway, singing as well, in 1979. "Relight My Fire" later became the theme for the NBC talk show Tomorrow. There was also a cover version of "Instant Replay", which was a one-hit wonder for a boy duo called Yell! (Paul Varney and Daniel James) in January 1990.
He was back in the charts again with the Top 10 single, "I Can Dream About You," which was featured on his new album of the same name as well as the Streets of Fire soundtrack in 1984. The tune reached #6 on the U.S. charts, and (on rerelease in 1985) #12 in the UK. Hartman was featured as a bartender in the video, which received heavy rotation on MTV. In the movie Streets of Fire, the single "I Can Dream About You" was actually sung by Winston Ford, whose vocals were convincingly lip-synched by Stoney Jackson, an African American actor.
In 1984, Hartman also performed "Heart of the Beat" under the band name 3V with Charlie Midnight for the soundtrack of Breakin' directed by Joel Silberg.
In 1985, Hartman scored a third number-one single on the Dance Music charts, "We Are The Young."
During the next decade he worked as a songwriter and producer, and collaborated with such artists as Tina Turner, Dusty Springfield, Joe Cocker, Bonnie Tyler, Paul Young, James Brown, Nona Hendryx, Holly Johnson, Living in a Box and Steve Winwood.
In 2009 his song Relight My Fire was featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony.
Death
Hartman died of a brain tumor resulting from AIDS on March 22, 1994 in his home in Westport, Connecticut at the age of 43. At the time of his death, his music was enjoying a revival; a cover version of his song, Relight My Fire, became a British number-one hit for Take That and Lulu. Sales of Hartman's solo recordings, group efforts, production, songwriting and compilation inclusions, exceed 50 million records worldwide. He was cremated.
Hartman's solo cover of the Edgar Winter Group's song "Free Ride" was featured in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie the year after his death.
Discography
Albums
* Who Is Dan Hartman? (1976)
* Images (1976)
* Instant Replay (1978) #80 U.S.
* Relight My Fire (1979) #189 U.S.
* April Music Recorded Music Library (1981)
* It Hurts to Be in Love (1982)
* I Can Dream About You (1984) #55 U.S.
* White Boy (1986) Never Released
* New Green Clear Blue (1989)
* Keep The Fire Burnin' (1994)
* Super Hits (2004)
Singles
Year Song U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. A.C. U.S. Dance UK Singles Chart Australian Singles Chart Album
1978 "Instant Replay" 29 44 - 1 8 - Instant Replay
1979 "This Is It" 91 - - - 17 -
1979 "Hands Down" - - - 26 - - Relight My Fire
1980 "Vertigo"/"Relight My Fire" (With Loleatta Holloway)" 105 - - 1 - -
1981 "Heaven in Your Arms" 86 - - - - -
1981 "It Hurts to Be in Love" 72 - - 48 - -
1981 "All I Need" - - 41 - - -
1984 "I Can Dream About You" 1 6 60 7 8 12 3 I Can Dream About You
1984 "We Are the Young" 25 58 - 1 - -
1985 "Second Nature" 39 - 19 40 66 -
1985 "Get Outta Town"3 - - - - - -
1994 "Keep the Fire Burnin'" (with Loleatta Holloway) - - - - 49 - Keep the Fire Burnin'
* 1 Also on the soundtrack for Streets of Fire
* 2 1985 re-release; originally peaked at #78
* 3 Also on the soundtrack for Fletch
See also
* List of number-one dance hits (United States)
* List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
* List of HIV-positive people
* List of disco artists (A-E)
* List of acts who appeared on American Bandstand
* List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1980s
* List of people from Pennsylvania
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s64/jukebox31_2007/B0000028W6.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/ProgOwl/Musical%20Stuff/DanHartmanBassSuit.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/22/10 at 6:53 am
The person who died on this day...Dan Hartman
Daniel Earl "Dan" Hartman (December 8, 1950—March 22, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer best known for the songs "I Can Dream About You" and "Instant Replay".
Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Hartman joined his first band, The Legends, at the age of 13, with his brother, Dave. Hartman played keyboards and wrote much of the band's music. The band released several records, but none was a hit. He joined the Edgar Winter Group and played bass on three of their albums; he wrote the band's second biggest pop hit "Free Ride" in 1972. He launched a solo career in 1976. A re-recorded version of "Free Ride" was used in the movie, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, in 1995.
In late 1978, Hartman reached #1 on the Dance Charts with the discofied single, "Instant Replay", which crossed over to #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979. Musicians Hartman worked with on the associated album included Vinnie Vincent and G.E. Smith. This was followed by his second chart topper, "Relight My Fire", which featured friend Loleatta Holloway, singing as well, in 1979. "Relight My Fire" later became the theme for the NBC talk show Tomorrow. There was also a cover version of "Instant Replay", which was a one-hit wonder for a boy duo called Yell! (Paul Varney and Daniel James) in January 1990.
He was back in the charts again with the Top 10 single, "I Can Dream About You," which was featured on his new album of the same name as well as the Streets of Fire soundtrack in 1984. The tune reached #6 on the U.S. charts, and (on rerelease in 1985) #12 in the UK. Hartman was featured as a bartender in the video, which received heavy rotation on MTV. In the movie Streets of Fire, the single "I Can Dream About You" was actually sung by Winston Ford, whose vocals were convincingly lip-synched by Stoney Jackson, an African American actor.
In 1984, Hartman also performed "Heart of the Beat" under the band name 3V with Charlie Midnight for the soundtrack of Breakin' directed by Joel Silberg.
In 1985, Hartman scored a third number-one single on the Dance Music charts, "We Are The Young."
During the next decade he worked as a songwriter and producer, and collaborated with such artists as Tina Turner, Dusty Springfield, Joe Cocker, Bonnie Tyler, Paul Young, James Brown, Nona Hendryx, Holly Johnson, Living in a Box and Steve Winwood.
In 2009 his song Relight My Fire was featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony.
Death
Hartman died of a brain tumor resulting from AIDS on March 22, 1994 in his home in Westport, Connecticut at the age of 43. At the time of his death, his music was enjoying a revival; a cover version of his song, Relight My Fire, became a British number-one hit for Take That and Lulu. Sales of Hartman's solo recordings, group efforts, production, songwriting and compilation inclusions, exceed 50 million records worldwide. He was cremated.
Hartman's solo cover of the Edgar Winter Group's song "Free Ride" was featured in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie the year after his death.
Discography
Albums
* Who Is Dan Hartman? (1976)
* Images (1976)
* Instant Replay (1978) #80 U.S.
* Relight My Fire (1979) #189 U.S.
* April Music Recorded Music Library (1981)
* It Hurts to Be in Love (1982)
* I Can Dream About You (1984) #55 U.S.
* White Boy (1986) Never Released
* New Green Clear Blue (1989)
* Keep The Fire Burnin' (1994)
* Super Hits (2004)
Singles
Year Song U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. A.C. U.S. Dance UK Singles Chart Australian Singles Chart Album
1978 "Instant Replay" 29 44 - 1 8 - Instant Replay
1979 "This Is It" 91 - - - 17 -
1979 "Hands Down" - - - 26 - - Relight My Fire
1980 "Vertigo"/"Relight My Fire" (With Loleatta Holloway)" 105 - - 1 - -
1981 "Heaven in Your Arms" 86 - - - - -
1981 "It Hurts to Be in Love" 72 - - 48 - -
1981 "All I Need" - - 41 - - -
1984 "I Can Dream About You" 1 6 60 7 8 12 3 I Can Dream About You
1984 "We Are the Young" 25 58 - 1 - -
1985 "Second Nature" 39 - 19 40 66 -
1985 "Get Outta Town"3 - - - - - -
1994 "Keep the Fire Burnin'" (with Loleatta Holloway) - - - - 49 - Keep the Fire Burnin'
* 1 Also on the soundtrack for Streets of Fire
* 2 1985 re-release; originally peaked at #78
* 3 Also on the soundtrack for Fletch
See also
* List of number-one dance hits (United States)
* List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
* List of HIV-positive people
* List of disco artists (A-E)
* List of acts who appeared on American Bandstand
* List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1980s
* List of people from Pennsylvania
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s64/jukebox31_2007/B0000028W6.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/ProgOwl/Musical%20Stuff/DanHartmanBassSuit.jpg
Dan Hartman was great,his voice had a lot of soul in it especially the song "I Can Dream About You".
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/22/10 at 10:35 am
Dan Hartman was great,his voice had a lot of soul in it especially the song "I Can Dream About You".
Another one who died to soon.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/22/10 at 10:49 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03SXIfky1W4
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/22/10 at 10:58 am
I listened to the record of Camelot when Mum and Dad played it (in the 60's)....and came to love the music. I only saw the film for the first time in the 80's and thought Redgrave and Harris were fanatasic (and they were obviously doing their own singing...unlike Natalie Wood). Franco Nero really surprized me with his voice quality though. He had some big songs and performed them excellently.
As for Paint Your Wagon....Marvin actually charted with Wanderin' Star! :o I watched that movie just a couple of weeks ago now.
I think because I was brought up with the recording of the original Broadway production with Julie Andrews and Vanessa just can't hold a candle to her-IMO. (Go to YouTube and check out the song "The Lusty Month of May" both by Julie Andrews and Vanessa Redgrave and you will see what I mean.) I think what really bothered me the most is the fact that the part of Guenevere is supposed to be a soprano and Vanessa is an alto. I think if they cast a soprano in the part, it wouldn't have been so awful to me.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 03/22/10 at 4:03 pm
I think because I was brought up with the recording of the original Broadway production with Julie Andrews and Vanessa just can't hold a candle to her-IMO. (Go to YouTube and check out the song "The Lusty Month of May" both by Julie Andrews and Vanessa Redgrave and you will see what I mean.) I think what really bothered me the most is the fact that the part of Guenevere is supposed to be a soprano and Vanessa is an alto. I think if they cast a soprano in the part, it wouldn't have been so awful to me.
Cat
I loved Andrews in Sound of Music....and I have checked out her on satge performances in Camelot (on youtube)...yet, I still liked Redgrave in the part!! I guess whoever you see first in the role tends to 'own' it forever. Lately, I have been hooked on 60's female singers music....Dusty Springfield, Dione Warwick, Petula Clark, Cilla Black, Lulu etc. I always preferred Cilla Black's version of "Anyone Who Had A Heart" ...even though Dione Warwick had a hit with it before her (only by a few weeks). I prefer Cilla's version probably because I identify her with that song. Likewise, I think Dusty S is the greatest but will always prefer Dione W singing certain songs...
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 03/22/10 at 4:07 pm
Dan Hartman was great,his voice had a lot of soul in it especially the song "I Can Dream About You".
Except ..he didn't sing that song! ;) Even the actual person whose vocals were used did not feature in that video! Here is an extract from the bio above...
"the single "I Can Dream About You" was actually sung by Winston Ford, whose vocals were convincingly lip-synched by Stoney Jackson, an African American actor."
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/22/10 at 4:11 pm
I loved Andrews in Sound of Music....and I have checked out her on satge performances in Camelot (on youtube)...yet, I still liked Redgrave in the part!! I guess whoever you see first in the role tends to 'own' it forever. Lately, I have been hooked on 60's female singers music....Dusty Springfield, Dione Warwick, Petula Clark, Cilla Black, Lulu etc. I always preferred Cilla Black's version of "Anyone Who Had A Heart" ...even though Dione Warwick had a hit with it before her (only by a few weeks). I prefer Cilla's version probably because I identify her with that song. Likewise, I think Dusty S is the greatest but will always prefer Dione W singing certain songs...
I used to think that was true. When I first heard Send in the Clowns by Judy Collins, I didn't like it. Then I heard Glennis Johns do it on the album of A Little Night Music and I loved the way Glennis Johns did it.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 03/22/10 at 4:17 pm
I used to think that was true. When I first heard Send in the Clowns by Judy Collins, I didn't like it. Then I heard Glennis Johns do it on the album of A Little Night Music and I loved the way Glennis Johns did it.
Cat
Yes...there are always exceptions to the rule! :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/22/10 at 6:59 pm
Except ..he didn't sing that song! ;) Even the actual person whose vocals were used did not feature in that video! Here is an extract from the bio above...
"the single "I Can Dream About You" was actually sung by Winston Ford, whose vocals were convincingly lip-synched by Stoney Jackson, an African American actor."
back then I thought that he was a black guy singing that song.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 03/22/10 at 7:01 pm
back then I thought that he was a black guy singing that song.
So did I ... until my wife advised me that it was not Dan at all... :-\\
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/22/10 at 7:04 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=621Nk3Ubz4A
An absolute classic. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 03/22/10 at 7:39 pm
^ I think so too. I may actually remember it from back in the day, even though I was little at the time.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/22/10 at 9:13 pm
Except ..he didn't sing that song! ;) Even the actual person whose vocals were used did not feature in that video! Here is an extract from the bio above...
"the single "I Can Dream About You" was actually sung by Winston Ford, whose vocals were convincingly lip-synched by Stoney Jackson, an African American actor."
He did sing the song for the soundtrack..Winston Ford performed it in the movie.
"I Can Dream About You" is a song performed by Dan Hartman on the soundtrack album Streets of Fire from the movie of the same name. Originally released in 1984 as a single off Hartman's album I Can Dream About You, it reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was performed by Winston Ford in the movie.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/23/10 at 5:36 am
The word of the day...Woman
A woman is an adult female human being.
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy234/desherica/loveme.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0703/rachilita/capt.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg180/cloezplace/GODMADEWOMAN.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n102/randyow/Favorite%20TV%20movies%201970%20and%20up/wonder-woman.jpg
http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx260/ausblonde/Decorated%20images/-Woman/Woman-MaidenInRed.jpg
http://i870.photobucket.com/albums/ab262/monamae/maturewoman.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q1/SapphiresBlue/womanwhugeboobs.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/23/10 at 5:38 am
Could it be Gary Puckett's birthday?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/23/10 at 5:43 am
Could it be Gary Puckett's birthday?
Nope..The person born on this day...Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan (born Yvette Marie Stevens; March 23, 1953) is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter best known for such hit songs as "I'm Every Woman", "Ain't Nobody", "I Feel for You" and "Through the Fire". She sang a modernized theme song for the popular children's TV show Reading Rainbow in the show's later years. Khan was featured vocalist in the funk band Rufus with hit songs, "Tell Me Something Good", "You Got The Love", "Once You Get Started", 'Sweet Thing", "Everlasting Love" and "Stay", before launching a solo career. Khan was born Yvette Marie Stevens in North Chicago, Illinois. Her sister is dance music artist Taka Boom, and her brother is Mark Stevens of the band Aurra. Khan was raised on Chicago's South Side, and at the age of eleven formed her first group, the Crystalettes. She went to Calumet High School and Kenwood Academy on the city's south side and while in high school, she joined the Afro-Arts Theater group, which toured with Motown great Mary Wells. She adopted the African name "Chaka" while working as a volunteer on the Black Panthers' Free Breakfast for Children program in Chicago. During a naming ceremony at the Afro-Arts Theater, a Yoruba priest christened her Chaka Adunne Aduffe Yemoja Hodarhi Karifi (as stated on her official website). After quitting high school in 1969, Chaka joined the group Lyfe, before leaving to join another soul band, The Babysitters, replacing former lead singer Baby Huey. Neither group enjoyed mainstream success, but her fortunes changed when she teamed with ex-American Breed member Kevin Murphy and Andre Fischer to form Rufus. Around this time she married bass guitarist Hassan Khan.
Life with Rufus (1970-1983)
This section is written like a magazine article; it does not use the direct, balanced tone expected of an encyclopedia. Please discuss this issue on the talk page. Editing help is available. (February 2009)
Rufus debuted in 1973 with a self-titled album on the ABC label. The first album failed to achieve commercial success. However, by decade's end, Rufus was among the most successful funk groups, rivaling the popularity of Earth Wind & Fire, The Commodores, War and The Ohio Players. With the help of Stevie Wonder, Rufus broke into both the pop music and R&B charts in 1974 with the Gold-selling hit "Tell Me Something Good". They followed that hit with another hit single, "You Got The Love", co-written by and featuring a then-unknown Ray Parker, Jr. on lead guitar, which propelled the album Rags To Rufus to Gold status by the summer of 1974.
That year was a very good one for Chaka Khan and the group, for on the strength of the Rags album, a third album was hurriedly finished. Released in October 1974, Rufusized became their second Gold (now Platinum) album, containing multiple radio hits.The fourth album, released in early 1976, was self-titled and contained the Gold single "Sweet Thing". This was the year that their "brand" was immortalized: Chaka's most prominent facial feature became the logo for the band: a big pair of juicy red lips. It came to epitomize the sound, the sexiness, and swagger of the band itself. Throughout the remainder of the 1970s, Rufus and Chaka Khan were rarely off the charts, having a plethora of memorable smash single hits and album favorites, including "Tell Me Something Good", "Once You Get Started", "Sweet Thing", "Hollywood" and "Everlasting Love", among others. The group earned eight platinum albums (Rags To Rufus, Rufusized], Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan, Ask Rufus, Street Player, Masterjam, Stompin' At The Savoy, and The Very Best Of Rufus And Chaka Khan) and three Gold singles with "Tell Me Something Good", "Sweet Thing" and "Do You Love What You Feel?".
As a sidebar, Chaka recorded a number of vocals for other popular artists of the period, including background vocals for the Chicago song "Take Me Back to Chicago"; background vocals on the popular 1977 single, "Save It For A Rainy Day" by Singer/Songwriter Stephen Bishop and a 1978 #1 R&B single "Stuff Like That" with Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson, on Quincy Jones' Stuff Like That, his first Platinum album. Jones subsequently produced the final Platinum Rufus album Masterjam in 1979, yielding the Number one Gold single "Do You Love What You Feel". Members of Rufus rhythm section played on the Quincy Jones- produced Michael Jackson single "Rock With You", which was released around this time.
1983 saw Khan return to Rufus to record her last contractually obligated album Stompin' at the Savoy - Live. The double album contained live versions of Rufus classics, Khan's solo hits and a handful of newly recorded tracks. One of these was the hit "Ain't Nobody", which returned Khan to the top of the urban and top 40 charts (#1 R&B #22 Pop). This song also came back into radio and club play due to its use in the 1984 Orion film Breakin which helped spark off the mainstream street dance era. To make room for the new studio tracks, Warner Brothers omitted live versions of "The Best Of Your Heart", "Hollywood", and "Everlasting Love" (the latter track was later released on the rare 1983 movie soundtrack to Night Shift).
Solo stardom (1978 - )
In 1978, Khan recorded her debut solo album Chaka featuring the Arif Mardin-produced disco anthem "I'm Every Woman" (#1 R&B, #21 Pop,), which was later covered by Whitney Houston. Chaka proved to be a significant hit on the strength of the single written by Ashford & Simpson.
Khan recorded backing vocals for Ry Cooder's Bop Till You Drop in 1979, then cut her second album, Naughty (1980), a huge hit on the R&B charts. The album featured "Clouds" (written by Ashford & Simpson), "Move Me No Mountain", and other songs that displayed Khan's range as a singer. The Naughty album also featured Luther Vandross, Cissy Houston, and a young Whitney Houston singing background vocals. This album is considered one of the great R&B albums of the decade. Chaka can be seen in a cameo appearance in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers, singing with the church choir behind James Brown as The Reverend Cleophus James.
Her next album, What Cha' Gonna Do for Me, was a gold seller and included two hit singles on Billboard's R&B Singles chart including the title song (which made #1 on the R&B chart). The album also featured the song "And The Melody Still Lingers On (Night In Tunisia)" with Dizzy Gillespie & Herbie Hancock, which has Chaka hitting "notes that aren't in the book" according to producer Arif Mardin.
Also, in 1981, she appeared on three songs on Rick Wakeman's thematic album 1984.
In 1982, Warner Brothers released Khan's eponymous album, Chaka Khan, again produced by Arif Mardin. This album featured the single "Tearin' It Up", as well as Chaka's reading of Michael Jackson's "Got To Be There". "Slow Dancin'" (a duet with Rick James) was also featured, but her "Be Bop Medley" won a Grammy Award, as well as praise from jazz singer Betty Carter, who praised Khan for her improvisational skills. Chaka Khan received positive reviews, and reviewer David Bertrand Wilson of warr.org has said, "This generated many hits, and it's a lot of fun...her singing here is phenomenal". The song "Got To Be There", from the album, became an R&B top 10 hit. Chaka Khan is a rare collector's item since it remains unreleased on CD in both the United States and Europe and is only available as a Japanese import.
According to the 'Chaka's World' website, Khan was originally scheduled to duet on Tom Browne's hit "Funkin' For Jamaica(N.Y.)", and Dennis Edwards' hit "Don't Look Any Further" (which he went on to perform with Siedah Garrett).
Jazz experiment
In 1982, Khan recorded Echoes of an Era, a collection of jazz standards featuring performances from Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea, and Lenny White. This project provided Chaka Khan with her first Grammy Nomination for Best Female Jazz Vocalist.
A New Idea: Fusion of Hip Hop and R&B and Collaborations
In 1984, Chaka released I Feel for You, a Platinum-selling album. This album was launched by its title cut, an Arif Mardin produced, Grammy Award-winning, hip hop-based rendition of a Prince album track with a cameo appearance by Stevie Wonder on harmonica and rap by Melle Mel. This Platinum single became the highest charting single in her career. Due to its popularity, a new trend emerged in the worlds of R&B and Rap music, where fusing R&B and rap vocals on the same track became standard fare. Other standout tracks on the outstanding I Feel for You include the lush pop ballad produced by David Foster,"Through The Fire", which reached #15 on the R&B chart and had a 23-week run on the Hot 100 and , "This Is My Night" arranged by David Frank of the 80's New York based Funk-Synth band The System. "Through the Fire" has since been sampled by Kanye West for his hit single "Through The Wire".
With Chaka's hightened popularity in play, post-"I Feel For You", she became an in-demand guest on a number of popular soundtracks and recordings by her peers, including the Miami Vice soundtrack, "Krush Groove (Can't Stop The Street)" for the movie Krush Groove and co-lead and background vocals for Steve Winwood's #1 hit, "Higher Love".
Chaka's 1986 album, Destiny, an eclectic mix of dance, pop-rock, hip-hop and jazz, contained her #1 R&B Dance/Club hit, "Love Of A Lifetime". Also from Destiny was Chaka's turn at pop-metal "So Close" , which worked to good effect on TV Series Hunter.
In 1995, Khan teamed up with rapper Guru on his solo jazz/hip hop fusion collection Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality for the track "Watch What You Say". The song reached #1 on Billboard's chart.
1990–2004
In 1990, Chaka won another Grammy for "I'll Be Good To You", a duet with Ray Charles which rose to #1 on the R&B charts and was a Top 20 Pop hit.
In 1992, Khan released her album The Woman I Am, for which she received a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance. The album's hit single "Love You All My Lifetime" was penned by German songwriter duo Irmgard Klarmann and Felix Weber, and was produced by David Gamson. According to the "Chaka's World" website, Khan recorded a follow up album Dare You To Love Me, which was to be released in 1995. Warner Brothers postponed and eventually shelved the project (although several of the tracks appeared on a career retrospective titled Epiphany: The Best of Chaka Khan, Vol. 1 and soundtracks such as To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar and Waiting to Exhale (singing the standard "My Funny Valentine").
Khan soon left Warner Brothers for what she felt was a lack of promotion and after the label had decided to release the Epiphany compilation instead of the Dare You To Love Me album in its true form. Prince (who also feuded with the company) assisted Khan in leaving Warner Brothers. Khan eventually made a special agreement with "The Artist" (as Prince then marketed himself), and recorded her next album on his NPG Records label.
The Prince-produced Come 2 My House appeared in 1998 and reached #49 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart despite little promotion. Khan also appeared on new CD's by Prince and Larry Graham for the New Power Generation Label, and she toured in support of the projects.
In the first season of the British comedy television show Big Train (1998), a sketch portrayed Chaka Khan as a sheriff in an Old Western shootout with the three members of the Bee Gees.
In 1999, Khan recorded a newer version of the theme song for the PBS children's show, Reading Rainbow.
Although she sang at both the 2000 Democratic and Republican conventions, Khan says that she is more of a "Democratic-minded person".
In 2001, Khan sang on De La Soul's hit song "All Good?". In 2002 she was an integral part of the documentary about Motown studio musicians The Funk Brothers, Standing In The Shadows Of Motown, in which she performed the classic R&B songs "What's Going On?" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (a duet with Montell Jordan). She won her eighth Grammy Award for the latter performance.
In October 2004, Khan released her cover album ClassiKhan on her own label EarthSong Records, and also through Sanctuary Records. The album of standards featuring the London Symphony Orchestra was recorded primarily at Abbey Road Studios in London and produced by Eve Nelson of Nelson-O'Reilly Productions.
On October 13, 2004, Chaka appeared as featured vocalist with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Henry Panion, presented by Wachovia, at the 2nd Annual Boys and Girls Club "Concert For Kids." Here, she performed jazz favorites arranged by Panion and noted Birmingham, Alabama jazz pianist / vocalist, Ray Reach.
On December 3, 2004, she received an honorary doctorate degree from Berklee College of Music. She is also active in the autism community, as she has family members who have been diagnosed with this condition. Her EarthSong Entertainment and Chaka Khan Foundation operate from Beverly Hills, California.
2005-present
Khan's 2005's song "Let Go" originally appeared in the 2008 comedy film Roll Bounce as "Let's Roll". Matthew Knowles opted not to include "Let's Roll" on the film's soundtrack CD.
In early 2006, she signed with Sony BMG's new label Burgundy Records.
Embracing Christianity, Khan participated in a live all-star gospel concert recording for artist Richard Smallwood's "Journey: Live In New York" on the song "Precious Is Your Name". On her official website, Khan credits singer Karen Clark Sheard with being "the voice that helped me find the Holy Ghost". Khan performed a cover version of Sheard's "A Secret Place" along with Richard Smallwood on TBN's show Praise The Lord in October 2006.
In December 2006, Chaka recorded "Do You Hear What I Hear" on the Christmas compilation Breaking For the Holidays produced by Eve Nelson (who also produced Classikhan). The album also featured Vonzell Solomon, Sandra Bernhard, Ben Jelen and many more.
In February 2007, Khan headlined and performed at the NARAS 2007 Grammy Award official post party. In September 2007, she released Funk This, a mix of cover songs and original material. Produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and James "Big Jim" Wright, the album debuted on the R&B Album Chart, selling 35,000 copies in its first week. This marked her highest chart position since her first solo album in 1978 peaked at #1. "Angel," the first single from the album, reached #1 and went on become her first R&B hit in nearly fifteen years. Promoting the album on the Today Show on September 26, 2007, she performed "Angel", and also announced that she would appear in the role of Sofia on Broadway's The Color Purple. Another highlight of the CD is her cover of Foolish Fool, originally by Dee Dee Warwick, who died not long after its release.
Khan opened as Sofia, a role she says she closely identifies with, on January 9, 2008, along with BeBe Winans as Sofia’s husband, Harpo.
In a 2008 interview Khan said that she, unlike other artists, feels very optimistic about the current changes in the recording industry, including music downloading. "I'm glad things are shifting and artists – not labels – are having more control over their art. My previous big record company (Warner Music) has vaults of my recordings that haven't seen the light of day that people need to hear. This includes Robert Palmer's original recording to "Addicted to Love" – which they took my vocals off of! We are working on getting it (and other tracks) all back now." I
On July 4, 2008, Chaka Khan appeared on Good Morning America’s summer concert series. She performed her popularly known songs and songs from her 2007's Funk This. On July 11, the same year, Chaka Khan made an appearance on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. On December 6, she performed at the 2008 Aflac Christmas Party in Columbus, Georgia.
In 2009, Khan performed at The Hollywood Bowl with Chick Corea and friends. She appeared on UK soul singer Beverley Knight's CD 100%, featured on the song "Soul Survivor", which became the third single from the album in 2010. Later in the year, she appeared as a guest star on the new album of Billy Cobham, "Drum 'n' Voice Vol. 3". In November, Chaka Khan received the Soul Train Legends award in Atlanta, Georgia. The year closed with Chaka participating in the very popular Here Come the Girls Tour, a special 20-city Christmas holiday concert tour through the U.K. with singers-songwriters Anastacia and Lulu.
Awards
Grammy Awards
To date, she has had twenty two Grammy Award nominations (including three as a member of Rufus). She received 10 Grammy Awards (including two as a member of Rufus).
* 2008 Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals - Chaka Khan, Mary J. Blige - "Disrespectful" Track from album: Funk This
* 2008 Best R&B Album - Chaka Khan - Funk This
* 2003 Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance - Chaka Khan, The Funk Brothers - "What's Going On" Track from album: Standing In The Shadows Of Motown - Soundtrack (Various Artists)
* 1993 Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female - Chaka Khan - album The Woman I Am
* 1991 Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal - Ray Charles, Chaka Khan - "I'll Be Good to You". Track from album: Back On The Block (Quincy Jones)
* 1985 Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female - Chaka Khan - "I Feel for You" Track from album: I Feel for You
* 1984 Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female - Chaka Khan - Chaka Khan (1982 album)
* 1984 Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal - Rufus - "Ain't Nobody" Track from album: Stompin' at the Savoy - Live (Rufus)
* 1984 Best Vocal Arrangement For Two Or More Voices - Arif Mardin, Chaka Khan - "Be Bop Medley" Track from album: Chaka Khan (1982 album)
* 1975 Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus - Rufus - "Tell Me Something Good" Track from album: Rags To Rufus (Rufus)
Grammy Award nominations
* 2007 Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals - Chaka Khan, Gerald Levert, Yolanda Adams, Carl Thomas - "Everyday (Family Reunion)" Track from album: Madea's Family Reunion - Soundtrack (Various Artists)
* 1998 Best Female R&B Vocal Performance - Chaka Khan - "Summertime" Track from album: Porgy & Bess (Joe Henderson)
* 1997 Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals - Brandy, Tamia, Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan - "Missing You" Track from album: Set It Off - Soundtrack (Various Artists)
* 1997 Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal - Chaka Khan, Meshell Ndegeocello - "Never Miss The Water" Track from compilation album: Epiphany: The Best of Chaka Khan, Vol. 1
* 1997 Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal - Luke Cresswell, Fiona Wilkes, Carl Smith, Fraser Morrison, Everett Bradley, Mr. X, Melle Mel, Coolio, Yo-Yo, Chaka Khan, Charlie Wilson, Shaquille O'Neal, Luniz - "Stomp" Track from album: Q's Jook Joint (Quincy Jones)
* 1996 Best Song Written Specifically For A Motion Picture Or Television - Bruce Hornsby, Chaka Khan - "Love Me Still" Track from album: Clockers - Soundtrack (Various Artists)
* 1987 Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female - Chaka Khan - Destiny
* 1986 Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female - Chaka Khan - I Feel for You
* 1983 Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female - Chaka Khan - Echoes of an Era
* 1982 Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female - Chaka Khan - What Cha' Gonna Do for Me
* 1979 Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female - Chaka Khan - "I'm Every Woman" Track from album Chaka (1978 album)
* 1978 Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus - Rufus - Ask Rufus (Rufus)
BET Awards
* 2006 BET Lifetime Achievement Award (Recipient)
* 2008 BET Awards: Bet Award (nominated)
Lady Of Soul Awards
* 1998 Lena Horne Award (Career Achievement) (Recipient)
American Music Award nominations
To date, she has had four American Music Award nominations.
* 1985 Favorite Female Artist - Soul/Rhythm & Blues (Nominee only. Award recipient was Tina Turner.)
* 1985 Favorite Female Video Artist - Soul/Rhythm & Blues (Nominee only. Award recipient was Tina Turner.)
* 1982 Favorite Female Artist - Soul/Rhythm & Blues (Nominee only. Award recipient was Stephanie Mills.)
* 1981 Favorite Female Artist - Soul/Rhythm & Blues (Nominee only. Award recipient was Diana Ross.)
References:
Discography
Main article: Chaka Khan discography
See also
Rufus discography
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj57/tcb924/chaka.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j43/andrewstames/Chaka.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/23/10 at 5:45 am
Ain't Nobody is one of my favorites. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/23/10 at 5:47 am
The person who died on this day...Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre (26 June 1904 – 23 March 1964) was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.
He made an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M. Later he became a popular featured player in Hollywood crime films and mysteries, notably alongside Humphrey Bogart and Sydney Greenstreet, and as the star of the successful Mr. Moto detective series. Lorre was born as László Löwenstein into a Jewish family in Rózsahegy (Hungarian)/Rosenberg (German), Kingdom of Hungary, part of Austria-Hungary, now Ružomberok, Slovakia. His parents were Alois and Elvira. When he was a child his family moved to Vienna where Lorre attended school. He began acting on stage in Vienna at the age of 17, where he worked with Richard Teschner, then moved to Breslau, and Zürich. In the late 1920s, the young 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) actor moved to Berlin where he worked with German playwright Bertolt Brecht, most notably in his Mann ist Mann. He also appeared as Dr. Nakamura in the infamous musical Happy End by Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, alongside Brecht's wife Helene Weigel and other impressive co-stars such as Carola Neher, Oskar Homolka and Kurt Gerron. The German-speaking actor became famous when Fritz Lang cast him as a child killer in his 1931 film M.
When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, Lorre took refuge first in Paris and then London where he was noticed by Ivor Mantagu, Alfred Hitchcock's associate producer for The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), who reminded the director about Lorre's performance in M. They first considered him to play the assassin in the film, but wanted to use him in a larger role, despite his limited command of English, which Lorre overcame by learning much of his part phonetically.
Eventually, Lorre went to Hollywood where he specialized in playing wicked or wily foreigners, beginning with Mad Love (1935), directed by Karl Freund. He starred in a series of Mr. Moto movies, a parallel to the better known Charlie Chan series, in which he played a Japanese detective and spy created by John P. Marquand. He did not much enjoy these films—and twisted his shoulder during a stunt in Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation -- but they were lucrative for the studio and gained Lorre many new fans. In 1939, Peter was picked to play the role that would eventually go to Basil Rathbone in Son of Frankenstein. Lorre had to decline the part due to illness.
In 1940, Lorre co-starred with fellow horror actors Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff in the Kay Kyser movie You'll Find Out. Lorre enjoyed considerable popularity as a featured player in Warner Bros. suspense and adventure films. Lorre played the role of Joel Cairo in The Maltese Falcon (1941) and portrayed the character Ugarte in the film classic Casablanca (1942).
Lorre demonstrated a gift for comedy in the role of Dr. Einstein in Arsenic and Old Lace (filmed in 1941, released 1944). In 1946 he starred with Sydney Greenstreet and Geraldine Fitzgerald in Three Strangers, a suspense film about three people who are joint partners on a winning lottery ticket.
In 1941, Peter Lorre became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
After World War II, Lorre's acting career in Hollywood experienced a downturn, whereupon he concentrated on radio and stage work. In Germany he co-wrote, directed and starred in Der Verlorene (The Lost One) (1951), a critically acclaimed art film in the film noir style. He then returned to the United States where he appeared as a character actor in television and feature films, often spoofing his former "creepy" image. In 1954, he had the distinction of becoming the first actor to play a James Bond villain when he portrayed Le Chiffre in a television adaptation of Casino Royale, opposite Barry Nelson as an American James Bond. (In the spoof-film version of Casino Royale, Ronnie Corbett comments that SMERSH includes among its agents not only Le Chiffre, but also "Peter Lorre and Bela Lugosi.") Also in 1954, Lorre starred alongside Kirk Douglas and James Mason in the hit-classic 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. In the early 1960s he worked with Roger Corman on several low-budgeted, tongue-in-cheek, and very popular films.
In 1956, both Lorre and Vincent Price attended Bela Lugosi's funeral. According to Price, Lorre asked him "Do you think we should drive a stake through his heart just in case?"
In 1959, Lorre appeared in the episode "Thin Ice" of NBC's espionage drama Five Fingers, starring David Hedison. He appeared in a supporting role in the 1961 film, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. In 1961, he was interviewed on the NBC program Here's Hollywood.
Marriages and family
He was married three times: Celia Lovsky (1934 – 13 March 1945, divorced); Kaaren Verne (25 May 1945 – 1950, divorced) and Annemarie Brenning (21 July 1953 – 23 March 1964, his death). In 1953, Annemarie bore his only child, Catharine. His daughter Catharine made headlines after Hillside Strangler serial killer Kenneth Bianchi confessed to police investigators after his arrest that he and his cousin and partner in crime Angelo Buono had stopped Catharine Lorre disguised as police officers with the intent of abducting and murdering her in 1977, but after learning that she was the daughter of Peter Lorre, the pair let her go. It was only after Bianchi was arrested that Catharine Lorre realized whom she had met.
In 1963 an actor named Eugene Weingand, who was unrelated to Lorre, attempted to trade on his slight resemblance to the actor by changing his name to "Peter Lorie", but his petition was rejected by the courts. After Lorre's death, however, he referred to himself as Lorre's son.
Health and death
Peter Lorre's crypt at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Lorre had suffered for years from chronic gallbladder troubles, for which doctors had prescribed morphine. Lorre became trapped between the constant pain and addiction to morphine to ease the problem. It was during the period of the Moto films that Lorre struggled and overcame this problem.
Overweight and never fully recovered from his addiction to morphine, Lorre suffered many personal and career disappointments in his later years. He died in 1964 of a stroke. Lorre's body was cremated and his ashes interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood. Vincent Price read the eulogy at his funeral.
Legacy
Lorre has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6619 Hollywood Boulevard.
Imitating Lorre
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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2009)
Lorre's distinctive Viennese-meets Middle American accent and large-eyed face has been a favorite target of comedians and cartoonists.
Books and comics
In the early 1940s, the adventures of Batman and Robin appeared in daily newspapers. One story, The Two-Bit Dictator of Twin Mills, drawn by Batman co-creator Bob Kane, featured a hitman called Jojo who was, according to writer Al Schwartz, made to look like Lorre. Jojo is a highly skilled gunman who, whatever the distance or the circumstances, always hits his target. A mildly eccentric character, he refers to his hits (objects or people) as "flinks". Even Batman, who is used to taking on armed men, hesitates in dealing with this particular gunman head-on or face-to-face. A later story was The Karen Drew Mystery, written by Jack Schiff and drawn by Jack Burnley. This one featured villains drawn to resemble Lorre's occasional co-stars: Sydney Greenstreet as gang leader Mr Wright and Humphrey Bogart as his henchman Merry.
A Lorre-like character (with strong admixtures of Max Schreck) is the focus of Brock Brower's novel The Late, Great Creature.
Science-fiction writer Howard Waldrop wrote a short story entitled "The Effects of Alienation" which includes Peter Lorre as the main character.
Films, television, music and video games
Musician and filker Tom Smith won a Pegasus award for Best Classic Filk Song in 2006 entitled "I Want to be Peter Lorre" which appears on his filk album "Homecoming: MarCon 2005", which includes his vocal impersonation of the actor.
The stop motion film Corpse Bride features "The Maggot", a small green worm who lives inside the title's character head. His features and voice (provided by Enn Reitel) are caricatures of Peter Lorre. "From the very beginning Tim wanted the Maggot to be a Peter Lorre-esque character, and we had a good time working with that and it went through various design changes," says co-director Mike Johnson in the book 'Tim Burton's Corpse Bride; An Invitation to the Wedding.'
On September 11, 2007 Brooklyn-based punk band The World/Inferno Friendship Society released a full-length album about Lorre called Addicted to Bad Ideas: Peter Lorre's Twentieth Century, which traces Lorre's film career, drug addiction, and death. It has been performed at the Famous Spiegeltent. The album was subsequently adapted into a multi-media stage production directed by Jay Scheib, which premiered at Webster Hall in New York City on January 9, 2009, and went on to play major arts festivals around the world, including Spoleto Festival USA (Charleston, SC), Luminato Festival (Toronto), Noorderzon Festival (Groningen, Holland) and Theaterformen (Hanover, Germany).
Filmography
* Die Verschwundene Frau (1929)
* M (1931)
* Bomben auf Monte Carlo (1931)
* Die Koffer des Herrn O.F. (1931)
* Fünf von der Jazzband (1932)
* Schuss im Morgengrauen (1932)
* Der Weisse Dämon (1932)
* Stupéfiants (1932)
* F.P.1 antwortet nicht (1932)
* Les Requins du pétrole (1933)
* Du haut en bas (1933)
* Was Frauen träumen (1933)
* Unsichtbare Gegner (1933)
* The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
* Mad Love (1935)
* Crime and Punishment (1935)
* Secret Agent (1936)
* Crack-Up (1936)
* Nancy Steele Is Missing! (1937)
* Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937)
* Lancer Spy (1937)
* Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937)
* Mr. Moto's Gamble (1938)
* Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938)
* I'll Give a Million (1938)
* Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938)
* Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939)
* Danger Island (1939)
* Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation (1939)
* Strange Cargo (1940)
* I Was an Adventuress (1940)
* Island of Doomed Men (1940)
* Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)
* You'll Find Out (1940)
* Der Ewige Jude (archive footage) (1940)
* The Face Behind the Mask (1941)
* Mr. District Attorney (1941)
* They Met in Bombay (1941)
* The Maltese Falcon (1941)
* All Through the Night
* Invisible Agent (1942)
* The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942)
* Casablanca (1942)
* The Constant Nymph (1943)
* Background to Danger (1943)
* The Cross of Lorraine (1943)
* Passage to Marseille (1944)
* The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
* Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
* The Conspirators
* Hollywood Canteen (1944)
* Hotel Berlin (1945)
* Confidential Agent (1945)
* Three Strangers (1946)
* Black Angel (1946)
* The Chase (1946)
* The Verdict (1946)
* The Beast with Five Fingers (1946)
* My Favorite Brunette (1947)
* Casbah (1948)
* Rope of Sand (1949)
* Quicksand (1950)
* Double Confession (1950)
* Der Verlorene (1951) (also directed)
* Beat the Devil (1953)
* Casino Royale, a 1954 episode of the television series Climax!
* 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
* Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)
* Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956) (uncredited)
* Congo Crossing (1956)
* The Buster Keaton Story (1957)
* Silk Stockings (1957)
* The Story of Mankind (1957)
* The Sad Sack (1957)
* Hell Ship Mutiny (1957)
* The Big Circus (1959)
* Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)
* Tales of Terror (1962)
* Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962)
* The Raven (1963)
* The Comedy of Terrors (1964)
* Muscle Beach Party (1964)
* The Patsy (1964)
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm49/doghouse_riley/People/lorre.jpg
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/23/10 at 5:48 am
Ain't Nobody is one of my favorites. :)
She's a talented woman :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/23/10 at 1:02 pm
I am woman, hear me roar! Meow, d@nmit.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 03/23/10 at 1:19 pm
I am woman, hear me roar! Meow, d@nmit.
Cat
Steven Wright: "Women...can't live with 'em...can't shoot 'em" :D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/23/10 at 2:58 pm
She's a talented woman :)
One of the best in the business.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 03/23/10 at 3:59 pm
Steven Wright: "Women...can't live with 'em...can't shoot 'em" :D
Steven Wright was wrong: It should be Men, you can't live with them, you can't shoot them. I say that ALL THE TIME!!!!!
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 03/23/10 at 4:30 pm
The word of the day...Woman
A woman is an adult female human being.
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy234/desherica/loveme.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0703/rachilita/capt.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg180/cloezplace/GODMADEWOMAN.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n102/randyow/Favorite%20TV%20movies%201970%20and%20up/wonder-woman.jpg
(couldn't see the image that was here)
http://i870.photobucket.com/albums/ab262/monamae/maturewoman.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q1/SapphiresBlue/womanwhugeboobs.jpg
Very nice. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 03/23/10 at 4:33 pm
Ain't Nobody is one of my favorites. :)
"I Feel For You" is the song of hers that I know the best. Her name is even mentioned several times in the song, courtesy of rapper Melle Mel, who provides rap vocals in the recording.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/24/10 at 2:18 am
The word of the day...Woman
A woman is an adult female human being.
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy234/desherica/loveme.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0703/rachilita/capt.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg180/cloezplace/GODMADEWOMAN.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n102/randyow/Favorite%20TV%20movies%201970%20and%20up/wonder-woman.jpg
http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx260/ausblonde/Decorated%20images/-Woman/Woman-MaidenInRed.jpg
http://i870.photobucket.com/albums/ab262/monamae/maturewoman.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q1/SapphiresBlue/womanwhugeboobs.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CLGtgovIqc
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/24/10 at 2:19 am
Could it be Gary Puckett's birthday?
Nope, that is October 17th.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/24/10 at 2:23 am
British Person of the Day: Alan Sugar
Alan Michael Sugar was born on 24 March 1947, the son of a tailor.
Alan Sugar went to Brooke House School in London but left at 16 and was briefly a civil service statistician.
It wasn't long before Alan Sugar went into business selling products such as cigarette lighters, intercoms and TV aerials. Sugar founded the home electronics group Amstrad in 1968, the same year that he married his wife, Ann.
In 1985 Sugar had a major breakthrough with the launch of the PCW8256 word processor which, although made of very cheap components, retailed at over £300.
At its peak Amstrad achieved a stock market valuation of £1.2 billion, but the nineties proved a troubled time. In 1997 Amstrad divided into Betacom and Viglen.
Lord Sugar's wealth was estimated to be £790 million and he was 71st on The Sunday Times Rich List in 2006.
An interesting episode in Lord Sugar's life was when he and Terry Venables got together to buy Tottenham Hotspur Football Club on June 21st 1991.
They beat off a late bid from Robert Maxwell for Spurs. In an interview with Channel 4's High Interest programme, Alan Sugar said:
"The only dialogue I had with Rupert Murdoch was when that clown Maxwell came on the scene and knowing that they were in the past arch enemies I think Rupert rang me up one day and said 'what's going on with this football club you're trying to buy and this clown Maxwell is trying to buy also', and I think I might have said to him at the time 'he's got the power of his newspaper to hype up the thing, I haven't got a newspaper so perhaps one of your journalists could put in a good word for me on The Sun, but that was about it"
A Sun headline appeared "20 things you never knew about Tel's Sugar Daddy".
Lord Sugar's relationship with Venables turned acrimonious and court battles ensued. Our Teddy Sheringham biography provides an example of the claims that Sugar made of the footballing world. Alan Sugar has stated that his time at Spurs was "a waste of my life".
In 2005 Alan Sugar entered the world of reality TV when he tested 14 apprentices in a new BBC TV series based on Donald Trump's successful US show The Apprentice.
Alan Sugar was knighted in 2000.
In December 2007, The Telegraph reported that Sir Alan Sugar is to step back from the day-to-day management of Amstrad, which he leaves at the end of June 2008, following its acquisition by BSkyB.
In July 2008 Lord Sugar stepped down as chairman of Amstrad, but he continued his involvement in his various other business interests including Amshold, Amsprop, Amsair and Viglen computers.
On 5 June 2009, Alan Sugar was appointed enterprise tsar in Gordon Brown's cabinet reshuffle. He was also set to be nominated for a seat in the House of Lords.
On 20 July 2009 he took his seat in the House of Lords as as Baron Sugar of Clapton.
http://politicalanimals.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/alansugar.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/24/10 at 2:25 am
British Person of the Day: Alan Sugar
Alan Michael Sugar was born on 24 March 1947, the son of a tailor.
Alan Sugar went to Brooke House School in London but left at 16 and was briefly a civil service statistician.
It wasn't long before Alan Sugar went into business selling products such as cigarette lighters, intercoms and TV aerials. Sugar founded the home electronics group Amstrad in 1968, the same year that he married his wife, Ann.
In 1985 Sugar had a major breakthrough with the launch of the PCW8256 word processor which, although made of very cheap components, retailed at over £300.
At its peak Amstrad achieved a stock market valuation of £1.2 billion, but the nineties proved a troubled time. In 1997 Amstrad divided into Betacom and Viglen.
Lord Sugar's wealth was estimated to be £790 million and he was 71st on The Sunday Times Rich List in 2006.
An interesting episode in Lord Sugar's life was when he and Terry Venables got together to buy Tottenham Hotspur Football Club on June 21st 1991.
They beat off a late bid from Robert Maxwell for Spurs. In an interview with Channel 4's High Interest programme, Alan Sugar said:
"The only dialogue I had with Rupert Murdoch was when that clown Maxwell came on the scene and knowing that they were in the past arch enemies I think Rupert rang me up one day and said 'what's going on with this football club you're trying to buy and this clown Maxwell is trying to buy also', and I think I might have said to him at the time 'he's got the power of his newspaper to hype up the thing, I haven't got a newspaper so perhaps one of your journalists could put in a good word for me on The Sun, but that was about it"
A Sun headline appeared "20 things you never knew about Tel's Sugar Daddy".
Lord Sugar's relationship with Venables turned acrimonious and court battles ensued. Our Teddy Sheringham biography provides an example of the claims that Sugar made of the footballing world. Alan Sugar has stated that his time at Spurs was "a waste of my life".
In 2005 Alan Sugar entered the world of reality TV when he tested 14 apprentices in a new BBC TV series based on Donald Trump's successful US show The Apprentice.
Alan Sugar was knighted in 2000.
In December 2007, The Telegraph reported that Sir Alan Sugar is to step back from the day-to-day management of Amstrad, which he leaves at the end of June 2008, following its acquisition by BSkyB.
In July 2008 Lord Sugar stepped down as chairman of Amstrad, but he continued his involvement in his various other business interests including Amshold, Amsprop, Amsair and Viglen computers.
On 5 June 2009, Alan Sugar was appointed enterprise tsar in Gordon Brown's cabinet reshuffle. He was also set to be nominated for a seat in the House of Lords.
On 20 July 2009 he took his seat in the House of Lords as as Baron Sugar of Clapton.
http://politicalanimals.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/alansugar.jpg
"You're fired!"
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/24/10 at 4:34 am
"I Feel For You" is the song of hers that I know the best. Her name is even mentioned several times in the song, courtesy of rapper Melle Mel, who provides rap vocals in the recording.
Another good song.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/24/10 at 4:35 am
British Person of the Day: Alan Sugar
Alan Michael Sugar was born on 24 March 1947, the son of a tailor.
Alan Sugar went to Brooke House School in London but left at 16 and was briefly a civil service statistician.
It wasn't long before Alan Sugar went into business selling products such as cigarette lighters, intercoms and TV aerials. Sugar founded the home electronics group Amstrad in 1968, the same year that he married his wife, Ann.
In 1985 Sugar had a major breakthrough with the launch of the PCW8256 word processor which, although made of very cheap components, retailed at over £300.
At its peak Amstrad achieved a stock market valuation of £1.2 billion, but the nineties proved a troubled time. In 1997 Amstrad divided into Betacom and Viglen.
Lord Sugar's wealth was estimated to be £790 million and he was 71st on The Sunday Times Rich List in 2006.
An interesting episode in Lord Sugar's life was when he and Terry Venables got together to buy Tottenham Hotspur Football Club on June 21st 1991.
They beat off a late bid from Robert Maxwell for Spurs. In an interview with Channel 4's High Interest programme, Alan Sugar said:
"The only dialogue I had with Rupert Murdoch was when that clown Maxwell came on the scene and knowing that they were in the past arch enemies I think Rupert rang me up one day and said 'what's going on with this football club you're trying to buy and this clown Maxwell is trying to buy also', and I think I might have said to him at the time 'he's got the power of his newspaper to hype up the thing, I haven't got a newspaper so perhaps one of your journalists could put in a good word for me on The Sun, but that was about it"
A Sun headline appeared "20 things you never knew about Tel's Sugar Daddy".
Lord Sugar's relationship with Venables turned acrimonious and court battles ensued. Our Teddy Sheringham biography provides an example of the claims that Sugar made of the footballing world. Alan Sugar has stated that his time at Spurs was "a waste of my life".
In 2005 Alan Sugar entered the world of reality TV when he tested 14 apprentices in a new BBC TV series based on Donald Trump's successful US show The Apprentice.
Alan Sugar was knighted in 2000.
In December 2007, The Telegraph reported that Sir Alan Sugar is to step back from the day-to-day management of Amstrad, which he leaves at the end of June 2008, following its acquisition by BSkyB.
In July 2008 Lord Sugar stepped down as chairman of Amstrad, but he continued his involvement in his various other business interests including Amshold, Amsprop, Amsair and Viglen computers.
On 5 June 2009, Alan Sugar was appointed enterprise tsar in Gordon Brown's cabinet reshuffle. He was also set to be nominated for a seat in the House of Lords.
On 20 July 2009 he took his seat in the House of Lords as as Baron Sugar of Clapton.
http://politicalanimals.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/alansugar.jpg
Thanks Phil :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/24/10 at 4:42 am
The word of the day...Peaks
The peak of a process or an activity is the point at which it is at its strongest, most successful, or most fully developed.
When something peaks, it reaches its highest value or its highest level.
The peak level or value of something is its highest level or value.
Peak times are the times when there is most demand for something or most use of something.
http://i533.photobucket.com/albums/ee340/mlwoodwa/2009-06-Indian%20Peaks%20Wilderness/S6300078.jpg
http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac241/udayamin/Uttarakhand%20Kumaon%20Trip%202010/P1000045.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa156/rongonz/CanadianRockies_0310/26_LakeOHara_00.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l97/thedarkhalf75/Pogo%20sheesh/peakpalacetripeakssolitaireandgamej.jpg
http://i533.photobucket.com/albums/ee340/mlwoodwa/2009-06-Indian%20Peaks%20Wilderness/S6300087.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk468/vyvwalsh/Cuzco/Cusco308.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh166/SLTPlus/peaks.jpg
http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq247/JulieT814/Peaks.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/24/10 at 4:45 am
The person born on this day...Lara Flynn Boyle
Lara Flynn Boyle (born March 24, 1970) is an American film and television actress best known for her performances as Laura Palmer's best friend Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks and Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in The Practice. She has had a number of movie roles from the late '80s through the present but has found the most recognition through her roles in television series.
Boyle was born in Davenport, Iowa, the daughter of Sally Boyle, a clerical worker, assistant, and manager. Although she is of mostly Roman Catholic Irish descent, Boyle also has an Italian-American great-grandfather. She is named after a character in Boris Pasternak's novel Dr. Zhivago. She was raised in Chicago, Illinois and Wisconsin. Boyle studied at and graduated from The Chicago Academy for the Arts.
Career
Boyle's first film role was a bit part in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), which earned her a SAG card, though her scenes were deleted from the final cut of the film. She then appeared in the mini-series Amerika (1987) and films Poltergeist III (1988) and Dead Poets Society (1989) from which her scenes were deleted, before landing her first major part, that of Donna Hayward in the critically acclaimed series Twin Peaks. When the series ended in 1991, creator David Lynch produced a movie, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, but—largely due to her rise in fame and increased film offers—Boyle chose not to return. Moira Kelly took over the role of Donna for the film.
Boyle spent much of the 1990s making a name for herself in films with varying degrees of success. Some of her most notable roles during that time were:
* the obsessive and accident-prone Stacy in Wayne's World (1992)
* the fragile, homeless teen Heather in Where The Day Takes You (1992)
* psycho secretary-from-hell Kris Bolin in what was geared to be her breakout success, but ultimately became a box-office bust, The Temp (1993)
* the sultry and manipulative Suzanne of Red Rock West (1993), which solidified her status as a premier femme fatale
* Alex, the promiscuous beauty in the comedy Threesome (1994)
* flighty, manically repressed housewife Marianne Byron in Afterglow (1997)
In 1997, Boyle auditioned for the title role in David E. Kelley's Ally McBeal. Although she lost out to Calista Flockhart, the actress impressed Kelley enough to create the role of Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in his other 1997 series, The Practice, specifically for her. She starred on that show until 2003, when - in a dramatic attempt to revamp the show and cut costs - she was unceremoniously dismissed along with most of the cast. The role of Helen earned her an Emmy nomination, as well as several Screen Actors Guild ensemble cast nominations. Boyle also made a crossover appearance in the role of Helen in an episode of Ally McBeal, the show she originally was not cast for. She also did make another uncredited guest appearance on Ally McBeal in its final season.
In 2002, Boyle played a lead role in the blockbuster film Men in Black II as the villainous shapeshifting alien Serleena. She also guest-starred on one of the last episodes of Ally McBeal, this time as Tally Cupp, a completely different role from that which she had played before. Recently, she had a recurring role on several episodes of Huff, playing Melody Coatar, an unstable patient with borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder.
In 2005, Boyle joined the cast of Las Vegas for a seven-episode stint as Monica Mancuso, a new hotel owner. She played Barbara Amiel in the TV true story "Shades of Black", about Amiel's controversial husband, Lord Conrad Black. Boyle also guest-starred as an ambitious reporter involved with the suspects in a possible murder in the Law & Order 2008 episode "Submission".
Personal life
Boyle has dated actors Harrison Ford, Richard Dean Anderson, Kyle MacLachlan, David Spade, Jack Nicholson, and Eric Dane. She has a tattoo on her back from then-boyfriend Jay Penske. She is dyslexic.
She has been married twice. Her first husband was John Patrick Dee III, whom she married on August 11, 1996 and divorced two years later. Her current husband is Donald Ray Thomas II, a real-estate investor, whom she married on December 18, 2006 in San Antonio, Texas. She has two half-brothers, Ethan and Mike Boyle. Mike Boyle is currently a musician in the Chicago indie/pop band "The Howabouts."
Boyle's home in Beverly Hills was built in the 1920s as servants' quarters for Pickfair, the former home of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.
Filmography
Films
Year Film Role Notes
1986 Ferris Bueller's Day Off Scenes deleted
1988 Poltergeist III Donna Gardner
1989 Terror on Highway 91 Laura Taggart TV movie
How I Got Into College Jessica Kailo
Dead Poets Society Ginny Danburry Scenes deleted
The Preppie Murder Jennifer Levin TV movie
1990 The Rookie Sarah
1991 The Dark Backward Rosarita
Mobsters Mara Motes
Eye of the Storm Sandra Gladstone
May Wine Cammie TV movie
1992 Where the Day Takes You Heather
Wayne's World Stacy
Equinox Beverly Franks
1993 The Temp Kris Bolin
Red Rock West Suzanne Brown/Ann McCord
1994 Threesome Alex
Past Tense Tory Bass/Sabrina James TV movie
Baby's Day Out Laraine Cotwell
The Road to Wellville Ida Muntz
Jacob Rachel TV movie
1995 Cafe Society Pat Ward
1996 The Big Squeeze Tanya Mulhill
1997 Red Meat Ruth
Farmer & Chase Hillary
Afterglow Marianne Byron
1998 Since You've Been Gone Grace Williams TV movie
Happiness Helen Jordan
Susan's Plan Betty Johnson
2000 Chain of Fools Karen
2001 Speaking of Sex Dr. Emily Paige
2002 Men in Black II Serleena
2006 Land of the Blind First Lady
Fwiends.com Yuppy girl Short film
The House Next Door Col Kennedy TV movie
Shades of Black: The Conrad Black Story Barbara Amiel TV movie
2007 Have Dreams, Will Travel Mrs. Reynolds
2009 Baby on Board Mary
Life Is Hot in Cracktown Betty McBain
2010 Cougar Hunting Kathy
TV series
Year Title Role Seasons Notes
1987 Amerika Jacqueline 'Jessie' Bradford -
1990-1991 Twin Peaks Donna Hayward 1-2
1997-2003 The Practice Helen Gamble 2-7
2004-2005 Huff Melody Coatar 1
2005-2006 Las Vegas Monica Mancuso 3
TV appearances
Year Title Season Role Episode Notes
1987 Sable 1 Melanie Waterston "Toy Gun" Episode 1
1991 The Hidden Room 1 Nicole "Splinters of Privacy" Episode 2
1995 Legend 1 Theresa Dunleavy "Skeletons in the Closet" Episode 12
1998 The Practice 2 Helen Gamble Making Spirits Bright Episode 10
2002 Ally McBeal 5 Tally Cupp Tom Dooley Episode 18
2008 Law & Order 18 Dawn Talley "Submission" Episode 12
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 03/24/10 at 4:50 am
The person who died on this day...Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (French pronunciation: ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French author who helped pioneer the science-fiction genre. He is best known for his novels A Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864), From the Earth to the Moon (1865), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1869–1870), Around the World in Eighty Days (1873) and The Mysterious Island (1875). Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before navigable aircraft and practical submarines were invented, and before any means of space travel had been devised. Consequently he is often referred to as the "Father of science fiction", along with H. G. Wells. Verne is the second most translated author of all time, only behind Agatha Christie, with 4223 translations, according to Index Translationum. Some of his works have been made into films. After completing his studies at the lycée, Verne went to Paris to study law. About 1848, in conjunction with Michel Carré, he began writing librettos for operettas (he was co-librettist of Colin-Millard, a one act opera comique by Aristide Hignard). For some years his attentions were divided between the theatre and work, but some travelers' stories which he wrote for the Musée des Familles revealed to him his talent for writing fiction.
When Verne's father discovered that his son was writing rather than studying law, he promptly withdrew his financial support. Verne was forced to support himself as a stockbroker, which he hated despite being somewhat successful at it. During this period, he met Alexandre Dumas, père and Victor Hugo, who offered him writing advice. Dumas would become a close friend of Verne.
Verne also met Honorine de Viane Morel, a widow with two daughters. They were married on 10 January 1857. With her encouragement, he continued to write and actively looked for a publisher. On 3 August 1861, their son, Michel Jean Verne, was born. A classic enfant terrible, Michel was sent to Mettray Penal Colony in 1876 and later married an actress (in spite of Verne's objections), had two children by his 16-year-old mistress, and buried himself in debts. The relationship between father and son did improve as Michel grew older.
Verne's situation improved when he met Pierre-Jules Hetzel, one of the most important French publishers of the 19th century, who also published Victor Hugo, George Sand, and Erckmann-Chatrian, among others. They formed an excellent writer-publisher team until Hetzel's death. Hetzel helped improve Verne's writings, which until then had been repeatedly rejected by other publishers. Hetzel read a draft of Verne's story about the balloon exploration of Africa, which had been rejected by other publishers for being "too scientific". With Hetzel's help, Verne rewrote the story, which was published in 1863 in book form as Cinq semaines en ballon (Five Weeks in a Balloon). Acting on Hetzel's advice, Verne added comical accents to his novels, changed sad endings into happy ones, and toned down various political messages.
In 1864, Verne wrote an admiring study of the works of Edgar Allan Poe (Edgar Poe et ses oeuvres, 1864) and it is not difficult to see Poe's works, published in France as Histoires extraordinaires (Extraordinary Stories), as a source of inspiration for Verne. In fact, Verne was so intrigued by Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" that he penned a sequel to the work entitled "An Antarctic Mystery." Verne set his story eleven years after the disappearance of Pym and recounts through the persona of Jeorling, a man of science, the adventures encountered during an expedition tracing Pym's travels.
A typical Hetzel front cover for a Jules Verne book. The edition is Les Aventures du Capitaine Hatteras au Pôle Nord, type "Aux deux éléphants".
From that point to years after Verne's death, Hetzel published two or more volumes a year. The most successful of these include: Voyage au centre de la terre (Journey to the Centre of the Earth, 1864); De la terre à la lune (From the Earth to the Moon, 1865); Vingt mille lieues sous les mers (Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, 1869); and Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours (Around the World in Eighty Days), which first appeared in Le Temps in 1872. The series is collectively known as "Les Voyages Extraordinaires" ("extraordinary voyages"). Verne could now live on his writings. But most of his wealth came from the stage adaptations of Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours (1874) and Michel Strogoff (1876), a relatively conventional adventure tale set in Tsarist Russia, which he adapted for the stage with Adolphe d'Ennery. In 1867 Verne bought a small ship, the Saint-Michel, which he successively replaced with the Saint-Michel II and the Saint-Michel III as his financial situation improved. On board the Saint-Michel III, he sailed around Europe. In 1870, he was appointed "Chevalier" (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur. After his first novel, most of his stories were first serialised in the Magazine d'Éducation et de Récréation, a Hetzel biweekly publication, before being published in the form of books. Jules' brother Paul contributed to a non-fiction story "Fortieth Ascent of Mont Blanc" ("Quarantième ascension du Mont-Blanc") to the collection of short stories, Doctor Ox (1874). According to the Unesco Index Translationum, Jules Verne regularly places among the top five most translated authors in the world.
Last years
On 9 March 1886, as Verne approached his own home, his twenty-five-year-old nephew Gaston, who suffered from paranoia, shot twice at him with a gun. One bullet missed, but the second entered Verne's left leg, giving him a permanent limp. Gaston spent the rest of his life in an asylum.
After the deaths of Hetzel and his beloved mother in 1887, Verne began writing darker works. This may have been due partly to changes in his personality, but an important factor was that Hetzel's son, who took over his father's business, was not as rigorous in his edits and corrections as Hetzel Sr. had been.
Verne in 1892
In 1888, Verne entered politics and was elected town councilor of Amiens, where he championed several improvements and served for fifteen years. Though elected from the left he stood with the right on the Dreyfus Affair and was anti-Dreyfusard, although the theme of wrongful conviction and judicial corruption found in "The Kip Brothers", one of his last novels, suggests he may have become a Dreyfusard later in life. In 1905, ill with diabetes, Verne died at his home, 44 Boulevard Longueville (now Boulevard Jules-Verne). His son Michel oversaw publication of his last novels Invasion of the Sea and The Lighthouse at the End of the World. The "Voyages extraordinaires" series continued for several years afterwards in the same rhythm of two volumes a year. It was later discovered that Michel Verne had made extensive changes in these stories, and the original versions were published at the end of the 20th century.
In 1863, Verne wrote Paris in the 20th Century, a novel about a young man who lives in a world of glass skyscrapers, high-speed trains, gas-powered automobiles, calculators, and a worldwide communications network, yet cannot find happiness and comes to a tragic end. Hetzel thought the novel's pessimism would damage Verne's then booming career, and suggested he wait 20 years to publish it. Verne put the manuscript in a safe, where it was discovered by his great-grandson in 1989. It was published in 1993.
Death
Jules Verne died on 24 March, 1905 and was buried in the La Madeleine Cemetery in Amiens. In 2008, efforts were initiated to have him reburied in the Panthéon, alongside France's other literary giants.
Reputation in English-speaking countries
The tomb of Jules Verne in Amiens (Somme); sculpture by Albert Roze (1861-1953).
While Verne is considered in France as an author of quality books for young people, with a good command of his subjects, including technology and politics, his reputation in English-speaking countries suffered for a long time as a result of poor translation.
Some English publishers felt 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea portrayed the British Empire in a bad light, and the first English translator, Reverend Lewis Page Mercier, working under a pseudonym, removed many offending passages. Mrs. Agnes Kinloch Kingston (writing in the name of her husband, W.H.G. Kingston) deleted parts of The Mysterious Island such as those describing the political actions of Captain Nemo in his incarnation as an Indian nobleman freedom fighter. Such negative depictions were not, however, invariable in Verne's works; for example, Facing the Flag features, in the character of Lieutenant Devon, a heroic, self-sacrificing Royal Navy officer worthy of any created by British authors. In 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea itself, Captain Nemo, there of unidentified nationality, is balanced by Ned Land, a Canadian. Some of Verne's most famous heroes were British (e.g. Phileas Fogg in Around the World in Eighty Days).
Mercier and subsequent British translators also had trouble with the metric system that Verne used, sometimes dropping significant figures, at other times changing the unit to an Imperial measure without changing the corresponding value. Thus Verne's calculations, which in general were remarkably exact, were converted into mathematical gibberish. Also, artistic passages and sometimes whole chapters were cut to fit the work into a constrained space for publication.
For these reasons, Verne's work initially acquired a reputation in English-speaking countries of not being fit for adult readers. This in turn prevented it from being taken seriously enough to merit new translations, and those of Mercier and others were reprinted decade after decade. Only from 1965 on have some of his novels received more accurate translations, but even today Verne's work has not been fully rehabilitated in the English-speaking world.
Verne's works may also reflect the bitterness France felt in the wake of its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) and the consequent loss of Alsace and Lorraine. The Begum's Millions (Les Cinq cents millions de la Begum) of 1879 gives a highly stereotypical depiction of Germans as monstrously cruel militarists. By contrast, the rare portrayals of Germans are positive in pre-1871 works such as Journey to the Centre of the Earth, in which almost all the protagonists, including the sympathetic first-person narrator, are German.
Hetzel's influence
Hetzel substantially influenced the writings of Verne, who was so happy to finally find a willing publisher that he agreed to almost all changes that Hetzel suggested. Hetzel rejected at least one novel (Paris in the 20th Century), and asked Verne to make significant changes in his other drafts. One of the most important changes Hetzel imposed on Verne was the adoption of a more optimistic tone. Verne was in fact not an enthusiast of technological and human progress, as can be seen in the works he created both before he met Hetzel and after the publisher's death. For example, The Mysterious Island originally ended with the survivors returning to mainland forever nostalgic about the island. Hetzel decided that the heroes should live happily, so in the revised draft, they use their fortunes to build a replica of the island. Many translations are like this. Also, in order not to offend France's then-ally, Russia, the famous Captain Nemo was changed from a Polish refugee avenging the partitions of Poland and the death of his family, killed in the reprisals following the January Uprising, to an Indian prince fighting the British Empire after the Sikh War.
Predictions
A mural in Tampa, Florida commemorating Verne's From the Earth to the Moon.
Jules Verne's novels have been noted for being startlingly accurate anticipations of modern times. Paris in the 20th Century is an often cited example of this as it arguably describes air conditioning, automobiles, the Internet, television, even electricity, and other modern conveniences very similar to their real world counterparts.
Another example is From the Earth to the Moon, which, apart from using a space gun instead of a rocket, is uncannily similar to the real Apollo Program, as three astronauts are launched from the Florida peninsula and recovered through a splash landing. In the book, the spacecraft is launched from "Tampa Town"; Tampa, Florida is approximately 130 miles from NASA's actual launching site at Cape Canaveral.
In other works, Verne predicted the inventions of helicopters, submarines, projectors, jukeboxes, and other later devices.
He also predicted the existence of underwater hydrothermal vents that were not discovered until years after he wrote about them.
Scholars' jokes
Verne, who had a large archive and always kept up with scientific and technological progress, sometimes seemed to joke with the readers, using so-called "scholars' jokes" (that is, a joke that only a scientist may recognise). For instance, in Dick Sand, A Captain at Fifteen, a Manticora beetle helps Cousin Bénédict to escape from imprisonment when Bénédict, unguarded, follows the beetle out of the garden. Since the beetle escapes from Cousin Bénédict by flying away, when in fact the genus is flightless, it is possible that this is one such joke. Another example appears in Mysterious Island, where the main character's dog is attacked by a wild dugong, even though the dugong, like its North American cousin, the manatee, is a herbivorous mammal. Also in Mysterious Island, because of its fauna and flora, the sailor Bonadventure Pencroff asks Cyrus Harding whether the latter believes that islands (like the one they are on) are made especially to be ideal ones for castaways. In From the Earth to the Moon, it was the material used in the creation of the cannon, although in this case it was probably poetic license in order to make the description of the making of the gun far more dramatic, or The Begum's Millions, where the methods used for making steel in "Steel City", described as the most modern steel factory in the world, were rather dated, but, again, much more spectacular to describe. (See Neff, 1978)
Bibliography
Jules Verne in front of creatures from his novels and stories.
Verne wrote numerous works, most famous of which are the 54 novels part of the Voyages Extraordinaires. He also wrote short stories, essays, plays, and poems.
Note: only the dates of the first English translation and the most common translation title are given.
# French publication English translation
Title Year Title Year
1. Cinq Semaines en ballon 1863 Five Weeks in a Balloon 1869
3. Voyage au centre de la Terre 1864 A Journey to the Centre of the Earth 1871
4. De la terre à la lune 1865 From the Earth to the Moon 1865
2. Voyages et aventures du capitaine Hatteras 1866 The Adventures of Captain Hatteras 1874-75
5. Les Enfants du capitaine Grant 1867-68 In Search of the Castaways 1873
6. Vingt mille lieues sous les mers 1869-70 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea 1872
7. Autour de la lune 1870 Around the Moon 1873
8. Une ville flottante 1871 A Floating City 1874
9. Aventures de trois Russes et de trois Anglais 1872 The Adventures of Three Englishmen and Three Russians in South Africa 1872
10. Le Pays des fourrures 1873 The Fur Country 1873
11. Le Tour du Monde en quatre-vingts jours 1873 Around the World in Eighty Days 1875
12. L'Île mysterieuse 1874-75 The Mysterious Island 1874
13. Le Chancellor 1875 The Survivors of the Chancellor 1875
14. Michel Strogoff 1876 Michael Strogoff 1876
15. Hector Servadac 1877 Off on a Comet 1877
16. Les Indes noires 1877 The Child of the Cavern 1877
17. Un capitaine de quinze ans 1878 Dick Sand, A Captain at Fifteen 1878
18. Les Cinq Cents Millions de la Bégum 1879 The Begum's Millions 1879
19. Les Tribulations d'un chinois en Chine 1879 Tribulations of a Chinaman in China 1879
20. La Maison à vapeur 1880 The Steam House 1880
21. La Jangada 1881 Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon 1881
22. L'École des Robinsons 1882 Godfrey Morgan 1883
23. Le Rayon vert 1882 The Green Ray 1883
24. Kéraban-le-têtu 1883 Kéraban the Inflexible 1883-84
25. L'Étoile du sud 1884 The Vanished Diamond 1885
26. L'Archipel en feu 1884 The Archipelago on Fire 1885
27. Mathias Sandorf 1885 Mathias Sandorf 1885
28. Un billet de loterie 1886 The Lottery Ticket 1886
29. Robur-le-Conquérant 1886 Robur the Conqueror 1887
30. Nord contre Sud 1887 North Against South 1887
31. Le Chemin de France 1887 The Flight to France 1888
32. Deux Ans de vacances 1888 Two Years' Vacation 1889
33. Famille-sans-nom 1889 Family Without a Name 1889
34. Sans dessus dessous 1889 The Purchase of the North Pole 1890
35. César Cascabel 1890 César Cascabel 1890
36. Mistress Branican 1891 Mistress Branican 1891
37. Le Château des Carpathes 1892 Carpathian Castle 1893
38. Claudius Bombarnac 1892 Claudius Bombarnac 1894
39. P’tit-Bonhomme 1893 Foundling Mick 1895
40. Mirifiques Aventures de Maître Antifer 1894 Captain Antifer 1895
41. L'Île à hélice 1895 Propeller Island 1896
42. Face au drapeau 1896 Facing the Flag 1897
43. Clovis Dardentor 1896 Clovis Dardentor 1897
44. Le Sphinx des glaces 1897 An Antarctic Mystery 1898
45. Le Superbe Orénoque 1898 The Mighty Orinoco 2002
46. Le Testament d'un excentrique 1899 The Will of an Eccentric 1900
47. Seconde Patrie 1900 The Castaways of the Flag 1923
48. Le Village aérien 1901 The Village in the Treetops 1964
49. Les Histoires de Jean-Marie Cabidoulin 1901 The Sea Serpent 1967
50. Les Frères Kip 1902 The Kip Brothers 2007
51. Bourses de voyage 1903 Traveling Scholarships n/a
52. Un drame en Livonie 1904 A Drama in Livonia 1967
53. Maître du monde 1904 Master of the World 1911
54. L'Invasion de la mer 1905 Invasion of the Sea 2001
55. Paris au XXe siècle (written in 1863) 1994 Paris in the Twentieth Century 1996
Apocryphal and posthumous novels
* (1885) L'Épave du Cynthia; English translation: The Waif of the Cynthia (1885), with André Laurie (pseudonym of Paschal Grousset), but actually the work of Grousset alone
* (1905) Le Phare du bout du monde; English translation: The Lighthouse at the End of the World (1923), modified by Michel Verne
* (1906) Le Volcan d'or; English translation: The Golden Volcano: The Claim on Forty Mile Creek and Flood and Flame (2 vols., 1962), modified by Michel Verne
* (1907) L'Agence Thompson and Cº; English translation: The Thompson Travel Agency: Package Holiday and End of the Journey (2 vols., 1965), written by Michel Verne
* (1908) La Chasse au météore; English translation: The Chase of the Golden Meteor (1909), modified by Michel Verne
* (1908) Le Pilote du Danube; English translation: The Danube Pilot (1967), modified by Michel Verne
* (1909) Les Naufragés du Jonathan; English translation: The Survivors of the 'Jonathan': The Masterless Man and The Unwilling Dictator (2 vols., 1962), modified by Michel Verne
* (1910) Le Secret de Wilhelm Storitz; English translation: The Secret of William Storitz (1963), modified by Michel Verne
* (1919) L'Étonnante Aventure de la mission Barsac; English translation: The Barsac Mission: Into the Niger Bend and The City of the Sahara (2 vols., 1960), written by Michel Verne
* (1989) Voyage en Angleterre et en Ecosse; English translation: Backwards to Britain (1992), written in 1859
* (1994) Paris au XXe siècle; English translation: Paris in the Twentieth Century (1996), written in 1863
Short story collections
* (1874) Le Docteur Ox; English translation: Doctor Ox (1874)
* (1910) Hier et Demain; English translation: Yesterday and Tomorrow (1965)
Short stories
* (1851) "Un drame au Mexique"; English translation: "A Drama in Mexico" (1876)
* (1851) "Un drame dans les airs"; English translation: "A Drama in the Air" (1852)
* (1852) "Martin Paz"; English translation: "Martin Paz" (1875)
* (1854) "Maître Zacharius"; English translation: "Master Zacharius" (1874)
* (1855) "Un hivernage dans les glaces"; English translation: "A Winter Amid the Ice" (1874)
* (1864) "Le Comte de Chanteleine"; English translation: "The Count of Chanteleine" (n/a)
* (1865) "Les Forceurs de blocus"; English translation: "The Blockade Runners" (1874)
* (1872) "Une fantaisie du docteur Ox"; English translation: "Dr. Ox's Experiment" (1874)
* (1875) "Une ville idéale"; English translation: "An Ideal City" (1965)
* (1879) "Les Révoltés de la Bounty"; English translation: "The Mutineers of the Bounty" (1879)
* (1881) "Dix Heures en chasse"; English translation: "Ten Hours Hunting" (1965)
* (1884) "Frritt-Flacc"; English translation: "Frritt-Flacc" (1892)
* (1887) "Gil Braltar"; English translation: "Gil Braltar" (1958)
* (1891) "La Journée d'un journaliste américain en 2889"; English translation: "In the Year 2889" (1889)
* (1891) "Aventures de la famille Raton"; English translation: "Adventures of the Rat Family" (1993)
* (1893) "Monsieur Ré-Dièze et Mademoiselle Mi-Bémol"; English translation: "Mr. Ray Sharp and Miss Me Flat" (1965)
Apocryphal short stories
* (1888) "Un Express de l'avenir"; English translation: "An Express of the Future" (1895), written by Michel Verne
* (1910) "La Destinée de Jean Morénas"; English translation: "The Fate of Jean Morenas" (1965), written by Michel Verne
* (1910) "L'Éternel Adam"; English translation: "The Eternal Adam" (1957), written by Michel Verne
Non-fiction works
* (1857) Salon de 1857 (art criticism); no English translation
* (1864) "Edgar Poe et ses oeuvres" (Edgar Allan Poe and his works)
* (1866) Géographie illustrée de la France et de ses colonies; English translation: Illlustrated Geography of France and its Colonies (n/a), with Théophile Lavallée
* Histoire des grands voyages et des grands voyageurs; English translation: Celebrated Travels and Travellers
o (1878) Découverte de la terre; English translation: The Exploration of the World (1879)
o (1879) Les Grand navigateurs du XVIIIème siècle; English translation: The Great Navigators of the Eighteenth Century (1879)
o (1880) Les Voyageurs du XIXème siècle; English translation: The Great Explorers of the Nineteenth Century (1881)
Imitations by other writers
The Wizard of the Sea by Roy Rockwood is a clear copy of Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, apart from the first chapter(s). One or two other of Rockwood's titles also seem to (lesser) resemble some of Verne's, eg compare Five Thousand Miles Underground to Journey to the Centre of the Earth.
See also
About Verne:
* Jules Verne Museum in Nantes, France
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http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o110/opereysin/Mini_portrait_Jules_Verne.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 03/24/10 at 6:50 am
The word of the day...Peaks
The peak of a process or an activity is the point at which it is at its strongest, most successful, or most fully developed.
When something peaks, it reaches its highest value or its highest level.
The peak level or value of something is its highest level or value.
Peak times are the times when there is most demand for something or most use of something.
http://i533.photobucket.com/albums/ee340/mlwoodwa/2009-06-Indian%20Peaks%20Wilderness/S6300078.jpg
http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac241/udayamin/Uttarakhand%20Kumaon%20Trip%202010/P1000045.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa156/rongonz/CanadianRockies_0310/26_LakeOHara_00.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l97/thedarkhalf75/Pogo%20sheesh/peakpalacetripeakssolitaireandgamej.jpg
http://i533.photobucket.com/albums/ee340/mlwoodwa/2009-06-Indian%20Peaks%20Wilderness/S6300087.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk468/vyvwalsh/Cuzco/Cusco308.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh166/SLTPlus/peaks.jpg
http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq247/JulieT814/Peaks.jpg
Man,that's beautiful. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 03/24/10 at 11:05 am
Death of British Person of the Day: Queen Elizabeth 1
Elizabeth was born in Greenwich on 7 September 1533, the only daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. When Elizabeth was two, Anne was beheaded for adultery on the orders of Henry, and Elizabeth was exiled from court. Her childhood was difficult, although she received a thorough Protestant education.
In 1553, Elizabeth's older half-sister Mary became queen. Mary was determined to re-establish Catholicism in England and viewed the Protestant Elizabeth as a direct threat, briefly imprisoning her in the Tower of London. When Elizabeth succeeded to the throne in 1558 one of her priorities was to return England to the Protestant faith and one of her greatest legacies was to establish and secure an English form of Protestantism. Elizabeth's reign also saw England significantly expand its trade overseas while at home, Shakespeare, Spenser and Marlowe were at the forefront of a renaissance in poetry and drama.
Catholic challenges and plots persisted through much of Elizabeth's reign. The focus of most of these was Elizabeth's cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic with a strong claim to the English throne, who sought exile in England in 1568. Elizabeth imprisoned her and she remained a prisoner for 20 years until Elizabeth was persuaded to agree to her execution in 1587.
The ill-fated Spanish Armada was launched by Philip II of Spain the following year, bringing to a climax the threat posed to English independence from Spain since Elizabeth's accession. Always a popular monarch, and a brilliant public speaker, Elizabeth proved a focus to unite the country against a common enemy.
Despite pressure from her advisers, particularly her chief secretary, William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Elizabeth always refused to marry. She had a close relationship with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and was not averse to using the promise of marriage for diplomatic purposes, but asserted her independence until the end of her life. When she died on 24 March 1603, she was succeeded by the Protestant James VI of Scotland, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots.
http://www.edu-negev.gov.il/bs/makif7/english/Elizabeth.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 03/24/10 at 11:31 am
The person who died on this day...Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (French pronunciation: ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French author who helped pioneer the science-fiction genre. He is best known for his novels A Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864), From the Earth to the Moon (1865), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1869–1870), Around the World in Eighty Days (1873) and The Mysterious Island (1875). Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before navigable aircraft and practical submarines were invented, and before any means of space travel had been devised. Consequently he is often referred to as the "Father of science fiction", along with H. G. Wells. Verne is the second most translated author of all time, only behind Agatha Christie, with 4223 translations, according to Index Translationum. Some of his works have been made into films. After completing his studies at the lycée, Verne went to Paris to study law. About 1848, in conjunction with Michel Carré, he began writing librettos for operettas (he was co-librettist of Colin-Millard, a one act opera comique by Aristide Hignard). For some years his attentions were divided between the theatre and work, but some travelers' stories which he wrote for the Musée des Familles revealed to him his talent for writing fiction.
When Verne's father discovered that his son was writing rather than studying law, he promptly withdrew his financial support. Verne was forced to support himself as a stockbroker, which he hated despite being somewhat successful at it. During this period, he met Alexandre Dumas, père and Victor Hugo, who offered him writing advice. Dumas would become a close friend of Verne.
Verne also met Honorine de Viane Morel, a widow with two daughters. They were married on 10 January 1857. With her encouragement, he continued to write and actively looked for a publisher. On 3 August 1861, their son, Michel Jean Verne, was born. A classic enfant terrible, Michel was sent to Mettray Penal Colony in 1876 and later married an actress (in spite of Verne's objections), had two children by his 16-year-old mistress, and buried himself in debts. The relationship between father and son did improve as Michel grew older.
Verne's situation improved when he met Pierre-Jules Hetzel, one of the most important French publishers of the 19th century, who also published Victor Hugo, George Sand, and Erckmann-Chatrian, among others. They formed an excellent writer-publisher team until Hetzel's death. Hetzel helped improve Verne's writings, which until then had been repeatedly rejected by other publishers. Hetzel read a draft of Verne's story about the balloon exploration of Africa, which had been rejected by other publishers for being "too scientific". With Hetzel's help, Verne rewrote the story, which was published in 1863 in book form as Cinq semaines en ballon (Five Weeks in a Balloon). Acting on Hetzel's advice, Verne added comical accents to his novels, changed sad endings into happy ones, and toned down various political messages.
In 1864, Verne wrote an admiring study of the works of Edgar Allan Poe (Edgar Poe et ses oeuvres, 1864) and it is not difficult to see Poe's works, published in France as Histoires extraordinaires (Extraordinary Stories), as a source of inspiration for Verne. In fact, Verne was so intrigued by Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" that he penned a sequel to the work entitled "An Antarctic Mystery." Verne set his story eleven years after the disappearance of Pym and recounts through the persona of Jeorling, a man of science, the adventures encountered during an expedition tracing Pym's travels.
A typical Hetzel front cover for a Jules Verne book. The edition is Les Aventures du Capitaine Hatteras au Pôle Nord, type "Aux deux éléphants".
From that point to years after Verne's death, Hetzel published two or more volumes a year. The most successful of these include: Voyage au centre de la terre (Journey to the Centre of the Earth, 1864); De la terre à la lune (From the Earth to the Moon, 1865); Vingt mille lieues sous les mers (Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, 1869); and Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours (Around the World in Eighty Days), which first appeared in Le Temps in 1872. The series is collectively known as "Les Voyages Extraordinaires" ("extraordinary voyages"). Verne could now live on his writings. But most of his wealth came from the stage adaptations of Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours (1874) and Michel Strogoff (1876), a relatively conventional adventure tale set in Tsarist Russia, which he adapted for the stage with Adolphe d'Ennery. In 1867 Verne bought a small ship, the Saint-Michel, which he successively replaced with the Saint-Michel II and the Saint-Michel III as his financial situation improved. On board the Saint-Michel III, he sailed around Europe. In 1870, he was appointed "Chevalier" (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur. After his first novel, most of his stories were first serialised in the Magazine d'Éducation et de Récréation, a Hetzel biweekly publication, before being published in the form of books. Jules' brother Paul contributed to a non-fiction story "Fortieth Ascent of Mont Blanc" ("Quarantième ascension du Mont-Blanc") to the collection of short stories, Doctor Ox (1874). According to the Unesco Index Translationum, Jules Verne regularly places among the top five most translated authors in the world.
Last years
On 9 March 1886, as Verne approached his own home, his twenty-five-year-old nephew Gaston, who suffered from paranoia, shot twice at him with a gun. One bullet missed, but the second entered Verne's left leg, giving him a permanent limp. Gaston spent the rest of his life in an asylum.
After the deaths of Hetzel and his beloved mother in 1887, Verne began writing darker works. This may have been due partly to changes in his personality, but an important factor was that Hetzel's son, who took over his father's business, was not as rigorous in his edits and corrections as Hetzel Sr. had been.
Verne in 1892
In 1888, Verne entered politics and was elected town councilor of Amiens, where he championed several improvements and served for fifteen years. Though elected from the left he stood with the right on the Dreyfus Affair and was anti-Dreyfusard, although the theme of wrongful conviction and judicial corruption found in "The Kip Brothers", one of his last novels, suggests he may have become a Dreyfusard later in life. In 1905, ill with diabetes, Verne died at his home, 44 Boulevard Longueville (now Boulevard Jules-Verne). His son Michel oversaw publication of his last novels Invasion of the Sea and The Lighthouse at the End of the World. The "Voyages extraordinaires" series continued for several years afterwards in the same rhythm of two volumes a year. It was later discovered that Michel Verne had made extensive changes in these stories, and the original versions were published at the end of the 20th century.
In 1863, Verne wrote Paris in the 20th Century, a novel about a young man who lives in a world of glass skyscrapers, high-speed trains, gas-powered automobiles, calculators, and a worldwide communications network, yet cannot find happiness and comes to a tragic end. Hetzel thought the novel's pessimism would damage Verne's then booming career, and suggested he wait 20 years to publish it. Verne put the manuscript in a safe, where it was discovered by his great-grandson in 1989. It was published in 1993.
Death
Jules Verne died on 24 March, 1905 and was buried in the La Madeleine Cemetery in Amiens. In 2008, efforts were initiated to have him reburied in the Panthéon, alongside France's other literary giants.
Reputation in English-speaking countries
The tomb of Jules Verne in Amiens (Somme); sculpture by Albert Roze (1861-1953).
While Verne is considered in France as an author of quality books for young people, with a good command of his subjects, including technology and politics, his reputation in English-speaking countries suffered for a long time as a result of poor translation.
Some English publishers felt 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea portrayed the British Empire in a bad light, and the first English translator, Reverend Lewis Page Mercier, working under a pseudonym, removed many offending passages. Mrs. Agnes Kinloch Kingston (writing in the name of her husband, W.H.G. Kingston) deleted parts of The Mysterious Island such as those describing the political actions of Captain Nemo in his incarnation as an Indian nobleman freedom fighter. Such negative depictions were not, however, invariable in Verne's works; for example, Facing the Flag features, in the character of Lieutenant Devon, a heroic, self-sacrificing Royal Navy officer worthy of any created by British authors. In 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea itself, Captain Nemo, there of unidentified nationality, is balanced by Ned Land, a Canadian. Some of Verne's most famous heroes were British (e.g. Phileas Fogg in Around the World in Eighty Days).
Mercier and subsequent British translators also had trouble with the metric system that Verne used, sometimes dropping significant figures, at other times changing the unit to an Imperial measure without changing the corresponding value. Thus Verne's calculations, which in general were remarkably exact, were converted into mathematical gibberish. Also, artistic passages and sometimes whole chapters were cut to fit the work into a constrained space for publication.
For these reasons, Verne's work initially acquired a reputation in English-speaking countries of not being fit for adult readers. This in turn prevented it from being taken seriously enough to merit new translations, and those of Mercier and others were reprinted decade after decade. Only from 1965 on have some of his novels received more accurate translations, but even today Verne's work has not been fully rehabilitated in the English-speaking world.
Verne's works may also reflect the bitterness France felt in the wake of its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) and the consequent loss of Alsace and Lorraine. The Begum's Millions (Les Cinq cents millions de la Begum) of 1879 gives a highly stereotypical depiction of Germans as monstrously cruel militarists. By contrast, the rare portrayals of Germans are positive in pre-1871 works such as Journey to the Centre of the Earth, in which almost all the protagonists, including the sympathetic first-person narrator, are German.
Hetzel's influence
Hetzel substantially influenced the writings of Verne, who was so happy to finally find a willing publisher that he agreed to almost all changes that Hetzel suggested. Hetzel rejected at least one novel (Paris in the 20th Century), and asked Verne to make significant changes in his other drafts. One of the most important changes Hetzel imposed on Verne was the adoption of a more optimistic tone. Verne was in fact not an enthusiast of technological and human progress, as can be seen in the works he created both before he met Hetzel and after the publisher's death. For example, The Mysterious Island originally ended with the survivors returning to mainland forever nostalgic about the island. Hetzel decided that the heroes should live happily, so in the revised draft, they use their fortunes to build a replica of the island. Many translations are like this. Also, in order not to offend France's then-ally, Russia, the famous Captain Nemo was changed from a Polish refugee avenging the partitions of Poland and the death of his family, killed in the reprisals following the January Uprising, to an Indian prince fighting the British Empire after the Sikh War.
Predictions
A mural in Tampa, Florida commemorating Verne's From the Earth to the Moon.
Jules Verne's novels have been noted for being startlingly accurate anticipations of modern times. Paris in the 20th Century is an often cited example of this as it arguably describes air conditioning, automobiles, the Internet, television, even electricity, and other modern conveniences very similar to their real world counterparts.
Another example is From the Earth to the Moon, which, apart from using a space gun instead of a rocket, is uncannily similar to the real Apollo Program, as three astronauts are launched from the Florida peninsula and recovered through a splash landing. In the book, the spacecraft is launched from "Tampa Town"; Tampa, Florida is approximately 130 miles from NASA's actual launching site at Cape Canaveral.
In other works, Verne predicted the inventions of helicopters, submarines, projectors, jukeboxes, and other later devices.
He also predicted the existence of underwater hydrothermal vents that were not discovered until years after he wrote about them.
Scholars' jokes
Verne, who had a large archive and always kept up with scientific and technological progress, sometimes seemed to joke with the readers, using so-called "scholars' jokes" (that is, a joke that only a scientist may recognise). For instance, in Dick Sand, A Captain at Fifteen, a Manticora beetle helps Cousin Bénédict to escape from imprisonment when Bénédict, unguarded, follows the beetle out of the garden. Since the beetle escapes from Cousin Bénédict by flying away, when in fact the genus is flightless, it is possible that this is one such joke. Another example appears in Mysterious Island, where the main character's dog is attacked by a wild dugong, even though the dugong, like its North American cousin, the manatee, is a herbivorous mammal. Also in Mysterious Island, because of its fauna and flora, the sailor Bonadventure Pencroff asks Cyrus Harding whether the latter believes that islands (like the one they are on) are made especially to be ideal ones for castaways. In From the Earth to the Moon, it was the material used in the creation of the cannon, although in this case it was probably poetic license in order to make the description of the making of the gun far more dramatic, or The Begum's Millions, where the methods used for making steel in "Steel City", described as the most modern steel factory in the world, were rather dated, but, again, much more spectacular to describe. (See Neff, 1978)
Bibliography
Jules Verne in front of creatures from his novels and stories.
Verne wrote numerous works, most famous of which are the 54 novels part of the Voyages Extraordinaires. He also wrote short stories, essays, plays, and poems.
Note: only the dates of the first English translation and the most common translation title are given.
# French publication English translation
Title Year Title Year
1. Cinq Semaines en ballon 1863 Five Weeks in a Balloon 1869
3. Voyage au centre de la Terre 1864 A Journey to the Centre of the Earth 1871
4. De la terre à la lune 1865 From the Earth to the Moon 1865
2. Voyages et aventures du capitaine Hatteras 1866 The Adventures of Captain Hatteras 1874-75
5. Les Enfants du capitaine Grant 1867-68 In Search of the Castaways 1873
6. Vingt mille lieues sous les mers 1869-70 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea 1872
7. Autour de la lune 1870 Around the Moon 1873
8. Une ville flottante 1871 A Floating City 1874
9. Aventures de trois Russes et de trois Anglais 1872 The Adventures of Three Englishmen and Three Russians in South Africa 1872
10. Le Pays des fourrures 1873 The Fur Country 1873
11. Le Tour du Monde en quatre-vingts jours 1873 Around the World in Eighty Days 1875
12. L'Île mysterieuse 1874-75 The Mysterious Island 1874
13. Le Chancellor 1875 The Survivors of the Chancellor 1875
14. Michel Strogoff 1876 Michael Strogoff 1876
15. Hector Servadac 1877 Off on a Comet 1877
16. Les Indes noires 1877 The Child of the Cavern 1877
17. Un capitaine de quinze ans 1878 Dick Sand, A Captain at Fifteen 1878
18. Les Cinq Cents Millions de la Bégum 1879 The Begum's Millions 1879
19. Les Tribulations d'un chinois en Chine 1879 Tribulations of a Chinaman in China 1879
20. La Maison à vapeur 1880 The Steam House 1880
21. La Jangada 1881 Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon 1881
22. L'École des Robinsons 1882 Godfrey Morgan 1883
23. Le Rayon vert 1882 The Green Ray 1883
24. Kéraban-le-têtu 1883 Kéraban the Inflexible 1883-84
25. L'Étoile du sud 1884 The Vanished Diamond 1885
26. L'Archipel en feu 1884 The Archipelago on Fire 1885
27. Mathias Sandorf 1885 Mathias Sandorf 1885
28. Un billet de loterie 1886 The Lottery Ticket 1886
29. Robur-le-Conquérant 1886 Robur the Conqueror 1887
30. Nord contre Sud 1887 North Against South 1887
31. Le Chemin de France 1887 The Flight to France 1888
32. Deux Ans de vacances 1888 Two Years' Vacation 1889
33. Famille-sans-nom 1889 Family Without a Name 1889
34. Sans dessus dessous 1889 The Purchase of the North Pole 1890
35. César Cascabel 1890 César Cascabel 1890
36. Mistress Branican 1891 Mistress Branican 1891
37. Le Château des Carpathes 1892 Carpathian Castle 1893
38. Claudius Bombarnac 1892 Claudius Bombarnac 1894
39. P’tit-Bonhomme 1893 Foundling Mick 1895
40. Mirifiques Aventures de Maître Antifer 1894 Captain Antifer 1895
41. L'Île à hélice 1895 Propeller Island 1896
42. Face au drapeau 1896 Facing the Flag 1897
43. Clovis Dardentor 1896 Clovis Dardentor 1897
44. Le Sphinx des glaces 1897 An Antarctic Mystery 1898
45. Le Superbe Orénoque 1898 The Mighty Orinoco 2002
46. Le Testament d'un excentrique 1899 The Will of an Eccentric 1900
47. Seconde Patrie 1900 The Castaways of the Flag 1923
48. Le Village aérien 1901 The Village in the Treetops 1964
49. Les Histoires de Jean-Marie Cabidoulin 1901 The Sea Serpent 1967
50. Les Frères Kip 1902 The Kip Brothers 2007
51. Bourses de voyage 1903 Traveling Scholarships n/a
52. Un drame en Livonie 1904 A Drama in Livonia 1967
53. Maître du monde 1904 Master of the World 1911
54. L'Invasion de la mer 1905 Invasion of the Sea 2001
55. Paris au XXe siècle (written in 1863) 1994 Paris in the Twentieth Century 1996
Apocryphal and posthumous novels
* (1885) L'Épave du Cynthia; English translation: The Waif of the Cynthia (1885), with André Laurie (pseudonym of Paschal Grousset), but actually the work of Grousset alone
* (1905) Le Phare du bout du monde; English translation: The Lighthouse at the End of the World (1923), modified by Michel Verne
* (1906) Le Volcan d'or; English translation: The Golden Volcano: The Claim on Forty Mile Creek and Flood and Flame (2 vols., 1962), modified by Michel Verne
* (1907) L'Agence Thompson and Cº; English translation: The Thompson Travel Agency: Package Holiday and End of the Journey (2 vols., 1965), written by Michel Verne
* (1908) La Chasse au météore; English translation: The Chase of the Golden Meteor (1909), modified by Michel Verne
* (1908) Le Pilote du Danube; English translation: The Danube Pilot (1967), modified by Michel Verne
* (1909) Les Naufragés du Jonathan; English translation: The Survivors of the 'Jonathan': The Masterless Man and The Unwilling Dictator (2 vols., 1962), modified by Michel Verne
* (1910) Le Secret de Wilhelm Storitz; English translation: The Secret of William Storitz (1963), modified by Michel Verne
* (1919) L'Étonnante Aventure de la mission Barsac; English translation: The Barsac Mission: Into the Niger Bend and The City of the Sahara (2 vols., 1960), written by Michel Verne
* (1989) Voyage en Angleterre et en Ecosse; English translation: Backwards to Britain (1992), written in 1859
* (1994) Paris au XXe siècle; English translation: Paris in the Twentieth Century (1996), written in 1863
Short story collections
* (1874) Le Docteur Ox; English translation: Doctor Ox (1874)
* (1910) Hier et Demain; English translation: Yesterday and Tomorrow (1965)
Short stories
* (1851) "Un drame au Mexique"; English translation: "A Drama in Mexico" (1876)
* (1851) "Un drame dans les airs"; English translation: "A Drama in the Air" (1852)
* (1852) "Martin Paz"; English translation: "Martin Paz" (1875)
* (1854) "Maître Zacharius"; English translation: "Master Zacharius" (1874)
* (1855) "Un hivernage dans les glaces"; English translation: "A Winter Amid the Ice" (1874)
* (1864) "Le Comte de Chanteleine"; English translation: "The Count of Chanteleine" (n/a)
* (1865) "Les Forceurs de blocus"; English translation: "The Blockade Runners" (1874)
* (1872) "Une fantaisie du docteur Ox"; English translation: "Dr. Ox's Experiment" (1874)
* (1875) "Une ville idéale"; English translation: "An Ideal City" (1965)
* (1879) "Les Révoltés de la Bounty"; English translation: "The Mutineers of the Bounty" (1879)
* (1881) "Dix Heures en chasse"; English translation: "Ten Hours Hunting" (1965)
* (1884) "Frritt-Flacc"; English translation: "Frritt-Flacc" (1892)
* (1887) "Gil Braltar"; English translation: "Gil Braltar" (1958)
* (1891) "La Journée d'un journaliste américain en 2889"; English translation: "In the Year 2889" (1889)
* (1891) "Aventures de la famille Raton"; English translation: "Adventures of the Rat Family" (1993)
* (1893) "Monsieur Ré-Dièze et Mademoiselle Mi-Bémol"; English translation: "Mr. Ray Sharp and Miss Me Flat" (1965)
Apocryphal short stories
* (1888) "Un Express de l'avenir"; English translation: "An Express of the Future" (1895), written by Michel Verne
* (1910) "La Destinée de Jean Morénas"; English translation: "The Fate of Jean Morenas" (1965), written by Michel Verne
* (1910) "L'Éternel Adam"; English translation: "The Eternal Adam" (1957), written by Michel Verne
Non-fiction works
* (1857) Salon de 1857 (art criticism); no English translation
* (1864) "Edgar Poe et ses oeuvres" (Edgar Allan Poe and his works)
* (1866) Géographie illustrée de la France et de ses colonies; English translation: Illlustrated Geography of France and its Colonies (n/a), with Théophile Lavallée
* Histoire des grands voyages et des grands voyageurs; English translation: Celebrated Travels and Travellers
o (1878) Découverte de la terre; English translation: The Exploration of the World (1879)
o (1879) Les Grand navigateurs du XVIIIème siècle; English translation: The Great Navigators of the Eighteenth Century (1879)
o (1880) Les Voyageurs du XIXème siècle; English translation: The Great Explorers of the Nineteenth Century (1881)
Imitations by other writers
The Wizard of the Sea by Roy Rockwood is a clear copy of Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, apart from the first chapter(s). One or two other of Rockwood's titles also seem to (lesser) resemble some of Verne's, eg compare Five Thousand Miles Underground to Journey to the Centre of the Earth.
See also
About Verne:
* Jules Verne Museum in Nantes, France
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p261/de2family/Verne.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o110/opereysin/Mini_portrait_Jules_Verne.jpg
A brilliant man, way ahead of his time.