title: Yakov Dzhugashvili

text: Yakov Iosifovich Dzhugashvili ( – 14 April 1943) was the eldest child of Joseph Stalin, the son of Stalin's first wife, Kato Svanidze, who died nine months after his birth. His father, then a young revolutionary in his mid-20s, left the child to be raised by his late wife's family. In 1921, when Dzhugashvili had reached the age of fourteen, he was brought to Moscow, where his father had become a leading figure in the Bolshevik government, eventually becoming head of the Soviet Union. Disregarded by Stalin, Dzhugashvili was a shy, quiet child who appeared unhappy and tried to commit suicide several times as a youth. Married twice, Dzhugashvili had three children, two of whom reached adulthood.


title: Yakov Dzhugashvili

text: Dzhugashvili studied to become an engineer, then – on his father's insistence – he enrolled in training to be an artillery officer. He finished his studies weeks before Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. Sent to the front, he was imprisoned by the Germans and died at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1943 after his father refused to make a deal to secure his release.


title: Yakov Dzhugashvili

text: Dzhugashvili was born in Baji, a village in the Kutais Governorate of the Russian Empire (now in Georgia). His mother, Kato Svanidze, was from Racha and a descendant of minor Georgian nobility. His father, Ioseb Dzhugashvili, was from Gori and was a Bolshevik revolutionary. A few months after Dzhugashvili's birth, his father was involved in a high-profile Tiflis bank robbery, and the three of them fled to Baku to avoid arrest. They rented a "Tartar house with a low ceiling on the Bailov Peninsula" just outside the city right on the sea. They returned to Tiflis in October that year as Svanidze was quite ill. She died on , having likely contracted typhus on the trip back. Ioseb left Tiflis immediately after her death, abandoning 8-month-old Iakob to be raised by his Svanidze relatives. Ioseb, who later adopted the name Joseph Stalin, would not return to visit his son for several years, and Iakob would spend the next fourteen years being raised by his aunts.


title: Yakov Dzhugashvili

text: In 1921, Dzhugashvili was brought to Moscow to live with his father. His half-siblings Svetlana and Vasily were born after he moved. This proved difficult for Dzhugashvili as he did not understand Russian and his father was hostile to him, even forbidding Dzhugashvili to adopt the name "Stalin." It is not clear why Stalin had hostility to his son, but it is believed that he reminded Stalin of Svanidze, which was one of the happier times in Stalin's life. Living in Stalin's apartments at the Amusement Palace in the Kremlin, Dzhugashvili slept in the dining room. A kind individual, Dzhughashvili was close to his half-siblings, as well as his step-mother Nadezhda Alliluyeva, who was only six years older than him.


title: Yakov Dzhugashvili

text: Though Dzhugashvili was interested in studying at a university, Stalin did not initially allow it, and it was not until 1930 when he was 23 that Dzhugashvili was admitted. He graduated from the Institute of Transport in 1935, and for the next couple years worked as a chimney-sweep engineer at an electric plant factory named after his father. In 1937, he entered the Artillery Academy, and graduated from there on 9 May 1941.


title: Yakov Dzhugashvili

text: Dzhugashvili's first serious relationship was with Zoya Gunina, the daughter of an Orthodox priest and a former classmate of his. In 1928, Dzhugashvili made it known that he wanted to marry Zoya, who was then sixteen. Stalin became enraged at the idea and in response Dzhugashvili attempted suicide, shooting himself in the chest and narrowly missing his heart. While Alliluyeva and Svetlana helped Dzhugashvili, Stalin is reported to have brushed off the attempt by saying "He can't even shoot straight." Dzhugashvili spent several months in the hospital recovering from this ordeal, though the couple did ultimately marry and moved to Leningrad. A daughter was born on 7 February 1929, but she died eight months later of pneumonia and Dzhugashvili and Gunina split up, although they did not officially divorce.


title: Yakov Dzhugashvili

text: After his return to Moscow, Dzhugashvili was rumoured to be marrying Ketevan Orakhelashvili, the daughter of Mamia Orakhelashvili, the First Secretary of the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. However, Dzhugashvili was shy around her so she instead married Evgeni Mikeladze, a prominent orchestra conductor, earning ridicule from Stalin. His next girlfriend was Olga Golysheva, who was also a student at the Moscow Aviation School. They became engaged but soon that ended and she returned to her home in the Stalingrad Oblast. A son, Yevgeny was born on 10 January 1936, after Golysheva returned home. Dzugashvili only learnt of his son in 1938 and ensured he took his surname, though Stalin never recognised Yevgeny as his grandson.


title: Yakov Dzhugashvili

text: Dzhugashvili married Yulia Meltzer, a well-known Jewish dancer from Odessa. After meeting Meltzer at a reception in a restaurant, Dzhugashvili fought with her second husband, an NKVD officer called Nikolai Bessarab, an aide to Stanislav Redens, the head of the Moscow Oblast NKVD and brother-in-law of Stalin. They soon were married. Historian Miklós Kun has suggested that Meltzer "must have been tempted to gain entry into Stalin’s court by means of her marriage," though this did not work due to the animosity between Stalin and Dzhugashvili. They soon moved into an apartment together, though were only legally married on 18 February 1938, the day before their only child, daughter Galina, was born.


title: Yakov Dzhugashvili

text: On 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany and its allies launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Stalin ensured that Dzughashvili and Artyom Sergeyev, his adopted son and fellow artillery officer, went to the front lines. Serving as a lieutenant with a battery of the 14th Howitzer Regiment of the 14th Tank Division near Vitebsk, Dzhugashvili was captured on 16 July during the Battle of Smolensk. The circumstances of his capture are disputed: Sergeyev later said that "the Germans surrounded Yakov’s battery. The order was given to retreat. But Yakov did not obey the order. I tried to persuade him... but Yakov answered: 'I am the son of Stalin and I do not permit the battery to retreat." Other sources, including Soviet prisoners interrogated, claimed that they willingly gave up Dzhugashvili as they hated the Soviet system. Material from the Russian archives also suggests that he surrendered willingly.


title: Yakov Dzhugashvili

text: The Germans announced the capture of Dzughashvili on 19 July. Stalin reacted negatively to the news: he had previously ordered that no soldiers were to surrender, so the idea that his own son had done so was seen as a disgrace. He was angry that Dzughashvili had not killed himself instead of being captured, and suspected that someone had betrayed him. Meltzer was not immediately told the news and, suspicious of her motives and the idea that Dzhugashvili surrendered, Stalin had her arrested. With Meltzer imprisoned, Svetlana took care of Galina.


title: Yakov Dzhugashvili

text: In an attempt to conceal his identity, Dzhugashvili apparently removed his officer's insignia and tried to pass as a soldier, though he was soon recognised and given to the Abwehr (German military intelligence) for interrogation. During the interrogation, Dzughashvili openly criticised his division and other units of the Red Army, saying they were unprepared for the war, and further commented that military commanders behaved poorly. He felt that the United Kingdom was weak and had "never helped anyone," while praising Germany, noting it was the only major empire left and that the "whole of Europe would be nothing" without it. Though his wife and her family were ethnically Jewish, Dzughashvili was also openly anti-Semitic, claiming Jews "trade, or aspire to careers in engineering, but they do not want to be workers, technicians, or peasant laborers. That’s why no one in our country respects the Jews."


title: Yakov Dzhugashvili

text: The Germans intended to use Dzhugashvili in their propaganda against the Soviets. He was pictured on leaflets dropped over Soviet soldiers, shown smiling with his captors. The back of the leaflet was part of a letter he wrote to Stalin shortly after his capture: "Dear Father! I have been taken prisoner. I am in good health. I will soon be sent to a camp for officers in Germany. I am being treated well. I wish you good health! Greetings to everyone. Yasha." The Soviet Union responded in kind via propaganda: "Krasnaya Zvezda" ("Red Star"), the official newspaper of the Red Army, announced on 15 August 1941 that Dzhugashvili would be awarded the Order of the Red Banner for his actions during the Battle of Smolensk. He was subsequently moved to a guarded villa in Berlin, where Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Propaganda Minister, hoped to use him on Russian-language radio broadcasts. When that failed to materialise, Dzhugashvili was moved to Sachsenhausen concentration camp.


title: Yakov Dzhugashvili

text: While interned there, Dzhugashvili was constantly frequented by visitors who wanted to meet and photograph the son of Stalin, meetings which began to distress him. He also quarrelled with the British prisoners, and would frequently get in physical altercations with them. After German field marshal Friedrich Paulus surrendered at the Battle of Stalingrad in February 1943, the Germans offered to exchange Dzhugashvili for him, although he specifically asked not be exchanged for a field marshal. This was outright refused by Stalin, who later stated "Just think how many sons ended in camps! Who would swap them for Paulus? Were they worse than Yakov?" Soviet Foreign Affairs Minister Vyacheslav Molotov also recounted that Stalin refused to swap his son for Paulus because "All of them [Soviet prisoners of war] are my sons." According to Nikolai Tolstoy, there was another proposal as well, with Hitler wanting to exchange Dzhugashvili for Hitler's nephew Leo Raubal; but this was not accepted either.


title: Yakov Dzhugashvili

text: On 14 April 1943, Dzhugashvili died at the Sachsenhausen camp. The details of his death are disputed: one account has him running into the electric fence surrounding the camp. However, it has also been suggested that he was shot by the Germans; Kun has noted that it is "conceivable that he committed suicide: he had suicidal tendencies in his youth." Upon hearing of his son's death, Stalin reportedly stared at his photograph; he would later soften his stance towards Dzhugashvili, saying he was "a real man" and that "fate treated him unjustly." Meltzer would be released in 1946 and re-united with Galina, though the years apart had made Galina distant from her mother. In 1977, Dzhugashvili was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, first class, although this was done secretly and the family was not allowed to collect the medal itself.


title: Yakov Dzhugashvili

text: After the war, British officers in charge of captured German archives came upon the papers depicting Dzhugashvili's death at Sachsenhausen. The German records indicated that he was shot after he ran into an electric fence attempting to flee after an argument with the British prisoners; autopsy showed he died from electrocution before he was shot. The British Foreign Office briefly considered presenting these papers to Stalin at the Potsdam Conference as a gesture of condolence. They scrapped the idea because neither the British nor the Americans had informed the Soviets that they had captured key German archives, and sharing those papers with Stalin would have prompted the Soviets to inquire about the source of these records.


title: SonyLIV

text: SonyLIV is an Indian over-the-top freemium streaming platform owned by Culver Max Entertainment. SonyLIV was introduced in 2013 as the first OTT service in India. As a streaming service, it is carrying content from its local networks, including films, television series, live sports matches and original programming, and also featuring content licensed from third-parties in India such as Lionsgate and ITV among others. Since 2020, SonyLIV has taken more of an active role as producer and distributor for both films and television series, and to that end, offers a variety of original programming content through its online library.


title: SonyLIV

text: SonyLIV has access to 18 years of content from channels that are part of Culver Max Entertainment and more than 700 movies, which means a total of 40,000+ hours of television show coverage in Hindi and English. Since its launch, SonyLIV has streamed live sports events.


title: SonyLIV

text: Anime was part of SonyLIV. Varieties of anime original from Animax were available on SonyLIV to stream. After shutting down a linear TV channel on 18 April 2017, Animax was made available exclusively as a digital streaming channel in India from 7 July 2017 to 7 May 2020.


title: SonyLIV

text: In June 2020, SonyLIV was launched as a streaming service in the United States on Sling TV, with all the shows available in India available on the app.


title: SonyLIV

text: LIV Sports was launched on 1 June 2014 by Culver Max Entertainment (a new sports streaming service exclusively for sports properties).


title: SonyLIV

text: LIV Sports was the official mobile and internet broadcaster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup starting 12 June 2014. LIV Sports aired both live and video-on-demand match content with statistics and analysis. However, this service was integrated into SonyLIV. As for now, LIV Sports is part of SonyLIV.


title: SonyLIV

text: In June 2016, SonyLIV underwent a revamp for the first time and started to stream live television channels. Since this revamp, SonyLIV has added many shows and movies to the portfolio.


title: SonyLIV

text: On 1 November 2018, SonyLIV and Lionsgate had entered into a multi-year content deal. As part of the deal, SonyLIV will offer an embedded Lionsgate Play with over 500 hours of premium original series. In 2019, SonyLIV started to stream live channels of other networks, including news channels.


title: SonyLIV

text: SonyLIV revamped its content and interface in May 2020 using AWS Cloud. SonyLIV uses Amazon ElastiCache to support real-time, in-memory caching at scale, Amazon CloudFront as a low-latency content delivery network, and Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS) as a highly available message queuing service. In June 2020, SonyLIV underwent a revamp for the second time, and this time they started to stream content from Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Pictures Television Studios, ITV and Reliance Entertainment. Also, SonyLIV started to stream its own original movies and series.


title: SonyLIV

text: SonyLIV is the first Indian over-the-top media service platform to produce music content for a Hollywood feature film – producing music for the Hindi version of the blockbuster titled "Passengers", starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. The singers for the original soundtrack titled "Aadat" included Jubin Nautiyal, Shirley Setia and Raftaar.


title: SonyLIV

text: SonyLIV's core library consists of 18 years of content from Culver Max Entertainment's channels including Sony TV, Sony SAB, Sony Aath and Sony Marathi.


title: SonyLIV

text: After Sony Pictures Networks India's acquisition of Ten Sports Network, all TEN Sports live programs also began broadcasting on SonyLIV. Since then, SonyLIV is streaming WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown and other WWE pay-per-view events, and UFC. SonyLIV also streamed cricket matches played by Pakistan, Australia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe, and Grand Prix motorcycle racing.


title: SonyLIV

text: SonyLIV has streamed a number of original streaming television series. The first-ever original was a Gujarati web series titled "Kacho Papad Pako Papad" and it is streaming since 2017.


title: SonyLIV

text: SonyLIV underwent a revamp in its appearance in June 2020. Since then, SonyLIV provides their original shows in 5–7 languages. Without Hindi, SonyLIV releases originals in the other languages after 1–2 weeks from the release date.


title: SonyLIV

text: Rocket Boys, "Scam 1992", "The Big Bong Connection", "Your Honor", "Pyar Ishq Rent" and "" are some well-known SonyLIV original shows.


title: SonyLIV

text: SonyLIV is available in India, Pakistan, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, China, Taiwan, Australia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Canada. It’s also available in the United States via Sling TV.


title: SonyLIV

text: SonyLIV has reached about 25 million views on a monthly basis on its website, app and YouTube channel.


title: SonyLIV

text: On 20 December 2019, Bengaluru-based security researcher Ehraz Ahmed discovered a security flaw in the SonyLIV app, that allowed to fetch sensitive user information such as profile picture, email address, date of birth, name and phone number of its registered users.


title: International Phonetic Alphabet chart

text: The following is the chart of the International Phonetic Alphabet, a standardized system of phonetic symbols devised and maintained by the International Phonetic Association. It is not a complete list of all possible speech sounds in the world's languages, only those about which stand-alone articles exist in this encyclopedia.


title: Tactical nuclear weapon

text: A tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) or non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW) is a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations, mostly with friendly forces in proximity and perhaps even on contested friendly territory. Generally smaller in explosive power, they are defined in contrast to strategic nuclear weapons, which are designed mostly to be targeted at the enemy interior far away from the war front against military bases, cities, towns, arms industries, and other hardened or larger-area targets to damage the enemy's ability to wage war. No tactical nuclear weapon has ever been used in a combat situation.


title: Tactical nuclear weapon

text: Tactical nuclear weapons include gravity bombs, short-range missiles, artillery shells, land mines, depth charges, and torpedoes which are equipped with nuclear warheads. Also in this category are nuclear armed ground-based or shipborne surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and air-to-air missiles. Small, two-man portable or truck-portable tactical weapons (sometimes misleadingly referred to as suitcase nukes), such as the Special Atomic Demolition Munition and the Davy Crockett recoilless rifle (recoilless smoothbore gun) have been developed, but the difficulty of combining sufficient yield with portability could limit their military utility. In wartime, such explosives could be used for demolishing "chokepoints" to enemy offensives, such as at tunnels, narrow mountain passes, and long viaducts.


title: Tactical nuclear weapon

text: There is no exact definition of the "tactical" category in terms of range or yield of the nuclear weapon. The yield of tactical nuclear weapons is generally lower than that of strategic nuclear weapons, but larger ones are still very powerful, and some variable-yield warheads serve in both roles. For example, the W89 200 kiloton warhead was intended to arm both the tactical Sea Lance anti-submarine rocket-propelled depth charge and the strategic bomber-launched SRAM II stand off missile. Modern tactical nuclear warheads have yields up to the tens of kilotons, or potentially hundreds, several times that of the weapons used in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Specifically on the Korean Peninsula, with a nuclear North Korea facing off against a NPT-compliant South Korea, there have been calls to request a return of US-owned and -operated, short range, low yield nuclear weapons (called "tactical" by the US military) to provide a local strategic deterrent to the North's growing domestically-produced nuclear arsenal and delivery systems.


title: Tactical nuclear weapon

text: Some tactical nuclear weapons have specific features meant to enhance their battlefield characteristics, such as variable yield, which allow their explosive power to be varied over a wide range for different situations, or enhanced radiation weapons (the so-called "neutron bombs"), which are meant to maximize ionizing radiation exposure and to minimize blast effects.


title: Tactical nuclear weapon

text: Strategic missiles and bombers are assigned preplanned targets including enemy airfields, radars, and surface-to-air defenses, not only counterforce strikes on hardened or wide area bomber, submarine, and missile bases. The strategic mission is to eliminate the enemy nation's national defenses to enable following bombers and missiles to threaten the enemy nation's strategic forces, command, and economy more realistically, rather than targeting mobile military assets in nearly real time by using tactical weapons that are optimized for time-sensitive strike missions that are often close to friendly forces.


title: Tactical nuclear weapon

text: Tactical nuclear weapons were a large part of the peak nuclear weapons stockpile levels during the Cold War.


title: Tactical nuclear weapon

text: The risk that use of tactical nuclear weapons could unexpectedly lead to a rapid escalation of a war to full use of strategic weapons has led to proposals being made within NATO and other organizations to place limitations on—and make more transparent—the stockpiling and use of tactical weapons. As the Cold War came to an end in 1991, the US and USSR withdrew most of their tactical nuclear weapons from deployment and disposed of them . The thousands of tactical warheads wielded by both sides in the late-1980s declined to an estimated 230 American and 1,000 to 2,000 Russian Federation warheads in 2021, although estimates for Russia vary widely.


title: Tactical nuclear weapon

text: The yield varies for a tactical nuclear weapon from a fraction of a kiloton to approximately 50 kilotons. In comparison, a strategic nuclear weapon has a yield from 100 kilotons to over a megaton, with much larger warheads available.


title: Tactical nuclear weapon

text: Use of tactical nuclear weapons against similarly-armed opponents may carry a significant danger of escalating the conflict beyond anticipated boundaries, from the tactical to the strategic. The existence and deployment of small, low-yield tactical nuclear warheads could be a dangerous encouragement to forward-basing and pre-emptive nuclear warfare, as nuclear weapons with destructive yields of 10 tons of TNT (e.g., the W54 warhead design) might be used more willingly at times of crisis than warheads with yields of 100 kilotons.


title: Tactical nuclear weapon

text: The use of tactical nuclear weapons presents a risk of escalating the conflict until it reaches a tipping point that provokes the use of strategic nuclear weapons such as ICBMs. Additionally, the tactical nuclear weapons most likely to be used first (i.e., the smallest, low-yield weapons such as nuclear artillery dating from the 1960s) have usually been under less stringent political control at times of military combat crises than strategic weapons. Early Permissive Action Links could be as simple as a mechanical combination lock. If a relatively junior officer in control of a small tactical nuclear weapon (e.g., the M29 Davy Crockett) were in imminent danger of being overwhelmed by enemy forces, he could request permission to fire it and, due to decentralized control of warhead authorization, his request might quickly be granted during a crisis.


title: Tactical nuclear weapon

text: For these reasons, stockpiles of tactical nuclear warheads in most countries' arsenals have been dramatically reduced c. 2010, and the smallest types have been completely eliminated. Additionally, the increased sophistication of "Category F" PAL mechanisms and their associated communications infrastructure mean that centralized control of tactical nuclear warheads (by the country's most senior political leaders) can now be retained, even during combat.


title: Tactical nuclear weapon

text: Some variable yield nuclear warheads such as the B61 nuclear bomb have been produced in both tactical and strategic versions. Whereas the lowest selectable yield of a tactical B61 (Mod 3 and Mod 4) is 0.3 kilotons (300 tons), modern PAL mechanisms ensure that centralized political control is maintained over each weapon, including their destructive yields.


title: Tactical nuclear weapon

text: With the introduction of the B61 Mod 12, the United States will have four hundred identical nuclear bombs whose strategic or tactical nature will be set purely by the mission and target as well as type of aircraft on which they are carried.


title: Tactical nuclear weapon

text: According to several reports, including by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, as a result of the effectiveness and acceptability of USAF use of precision munitions with little collateral damage in the Kosovo conflict in what amounted to strategic destruction once only possible with nuclear weapons or massive bombing, Vladimir Putin, then-secretary of Security Council of Russia, formulated a concept ("escalate to de-escalate") of using both tactical and strategic nuclear threats and strikes to de-escalate or cause an enemy to disengage from a conventional conflict threatening what Russia considers a strategic interest. The lowered threshold for use of nuclear weapons by Russia is disputed by other experts.


title: Tactical nuclear weapon

text: Ten NATO member countries have advanced a confidence-building plan for NATO and Russia that could lead to treaties to reduce the tactical nuclear weapons in Europe.


title: Tactical nuclear weapon

text: , NATO was moving forward with a plan to upgrade its tactical nuclear weapons with precision guidance that would make them equivalent to strategic weapons in effects against hardened targets, and to carry them on stealth aircraft that are much more survivable against current air defenses.


title: Tactical nuclear weapon

text: During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, there has been constant speculation about whether Russia's president Vladimir Putin will use a tactical nuclear bomb either against Ukraine or in a demonstration strike over unpopulated areas, given that the course of the war does not seem favorable to what the Kremlin anticipated, and several members of the Russian government have threatened the use of nuclear weapons.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (born Carla Gilberta Bruni Tedeschi; ; 23 December 1967) is an Italian-French singer and fashion model. In 2008, she married Nicolas Sarkozy, then president of France.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Bruni was born in Italy and moved to France at the age of seven. She was a model from 1987 to 1997 before taking up a career in music. She wrote several songs for Julien Clerc that were featured on his 2000 album, "Si j'étais elle". Bruni released her first album, "Quelqu'un m'a dit", in 2003, which eventually spent 34 weeks in the top 10 of the French Albums Chart. Bruni won the Victoire Award for Female Artist of the Year at the 2004 Victoires de la Musique. The same year, Bruni released her second album, "No Promises", then the following year, she released her third album, "Comme si de rien n'était." In 2013, Bruni released her fourth album, "Little French Songs". In 2017, Bruni released her fifth album, "French Touch". She has sold 5 million albums during her career.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Bruni was born in Turin, Italy. She is legally the daughter of Italian concert pianist and industrialist and classical composer . In 2008, however, Bruni told "Vanity Fair" that her biological father is Maurizio Remmert, a classical guitarist who comes from a wealthy family. When Remmert met Marisa Borini at a concert in Turin, he was a 19-year-old classical guitarist, and their affair lasted six years. Her sister is actress and movie director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi. She had a brother, Virginio Bruni Tedeschi (1959 – 4 July 2006), who died from complications of HIV/AIDS. Her (legal) paternal grandparents and her maternal grandfather were Italian, while the last quarter of her ancestry is French. She is second cousin of Alessandra Martines.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Bruni is heiress to the fortune created by the Italian tire manufacturing company CEAT, founded in the 1920s by her legal grandfather, Virginio Bruni Tedeschi. The company was sold in the 1970s to Pirelli (the brand continues in its former subsidiary in India, founded in 1958). The family moved to France in 1975, purportedly to escape the threat of kidnapping by the Red Brigades, a Communist terrorist group active in Italy in the 1970s and 1980s. Bruni grew up in France from the age of seven, and attended the boarding school Château Mont-Choisi in Lausanne, Switzerland. She went to Paris to study art and architecture, but left school at 19 to become a model. By her biological father, Bruni has a half-sister, Consuelo Remmert.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Bruni signed with City Models in 1987, aged 19. Paul Marciano, president and creative director of Guess? Inc., came across her picture among composite cards of aspiring models, and chose her to model with Estelle Lefébure in campaigns for Guess? jeans. Bruni subsequently worked for designers and fashion houses such as Christian Dior, Givenchy, Paco Rabanne, Sonia Rykiel, Christian Lacroix, Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano, Yves Saint-Laurent, Shiatzy Chen, Chanel, and Versace. By the 1990s, Bruni was among the 20 highest-paid fashion models, earning US$7.5 million in her peak year. While modeling, Bruni dated Eric Clapton, then Mick Jagger. On 11 April 2008, a 1993 nude photograph of Bruni taken during her modelling career sold at auction for US$91,000 (€65,093) – more than 60 times the expected price. She was a modeling subject of a 1999 "trompe-l'œil" wool-knit dress body painting by Joanne Gair that is included in Gair's second book, "Body Painting: Masterpieces by Joanne Gair".


title: Carla Bruni

text: In 1997, Bruni quit the world of fashion to devote herself to music. She sent her lyrics to Julien Clerc in 1999, based on which he composed six tracks on his 2000 album "Si j'étais elle".


title: Carla Bruni

text: In 2003, her debut album "Quelqu'un m'a dit", produced by Louis Bertignac and released in Europe, was a surprise hit, selling 2 million copies. Three songs from the album appear in Hans Canosa's 2005 American film "Conversations with Other Women", the song "Le Plus Beau du quartier" was used in H&M's Christmas 2006 commercial, and the title track was featured in the 2003 movie "Le Divorce" and in the 2009 movie "(500) Days of Summer". In January 2010, her song "L'amoureuse" was featured in an episode of NBC's "Chuck", "Chuck vs. First Class".


title: Carla Bruni

text: In 2004, Carla Bruni won an EBBA Award. Every year the European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA) recognize the success of 10 emerging artists or groups who reached audiences outside their own countries with their first internationally released album.


title: Carla Bruni

text: In 2005, she wrote the lyrics for 10 out of 12 songs for Louis Bertignac's new album "Longtemps", and performed two duets with him on the album, "Les Frôleuses" and "Sans toi". In 2006, Bruni recorded "Those Little Things", an English-language translation of the Serge Gainsbourg song "Ces petits riens" for the tribute album "Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited". She took part in the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in a parade paying tribute to the Italian flag.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Her second album, "No Promises" containing poems by William Butler Yeats, Emily Dickinson, W. H. Auden, Dorothy Parker, Walter de la Mare, and Christina Rossetti, set to music, was released in January 2007.


title: Carla Bruni

text: She continued recording after her marriage. She released her third album "Comme si de rien n'était" on 11 July 2008. The songs are self-penned except for one rendition of "You Belong to Me" and another song featuring Michel Houellebecq's poem "La Possibilité d'une île" set to music. Royalties from the album will be donated to unidentified charitable and humanitarian causes.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Bruni sang for Nelson Mandela's 91st birthday on 18 July 2009 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.


title: Carla Bruni

text: In September 2009, she recorded a duet with Harry Connick, Jr. for the French edition of his album "Your Songs". They sang The Beatles' song "And I Love Her". The album was released in France on 26 October 2009.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Following months of speculation, in a television interview broadcast on 23 November 2009, Bruni revealed that she had accepted a role in a forthcoming Woody Allen film. She admitted her reasoning for embarking on the Paris production; "I'm not an actress at all. Perhaps I'll be completely hopeless, but I can't miss an opportunity like this one. When I'm a grandmother I'd like to be able to say I made a film with Woody Allen." The film, "Midnight in Paris", was released in 2011; Bruni appeared as a guide at the Musée Rodin, who discusses sculptor Auguste Rodin with the leading characters.


title: Carla Bruni

text: In September 2010, she contributed a cover of David Bowie's "Absolute Beginners" for the War Child charity record "" (Manimal Vinyl). They also released the track as a split 7-inch vinyl split with UK legends, Duran Duran.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Italian singer/songwriter Simone Cristicchi's entry in the 2010 San Remo Italian Song Festival was the song "Meno Male", with the chorus lyrics of "Meno male che c'è Carla Bruni" ("Thank goodness for Carla Bruni"). The song appears to mock Bruni and her husband, but Cristicchi stated in an interview for Italian television weekly "TV Sorrisi e Canzoni" "I use sarcasm to explain our Italian way of always wanting to follow any type of gossip without being interested in real problems." Bruni was to be a guest singer at the 2010 San Remo festival, but withdrew from participating.


title: Carla Bruni

text: In September 2017, Bruni, along with models Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen, and Cindy Crawford, closed the Versace spring/summer 2018 fashion show, which was an homage to the late Gianni Versace.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Bruni presented two three-part music series on BBC Radio 2: "Postcards from Paris" in 2014 and "C'est La Vie" in 2018.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Following Bruni's marriage to President Nicholas Sarkozy on 2 February 2008, she moved into the Élysée Palace for the remainder of Sarkozy's five-year term. Bruni was given an office on the east wing of the palace, which was known as "Madame's wing" and was assigned a private secretary.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Although constitutionally, Bruni had no official role within government, she assisted her husband with a number of official obligations. She also accompanied Sarkozy on state visits, most notably, to the United Kingdom, where her presence led to the visit being widely publicized. Bruni also accompanied Sarkozy on a state visit to meet the Dalai Lama in August 2008.


title: Carla Bruni

text: In 2008, Bruni caused controversy when she spoke against the extradition of Marina Petrella, an Italian far-left terrorist. Petrella had murdered a police commissioner and assisted in the kidnapping of Italian politician, Aldo Moro. Petrella had been living in France since 1993 and had not been extradited due to the Mitterrand doctrine. Sarkozy eventually chose not to extradite Petrella.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Bruni has represented The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria numerous times as an ambassador and has visited Burkina Faso and Benin while representing the organisation.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Bruni's political views have been inconsistent over the years, though she has defined herself as a left-winger. She has defended Nicolas Sarkozy and the Union for a Popular Movement numerous times since becoming the First Lady of France and leaving the office.


title: Carla Bruni

text: During the 2007 French presidential election, Bruni stated that she would have voted for Ségolène Royal, who was running against her future husband, Nicolas Sarkozy. Bruni said her lack of French citizenship disallowed her from voting, but she would have voted left wing due to it being family tradition. In an October 2011 interview with the British newspaper "The Sunday Herald," Bruni said, "My family have always voted to the left. It's tradition. I'll never vote right wing."


title: Carla Bruni

text: In an interview with "Le Point", Bruni said, when asked about her political leanings, "I am left wing, but I'm not against my husband or his party. I am not an activist." In a May 2011 interview with "Le Parisien", Bruni said she no longer felt left-wing and identified as an ultra-Sarkozyist.


title: Carla Bruni

text: In a 2012 "Vogue" magazine interview, Bruni stated, "My generation doesn't need feminism ... I'm not at all an active feminist. On the contrary, I'm bourgeois." On 16 November 2020, she told BBC Radio Five Live: "Of course I'm a feminist, like every woman is" and "My husband is very much a feminist man." She also said that she was "not at all a political person."


title: Carla Bruni

text: In 2001, Bruni had her first child, son Aurélien, with philosophy professor Raphaël Enthoven. Bruni has been described as having been the mistress of Enthoven's father, journalist Jean-Paul Enthoven, when she began her relationship with the younger Enthoven, who was at the time married to novelist Justine Lévy; Bruni claims that she only went out with Jean-Paul Enthoven a few times and was never his lover, and that Raphaël Enthoven was already divorcing his wife when she encountered him months after last seeing Jean-Paul.


title: Carla Bruni

text: The song "Raphaël" from Bruni's album "Quelqu'un m'a dit" is about her relationship with Raphaël Enthoven, and Justine Lévy's 2004 book "Rien de Grave" (published in English in 2005 as "Nothing Serious") is about the end of her marriage; a character named "Paula" represents Bruni. Bruni told "Vanity Fair" that Raphaël Enthoven ended their relationship in May 2007 because he felt they had become "like friends", and that they remained on good terms.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Bruni met the recently divorced French president Nicolas Sarkozy in November 2007, at a dinner party. After a brief romance, they married on 2 February 2008 at the Élysée Palace in Paris. The marriage is Bruni's first and Sarkozy's third. Bruni obtained French nationality not long afterwards. She has since made contradictory statements as to whether she still holds Italian citizenship, as well. On the 28 April 2014 episode of the "Ellen DeGeneres Show", she confirmed that she still holds Italian citizenship. Besides her native Italian, Bruni can speak fluent English and French.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Following her marriage to Sarkozy, in February 2008, Bruni continued accompanying him on state visits, including to the United Kingdom in March 2008, which created a sensation in the international press and for the public in both Britain and France. As First Lady, she had an office and staff at her disposal in the East wing of the Élysée Palace.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Controversy arose on the eve of the state visit to the UK, with the publication by Christie's auction house of a nude photograph of Bruni taken during her career as a model. The photograph sold for $91,000. Also, great interest began in Bruni's wardrobe, which was Christian Dior, seen as a diplomatic choice, since Dior is a French design house, but the wardrobe was designed by John Galliano, a British designer. Another controversy was the use of a popular photo of the French President and Bruni in the print advertising of Ryanair. The couple was awarded damages by a French court, which they donated to "Les Restos du Cœur", an organisation that provides meals to the homeless.


title: Carla Bruni

text: In December 2008, Bruni sued the makers of a bag featuring a nude shot taken during her youth. Clothes designer Pardon produced 10,000 of the shopping bags emblazoned with the nude photo taken in 1993, showing Bruni staring at the camera with her crossed hands covering her crotch.


title: Carla Bruni

text: In late August 2010, Iran's state-run daily paper "Kayhan" called Bruni a 'prostitute' after she had condemned the stoning sentence against Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani for adultery in an open letter, along with several French celebrities, including actress Isabelle Adjani. The paper later also called for Bruni to be put to death for supporting Sakineh Ashtiani, and for what the paper described as Bruni's moral corruption and having had extramarital affairs herself. Though "Kayhan" is a state-sponsored paper that, along with other state-run Iranian media, continued its tirade against Bruni, Iranian officials tried to distance themselves from that violent stance and openly condemned it, while a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry criticized the comments as being 'unacceptable'. Then-President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also condemned the remark made by the paper.


title: Carla Bruni

text: On 19 October 2011, Bruni gave birth to a daughter, Giulia, in the "Clinique de la Muette", in Paris.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Involved for years in humanitarian and charity work, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy became world ambassador for the protection of mothers and children against HIV in 2008. In April 2009, she launched the Fondation Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, to promote access to culture and knowledge for all.


title: Carla Bruni

text: In a letter of support to the association People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, she took a position against fur in fashion.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is involved in various charitable activities. She gave her royalties for her album "Comme si de rien n'était" to the Fondation de France, and supports different events or causes, such as the Born HIV Free campaign, animal rights, the Nelson Mandela foundation, the French association AIDES for AIDS research, the French association "La Chaîne de l'Espoir" or the association Warchild UK. She also participated in a concert with Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin for the 91st birthday of Nelson Mandela, and recorded a song for the album "". She is involved in the promotion of young artists, and did a duet with French singer Marc Lavoine for the Prix Constantin, an annual French music prize awarded to newer artists. Bruni met the Dalai Lama in August 2008 at Lerab Ling, a Buddhist temple on a hill in Languedoc, France. Bruni received Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to France in September 2008.


title: Carla Bruni

text: Bruni visited New York City in September 2008 with her husband, where she attended a meeting on poverty and female mortality with Queen Rania and Wendi Murdoch, met for lunch with First Lady Laura Bush at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the Symposium on Advancing Global Literacy, and attended the General Assembly in the UN with her husband.


title: Carla Bruni

text: She attended state dinners with the Emir of Qatar and wife and with Iraq's president in Paris in 2009. Sheikha Mozah (wife of Emir of Qatar) and she will be working together on the topic of education promotion. Bruni visited Doha on invitation of Sheikha Mozah in November 2009. Bruni took up the cause of an Iranian woman, Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, fighting a death penalty by stoning.


title: Carla Bruni

text: In April 2009, Bruni was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III on the occasion of the couple's Spanish state visit. In January 2010, Bruni visited Benin, her second visit as ambassador for the Global Fund.


title: Carla Bruni

text: She was critical of Pope Benedict XVI on the controversial topic of religion and AIDS. According to "Le Canard Enchainé", Bruni was asked by Vatican officials not to join her husband in an official visit for fear that the Italian newspapers would reprint racy pictures dating from her modelling career.


title: Bill Walton

text: William Theodore Walton III (born November 5, 1952) is an American television sportscaster and former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for coach John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins, winning three consecutive national college player of the year awards (1972–1974), while leading UCLA to NCAA championships in 1972 and 1973 and an 88-game winning streak. After being selected as the first overall pick in the 1974 NBA draft, Walton led the Portland Trail Blazers to an NBA championship in 1977, earning the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award that season. He won another NBA title in 1986 as a member of the Boston Celtics. Walton was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993. He was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton's early career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) was very successful, winning the 1978 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and an NBA championship with the Portland Trail Blazers, for which he was also named Finals MVP. However, his professional career began to be significantly hampered by multiple foot injuries requiring numerous surgeries. Walton sat out the 1978–79 season and was then signed by the San Diego Clippers (now Los Angeles Clippers), for whom he played four injury-plagued seasons. His career was rehabilitated during two seasons with the Boston Celtics at the end of his career. Playing as a backup center behind Robert Parish, Walton earned the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in the 1985–86 season, winning his second championship that same season.


title: Bill Walton

text: After retiring from the NBA, Walton overcame stuttering and embarked on a second career as a sportscaster, working both as a studio analyst and color commentator, mostly for ESPN, with stints for several other networks and teams. He earned an Emmy Award in 1991. Walton is a noted fan of the Grateful Dead, as a self-described "Deadhead", and often mentions them in his broadcasts. He has hosted several podcasts and satellite radio programs featuring the music of the Grateful Dead.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton was born and raised in La Mesa, California, the son of Gloria Anne (née Hickey) and William Theodore "Ted" Walton. He was raised with siblings Bruce, Cathy and Andy. The Waltons' La Mesa home was a hillside home on Colorado Avenue, just below Lake Murray. His listed adult playing height was ; it has been reported that Walton is actually taller ( or more), but does not like being categorized as a seven-footer.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton's father Ted was a music teacher and social worker and his mother Gloria, a librarian. His parents had interests in art, literature, politics, and music. Walton took music lessons, and although his parents were not sports-oriented, Walton followed in the footsteps of his older brother Bruce, who had gravitated toward sports. When the Walton children were in junior high and high school, Mr. Walton formed an informal family band: Bruce and Bill played trombone or baritone, Andy played the saxophone, and Cathy played the flute. "Bill and I couldn't quit fast enough", Bruce said.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton first played organized basketball under Frank "Rocky" Graciano, who coached at Walton's Catholic elementary school. Coach Graciano "made it [basketball] fun and really emphasized the joy of playing the team game", said Walton. "I was a skinny, scrawny guy. I stuttered horrendously, couldn't speak at all. I was a very shy, reserved player and a very shy, reserved person. I found a safe place in life in basketball."


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton played high school basketball at Helix High School in La Mesa alongside his brother Bruce, who was one year older at and . Bruce was a star football player as well. If Bill Walton was getting physical treatment in a basketball game, Bruce returned the treatment.


title: Bill Walton

text: "When those opposing teams would try to get physical with me, Bruce would do whatever it took to protect me", Walton recalled. "He went on to play for the Dallas Cowboys. Bruce and I are the only brother combination in history to ever play in the Super Bowl and to win the NBA championship."


title: Bill Walton

text: "When they would begin to rough up Bill, I would look at coach and he would give me a nod", recalled Bruce. "Yes", said Gloria Walton, "then when the referee wasn't looking, Bruce would give the player an elbow and let him know that the skinny guy was his kid brother."


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton's struggle with injury and pain began while at Helix High School, where he broke an ankle, a leg, several bones in his feet, and underwent knee surgery.


title: Bill Walton

text: Before his sophomore season, Walton underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage on his left knee. Because of his recovery from the knee surgery, Walton played most of his sophomore year on the junior varsity team. Coach Gordon Nash promoted him to the varsity team the end of the season. But, he played in only six games and did not start any of them.


title: Bill Walton

text: During his sophomore year of high school (age 15–16), Walton grew from to . Coach Nash played Bill and Bruce Walton together in the paint. Bill was taller, but frail as he had not filled out his growing frame. Bill was unable to play a complete game without resting. "He would simply get too tired", recalled Nash. "When that happened, he'd tell me and I'd take him out."


title: Bill Walton

text: While Walton was in high school in 1967, the NBA expansion San Diego Rockets came to town. The Rockets had no set practice facility and would often play pick-up games at Helix High School. Rocket players learned that to get into the Helix gym they could call the teenage Walton, who had his own gym key. Walton recalled Elvin Hayes calling and telling his mother, "Tell Billy, Big E is calling and we need him to open the gym tonight. I said, 'Mom, that's Big E! Give me the phone!' I was never so embarrassed in my life. Elvin and I are still close friends. All of those guys all still my friends to this very day."


title: Bill Walton

text: "We had the best gym in San Diego and all the Rockets players wanted to go there", Walton reflected. "They had some great teams with Elvin Hayes and Calvin Murphy and future head coaches and broadcasters such as Pat Riley, Rick Adelman, Rudy Tomjanovich, Jim Barnett, and Stu Lantz. All these guys treated me—little Billy—like I was part of the team. They couldn't have been nicer, and I became their friend."


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton overcame all obstacles and led Helix to 49 consecutive victories in his two varsity seasons. Helix won the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Championship in both 1969 and 1970, finishing 29–2 in 1968–69 and 33–0 in 1969–70. Walton had entered high school at a height of about tall and graduated at about tall. Walton averaged 29 points and 25 rebounds, as Helix finished 33–0 in his senior season.


title: Bill Walton

text: As a senior in 1969–70, Walton made 384 of 490 shot attempts, 78.3 percent, still the all-time national record. In addition, Walton's 825 rebounds that season ranks No 3 all-time. His 25.0 rebounds per game in a season ranks 7 all-time.


title: Bill Walton

text: In 1970, Walton was featured in "Faces in the Crowd" in the January 26 issue of "Sports Illustrated", his first national media recognition.


title: Bill Walton

text: "It was a dream come true to be a part of a special team", Walton said. "Helix is where it all began. It was a humbling honor and privilege to be on the same squad as true legends Monroe Nash, Wilbur Strong, Phil Edwards, and Bruce Menser. I'm the luckiest guy on earth."


title: Bill Walton

text: Hall of Fame Coach Denny Crum was then an assistant coach at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), under John Wooden, sent to watch Walton play. Crum first saw Walton in 1968 as a high school junior and was at first dubious when hearing of Walton, but went to scout him anyway. "I came back and told Coach Wooden that this Walton kid was the best high school player I'd ever seen", Crum recalled.


title: Bill Walton

text: Beginning in elementary and high school, Walton had loyally followed UCLA's basketball team on the radio. He was recruited by many colleges, but quickly accepted UCLA's scholarship offer to play basketball for the Bruins and Coach Wooden. Wooden would become a lifetime mentor to Walton.


title: Bill Walton

text: Said Walton of Coach Wooden: "I was John Wooden's easiest recruit. I became his worst nightmare. I drove the poor guy to an early grave when he was 99. I had three different periods of my life in my relationship with him: (1) when I was a high school student and he was recruiting me; (2) when I played for him when I was 17 to 21; (3) and then 36 years of being his friend. I had no idea what we had at UCLA. I thought everybody had the same thing: great parents, great schools, great neighborhoods, great colleges, great coaches. Then I joined the NBA. And I realized immediately that I had just absolutely blown this whole deal with John Wooden. And so I spent the rest of my life, first of all, trying to make it up to him; and second of all, no longer [bringing] consternation into his life."


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton played for UCLA under Coach Wooden from 1971 to 1974. His older brother Bruce played football at UCLA, enrolling a year ahead of Bill. Bill Walton led the Bruins to two consecutive 30–0 seasons and the NCAA men's basketball record 88-game winning streak. The UCLA streak contributed to a personal winning streak that lasted almost five years, in which Walton's high school, UCLA freshman (freshmen were ineligible for the varsity at that time) and UCLA varsity teams did not lose a game from the middle of his junior year of high school to the middle of his senior year in college.


title: Bill Walton

text: With Walton, UCLA won the NCAA Championship in 1972 over Florida State and again in 1973 with an 87–66 win over Memphis State in which Walton made 21 of 22 field-goal attempts and scored 44 points.


title: Bill Walton

text: Prior to joining the varsity team, Walton (18.1 ppg, 68.6% field goal accuracy), along with Greg Lee (17.9 ppg) and Keith Wilkes (20.0 ppg), was a member of the 20–0 1970–71 UCLA freshman team. Freshmen were prohibited by the NCAA from playing varsity at the time.


title: Bill Walton

text: The varsity UCLA team, led by seniors Sidney Wicks, Curtis Rowe, and Steve Patterson defeated Villanova in the 1971 NCAA Championship Game for UCLA's 5th consecutive NCAA title.


title: Bill Walton

text: After Walton initially refused to cut his hair as an incoming freshman, Coach Wooden told Walton "we'll miss you." Walton then rode his bike to a nearby barber.


title: Bill Walton

text: The 1971–72 UCLA basketball team had a record of 30–0, winning its games by an average margin of more than 30 points, averaging 94.6 points to opponents' 64.3. With Walton playing alongside Henry Bibby, Larry Farmer, Wilkes, Lee, and Swen Nater, UCLA finished 14–0 in the Pac 8 Conference.


title: Bill Walton

text: In the 25-team 1972 NCAA tournament, UCLA defeated Weber State 90–58. They defeated Long Beach State and coach Jerry Tarkanian in the Western Regional final 73–57 to reach the Final Four. Playing 20 minutes due to foul trouble, Walton had four points and 12 rebounds in the victory over Weber State, taking only one shot. He had 19 points and 11 rebounds against Long Beach State.


title: Bill Walton

text: In the 1972 Final Four, Walton had 33 points and 21 rebounds, on 11 of 13 shooting and 11 of 12 free-throws, against Louisville in the NCAA semifinal, as UCLA won 96–77. In the NCAA championship game, he had 24 points and 20 rebounds in the Bruins' 81–76 victory over Florida State. Walton was named the 1972 NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player.


title: Bill Walton

text: Overall, in 30 games in 1971–72, Walton averaged 21.1 points and 15.5 rebounds, shooting 64.0% from the field. He was named first-team All-American with Jim Chones of Marquette, Bo Lamar of the Louisiana-Lafayette, Ed Ratleff of Long Beach State, and Tom Riker of South Carolina.


title: Bill Walton

text: UCLA again finished 30–0 overall and 14–0 in the Pac-8 conference in 1972–73. The Bruins averaged winning by over 20 points, averaging 81.3 points to their opponents' 60.1.


title: Bill Walton

text: In the 25-team 1973 NCAA tournament, UCLA defeated Arizona State 98–81 and then San Francisco in the West Regional Final 54–39 to reach the Final Four. Walton had 28 points and 14 rebounds against Arizona State, on 13 of 18 shooting, and 9 points and 14 rebounds against San Francisco, taking only 7 shots.


title: Bill Walton

text: In the 1973 Final Four, the Bruins won the national semifinal 70–59 over Indiana and Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight. Walton had 14 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists against Indiana.


title: Bill Walton

text: In the 1973 NCAA title game against Memphis State, Walton had arguably the best individual performance in an NCAA championship game, which was the first held on Monday night. At the St. Louis Arena on March 26, Walton scored 44 points on near-perfect 21 of 22 shooting. He added 13 rebounds, two assists, and one block, to lead Bruins to a seventh straight title, 87–66 over Memphis State; the Tigers were led by head coach Gene Bartow (who replaced Wooden at UCLA three years later), with players Larry Kenon and Larry Finch. Walton set the record for most points in an NCAA championship game, which still stands, and was the tournament's most outstanding player.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton was hurt and left the game for the final time, with UCLA leading, 75–62 and just under three minutes remaining. Playing with four personal fouls, Walton fell hard to the floor on a play and injured his left knee and ankle. He then limped off the floor, receiving an ovation from the 19,301 fans.


title: Bill Walton

text: "I don't think anything ever meant as much to me as playing UCLA and one of John Wooden's best teams for the national championship", Bartow said in 1993. "We were able to go right through the press." At halftime, the game was tied 39–39. Bartow added, "I felt very good at halftime, very good. But to win, we also felt we had to control Walton. We couldn't let him dominate the game. Obviously, we didn't do a good job of that. Bill Walton probably had one of the best games anybody ever had in the history of college basketball."


title: Bill Walton

text: "Coach Wooden looked at me and said, 'Walton, I used to think you were a good player  until you missed that one shot, Walton said.


title: Bill Walton

text: Overall in 1972–73, Walton averaged 20.4 points and 16.9 rebounds in 30 games on 65.0% shooting, as UCLA again finished 30–0 (14–0 in the Pac-8 conference). Walton was a consensus All-American alongside Ernie DiGregorio of Providence, Ed Ratleff of Long Beach State, David Thompson of North Carolina State, and Kermit Washington of American.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton's political personality was alive in his collegiate years on the UCLA campus. "One of the saddest days for Coach Wooden was the day he came down and had to bail me out of jail after I got arrested in the anti-Vietnam (War) protest. He said, 'Bill, I know you feel very strongly about this, but I just don't think that you getting arrested and taking part in this demonstration is what it's all about", recalled Walton.


title: Bill Walton

text: "I had no problem with him during the season", Wooden said of Walton's college days. "Off the floor I worried. I worried when he was thrown in jail with the group that took over the administration building, I worried when he stopped traffic on Wilshire Boulevard, and when he interrupted classes giving his views on the Vietnam War."


title: Bill Walton

text: In Walton's senior year, UCLA's 88-game winning streak ended with a 71–70 loss at Notre Dame on January 19, 1974. Walton played wearing a back brace, as he had suffered a major back injury in a fall against Washington State the week before. He was undercut by a Washington State player and broke two bones in his spine, which remained damaged until corrective surgery in 2009. He missed three games. But, he made 12 of his first 13 shots and the Bruins led Notre Dame by 17 points at halftime. UCLA was leading 70–59 with 3½ minutes remaining. However, they were outscored 12–0, missing six consecutive shots with four turnovers. As was his belief, Wooden did not call time-outs late in games and stuck with the strategy. The Irish made six shots in a row, winning on Dwight Clay's shot with 29 seconds left, as Notre Dame prevailed 71–70. Walton, who missed a 12-foot shot off an inbounds pass to win the game as time expired, finished with 24 points and nine rebounds. He said of his efforts that day, "A complete failure on all levels, particularly as a human being. A disgrace to the game of basketball, a disgrace to sport."


title: Bill Walton

text: A week later, the Bruins beat the Fighting Irish 94–75 at home. Later in the season, UCLA dropped consecutive games in consecutive days at Oregon and Oregon State, nicknamed "the Lost Weekend". "There were so many problems", Walton said of the losses. "Injuries [he missed games with a bad back]. Team chemistry. It was just a nightmare."


title: Bill Walton

text: UCLA finished 26–4 and 12–2 in the Pac 8 Conference, with Walton playing alongside Jamal Wilkes, David Myers, and Marques Johnson.


title: Bill Walton

text: In the 25 team 1974 NCAA tournament, UCLA defeated Dayton 111–100, in a game where Walton had 27 points and 19 rebounds. UCLA next defeated San Francisco 83–60 in the Western Regional Final to reach the Final Four. Walton tallied 17 points, nine rebounds, and four assists against San Francisco.


title: Bill Walton

text: In the 1974 Final Four, UCLA's record seven consecutive national titles was broken. North Carolina State defeated the Bruins 80–77 in double overtime in the NCAA semi-finals. Walton played 50 minutes and scored 29 points, adding 18 rebounds and 4 assists in the loss. The UCLA–North Carolina State game was No. 13 on "USA Today"s list of the greatest NCAA tournament games of all time. Walton called the game the most disappointing outcome of his entire basketball career, as UCLA had a 5-point lead late in regulation and a 7-point lead in the 2nd overtime, before NC State with David Thompson rallied to win, 80–77.


title: Bill Walton

text: "David Thompson's a great champion. He is a wonderful person and a very special human being", Walton said. "He was really fun to play against. He was a dynamic big moment guy, and I just wish I could have risen to the occasion."


title: Bill Walton

text: "That failure has plagued me, and will, it is a stigma on my soul, and there's no way I can get rid of it." Walton said of the loss, "We could have, we should have won them all, and we didn't get it done. And when you're in that position, it's the worst feeling in the world. That's the timelessness of pain and suffering; the agonizing, the reflection and the endless questioning of yourself. When you're right there and it's there for you and the whole world is watching, and it's recorded as history that can never be changed, that is a terribly heavy burden."


title: Bill Walton

text: UCLA had to come back and play in the NCAA 3rd place game, in which they eventually defeated Kansas. "I didn't want to play and I told Coach Wooden that. We had a bitter argument over that, and I lost that argument, too", said Walton, who took only three shots as UCLA had a 78–61 win. He played 20 minutes in his last game for UCLA and Coach Wooden. "Twenty minutes too much", he said.


title: Bill Walton

text: Overall, as a senior, Walton averaged 19.3 points, 14.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists. He was named 1st Team All-American alongside Marvin Barnes of Providence, John Shumate of Notre Dame, David Thompson of North Carolina State, and teammate Jamaal Wilkes of UCLA.


title: Bill Walton

text: In his 87 career games at UCLA, Walton shot 65.1% from the field, averaging 20.3 points, 15.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists. UCLA was 86–4 in Walton's three seasons.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton was the 1973 recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. Walton also received the USBWA College Player of the Year and Naismith College Player of the Year as the top college basketball player in 1972, 1973, and 1974. He earned Academic All-American honors in 1972, 1973 and 1974. Some college basketball historians rate Walton as the greatest who ever played at the college level.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton left UCLA to begin a new life in professional basketball and kept a lifetime friendship with Coach Wooden. "Coach Wooden never talked about winning and losing, but rather about the effort to win. He rarely talked about basketball, but generally about life. He never talked about strategy, statistics or plays, but rather about people and character. Coach Wooden never tired of telling us that once you become a good person, then you have a chance of becoming a good basketball player."


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton was drafted by the American Basketball Association's Dallas Chaparrals in the 1973 ABA draft as an underclassman in an attempt to lure him from UCLA. In the locker room after the 1973 Championship game, Coach Wooden introduced Walton to representatives of the ABA, who hoped to convince him to turn pro. "Of which I had no interest in doing", Walton said.


title: Bill Walton

text: In 1974, the ABA's San Diego Conquistadors tried to persuade Walton to sign with them, after drafting him in the 1974 ABA draft. San Diego had also signed Wilt Chamberlain as a player-coach as further incentive. Walton was not swayed.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton was the number one overall pick by the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers in the 1974 NBA draft. Walton signed with the Trail Blazers.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton's first two seasons in Portland were marred by chronic foot injuries. In addition, during his first two years, Walton badly sprained an ankle, broke his left wrist twice, dislocated two toes, dislocated two fingers, broke a toe and injured his leg in a jeep accident.


title: Bill Walton

text: As a rookie in 1974–75, Walton averaged a double-double 12.8 points, 12.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.7 blocks in 35 games. The Trail Blazers with Geoff Petrie, Sidney Wicks, and LaRue Martin finished 38–44 under player/coach Lenny Wilkens.


title: Bill Walton

text: In 1975–76, Walton averaged 16.1 points, 13.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.6 blocks in 51 games as Portland, with rookies Bob Gross and Lionel Hollins, finished 37–45.


title: Bill Walton

text: In 1976–77 season Walton played in 65 games and, spurred by new head coach Jack Ramsay, Walton and a newly acquired ABA draftee in Maurice Lucas, the Trail Blazers became the Cinderella team of the NBA. In a pre-season meeting with his new coach, Walton had advised Ramsay, "Coach, don't assume we know anything."


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton led the NBA in both rebounds per game (14.4) and blocked shots per game (3.2) as he was selected to the NBA All-Star Game, but did not participate due to an injury. Walton was named to the NBA's First All-Defensive Team and the All-NBA Second Team for his regular-season accomplishments. He averaged 18.6 points, 14.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 3.2 blocks and Portland finished 49–33.


title: Bill Walton

text: In the 1977 postseason, Walton led #3 seed Portland to series victories over the Chicago Bulls with Artis Gilmore (2–1) and the Denver Nuggets with Dan Issel (4–2). He averaged 17.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 4.3 blocks in the first round series against the Bulls. In the Nuggets series Walton averaged 17.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 3.0 blocks. In a 4–0 series sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1977 Western Conference finals, Walton averaged 19.3 points, 14.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.3 blocks playing against fellow UCLA alum Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.


title: Bill Walton

text: Portland matched up in the 1977 NBA Finals against the favored Philadelphia 76ers. After losing the first two games, the Blazers won four straight to win the NBA championship. Walton scored 20 points and grabbed 23 rebounds in the clinching Game 6 victory, and was named the Finals' Most Valuable Player with averages of 18.5 points, 19.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.0 steals, and 3.7 blocks, which prompted Philadelphia 76ers coach Gene Shue to comment after the series: "Bill Walton is the best player for a big man who ever played the game of basketball."


title: Bill Walton

text: The following season, the 1977–78 Trail Blazers won 50 of their first 60 games, as Walton averaged 18.9 points, 13.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.5 blocks in 58 games. Walton then suffered a broken foot, ending his regular season. During this time, he befriended the controversial writer Jack Scott, who wrote and published a book about him in 1978. Walton nonetheless won the 1978 NBA Most Valuable Player award and the "Sporting News" NBA MVP, as well. Walton played in his only NBA All-Star Game in 1978 and was named to both the NBA's First All-Defensive Team and the All-NBA First Team.


title: Bill Walton

text: Portland finished the regular season 58–24 and Walton returned for the 1978 NBA playoffs. He was injured and lost for the remainder of the playoffs in the second game of the first-round series against the Seattle SuperSonics. After having received a painkilling injection to play, X-rays taken after Game 2 revealed the navicular bone below Walton's left ankle was broken. Portland lost the series to Seattle in six games. Walton would never play for the Trail Blazers again.


title: Bill Walton

text: During the off-season, Walton demanded to be traded, citing unethical and incompetent treatment of his and other players' injuries by the Blazers' front office. He did not get his wish and sat out the entire 1979 season in protest. Walton eventually signed with the San Diego Clippers when he became a free agent in 1979.


title: Bill Walton

text: In five seasons with Portland, Walton played in 209 games, averaging a double-double of 17.1 points and 13.5 rebounds, with 4.4 assists and 2.6 blocks.


title: Bill Walton

text: On May 13, 1979, Walton signed as a veteran free agent with the San Diego Clippers; the Portland Trail Blazers received Kevin Kunnert, Kermit Washington and a 1980 first-round draft pick (Mike Gminski was later selected) as compensation ordered by the NBA. Walton reportedly agreed to a seven-year, $7 million contract.


title: Bill Walton

text: Due to injuries, Walton spent more time on the disabled list than on the court with his hometown team. In his first season with San Diego, Walton played 14 games for the Clippers in the 1979–80 season. Walton re-fractured the navicular bone in the fourth 1979 exhibition game and subsequently missed all of the 1980–81 and 1981–82 seasons, undergoing several surgeries on his injured foot. Walton ignored doctors who said he would never play again and underwent surgery to restructure his left foot in 1981. His high arch, which made the foot bones susceptible to breaking, was lowered to relieve the stress on the bones.


title: Bill Walton

text: Following extensive rehabilitation, which included biking and sand volleyball, Walton's foot began to improve; after playing only 14 games from 1979 to 1982, he played 33 games in 1982–83 under doctor's orders to play about one game per week. He played in 55 games in 1983–84, and a then-career-high 67 in 1984–85, by which time the Clippers had relocated to Los Angeles.


title: Bill Walton

text: "When you fail in your hometown, that's as bad as it gets, and I love my hometown", said Walton of his tenure in San Diego. "I wish we had NBA basketball here, and we don't because of me. It's my greatest failure as a professional in my entire life, I could not get the job done in my hometown. It is a stain and stigma on my soul that is indelible. I'll never be able to wash that off, and I carry it with me forever."


title: Bill Walton

text: On Clippers owner Donald Sterling, Walton commented, "The checks bounced higher than the basketballs when Donald Sterling took over. The basketball was awful, and the business side was immoral, dishonest, corrupt, and illegal. Other than that, it was all fine."


title: Bill Walton

text: In 169 games with the Clippers, Walton averaged 11.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.3 blocks, shooting 53.2%. The Clippers never finished near .500 or made the playoffs in his tenure with the franchise. As his feet became more durable, the Clippers had won 30 and 31 games in his final two seasons. At age 32, Walton wished to move to a winning franchise and reached out to teams after the season ended in 1985.


title: Bill Walton

text: After the 1984–85 campaign, Walton called on two of the league's premier teams, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. After several players on the Celtics said they liked the idea of having Walton as a teammate backing up Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, Red Auerbach made the deal happen. One anecdote that particularly illustrates Walton's decision to choose the Celtics over the Lakers involves Larry Bird, who happened to be in Auerbach's office when Walton called. Bird said that if Walton felt healthy enough to play that it was good enough for him, as opposed to Lakers GM Jerry West, who was hedging his interest in Walton pending a doctor's report.


title: Bill Walton

text: On September 6, 1985, Walton was traded by the Los Angeles Clippers to the Boston Celtics for Cedric Maxwell and a 1986 1st round draft pick (Arvydas Sabonis was later selected).


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton described doctors looking at his X-rays at the hospital after he arrived in Boston: "And then Red, he bursts in through the double doors ... and he's smoking his cigar in the hospital, and he walks in and says, 'Who are you guys and what are you doing with my player?' And they're saying, 'Red, come here. Look at this. Look at his feet. Look at his face. We can't pass this guy.' And Red says, 'Shut up. I'm in charge here.' And Red pushes his way through all the doctors, comes over. I'm lying on the table there in the doctors examining room. Red looks down at me. He says, 'Walton, can you play?' I looked up at him with the sad, soft eyes of a young man who just wanted one more chance. One more chance to be part of something special, to be part of the team, to be with the guys one more time. And I looked up at him, and I said, 'Red, I think I can. I think I can, Red.' And Red, through the smoke, with a big, cherubic grin on his face, looked at the doctors, looked at me, and he said, 'He's fine. He passes. Let's go. We've got a game.' And we were able to go out and win a championship. I'm the luckiest guy in the world. Thank you Red Auerbach. Thank you Larry Bird. Thank you Boston Celtics. Thank you people of New England. Thank you Celtic nation. Wow. What a dream come true."


title: Bill Walton

text: In his first time in a Celtics uniform in the Boston Garden, Walton received one-minute standing ovation from the Boston home crowd walking onto the court for his first exhibition game in 1985.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton played a career-high 80 games for Coach KC Jones and the Celtics during the 1985–86 season. Walton averaged 7.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 19 minutes, and finished with a career-high 56.2 field goal percentage. Providing a reliable backup to Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, and playing alongside Larry Bird, Danny Ainge and Dennis Johnson, Walton received the 1986 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award en route to the NBA championship. He became the only player to have won an NBA Finals MVP, Sixth Man Award, and regular season MVP.


title: Bill Walton

text: The 1986 NBA playoffs were Walton's first taste of the postseason in nearly a decade, at age 33. Backing up McHale and Parish, he averaged 6.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 2.0 blocks in 19 minutes as the Celtics' had a 3–0 sweep in the Eastern Conference first round over the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan (43.7 point average in the series).


title: Bill Walton

text: In the Celtics' 4–1 series win over the Atlanta Hawks with Dominique Wilkins in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, Walton averaged 8.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 13 minutes. In the Eastern Conference Finals 4–0 sweep against the Milwaukee Bucks, Walton averaged 8.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 18 minutes.


title: Bill Walton

text: In the 1986 NBA Finals, the Celtics defeated the Houston Rockets with "Twin Towers" Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson 4–2 to win the NBA Championship. Walton averaged 8.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 2.2 blocks in 19 minutes, in helping the Celtics win the championship.


title: Bill Walton

text: "I knew we had something going when we got Walton", Larry Bird said on Walton and the 1985–86 Celtics. "It was all a matter of if he could stay healthy. We already had a pretty good team, and I think adding him and (Jerry) Sichting really helped us. Robert Parish accepting Bill Walton for who he is and what kind of player he was, I thought that was major. That's the best team I've ever been on, no question about that. I mean, we were good from top to bottom."


title: Bill Walton

text: "It wasn't important to me because I had no say in the personnel decisions, but what I was impressed with was Bill Walton's character", Parish said of Walton joining the Celtics. "He thought enough of me to make sure I was comfortable with him being on the team. That's why I have the utmost respect for Bill Walton and that's the main reason why he was my inductee into the Hall of Fame. Bill Walton is my main man, for that reason."


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton was injured again in the 1986–87 regular season, but returned in time for the 1987 playoffs. He only played in ten games during the season.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton spent the 1987–88 season on the Celtics' injured list. He attempted a comeback in February 1990, but injuries intervened and he retired as a player.


title: Bill Walton

text: Overall, Walton played 90 total games for the Celtics, shooting 55.1% and averaging 7.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 blocks in 18 minutes.


title: Bill Walton

text: At age 17, just out of high school, in the summer of 1970, Walton was selected to represent USA Basketball at the 1970 FIBA World Championship. The USA team, under coach Hal Fisher, failed to win a medal in the tournament, coming in a disappointing fifth place. By far the youngest player on the roster, Walton played minimally in five games, averaging 2.6 points.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton was selected to the 1972 U.S. Olympic basketball team, but declined to participate. Some saw it as a political statement given Walton’s opposition to the Vietnam War, but the most likely reason for his decision was his bad experience at the 1970 world championships. In a 2004 interview with ESPN, Walton stated that "for the first time in my life, I was exposed to negative coaching and the berating of players and the foul language and the threatening of people who didn’t perform."


title: Bill Walton

text: In the men's basketball final, the United States controversially lost to the Soviet Union 51–50, finishing in second place. According to Russian sports historian Robert Edelman, "when (the Soviets) saw who was and wasn't on the U.S. team, that's when they started feeling like they'd actually have a chance. They followed American basketball closely and they knew that no Walton was going to be a big deal." USA forward James Forbes told ESPN as part of a "SportsCentury" documentary, "If [Walton] plays, all of this becomes academic."


title: Bill Walton

text: Coach Jack Ramsay, in 2010, called Walton the best Portland Trail Blazer, "hands down no question", Ramsay said. "Walton could do everything, he had great timing, complete vision of the floor, had excellent fundamentals and was a great passer, both in outlet passes and in the half court. He loved playing basketball, just loved it, practices, games ... especially away games. He loved to win on the opponent's court. And he had a great head, a very dedicated team player." Of Walton's injuries, Ramsay added, "And that was very frustrating to both of us. To not be able to play was a crushing blow to him. And to me it was frustrating because I finally had a great team and a great player and it was all coming apart."


title: Bill Walton

text: "I'm here to try and make amends for the mistakes and errors of the past", Walton, said to the press in returning to Portland in 2009. "I regret that I wasn't a better person. A better player. I regret that I got hurt. I regret the circumstances in which I left the Portland Trail Blazers family. I just wish I could do a lot of things over, but I can't. So I'm here to apologize, to try and make amends, and to try and start over and make it better."


title: Bill Walton

text: Said Walton reflecting on his career: "I loved basketball. And I was going to go until I couldn't go anymore. I had no desire to ever stop playing. I've never met anybody who stopped playing voluntarily. I ground my body up. I've had 37 (38 now) orthopedic operations. I ground my feet up into dust. I've got a new knee. I've got a new spine. I'm the lucky one, in that I never thought going through all of it that I would be healthy at the end. And I almost wasn't. But I'm all better now."


title: Bill Walton

text: "I would love to play one more game", Walton said he wished. "But then I would want to play another one. And another one. But I will take one."


title: Bill Walton

text: Overall, Walton played 468 games in his NBA career. He averaged a career double-double of 13.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, with 3.4 assists and 2.2 blocked shots, averaging 28 minutes. He shot 52.1% from the floor for his career. Walton's injuries and surgeries limited his career, and counting his 1978–1979 year-long holdout, Walton played in 44% of the regular season games in his 13-year career.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton overcame a stuttering problem at age 28 with the help of Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Glickman, after a lengthy conversation between the two at an event.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton said about his speech issues and subsequent career, "I'm a stutterer. I never spoke to anybody. I lived most of my life by myself. But as soon as I got on the court I was fine. But in life, being so self conscious, red hair, big nose, freckles and goofy, nerdy looking face and can't talk at all. I was incredibly shy and never said a word. Then, when I was 28 I learned how to speak. It's become my greatest accomplishment of my life and everybody else's biggest nightmare."


title: Bill Walton

text: After his retirement as a player, Walton has become a successful and controversial basketball color commentator. Walton worked for CBS (1990), NCAA on CBS (1991), NBC (1990–2002), the Los Angeles Clippers (1990–2002) and ABC/ESPN (2002–2009). After 19 years working in broadcasting, he left ESPN in November 2009, as the result of back problems, which dated back to an injury he suffered in college at UCLA. Following surgery on his back, Walton returned to broadcasting as a part-time commentator for the Sacramento Kings for 2010–11 and 2011–12.


title: Bill Walton

text: In July 2012, ESPN and the Pac-12 Network announced that Walton would return to full-time broadcasting as a game analyst for Pac-12 conference basketball coverage.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton frequently works alongside Dave Pasch while calling Pac-12 games. His commentary has been noted for his frequent use of catchphrases and hyperbole. Walton typically was paired with Steve "Snapper" Jones for national NBA games because he and Jones had a point-counterpoint banter during games.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton's 2003 TV series "Bill Walton's Long Strange Trip" aired on ESPN with Walton as subject and star.


title: Bill Walton

text: While broadcasting a game between the Oregon Ducks and USC Trojans, Walton talked about a speech Bob Dylan gave at MusiCares, and ESPN had prepared graphics about Dylan's career highlights.


title: Bill Walton

text: While broadcasting a Washington–Oregon January 2019 game with Dave Pasch, Walton mentioned he had appeared in the motion picture "Ghostbusters". "Ghostbusters" was filmed in 1984 and Pasch questioned Walton about his claim throughout the game as to the specifics of his appearance and character, but Walton refused to provide more details. Research validated Walton's claim.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton has his own satellite radio show, "One More Saturday Night" (named after the Dead song of the same name), heard on Sirius Radio's Jam On and XM Radio's Grateful Dead channel.


title: Bill Walton

text: In 2001, Walton received an Emmy Award for "Best Live Sports Television Broadcast" and in 2018 was the recipient of the CoSIDA Dick Enberg Award.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton resides in his hometown of San Diego with his wife Lori (m. 1991). He and his first wife, Susie, had four sons: Adam, Nathan, Luke, and Chris.


title: Bill Walton

text: His son Luke became an NBA player, winning both the 2009 and 2010 NBA Finals with the Lakers. The titles made Walton and him the first NBA father-son pair to have both won multiple NBA championships. Luke was the head coach of the Lakers (2016–2019), after two years as an assistant for the Golden State Warriors. In April 2019, Luke Walton was named head coach of the Sacramento Kings. Luke was named after Walton's friend and former teammate Maurice Lucas. "Maurice was so important in my life and in little Luke's life", Walton said. "Whenever there was a big moment for little Luke, big Luke would show up unannounced to make sure it all turned out right."


title: Bill Walton

text: Nate Walton played basketball at Princeton. He entered the corporate world and earned his MBA from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. (Bill Walton had attended Stanford Law School for two years while with the Clippers, but never graduated.) Nate was on the ballot for the 2003 California Recall election, receiving 1,697 votes. He has been highly successful in the oil business.


title: Bill Walton

text: Adam Walton played at Louisiana State University, Pomona College and the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, California. He currently is a college assistant coach at San Diego Mesa College.


title: Bill Walton

text: Bill Walton's other brother, Bruce Walton, played in the National Football League with the Dallas Cowboys from 1973 to 1975. They were basketball teammates in high school. Bill followed Bruce in attending UCLA. Bruce played in Super Bowl X, making Bill and Bruce the only brothers to play in the Super Bowl and NBA Finals.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton's sister Cathy was an outstanding youth swimmer and played some basketball at the University of California.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton's ankle problems became so severe that he had both his ankles surgically fused. His saga of injury and failed rehabs was connected to the use of painkillers by the doctor who was assigned to his case. Walton has said repeatedly in his broadcasts that he is just as much to blame for taking the medication as the doctor was for giving it to him. In a June 8, 2010, interview on "The Dan Patrick Show", Walton admitted to contemplating suicide for a time due to the constant pain resulting from injuries sustained during his NBA career.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton maintained a close lifetime friendship with Coach John Wooden, visiting him often. "Coach Wooden is the most influential person in my life outside of my mom and dad, but when we played for him, he was older than our parents, and we thought our parents were the oldest people on earth", Walton said. "So the things he taught us made no sense to us. We thought he was nuts, but when you're hot and when you're on top and it's all happening, you never think. We were so young and we had always won. So we had no real idea how fragile everything was. Everything that Coach Wooden told us eventually came true."


title: Bill Walton

text: On Walton's desk sits a message to him from Coach Wooden: "To Bill Walton, it's the things you learn after you know it all that count. John Wooden."


title: Bill Walton

text: In 2009, Walton underwent an eight-hour spinal-fusion surgery. Two titanium rods and four four-inch bolts were inserted in his back. He could not walk to the hospital. After the successful surgery he was hospitalized for a week, and could not move freely for a year.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton is a fan of the Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers Band, Neil Young, Phish, and Bob Dylan. Walton is particularly attached to the Grateful Dead, whose concerts he started attending in 1967, while he was still in high school. He attended more than 850 Grateful Dead concerts, including traveling with the band to Egypt for its before the Pyramids (joining the band on drums), and quotes Grateful Dead lyrics in TV and radio interviews. To fellow Deadheads, Walton is fondly known as "Grateful Red" and the "Big Red Deadhead" and "World's Tallest Deadhead". In the video for "Touch of Grey", Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart is wearing a Celtics jacket given to him by Walton. In 2001, Walton was inducted into The Grateful Dead Hall of Honor.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton also considers himself a fan and friend of the late writer Ken Kesey. In 2015, he made a visit to the Ken Kesey Collection while on a stop at the University of Oregon.


title: Bill Walton

text: His memoir, "Back from the Dead: Searching for the Sound, Shining the Light and Throwing It Down", was released by Simon and Schuster in March 2016. It remained on "The New York Times" bestseller list for two weeks in April 2016.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton, who has a service dog, wrote the foreword to the 2015 book "Unconditional Honor: Wounded Warriors and their Dogs" by author Cathy Scott.


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton has cameo appearances in the films "88 and 1", "Celtic Pride", "Little Nicky" and "Semi-Pro", and appeared as Sven the Wise in the 2011 Capital One Visigoth SportsNet commercials. He is also mentioned by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 1980 comedy "Airplane!" ("Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!")


title: Bill Walton

text: Bill Walton is a playable character in the video games "NBA Street Vol. 2" (2003), "NBA Street V3" (2005), "NBA 2K12" (2011), "NBA 2K13" (2012), "NBA 2K14" (2013), "NBA 2K15" (2014), "NBA 2K16" (2015) and "" (2011), and lent his voice to "NBA 2K5" and "NBA Shootout 2004".


title: Bill Walton

text: Walton appeared in the premiere of the third season in the reality TV show "Shark Tank" on January 20, 2012, where he helped to sell the "Clean Bottle", a water bottle that unscrews at both ends for easier cleaning.


title: Noble gas

text: The noble gases (historically also the inert gases; sometimes referred to as aerogens) make up a class of chemical elements with similar properties; under standard conditions, they are all odorless, colorless, monatomic gases with very low chemical reactivity. The six naturally occurring noble gases are helium (He), neon (Ne), argon (Ar), krypton (Kr), xenon (Xe), and the radioactive radon (Rn).


title: Noble gas

text: Oganesson (Og) is a synthetically produced highly radioactive element. Although IUPAC has used the term "noble gas" interchangeably with "group 18" and thus included oganesson, it may not be significantly chemically noble and is predicted to break the trend and be reactive due to relativistic effects. Because of the extremely short 0.7 ms half-life of its only known isotope, its chemistry has not yet been investigated.


title: Noble gas

text: For the first six periods of the periodic table, the noble gases are exactly the members of group 18. Noble gases are typically highly unreactive except when under particular extreme conditions. The inertness of noble gases makes them very suitable in applications where reactions are not wanted. For example, argon is used in incandescent lamps to prevent the hot tungsten filament from oxidizing; also, helium is used in breathing gas by deep-sea divers to prevent oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide toxicity.


title: Noble gas

text: The properties of the noble gases can be well explained by modern theories of atomic structure: Their outer shell of valence electrons is considered to be "full", giving them little tendency to participate in chemical reactions, and it has been possible to prepare only a few hundred noble gas compounds. The melting and boiling points for a given noble gas are close together, differing by less than ; that is, they are liquids over only a small temperature range.


title: Noble gas

text: Neon, argon, krypton, and xenon are obtained from air in an air separation unit using the methods of liquefaction of gases and fractional distillation. Helium is sourced from natural gas fields that have high concentrations of helium in the natural gas, using cryogenic gas separation techniques, and radon is usually isolated from the radioactive decay of dissolved radium, thorium, or uranium compounds. Noble gases have several important applications in industries such as lighting, welding, and space exploration. A helium-oxygen breathing gas is often used by deep-sea divers at depths of seawater over . After the risks caused by the flammability of hydrogen became apparent in the Hindenburg disaster, it was replaced with helium in blimps and balloons.


title: Noble gas

text: "Noble gas" is translated from the German noun , first used in 1898 by Hugo Erdmann to indicate their extremely low level of reactivity. The name makes an analogy to the term "noble metals", which also have low reactivity. The noble gases have also been referred to as "inert gases", but this label is deprecated as many noble gas compounds are now known. "Rare gases" is another term that was used, but this is also inaccurate because argon forms a fairly considerable part (0.94% by volume, 1.3% by mass) of the Earth's atmosphere due to decay of radioactive potassium-40.


title: Noble gas

text: Pierre Janssen and Joseph Norman Lockyer had discovered a new element on 18 August 1868 while looking at the chromosphere of the Sun, and named it helium after the Greek word for the Sun, (). No chemical analysis was possible at the time, but helium was later found to be a noble gas. Before them, in 1784, the English chemist and physicist Henry Cavendish had discovered that air contains a small proportion of a substance less reactive than nitrogen. A century later, in 1895, Lord Rayleigh discovered that samples of nitrogen from the air were of a different density than nitrogen resulting from chemical reactions. Along with Scottish scientist William Ramsay at University College, London, Lord Rayleigh theorized that the nitrogen extracted from air was mixed with another gas, leading to an experiment that successfully isolated a new element, argon, from the Greek word (, "idle" or "lazy"). With this discovery, they realized an entire class of gases was missing from the periodic table. During his search for argon, Ramsay also managed to isolate helium for the first time while heating cleveite, a mineral. In 1902, having accepted the evidence for the elements helium and argon, Dmitri Mendeleev included these noble gases as group 0 in his arrangement of the elements, which would later become the periodic table.


title: Noble gas

text: Ramsay continued his search for these gases using the method of fractional distillation to separate liquid air into several components. In 1898, he discovered the elements krypton, neon, and xenon, and named them after the Greek words (, "hidden"), (, "new"), and (, "stranger"), respectively. Radon was first identified in 1898 by Friedrich Ernst Dorn, and was named "radium emanation", but was not considered a noble gas until 1904 when its characteristics were found to be similar to those of other noble gases. Rayleigh and Ramsay received the 1904 Nobel Prizes in Physics and in Chemistry, respectively, for their discovery of the noble gases; in the words of J. E. Cederblom, then president of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, "the discovery of an entirely new group of elements, of which no single representative had been known with any certainty, is something utterly unique in the history of chemistry, being intrinsically an advance in science of peculiar significance".


title: Noble gas

text: The discovery of the noble gases aided in the development of a general understanding of atomic structure. In 1895, French chemist Henri Moissan attempted to form a reaction between fluorine, the most electronegative element, and argon, one of the noble gases, but failed. Scientists were unable to prepare compounds of argon until the end of the 20th century, but these attempts helped to develop new theories of atomic structure. Learning from these experiments, Danish physicist Niels Bohr proposed in 1913 that the electrons in atoms are arranged in shells surrounding the nucleus, and that for all noble gases except helium the outermost shell always contains eight electrons. In 1916, Gilbert N. Lewis formulated the "octet rule", which concluded an octet of electrons in the outer shell was the most stable arrangement for any atom; this arrangement caused them to be unreactive with other elements since they did not require any more electrons to complete their outer shell.


title: Noble gas

text: In 1962, Neil Bartlett discovered the first chemical compound of a noble gas, xenon hexafluoroplatinate. Compounds of other noble gases were discovered soon after: in 1962 for radon, radon difluoride (), which was identified by radiotracer techniques and in 1963 for krypton, krypton difluoride (). The first stable compound of argon was reported in 2000 when argon fluorohydride (HArF) was formed at a temperature of .


title: Noble gas

text: In October 2006, scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory successfully created synthetically oganesson, the seventh element in group 18, by bombarding californium with calcium.