title: Boy band

text: Individuals can also go on to achieve greater success as a solo artist coming out of a boy band having used the groups popularity to build on. Usually this signals the end of the group until potential future reunions. Examples of this include Michael Jackson from The Jackson 5, Donny Osmond from The Osmonds, Ricky Martin from Menudo, Justin Timberlake from *NSYNC, and Ronan Keating from Boyzone. Sometimes the most successful solo star from a band is not the most popular member such as Robbie Williams as opposed to lead singer Gary Barlow from Take That. Some boy band members have gone on to successful careers elsewhere in the media. Michael Dolenz of The Monkees went on to become a successful television producer, working for ITV franchises such as LWT and Television South. In K-pop, it is expected and common practice for members to embark on solo endeavors as musical artists or in other entertainment sectors, such as acting, or as variety personalities, alongside their group career after a few years. At the latest, this happens around the time the eldest member reaches the age of 28 (in exceptional cases 30) and is drafted for mandatory military service, forcing the group into a temporary hiatus of at least 18 months. The other members then often go on to pursue solo endeavors and reconvene as a group while no member is serving, or after all members have completed their service, BTS and EXO being recent examples.


title: Boy band

text: Although most boy bands consist of R&B or pop influences, other music genres, most notably country music and folk music, are also represented. South 65 and Marshall Dyllon, for example, were both country music boy bands. Il Divo, created by Simon Cowell in 2004, are a vocal group that performs operatic pop in several (mainly Italian) languages. Since then operatic/classical boy bands have become quite popular and common, especially in the UK. Since 2001 there has been some crossover with power pop and pop punk from bands that play live instruments. Just recently some boy bands decided to go back to their original doo-wop roots, most notably, The Overtones.


title: Boy band

text: Since the 2000s, groups such as Backstreet Boys and LFO have disliked the term "boy band" and have preferred to be known as a "male vocal group". Being categorized among boy bands was also the main reason the Moffatts split up. Boy bands have been accused by the music press of emphasizing the appearance and marketing of the group above the quality of music, deliberately trying to appeal to a preteen audience and for conforming to trends instead of being original. Such criticisms can become extremely scathing. Boy bands are often seen as being short lived, although some acts such as The Jackson 5, Backstreet Boys, Human Nature, New Edition, SMAP, Shinhwa and Westlife (before they split up in 2012) have sustained lasting careers.


title: Boy band

text: The following is a list of the best-selling boy bands based on claimed sales figures of over 40 million records:


title: Greatest Generation

text: The Greatest Generation, also known as the G.I. Generation and the World War II generation, is the Western demographic cohort following the Lost Generation and preceding the Silent Generation. The generation is generally defined as people born from 1901 to 1927. They were shaped by the Great Depression and were the primary generation composing the enlisted forces in World War II.


title: Greatest Generation

text: The term "The Greatest Generation" was popularized by the title of a 1998 book by American journalist Tom Brokaw. In the book, Brokaw profiled American members of this generation who came of age during the Great Depression and went on to fight in World War II, as well as those who contributed to the war effort on the home front. Brokaw wrote that these men and women fought not for fame or recognition, but because it was the "right thing to do". This cohort is also referred to as the World War II generation.


title: Greatest Generation

text: Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe called this generation the "G.I. Generation" in their 1991 book "Generations: The History of America's Future". The initials "G.I." refer to American soldiers in World War II.


title: Greatest Generation

text: Pew Research Center defines this cohort as being born from 1901 to 1927. Strauss and Howe use the birth years 1901–1924. The first half of the generation, born between 1901-1913, are sometimes referred to as the Interbellum Generation.


title: Greatest Generation

text: In the United States, members of this generation came of age, were children, or were born during the Progressive Era, World War I, and the Roaring Twenties; a time of economic prosperity with distinctive cultural transformations. Additionally, those alive in 1918 through 1920 experienced the deadly Spanish Flu pandemic. They also experienced much of their youth with rapid technological innovation (e.g., radio, telephone, automobile) amidst growing levels of worldwide income inequality and a soaring economy. After the Stock Market crashed, this generation experienced profound economic and social turmoil.


title: Greatest Generation

text: Despite the hardships, historians note that literature, arts, music, and cinema of the period flourished. This generation experienced what is commonly referred to as the "Golden Age of Hollywood". A number of popular film genres, including gangster films, musical films, comedy films, and monster films attracted mass audiences. The Great Depression also greatly influenced literature and witnessed the advent of comic books, which were popular with members of this generation with such characters as Doc Savage, The Shadow, Superman and Batman. Next to jazz, blues, gospel music, and folk music; swing jazz became immensely popular with members of this generation. The term "Swing Generation" has also been used to describe the cohort due to the popularity of the era's music. The popularity of the radio also became a major influence in the lives of this generation, as millions tuned in to listen to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "fireside chats" and absorbed news in a way like never before.


title: Greatest Generation

text: Over 16 million Americans served in World War II, the majority being members of this generation. 38.8% were volunteers, 61.2% were draftees, the average length of their service was 33 months, and total approximate casualties were 671,278 (killed and wounded). Tom Brokaw and others extol this generation for supporting and fighting World War II.


title: Greatest Generation

text: Following the war, this generation produced children at an unprecedented level. Over 76 million babies were born between 1946 and 1964. Subsidized by the G.I. Bill, this generation moved their families into the suburbs and largely promoted a more conservative mindset as the country faced the threat of the Cold War and a Second Red Scare while some were again called to service in the Korean War. The first member of their generation to be elected president, John F. Kennedy, began a Space Race against the Soviet Union, and his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, further promoted a controversial "Great Society" policy. Research professor of sociology Glen Holl Elder, Jr., a prominent figure in the development of life course theory, wrote "Children of the Great Depression" (1974), "the first longitudinal study of a Great Depression cohort." Elder followed 167 individuals born in California between 1920 and 1921 and "traced the impact of Depression and wartime experiences from the early years to middle age. Most of these 'children of the Great Depression' fared unusually well in their adult years". They came out of the hardships of the Great Depression "with an ability to know how to survive and make do and solve problems.”


title: Greatest Generation

text: This generation faced turmoil in the form of the Vietnam War, civil rights movement, Watergate scandal, and a generational culture clash. Attitudes shaped during World War II clashed with those of the Vietnam era as many struggled to understand the general distrust of the government by the younger generations, while some supported anti-war protests.


title: Greatest Generation

text: According to a 2004 study done by AARP, "There are 26 million people aged 77 or older in the United States. These people are largely conservative on economic (59%) and social (49%) issues, and about one-third of


title: Greatest Generation

text: them say they have become more conservative on economic, social, foreign policy, moral, and legal issues as they have aged. Over 9 in 10 (91%) of this age group are registered to vote and 90% voted in the 2000 presidential election. The last member of this generation to be elected president was George H. W. Bush (1989-1993), and as of 2022 the last surviving president from this generation is Jimmy Carter (1977-1981). In its latter years, this generation was introduced to continued technological advancements such as mobile phones and the internet.


title: Greatest Generation

text: As of 2019, approximately 389,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II remain alive. Living members of this generation are either in their 90s or are centenarians.


title: Greatest Generation

text: The lives of this generation are a common element of popular culture in the western world, and media related to this generation's experiences continues to be produced. The romanticizing of this generation has faced criticism by some. However, some also praise the traits and actions of this generation and cite their sacrifices as a lesson for current generations.


title: Greatest Generation

text: During the COVID-19 pandemic, living members of this generation have been impacted by the pandemic, such as Lee Wooten, who was treated in the hospital for coronavirus and recovered just prior to his 104th birthday in 2020.


title: Greatest Generation

text: In Britain, this generation came of age, like most of the western world, during a period of economic hardship as a result of the Great Depression. When the war in Europe began, millions of British citizens joined the war effort at home and abroad. 2.9 million members of this generation served in the war, and there were 384,000 casualties. At home, The Blitz claimed the lives of thousands and destroyed entire British cities. The men and women of this generation continue to be honored in the U.K., particularly on V-E Day. In 2020, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson compared this generation to current generations and indicated his desire for them to show the “same spirit of national endeavour”, in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Queen Elizabeth II, a member of this generation who lived through World War II, echoed much of the same.


title: Greatest Generation

text: Members of the World War II generation in Germany came of age following World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919. They faced economic hardships related to the Great Depression and Treaty of Versailles as unemployment rose to nearly 40%. Adolf Hitler then rose to power, and many of this generation joined organizations such as the Hitler Youth. In 1935, Hitler instituted military conscription. During the war, nearly 12.5 million members of this generation served in the war and 4.3 million were killed or wounded. By the end of the war, 5 million Germans were dead, including civilians. German cities and towns were devastated by Allied bombing campaigns. 12 million Germans were refugees and many were forced to settle in the Soviet Union. In addition, the Holocaust claimed the lives of millions of German Jews and others. Following the war, the Allies began the denazification and demilitarization of a post-war Germany. Returning German veterans found their country carved up into four zones of occupation; later becoming West Germany and East Germany. In the west, the Marshall Plan resulted in the "Wirtschaftswunder", an economic boom that caused 185% growth between 1950 and 1963. Surviving members of the German World War II generation would go on to experience the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the creation of the European Union. Unlike the Western allies and the Soviet Union, Germany did not honor its veterans, as the association with Nazism continues in contemporary Germany today.


title: Greatest Generation

text: As children, members of this generation came of age during Stalin's rise to power. They endured the Holodomor famine, which killed millions. The World War II generation of the Soviet Union was further decimated by the war. Stalin's scorched earth policy left its western regions in a state of devastation worsened by the advancing German army. The USSR lost 14% of its pre-war population during WWII, a demographic collapse that would have immense long-term consequences. Mass, forced labor was often utilized and there were between 10 and 11 million Soviet men returning to help rebuild along with 2 million Soviet dissidents held prisoner in Stalin's Gulags. Then came the Cold War and the Space race. Even in the mid-1980s, around 70% of Soviet industrial output was directed towards the military, one of the factors in its eventual economic collapse. Members of this generation are known as "Great Patriotic War" veterans, such as poet Yuri Levitansky who wrote about the horrors of the war and Vasily Zaitsev, a war hero who would later be detained for two years as a victim of the post-war atmosphere of paranoia. Today, former Soviet states celebrate an annual Victory Day. The latest survey conducted by Russia's Levada Center suggests Victory Day is still one of the most important public holidays for Russian citizens, with 65% of those surveyed planning to celebrate it. But for nearly one third of people (31%) it is a "state public event" while for another 31% it is a “memorial day for all former Soviet people”. Only 16% of those asked recognize it in its original context as a "veterans’ memorial day". The predominant emotion the holiday provokes among Russians (59% of respondents) is national pride, while 18% said "sorrow" and 21% said "both". For modern Russians, the conflict continues to provide the population with a nationalistic rallying call.


title: Greatest Generation

text: The World War II generation of Japan came of age during a time of rapid imperialism. One member of this generation, Hirohito, would become Emperor in 1926, when Japan was already one of the great powers. Nearly 18 million members of this generation would fight in World War II and approximately 3 million, including civilians, would be killed or wounded. Japanese cities, towns, and villages were devastated by Allied bombing campaigns. In an effort to prepare for the assumed Allied invasion, the Japanese government prepared to submit this generation to "Operation Ketsugo", in which the Japanese population would fight a war of attrition. This generation has the unique distinction of being one of the only generations thus far as having been killed by an atomic bomb; as hundreds of thousands lost their lives when the United States dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Returning veterans found their country occupied and received little support or respect. Surviving members of this generation would see Japan emerge as the world's second-largest economy by 1989. Surviving veterans visit the Yasukuni Shrine to pay tribute to their fallen comrades.


title: Greatest Generation

text: Even after defeat Japan would achieve unprecedented prosperity through businesses such as Sony Corporation (founded by Akio Morita) and cultural influence, as in cinema by Akira Kurosawa.


title: Freema Agyeman

text: Freema Agyeman (; born Frema Agyeman; 20 March 1979) is a British actress. She rose to fame with her role as the Doctor's companion Martha Jones in the BBC science fiction series "Doctor Who" (2007–2010), and received further recognition for playing Crown Prosecutor Alesha Phillips in the ITV crime procedural "" (2009–2012), Amanita Caplan in the Netflix science fiction drama "Sense8" (2015–2018) and Dr. Helen Sharpe in the NBC medical drama "New Amsterdam" (2018–2022).


title: Freema Agyeman

text: Following her departure from "Doctor Who", Agyeman reprised her role as Martha Jones in the "Doctor Who" spin-off series "Torchwood" and had a part as Tattycoram in the BBC period miniseries "Little Dorrit" (both 2008). In 2013, she made her US television debut in The CW's "Sex and the Cit"y prequel series, "The Carrie Diaries", as magazine editor Larissa Loughlin.


title: Freema Agyeman

text: Her other television appearances include "Old Jack's Boat" (2013), "Silent Witness" (2005) and "Survivors" (2008). Agyeman has also appeared in films, including "The Matrix Resurrections" (2021), "Eat Locals" (2017) and "North v South" (2015).


title: Freema Agyeman

text: Agyeman was born in London on 20 March 1979. Her mother, Azar, is Iranian Kurdish, and her father, Osei, is Ghanaian. They divorced when she was young. Agyeman has an older sister, Leila, and a younger brother, Dominic.


title: Freema Agyeman

text: Although her mother was raised as a Muslim and her father was raised as a Methodist, Agyeman grew up to be a practising Roman Catholic. Agyeman attended Our Lady's Convent RC High School, a Catholic school in Stamford Hill. Later, during the summer of 1996, she attended the Anna Scher Theatre School in Islington and studied performing arts and drama at Middlesex University, graduating in 2000. She also took a theatrical course at Radford University in Virginia in 1998, even volunteering to work as a box-office assistant for student drama productions in which she was not cast.


title: Freema Agyeman

text: When Agyeman began her professional acting career, she chose to use a different spelling of her birth name, Frema, as her professional name, to avoid pronunciation problems.


title: Freema Agyeman

text: Before securing the part of Martha Jones in "Doctor Who", Agyeman's most famous television role was playing Lola Wise in the revived series of the ITV soap opera "Crossroads". For her performance, she was nominated in two categories, Best Newcomer and Sexiest Female, at the 2003 British Soap Awards. Agyeman also had small guest roles in such TV series as BBC's long-running medical drama "Casualty", Sky One's airline drama "Mile High" and ITV's police procedural "The Bill", in which she appeared twice as two separate characters. In 2005, she played Mary Ogden, a scene of crime officer, in an episode of "Silent Witness".


title: Freema Agyeman

text: Agyeman made her feature film debut in 2006, playing Nana in the independent drama "Rulers and Dealers" (2006), written and directed by Stephen Lloyd Jackson.


title: Freema Agyeman

text: Agyeman auditioned for three roles in the 2006 series of "Doctor Who". On 24 June 2005, she auditioned for the part of Sally Jacobs in "The Christmas Invasion", but the role went to Anita Briem, who better fitted the production team's concept of the character as an "ice cool blonde". Agyeman later auditioned for the roles of Esme and Adeola Oshodi, in the "Rise of the Cybermen"/"The Age of Steel" and "Army of Ghosts", respectively. Esme was ultimately cut from the final script, but Agyeman was successful in her audition for Adeola. She filmed her role in the series in December 2005 and appeared on screen as Adeola on 1 July 2006. Agyeman studied dance and practised horse riding, martial arts and gymnastics, a fact that the producers exploited in order to provide her with more physically arduous action scenes.


title: Freema Agyeman

text: The production team were impressed by the versatility shown by Agyeman across her three auditions and called her back as a serious candidate for the new companion. She attended another audition (ostensibly for an episode of "Torchwood") before a final screen test with Tenth Doctor actor David Tennant. Tennant left a reassuring note under the door of Agyeman's hotel room, and this helped calm any nerves the actress had. Following extensive speculation on who would replace Billie Piper, Agyeman was confirmed to the press as new companion Martha Jones on 5 July 2006.


title: Freema Agyeman

text: Agyeman began filming for the third series in August 2006 and finished in March 2007. She made her screen debut as medical student Martha on 31 March 2007 in the episode "Smith and Jones". A line of dialogue explains that Adeola was Martha's cousin. Agyeman continued to portray the character throughout every episode of the series. In the series finale, "Last of the Time Lords", Martha left the Doctor of her own accord after recognising how unhealthy their relationship had become, but promised that she would see him again. Agyeman also voiced the character in the animated serial "The Infinite Quest", which aired in twelve weekly segments during the run of the 2007 series.


title: Freema Agyeman

text: In 2007, Agyeman's performance as Martha was praised at several award ceremonies. In June, she was named Best Newcomer at "Glamour"'s Women of the Year Awards. In October, she won the People's Choice category for Favourite Female TV Star at the 5th Screen Nation Film & TV Awards and became one of the top four nominees for Most Popular Actress at the 13th National Television Awards. The role also got her nominations in the Best Actress categories at the TV Quick Awards and the Golden Nymph Awards. In December, "The Observer" had an interview with Agyeman and named her as one of their Faces of 2007.


title: Freema Agyeman

text: The following year, Agyeman returned as Martha in five episodes of the fourth series of the show. Following the series finale, Agyeman stated that she would be open to reprising the role. She later returned to the series along with several other former cast members to mark David Tennant's final appearance in "The End of Time". Concurrent with her appearance on the show, Agyeman read abridged audiobook adaptations of five of the "Doctor Who" New Series Adventures novels featuring Martha, namely "The Last Dodo", "Wetworld", "The Pirate Loop", "Martha in the Mirror" and "The Story of Martha".


title: Freema Agyeman

text: In between the third and fourth series of "Doctor Who", Agyeman appeared in three episodes of the show's spin-off drama "Torchwood", namely "Reset", "Dead Man Walking" and "A Day in the Death". She also had a starring role in the "Torchwood" radio play "Lost Souls", broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 10 September 2008 to promote the activation of the Large Hadron Collider at the CERN research facility on that same day. It was later revealed by director Euros Lyn that the production team had intended for Agyeman to also appear in the third series of "Torchwood", but she was already committed to "".


title: Freema Agyeman

text: In February 2020, she reprised her role as Martha in the "Torchwood" audio drama "Dissected", produced by Big Finish Productions. In July 2021, a new three-part audio series starring Agyeman was announced, "The Year of Martha Jones". It was released in December and depicted Martha during the year she spent travelling the Earth in the third series finale of "Doctor Who".


title: Freema Agyeman

text: Agyeman appeared several times on "The Bedtime Hour" on CBeebies, reading the story broadcast shortly before 7.00pm. She narrated the first series of BBC Three's hospital documentary series "Bizarre ER", which ran from 14 February to 3 April 2008 and also provided the narration for a second series which began airing on 21 April 2009. Agyeman hosted a "Doctor Who"-themed portion of the BBC Proms on 27 July. A one-hour cut-down version of the prom made its TV debut on BBC One, New Year's Day, 2009.


title: Freema Agyeman

text: Agyeman played foundling girl Tattycoram in the Emmy Award-winning 2008 BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens's "Little Dorrit", which began on 26 October 2008, starring alongside her fellow "Torchwood" co-stars Eve Myles and Ruth Jones. Some of Agyeman's scenes for the first episode were shot in the grounds of Deal Castle, Kent, which doubled for Marseille, France. Agyeman was delighted to have appeared in "Little Dorrit", as it had always been a dream of hers to appear in a period drama. In 2008, Agyeman also appeared in "Survivors", a BBC One remake of the cult 1970s TV series, as Jenny Walsh (surname was originally reported to be Collins), although her character was killed off in the first episode in a shock twist despite featuring prominently in promotional materials for the series.


title: Freema Agyeman

text: Between 2009 and 2012, Agyeman starred as Crown Prosecutor Alesha Phillips in "", a UK adaptation and spin-off from the US Law & Order franchise. Agyeman is a self-professed "massive fan" of the original "Law & Order" series, especially the third and fourth seasons. In preparation for the role, Agyeman sat in on live trials, toured the Old Bailey, and conferred with her law-degree-holding sister, Leila: "She's great and really patient at explaining things to laymen, because I was coming at it completely blind. She's been a good source." She remained with the programme for its first six series departing the cast before the seventh series due to other filming commitments. For her role as Alesha Phillips, Agyeman was longlisted for the National Television Awards for Outstanding Drama Performance several times. She was also nominated for Best UK Actress at the 2009 Birmingham Black International Film Festival's Music, Video and Screen Awards.


title: Freema Agyeman

text: In March 2012, it was announced that Agyeman would play Larissa, "an easy-going party girl who works at "Interview" magazine" in the pilot of the "Sex and the City" prequel "The Carrie Diaries" (2013–2014). In early 2013, she starred in the CBeebies television series "Old Jack's Boat" as Shelley.


title: Freema Agyeman

text: In 2015, Agyeman appeared in the Netflix series "Sense8" (2015–2018), created by J. Michael Straczynski and Lilly and Lana Wachowski. She played series regular Amanita Caplan, the girlfriend of Nomi, a trans woman blogger and hacktivist. In the same year, she starred as Penny, a woman embroiled in a crime war between northern and southern UK gangs, in the film "North v South". The film was poorly received by critics, but earned Agyeman nominations for a Screen Nation Film & TV Award and a National Film Award. Her other film appearances include the role of Angel in the vampire film "Eat Locals" (2017), co-starring Charlie Cox, and a small part as Astra in the science fiction blockbuster "The Matrix Resurrections" (2021).


title: Freema Agyeman

text: In 2018, Agyeman became a member of the main cast of the NBC medical drama series "New Amsterdam", playing the role of Dr. Helen Sharpe, the head of the oncology and hematology department. In July 2022, she announced that she would not be returning to "New Amsterdam" for its fifth and final season, instead signing up for Sky Max's comedy drama "Dreamland", which will feature singer Lily Allen in her first television lead role.


title: Freema Agyeman

text: The tattoo Agyeman has on her upper arm is symbolic of her ancestry, containing the Persian word "raha", meaning "free", under an image of a butterfly.


title: Freema Agyeman

text: Agyeman is a non-church-going Roman Catholic. She has stated that doing good is her way of believing in God and expressing Catholic Christianity.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599. The play was included in the "First Folio", published in 1623.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: The play is set in Messina and revolves around two romantic pairings that emerge when a group of soldiers arrive in the town. The first, between Claudio and Hero, is nearly altered by the accusations of the villain, Don John. The second romance, between Claudio's friend Benedick and Hero's cousin Beatrice, takes centre stage as the play goes on, with both characters' wit and banter providing much of the humour.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: Through "noting" (sounding like "nothing", and meaning gossip, rumour, overhearing), Benedick and Beatrice are tricked into confessing their love for each other, and Claudio is tricked into believing that Hero is not a maiden (virgin). The title's play on words references the secrets and trickery that form the backbone of the play's comedy, intrigue, and action.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: In Messina, a messenger brings news that Don Pedro will return that night from a successful battle, along with Claudio and Benedick. Beatrice asks the messenger about Benedick, and mocks Benedick's ineptitude as a soldier. Leonato explains that "There is a kind of merry war betwixt Signor Benedick and her."


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: On the soldiers' arrival, Don Pedro tells Leonato that they will stay a month at least, and Benedick and Beatrice resume their "merry war". Pedro's illegitimate brother, Don John, is also introduced. Claudio's feelings for Hero are rekindled, and he informs Benedick of his intention to court her. Benedick, who openly despises marriage, tries to dissuade him. Don Pedro encourages the marriage. Benedick swears that he will never marry. Don Pedro laughs at him, and tells him that he will when he has found the right person.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: A masquerade ball is planned. Therein a disguised Don Pedro woos Hero on Claudio's behalf. Don John uses this situation to sow chaos by telling Claudio that Don Pedro is wooing Hero for himself. Claudio rails against the entrapments of beauty. But the misunderstanding is later resolved, and Claudio is promised Hero's hand in marriage.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: Meanwhile, Benedick and Beatrice have danced together, trading disparaging remarks under cover of their masks. Benedick is stung at hearing himself described as "the prince's jester, a very dull fool", and yearns to be spared the company of "Lady Tongue". Don Pedro and his men, bored at the prospect of waiting a week for the wedding, concoct a plan to match-make between Benedick and Beatrice. They arrange for Benedick to overhear a conversation in which they declare that Beatrice is madly in love with him but too afraid to tell him. Hero and Ursula likewise ensure that Beatrice overhears a conversation in which they themselves discuss Benedick's undying love for her. Both Benedick and Beatrice are delighted to think that they are the object of unrequited love, and both resolve to mend their faults and declare their love.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: Meanwhile, Don John plots to stop the wedding and embarrass his brother and wreak misery on Leonato and Claudio. He tells Don Pedro and Claudio that Hero is "disloyal", and arranges for them to see his associate, Borachio, enter her bedchamber and engage amorously with her (it is actually Hero's chambermaid). Claudio and Don Pedro are duped, and Claudio vows to publicly humiliate Hero.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: The next day, at the wedding, Claudio denounces Hero before the stunned guests, and he storms off with Don Pedro. Hero faints. A humiliated Leonato expresses his wish for her to die. The presiding friar intervenes, believing Hero innocent. He suggests that the family fake Hero's death to inspire Claudio with remorse. Prompted by the day's stressful events, Benedick and Beatrice confess their love for each other. Beatrice then asks Benedick to kill Claudio as proof of his devotion. Benedick hesitates but is swayed. Leonato and Antonio blame Claudio for Hero's supposed death and threaten him, to little effect. Benedick arrives and challenges him to a duel.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: On the night of Don John's treachery, the local Watch overheard Borachio and Conrade discussing their "treason" and "most dangerous piece of lechery that ever was known in the commonwealth", and arrested them therefore. Despite their ineptitude (headed by constable Dogberry), they obtain a confession and inform Leonato of Hero's innocence. Don John has fled, but a force is sent to capture him. Claudio, remorseful and thinking Hero dead, agrees to her father's demand that he marry Antonio's daughter, "almost the copy of my child that's dead".


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: After Claudio swears to marry this other bride, this bride is revealed to be Hero. Claudio is overjoyed. Beatrice and Benedick publicly confess their love for each other. Don Pedro taunts "Benedick the married man", and Benedick counters that he finds the Prince sad, advising him: "Get thee a wife". As the play draws to a close, a messenger arrives with news of Don John's capture, but Benedick proposes to postpone deciding Don John's punishment until tomorrow, so the couples can enjoy their newfound happiness. The couples dance and celebrate as the play ends.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: In the sixteenth century, stories of lovers deceived into believing each other false were common currency in northern Italy. Shakespeare's immediate source may have been one of the "Novelle" ("Tales") by Matteo Bandello of Mantua (possibly the translation into French by François de Belleforest), which dealt with the tribulations of Sir Timbreo and his betrothed Fenicia Lionata, in Messina, after King Piero's defeat of Charles of Anjou. Another version, featuring lovers Ariodante and Ginevra, with the servant Dalinda impersonating Ginevra on the balcony, appears in Book V of "Orlando Furioso" by Ludovico Ariosto (published in an English translation in 1591). The character of Benedick has a counterpart in a commentary on marriage in "Orlando Furioso". But the witty wooing of Beatrice and Benedick is apparently original, and very unusual in style and syncopation. One version of the Claudio–Hero plot is told by Edmund Spenser in "The Faerie Queene" (Book II, Canto iv).


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: The earliest printed text states that "Much Ado About Nothing" was "sundry times publicly acted" prior to 1600. It is likely that the play made its debut in the autumn or winter of 1598–1599. The earliest recorded performances are two at Court in the winter of 1612–1613, during festivities preceding the marriage of Princess Elizabeth with Frederick V, Elector Palatine (14 February 1613). The play was published in quarto in 1600 by the stationers Andrew Wise and William Aspley. This was the only edition prior to the First Folio in 1623.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: The play is predominantly written in prose. The substantial verse sections achieve a sense of decorum.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: "Much Ado About Nothing" is set in Messina, a port city on the island of Sicily, when Sicily is ruled by Aragon. The action of the play takes place mainly at the home and grounds of Leonato's Estate.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: Benedick and Beatrice quickly became the main interest of the play. They are considered the leading roles even though their relationship is given equal or lesser weight in the script than Claudio and Hero's situation. Charles II wrote 'Benedick and Beatrice' beside the title of the play in his copy of the Second Folio. The provocative treatment of gender is central and should be considered in its Renaissance context. This was reflected and emphasized in certain plays of the period, but was also challenged. Amussen notes that the undoing of traditional gender clichés seems to have inflamed anxieties about the erosion of social order. It seems that comic drama could be a means of calming such anxieties. Ironically, the play's popularity suggests that this only increased interest in such behavior. Benedick wittily gives voice to male anxieties about women's "sharp tongues and proneness to sexual lightness". In the patriarchal society of the play, the men's loyalties were governed by conventional codes of honour, camaraderie, and a sense of superiority over women. Assumptions that women are by nature prone to inconstancy are shown in the repeated jokes about cuckoldry, and partly explain Claudio's readiness to believe the slander against Hero. This stereotype is turned on its head in Balthazar's song "Sigh No More", which presents men as the deceitful and inconstant sex that women must suffer.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: Several characters seem to be obsessed with the idea that a man has no way to know if his wife is faithful and that women can take full advantage of this. Don John plays upon Claudio's pride and his fear of cuckoldry, which leads to the disastrous first wedding. Many of the males easily believe that Hero is impure, and even her father readily condemns her with very little proof. This motif runs through the play, often referring to horns (a symbol of cuckoldry).


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: In contrast, Balthasar's song "Sigh No More" tells women to accept men's infidelity and continue to live joyfully. Some interpretations say that Balthasar sings poorly, undercutting the message. This is supported by Benedick's cynical comments about the song where he compares it to a howling dog. In the 1993 Branagh film, Balthasar sings it beautifully: it is given a prominent role in the opening and finale, and the message seems to be embraced by the women.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: There are many examples of deception and self-deception in the play. The games and tricks played on people often have the best intentions: to make people fall in love, or to help someone get what they want, or to lead someone to realize their mistake. But not all are well-meant: Don John convinces Claudio that Don Pedro wants Hero for himself, and Borachio meets 'Hero' (who is actually Margaret) in Hero's bedroom window. These modes of deceit play into a complementary theme of emotional manipulation, the ease with which the characters' sentiments are redirected and their propensities exploited as a means to an end. The characters' feelings for each other are played as vehicles to reach an ultimate goal of engagement rather than seen as an end in themselves.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: Characters are constantly pretending to be others or are otherwise mistaken for others. Margaret is mistaken for Hero, leading to Hero's disgrace. During a masked ball (in which everyone must wear a mask), Beatrice rants about Benedick to a masked man who is actually Benedick, but she acts unaware of this. During the same celebration, Don Pedro pretends to be Claudio and courts Hero for him. After Hero is proclaimed dead, Leonato orders Claudio to marry his "niece" who is actually Hero.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: Another motif is the play on the words "nothing" and "noting". These were near-homophones in Shakespeare's day. Taken literally, the title implies that a great fuss ("much ado") is made of something which is insignificant ("nothing"), such as the unfounded claims of Hero's infidelity, and that Benedick and Beatrice are in love with each other. "Nothing" is also a double entendre: "an O-thing" (or "n othing" or "no thing") was Elizabethan slang for "vagina", derived from women having "nothing" between their legs. The title could also be understood as "Much Ado About Noting": much of the action centres on interest in others and critique of others, written messages, spying, and eavesdropping. This attention is mentioned directly several times, particularly concerning "seeming", "fashion", and outward impressions.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: A triple play on words in which noting signifies noticing, musical notes, and nothing, occurs at (2.3.47–52):


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: Don Pedro's last line can be understood to mean: "Pay attention to your music and nothing else!" The complex layers of meaning include a pun on "crotchets," which can mean both "quarter notes" (in music), and whimsical notions.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: in which Benedick plays on the word "post" as a pole and as mail delivery in a joke reminiscent of Shakespeare's earlier advice "Don't shoot the messenger"; and (2.3.138–142)


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: in which Leonato makes a sexual innuendo, concerning "sheet" as a sheet of paper (on which Beatrice's love note to Benedick is to have been written), and a bedsheet.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: The play was very popular in its early decades, and it continues to be one of Shakespeare's most performed plays. In a poem published in 1640, Leonard Digges wrote: "let but Beatrice / And Benedick be seen, lo in a trice / The Cockpit galleries, boxes, all are full."


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: After the theatres reopened during the Restoration, Sir William Davenant staged "The Law Against Lovers" (1662), which inserted Beatrice and Benedick into an adaptation of "Measure for Measure". Another adaptation, "The Universal Passion", combined "Much Ado" with a play by Molière (1737). Shakespeare's text had been revived by John Rich at Lincoln's Inn Fields (1721). David Garrick first played Benedick in 1748, and continued to play him until 1776.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: In 1836, Helena Faucit played Beatrice at the very beginning of her career at Covent Garden, opposite Charles Kemble as Benedick in his farewell performances. The great nineteenth-century stage team Henry Irving and Ellen Terry counted Benedick and Beatrice as their greatest triumph. John Gielgud made Benedick one of his signature roles between 1931 and 1959, playing opposite Diana Wynyard, Peggy Ashcroft, and Margaret Leighton. The longest-running Broadway production is A. J. Antoon's 1972 staging, starring Sam Waterston, Kathleen Widdoes, and Barnard Hughes. Derek Jacobi won a Tony Award for playing Benedick in 1984. Jacobi had also played Benedick in the Royal Shakespeare Company's highly praised 1982 production, with Sinéad Cusack playing Beatrice. Director Terry Hands produced the play on a stage-length mirror against an unchanging backdrop of painted trees. In 2013, Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones (then in their seventies and eighties, respectively) played Beatrice and Benedick onstage at The Old Vic, London.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: The operas "Montano et Stéphanie" (1799) by Jean-Élie Bédéno Dejaure and Henri-Montan Berton, "Béatrice et Bénédict" (1862) by Hector Berlioz, "Beaucoup de bruit pour rien" (pub. 1898) by Paul Puget and "Much Ado About Nothing" by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1901) are based upon the play.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: Erich Wolfgang Korngold composed music for a production in 1917 at the Vienna Burgtheater by Max Reinhardt.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: In 2006 the American Music Theatre Project produced "The Boys Are Coming Home," a musical adaptation by Berni Stapleton and Leslie Arden that sets "Much Ado About Nothing" in America during the Second World War.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: The title track of the 2009 Mumford & Sons album "Sigh No More" uses quotes from this play in the song. The title of the album is also a quotation from the play.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: In 2015, Billie Joe Armstrong wrote the music for a rock opera adaptation of the play, "These Paper Bullets", which was written by Rolin Jones.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: Opera McGill recently commissioned a new operatic adaptation of the play with music by James Garner and libretto adapted by Patrick Hansen which premieres in Montréal in their 2023/24 season.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: The first cinematic version in English may have been the 1913 silent film directed by Phillips Smalley.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: Martin Hellberg's 1964 East German film "Viel Lärm um nichts" was based on the Shakespeare play. In 1973 a Soviet film adaptation was directed by Samson Samsonov which starred Galina Jovovich and Konstantin Raikin.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: The first sound version in English released to cinemas was the highly acclaimed 1993 film by Kenneth Branagh. It starred Branagh as Benedick, Branagh's then-wife Emma Thompson as Beatrice, Denzel Washington as Don Pedro, Keanu Reeves as Don John, Richard Briers as Leonato, Michael Keaton as Dogberry, Robert Sean Leonard as Claudio, Imelda Staunton as Margaret, and Kate Beckinsale in her film debut as Hero.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: In 2011, Joss Whedon completed filming of an adaptation, released in June 2013. The cast includes Amy Acker as Beatrice, Alexis Denisof as Benedick, Nathan Fillion as Dogberry, Clark Gregg as Leonato, Reed Diamond as Don Pedro, Fran Kranz as Claudio, Jillian Morgese as Hero, Sean Maher as Don John, Spencer Treat Clark as Borachio, Riki Lindhome as Conrade, Ashley Johnson as Margaret, Tom Lenk as Verges, and Romy Rosemont as the sexton. Whedon's adaptation is a contemporary revision with an Italian-mafia theme.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: In 2012 a filmed version of the live 2011 performance at The Globe was released to cinemas and on DVD. The same year, a filmed version of the 2011 performance at Wyndham's Theatre was made available for download or streaming on the Digital Theatre website.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: In 2015, a modern movie version of this play was created by Owen Drake entitled "Messina High", starring Faye Reagan.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: There have been several screen adaptations of "Much Ado About Nothing," and almost all of them have been made for television. An adaptation is the 1973 New York Shakespeare Festival production by Joseph Papp, shot on videotape and released on VHS and DVD, that presents more of the text than Kenneth Branagh's version. It is directed by A. J. Antoon. The Papp production stars Sam Waterston, Kathleen Widdoes, and Barnard Hughes.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: The 1984 BBC Television version stars Lee Montague as Leonato, Cherie Lunghi as Beatrice, Katharine Levy as Hero, Jon Finch as Don Pedro, Robert Lindsay as Benedick, Robert Reynolds as Claudio, Gordon Whiting as Antonio and Vernon Dobtcheff as Don John. An earlier BBC television version with Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens, adapted from Franco Zeffirelli's stage production for the National Theatre Company's London stage production, was broadcast in February 1967.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: In 2005 the BBC adapted the story by setting it in the modern-day studios of Wessex Tonight, a fictional regional news programme, as part of the "ShakespeaRe-Told" season, with Damian Lewis, Sarah Parish, and Billie Piper.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: The 2014 YouTube web series "Nothing Much to Do" is a modern retelling of the play, set in New Zealand.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: In 2019, PBS recorded a live production of Public Theater free Shakespeare in the Park 2019 production at the Delacorte Theater in New York City’s Central Park for part of its Great Performances. The all-Black cast features Danielle Brooks and Grantham Coleman as the sparring lovers Beatrice and Benedick, directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon with choreography by Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown. The cast also includes Jamar Brathwaite (Ensemble), Chuck Cooper (Leonato), Javen K. Crosby (Ensemble), Denzel DeAngelo Fields (Ensemble), Jeremie Harris (Claudio), Tayler Harris (Ensemble), Erik Laray Harvey (Antonio/Verges), Kai Heath (Messenger), Daniel Croix Henderson (Balthasar), Tyrone Mitchell Henderson (Friar Francis/Sexton), Tiffany Denise Hobbs (Ursula), Lateefah Holder (Dogberry), LaWanda Hopkins (Dancer), Billy Eugene Jones (Don Pedro), Margaret Odette (Hero), Hubert Point-Du Jour (Don John), William Roberson (Ensemble), Jaime Lincoln Smith (Borachio), Jazmine Stewart (Ensemble), Khiry Walker (Conrade/Ensemble), Olivia Washington (Margaret) and Latra A. Wilson (Dancer).


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: In 2016, Lily Anderson released a young adult novel called "The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You", a modernized adaptation of "Much Ado About Nothing" whose main characters, Trixie Watson and Ben West, attend a "school for geniuses".


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: In 2017, a YA adaptation was released by author Mckelle George called "Speak Easy, Speak Love", where the events of the play take place in the 1920s, focused around a failing speakeasy.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: In 2018, author Molly Booth released a summer YA novel adaptation called "Nothing Happened", where Claudio and Hero are a homosexual couple, Claudia and Hana.


title: Much Ado About Nothing

text: Jensen later explained that this was a reference to the censorship imposed after the German invasion of Denmark in 1940.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore (although some models use a rifled barrel) metal tube fixed to a base plate (to spread out the recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount and a sight. They launch explosive shells (technically called bombs) in high-arcing ballistic trajectories. Mortars are typically used as indirect fire weapons for close fire support with a variety of ammunition.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: Mortars have been used for hundreds of years. The earliest mortars were used in Korea in a 1413 naval battle when Korean gunsmiths developed the "wan'gu" (gourd-shaped mortar) (완구, 碗口). The earliest version of the "wan'gu" dates back to 1407. Choi Hae-san (최해산, 崔海山) (1380–1443), the son of Choe Mu-seon (최무선, 崔茂宣) (1325–1395), is generally credited with inventing the "wan'gu". In the Ming dynasty, general Qi Jiguang recorded the use of a mini cannon called the Hu dun pao that was similar to the mortar.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: The first use in siege warfare was at the 1453 siege of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror. An Italian account of the 1456 siege of Belgrade by Giovanni da Tagliacozzo states that the Ottoman Turks used seven mortars that fired "stone shots one Italian mile high". The time of flight of these was apparently long enough that casualties could be avoided by posting observers to give warning of their trajectories.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: Early mortars, such as the Pumhart von Steyr, were large and heavy and could not be easily transported. Simply made, these weapons were no more than iron bowls reminiscent of the kitchen and apothecary mortars whence they drew their name. An early transportable mortar was invented by Baron Menno van Coehoorn in 1701. This mortar fired an exploding shell, which had a fuse that was lit by the hot gases when fired. The Coehorn mortar gained quick popularity, necessitating a new form of naval ship, the bomb vessel. Mortars played a significant role in the Venetian conquest of Morea, and in the course of this campaign an ammunition depot in the Parthenon was blown up. An early use of these more mobile mortars as field artillery (rather than siege artillery) was by British forces in the suppression of the Jacobite rising of 1719 at the Battle of Glen Shiel. High angle trajectory mortars held a great advantage over standard field guns in the rough terrain of the West Highlands of Scotland.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: The mortar had fallen out of general use in Europe by the Napoleonic era, although Manby Mortars were widely used on the coast to launch lines to ships in distress, and interest in their use as a weapon was not revived until the beginning of the 20th century. Mortars were heavily used by both sides during the American Civil War. At the Siege of Vicksburg, General Ulysses S. Grant reported making mortars "by taking logs of the toughest wood that could be found, boring them out for six- or twelve-pound shells and binding them with strong iron bands. These answered as Coehorns, and shells were successfully thrown from them into the trenches of the enemy".


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: During the Russo-Japanese War, Lieutenant General Leonid Gobyato of the Imperial Russian Army applied the principles of indirect fire from closed firing positions in the field and, with the collaboration of General Roman Kondratenko, he designed the first mortar that fired navy shells.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: The German Army studied the Siege of Port Arthur, where heavy artillery had been unable to destroy defensive structures like barbed wire and bunkers. As a result, they developed a short-barreled rifled muzzle-loading mortar called the "Minenwerfer". Heavily used during World War I, they were made in three sizes; , and .


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: It was not until the Stokes mortar was devised by Sir Wilfred Stokes in 1915 during the First World War that the modern mortar transportable by one person was born. In the conditions of trench warfare, there was a great need for a versatile and easily portable weapon that could be manned by troops under cover in the trenches. Stokes' design was initially rejected in June 1915 because it was unable to use existing stocks of British mortar ammunition, and it took the intervention of David Lloyd George (at that time Minister of Munitions) and Lieutenant Colonel J. C. Matheson of the Trench Warfare Supply Department (who reported to Lloyd George) to expedite manufacture of the Stokes mortar. The weapon proved to be extremely useful in the muddy trenches of the Western Front, as a mortar round could be aimed to fall directly into trenches, where artillery shells, because of their low angle of flight, could not possibly go.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: The Stokes mortar was a simple muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smoothbore metal tube fixed to a base plate (to absorb recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount. When a mortar bomb was dropped into the tube, an impact sensitive primer in the base of the bomb would make contact with a firing pin at the base of the tube, and detonate, firing the bomb towards the target. The Stokes mortar could fire as many as 25 bombs per minute and had a maximum range of , firing the original cylindrical unstabilised projectile.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: A modified version of the mortar, which fired a modern fin-stabilised streamlined projectile and had a booster charge for longer range, was developed after World War I; this was in effect a new weapon. By World War II, it could fire as many as 30 bombs per minute and had a range of over with some shell types. The French developed an improved version of the Stokes mortar as the Brandt Mle 27, further refined as the Brandt Mle 31; this design was widely copied with and without license. These weapons were the prototypes for all subsequent light mortar developments around the world.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: Mortar carriers are vehicles which carry a mortar as a primary weapon. Numerous vehicles have been used to mount mortars, from improvised civilian trucks used by insurgents, to modified Infantry fighting vehicles, such as variants of the M3 half-track and M113 armored personnel carrier, to vehicles specifically intended to carry a mortar. Simpler vehicles carry a standard infantry mortar while in more complex vehicles the mortar is fully integrated into the vehicle and cannot be dismounted from the vehicle. Mortar carriers cannot be fired while on the move, and some must be dismounted to fire.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: There are numerous armoured fighting vehicles and even main battle tanks that can be equipped with a mortar, either outside or inside of the cabin. The Israeli Merkava tank uses a 60 mm mortar as a secondary armament. The Russian army uses the "2S4 Tyulpan" self-propelled 240 mm heavy mortar which is one of the largest mortars in current use.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: Gun-mortars are breech-loaded mortars usually equipped with a hydraulic recoil mechanism, and sometimes equipped with an autoloader. They are usually mounted on an armored vehicle and are capable of direct fire. The archetypes are the Brandt Mle CM60A1 and Brandt 60 mm LR, which combine features of modern infantry mortars together with those of modern cannon. Such weapons are most commonly smoothbore, firing fin-stabilised rounds, using relatively small propellant charges in comparison to projectile weight. They have short barrels in comparison to guns and are much more lightly built than guns of a similar calibre – all characteristics of infantry mortars. This produces a hybrid weapon capable of engaging area targets with indirect high-angle fire, and also specific targets such as vehicles and bunkers with direct fire. Such hybrids are much heavier and more complicated than infantry mortars, superior to rocket-propelled grenades in the anti-armour and bunker-busting role, but have a reduced range compared to modern gun-howitzers and inferior anti-tank capability compared to modern anti-tank guided weapons. However, they do have a niche in, for example, providing a multi-role anti-personnel, anti-armour capability in light mobile formations. Such systems, like the Soviet 120 mm 2S9 Nona, are mostly self-propelled (although a towed variant exists). The AMOS (Advanced Mortar System) is an example of an even more advanced gun mortar system. It uses a 120 mm automatic twin-barrelled, breech-loaded mortar turret, which can be mounted on a variety of armored vehicles and attack boats. A modern example of a gun-mortar is the 2B9 Vasilek.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: A spigot mortar consists mainly of a solid rod or spigot, onto which a hollow tube in the projectile fits—inverting the normal tube-mortar arrangement. At the top of the tube in the projectile, a cavity contains propellant, such as cordite. There is usually a trigger mechanism built into the base of the spigot, with a long firing pin running up the length of the spigot activating a primer inside the projectile and firing the propellant charge. The advantage of a spigot mortar is that the firing unit (baseplate and spigot) is smaller and lighter than a conventional tube mortar of equivalent payload and range. It is also somewhat simpler to manufacture. Further, most spigot mortars have no barrel in the conventional sense, which means ammunition of almost any weight and diameter can be fired from the same mortar.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: The disadvantage is that while most mortar bombs have a streamlined shape towards the back that fits a spigot mortar application well, using that space for the spigot mortar tube takes volume and mass away from the payload of the projectile. If a soldier is carrying only a few projectiles, the projectile weight disadvantage is not significant. However, the weight of a large quantity of the heavier and more complex spigot projectiles offsets the weight saved.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: A near-silent mortar can operate using the spigot principle. Each round has a close-fitting sliding plug in the tube that fits over the spigot. When the round is fired, the projectile is pushed off the spigot, but before the plug clears the spigot it is caught by a constriction at the base of the tube. This traps the gases from the propelling charge and hence the sound of the firing. After World War II the Belgium Fly-K silent spigot mortar was accepted into French service as the TN-8111.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: Spigot mortars are generally out of favour in modern usage, replaced by small conventional mortars. Military applications of spigot mortars include:


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: Non-military applications include the use of small-calibre spigot mortars to launch lightweight, low-velocity foam dummy targets used for training retriever dogs for bird hunting. Simple launchers use a separate small primer cap as the sole propellant (similar or identical to the cartridges used in industrial nail guns).


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: Insurgent groups often use improvised, or "homemade" mortars to attack fortified military installations or terrorize civilians. They are usually constructed from heavy steel piping mounted on a steel frame. These weapons may fire standard mortar rounds, purpose-made shells, re-purposed gas cylinders filled with explosives and shrapnel, or any other type of improvised explosive, incendiary or chemical munitions. These were called "Barrack Busters" by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA).


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: Improvised mortars used in the Syrian civil war are known as " hell cannons". Observers have noted that they are "wildly inaccurate" and responsible for hundreds of civilian deaths.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: Improvised mortars used in the Sri Lankan civil war by the rebel Tamil Tigers are known as " 'Pasilan 2000' ", has also been known as a "Rocket mortar or Arti-mortar" like the 122mm cannon, successor to the Baba Mortar used by the LTTE for ground operations since the 1980s. As "Baba" mortar rounds contained tar, they caused a fire when they hit the ground. The "Baba Mortar", the prototype mortar, were crude. But with time the weapon has improved.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: The "Pasilan 2000", the improved version, has been developed with characteristics similar to a rocket launcher. The Pasilan 2000 was a heavy mortar fired from a mobile launcher mounted on a tractor. The shell does not emit constant muzzle flares like Artillery or MBRL. This is ideal for LTTE's camouflage and conceals attacking style. Once a round is fired, forward observers/spies/civilian spotters can correct the fire. The way the tube is installed is similar to the positioning of rocket pods. The length and calibre of the barrel indicate Pasilan 2000 system has common features to the Chinese made Type 82 130mm 30-tube MLRS (introduced by the Palestinian Liberation Army (PLA) in the early 1980s) rather than rail-guided Katyusha variants such as the Qassam Rocket. The warhead weight is 70kg and it is filled with TNT. It had a range of 15-25km. The rocket has since then undergone some modifications. The Pasilan 2000 was more lethal than Baba mortar. But it was not heavily used for ground attacks during the Eelam war 4.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: Most modern mortar systems consist of four main components: a barrel, a base plate, a bipod and a sight. Modern mortars normally range in calibre from 60 mm (2.36 in) to 120 mm (4.72 in). However, both larger and smaller mortars have been produced. The modern mortar is a muzzle-loaded weapon and relatively simple to operate. It consists of a barrel into which the gunners drop a mortar round. When the round reaches the base of the barrel it hits a fixed firing pin that fires the round. The barrel is generally set at an angle of between 45 and 85 degrees (800 to 1500 mils), with the higher angle producing a shorter horizontal trajectory. Some mortars have a moving firing pin, operated by a lanyard or trigger mechanism.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: Ammunition for mortars generally comes in two main varieties: fin-stabilized and spin-stabilized. Examples of the former have short fins on their posterior portion, which control the path of the bomb in flight. Spin-stabilized mortar bombs rotate as they travel along and leave the mortar tube, which stabilizes them in much the same way as a rifle bullet. Both types of rounds can be either illumination (infrared or visible illumination), smoke, high explosive, and training rounds. Mortar bombs are often referred to, incorrectly, as "mortars".


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: Operators may fire spin-stabilized rounds from either a smoothbore or a rifled barrel. Rifled mortars are more accurate but slower to load. Since mortars are generally muzzle-loaded, mortar bombs for rifled barrels usually have a pre-engraved band, called an obturator, that engages with the rifling of the barrel. Exceptions to this were the U.S. M2 4.2-inch mortar and M30 mortar, whose ammunition had a sub-caliber expandable ring that enlarged when fired. This allows the projectile to slide down the barrel freely but grip the rifling when fired. The system resembles the Minié ball for muzzle-loading rifles. For extra range, propellant rings (augmentation charges) are attached to the bomb's fins. The rings are usually easy to remove, because they have a major influence on the speed and thus the range of the bomb. Some mortar rounds can be fired without any augmentation charges, e.g., the 81 mm L16 mortar.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: The XM395 Precision Guided Mortar Munition (PGMM) is a 120 mm guided mortar round developed by Alliant Techsystems. Based on Orbital ATK's Precision Guidance Kit for 155 mm artillery projectiles, XM395 combines GPS guidance and directional control surfaces into a package that replaces standard fuses, transforming existing 120 mm mortar bodies into precision-guided munitions. The XM395 munition consists of a GPS-guided kit fitted to standard 120 mm smoothbore mortar rounds that includes the fitting of a nose and tail subsystem containing the maneuvering parts.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: The Strix mortar round is a Swedish endphase-guided projectile fired from a 120 mm mortar currently manufactured by Saab Bofors Dynamics. STRIX is fired like a conventional mortar round. The round contains an infrared imaging sensor that it uses to guide itself onto any tank or armoured fighting vehicle in the vicinity where it lands. The seeker is designed to ignore targets that are already burning. Launched from any 120 mm mortar, STRIX has a normal range of up to 4.5 km. The addition of a special sustainer motor increases the range to 7.5 km.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: The GMM 120 ("Guided Mortar Munition 120"; known as Patzmi; also referred to as Morty) is a GPS and/or laser-guided mortar munition, which was developed by Israel Military Industries. The Russian KM-8 Gran is also laser-guided.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: Modern mortars and their ammunition are generally much smaller and lighter than artillery, such as guns and howitzers, which allows light and medium (typically, 60 mm and 81 mm/82 mm) mortars to be considered light weapons; i.e. capable of transport by personnel without vehicle assistance. They are short-range weapons and often more effective than artillery for many purposes within their shorter range. In particular, because of its high, parabolic trajectory with a near vertical descent, the mortar can land bombs on nearby targets, including those behind obstacles or in fortifications, such as light vehicles behind hills or structures, or infantry in trenches or spider holes. This also makes it possible to launch attacks from positions lower than the target of the attack. (For example, long-range artillery could not shell a target 1 km away and 30 metres (100 ft) higher, a target easily accessible to a mortar.)


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: In trench warfare, mortars can fire directly into the enemy trenches, which is very hard or impossible to accomplish with artillery because of its much flatter trajectory. Mortars are also highly effective when used from concealed positions, such as the natural escarpments on hillsides or from woods, especially if forward observers are being employed in strategic positions to direct fire, an arrangement where the mortar is in relatively close proximity both to its forward observer and its target, allowing for fire to be quickly and accurately delivered with lethal effect. Mortars suffer from instability when used on snow or soft ground, because the recoil pushes them into the ground or snow unevenly. A Raschen bag addresses this problem.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: Fin-stabilised mortar bombs do not have to withstand the rotational forces placed upon them by rifling or greater pressures, and can therefore carry a higher payload in a thinner skin than rifled artillery ammunition. Because of the difference in available volume, a smooth-bore mortar of a given diameter will have a greater explosive yield than a similarly sized artillery shell of a gun or howitzer. For example, a 120 mm mortar bomb has approximately the same explosive capability as a 152mm/155 mm artillery shell. Also, fin-stabilised munitions fired from a smooth-bore, which do not rely on the spin imparted by a rifled bore for greater accuracy, do not have the drawback of veering in the direction of the spin.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: From the 17th to the mid 20th century, very heavy, relatively immobile siege mortars were used, of up to one metre calibre, often made of cast iron and with an outside barrel diameter many times that of the bore diameter. An early example was Roaring Meg, with a 15.5-inch (390 mm) barrel diameter and firing a 220 lb (100 kg) hollow ball filled with gunpowder and used during the English Civil War in 1646.


title: Mortar (weapon)

text: The largest mortars ever developed were the Belgian "Monster Mortar" (24 inches; 610 mm; developed by Henri-Joseph Paixhans in 1832), Mallet's Mortar (36 inches; 914.4 mm; developed by Robert Mallet in 1857), and the "Little David" (36 inches; 914.4 mm; developed in the United States for use in World War II). Although the latter two had a caliber of 36 inches, only the "Monster Mortar" was used in combat (at the Battle of Antwerp in 1832). The World War II German Karl-Gerät was a 60 cm (23.6 inch) mortar and the largest to see combat in modern warfare.


title: Chet Baker

text: Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool".


title: Chet Baker

text: Baker earned much attention and critical praise through the 1950s, particularly for albums featuring his vocals: "Chet Baker Sings" (1954) and "It Could Happen to You" (1958). Jazz historian Dave Gelly described the promise of Baker's early career as "James Dean, Sinatra, and Bix, rolled into one". His well-publicized drug habit also drove his notoriety and fame. Baker was in and out of jail frequently before enjoying a career resurgence in the late 1970s and 1980s.


title: Chet Baker

text: Baker was born and raised in a musical household in Yale, Oklahoma on 23 December 1929. His father, Chesney Baker Sr., was a professional guitarist, and his mother, Vera Moser, was a pianist who worked in a perfume factory. His maternal grandmother was Norwegian. Baker said that owing to the Great Depression, his father, though talented, had to quit as a musician and take a regular job. In 1940, when Baker was 10, his family relocated to Glendale, California.


title: Chet Baker

text: Baker began his musical career singing in a church choir. His father gave him a trombone, which was replaced with a trumpet when the trombone proved too large. His mother said that he had begun to memorize tunes on the radio before he was given an instrument. After "falling in love" with the trumpet, he improved noticeably in two weeks. Peers called Baker a natural musician to whom playing came effortlessly.


title: Chet Baker

text: Baker received some musical education at Glendale High School, but he left school at the age of 16 in 1946 to join the United States Army. He was assigned to Berlin, Germany, where he joined the 298th Army Band. After leaving the Army in 1948, he studied music theory and harmony at El Camino College in Los Angeles. He dropped out during his second year to re-enlist. He became a member of the Sixth Army Band at the Presidio in San Francisco, spending time in clubs such as Bop City and the Black Hawk. He was discharged from the Army in 1951 and proceeded to pursue a career in music.


title: Chet Baker

text: Baker performed with Vido Musso and Stan Getz before being chosen by Charlie Parker for a series of West Coast engagements.


title: Chet Baker

text: In 1952, Baker joined the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and attracted considerable attention. Rather than playing identical melody lines in unison like Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Baker and Mulligan complemented each other with counterpoint and anticipating what the other would play next. "My Funny Valentine," with a solo by Baker, became a hit and was associated with Baker for the rest of his career. With the quartet, Baker was a regular performer at Los Angeles jazz clubs such as The Haig and the Tiffany Club.


title: Chet Baker

text: Within a year, Mulligan was arrested and imprisoned on drug charges. Baker formed a quartet with a rotation that included pianist Russ Freeman, bassists Bob Whitlock, Carson Smith, Joe Mondragon, and Jimmy Bond, and drummers Larry Bunker, Bob Neel, and Shelly Manne. Baker's quartet released popular albums between 1953 and 1956. Baker won reader's polls at "Metronome" and "DownBeat" magazines, beating trumpeters Miles Davis and Clifford Brown. In 1954, readers named Baker the top jazz vocalist. In 1954, Pacific Jazz Records released "Chet Baker Sings", an album that increased his visibility and drew criticism. Nevertheless, Baker sang throughout the rest of his career.


title: Chet Baker

text: Hollywood studios saw an opportunity in Baker's chiseled features. He made his acting debut in the film "Hell's Horizon", released in the fall of 1955. He declined a studio contract, preferring life on the road as a musician. Over the next few years, Baker led his own combos, including a 1955 quintet with Francy Boland, where Baker combined playing trumpet and singing. In 1956, he completed an eight-month tour of Europe, where he recorded "Chet Baker in Europe."


title: Chet Baker

text: In late 1959, he returned to Europe, recording in Italy what became known as the Milano sessions, with arranger and conductor Ezio Leoni (Len Mercer) and his orchestra. Baker was arrested for drug possession and jailed in Lucca, forcing Leoni to communicate through the prison warden to coordinate arrangements with Baker as they prepared for recording.


title: Chet Baker

text: During most of the 1960s, Baker played flugelhorn, and recorded music that could be classified as West Coast jazz.


title: Chet Baker

text: He appeared in 1960 in the Italian film "Howlers in the Dock." He also played himself in the 1963 British film "Stolen Hours."


title: Chet Baker

text: Soon after signing on with Riverside Records, Baker was arrested twice; the first arrest involving a stay at a Lexington hospital, then imprisonment at Riker's island for four months on drug charges. Baker said he began using heroin in 1957. However, author Jeroen de Valk and pianist Russ Freeman said that Baker started heroin in the early 1950s. Freeman was Baker's musical director after Baker left the Mulligan quartet. Sometimes Baker pawned his instruments to buy drugs. During the 1960s, he was imprisoned in Lucca, Italy on importing narcotics and drug abuse spending more than a year in jail; he was later expelled from Germany and the UK on drug-related offences. He was deported to the U.S. from Germany for getting into trouble with the law a second time. He settled in Milpitas, California, performing in San Francisco and San Jose between jail terms for prescription fraud.


title: Chet Baker

text: In 1966, Baker was beaten, probably while attempting to buy drugs, after performing at The Trident restaurant in Sausalito. In the film "Let's Get Lost", Baker said an acquaintance attempted to rob him, but backed off, only to return the next night with a group of men who chased him. He entered a car and was surrounded. Instead of rescuing him, the people inside the car pushed him back out onto the street, where the chase continued. He received cuts and several of his teeth were knocked out. This incident has been often misdated or otherwise exaggerated partly because of his own unreliable testimony on the matter. The breaking of his teeth did, however, ruin his embouchure, leaving him unable to play trumpet. He worked at a gas station until concluding that he had to find a way back to music, and after 3 years, retrained his embouchure.


title: Chet Baker

text: After developing a new embouchure resulting from dentures, Baker returned to the straight-ahead jazz that began his career. He moved to New York City and began performing and recording again, including with guitarist Jim Hall. Baker returned to Europe in the 1970s where his friend, Diane Vavra, whom he had an on-again, off-again relationship since 1970, accompanied him and remained with him during his last years of life. She went on to take care of his day-to-day needs, helping him with personal care as well as with his recording and performance work.


title: Chet Baker

text: Close to the end of Baker's life, he stayed and worked almost exclusively in Europe, only returning to the U.S. about once a year to attend some performances.


title: Chet Baker

text: In 1983, British singer Elvis Costello, a longtime fan of Baker, hired the trumpeter to play a solo on his song "Shipbuilding" for the album "Punch the Clock". The song exposed Baker's music to a new audience. Later, Baker often featured Costello's song "Almost Blue" (inspired by Baker's version of Ray Henderson's “The Thrill Is Gone", not to be confused with the Roy Hawkins song of the same name, made famous by B.B. King) in his concert sets, and recorded the song for "Let's Get Lost".


title: Chet Baker

text: In 1986, "Chet Baker: Live at Ronnie Scott's London" presented Baker in an intimate stage performance filmed with Elvis Costello and Van Morrison as he performed a set of standards and classics, including "Just Friends", "My Ideal", and "Shifting Down". Augmenting the music, Baker spoke one-on-one with friend and colleague Costello about his childhood, career, and struggle with drugs.


title: Chet Baker

text: Baker recorded the live album "Chet Baker in Tokyo" with his quartet featuring pianist Harold Danko, bassist Hein Van de Geyn, and drummer less than a year before his death, and it was released posthumously. "Silent Nights", a recording of Christmas music, was recorded in New Orleans, Louisiana with saxophonist Christopher Mason, pianist Michael Pellera, bass player James Singleton, and drummer Johnny Vidacovich in 1986 and released in 1987.


title: Chet Baker

text: In 2006, "Jazz Icons: Chet Baker: Live in '64 & '79" was released, featuring two European concerts filmed 15 years apart. The 1964 performance took place in a Belgian TV studio, and the 1979 set was recorded in Norway. Other musicians featured are saxophonist Jacques Pelzer, French pianist René Urtreger, and vibraphonist Wolfgang Lackerschmid. Songs include the Miles Davis classic "So What", the jazz standard "Time After Time", "Blue Train", and many others.


title: Chet Baker

text: Early on May 13, 1988, Baker was found dead on the street below his room in Hotel Prins Hendrik, Amsterdam, with serious wounds to his head, apparently having fallen from the second-story window. Heroin and cocaine were found in his room and in his body. No evidence of a struggle was found, and the death was ruled an accident. According to another account, he inadvertently locked himself out of his room and fell while attempting to cross from the balcony of the vacant room adjacent to his own. A plaque was placed outside the hotel in his memory.


title: Chet Baker

text: Baker was married three times, to Charlaine Souder, Halema Alli, and Carol Jackson. He had four children: Chesney III with Halema; and Dean, Paul, and Melissa with Carol. Ruth Young was Baker's common-law wife from 1973 to the time of his death in 1988. Baker was fluent in Italian.


title: Chet Baker

text: Some of Baker's notable compositions include "Chetty's Lullaby", "Freeway", "Early Morning Mood", "Two a Day", ""So che ti perderò"" ("I Know I Will Lose You"), ""Il mio domani"" ("My Tomorrow"), ""Motivo su raggio di luna"" ("Contemplate on a Moonbeam"), "The Route", "Skidaddlin'", "New Morning Blues" (with Duke Jordan), "Blue Gilles", "Dessert", "Anticipated Blues", "Blues for a Reason", "We Know It's Love", and "Looking Good Tonight".


title: Chet Baker

text: Baker was photographed by William Claxton for his book "Young Chet: The Young Chet Baker". An Academy Award-nominated 1988 documentary about Baker, "Let's Get Lost", portrays him as a cultural icon of the 1950s but juxtaposes this with his later image as a drug addict. The film, directed by fashion photographer Bruce Weber, was shot in black-and-white, and includes a series of interviews with friends, family (including his three children by third wife Carol Baker), musical associates, and female friends, interspersed with footage from Baker's earlier life, and interviews with Baker in his last years. In "Chet Baker, His Life and Music", author Jeroen de Valk and others criticize the film for presenting Baker as a "washed-up" musician in his later years. The film was shot during the first half of 1987, prior to career highlights such as the Japanese concert, released on "Chet Baker in Tokyo". It premiered four months after Baker's death.


title: Chet Baker

text: "Time after Time: The Chet Baker Project", written by playwright James O'Reilly, toured Canada in 2001.


title: Chet Baker

text: Jeroen de Valk has written a biography of Baker; "Chet Baker: His Life and Music" is the English translation. Other biographies of him include James Gavin's "Deep in a Dream—The Long Night of Chet Baker", and Matthew Ruddick's "Funny Valentine". Baker's "lost memoirs" are available in the book "As Though I Had Wings", which includes an introduction by Carol Baker.


title: Chet Baker

text: Chet Baker is portrayed by Ethan Hawke in the 2015 film "Born to Be Blue". It is a reimagining of Baker's career in the late 1960s, when he is famous for both his music and his addiction, and he takes part in a movie about his life to boost his career. Steve Wall plays Baker in the 2018 film "My Foolish Heart".


title: Chet Baker

text: American singer/songwriter David Wilcox included the tender biographical portrait "Chet Baker's Unsung Swan Song" on his 1991 album "Home Again". Vocalist Luciana Souza recorded "The Book of Chet" in 2012 as a tribute. Brazilian jazz pianist Eliane Elias dedicated her 2013 album "I Thought About You" to Chet Baker.


title: Chet Baker

text: Australian musician Nick Murphy chose "Chet Faker" as his stage name as a tribute to Baker. Murphy said, "I listened to a lot of jazz and I was a big fan of ... the way he sang, when he moved into mainstream singing. He had this really fragile vocal style—this really, broken, close-up, and intimate style. The name is kind of just an ode to Chet Baker and the mood of music he used to play—something I would like to at least pay homage to in my own music."


title: Conchata Ferrell

text: Conchata Galen Ferrell (March 28, 1943October 12, 2020) was an American actress. Although she was a regular cast member of five TV sitcoms, she was best known for playing Berta the housekeeper for all 12 seasons of "Two and a Half Men". For her performance as Berta, she received two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (in 2005 and 2007). She had previously been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in "L.A. Law" (in 1992).


title: Conchata Ferrell

text: Conchata Galen Ferrell was born March 28, 1943, in Loudendale, West Virginia, to Mescal Loraine (née George) and Luther Martin Ferrell. She was raised in Charleston, West Virginia. Her family later moved to Circleville, Ohio.


title: Conchata Ferrell

text: She attended West Virginia University for two years, dropped out, and, after working several jobs, enrolled and graduated from Marshall University with a degree in history education. She made her first onstage performance at Marshall in 1969 in the second Barfenon Review, a skit comedy and musical production.


title: Conchata Ferrell

text: Ferrell began her career on the stage as a member of the Circle Repertory Company. She appeared in the original Off-Broadway cast of Lanford Wilson's "The Hot l Baltimore" and won the Drama Desk, Obie and Theatre World Best Actress Awards for her performance in the off-Broadway play "The Sea Horse".


title: Conchata Ferrell

text: Acting on stage, television and film for decades, she may have originally been best known for her starring role as the frontier wife in the 1979 feature film "Heartland" directed by Richard Pearce, and as the tough-talking owner of "Mystic Pizza", co-starring alongside Lili Taylor, Annabeth Gish, and Julia Roberts, who portrayed pizza waitresses. She also played a tough, comical nurse on the short-lived 1980s TV sitcom "E/R".


title: Conchata Ferrell

text: In 1992, she received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her recurring role as Attorney Susan Bloom on the sixth season of "L.A. Law", but lost to Valerie Mahaffey for "Northern Exposure". She had previously appeared in an episode of the show in 1988 as Lorna Landsberg, an entirely different character.


title: Conchata Ferrell

text: Ferrell's supporting roles in films include performances in "Deadly Hero", "Network", "Edward Scissorhands", "Erin Brockovich", "Crime and Punishment in Suburbia", "Mr. Deeds" and "K-PAX" as well as a small part in "True Romance". Her other television credits include Maude, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Hot l Baltimore", "Teen Angel", "Matlock", "B. J. and the Bear", "Good Times", "Hearts Afire", "Townies", "Night Court", "The Love Boat" and "Push, Nevada". She played Mrs. Werner in the episode of "Quincy, M.E." titled "Into the Murdering Mind" (1982). She has also made memorable appearances portraying blunt, authoritative judges (the "Jagged Sledge" episode of "Sledge Hammer!" in 1987, and on "The One with Joey's Porsche" episode of "Friends" in 1999).


title: Conchata Ferrell

text: She accepted a role in the off-Broadway play "Love, Loss, and What I Wore" for an April 27 through May 29, 2011, run with Minka Kelly, AnnaLynne McCord, Anne Meara, and B. Smith.


title: Conchata Ferrell

text: Ferrell was best known for portraying Berta the Housekeeper in the CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men", appearing in a total of 212 episodes from 2003 to 2015. She had received two nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2005 and 2007, but lost to Doris Roberts for "Everybody Loves Raymond" and Jaime Pressly for "My Name Is Earl".


title: Conchata Ferrell

text: In 2012, she voiced the role of Bob's Mom in "Frankenweenie", which was directed by Tim Burton. She was slated to appear in the upcoming feature film "Deported" (2020), and had earlier acted in "A Very Nutty Christmas" (2018), a holiday-themed television movie.


title: Conchata Ferrell

text: Ferrell married Arnie Anderson in about 1986. She had a daughter, Samantha (born in 1982), and two stepdaughters (born in 1976 and 1979).


title: Conchata Ferrell

text: Ferrell died on October 12, 2020, from complications following cardiac arrest at the Sherman Oaks Hospital in Sherman Oaks, California. She was 77 years old.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: The Middle (stylized as the middle.) is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 30, 2009, to May 22, 2018. The series, set in Indiana, follows a lower middle class family living and facing the day-to-day struggles of home life, work, and raising children. Starring Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn, the show was created by former "Roseanne" and "Murphy Brown" writers Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline, and produced by Warner Bros. Television and Blackie and Blondie Productions. It was praised by television critics and earned numerous award nominations.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: A spin-off of the series, centered around Eden Sher's character, Sue Heck, was set to launch in 2019. However, ABC passed on the project. It was shopped to other networks but was never picked up.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: The series features Frances "Frankie" Heck (Patricia Heaton), a middle class, middle aged, Midwestern woman and her husband Mike (Neil Flynn), who reside in the small fictional town of Orson, Indiana, based on the real town of Jasper, Indiana. They are the parents of three children, Axl (Charlie McDermott), Sue (Eden Sher), and Brick (Atticus Shaffer).


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: The series is narrated by Frankie, initially an under-performing salesperson at a used-car dealership and later a dental assistant. Her stoic husband Mike manages a local quarry and serves as a stabilizing influence in the family, though Frankie complains about his lack of affection at times. The kids are quite different from one another: oldest son Axl, a popular but lazy teenager, does well in sports but not in academics; daughter Sue is an enthusiastic young teen but chronically unsuccessful and socially awkward; and youngest son Brick is an intelligent but introverted compulsive reader with odd behavioral traits loosely hinted to derive from autism. Other characters include Frankie's co-worker Bob (main character in the first two seasons), Frankie's elderly Aunt Edie, Sue's first boyfriend Brad, and Mike's brother Rusty.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: The series was originally developed in the 2006–07 development cycle for ABC and was to star Ricki Lake as Frankie. Atticus Shaffer was the only actor to retain his role when the show was re-developed. ABC later ordered a second pilot tied to Patricia Heaton being cast in the leading role for the 2008-09 development cycle. The series was created by Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline (who is from Muncie, Indiana) and the pilot was directed by Julie Anne Robinson.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: The show was originally set to take place in Jasper, Indiana, though the setting was changed to the fictional Orson, Indiana, on the advice of attorneys. However, Orson is based on and presumed to be located near Jasper. The show was filmed in Stage 31 at the Warner Bros. Ranch, with the house's exterior and Elhert Motors on the ranch's Blondie Street. Set director Julie Fanton shops at traditionally mid-western places, such as Target and Kohl's, so the show appears to have a realistic middle-class look.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: The series was picked up for a full season of 24 episodes after airing just two episodes. On January 12, 2010, ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson announced that he was renewing "The Middle" for a second season. The show was renewed for a third season. The third season premiered with a one-hour episode on September 21, 2011. On May 10, 2012, ABC renewed the show for a fourth season, which premiered with a one-hour special on September 26, 2012. The show was renewed for a fifth season on May 10, 2013. ABC confirmed on May 9, 2014, that the series was picked up for a sixth season of 22 episodes, and officially ordered an additional two episodes in October of that year, bringing the season six total to 24.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: On May 8, 2015, ABC officially picked up the series for a seventh season, renewing the contracts of the main cast at the same time. ABC renewed the series for season eight with a 22-episode order, later expanded to 23 episodes in December 2016.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: The series was renewed for a ninth season on January 25, 2017, with filming beginning on August 15, 2017. On August 2, 2017, it was announced that the series would end after its ninth season, at the request of the series' creators. The two-hour series finale aired on May 22, 2018.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: "The Middle" premiered in the U.S. on September 30, 2009, on ABC. The series aired on City (formerly Citytv) in Canada from the third to ninth season. Previously, the show aired on A (now CTV Two) during its first season. In Australia, the show premiered on December 7, 2009, on Nine Network. The New Zealand premiere was on May 8, 2010, on TV2. In India, the show premiered on January 5, 2015, on Romedy Now. In the UK, it premiered on August 29, 2010, on Sky1. Season 5 premiered on Comedy Central UK on January 21, 2014, and in Ireland on April 16, 2014, on TV3. It has been adapted in Hindi on Reliance Broadcast Network comedy channel BIG MAGIC as "Tedi Medi Family". It is also broadcast on the Neox Channel in Spain and Warner Channel in Latin America and Brazil. In Bulgaria the series premiered in late 2019 alongside Young Sheldon on the Bulgarian pay television channel bTV Comedy. It was dubbed by studio MediaLink.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: On March 6, 2012, it was announced that ABC Family (now Freeform) obtained the rights to "The Middle", which began airing the series on September 9, 2013, until August 22, 2022.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: Also, the series debuted in local syndication on September 16, 2013. As of September 2017, the show is no longer available for local syndication.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: Hallmark Channel also acquired "The Middle" for syndication, which began airing in March 2014. However, the series left the network in August 2018. On August 5, 2019, the series rejoined the Hallmark Channel's line-up, airing in a block from 6:00-8:00 A.M. As of October 2019, the series has once again left the schedule. On May 17, 2021, the series once again rejoined the Hallmark Channel's line-up, airing in a block from 1:00-3:00 P.M.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: The series began streaming on HBO Max in the US on December 1, 2020. The series was streaming on IMDB TV, but has since left. The series is available to stream on HBO Max in Bulgaria on March 8, 2022, but only with English audio. As of 2022, the series streams on Peacock in the United States.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: In Region 1, seasons 1–4 had an official retail release. Seasons 5-9 were released as a MOD DVD-R via the Warner Archive Collection. The Canadian releases continue to be traditionally manufactured and sold, but are otherwise identical to their American counterparts. Distribution for regions 2 and 4 ended after the fourth season.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: "The Middle" received positive reviews from critics, citing its unique and original characters, and praising the show's consistent standard and realistic portrayal of lower-middle-class families. It holds a score of 71 out of 100 on the review aggregator website Metacritic. Critics also praised the show's timing, writing, and acting; e.g., Robert Bianco of "USA Today" wrote, "...This series seems to more assuredly offer a first-class version of what so many viewers say they want: a humorous, heartfelt, realistic look at middle-class, middle-America family life." "Entertainment Weekly"s Ken Tucker observed in season 2 that "The Middle" continues to be "a rock-solid show, the saga of a family struggling to keep their heads above the choppy economic waters."


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: In the 2009–2010 season, "The Middle" ranked number six on Metacritic's "Best Reviewed New Network Show" list. Airing behind the quickly cancelled "Hank" during its first season, ratings were not initially impressive, averaging fewer than 7 million viewers. At the start of the 2010/2011 season, ABC moved the show to the beginning of its prime time block (8:00 pm EDT), and ratings increased substantially, with the show usually ranking second in its time slot to CBS's "Survivor".


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: In 2016, Bob Sassone of "Esquire" published an article called ""The Middle" Is the Best TV Show You're Not Watching", wherein he expresses the dissatisfaction of the series not having received nominations for several awards nor the deserved attention of the critics; he noted: ""The Middle" is the finest American sitcom on TV right now". After ABC confirmed that the ninth season of The Middle would be the last, Devon Ivie of "Vulture" wrote: ""The Middle" Is One of TV’s Most Underrated Gems", sharing, "I’ll miss the midwestern comfort of The Middle tremendously", and enumerating five reasons why readers should give the show a chance to charm them.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: Season 3's "Halloween II" was the most watched episode of the series, viewed by 10.16 million viewers.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: In 2011, "The Middle" received a Gracie Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. The 1st Critics' Choice Television Awards nominated the series for Best Comedy Series, Patricia Heaton for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, and Eden Sher for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: On May 30, 2018, "Variety" reported that a spin-off was being eyed following the cancellation of "Roseanne". Almost two months later, on July 20, 2018, in an interview with TVLine's Michael Ausiello, Sher revealed that ABC had ordered a pilot for the potential series. It was noted that the potential spin-off would be set a few years after the parent series ended and follow Sue Heck as an adult. The spin-off was officially ordered on August 13, 2018, and will follow "the twentysomething adventures of eternal optimist Sue Heck as she leaves the small town of Orson to navigate the ups and downs of a career and young adulthood in the big city of Chicago". As of October 5, 2018, the pilot was being filmed. The series was originally to be titled "Sue Sue in the City", but this decision was later reversed, and the series remained untitled. On November 21, 2018, "TVLine" and Deadline reported that the proposed spin-off would not be moving forward at ABC; it is being shopped to other networks.


title: The Middle (TV series)

text: On October 5, 2018, it was announced that major recurring character Brad Bottig, played by Brock Ciarlleli, had joined the cast as a series regular. A few days later on October 8, 2018, it was reported that Kimberley Crossman would join the cast as Remi, a hotel chef still recovering from a messy breakup that ended with her boyfriend driving away with their food truck and taking all of her dreams with it. It was also revealed that Sue would find herself working at the same hotel as Remi. On October 10, 2018, Finesse Mitchell joined the cast as Hudson, a bartender with a big heart who works at the same hotel as Sue. The following day, it was announced that "Silicon Valley"'s Chris Diamantopoulos would play Sue's “mercurial, charming and rich” boss Nick, with newcomer Aaron Branch playing Otis, the hotel's naïve but endearing bellhop.


title: Tata Sons

text: Tata Sons Private Limited is the parent company of the Tata Group and holds the bulk of shareholding in the Tata group of companies including their land holdings across India, tea estates and steel plants. It is a privately owned conglomerate of nearly 100 companies encompassing several primary business sectors: chemicals, consumer products, energy, engineering, information systems, materials, and services. Headquarters are in Mumbai.