title: The Last Emperor

text: The British historian Alex von Tunzelmann wrote that the movie considerably downplays and misrepresents the emperor's cruelty, especially during his youth. As stated by Tunzelmann and Behr (author of the 1987 book "The Last Emperor"), Puyi engaged in sadistic abuse of palace servants and subordinates during his initial reign well in excess of what Bertolucci's movie portrays, frequently having eunuchs beaten for mild transgressions or no reason at all; in a demonstrative example, the young emperor once conspired to force a eunuch to eat a cake full of iron filings simply to see the eunuch's reaction, which he was talked out of by his beloved wet nurse with some difficulty. Tunzelmann states that most people worldwide who have heard of Puyi are likely to have an incorrect understanding of this aspect of the emperor's reign, as the movie is much more popular globally than more accurate biographies.


title: The Last Emperor

text: Jeremy Thomas recalled the approval process for the screenplay with the Chinese government: "It was less difficult than working with the studio system. They made script notes and made references to change some of the names, then the stamp went on and the door opened and we came."


title: The Last Emperor

text: While not included on the album soundtrack, the following music was played in the film: "Am I Blue?" (1929), "Auld Lang Syne" (uncredited), and "China Boy" (1922) (uncredited). The Northeastern Cradle Song was sung by Ar Mo twice in the film.


title: The Last Emperor

text: Hemdale Film Corporation acquired all North American distribution rights to the film on behalf of producer Thomas, who raised a large sum of the budget himself. Hemdale, in turn, licensed theatrical rights to Columbia Pictures, who were initially reluctant to release it, and only after shooting was completed did the head of Columbia agree to distribute "The Last Emperor" in North America.


title: The Last Emperor

text: "The Last Emperor" opened in 19 theatres in Italy and grossed $265,000 in its first weekend. It expanded to 65 theatres in its second weekend and 93 in its third, increasing its weekend gross to $763,000 and grossing $2 million in its first 16 days. Six days after its Italian opening, it opened in Germany and grossed $473,000 in its first weekend from 50 theatres and $1.1 million in its first 10 days. The film had an unusual run in US theatres. It did not enter the weekend box office top 10 until its twelfth week in which the film reached number 7 after increasing its gross by 168% from the previous week and more than tripling its theatre count (this was the weekend before it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture). Following that week, the film lingered around the top 10 for 8 weeks before peaking at number 4 in its 22nd week (the weekend after winning the Oscar) (increasing its weekend gross by 306% and nearly doubling its theatre count from 460 to 877) and spending 6 more weeks in the weekend box office top 10. Were it not for this late push, "The Last Emperor" would have joined "The English Patient", "Amadeus", and "The Hurt Locker" as the only Best Picture winners to not enter the weekend box office top 5 since these numbers were first recorded in 1982.


title: The Last Emperor

text: The film was converted into 3D and shown in the Cannes Classics section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.


title: The Last Emperor

text: The film has received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an 87% "Certified Fresh" score based on 119 reviews, with an average rating of 8.10/10. The site's consensus states: "While Bernardo Bertolucci's decadent epic never quite identifies the dramatic pulse of its protagonist, stupendous visuals and John Lone's ability to make passivity riveting give "The Last Emperor" a rarified grandeur." Metacritic reports a 76 out of 100 rating based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: The Last Emperor

text: Roger Ebert was notably enthusiastic in his praise of the film, awarding it four stars out of four: "Bertolucci is able to make Pu Yi's imprisonment seem all the more ironic because this entire film was shot on location inside the People's Republic of China, and he was even given permission to film inside the Forbidden City — a vast, medieval complex covering some and containing 9,999 rooms (only heaven, the Chinese believed, had 10,000 rooms). It probably is unforgivably bourgeois to admire a film because of its locations, but in the case of "The Last Emperor" the narrative cannot be separated from the awesome presence of the Forbidden City, and from Bertolucci's astonishing use of locations, authentic costumes, and thousands of extras to create the everyday reality of this strange little boy."


title: The Last Emperor

text: Jonathan Rosenbaum compared "The Last Emperor" favorably to Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun": "At best, apart from a few snapshots, "Empire of the Sun" teaches us something about the inside of one director's brain. "The Last Emperor" incidentally and secondarily does that too; but it also teaches us something about the lives of a billion people with whom we share this planet—and better yet, makes us want to learn still more about them."


title: The Last Emperor

text: In Japan, the Shochiku Fuji Company edited out a thirty-second sequence depicting the Rape of Nanjing before distributing it to Japanese theatres, without Bernardo Bertolucci's consent. Bertolucci was furious at Shochiku Fuji's interference with his film, calling it "revolting". The company quickly restored the scene, blaming "confusion and misunderstanding" for the edit while opining that the Rape sequence was "too sensational" for Japanese audiences.


title: The Last Emperor

text: Hemdale licensed its video rights to Nelson Entertainment, which released the film on VHS and Laserdisc. The film also received a Laserdisc release in Australia in 1992, through Columbia Tri-Star Video. Years later, Artisan Entertainment acquired the rights to the film and released both the theatrical and extended versions on home video. In February 2008 The Criterion Collection (under license from now-rights-holder Thomas) released a four disc Director-Approved edition, again containing both theatrical and extended versions. Criterion released a Blu-ray version on 6 January 2009.


title: The Last Emperor

text: The film's theatrical release ran 160 minutes. Deemed too long to show in a single three-hour block on television but too short to spread out over two nights, an extended version was created which runs 218 minutes. Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and director Bernardo Bertolucci have confirmed that this extended version was indeed created as a television miniseries and does not represent a true "director's cut".


title: The Last Emperor

text: The Criterion Collection 2008 version of four DVDs adds commentary by Ian Buruma, composer David Byrne, and the Director's interview with Jeremy Isaacs (ASIN: B000ZM1MIW, ). It includes a booklet featuring an essay by David Thomson, interviews with production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti and actor Ying Ruocheng, a reminiscence by Bertolucci, and an essay and production-diary extracts from Fabien S. Gerard.


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (, [Ḳitsur toldot ha-enoshut]) is a book by Yuval Noah Harari, first published in Hebrew in Israel in 2011 based on a series of lectures Harari taught at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and in English in 2014. The book, focusing on "Homo sapiens", surveys the history of humankind, starting from the Stone Age and going up to the twenty-first century. The account is situated within a framework that intersects the natural sciences with the social sciences.


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: The book has gathered mixed reviews. While it was positively received by the general public, scholars with relevant subject matter expertise have been very critical of its scientific and historical claims.


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: Harari's work situates its account of human history within a framework: he sees the natural sciences as setting the limits of possibility for human activity and sees the social sciences as shaping what happens within those bounds. The academic discipline of history is the account of cultural change.


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: Harari surveys the history of humankind in the Stone Age up to the twenty-first century, focusing on "Homo sapiens". He divides the history of Sapiens into four major parts:


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: Harari's main argument is that Sapiens came to dominate the world because it is the only animal that can cooperate flexibly in large numbers. He argues that prehistoric Sapiens were a key cause of the extinction of other human species such as the Neanderthals and numerous other megafauna. He further argues that the ability of Sapiens to cooperate in large numbers arises from its unique capacity to believe in things existing purely in the imagination, such as gods, nations, money, and human rights. He argues that these beliefs give rise to discrimination – whether that be racial, sexual or political and it is potentially impossible to have a completely unbiased society. Harari claims that all large-scale human cooperation systems – including religions, political structures, trade networks, and legal institutions – owe their emergence to Sapiens' distinctive cognitive capacity for fiction. Accordingly, Harari regards money as a system of mutual trust and sees political and economic systems as more or less identical with religions.


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: Harari's key claim regarding the Agricultural Revolution is that while it promoted population growth for Sapiens and co-evolving species like wheat and cows, it made the lives of most individuals (and animals) worse than they had been when Sapiens were mostly hunter-gatherers since their diet and daily lives became significantly less varied. Humans' violent treatment of other animals is a theme that runs throughout the book.


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: In discussing the unification of humankind, Harari argues that over its history, the trend for Sapiens has increasingly been towards political and economic interdependence. For centuries, the majority of humans lived in empires, and capitalist globalization is effectively producing one, global empire. Harari argues that money, empires, and universal religions are the principal drivers of this process.


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: Harari sees the Scientific Revolution as founded on innovation in European thought, whereby elites became willing to admit to, and hence to try to remedy, their ignorance. He sees this as one driver of early modern European imperialism and of the current convergence of human cultures. Harari also emphasizes the lack of research into the history of happiness, positing that people today are not significantly happier than in past eras. He concludes by considering how modern technology may soon end the species as we know it, as it ushers in genetic engineering, immortality, and non-organic life. Humans have, in Harari's chosen metaphor, become gods: they can create species.


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: Harari cites Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs, and Steel" (1997) as one of the greatest inspirations for the book by showing that it was possible to "ask very big questions and answer them scientifically".


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: First published in Hebrew in 2011, the book was released in English in 2015 and has since been translated into 65 languages. On Goodreads, the book is rated 4.4 out of 5 according to more than 800,000 reviews. It also made "The New York Times" best-seller list, appearing for 182 weeks (as of May 2022) including 96 consecutive weeks. It won the National Library of China's Wenjin Book Award for the best book published in 2014. Writing four years after its English-language publication, Alex Preston wrote in "The Guardian" that "Sapiens" had become a "publishing phenomenon" with "wild success" symptomatic of a broader trend toward "intelligent, challenging nonfiction, often books that are several years old". Concurrently, "The Guardian" listed the book as among the ten "best brainy books of the decade". The Royal Society of Biologists in the UK shortlisted the book in its 2015 Book Awards. Bill Gates ranked "Sapiens" among his ten favorite books, and Mark Zuckerberg also recommended it. The Kirkus awarded a star to the book, noting that it is "the great debates of history aired out with satisfying vigor". The British daily "The Times" also gave the book a rave review, quoting that "Sapiens is the kind of book that sweeps cobwebs out of your brain" and that it is "mind-thrilling". "The Sydney Morning Herald" described the book as "always engaging and often provocative".


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: In 2015 the Israel Museum in Jerusalem created a special, temporary exhibit based on the book, using archeological and artistic displays to demonstrate the main themes found in the book. The exhibit ran from May until December 2015.


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: Anthropologist Christopher Robert Hallpike reviewed the book and did not find any "serious contribution to knowledge". Hallpike suggested that "...whenever his facts are broadly correct they are not new, and whenever he tries to strike out on his own he often gets things wrong, sometimes seriously". He considered it an infotainment publishing event offering a "wild intellectual ride across the landscape of history, dotted with sensational displays of speculation, and ending with blood-curdling predictions about human destiny."


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: Science journalist Charles C. Mann concluded in "The Wall Street Journal", "There's a whiff of dorm-room bull sessions about the author's stimulating but often unsourced assertions."


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: Reviewing the book in "The Washington Post", evolutionary anthropologist Avi Tuschman points out problems stemming from the contradiction between Harari's "freethinking scientific mind" and his "fuzzier worldview hobbled by political correctness", but nonetheless wrote that "Harari's book is important reading for serious-minded, self-reflective sapiens."


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: Reviewing the book in "The Guardian", philosopher Galen Strawson concluded that, among several other problems, "Much of "Sapiens" is extremely interesting, and it is often well expressed. As one reads on, however, the attractive features of the book are overwhelmed by carelessness, exaggeration and sensationalism". He specifically mentions how the author ignores happiness studies, that his claims of the "opening of a gap between the tenets of liberal humanism and the latest findings of the life sciences" is silly and deplores how the author, once again, transforms Adam Smith into the apostle of greed.


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: John Sexton, then a graduate student in the Committee on Social Thought from the University of Chicago, concluded that "The book is fundamentally unserious and undeserving of the wide acclaim and attention it has been receiving".


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: The original Hebrew publication was first issued in 2011 as "קיצור תולדות האנושות" ["Ḳitsur toldot ha-enoshut"], which translates into "A Brief History of Humankind".


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: A 2012 English translation was self-published with the title "From Animals Into Gods." The English translation was published in 2015 as "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind", "translated by the author with the help of John Purcell and Haim Watzman", simultaneously in London by Harvill Secker (hardback), (trade paperback) and in Canada by Signal ( (bound), (html)). It was then republished in London by Vintage Books in 2015 ( (paperback)).


title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

text: In 2020 the first volume of the graphic novel version of the book was published simultaneously in several languages, with the title "Sapiens: A Graphic History, Volume 1: The Birth of Humankind". It is credited as coauthored by Harari and David Vandermeulen, with adaptation and illustrations by Daniel Casanave. The second volume "Sapiens: A Graphic History, Volume 2: The Pillars of Civilization" was published in October 2021.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: Atomic Blonde is a 2017 American action thriller film based on the 2012 graphic novel "The Coldest City", which revolves around a spy who has to find a list of double agents that is being smuggled into the West on the eve of the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The film is directed by David Leitch, in his first solo directorial credit, and it is written by Kurt Johnstad. The film's cast includes Charlize Theron (who also served as a co-producer), James McAvoy, John Goodman, Til Schweiger, Eddie Marsan, Sofia Boutella, Roland Møller, and Toby Jones.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: "Atomic Blonde" had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 12, 2017, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 28 by Focus Features. It grossed $100 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics. Many compared the film to the "John Wick" series, for which Leitch was an uncredited co-director and producer of the first film. A sequel is in development.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: In November 1989, days prior to the collapse of the Berlin Wall, MI6 agent James Gascoigne is shot and killed by KGB agent Yuri Bakhtin, who steals The List, a microfilm document concealed in Gascoigne's wristwatch containing the names of every intelligence agent (on both sides) active in Berlin. Ten days later, Lorraine Broughton, a top-level MI6 spy, is brought in to be debriefed by MI6 executive Eric Gray and CIA agent Emmett Kurzfeld about her just-finished mission to Berlin. The plot jumps between the debriefing room and flashbacks to Lorraine's time in Berlin.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: The day after Gascoigne's death, Lorraine is dispatched to recover The List and is told to keep an eye out for Satchel, a double agent for the KGB who has been a problem for MI6 for years. Arriving in Berlin, she is immediately ambushed by KGB agents speaking English and apparently posing as her own MI6 team, who attempt to deliver a message from their boss, Aleksander Bremovych. She is able to escape their grasp by crashing their car and is immediately picked up by her real MI6 contact, maverick MI6 station head David Percival, who should have been the one to pick her up initially. Percival is addicted to the Bohemian lifestyle he has been leading on both sides of the Berlin wall and resentful of Lorraine and the implied supervision from London she brings, and he seems unwilling to cooperate with her. Lorraine searches Gascoigne's apartment and discovers a picture of him and Percival. In the debriefing, she tells Gray and Kurzfeld that Percival had previously denied knowing Gascoigne and she suspects Percival was behind the West Berlin police ambushing her while she searched Gascoigne's apartment. When Lorraine visits a restaurant mentioned by the KGB agents she encounters Bremovych, but is "saved" by Delphine Lasalle, a novice French agent. Although Lorraine is initially suspicious of Lasalle, they eventually enter into a sexual relationship after a passionate kiss in a nightclub, where Lasalle tells Lorraine that she knows who she is and why she's in Berlin, and suggests that they should work together.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: Percival, having tailed Lorraine, surveils a watchmaker she visited. He spots Bakhtin entering the same shop. Bakhtin tells the watchmaker he has a watch full of secrets he will sell to the highest bidder. Kurzfeld meets with Lorraine in Berlin, handing her a newspaper containing a number which, when called, informs her Satchel has been compromised. Percival lures Bakhtin to an alley, kills him, and takes the wristwatch from which he discovers who Satchel is. Lorraine, who does not know Percival has The List, finds out that the Stasi officer codenamed Spyglass, who gave The List to Gascoigne, also memorized the names on it. Lorraine and Percival make plans to escort him across the border to West Berlin. Percival meets with Bremovych, who suspects Percival has The List, but Percival offers only the second best thing—the identity and operations details of Satchel "to keep the balance", also tipping him off about the plan to extricate Spyglass from East Berlin. Lasalle covertly photographs the meeting.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: During the extrication of Spyglass, Percival secretly shoots him when the KGB agents are unable to. Lorraine battles multiple KGB agents while rescuing the wounded Spyglass, however, he drowns when their car is pushed into a river by the same KGB agent whose car Lorraine crashed when she first arrived in Berlin. Lorraine makes it to West Berlin and realizes Percival has planted a bug in her coat. She tells Lasalle, who calls Percival and threatens him with her knowledge of his Bremovych meeting. Percival goes to Lasalle's apartment and kills her, fleeing as Lorraine arrives moments later. Lorraine discovers the photographs taken by Lasalle and realizes Percival has read The List. Percival burns his safehouse and attempts to flee, but Lorraine arrives, kills him, avenging Lasalle, and takes The List.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: In the MI6 debriefing, Lorraine discovers Percival had told Gray he had The List and he was "very close to Satchel". She presents Lasalle's photographs and doctored audio recordings, which paint Percival as Satchel. She denies knowing The List's whereabouts, leaving MI6 no choice but to close the case.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: Three days later in Paris, Lorraine, now speaking in Russian, meets with Bremovych, who addresses her as "Comrade Satchel". Bremovych, having learned from Percival there is more to Satchel than he had previously known, orders his men to kill her. Lorraine kills his henchmen. Then, speaking with an American accent, she tells Bremovych she always fed him misinformation to manipulate the KGB. Then she kills him. She and Kurzfeld (CIA) return to the United States with The List. In their friendly conversation, it is implied Lorraine is actually a triple agent and had been working for the CIA all along.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: In addition, Sam Hargrave and Bill Skarsgård make brief appearances as MI6 agent James Gascoigne and as Lorraine's East German contact and presumed CIA ally Merkel, respectively. Daniel Bernhardt also played a strong thug working for Bremovych who fights Lorraine several times.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: An adaptation of the graphic novel "The Coldest City" was announced in May 2015. Described by "Variety" as a "Passion Project" for Theron, she first came across the story five years prior, when her production company Denver and Delilah Productions was sent the then-unpublished graphic novel. Theron's interest in the first "John Wick" movie inspired her to get David Leitch, one of the directors, to helm the project. Leitch eventually left "" to direct the film. According to Theron, the success of "" helped guide the development of "Atomic Blonde". The film features a bisexual subplot that was not in the original book. This came from writer Kurt Johnstad, who suggested it after Theron was "thinking about how do you make this different from other spy movies". Leitch has insisted that the scenes are not there to be "provocative", but "more about if you are a spy you will do whatever it takes to get information" and how the main character "find[s] her intimacies and her friendships in small doses".


title: Atomic Blonde

text: Theron's casting as the lead was announced in May 2015, while James McAvoy was announced that October. In November, John Goodman was reported as also being in talks to join the film. It was originally hoped that David Bowie would play a part in the film, although he turned down the offer shortly before his death. To prepare for the role, Theron worked with eight personal trainers, who "basically made [her] puke every single day". During the process, Theron cracked her teeth from clenching her jaw and had to get them fixed in surgery. She also bruised a rib during her training. As Theron's training for the movie overlapped with Keanu Reeves' training for "", the two developed a competitive relationship, which included sparring together.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: Principal photography on the film began on November 22, 2015, in Budapest, and later moved to Berlin.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: From the start, Leitch felt that using the right songs for the project was crucial. Part of this was attempting to answer the question "How do you reinvent this stuffy Cold War spy movie?" The soundtrack uses a combination of 1980s songs as well as covers of them. The latter were used to add "a contemporized feeling of the '80s". The movie's producers were initially worried that they would not be able to get the rights to all the songs that Leitch wanted to use, but Leitch himself estimated that around 75% of his picks made it into the final product. Though the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the concentration of iconic songs was from the first half of the 1980s, with the exception of George Michael's 1988 chart-topping "Father Figure", which itself was Leitch's second choice after the 1986 release "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: In May 2015, Focus Features acquired distribution rights to the film. It was initially scheduled to be released on August 11, 2017, before being moved up to July 28, 2017. The film had its world premiere at the South by Southwest on March 12, 2017.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: "Atomic Blonde" grossed $51.7 million in the United States and Canada and $48.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $100 million, against a production budget of $30 million.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: In North America, "Atomic Blonde" was projected to gross around $20 million from 3,304 theaters during its first weekend. It grossed $1.52 million from Thursday night previews at 2,685 theaters. After making $7.1 million on its first day (including previews), the film went on to open to $18.3 million, finishing 4th at the box office, behind "Dunkirk", "The Emoji Movie" and "Girls Trip". In its second weekend the film dropped 55% to $8.2 million, finishing 7th at the box office. It made $4.5 million in its third week and $2.2 million in its fourth, finishing 10th and 13th at the box office, respectively.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 79% based on 367 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""Atomic Blonde" gets enough mileage out of its stylish action sequences – and ever-magnetic star – to make up for a narrative that's somewhat less hard-hitting than its protagonist." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on reviews from 50 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: Richard Roeper of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, saying: "Borrow from Bourne and Bond. Rinse and repeat. This is the recipe for the quite ridiculous, ultra-violent and deliriously entertaining "Atomic Blonde", a slick vehicle for the magnetic, badass charms of Charlize Theron, who is now officially an A-list action star on the strength of this film and ""." Writing for "Rolling Stone", Peter Travers praised the cast and fight scenes, giving it 3 stars out of 4 and saying, "It's the fight scenes that count – and they're astonishingly good, from a mano-a-mano beatdown involving Theron's stiletto heel and a thug's jugular vein to a climactic free-for-all in a swanky hotel suite where 99 Luftballons scores every gunshot and gut-punch."


title: Atomic Blonde

text: Jake Coyle of the "Associated Press" gave the film 2/4 stars, calling it "largely a vacant, hyper-stylistic romp that trades on the thick Cold War atmosphere of far better films".


title: Atomic Blonde

text: In July 2017, Leitch expressed a desire to develop a sequel film to "Atomic Blonde", saying that the project is dependent on the first film's success. In May 2018, Theron confirmed that a sequel was in active development. By July 2019, Leitch announced that the project is in development as a production deal with a streaming service company, while the filmmaker's wife Kelly McCormick, will return as producer. By April 2020, it was announced the film was in development as a Netflix exclusive film, while Theron will also be a producer.


title: Atomic Blonde

text: In July 2017, Leitch discussed the potential of a crossover film featuring "Atomic Blonde" and the "John Wick" franchise. Leitch directed the former, after previously co-directing the first "John Wick" film. The filmmaker stated that all individuals involved have discussed the possibility, and that they would do it once there was a good enough story worked out.


title: The Corrs

text: The Corrs are an Irish family band that combine pop rock with traditional Irish themes within their music. The group consists of the Corr siblings, Andrea (lead vocals, tin whistle, mandolin, ukulele), Sharon (violin, keyboards, vocals), Caroline (drums, percussion, piano, bodhrán, vocals) and Jim (guitar, piano, keyboards, vocals). They are from Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland.


title: The Corrs

text: The Corrs have released seven studio albums and numerous singles, which have reached Platinum in many countries, and have sold 40 million albums worldwide. "Talk on Corners", their most successful album to date, reached multi-Platinum status in Australia, and in the UK it was the highest selling album of the year. The band is one of only a handful of acts who have held the top two positions simultaneously in the UK album charts, with "Talk on Corners" at number one and "Forgiven, Not Forgotten" at number two. The latter was the year's third highest selling album in Australia. Their third studio album, "In Blue", went to number one in seventeen countries.


title: The Corrs

text: The Corrs have been actively involved in philanthropic activities. They have performed in numerous charity concerts, such as The Prince's Trust event in 2004 and Live 8 in 2005. The same year, they were awarded honorary MBEs for their contributions to music and charity. The band was inactive for almost ten years because Jim and Caroline were raising families, while Andrea and Sharon were pursuing solo careers while raising families of their own. According to Sharon, it was uncertain if and when The Corrs would reunite. Rumours of a reunion sparked in early 2015 and in a radio interview with Chris Evans in June 2015, Andrea confirmed that The Corrs were working on a new album and would play the BBC Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park festival. Their sixth studio album, "White Light", was released on 27 November 2015, and was accompanied by a European tour. After two years, their seventh studio album, "Jupiter Calling", was released on 10 November 2017.


title: The Corrs

text: While Caroline and Andrea were still attending school, Jim and Sharon began playing as a duo, often at McManus's, their aunt's pub. In 1990, Jim and Sharon added their younger siblings, to form a quartet. Their career took off in 1991 when they auditioned for the film "The Commitments". Jim, Sharon and Caroline each had small parts as musicians, while Andrea had a speaking part as Sharon Rabbitte. John Hughes noticed them when they auditioned for the film and agreed to become their manager.


title: The Corrs

text: In 1994, the USA ambassador to Ireland, Jean Kennedy Smith, invited them to perform at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in Boston after seeing them play a gig at Whelan's Music Bar in Dublin. After an appearance at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States, The Corrs joined Celine Dion's worldwide "Falling into You Around the World Tour" as a supporting act.


title: The Corrs

text: Jason Flom, Atlantic Records's head of A&R, recommended that they meet David Foster, a Canadian musician, producer, composer and arranger. The Corrs played live for Foster and he agreed to sign them to Atlantic Records. They extended their stay in the US for over five months to record their debut album, "Forgiven, Not Forgotten". It featured six instrumental selections among its Celtic-influenced tracks. The album sold well in Ireland, Australia, Canada, Japan, Norway and Spain. Major success in the US and the UK, however, was not immediately forthcoming. Eventually, the album reached Platinum status in the UK and Australia, and 4× Platinum in Ireland, making it one of the most successful debuts by an Irish group.


title: The Corrs

text: The Corrs' next album, 1997's "Talk on Corners", was produced by Glen Ballard, who was respected for his collaboration with Alanis Morissette. The Corrs also collaborated with Carole Bayer Sager, Oliver Leiber, Rick Nowels and Billy Steinberg. It was successful in Ireland and the UK and entered the Australian album charts at number 3.


title: The Corrs

text: After the band recorded a version of "Dreams" for a Fleetwood Mac tribute album, they re-released "", with new remixes of "What Can I Do?", "So Young" and "Runaway". The special edition topped the charts worldwide and again reached multi-Platinum status in the UK and Australia.


title: The Corrs

text: In June 1998, The Corrs participated in the Pavarotti and Friends for the Children of Liberia charity concert. The concert was held in Modena, Italy and was hosted by Luciano Pavarotti. The concert aimed to raise money to build the Pavarotti and Friends Liberian Children's Village, to provide refuge for children in Liberia.


title: The Corrs

text: The following year, The Corrs received a BRIT Award for Best International Band. They performed live on MTV's Unplugged on 5 October 1999 at Ardmore Studios, County Wicklow, Ireland. The resulting CD and DVD sold 2.7 million copies and featured live performances of previously released songs, plus a new song, "Radio", later featured on their third album, "In Blue".


title: The Corrs

text: In 2000, The Corrs returned to mainstream success with their third album. Unlike their previous albums, "In Blue" moved towards mainstream pop. "In Blue" hit number one in its first sales week in, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the UK and debuted at No. 2 in France and Norway. It climbed to the top spot during its second week in Sweden and Spain.


title: The Corrs

text: The Corrs worked with Alejandro Sanz on "In Blue", recording "Una Noche (One Night)", a duet between Sanz and Andrea Corr; Sanz played Andrea's love interest in the music video. In return, The Corrs performed "Me Iré (The Hardest Day)" with him on his album, "El Alma Al Aire". The Corrs collaborated with Robert Lange to produce a mainstream hit single, "Breathless", which reached number 20 in the "Billboard" Hot 100, number seven in Australia, number three in Ireland and New Zealand, and topped the charts in the UK. The album went straight to number one in the Irish Albums Chart, the third highest single-week sales in the history of the charts, behind U2's "The Best of 1980–1990" and Oasis' "Be Here Now". "In Blue" achieved Platinum sales in the US, double platinum in the UK, and 4× Platinum in Australia.


title: The Corrs

text: During the production of the album, the Corrs' mother, Jean, died while waiting for a lung transplant. She was buried at St. Patrick's cemetery in Dundalk. "No More Cry", written by Andrea and Caroline Corr for the album, was written to help their father get over his grief.


title: The Corrs

text: In 2001, The Corrs released their first compilation album, "Best of The Corrs". The album featured previously released songs and new tracks, such as the singles "Would You Be Happier?", "Make You Mine" and "Lifting Me". The album did not chart highly in Ireland but reached Platinum status in Australia. The Corrs collaborated with Josh Groban, recording "Canto Alla Vita", for his eponymous debut album.


title: The Corrs

text: When the band returned to Ireland, they hosted another live concert at Ardmore Studios, where they previously performed for the MTV's Unplugged series. Guest performers included Bono from U2 and Ronnie Wood from The Rolling Stones. During the concert, Bono joined Andrea Corr for a duet of Nancy Sinatra's "Summer Wine" and a performance of Ryan Adams' "When the Stars Go Blue". Ronnie Wood joined the band onstage to play guitar on their version of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" and the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday". These performances were recorded and compiled on a live album, "", which was released in the UK.


title: The Corrs

text: In 2003, Andrea Corr recorded "Time Enough for Tears", written by Bono and Gavin Friday for the film "In America". This track was featured on The Corrs' 2004 album, "Borrowed Heaven". Recorded over an 18-month period in Dublin and Los Angeles, "Borrowed Heaven" was produced by Olle Romo, who previously worked with Melanie C and Kelly Clarkson. The album marked The Corrs' return to the folk rock genre with a slightly heavier emphasis on guitars. Nevertheless, the album was not as successful as their predecessors, but at least successful enough to enter at No.2 in both the UK and Germany and reach silver status in the UK as well as gold in Germany. Jason Duffy temporarily joined the band as drummer, filling in for Caroline while she was pregnant with her second child and unable to tour. "Borrowed Heaven" was dedicated to the band's parents.


title: The Corrs

text: The band also dedicated their 2005 album "Home" to their late mother. It is regarded as a traditional Irish album as the band covered traditional Irish songs taken from their mother's songbook to commemorate their 15 years as a band. The album was produced by Mitchell Froom and featured the BBC Radio 2 Orchestra. The songs on "Home" spanned the history of Irish music. It also included two songs in Irish, "Bríd Óg Ní Mháille (Brigid O'Malley)" and "Buachaill Ón Éirne (Boy from Lough Erne)". "Home" had success in Ireland, France (reaching No. 5) and Germany (reaching No. 12) and was certified silver in the UK.


title: The Corrs

text: The Corrs went on an extended hiatus starting in 2006, raising their own families and pursuing solo careers.


title: The Corrs

text: Andrea released her first solo album, "Ten Feet High", on 25 June 2007. It was produced by Nellee Hooper, who has worked with Björk, Gwen Stefani and Madonna; Bono was an executive producer. The first single released from the album was "Shame on You (to Keep My Love from Me)". On 30 May 2011, Andrea released her second album, "Lifelines", an album of cover songs, with The Blue Nile's "Tinseltown in the Rain" as the first single. Sharon started pursuing a solo career in 2009, her single "It's Not a Dream" was released on 29 August 2009. On 10 September 2010 her debut album "Dream of You" was released, with her cover of "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" by The Korgis as the first single. Sharon finished writing her second album in March 2012.


title: The Corrs

text: The Corrs released their second compilation album, "", on 20 November 2006. The album consisted of several of the band's hits, as well as tracks that had not previously been released on Corrs albums, such as "I Know My Love", a collaboration with The Chieftains and "All I Have to Do Is Dream", Andrea's duet with Laurent Voulzy. The album also featured remixes of "When the Stars Go Blue" and "Goodbye". The latter was released as a download-only single to promote the album. However, the album charted poorly, reaching number 24 in Ireland. On 25 September 2007, The Corrs released another compilation album, "The Works". The album consists of three CDs that feature previously released songs. It performed worse than its predecessor, failing to chart at all.


title: The Corrs

text: In June 2015, Andrea announced that the Corrs would perform at Live in Hyde Park on 13 November and were in the process of making a new record. On 17 September 2015, the band confirmed their sixth studio album, "White Light", which was released on 27 November 2015 and was accompanied by a European tour, which took place in 2016. According to an interview, released by Jim to Music Radar, the band had already completed the recording for their seventh studio album, "Jupiter Calling". Produced by T Bone Burnett, it was released on 10 November 2017, and was preceded by a concert on 19 October at the Royal Albert Hall in London.


title: The Corrs

text: On 26 November 2022, the Corrs performed together for the first time since 2017, playing to a crowd of approximately 11,000 at Hope Estate Winery, in Australia's Hunter Valley region, their first concert in Australia in 21 years. Due to the success of the concert, the Corrs announced on 4 December 2022 that they will tour Australia in October and November 2023.


title: The Corrs

text: When asked to describe their genre, Caroline Corr said it was a "blend of modern rhythms and technology with acoustic instruments, violin, tin whistle, drums and of course the voices, the marrying of these instruments is our sound". The Corrs' music is typically categorised as a mixture of pop rock and folk rock. This is evident in their first two albums, "Forgiven, Not Forgotten" and "Talk on Corners", although Andrea described the genre of "Talk on Corners" by saying "it [has] got more of an edgy feel, a little bit more guitar-orientated and also an Irish sound, which is in "Forgiven, Not Forgotten"."


title: The Corrs

text: "In Blue" moved towards mainstream pop, placing heavy emphasis on synthesizers. The move attracted criticism from many; one "Entertainment Weekly" critic called it "a disheartening example of musical ethnic cleansing". A "USA Today" critic called it "the best mainstream pop album you're likely to come across".


title: The Corrs

text: "Borrowed Heaven" placed heavier emphasis on guitars, while retaining the original folk rock genre. "Home" is a traditional Irish album, where the band covered many traditional Irish songs. The album contained songs from different eras of Irish music, including a 1982 song written by Phil Lynott ("Old Town") while the 1,000-year-old "Return to Fingal" featured as a bonus track on the Japanese, limited German and Spanish editions. "White Light" returned to a similar sound to "In Blue", with much more electronic-based instrumentation, while "Jupiter Calling" is characterised as a more stripped back live performance with minimal overdubbing.


title: The Corrs

text: The Corrs' main influences were their parents who were musicians and encouraged them to learn instruments. They drew inspiration from musicians such as The Eagles, The Police, The Carpenters, Simon and Garfunkel and Fleetwood Mac, which Sharon said in an interview with CNN is the reason "our songs are very, very melodic and [harmonious]".


title: The Corrs

text: The Corrs have been active in supporting charitable and philanthropic causes and disaster relief. In 1998, the Corrs participated in the "Pavarotti and Friends for the Children of Liberia" charity concert. The concert was held in Modena, Italy and was hosted by Luciano Pavarotti. Among the other participating artists were Jon Bon Jovi, Natalie Cole, Pino Daniele, Celine Dion, Florent Pagny, Eros Ramazzotti, Spice Girls, Vanessa L. Williams, Stevie Wonder, Trisha Yearwood and Zucchero. The concert raised money that was used to build the Pavarotti and Friends Liberian Children's Village and to provide a refuge for orphans in Liberia during the civil war. The Corrs, along with Sinéad O'Connor, Van Morrison, Boyzone, U2 and Enya held a charity concert in 1998, to raise money for the victims of the Omagh bombing in Northern Ireland.


title: The Corrs

text: The Corrs' mother, Jean, died in Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, England. The Corrs showed their appreciation to the hospital by performing a one-off charity concert, held in 2001 at the Telewest Arena, raising more than £100,000. The money was used to extend the William Leech Centre of the hospital, which is dedicated to research into lung treatment. The city of Newcastle presented them a limited edition painting of Tyneside's quayside in return.


title: The Corrs

text: The Corrs played at a 2004 charity concert for The Prince's Trust, a UK-based charity that provides help, training, financial, and practical support to UK citizens aged between 14 and 30. They performed with The Buggles, Will Young, Blue, Avril Lavigne, Lenny Kravitz, Busted, Anastacia, Nelly Furtado, Sugababes and Natasha Bedingfield and raised more than £1 million.


title: The Corrs

text: They are ambassadors for the Nelson Mandela's "46664" campaign, where they performed live to raise awareness towards HIV/AIDS in Africa. The concert was held on 29 November 2003 in Cape Town, South Africa. The concert aimed to "[raise] awareness of HIV in South Africa and launched the 46664 campaign" and the money raised was donated to the "Nelson Mandela Foundation for Aids". During the Edinburgh Live 8 on 2 July 2005, the Corrs performed "When the Stars Go Blue" alongside Bono to promote the Make Poverty History campaign, which aimed to increase awareness and pressure governments into taking actions towards relieving extreme poverty.


title: The Corrs

text: In recognition of their charity work, The Corrs were made honorary Members of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 by Queen Elizabeth II.


title: The Corrs

text: In late 1995, Anthony Drennan (lead guitar) and Keith Duffy (bass guitar) joined the band and remained a permanent part of the touring and recording line-up. When Drennan was released in late 1997 to tour with Genesis, his temporary replacement for two legs of the "Talk on Corners" tour was Irish guitarist Conor Brady. Keith Duffy's younger brother Jason Duffy joined the line-up as drummer for the "Borrowed Heaven" tour due to Caroline's pregnancy. Both Anthony Drennan and Keith Duffy re-joined the band for their 2015 return.


title: The Corrs

text: Many of the Corrs' songs have charted at No. 1 in numerous countries. They won one BRIT Award, in 1999, and have twice been nominated for Meteor Music Awards, in 2005 and 2006. They were nominated for two Grammy awards in 2001 too: one for their song "Breathless" and for another one due to their instrumental song "Rebel Heart".


title: The Corrs

text: In 2002, they took home Best Pop Act honours at the Hot Press Irish Music Awards held at the BBC's Blackstaff studios in Belfast.


title: Cherry

text: Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet "Prunus avium" and the sour "Prunus cerasus". The name 'cherry' also refers to the cherry tree and its wood, and is sometimes applied to almonds and visually similar flowering trees in the genus "Prunus", as in "ornamental cherry" or "cherry blossom". Wild cherry may refer to any of the cherry species growing outside cultivation, although "Prunus avium" is often referred to specifically by the name "wild cherry" in the British Isles.


title: Cherry

text: "Prunus" subg. "Cerasus" contains species that are typically called cherries. They are known as true cherries and distinguished by having a single winter bud per axil, by having the flowers in small corymbs or umbels of several together (occasionally solitary, e.g. "P. serrula"; some species with short racemes, e.g. "P. maacki"), and by having smooth fruit with no obvious groove. Examples of true cherries are:


title: Cherry

text: Bush cherries are characterized by having three winter buds per axil. They used to be included in "Prunus" subg. "Cerasus", but phylogenetic research indicates they should be a section of "Prunus" subg. "Prunus". Examples of bush cherries are:


title: Cherry

text: "Prunus" subg. "Padus" contains most racemose species that are called cherries which used to be included in the genera "Padus" (bird cherries), "Laurocerasus" (cherry laurels), "Pygeum" (tropical species such as African cherry) and "Maddenia". Examples of the racemose cherries are:


title: Cherry

text: The English word cherry derives from Old Northern French or Norman "cherise" from the Latin "cerasum", referring to an ancient Greek region, Kerasous (Κερασοῦς) near Giresun, Turkey, from which cherries were first thought to be exported to Europe.


title: Cherry

text: The indigenous range of the sweet cherry extends through most of Europe, western Asia, and parts of northern Africa, and the fruit has been consumed throughout its range since prehistoric times. A cultivated cherry is recorded as having been brought to Rome by Lucius Licinius Lucullus from northeastern Anatolia, also known as the Pontus region, in 72 BC.


title: Cherry

text: Cherries were introduced into England at Teynham, near Sittingbourne in Kent, by order of Henry VIII, who had tasted them in Flanders.


title: Cherry

text: Cherries arrived in North America early in the settlement of Brooklyn, New York (then called "New Netherland") when the region was under Dutch sovereignty. Trades people leased or purchased land to plant orchards and produce gardens, "Certificate of Cornelis van Tienhoven that he had found 12 apple, 40 peach, 73 cherry trees, 26 sage plants.., behind the house sold by Anthony Janszoon van Salee to Barent Dirksen... ANNO 18th of June 1639."


title: Cherry

text: The cultivated forms are of the species sweet cherry ("P. avium") to which most cherry cultivars belong, and the sour cherry ("P. cerasus"), which is used mainly for cooking. Both species originate in Europe and western Asia; they usually do not cross-pollinate. Some other species, although having edible fruit, are not grown extensively for consumption, except in northern regions where the two main species will not grow. Irrigation, spraying, labor, and their propensity to damage from rain and hail make cherries relatively expensive. Nonetheless, demand is high for the fruit. In commercial production, sour cherries, as well as sweet cherries sometimes, are harvested by using a mechanized "shaker". Hand picking is also widely used for sweet as well as sour cherries to harvest the fruit to avoid damage to both fruit and trees.


title: Cherry

text: Common rootstocks include Mazzard, Mahaleb, Colt, and Gisela Series, a dwarfing rootstock that produces trees significantly smaller than others, only 8 to 10 feet (2.5 to 3 meters) tall. Sour cherries require no pollenizer, while few sweet varieties are self-fertile.


title: Cherry

text: A cherry tree will take three to four years once it is planted in the orchard to produce its first crop of fruit, and seven years to attain full maturity.


title: Cherry

text: Like most temperate-latitude trees, cherry trees require a certain number of chilling hours each year to break dormancy and bloom and produce fruit. The number of chilling hours required depends on the variety. Because of this cold-weather requirement, no members of the genus "Prunus" can grow in tropical climates. (See "production" section for more information on chilling requirements)


title: Cherry

text: Cherries have a short growing season and can grow in most temperate latitudes. Cherries blossom in April (in the Northern Hemisphere) and the peak season for the cherry harvest is in the summer. In southern Europe in June, in North America in June, in England in mid-July, and in southern British Columbia (Canada) in June to mid-August. In many parts of North America, they are among the first tree fruits to flower and ripen in mid-Spring.


title: Cherry

text: In the Southern Hemisphere, cherries are usually at their peak in late December and are widely associated with Christmas. 'Burlat' is an early variety which ripens during the beginning of December, 'Lapins' ripens near the end of December, and 'Sweetheart' finish slightly later.


title: Cherry

text: Generally, the cherry can be a difficult fruit tree to grow and keep alive. In Europe, the first visible pest in the growing season soon after blossom (in April in western Europe) usually is the black cherry aphid ("cherry blackfly", "Myzus cerasi"), which causes leaves at the tips of branches to curl, with the blackfly colonies exuding a sticky secretion which promotes fungal growth on the leaves and fruit. At the fruiting stage in June/July (Europe), the cherry fruit fly ("Rhagoletis cingulata" and "Rhagoletis cerasi") lays its eggs in the immature fruit, whereafter its larvae feed on the cherry flesh and exit through a small hole (about 1 mm diameter), which in turn is the entry point for fungal infection of the cherry fruit after rainfall. In addition, cherry trees are susceptible to bacterial canker, cytospora canker, brown rot of the fruit, root rot from overly wet soil, crown rot, and several viruses.


title: Cherry

text: In 2020, world production of sweet cherries was 2.61 million tonnes, with Turkey producing 28% of this total. Other major producers of sweet cherries were the United States and Chile. World production of sour cherries in 2020 was 1.48 million tonnes, led by Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and Serbia.


title: Cherry

text: Major commercial cherry orchards in West Asia are in Turkey, Iran, Syria, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, and Israel.


title: Cherry

text: Major commercial cherry orchards in Europe are in Turkey, Italy, Spain and other Mediterranean regions, and to a smaller extent in the Baltic States and southern Scandinavia.


title: Cherry

text: In France since the 1920s, the first cherries of the season come in April/May from the region of Céret (Pyrénées-Orientales), where the local producers send, as a tradition since 1932, the first crate of cherries to the president of the Republic.


title: Cherry

text: In the United States, most sweet cherries are grown in Washington, California, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Important sweet cherry cultivars include Bing, Ulster, Rainier, Brooks, Tulare, King, and Sweetheart. Both Oregon and Michigan provide light-colored 'Royal Ann' ('Napoleon'; alternately 'Queen Anne') cherries for the maraschino cherry process. Most sour (also called tart) cherries are grown in Michigan, followed by Utah, New York, and Washington. Sour cherries include 'Nanking' and 'Evans'. Traverse City, Michigan is called the "Cherry Capital of the World", hosting a National Cherry Festival and making the world's largest cherry pie. The specific region of northern Michigan known for tart cherry production is referred to as the "Traverse Bay" region.


title: Cherry

text: Most cherry varieties have a chilling requirement of 800 or more hours, meaning that in order to break dormancy, blossom, and set fruit, the winter season needs to have at least 800 hours where the temperature is below . “Low chill” varieties requiring 300 hours or less are Minnie Royal and Royal Lee, requiring cross-pollinization, whereas the cultivar, Royal Crimson, is self-fertile. These varieties extend the range of cultivation of cherries to the mild winter areas of southern US. This is a boon to California producers of sweet cherries, as California is the second largest producer of sweet cherries in the US.


title: Cherry

text: Native and non-native sweet cherries grow well in Canada's provinces of Ontario and British Columbia where an annual cherry festival has been celebrated for seven consecutive decades in the Okanagan Valley town of Osoyoos. In addition to the Okanagan, other British Columbia cherry growing regions are the Similkameen Valley and Kootenay Valley, all three regions together producing 5.5 million kg annually or 60% of total Canadian output. Sweet cherry varieties in British Columbia include 'Rainier', 'Van', 'Chelan', 'Lapins', 'Sweetheart', 'Skeena', 'Staccato', 'Christalina' and 'Bing'.


title: Cherry

text: In Australia, cherries are grown in all the states except for the Northern Territory. The major producing regions are located in the temperate areas within New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. Western Australia has limited production in the elevated parts in the southwest of the state. Key production areas include Young, Orange and Bathurst in New South Wales, Wandin, the Goulburn and Murray valley areas in Victoria, the Adelaide Hills region in South Australia, and the Huon and Derwent Valleys in Tasmania.


title: Cherry

text: Key commercial varieties in order of seasonality include 'Empress', 'Merchant', 'Supreme', 'Ron's seedling', 'Chelan', 'Ulster', 'Van', 'Bing', 'Stella', 'Nordwunder', 'Lapins', 'Simone', 'Regina', 'Kordia' and 'Sweetheart'. New varieties are being introduced, including the late season 'Staccato' and early season 'Sequoia'. The Australian Cherry Breeding program is developing a series of new varieties which are under testing evaluation.


title: Cherry

text: The New South Wales town of Young is called the "Cherry Capital of Australia" and hosts the National Cherry Festival.


title: Cherry

text: Raw sweet cherries are 82% water, 16% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and negligible in fat (table). As raw fruit, sweet cherries provide little nutrient content per 100 g serving, as only dietary fiber and vitamin C are present in moderate content, while other vitamins and dietary minerals each supply less than 10% of the Daily Value (DV) per serving, respectively (table).


title: Cherry

text: Compared to sweet cherries, raw sour cherries contain 50% more vitamin C per 100 g (12% DV) and about 20 times more vitamin A (8% DV), beta-Carotene in particular (table).


title: Cherry

text: The cherry kernels, accessible by chewing or breaking the hard-shelled cherry pits, contain amygdalin, a chemical that releases the toxic compound hydrogen cyanide when ingested. The amount of amygdalin in each cherry varies widely, and symptoms would show only after eating several crushed pits (3-4 of the Morello variety or 7-9 of the red or black varieties). Swallowing the pits whole normally causes no complications.


title: Cherry

text: An experiment conducted on the amount of cyanide found in cherries showed that a normal cherry pit contains 0.004 mg of cyanide, which is not a fatal dose for humans, but is best avoided, as different varieties of cherries may contain higher amounts of cyanide.


title: Cherry

text: Cherry wood is valued for its rich color and straight grain in manufacturing fine furniture, particularly desks, tables and chairs.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Booker T. Huffman Jr. (born March 1, 1965), better known by his ring name Booker T, is an American professional wrestler and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE where he serves as a commentator on the NXT brand, and is also the owner and founder of the independent promotion Reality of Wrestling (ROW) in Texas City, Texas. Booker has been frequently named by peers and industry commentators as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time; he was voted WWE's greatest World Heavyweight Champion in a 2013 viewer poll.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Booker is known for his time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA - now Impact Wrestling), holding 35 championships between those organizations. He is the most decorated wrestler in WCW history, having held 21 titles, including a record six WCW World Television Championships (along with being the first African American titleholder), and a record 11 WCW World Tag Team Championships: 10 as one half of Harlem Heat with his brother, Lash "Stevie Ray" Huffman in WCW (most reigns within that company), and one in the WWF with Test. Booker was the final WCW World Heavyweight Champion and WCW United States Heavyweight Champion under the WCW banner.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Booker is an overall six-time world champion in professional wrestling, having won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship five times, and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship once. With his fifth WCW Championship win (which occurred in the WWF), Booker T became the second African-American to win a world championship in WWF/E (after The Rock), and also the first to be of non-mixed race. He is also the winner of the 2006 King of the Ring tournament, the 16th Triple Crown Champion, and the eighth Grand Slam Champion in WWE history. As the ninth WCW Triple Crown Champion, Booker is one of four men to achieve both the WWE and WCW Triple Crowns. He has headlined multiple pay-per-view events for the WWF/E, WCW and TNA throughout his career.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Booker was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 6, 2013, by his brother, Lash. Both he and Lash were inducted together into the 2019 class on April 6, 2019 as Harlem Heat, making Booker a two-time Hall of Famer.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Huffman was born the youngest of eight children, in Plain Dealing, Louisiana, though his birthplace is often misidentified as Houston, Texas. By the time Booker was 13, both of his parents had died and he lived with his 16-year-old sister. He would move in with his older brother Stevie Ray at age 17. In high school, Huffman was a drum major. He also played football and basketball.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: As a single father working at a storage company in Houston, Texas, Huffman was looking to make a better life for himself and his son. His brother Lash (Stevie Ray) suggested that he and Booker check out a new wrestling school being opened, run by Ivan Putski, in conjunction with his Western Wrestling Alliance organization. His boss from the storage company sponsored the money to pay for the wrestling lessons. Booker trained under Scott Casey, who helped to turn Booker's background as a gangster and dancer into "professional wrestling", teaching the newcomer in-ring psychology and ring generalship.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Eight weeks later, Booker debuted as "G.I. Bro" on Putski's "Western Wrestling Alliance Live!" program. The character was a tie-in to the raging Gulf War and the WWF's Sgt. Slaughter angle. Even though the WWA met its demise some time later, Booker continued to wrestle on the Texas independent circuit, often with his brother Lash, who performed as Stevie Ray. They were spotted by Skandor Akbar who hired them to work for the Global Wrestling Federation (GWF), where he and Eddie Gilbert were involved. Gilbert teamed Stevie Ray and Booker T together as the Ebony Experience, and they won the GWF Tag Team Championship on July 31, 1992. During their time with GWF, they held the tag title a total of three times. Subsequently, Booker T and Stevie Ray left the GWF to work for World Championship Wrestling.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Booker and his brother Stevie Ray signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) after Sid Vicious recommended they sign with the company. In August 1993, they debuted as the tag team Harlem Heat, with Booker renamed Kole and Lash renamed Kane. They became heels and were on Harley Race and Col. Rob Parker's team in the WarGames match at Fall Brawl on September 19 against Sting, Davey Boy Smith, Dustin Rhodes, and The Shockmaster. They lost the match but were over as heels because of the caliber of faces they wrestled.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: In 1994, they acquired the services of Sensational Sherri, dubbed 'Sister' Sherri, as their manager and changed their names back to Booker T and Stevie Ray, at their request. By the end of 1994, they held the WCW Tag Team Championship after defeating Stars and Stripes (The Patriot and Marcus Alexander Bagwell) in December. After dropping the title to The Nasty Boys, Harlem Heat regained the belts on June 24, 1995.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Afterward, Harlem Heat got into a feud with Col. Parker's "Stud Stable" of "Dirty" Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck. Parker and Sherri were carrying on a love affair and Parker eventually left the Stud Stable in favor of the Heat to be with Sherri. Harlem Heat won the WCW World Tag Team titles at Fall Brawl 1995, defeating Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck. Their third title reign only lasted one day, but the duo regained the tag team title nine days later from The American Males (Buff Bagwell and Scotty Riggs). On the June 24, 1996 "Nitro", Harlem Heat defeated Lex Luger and Sting to capture their fifth WCW World Tag Team titles.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Three days after losing the tag team titles to the Steiner Brothers, Harlem Heat regained the titles back from the Steiners on July 27. On September 23, Booker T and Stevie Ray were defeated by Public Enemy (Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge) but took the titles back for the seventh time on October 1.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: They lost the Tag Team Championship to the Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) on October 27. Subsequently, they fired Col. Parker and beat him up and became full-fledged faces. They then entered into a brief feud against Col. Parker's newest team The Amazing French Canadians, a feud they won. In 1997, they feuded with Public Enemy (Grunge & Rocco), The Steiners, and the nWo. In fall 1997, they fired Sherri and added a new manager, Jacqueline. They were briefly put out of action by the nWo and returned to feud with the Faces of Fear (Meng and The Barbarian). Stevie then took five months off from WCW to recover from an ankle injury and Jacqueline left for the WWF.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Booker made the transition into singles action and won the WCW World Television Championship from Disco Inferno on the December 29, 1997 episode of "Nitro". Booker feuded over the title with Perry Saturn and Rick Martel culminating in a gauntlet match at SuperBrawl VIII. Martel, the man that was originally supposed to win the match, went down early due to a knee injury, meaning the finish and the remainder of the match had to be called in the ring.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: During spring 1998, Booker began feuding with Chris Benoit. Benoit cost Booker the TV title during a match against Fit Finlay. As a result, Booker and Benoit engaged in a "best-of-seven series" with the winner meeting Finlay for the title. After seven matches and interference from Bret Hart and Stevie Ray, Booker T won the series, and on June 14, regained the Television Championship.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Booker scored a clean pinfall victory over Bret Hart on the edition of February 22 of "Nitro". The following month, he regained the TV Championship from Scott Steiner, who, in turn, defeated Booker in the finals of the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship tournament. Booker lost the Television title to Rick Steiner a month later at Slamboree.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: By mid-1999, Booker had convinced his brother, Stevie Ray, to leave the nWo and reunite Harlem Heat. Harlem Heat defeated Bam Bam Bigelow and Kanyon for the WCW World Tag Team titles at Road Wild. They lost the WCW World Tag Team titles to Barry and Kendall Windham on August 23, but Harlem Heat regained them about a month later at Fall Brawl. When The Filthy Animals were stripped of the WCW World Tag Team belts due to an injury suffered by Rey Mysterio Jr., the title was put up in a three-way dance at Halloween Havoc. Harlem Heat claimed their tenth WCW World Tag Team title defeating Hugh Morrus and Brian Knobs and Konnan and Kidman. By late 1999, a female bodybuilder named Midnight had joined Harlem Heat. Stevie neglected her help and started disputing with Booker over her.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Stevie Ray eventually challenged Midnight in a match that decided whether or not she would stay with Harlem Heat. After being defeated with a surprise small package, Stevie Ray turned on both Booker and Midnight to form Harlem Heat, Inc. with Big T, Kash, and J. Biggs. Stevie Ray and Big T dubbed themselves Harlem Heat 2000. Throughout this period, Huffman was referred to simply as Booker, as Harlem Heat 2000 won the rights to the name "T" in a match with Big T against Booker on February 20, 2000 at SuperBrawl X. Kidman and Booker T defeated Harlem Heat 2000 (Ray and Big T) at Uncensored 2000.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: When Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff formed The New Blood, Huffman eventually completely changed his in-ring persona, helping lead Captain Rection's military-themed Misfits In Action stable as G.I. Bro, reprising his gimmicks from his days in the WWA. He defeated Shawn Stasiak at the Great American Bash in a Boot Camp match. He returned to the Booker T name on the June 19 Nitro, promoting Rection to the status of General and demanding the Misfits start standing up to the New Blood.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Huffman was elevated to main event status in 2000. After WCW booker Vince Russo grew disgruntled with Hulk Hogan's politics, he fired Hogan during the live broadcast of Bash at the Beach on July 9, 2000 and announced an impromptu match between Jeff Jarrett and Huffman for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Huffman won the match, in the process becoming the second ever African American champion in WCW after Ron Simmons, and the third African American to win a World Heavyweight title. He lost the title to Kevin Nash on August 28 on "Nitro". He regained the title a few weeks later in a steel cage match with Nash at Fall Brawl, but again lost the title, this time to Vince Russo himself in a cage match (Russo was speared out of the cage by Goldberg and won the title), Russo vacated the title and Booker won it for the third time in a San Francisco 49er Box Match against Jeff Jarrett on the October 2 episode of "Nitro".


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Booker's next feud was with Scott Steiner, to whom he eventually lost the title in a Straitjacket steel cage match. Steiner won by TKO when he put an unconscious Booker into the Steiner Recliner at Mayhem. Steiner was WCW's longest reigning champion in years, while Booker was briefly out with an injury. Booker returned to the roster and defeated Rick Steiner for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship at Greed. This made Booker the ninth WCW Triple Crown winner. On the final episode of "Nitro", he defeated Scott Steiner to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship for the fourth time.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: According to sports journalist Michael Landsberg, Huffman was salaried at "close to a million dollars a year" in WCW. He won a total of twenty-one titles within the organization, making him the most decorated performer in its history. Booker was also the reigning WCW United States Heavyweight Champion and WCW World Heavyweight Champion when he accepted a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: After WCW was bought by the World Wrestling Federation in March 2001, Booker T made his debut at the King of the Ring pay-per-view in 2001 attacking WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin during his match, promptly injuring him in his very first move in the WWF. He later turned heel and became a leading member of The Alliance during the Invasion storyline. In his debut match in the company, Booker defended his WCW Championship against Buff Bagwell on the July 2 episode of "Raw"; sports journalist Michael Landsberg reported that many have called this bout "the worst match ever". At InVasion, The Alliance defeated Team WWF when Austin joined the Alliance. On the July 26 episode of "SmackDown!", Booker T gave up his WCW United States Championship and handed it over to Chris Kanyon. He later lost the WCW Championship to Kurt Angle, but he went on to win the title back on the July 30 episode of "Raw". Booker T kept the title until SummerSlam, when he lost it to The Rock after feuding with him over the similarity in their gimmicks and their identical finishing moves, the Book End/Rock Bottom. Booker T won the WCW Tag Team Championship for an eleventh time, this time with Test, and he also had a WWF Tag Team Championship reign with Test. At the Survivor Series, Booker T was eliminated third by The Rock after a roll-up and eventually The Alliance was defeated, causing them to disband.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: In its aftermath, Booker remained a heel, and he joined forces with Vince McMahon and The Boss Man in December to feud with Steve Austin. After Booker T cost Austin a match against Chris Jericho for the Undisputed WWF Championship at Vengeance, Austin gained revenge in a brawl in a supermarket, in which Austin won, assaulting Booker T with food. The brawl cost the company 10,000 to 15,000 dollars in damage. Then the week after Booker T vandalized Austin's truck causing Austin to chase Booker T around a bingo hall and a church.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Booker T's first WrestleMania appearance was at WrestleMania X8 against Edge, a match he lost. They feuded over who would appear in a fictional Japanese shampoo commercial. When the brand extension was introduced in March, Booker T was drafted to the Raw brand. At Insurrextion, Booker briefly held the WWF Hardcore Championship twice, defeating Stevie Richards only to lose it to Crash Holly seconds later. He then re-defeated Crash and lost the title to Stevie Richards a few minutes later.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Goldust began trying to start a tag team with Booker, but Goldust kept costing Booker matches. With the nWo now operating in WWE, Booker T was eventually invited into the faction. His time there was short-lived, when he was kicked out of the group by Shawn Michaels after a superkick from Michaels. Booker then turned face and found a partnership with Goldust and the pair teamed to battle the nWo. Booker and Goldust had a WWE Tag Team Championship match against The Un-Americans (Christian and Lance Storm) at SummerSlam, but The Un-Americans retained after interference from Test. At No Mercy, Booker and Goldust battled Chris Jericho and Christian for the World Tag Team Championship, but they lost the match with Jericho using the title belt on Goldust.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: He spent the rest of 2002 teaming with Goldust. They won the World Tag Team Championship at Armageddon in a Tag Team Elimination match defeating the teams of Christian and Chris Jericho, Lance Storm and William Regal, and the Dudley Boyz. They held the belts for about three weeks, when they lost them to Regal and Storm. Booker and Goldust lost the rematch and decided to go their separate ways. The gimmick for Booker and Goldust was Goldust being a strange, yet dependable ally who Booker eventually warmed up to after initial skepticism. By 2003, however, Booker T's popularity had soared and he amicably separated from Goldust, at Goldust's request, in order to pursue the World Heavyweight Championship. In February 2003, he eliminated The Rock to win a battle royal to become the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XIX.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Booker targeted Evolution after Batista and Randy Orton attacked Booker's former partner, Goldust. Several weeks before WrestleMania, the incumbent champion and Evolution's leader, Triple H, cut a controversial promo on Booker T. Triple H downplayed Booker T's WCW success, pointing out that the WCW World Heavyweight Championship had been held by non-wrestlers like booker Vince Russo and actor David Arquette, calling WCW and its title "a joke", despite the fact that, as World Heavyweight Champion, Triple H was holding the WCW World Heavyweight Championship's physical belt, the Big Gold Belt, and that Triple H's Evolution stablemate, Ric Flair, had been a multiple-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion. He said that "people like" Booker T would never win world championships in WWE. This promo is often interpreted as racist due to Triple H referencing Booker T's "nappy" hair and implying that Booker T was just in WWE to dance and entertain for "people like" Triple H. During the WrestleMania XIX press conference Michael Cole asked Triple H as to whether he had deliberately cut a racist promo, Triple H claimed this was not the case and that he was just referring to Booker's criminal past. A week later, Booker attacked Triple H in the bathroom and laid him out after Triple H had thrown a dollar bill at him, ordering Booker to get him a towel. However, Booker T lost to Triple H at WrestleMania. For several weeks, he teamed with Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash in a feud against Triple H, Ric Flair, and Chris Jericho. At Backlash, Booker's team lost when Triple H pinned Nash after a sledgehammer shot.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Afterward, Booker set his sights on the newly reactivated Intercontinental Championship. After losing a battle royal for the title at Judgment Day, Booker feuded with the champion Christian. After a few matches, Booker defeated Christian to become the new Intercontinental Champion on the July 7 episode of "Raw". About a month later, because of a nagging back injury, Booker lost the Intercontinental title back to Christian at a non-televised house show on August 10. Booker, meanwhile, was out of action until October.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Booker returned on the October 20 episode of "Raw" and subsequently joined Team Austin at Survivor Series for a match to determine whether Eric Bischoff or Stone Cold Steve Austin (both co-general managers) would be the sole General Manager of "Raw". Team Bischoff won the match. Booker then feuded with Mark Henry, who eliminated him in the Survivor Series match. Booker defeated Henry at Armageddon.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: On the February 16, 2004 episode of "Raw", Booker T and Rob Van Dam defeated Ric Flair and Batista for the World Tag Team Championship. Booker and Van Dam held the titles for a month, even defending the belts at WrestleMania XX in a Fatal 4-Way tag team match. Eight days later on the March 22 episode of "Raw", they lost the World Tag Team Championship back to Ric Flair and Batista. He and Rob Van Dam, never got their rematch due to Rob Van Dam being drafted to SmackDown! that very same night.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: On March 23, 2004 he was "traded" (along with the Dudley Boyz) to the SmackDown! brand in exchange for Triple H, but as part of a new storyline, he appeared unhappy with the move calling "SmackDown!" "the minor leagues" and even disrespected Eddie Guerrero, the brand's WWE Champion, turning heel in the process. Later on, Booker T bragged about how he was the biggest star on "SmackDown!" and feuded with The Undertaker. Booker tried to utilize voodoo magic to try to overcome his "supernatural" foe; however, it did nothing to prevent him from losing to the Undertaker at Judgment Day.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: In mid-2004, Booker T set his sights on the United States Championship along with its champion, John Cena. After Cena got on the bad side of General Manager Kurt Angle, he did his best to get the title away from Cena. Cena successfully defended the title at The Great American Bash in a four-way elimination match against Booker, René Duprée, and Rob Van Dam. After Cena was stripped of his title by Angle for "laying a hand" on the GM, Booker took advantage of the situation and won an eight-man elimination match to win the vacant United States Championship, thus becoming the one-hundredth United States Champion in history, in a match that also featured Cena, Dupree, Billy Gunn, Charlie Haas, Luther Reigns, Kenzo Suzuki and Van Dam. Booker won by last eliminating both Cena and Van Dam in the course of less than 10 seconds After Angle was fired by Mr. McMahon for embellishing his injuries, Theodore Long began his first tenure as SmackDown! General Manager, and booked a best-of-five series of matches for the United States Championship between Booker and Cena. The first match took place at SummerSlam in Toronto and saw Cena gain the pinfall victory to go up 1–0 in the series. Booker would bounce back and win the next two matches, on the August 26 edition of "SmackDown!" in Fresno, California and a live event the next night in Sydney, Australia, to take a 2–1 lead. The next match in the series wouldn't come until the September 16 "SmackDown!" from Spokane, Washington, where Cena won and tied the series at two apiece. The series culminated at No Mercy, where Cena won the series 3–2, and thusly, the United States Championship.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: On October 21, SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long placed Booker in a six-man tag team match with Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio against John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), René Duprée, and Kenzo Suzuki. JBL expected Booker to betray his partners, but instead Booker pinned him, thus turning face again. Booker T faced JBL for the WWE Championship at the Survivor Series on November 14, but lost after he was hit in the head with the championship belt. The next night, Booker T demanded a rematch, citing Orlando Jordan's interference. He was then joined by Eddie Guerrero and The Undertaker who also wanted a shot at JBL's title, prompting Theodore Long to make a fatal four-way match for the WWE Championship at Armageddon. Once again, Booker failed to win the title, as JBL retained it. He then briefly teamed with Eddie Guerrero, at one point challenging Mysterio and Van Dam for the WWE Tag Team Championship, and feuded with Heidenreich.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Booker won a 30-man Battle Royal dark match at WrestleMania 21 last eliminating Raw's Viscera and Chris Masters. Subsequently, Booker was part of the tournament to name a new number one contender and made it to the Final Four. After Kurt Angle eliminated Booker, he returned the favor, costing Angle the match against JBL. The storyline then turned to a sexual nature, as Angle began stalking Booker's new wife, Sharmell. Booker defeated Angle at Judgment Day. On the May 26 episode of "SmackDown!", Booker participated in a "Winners Choice" Battle Royal, with the winner choosing his opponent for the next week. Kurt Angle won and wanted to wrestle Sharmell. Booker protested, and the match was made into a Handicap match. Angle won by pinning Sharmell in a sexual position. The next week, Booker gained revenge on Angle, defeating him with a Scissors Kick.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: On the June 30 episode of "SmackDown!", JBL defeated Christian, The Undertaker, Chris Benoit, Muhammad Hassan, and Booker T in a six-man elimination match for the SmackDown! Championship. During the match, Booker got specifically involved with Christian. Booker later defeated Christian at The Great American Bash.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Booker T began teaming with Chris Benoit, eying his United States Championship again. Benoit was allowed to pick his next challenger to see who would face him at No Mercy, so Booker, Christian, and Orlando Jordan tried to impress Benoit by winning matches. He instead decided not choose one opponent, so he made it a fatal four-way for No Mercy, where Benoit successfully defended his title. On the October 21 episode of "SmackDown!", Booker T defeated Benoit for the United States Championship, due to unseen help from Sharmell. Theodore Long later showed footage of Sharmell interfering in Booker's matches. Booker went to apologize to Benoit and give him a rematch, but then attacked Benoit, busting him open with the United States title belt and turning heel once again. Booker then boasted that he had been fully aware of what Sharmell had been doing and had been playing dumb to fool everyone.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: On the November 25 episode of "SmackDown!", Booker T defended the United States Championship against Benoit. The match ended when Benoit superplexed Booker and two referees made a three count on either competitor, claiming that their wrestler had won. Booker was stripped of the belt by Theodore Long, because of the confusion of who won since they pinned each other at the same time. Long decided to put Benoit and Booker against each other in a best of seven series, just as the two had in their WCW days. Booker took an early 3–0 lead. In a must win match during Armageddon, Benoit was able to defeat Booker T to bring the series to 3–1. At a house show, Booker was injured, and he did not wrestle again until after the "Best of Seven" series with Benoit was completed. Booker was scheduled to face Benoit in Match 5 of the Best of Seven Series at the December 30 taping of "SmackDown!". At the beginning of the show, General Manager Theodore Long said that Booker would have to forfeit. Both Booker and Benoit protested, with Benoit not wanting a cheap victory. Booker managed to persuade Long to allow him to choose a stand-in for the matches. Booker chose Randy Orton as his replacement. Benoit was able to tie the series 3–3 after beating Orton in two consecutive matches on the December 30 and January 6, 2006 episodes of "SmackDown!". Orton, however, was able to defeat Benoit in the final match on the January 13 episode of "SmackDown!" to win the series and the title for Booker T, who held the title until No Way Out where Benoit won it back.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: On the February 24 episode of "SmackDown!", Booker and Sharmell provided guest commentary for a match involving The Boogeyman. After defeating his opponents, Boogeyman dumped a bucket of worms onto the announce table where they were sitting, frightening the two. Over the next few weeks, Boogeyman would stalk Booker and Sharmell. Booker and Boogeyman were set to face off on the March 18 "Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII", but the match was canceled due to Booker faking a knee injury to escape competition. The feud eventually culminated at WrestleMania 22, with Booker and Sharmell losing to Boogeyman. The couple received a restraining order against The Boogeyman on the April 7 episode of "SmackDown!", ending the feud.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Booker next entered the 2006 King of the Ring tournament on "SmackDown!", advancing through to the finals due to a bye as his semi-final opponent, Kurt Angle, was unable to wrestle. The finals were held at Judgment Day where Booker defeated Bobby Lashley. Upon winning the King of the Ring tournament, Booker began wrestling as "King Booker" and began acting like he was an actual monarch ruling "The SmackDown! Kingdom". Booker formed a royal court that included his wife, Queen Sharmell, Sir William Regal, and Sir Finlay, and began including the mannerisms and attire of a stereotypical English-style king as part of the character, all the way down to wearing a crown and cape and speaking in a fake English accent. However, whenever King Booker would get angry he would launch into a tirade in the style of Booker T (an example of this was an episode of "SmackDown!" where Theodore Long would inform him he would be facing The Undertaker), which lent some comedic aspect to the character; he even went as far as having Lashley kiss his "royal" feet.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: After gaining his title of King, Booker continued to feud with Lashley. After Lashley defeated John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) for the United States Championship at the end of May, Booker began chasing after the title and even resorted to making Lashley kiss his "royal feet" on the June 2 episode of "SmackDown!". The feud ended after a steel cage match on the June 30 episode of "SmackDown!" where Lashley defeated Booker by escaping the cage to retain the United States Championship.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: The next week, Booker entered a battle royal on "SmackDown!" with the winner to challenge Rey Mysterio for his World Heavyweight Championship at The Great American Bash. Booker won the battle royal and then defeated Mysterio at The Great American Bash to win the World Heavyweight Championship after Chavo Guerrero betrayed Mysterio by hitting him with a steel chair. This was Booker's first world championship since joining WWE and the win caused him to proclaim himself as the ""King of the World"". This win would also make Booker the sixteenth Triple Crown Champion and eighth Grand Slam Champion (under the original format) in the history of the WWE.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: After Booker won the World Heavyweight Championship, he began a rivalry with the returning former champion Batista, who vowed to regain the title he was forced to forfeit due to injury. This rivalry spilled over to real life when the two got into a legitimate fistfight at a SummerSlam pay-per-view commercial shoot, reportedly due to Batista considering himself superior to the rest of the roster due to his quick climb to main event status. According to sources, both men were left bloodied and bruised, however Booker was reportedly praised by many wrestlers in the back for speaking his mind to Batista about his attitude. At SummerSlam, Booker lost to Batista by disqualification after Queen Sharmell interfered on his behalf (thus retaining the title), but at No Mercy, Booker defeated Batista, Lashley and his own stablemate, Finlay, in a Fatal 4-Way match. Before the match, Booker assaulted Sir William Regal, resulting in the breakup of the King's Court.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Despite the break-up of his Court, Booker lost to Batista by disqualification on the October 20 episode on "SmackDown!", due to interference from WWE Champion John Cena from "Raw" and ECW World Champion Big Show, the two of whom King Booker was to face at Cyber Sunday in a "champion of champions" match. At Cyber Sunday, the fans voted for the World Heavyweight Championship to be on the line. Booker retained after defeating Big Show and Cena with help from Kevin Federline.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: After Cyber Sunday, the feud between King Booker and Batista continued with Batista unable to wrestle the title from Booker. Eventually this led to a match at Survivor Series on November 26, where Booker declared that if Batista failed to defeat him this time, it would be the last World Heavyweight Championship match he would receive as long as Booker was champion. At Survivor Series, SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long decided that if Booker got counted out or disqualified, he would lose the title. Late in the match, Queen Sharmell handed Booker his title belt while referee Nick Patrick was not looking. While she had Patrick distracted, Booker attempted to hit Batista with the belt. Batista moved out of the way, knocked the belt out of Booker's hands and hit him in the head with it, and King Booker lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Batista. After losing the title, Booker feuded alongside former royal court member Finlay against Batista and John Cena, which led up to Armageddon where they lost.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: While competing in the Royal Rumble match, King Booker was eliminated by Kane. A frustrated Booker returned to the ring illegally and eliminated Kane. This started a short feud between the two resulting in a match at No Way Out, which Kane won. On the February 23 episode of "SmackDown!", Booker won a Falls Count Anywhere Money in the Bank qualifying match, defeating Kane (with assistance from The Great Khali) and earned himself a spot in the match at WrestleMania 23. At WrestleMania, Matt Hardy set up Sharmell for a Twist of Fate during the Money in the Bank match with the briefcase in Booker's grasp – thus forcing him to choose between a guaranteed title shot and his wife. He chose to defend Sharmell and lost the match. On the April 6 episode of "SmackDown!", Booker attempted to take revenge. However, he lost the match against Matt Hardy, and Sharmell declared her disappointment in him and slapped him. In an attempt to impress Sharmell, Booker attacked The Undertaker but was Tombstoned on an announcers' table. Booker was removed from television to deal with a knee injury.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: On the June 11 episode of "Raw", both King Booker and Queen Sharmell were drafted to the Raw brand as part of the WWE Draft. He then began a short feud with John Cena over the WWE Championship, Booker would wrestle Cena in a Five Pack Challenge along with Bobby Lashley, Mick Foley and Randy Orton at for the title in a losing effort. Cena would retain at the event by pinning Foley. On the July 16 episode of "Raw", King Booker came to the ring using Triple H's theme music ""The King of Kings"", even using his video. King Booker declared that neither Triple H nor Jerry Lawler could be known as "The King". Booker began a feud with Lawler, defeating him on the August 6 episode of "Raw" where the loser had to crown the winner the next week. When the time came, Lawler refused, declaring that Triple H was still a king and announcing that King Booker would battle Triple H at SummerSlam. Booker attacked Lawler, throwing him into the ring post and hitting him with a television monitor. At SummerSlam, Booker lost to the returning Triple H. On the August 27 episode of "Raw", Booker wrestled against John Cena in a non-title match, which he lost by disqualification when Randy Orton interfered.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: In August, he was linked to Signature Pharmacy, a company thought to be distributing performance-enhancing drugs. He was suspended by WWE for violating its Wellness Policy. He denied using any drugs and being a customer of Signature Pharmacy. In October 2007, Booker T requested his and Sharmell's release from their WWE contracts due to the pressure he had in WWE and being burned out, which WWE granted.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: At the Genesis pay-per-view on November 11, 2007, Huffman debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as Sting's mystery partner in a tag team match against Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, reverting to his Booker T character. His wife Sharmell also debuted, interfering in the match on Booker and Sting's behalf when Karen Angle interfered on behalf of Kurt Angle and Nash.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: On the November 29 episode of "Impact!", Booker said he came to TNA to test his skills against the young talent, take TNA to a higher level, and win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Robert Roode came to the ring and challenged Booker to a match, claiming he has been pushed down by washed-up wrestlers and has-beens. Booker won his "Impact!" debut match, but afterwards, Christian Cage and Robert Roode beat down Booker until Kaz made the save. At Turning Point, Booker and Kaz defeated Roode and Cage when Booker pinned Cage. Booker and Sharmell won a mixed tag team match against Robert Roode and Ms. Brooks at Final Resolution. After the match, Roode punched Sharmell in the face, leading to a match at Against All Odds. While the punch was intended to be a work, Roode had in fact made contact with Sharmell during the punch, dislocating her jaw and causing her to be off TV for a few weeks, therefore making it into a shoot. The rivalry, however, went ahead as planned where Booker and Roode wrestled to a double-countout at Against All Odds, which saw them brawl to the parking lot. Roode defeated Booker in a strap match at Destination X after hitting Booker with a pair of handcuffs. On a special live episode of "Impact!", Booker and Roode had another outing, this time with the fans being able to vote on the stipulation of the match. At Booker's request during a pre-match promo, the match became a First Blood Match, beating the Last Man Standing and I Quit stipulations. Booker T would go on to win the match-up. At Lockdown, Booker T and Sharmell defeated Robert Roode and Payton Banks after Sharmell pinned Banks with a roll-up.


title: Booker T (wrestler)

text: Booker T turned heel for the first time in TNA at Sacrifice by attacking Christian Cage and Rhino from behind with a steel chair. This came about as a result of losing a tag team match up against Christian Cage and Rhino, with them furthering themselves in the Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament. Booker then competed in the King of the Mountain match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Slammiversary. He was seconds away from winning the match, when Kevin Nash stopped him and performed a Jackknife Powerbomb; Samoa Joe would later go on to win the match. On the next "Impact!", Booker challenged Joe to a title match at Victory Road, which Joe would later accept. Also around this time he reverted to a gimmick similar to his King Booker gimmick albeit while proclaiming himself a supposed king of Africa. The match at Victory Road ended in a draw after Sharmell replaced the referee and counted after the match was already over. At Hard Justice, Samoa Joe defeated Booker after a guitar shot, thus reclaiming physical possession of the title belt, which Booker had kept after Victory Road. Later he introduced the TNA Legends Championship and became the first official champion. Booker T successfully defended the title at Turning Point against Cage. At Final Resolution, Booker T, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, and Sting defeated The TNA Front Line (A.J. Styles, Brother Devon, Brother Ray, and Samoa Joe) in an eight-man tag team match to allow Sting to retain his TNA World Heavyweight Championship. At Genesis, Booker T, Scott Steiner, and Cute Kip lost a six-man tag team match to Mick Foley, A.J. Styles, and Brother Devon. The next month at Against All Odds, Booker T defeated Shane Sewell to retain the Legends Championship. Booker T lost the title to A.J. Styles at Destination X. At Lockdown, Team Angle (Booker T, Kevin Nash, Kurt Angle, and Scott Steiner) lost to Team Jarrett (A.J. Styles, Christopher Daniels, Jeff Jarrett, and Samoa Joe) in a Lethal Lockdown match. At Sacrifice, Booker T received a rematch for the Legends Championship, but lost to A.J. Styles in a "I Quit" match.