title: Mr. Nobody (film)

text: Boyd van Hoeij of "Variety" magazine was more critical, writing: "Though a lot of it is well written and directed and, quite often, funny or poignant, the individual scenes rarely become part of a larger whole." He praised Leto's acting, stating that "The closest the film comes to having a gravitational center are in the scenes set in 2092. What makes them soar is not the imaginative staging of the future, but Leto's performance. His acting talent really comes into full view in his scenes as the last dying man on Earth." He also praised Regbo and Temple, saying that "Regbo, as the teenage Nemo, and Juno Temple, as the teenage Anna, are impressive, bringing the hormonal battles of adolescence vividly to life." Film critic Eric Lavallée listed Regbo as one of his "Top 10 New Faces & Voices" of the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, noting that "newbie Toby Regbo might easily be Mr. Nobody's most 'alive' character. Playing Nemo at age 16, the actor is mostly paired with Juno Temple – their unique love story is the film's heart pumping portions and plays a lot better than the artery clogging other brushes of romance."


title: Mr. Nobody (film)

text: AlloCiné, a French cinema website, gave the film an average of three out of five stars, based on a survey of 24 reviews. Xavier Leherpeur from "Le Nouvel Observateur" described it as "a fiction of sterile ramifications, weighed down by a script the labyrinthine constructions of which poorly conceal the poverty of inspiration". Pierre Fornerod from "Ouest-France" wrote that "Van Dormael plays with chance and coincidence. The demonstration is long and heavy, but aesthetically, is superb."


title: Mr. Nobody (film)

text: The film and its cast and crew won and were nominated for multiple awards from numerous film festivals and organizations. At the 66th Venice International Film Festival, Sylvie Olivé was awarded the Golden Osella for Outstanding Technical Contribution, and the film received the Biografilm Lancia Award; the film was also nominated for the Golden Lion, which it lost to "Lebanon", and Jared Leto was nominated for the Volpi Cup for Best Actor. Christophe Beaucarne received the award for Best Cinematography at the 20th Stockholm International Film Festival, and Kaatje Van Damme won the award for Best Makeup at the 42nd Sitges Film Festival.


title: Mr. Nobody (film)

text: At the 1st Magritte Awards, the film was nominated for seven awards and was awarded six: Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay for Jaco Van Dormael, Best Cinematography for Christophe Beaucarne, Best Original Score for Pierre Van Dormael, and Best Editing for Matyas Veress; Emmanuel de Boissieu, Frédéric Demolder, and Dominique Warnier lost the award for Best Sound to "A Town Called Panic". In addition, the film was awarded the André Cavens Award by the Belgian Film Critics Association as the best film of 2010, and won Best Film at the 2010 Fonske Awards. It also received the People's Choice Award for Best European Film at the 23rd European Film Awards, and won the Audience Award at the Biografilm Festival.


title: Mr. Nobody (film)

text: "Mr. Nobody" appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the greatest films of 2010. Kurt Halfyard, a film critic for Twitch Film, listed the film among the best science fiction films of the 21st century. The American Film Institute listed "Mr. Nobody" as one of the best European films of 2010.


title: Billy Ocean

text: Leslie Sebastian Charles, (born 21 January 1950), better known by his stage name Billy Ocean, is a British recording artist who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British R&B singer-songwriter of the early to mid-1980s. After scoring his first four UK top 20 singles including two No. 2 hits in 1976 and 1977, seven years passed before he accumulated a series of transatlantic successes, including three US number ones. His 1985 hit "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" reached in the UK and in the US. In 1985, Ocean won the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his worldwide hit "Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)" and in 1987 was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist. His 1988 hit "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" reached in the US and in the UK. His 1986 hit "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" also reached No. 1 in the US.


title: Billy Ocean

text: In 2002, the University of Westminster, London, awarded Ocean an honorary doctorate of music. In 2010, Ocean was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the MOBO Awards. On 29 July 2011, Ocean became a Companion of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, presented to him by Sir Paul McCartney. He is a member of the Rastafari movement.


title: Billy Ocean

text: Ocean was born on 21 January 1950 in Fyzabad, Trinidad and Tobago, to Hainsley Charles, a Grenadian musician, and his wife Violet. He moved to Romford, England, when he was ten years old, just before Trinidad and Tobago became independent in 1962. He was exposed to music at an early age. During his teenage years, he sang regularly in London clubs while also working as a tailor in London's Savile Row. He was discovered by his first manager, John Morphew, who recorded a double A-side single at Pye Studios in London with a full orchestra. However, the ballad singing style of Ocean was going out of fashion and Morphew was unable to get any major label to release it. It remains unreleased. Ocean's father — who had countersigned the management contract as Ocean was underage — asked Morphew to release him from the recording contract, which he did without penalty. In 1969, he joined a local band, the Shades of Midnight, playing in the Shoreditch area of London. He recorded his first single, "Nashville Rain", backed with "Sun in the Morning" in 1971 for Spark Records as Les Charles, and for two years fronted a studio band called Scorched Earth, with whom he released "On the Run" backed with "Let's Put Our Emotions in Motion" in 1974.


title: Billy Ocean

text: In an interview with Myfanwy Warhurst on ABC Radio Melbourne, Ocean stated that the story of him having taken his stage name from the local "Ocean Estate", Stepney in London's East End, where he was living at the time, was in fact not correct. According to the interview, the name was derived from a local football team that was in his home town in Trinidad and Tobago, who called themselves "Oceans 11". In 1976, he recorded his debut studio album, "Billy Ocean", with its first single release, "Love Really Hurts Without You", charting at No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 22 in the US "Billboard" Hot 100. He enjoyed club success from the songs "Are You Ready" and "Stay the Night" from the album "City Limit" — both of which were later covered by La Toya Jackson. More successes ensued, including "L.O.D. (Love on Delivery)". He also wrote and composed songs for other artists. In 1981, he scored the US R&B chart with "Nights (Feel Like Getting Down)."


title: Billy Ocean

text: Between 1976 and 1982, Ocean released four studio albums ("Billy Ocean", "City Limit", "Nights (Feel Like Getting Down)" and "Inner Feelings") through his record label GTO, none of which scored success on any musical charts, aside from his biggest single up to that point, 1976's "Love Really Hurts Without You", which was a top 40 and a top 10 hit in both the UK (No. 2) and the US (No. 22).


title: Billy Ocean

text: As Sony Music acquired GTO Records in 1978, Ocean was shifted to Jive from Epic, in which he received a second breakthrough in his career in the early 1980s. Late 1984 saw the release of his fifth studio album "Suddenly" and its main single, "Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)" becoming successes on the charts. "Caribbean Queen" became Ocean's first number one single on both the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and Hot Black Singles charts in late 1984, and the album debuted in the top ten, peaking at No. 9 on both the US "Billboard" 200 and the UK Albums Chart simultaneously in the US and UK. "Suddenly" reached gold in the UK, and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). He also recorded with Scott Walker in 1984, singing harmony vocals on "Track Three" from Walker's eleventh studio album "Climate of Hunter".


title: Billy Ocean

text: “Caribbean Queen” scored Ocean two Grammy Award nominations, and won the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 1985 Grammy Awards. Ocean was later presented his award by Jeffrey Daniel of vocal group Shalamar on "620 Soul Train", a UK incarnation of the American music dance show "Soul Train". The album's title track also became a success, peaking at No. 4 in both the US and the UK and the song "Loverboy", while also being a No. 2 US success in 1985 was also featured in the first scene of the popular UK BBC One TV series "Casualty", in 1986. Ocean appeared at Live Aid in 1985, singing "Caribbean Queen" and "Loverboy", from JFK Stadium in Philadelphia.


title: Billy Ocean

text: His sixth studio album "Love Zone" (1986) also sold well. It included the successful singles "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going", the theme from the film "The Jewel of the Nile" (1985); this was a No. 1 success in the UK and a No. 2 in the United States; and "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" (a US No. 1, and also a major UK success). Also included were the title track and "Love Is Forever", which were No. 10 and No. 16 US successes for Ocean, respectively. It also earned Ocean a second nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 1987 Grammy Awards.


title: Billy Ocean

text: In February 1986, Ocean's video for "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" was banned by the BBC, owing to such non-union members as the American actors Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito, all three of whom were cast members of "Romancing the Stone" (1984) and "The Jewel of the Nile" (1985), miming to the backing vocals. At the 1987 Brit Awards, Ocean was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male.


title: Billy Ocean

text: Ocean's next studio album, "Tear Down These Walls" (1988), featured another No. 1 single, "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car", while the album was certified platinum.


title: Billy Ocean

text: Ocean's eighth studio album "Time to Move On" (1993) failed to produce any major successes, but his 1989 "Greatest Hits" collection has been a steady seller over the years, and his 1997 compilation album "L.I.F.E. – Love Is for Ever" made No. 7 on the UK Albums Chart. Ocean's last studio album for Jive Records was "Time to Move On", which he recorded in Chicago with R&B star R. Kelly.


title: Billy Ocean

text: In 2002, the University of Westminster in London awarded Ocean an honorary doctorate of music. The awards ceremony took place in the Barbican Centre, in London. He continues to tour and record in Europe. Ocean is now a patron for Tech Music Schools in London, made up of Drumtech, Vocaltech, Guitar-X and Keyboardtech. He regularly visits to hold clinics and seminars for the students.


title: Billy Ocean

text: In 2004, "Caribbean Queen" was re-released as a digital single for its 20th anniversary, shooting up to No. 25 on the "Billboard" digital singles chart and garnering radio play across the United States and UK. A remix of the single by will.i.am was released in 2005.


title: Billy Ocean

text: In February and March 2008 he toured Australia and the Far East. His ninth studio album "Because I Love You" was released on 2 February 2009.


title: Billy Ocean

text: In April 2010, an 18-track compilation album was released in the UK by Sony Music titled "The Very Best of Billy Ocean" to tie in with a 30-date tour of the UK and Ireland. Featuring Ocean's biggest hits, the album debuted in the UK Albums Chart at No. 17.


title: Billy Ocean

text: On 20 October 2010, Ocean was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the MOBO Awards in London. On 29 July 2011, Ocean became a Companion of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. His title was presented by former Beatle Paul McCartney.


title: Billy Ocean

text: In 2012, Ocean made a cameo appearance in the British comedy movie "" as Lemon's father. In January 2016, Ocean appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" to perform some of his classic hits as part of a promo tour for his new album. Ocean toured the UK during March and April 2017.


title: Billy Ocean

text: Ocean recorded a new studio album in mid-2019 at Eve Studios in Stockport, working again with producer Barry Eastmond as co-writer. The album, "One World", was to be released on 17 April 2020. After a delay, it was later released 4 September 2020.


title: Billy Ocean

text: Ocean has lived in Sunningdale, Berkshire, England, with his wife Judy, since 1978. They have three children. His son played rugby sevens at the 2014 Commonwealth Games for Barbados.


title: Billy Ocean

text: Ocean decided to become vegetarian after the loss of his mother in 1989, who died from ovarian cancer.


title: Billy Ocean

text: Ocean was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to music.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Leon Allen White (May 14, 1955 – June 18, 2018), better known by his ring names Big Van Vader or simply Vader, was an American professional wrestler and professional football player. Throughout his career, he performed for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and Pro Wrestling Noah (NOAH) during the 1990s and 2000s, He is widely regarded as the greatest super-heavyweight professional wrestler of all time.


title: Big Van Vader

text: White performed as a monstrous wrestler, and he was capable of aerial maneuvers: his diving moonsault was voted the "Best Wrestling Maneuver" of 1993 by "Wrestling Observer Newsletter" ("WON") readers. Among other accolades in WCW and Japan, he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship three times each, the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship twice, the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship once, and won the battle royal main event of the 1993 Battlebowl pay-per-view (PPV). He headlined multiple PPV events for the WWF and WCW. Vader was inducted into the "Wrestling Observer Newsletter" Hall of Fame in 1996 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2022.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Leon Allen White was born in Lynwood, California on May 14, 1955, and grew up in Compton, California. He was raised with his sister in a rough area of Los Angeles known as South Central, where the siblings experienced a home break-in. His father was a US Marine. His father also was an underwater welder for the US Navy and invented an automobile hoist, which made the family wealthier and let them move to a safer neighborhood in Bell, where White attended Bell High School. In high school, he competed in shot put on the track and field team, wrestled, and played football.


title: Big Van Vader

text: White was a nationally ranked center who was recruited by forty colleges. He played offensive line at the University of Colorado, where he was named a second-team All-American at guard by United Press International for the Buffaloes in 1977. He earned a business administration degree.


title: Big Van Vader

text: In the 1978 NFL Draft, White was drafted as a center by the Los Angeles Rams with the 24th pick of the 3rd Round (80th overall). White's first season saw the Rams go to the Super Bowl and earned White an NFC championship ring. White spent the season on the injured reserve list due to knee problems. He did not play a single down and registered no statistics. White was forced into retirement by a ruptured patella.


title: Big Van Vader

text: While working out at a gym, White was spotted by a man who remembered him from his college football days who suggested he look into professional wrestling. Trained by Brad Rheingans, White got his first national exposure in the American Wrestling Association (AWA). He went by the moniker Baby Bull, which was later changed to Bull Power. White honed his skills during this time, and his ring work improved significantly to the point that he was booked in a match with Stan Hansen for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship, where he was defeated.


title: Big Van Vader

text: In May 1986, White went to Europe to compete for Otto Wanz and his promotion, Catch Wrestling Association, touring Austria and Germany, using the name Bull Power. That summer, he took part in the three-day tournament for the Vienna Catch Cup, in Austria. He made it to the finals, before losing to Klaus Wallas. On March 22, 1987, he won his first championship, the CWA World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Otto Wanz in Denver, Colorado, ending Wanz's reign of nearly nine years in its only title change in the United States. He held onto the title for nearly four months, before losing to back to Wanz on July 11 in Graz, Austria. In December 1987, he participated in his second tournament, the Bremen Catch Cup, in Germany. He defeated Rambo in the finals, to win his first tournament.


title: Big Van Vader

text: In 1989, Bull Power returned to the CWA, to challenge Otto Wanz for the CWA World Heavyweight Championship. On August 21 in Vienna, Austria, he defeated Wanz to win his second CWA World title. He held onto the title for a little over four months before losing it back to Wanz in Bremen, Germany, on December 22. A year later, Otto Wanz retired and the CWA World title was held up. Bull Power defeated Rambo to win the vacant title for the third and final time. He held to the title for over six months, before losing it to Rambo in Graz, Austria on July 6, 1991. Five months later, he defeated Tatsumi Fujinami to become the inaugural CWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion. He vacated the title in 1992 after signing with World Championship Wrestling.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Although originally signed to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), AJPW owner Giant Baba traded White's contract over to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in 1987 after consideration. Upon joining NJPW, White was given the ring name Big Van Vader and began to wear a black wrestling mask. His new identity was based on a strong warrior of the same name from Japanese folklore. He was introduced as the crown jewel of the Takeshi Puroresu Gundan stable that was managed by Takeshi Kitano. Vader challenged Antonio Inoki, who had already defeated Riki Choshu, and defeated the worn-down Inoki. The pro-Inoki audience rioted, resulting in NJPW being banned from the Sumo Hall, its home arena. The ban remained in effect until 1989, when NJPW did their first show back in Sumo Hall on February 22.


title: Big Van Vader

text: After winning the final match of an eight-man tournament against Shinya Hashimoto at Battle Satellite in Tokyo Dome, Vader was declared the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion. He was the first gaijin (non-Japanese) wrestler to hold the title. On May 25, one month after being crowned champion, Vader lost the title to Russian suplex master Salman Hashimikov. Hashimikov dropped the title to Vader's old rival, Riki Choshu, on July 12. On August 10, Vader defeated Choshu to become a two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion.


title: Big Van Vader

text: On February 10, 1990, Vader faced Stan Hansen at an AJPW versus NJPW supercard show called Super Fight in Tokyo Dome. Before Vader entered the ring, Hansen accidentally broke Vader's nose with the bullrope Hansen carried to the ring for his matches. During an exchange of stiff punches, Hansen unintentionally poked Vader's left eye with his thumb during their brawl, which caused the eye to pop out of its socket. After removing his mask, pushing the eye back into its socket and holding it in place with his eyelid, Vader continued wrestling Hansen until the match was rendered a no contest. As a result of the injury, Vader required a metal plate to be surgically placed under his eye. Vader's success garnered the attention of World Championship Wrestling (WCW), who convinced him to work for them while still the IWGP Heavyweight Champion and an active competitor in NJPW.


title: Big Van Vader

text: In January 1991, Vader defeated Tatsumi Fujinami to earn himself a third IWGP Heavyweight Title reign. During this match, Vader began bleeding from his eye, which required surgery when he returned to the United States. This reign was short-lived however, as Vader lost the title back to Fujinami on March 4. At this point, WCW and NJPW were reaching a tentative working agreement. This benefited Vader, as he could now have his schedule coordinated far more easily. This helped alleviate his difficulty in gaining notoriety in WCW, as his previously infrequent appearances did not allow the audience to see him very often.


title: Big Van Vader

text: On March 1, 1992, he and Bam Bam Bigelow began teaming as "Big, Bad, and Dangerous". The duo went on to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship from Hiroshi Hase and Keiji Mutoh. In May, Vader faced Mutoh, now known as The Great Muta, one on one and suffered a legitimate knee injury. This injury was a factor in him and Bigelow losing the title to the WCW World Tag Team Champions, The Steiner Brothers after a near four-month reign. This also marked a decrease in his NJPW appearances, as Vader began to focus almost entirely on WCW and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.


title: Big Van Vader

text: In November 1989, White, as Big Van Vader, made his debut in Mexico for Universal Wrestling Association. On November 12, he defeated El Canek to win the UWA World Heavyweight Championship. Five days later, he made a couple shows for Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre in trios matches, teaming with Fabuloso Blondy. He kept the UWA World title for over a year, before losing it back to Canek on December 9.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Vader was originally signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1990, but was only used sparingly until 1991. Vader's first match in WCW took place on July 7, 1990 at The Great American Bash, where he defeated Tom Zenk in a little over two minutes. Seven months later, he returned for WrestleWar, where he battled Stan Hansen to a double disqualification. Eight months later, he returned at Halloween Havoc and took part in the Chamber of Horrors match, in which Vader's team lost due to Abdullah the Butcher being electrocuted by their partner, Cactus Jack. Two months later, he took part in Starrcade's Lethal Lottery, where he teamed with Mr. Hughes and defeated Rick Steiner and The Nightstalker (who was subbing for an injured Diamond Studd) to advance to the Battlebowl battle royal, in which he was eliminated.


title: Big Van Vader

text: When he began working for WCW full-time, Vader was paired with a manager, Harley Race, and received a shot at Sting's World Heavyweight Championship on April 12, 1992, and was disqualified. Sting suffered a pair of cracked ribs and a ruptured spleen in the match after taking a "Vader Bomb" from Vader, though he continued to compete infrequently while recuperating. Vader received a rematch with Sting on July 12 at The Great American Bash, which he won to become the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion. His reign was short-lived, as he re-injured his knee, forcing him to lose the title three weeks later to Ron Simmons, who substituted for Sting after he was attacked by Jake Roberts earlier that night. Vader was out of action after Clash of the Champions in September as he underwent knee surgery. Upon his return at Halloween Havoc, Vader sent Nikita Koloff into retirement and legitimately sprained the back of jobber Joe Thurman, sending him to the hospital. At Starrcade, Vader lost to Sting in the finals of the King of Cable tournament. Two days later, Vader defeated Simmons by taking advantage of a shoulder injury of Simmons's to regain the World Heavyweight Championship. On March 11, 1993, Vader lost the WCW World Heavyweight Championship to Sting but regained it six days later.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Upon returning to WCW, Mick Foley, then wrestling as Cactus Jack, defeated Vader via countout on the April 17 episode of "Saturday Night". During the match, Jack suffered a broken nose and needed 27 stitches on his face. The match was heavily edited for broadcast, as WCW did not wish to show the severe bleeding. In a rematch on April 24, Vader powerbombed Jack onto the concrete floor outside the ring, resulting in Jack suffering a concussion and temporary loss of feeling in his left hand and leg. In the meantime, Vader began to feud with a new arrival to WCW, Davey Boy Smith. They met at Slamboree in May for the World Heavyweight Championship. Vader lost by disqualification when he hit Smith with a chair, though he retained the title. Vader and Sid Vicious then formed a partnership and called themselves The Masters of the Powerbomb. They were defeated by Smith and his new partner, Sting, at Beach Blast in July. Following this, Vader and Cactus Jack's feud was restarted as Jack was cleared to return for Halloween Havoc to face Vader in a Texas Death match. Vader won when Harley Race stunned Jack with a cattle prod that kept him down for a ten count. On March 16, 1994, Foley lost his right ear in a match with Vader in Munich, Germany; Foley's head became trapped in the ropes, which were under excessive tension, causing his ear to be torn off. In 2013, Vader reveals and admitted that he actually ripped Foley's right ear off, from the WWE 2013 DVD and Blu-ray release "For All Mankind: The Life and Career of Mick Foley".


title: Big Van Vader

text: Vader was originally scheduled to face Sid Vicious at Starrcade. The real-life dismissal of Vicious after Arn Anderson stabbed him in England, however, forced WCW to find a quick replacement. Executive producer Eric Bischoff placed Ric Flair in the match, which was scheduled in Flair's hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. In the storyline, Vader did not take Flair seriously until he agreed to put his career on the line against Vader's title. Vader dominated the match, but Flair capitalized on failed interference by Race and Vader's weakened knees to win the match with a rollup and end Vader's third World Heavyweight Championship reign.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Vader continued to feud with Flair until SuperBrawl IV, when Flair once again defeated Vader, this time in a "Thundercage" match, with the help of the special guest referee The Boss. As a result, Vader began feuding with Boss, whom he defeated at Spring Stampede. He also faced Sting at Slamboree for the vacant International World Heavyweight Championship. Sting requested the match rather than be awarded the title after an injury to his original opponent, Rick Rude, and defeated Vader. At Bash at the Beach, he defeated the former Boss, now known as The Guardian Angel by disqualification. Two months later at Fall Brawl, he defeated Angel and Sting in a triangle match to determine the number one contender for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, now held by Hulk Hogan. A month later at Halloween Havoc, he defeated the Guardian Angel in a rematch. At Clash of the Champions XXIX, Vader defeated Dustin Rhodes and earned the opportunity to face the United States Heavyweight Champion Jim Duggan at Starrcade, where Vader defeated Duggan with the aid of Duggan's 2x4 to win the United States Heavyweight Championship.


title: Big Van Vader

text: In January 1995, Vader had to end his alliance with Harley Race, because in real life, Race was involved in an automobile crash and Race left WCW. Vader confronted the World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan, and informed him that he could not avoid the monster. The two met at SuperBrawl V, with Vader managing to kick out of Hogan's leg drop after a count of one. The referee was knocked out before Vader hit the "Vader Bomb" on Hogan. Ric Flair ran to the ring, made the three count, and attacked Hogan, resulting in Vader's disqualification. A rematch was signed, a strap match for the inaugural Uncensored pay-per-view. Flair once again intervened (this time in drag to avoid revealing his presence) and managed to cost Vader the match by getting himself carried by Hogan as he touched all four turnbuckle pads. Vader was stripped of the United States Heavyweight Championship on April 23, 1995 for multiple violent offenses. However, Vader gained another opportunity to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Hogan at Bash at the Beach in a Steel Cage match. He conspired with Kevin Sullivan and the Dungeon of Doom to gain a psychological edge before the encounter, which Vader lost when Hogan escaped the cage. He then restarted his feud with Flair, based on his frustration at Flair's constant interference in his title matches and Flair's annoyance at his inability to defeat Hogan. At Clash of the Champions XXXI, Vader defeated Flair and Arn Anderson in a 2-on-1 handicap match. Following the event, Hogan grew interested in Vader and asked for his assistance in his developing feud with the Dungeon of Doom by asking him to join him, Randy Savage, and Sting for WarGames. Vader complied but the storyline never developed as, shortly after, Vader was fired from WCW after he was involved in a locker room brawl with Paul Orndorff.


title: Big Van Vader

text: The title video for the September 4 debut edition of "Monday Nitro" featured multiple shots of Vader (one of four wrestlers featured, along with Hogan, Sting and Savage), who parted ways with WCW shortly thereafter. Absent from the first episode, he had been scheduled to face Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on the September 11 episode, but was replaced by Lex Luger, who issued a challenge to Hogan on the debut show.


title: Big Van Vader

text: In late February 1993, White signed an eight-date agreement with the Union of Wrestling Forces International (UWFi), where he competed as Super Vader due to legal issues concerning the Big Van Vader name. By September 1993, he was simply known as Vader in the United States. He worked with UWFi for over two years, winning the Best of the World Tournament, which started April 3 and ended August 18, 1994. Vader first defeated Salman Hashimikov and then Masahito Kakihara in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Vader defeated Kiyoshi Tamura, and beat Nobuhiko Takada in the finals to win the tournament and the UWFi Pro-Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship. He would hold onto the title for over eight months, before losing the title to Takada on April 20, 1995. He left shortly thereafter.


title: Big Van Vader

text: At Wrestling World on January 4, Vader had his first post-WCW match, facing the man whose four-year winning streak Vader had ended over eight years prior, Antonio Inoki. Inoki was over 50 years old at the time, but the match lasted nearly fourteen minutes before Inoki won the match.


title: Big Van Vader

text: In the weeks leading up to the 1996 Royal Rumble, Vader's debut was heavily hyped on television as he was billed as "The Man They Call Vader" (though Vince McMahon had originally wanted to rename him "The Mastodon"). He made his first World Wrestling Federation (WWF) appearance as a participant in the Royal Rumble match, as he entered at number 13 and eliminated Jake Roberts, Doug Gilbert, one member of the Squat Team, and Savio Vega; he also fought with his ally Yokozuna, but Vader was eliminated by Shawn Michaels before he re-entered the ring and started assaulting everyone, including Michaels. Vader defeated Vega on the following "Monday Night Raw", before assaulting WWF officials and eventually, WWF President Gorilla Monsoon demanded that Vader cease his attacks and received a Vader Bomb for his efforts. As a result, Vader was suspended for his actions, though in reality he needed time off for shoulder surgery.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Jim Cornette campaigned for Vader's reinstatement, and by the time Vader returned, Yokozuna had left Cornette's management. At February's In Your House 6, Vader appeared during Yokozuna's match against The British Bulldog, and as Yokozuna was about to pin The Bulldog, Vader attacked him, handcuffed him, and delivered a severe beating. This led to what was supposed to be a one-on-one encounter between Vader and Yokozuna at WrestleMania XII. However, the match became a six-man tag team match pitting Vader, Owen Hart, and The British Bulldog against Yokozuna, Ahmed Johnson, and Jake Roberts, with the stipulation that if Yokozuna's team won the match, he would have five minutes alone with Cornette in the ring; this never occurred as Vader's team won the match when Vader pinned Roberts.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Vader then attacked the WWF Champion Shawn Michaels after one of Michaels' matches, which earned him a spot in a six-man tag team match at , where Vader, Owen Hart, and The British Bulldog teamed up against Michaels, Ahmed Johnson, and Sycho Sid; Vader pinned Michaels to win the match for his team. Vader faced Michaels again at SummerSlam, where Michael's won by pinfall.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Following his feud with Michaels, Vader faced off against The Undertaker in a singles match at the Royal Rumble, and during the match, The Undertaker's former manager, Paul Bearer, attacked him and helped Vader win; Bearer then became Vader's manager. Both Vader and Undertaker went on to compete in the Royal Rumble match, during which Stone Cold Steve Austin was eliminated by Bret Hart; however, the referees did not see this, as they were attending to Terry Funk and Mankind on the floor, allowing Austin to sneak back into the ring and eliminate both Vader and Undertaker, then Bret Hart, who was busy eliminating Fake Diesel, and win the Royal Rumble. As a result of this, Vader and the other men eliminated by Austin, Bret Hart and The Undertaker, were put into the four-way main event of February's for the WWF Championship, in which Vader, after bleeding profusely, was eliminated by The Undertaker. Bearer then persuaded his two proteges, Vader and Mankind, to go after the WWF Tag Team Championship, despite the fact that the two men often brawled between themselves. They failed in their bid to win the tag team gold at WrestleMania 13.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Vader again received an opportunity to face The Undertaker, this time for the WWF Championship at , but lost. On the following night's "Raw is War", Vader wrestled The Patriot, who won the match and then went after Bret Hart, who came to ringside during the match; Vader attacked The Patriot, and then brought him back into the ring, where he went for the Vader Bomb, but Hart came into the ring and laid the Canadian flag over The Patriot, so Vader got down, picked up the Canadian flag, broke it, and started a brawl with Hart. This turned Vader face and served to bring Vader into the USA vs. Canada feud, which culminated at Survivor Series, where Vader was the leader of Team USA, with Goldust, Marc Mero, and Steve Blackman (replacing the injured Patriot) as they faced Team Canada, composed of The British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart, Doug Furnas, and Phil LaFon; during the match, Goldust and Terri Runnels AKA Marlena, walked out on his team and Team USA lost the match after The Bulldog pinned Vader after hitting him with the ring bell. Goldust and Vader feuded throughout the fall and finally faced off at the Royal Rumble, in a match which Vader won. Goldust eliminated Vader from the Royal Rumble match later that night (Vader entered at number 30).


title: Big Van Vader

text: Following his feud with Goldust, Vader began feuding with Kane, and both faced off for the first time at , where Vader lost after a chokeslam and a Tombstone Piledriver before Kane subsequently attacked him with a large steel wrench, resulting in Vader being taken away on a stretcher and was kept off of television for a while. Two months later, at , Vader returned during Kane's Inferno match against The Undertaker; as Kane was attempting to leave the match, Vader appeared and fought him back to the ring to continue the match, which Kane lost. Vader and Kane had a rematch at in a Mask vs. Mask match, in which Vader attempted to use a wrench on Kane like the one used on him months before, but Kane managed to recover and defeat Vader, costing him his mask in the process. In a post-match interview with Michael Cole, Vader said, "I made the biggest mistake of my life. Maybe Vader time is over. I'm nothing but a big piece of shit. A big FAT PIECE OF SHIT".


title: Big Van Vader

text: Subsequently, Vader had a series of losses and was reduced to the status of a jobber to the stars, having a feud with Mark Henry which Vader lost. After considering retirement, Vader instead negotiated his own release from the WWF so he could once again wrestle in Japan. His final WWF pay-per-view match was a loss to Bradshaw at in a No Holds Barred match. He lost to Edge on the October 11, 1998, episode of "Sunday Night Heat" in his final televised WWF match. In a shoot interview, Jim Cornette said part of the reason that Vader's WWF run was not as successful as what was hoped was due to the failure to properly book Vader.


title: Big Van Vader

text: After leaving the WWF, Vader returned to Japan. He returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling forming a team with his old foe Stan Hansen, with whom he made it to the finals of the 1998 World's Strongest Tag Determination League, where they were defeated by Kenta Kobashi and Jun Akiyama. At the beginning of 1999, he became the number one contender to the Triple Crown by defeating Kobashi. He then won the (vacant) Triple Crown Title on March 6, 1999 by defeating Akira Taue. He then won the 1999 Champion Carnival. Vader lost the Triple Crown to Misawa on May 2, 1999 at the Giant Baba Memorial Show, and he regained it from Misawa on October 30.


title: Big Van Vader

text: While defending the Triple Crown, Vader won the World Tag Team Championship with a recently returned "Dr. Death" Steve Williams on February 20, 2000. However, the week after on February 27, Vader lost the Triple Crown to Kenta Kobashi. Upon losing the title, Vader continued defending his tag team titles with Williams before Vader took some time off, disappearing from TV in April 2000 after a singles loss to Misawa. The Tag Team titles were vacated that month, and Williams went on to feud with Mike Barton to set up their Brawl For All revenge angle.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Upon returning from his hiatus, Vader joined Mitsuharu Misawa's newly created Pro Wrestling Noah promotion in October 2000. He had a strong dominance in the tag team division with 2 Cold Scorpio, where they had a great number of victories on television and pay-per-views. Vader earned many singles victories as well against several of the roster's Japanese wrestlers. He often had matches against Jun Akiyama as part of a grudge feud that was carried over from their times facing each other in AJPW. While teaming together, Vader and Scorpio often found themselves fighting against Akiyama and whatever Japanese partner he had at the moment.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Vader and Scorpio won the grudge feud by defeating Jun Akiyama and Akitoshi Saito on an October 19, 2001 pay-per-view, where they became the inaugural GHC Tag Team Champions. They lost the titles to Mitsuharu Misawa and Yoshinari Ogawa on November 30. Having lost the tag team titles, Vader tried to reprioritize himself and pursue Jun Akiyama's GHC Heavyweight Championship (the top title of the company), where it culminated in a much hyped pay-per-view main event on December 9, 2001. Vader lost the match by submitting to Akiyama, and right after the event he took a break from wrestling for two months.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Vader returned to NOAH's television programs in March 2002. He and Scorpio continued teaming, and despite them not winning the titles again, they continued having many victories in the tag team and singles division throughout 2002. Vader's last appearance in NOAH was in January 2003.


title: Big Van Vader

text: On February 19, 2003, Vader appeared in NWA Total Nonstop Action (NWA-TNA) to defend Dusty Rhodes, who was fighting with The Harris Brothers. He and Dusty won a tag team match the next week against the Harris Brothers via disqualification. He then began a feud with Nikita Koloff, whose career Vader ended long ago. However, TNA and Vader soon parted ways.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Vader made a one-off return to TNA on the June 24, 2015 episode of "Impact!" for a singles match against Bram. Vader won the match via disqualification after Bram used a ring wrench to hit Vader in the head. Matt Morgan then entered the ring to save Vader and take out Bram. This was his final appearance for the company.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Vader returned to the WWF, now World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), on the October 31, 2005, episode of "Raw" when Jonathan Coachman announced that Vader and Goldust would be in his corner for his street fight against Stone Cold Steve Austin the next night at Taboo Tuesday. When Austin decided not to participate, he was replaced by Batista. Vader and Goldust interfered in the match on Coachman's behalf and received spinebusters for their efforts.


title: Big Van Vader

text: On the June 11, 2012 episode of "Raw", Vader defeated Heath Slater in a singles match. On July 23 on the 1000th episode of "Raw", Vader and several other legends prevented Slater from leaving in his match against Lita, which she won.


title: Big Van Vader

text: In April 2016, Vader made a one-night appearance at the 2016 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony to induct Stan Hansen into the WWE Hall of Fame. On March 7, 2022, it was announced that he would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Vader returned to Japan, wrestling at a NJPW Wrestle Land show. He also worked in the independent circuit as Big Van Vader, including a tag match with Mike Awesome against Samoa Joe and Dan Maff in Jersey All Pro Wrestling on June 5, 2004. On May 12, 2007, Vader faced Brutus Beefcake at Spartan Slamfest, a World Wrestling Coalition charity show. The match was held at the Kingston Armory in Kingston, Pennsylvania. After wrestling his last match in 2007, White began working as a high school football coach and retired from the sport.


title: Big Van Vader

text: On April 29, 2010, White made a return to wrestling under his Vader ring name at the event Vader Time 5 Return of the Emperor. At the event, he teamed with his son Jesse and former tag team partner 2 Cold Scorpio to successfully defeat Makoto Hashi, Tamon Honda and Tatsumi Fujinami in the main event.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Vader made his in-ring return to the United States on January 28, 2012. He defeated Arik Royal and Adam Page in a handicap match at WrestleReunion: Los Angeles. On May 11, 2012 at Resistance Pro's event A Small Deadly Space, Vader defeated Jay Bradley.


title: Big Van Vader

text: In May 2016, Will Ospreay and Ricochet faced each other during the NJPW tournament Best of the Super Juniors. During the match, both wrestlers performed a high flying, fast-paced sequence. When Vader saw the sequence, he complained on social media about the current direction of pro wrestling, specifically about matches being too scripted and overly choreographed. During the following weeks, Vader and Ospreay feuded on Twitter, which led to England-based promotion Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) booking a match between them. The match took place on August 12, 2016, with Vader defeating Ospreay. Two days later, Vader made an appearance in Colchester, England for the XWA Wrestling (XWA) promotion, defeating "Savvy" Sid Scala.


title: Big Van Vader

text: On April 20, 2017, Vader made an appearance in Japan at Korakuen Hall as part of the Dradition show to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the debut of Tatsumi Fujinami. Following a six-man tag team match, Vader collapsed due to being dropped on his head during the match, but he was able to walk backstage under his own power and he remained in Japan as he was scheduled to work two more shows in Fukuoka and Osaka. On April 22, Vader, Takuma Sano, and Yoshiaki Fujiwara lost a six-man tag team match to Koji Kanemoto, Shiro Koshinaka and Tatsumi Fujinami. On April 23, Vader, Riki Choshu, and Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Shiro Koshinaka, Takuma Sano, and Yoshiaki Fujiwara. The final match of his career took place August 26, 2017 for Top Rope Promotions with Vader coming out victorious.


title: Big Van Vader

text: In the aftermath of the 2011 natural disasters in Japan, Vader and his son Jesse wrestled on special tribute cards for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and Pro Wrestling Zero1. On December 7, 2012, Vader returned to AJPW once again, teaming with Keiji Mutoh and Kenso to defeat Bambi Killer, Franz Dynamite and Mazada in a six-man tag team match.


title: Big Van Vader

text: White is considered one of the greatest super-heavyweight professional wrestlers of all time. He used his size and weight as part of his moves making them look much more painful than when performed by someone half his size. For example, his finishing move, called the Vader Bomb, which is a corner slingshot splash, when he would bounce off the middle rope and land on a prone opponent. He was also noted for his impressive agility, as he can perform a simple dropkick despite his frame. One of his signature moves was the "Vader Sault", a moonsault or a backward somersault jump off the top rope, a move that requires significant agility and is usually performed by much smaller wrestlers.


title: Big Van Vader

text: The "Fatal Fury" character Raiden, also known as "Big Bear", is based on Vader's appearance in Japan. The character Alexander the Grater from "Saturday Night Slam Masters" bears a resemblance to Vader. Alexander also wears a mask very similar to the mastodon mask Vader wore during ring entrances in the 1980s and early 1990s. Vader himself appears as a playable character in the WCW video games "WCW Wrestling", "", and "WCW SuperBrawl Wrestling", the WWE video game "WWF In Your House", and as a downloadable or unlockable legend in "WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009", "WWE '12", "WWE '13", "WWE 2K16", "WWE 2K17", "WWE 2K18", and "WWE 2K19". He has also been featured, both officially and unofficially, in numerous Japanese wrestling games, such as the "Fire Pro Wrestling" series, "Virtual Pro Wrestling", "King of Colosseum" (he is a preset model in "King of Colosseum II"s EDIT mode), the latter two editions of the "All Star Pro-Wrestling" series, and "Wrestle Kingdom 2", where he is also featured in the cover art.


title: Big Van Vader

text: White and his wife Grace Connelly, married in 1979. Together they have a son, Jesse White, who was born on April 19, 1986. In July 2009, Jesse began training him to become a professional wrestler in Japan. He originally committed to the University of Oklahoma and was touted for the National Football League, but was taken out with a hip injury. In April 2011, he signed a developmental contract with WWE, and used the name Jake Carter, until September 16, 2013, when he was released.


title: Big Van Vader

text: While in Kuwait during a WWF tour in April 1997, White appeared on the television program "Good Morning Kuwait" along with The Undertaker, who was WWF World Heavyweight Champion at that time. During the interview, the host asked Taker and Vader if wrestling was fake. In response, White flipped over the table they were sitting at and grabbed the host by the tie, asking him if it seemed fake while using foul language. He was then arrested and detained by Kuwaiti authorities for 2 weeks. In December, White was fined $164 for this incident.


title: Big Van Vader

text: Partially due to years of alcohol abuse and travel, White and his wife divorced in 2007, inspiring him to quit drinking and curtail his travel.


title: Big Van Vader

text: White had double knee replacement surgery, resulting in wound infection, and he was bedridden for six months. Soon after recovering, he passed out during a plane trip to Japan for an autograph session. He was in a coma for 33 days, during which he lost 112 pounds.


title: Big Van Vader

text: In November 2016, White was involved in a rollover car accident that left him unconscious for 35 minutes. Being diagnosed with congestive heart failure, he consulted two heart doctors, who told him he had two years to live. He later received another opinion that was more optimistic. In a March 2017 interview on the "Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling" podcast, White explained that he regretted tweeting about his diagnosis. He said he would continue to wrestle and if the tests were proven to be true, he would like to die in the ring.


title: Big Van Vader

text: In March 2018, White went in for heart surgery followed by another to treat an arrhythmia. White died on June 18, 2018 after a month-long hospitalization for pneumonia. He was 63 years old. In the months before his death, White was frequently visited and supported by fellow wrestler Sting.


title: Hominy

text: Hominy (Spanish: maíz molido; literally meaning "milled corn") is a food produced from dried maize (corn) kernels that have been treated with an alkali, in a process called nixtamalization ( is the Nahuatl word for "hominy"). "Lye hominy" is a type of hominy made with lye.


title: Hominy

text: The process of nixtamalization has been fundamental to Mesoamerican cuisine since ancient times. The lime used to treat the maize can be obtained from several different materials. Among the Lacandon Maya who inhabited the tropical lowland regions of eastern Chiapas, the caustic powder was obtained by toasting freshwater shells over a fire for several hours. In the highland areas of Chiapas and throughout much of the Yucatán Peninsula, Belize River valley and Petén Basin, limestone was used to make slaked lime for steeping the shelled kernels. The Maya used nixtamal to produce beers that more resembled "chicha" than "pulque". When bacteria were introduced to nixtamal it created a type of sourdough.


title: Hominy

text: Hominy is made in a process called nixtamalization. To make hominy, field corn (maize) grain is dried, and then treated by soaking and cooking the mature (hard) grain in a dilute solution of lye (potassium hydroxide) (which can be produced from water and wood ash) or of slaked lime (calcium hydroxide from limestone). The maize is then washed thoroughly to remove the bitter flavor of the lye or lime. Alkalinity helps dissolve hemicellulose, the major adhesive component of the maize cell walls, loosens the hulls from the kernels, and softens the corn. Also, soaking the corn in lye kills the seed's germ, which keeps it from sprouting while in storage. Finally, in addition to providing a source of dietary calcium, the lye or lime reacts with the corn so that the nutrient niacin can be assimilated by the digestive tract. People consume hominy in intact kernels, grind it into sand-sized particles for grits, or into flour.


title: Hominy

text: In Mexican cooking, hominy is finely ground to make masa (Spanish for "dough"). Fresh masa that has been dried and powdered is called "masa seca" or "masa harina". Some of the corn oil breaks down into emulsifying agents (monoglycerides and diglycerides), and facilitates bonding the corn proteins to each other. The divalent calcium in lime acts as a cross-linking agent for protein and polysaccharide acidic side chains. Cornmeal from untreated ground corn cannot form a dough with the addition of water, but the chemical changes in masa (aka "masa nixtamalera") make dough formation possible, for tortillas and other food.


title: Hominy

text: Previously, consuming untreated corn was thought to cause pellagra (niacin deficiency)—either from the corn itself or some infectious element in untreated corn. However, further advancements showed that it is a correlational, not causal, relationship. In the 1700s and 1800s, areas that depended highly on corn as a diet staple were more likely to have pellagra. This is because humans cannot absorb niacin in untreated corn. The nixtamalization process frees niacin into a state where the intestines can absorb it. This was discovered primarily by exploring why Mexican people who depended on maize did not develop pellagra. One reason was that Mayans treated corn in an alkaline solution to soften it, in the process now called nixtamalization, or used limestone to grind the corn. The earliest known use of nixtamalization was in what is present-day southern Mexico and Guatemala around 1500–1200 BC.


title: Hominy

text: In Mexican cuisine, people cook masa nixtamalera with water and milk to make a thick, gruel-like beverage called . When they make it with chocolate and sugar, it becomes . Adding anise and piloncillo to this mix creates , a popular breakfast drink.


title: Hominy

text: The English term "hominy" derives from the Powhatan language word for prepared maize (cf. Chickahominy). Many other indigenous American cultures also made hominy, and integrated it into their diet. Cherokees, for example, made hominy grits by soaking corn in a weak lye solution produced by leaching hardwood ash with water, and then beating it with a (), or corn beater. They used grits to make a traditional hominy soup ( ) that they let ferment ( ), cornbread, dumplings ( ), or, in post-contact times, fried with bacon and green onions.


title: Hominy

text: Hominy recipes include (a Mexican stew of hominy and pork, chicken, or other meat), hominy bread, hominy chili, hog 'n' hominy, casseroles and fried dishes. In Latin America there are a variety of dishes referred to as . Hominy can be ground coarsely for grits, or into a fine mash dough () used extensively in Latin American cuisine. Many islands in the West Indies, notably Jamaica, also use hominy (known as cornmeal or "polenta", though different from Italian polenta) to make a sort of porridge with corn starch or flour to thicken the mixture and condensed milk, vanilla, and nutmeg.


title: Hominy

text: Rockihominy, a popular trail food in the 19th and early 20th centuries, is dried corn, roasted to a golden brown, then ground to a very coarse meal, almost like hominy grits. Hominy is also used as animal feed.


title: Hominy

text: Canned hominy (drained) is composed of 83% water, 14% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and 1% fat (table). In a 100-gram serving, hominy provide 72 calories and only is a good source (10–19% of the Daily Value) of zinc. Hominy also supplies dietary fiber. Other nutrients are in low amounts (table).


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: Jonathan Stuart Bailey (born 25 April 1988) is an English actor. Known for his comedic, dramatic, and musical roles on stage and screen, he is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award and has received nominations for "Evening Standard" Theatre and Screen Actor Guild Awards.


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: Bailey began his career as a child actor in Royal Shakespeare Company productions and by eight was performing as Gavroche in a West End production of "Les Misérables". He has since starred in contemporary plays such as "South Downs" in 2012, "The York Realist" in 2018, and "Cock" in 2022; in classical plays like the Royal National Theatre's "Othello" in 2013 and Chichester Festival Theatre's "King Lear" in 2017; as well as in musicals, namely the London revival of "The Last Five Years" in 2016 and the West End gender-swapped revival of "Company" for which he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical in 2019.


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: On screen, Bailey starred in the CBBC action-adventure series "Leonardo" (2011–12) and the Disney Channel musical-comedy "Groove High" (2012–13) before becoming known for his roles in ITV crime drama "Broadchurch" (2013–15), BBC satire "W1A" (2014–17), and Channel 4 comedy "Crashing" (2016). He gained international recognition for his critically acclaimed portrayal of Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton, in Netflix Regency romance drama "Bridgerton" (2020–present). He will appear in the upcoming film adaption of "Wicked".


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: Jonathan Stuart Bailey was born on 25 April 1988 in the Oxfordshire town of Wallingford, to an audiologist mother and Rowse Honey managing director father. He grew up in the neighbouring village of Benson, and is the youngest of four siblings and the only son. He described being brought up by "a co-operative of four brilliant women and a dad who has an incredible work ethic." Bailey decided that he wanted to be an actor at the age of five after his grandmother took him to see a production of Lionel Bart's "Oliver!" in London. His first ever appearance on stage was in a primary school production of Noah's Ark playing a raindrop.


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: Bailey attended The Oratory School while taking ballet lessons, and later studied at Magdalen College School, Oxford under a music scholarship, playing the piano and clarinet. After securing a talent agent at 15 years old and booking acting roles, he eventually declined his university acceptance offer and opted not to go to drama school, later saying that this kept him grounded in the performing arts: "I've never gone in as the overdog, and that's liberating and I don't want that to ever change. I just want to allow my own experiences to come through."


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: Through his dance club in Henley-on-Thames, Bailey auditioned for and landed the alternating roles of Tiny Tim and Young Scrooge in the 1995 Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) production of "A Christmas Carol" at the Barbican Theatre in London at seven years old. He sang "Where is Love?" from "Oliver!" for his audition. The following year, he made his television debut in the Victorian period drama "Bramwell". Bailey also played Little Baptiste in the RSC's 1996 production of "Les Enfants du Paradis". By eight years old, he was performing as Gavroche in a West End production of "Les Misérables."


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: In 2001, Bailey played Prince Arthur for the RSC's "King John". He made his feature film debut in 2004 in "Five Children and It," a film adaptation of E. Nesbit's fantasy novel of the same name. In 2006, on the day of his last A levels, he started rehearsing for a revival of the play "Beautiful Thing" in London, taking over the lead role from Andrew Garfield. "The Telegraph" wrote that Bailey "memorably lit up" the production. This was followed by guest roles in long-running British television staples like "Doctors" and "The Bill". His first leading role on television was in the 2009 BBC sitcom "Off the Hook" about a group of university freshers.


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: In 2011, Bailey played the titular Leonardo da Vinci in the 2011 CBBC action-adventure series "Leonardo", which follows a young Leonardo and his friends in 15th century Florence. The show ran for two series, spawned an online game, and received four KidScreen Awards. The same year, he starred in the comedy "Campus," a semi-improvised sitcom in which he played Flatpack, a student athlete with Olympic potential.


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: Bailey was nominated for Outstanding Newcomer at the "Evening Standard" Theatre Awards for his performance in David Hare's well-received play "South Downs" at Minerva Theatre in 2011, and its later transfer to Harold Pinter Theatre the following year."The Telegraph" described him as a future star and one of "the brightest up-and-coming actors currently starring on the West End stage." He also led the Disney Channel musical-comedy "Groove High" playing the popstar Tom which ran from 2012 to 2013 for 26 episodes and was a mixture of live action and animation where Bailey sang and also did the voiceover of his character's animated form.


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: In 2013, Bailey rose to popularity for playing the local journalist Olly Stevens in the first two series of the hit crime-drama "Broadchurch" on ITV. On stage, he was cast by then Royal National Theatre's artistic director Nicholas Hytner as Cassio in his production of William Shakespeare's "Othello" at the Olivier Theatre in 2013. The production was shown to cinemas via National Theatre Live. His "likable, open-faced", and "smoothly ambitious" Cassio was "splendid", per "The Washington Post". Hytner also directed Bailey in one of the vignettes for "" where he played Valentine Coverly from Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia".


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: Bailey originated the role of Tim Price in Duncan Sheik's musical "American Psycho" directed by Rupert Goold at the Almeida Theatre. He then guest starred in the "Doctor Who" episode "Time Heist" in 2014. The episode was described by "The Independent" as "a fast-paced caper" with Bailey stealing the show with his compelling performance as augmented human Psi. He also had a supporting role in the 2014 period film "Testament of Youth" based on the First World War memoir of Vera Brittain. Bailey returned to comedy in the 2014 satirical show "W1A" as BBC employee Jack, a role he would play for three series.


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: In 2016, Bailey starred as Sam, a sex-obsessed estate agent in Phoebe Waller-Bridge's first television project "Crashing", which "W" magazine described as a "twisted version of "Friends."" He also played Herod in the American biblical drama film "The Young Messiah," based on a novel by Anne Rice. The same year, he headlined the London production of the musical "The Last Five Years" as Jamie with music, lyrics and direction by Jason Robert Brown at St. James Theatre. "The Stage"s Mark Shenton called the production "poignant" turning "each song into a masterclass of storytelling" with Bailey "a real vocal surprise with his haunting renditions of 'If I Didn’t Believe in You' and 'Nobody Needs to Know'." Edward Seckerson of The Arts Desk wrote, in his five-star review, that Bailey was "sensationally good" and delivered tour-de-force musical performances of 'Moving Too Fast' and 'The Schmuel Song'.


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: Bailey appeared alongside Ian McKellen in the acclaimed production of "King Lear" at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2017. He received raved reviews for his performance as Edgar which the "Evening Standard" described as "a touching study of transformation". Bailey also made a guest appearance in series two episode two of Michaela Coel's sitcom "Chewing Gum" in 2017 where he played Ash, a romantic interest to Coel's character Tracey. He followed this up with a role in the 2017 biographical film "The Mercy" directed by James Marsh.


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: From February to April 2018, Bailey starred in Donmar Warehouse-Sheffield Theatres co-production of Peter Gill's "The York Realist." The "Evening Standard," The Arts Desk, and "Sunday Express" gave the production five stars, with "The Independent" calling it "a pitch-perfect, impeccably acted production" in its own five-star review.


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: Bailey joined the 2018 West End production of Stephen Sondheim's "Company" directed by Marianne Elliott. He originated the gender-swapped role of Jamie which was initially written as a female character named Amy. Per "The Times", Bailey "received an ovation every night after completing the infamous 'Getting Married Today' a rat-tat-tat, mile-a-minute technical feat, lyrically, about marriage jitters." His "lightning-fast, show-stopping rendition of the song became a must-see West End event" according to "Variety," and won him the 2019 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical.


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: Since 2020, Bailey has starred in the Shondaland-produced Netflix series "Bridgerton", an adaptation of Julia Quinn's Regency romance novels, as Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton. His portrayal was critically acclaimed, and gained him international recognition. The second series, which centered around his character, became the most watched English-language television series on Netflix at the time with 656.16 million hours viewed in its first 28 days of release, and debuted number one in 92 countries on the platform on 25 March 2022. Kevin Fallon of "The Daily Beast" elaborating on Bailey's "exquisite lead performance", wrote that "he has an exceptional ability to carry his angst, pain, and guilt with him without bogging down things into a somber drag."


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: Bailey headlined the acclaimed 2022 West End revival of Mike Bartlett's play "Cock" at the Ambassadors Theatre, reuniting him with his "Company" director Elliot. "The Observer"'s Kate Kellaway called it an "immaculate production", with The Arts Desk writing that it was "brutal, bruising, and brilliant". In the lead role, Bailey's "terrific performance" was "utterly captivating", with "Variety"s David Benedict writing that his "whiplash comic timing lifts his character from self-obsessed to scintillating, a quality he uses both artfully and artlessly."


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: Bailey has been described by the media as a sex symbol whose fans, according to the "Los Angeles Times", span "all genders and orientations." "TIME" magazine included Bailey in its annual class of Next Generation Leaders in 2022, writing that he is "redefining the 'Hollywood Heartthrob'".


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: Critic Peter Travers described Bailey as "a dynamite actor equally adept at drama and musicals." Describing Bailey's off-screen persona, "The Cut"'s Kerensa Cadenas noted that talking to him is "a lesson in charm – he’s personable, super-handsome, and utterly hilarious." Douglas Greenwood of "GQ" wrote that "dispositionally, he's one of those actors who'd rather work than be famous", with Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff of "The New York Times" writing that Bailey took to heart "the advice given to him at 23, he said, by the theater director Nicholas Hytner: Always keep working."


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: Phoebe Waller-Bridge described her former co-star as "completely brilliant... unbelievably charismatic in real life and so energetic", "Jonny operates at a different voltage. He's a meteorite of fun with an incredible amount of energy and playfulness." Patti LuPone, Bailey’s "Company" co-star, declared him "the biggest star in the world" in 2021 after consecutive successes on stage and screen, adding that he is "quite open as a human being. I love him.” Marianne Elliott recalled that Sondheim was enamored with Bailey. Three days before the composer died in 2021, Elliott told him that Bailey would be starring in the play "Cock". Sondheim "literally stopped in his tracks, closed his eyes, put his hand on his chest and said, 'Be still my beating heart,'" Elliott recounted.


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: "Variety" ranked Bailey #2 in its Power of Pride list of most influential queer artists in Hollywood in 2022. "Attitude" featured Bailey in their inaugural list of "LGBTQ+ trailblazers changing the world" in 2020. "GQ" described him as "one of the few gay British actors working onscreen whose roles don't seem defined wholly by their sexuality." "Pride" declared that he is proof gay actors can convincingly play straight roles, with "Out" writing that Bailey's visibility is inspiring LGBTQ+ performers to come out.


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: An avid cyclist, Bailey has also competed in marathons and triathlons, in addition to being fond of paddleboarding and mountaineering. In 2018, he climbed the Everest base camp in Nepal, and the following year climbed Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, and Snowdon within 24 hours to raise money for MND Association Scotland. Resident on the Sussex coast in Hove, he regularly takes cold sea swims in the morning for "exhilaration, ... invigoration, and resuscitation."


title: Jonathan Bailey

text: Bailey privately came out as gay to friends and family in his early 20s, publicly commenting on it in 2018. Although cautious of discussing his sexuality as it is a personal matter that he noted "becomes a commodity and a currency", he is committed to visibility and representation stating that, "if I can fill spaces that I didn't have growing up then I feel like that's a really brilliant thing" and "something I’ll always strive to do".


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (; or ', Fakauvea and Fakafutuna: '), is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast, Samoa to the east, and Tokelau to the northeast.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: Mata Utu is its capital and largest city. Its land area is . It had a population of 11,558 at the 2018 census (down from 14,944 at the 2003 census). The territory is made up of three main volcanic tropical islands and a number of tiny islets. It is divided into two island groups that lie about apart: the Wallis Islands (also known as Uvea) in the northeast; and the Hoorn Islands (also known as the Futuna Islands) in the southwest, including Futuna Island proper and the mostly uninhabited Alofi Island.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: Since 28 March 2003, Wallis and Futuna has been a French overseas collectivity ("collectivité d'outre-mer", or "COM"). Between 1961 and 2003, it had the status of a French overseas territory ("territoire d'outre-mer", or "TOM"). Its official name did not change when its status changed.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: The earliest signs of human habitation on these islands are artifacts characteristic of the Lapita culture, dating roughly to between 850 and 800 BCE. The islands served as natural stopover points for boat traffic, mostly between Fiji and Samoa. During Tongan invasions in the 15th and 16th centuries, the islands defended themselves with varying levels of resistance, but also accepted varying degrees of assimilation. Futuna retained more of its pre-Tongan cultural features, while Wallis underwent greater fundamental changes in its society, language, and culture. The original inhabitants built forts and other identifiable structures on the islands (many of which are in ruins), some of which are still partially intact. Oral history and archaeological evidence suggests that the Tongan invaders re-occupied and modified some of these structures. The oral history also preserves a cultural memory of relationships between Samoa and Futuna that are so longstanding, they are described in the islanders' origin stories.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: Futuna was first put on European maps by Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire, during their circumnavigation of the globe, in 1616. They named the islands of Futuna "Hoornse Eylanden", after the Dutch town of Hoorn where they hailed from. This was later translated into French, as "Isles de Horne." The Wallis Islands are named after the British explorer Samuel Wallis, who sailed past them in 1767, after being the first European to visit Tahiti. The French were the first Europeans to settle in the territory, with the arrival of French missionaries in 1837, who converted the population to Roman Catholicism. Pierre Chanel, canonized in 1954, is a major patron saint of the island of Futuna and of the region.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: On 5 April 1842, the missionaries asked for the protection of France, after the uprising of part of the local population. On 5 April 1887, the queen of Uvea (of the traditional chiefdom of Wallis) signed a treaty, officially establishing a French protectorate. The kings of Sigave and Alo (on the islands of Futuna and Alofi) also signed a treaty establishing a French protectorate, on 16 February 1888. From that moment, the islands were officially under the authority of the French colony of New Caledonia.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: In 1917, the three traditional kingdoms of Uvea, Sigave, and Alo were annexed by France, integrated into the colony of Wallis and Futuna, and remained under the authority of the colony of New Caledonia.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: During World War II, the islands' administration was briefly pro-Vichy, until a "Free French" corvette from New Caledonia deposed the regime, on 26 May 1942. Units of the US Marine Corps later landed on Wallis, on 29 May 1942.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: In 1959, the inhabitants of the islands voted to become a separate French overseas territory, effective since 29 July 1961, thus ending their subordination to New Caledonia.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: In 2005, the 50th king of Uvea, Tomasi Kulimoetoke II, faced being deposed after giving sanctuary to his grandson who was convicted of manslaughter. The king claimed his grandson should be judged by tribal law rather than by the French penal system. As a result, there were riots in the streets involving the king's supporters, who were victorious over attempts to replace the king. Two years later, Tomasi Kulimoetoke died on 7 May 2007. The state was in a six-month period of mourning, during which mentioning a successor was forbidden. On 25 July 2008, Kapiliele Faupala was installed as king despite protests from some of the royal clans. He was deposed in 2014. A new king, Patalione Kanimoa, was eventually installed in Uvea in 2016; Lino Leleivai in Alo on Futuna succeeded after Filipo Katoa had abdicated, and Eufenio Takala succeeded Polikalepo Kolivai in Sigave. The French president at the time, François Hollande, attended the installation ceremony.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: The territory is divided into three traditional kingdoms ("royaumes coutumiers"): Uvea, on the island of Wallis, Sigave, on the western part of the island of Futuna, and Alo, on the eastern part of the island of Futuna and on the uninhabited island of Alofi (only Uvea is further subdivided, into three districts):


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: The capital of the collectivity is Mata Utu on the island of Uvéa, the most populous of the Wallis Islands. As an overseas collectivity of France, it is governed under the French constitution of 28 September 1958, and has universal suffrage for those over 18 years of age. The French president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term; the high administrator is appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the Territorial Government and the Territorial Assembly are elected by the members of the assembly. The most recent election was held on 20 March 2022.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: As of 2021, the head of state is President Emmanuel Macron of France, as represented by Administrator-Superior Thierry Queffelec. The president of the Territorial Assembly has been Petelo Hanisi since 11 December 2013. The Council of the Territory consists of three kings (monarchs of the three pre-colonial kingdoms) and three members appointed by the high administrator on the advice of the Territorial Assembly.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: The legislative branch consists of the unicameral 20-member Territorial Assembly or "Assemblée territoriale". Its members are elected by popular vote, and serve five-year terms. Wallis and Futuna elects one senator to the French Senate and one deputy to the French National Assembly.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: Criminal justice is generally governed by French law and administered by a tribunal of first resort in Mata Utu; appeals from that tribunal are decided by the Court of Appeal in Nouméa, New Caledonia. However, in non-criminal cases (civil-law disputes), the three traditional kingdoms administer justice according to customary law.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: The territory participates in the Franc Zone, and is both a permanent member of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and an observer at the Pacific Islands Forum.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: Wallis and Futuna is located about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand. It is , west of Samoa and northeast of Fiji.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: The territory includes the island of Uvéa (also called Wallis), which is the most populous; the island of Futuna; the virtually uninhabited island of Alofi; and 20 uninhabited islets. The total area of the territory is , with of coastline. The highest point in the territory is Mont Puke, on the island of Futuna, at .


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: The islands have a hot, rainy season from November to April, when tropical cyclones passing over them cause storms. Then they have a cool, dry season from May to October, caused by the southeast trade winds that predominate during those months. The average annual rainfall is between 2,500 and 3,000 millimetres (98–118  in), and rain is likely on at least 260 days per year. The average humidity is 80%. The average annual temperature is , rarely falling below ; during the rainy season, it ranges between and .


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: Only 5% of the islands' land area consists of arable land; permanent crops cover another 20%. Deforestation is a serious problem: Only small portions of the original forests remain, largely because the inhabitants use wood as their main fuel source, and, as a result, the mountainous terrain of Futuna is particularly susceptible to erosion. The island of Alofi lacks natural freshwater resources, so it has no permanent settlements.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: Volcanic activity during the mid-Pleistocene created numerous volcanic crater lakes on Uvea (Wallis Island). The names of some of them are: Lalolalo, Lano, Lanutavake, Lanutuli, Lanumaha, Kikila, and Alofivai.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: The territory's economy consists mostly of traditional subsistence agriculture, with about 80% of the labor force earning its livelihood from agriculture (coconuts and vegetables), livestock (mostly pigs), and fishing. About 4% of the population is employed in government. Additional revenue comes from French government subsidies, licensing of fishing rights to Japan and South Korea, import taxes, and remittances from expatriate workers in New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and France. Industries include copra, handicrafts, fishing, and lumber. Agricultural products include coconuts, breadfruit, yams, taro, bananas, pigs, and fish.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: There is a single bank in the territory, Banque de Wallis-et-Futuna, established in 1991. It is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas. There had previously been a branch of Banque Indosuez at Mata Utu. It had opened in 1977, but was closed in 1989, leaving the territory without any bank for two years.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: The total population of the territory at the July 2018 census was 11,558 (72.1% on the island of Wallis, 27.9% on the island of Futuna), down from 14,944 at the July 2003 census. The vast majority of the population are of Polynesian ethnicity, with a small minority who were born in Metropolitan France or are of French descent.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: Lack of economic opportunities has, since the 1950s, been impelling many young Wallisians and Futunians to migrate to the more prosperous French territory of New Caledonia, where, as French citizens, they are legally entitled to settle and work. Since the mid-2000s, emigration has surged in response to political tensions on the main island of Wallis (Uvea), that have arisen from a feud between rival aristocratic clans, who are supporting competing kings. Emigrants have begun settling, not only in New Caledonia, but also much farther away, in Metropolitan France. At the 2014 census, 21,926 residents of New Caledonia (whether born in New Caledonia or in Wallis and Futuna) reported their ethnicity as "Wallisian and Futunian." This is almost double the total population of Wallis and Futuna.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: According to the 2018 census, among people 14 and older, 59.1% spoke Wallisian the most at home (down from 60.2% in 2008); for 27.9% it was Futunan (down from 29.9% in 2008); and for 12.7% it was French (up from 9.7% in 2008). On Wallis Island, the languages most spoken at home were Wallisian (82.2%, down from 86.1% in 2008), French (15.6%, up from 12.1% in 2008), and Futunan (1.9%, up from 1.5% in 2008). On Futuna, the languages most spoken at home were Futunan (94.5%, down from 94.9% in 2008), French (5.3%, up from 4.2% in 2008), and Wallisian (0.2%, down from 0.8% in 2008).


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: Ten years earlier, as of the 2008 census, 88.5% of people 14 or older could speak, read and write either Wallisian or Futunan, and 7.2% had no knowledge of either Wallisian or Futunan. Among those 14 or older, 78.2% could speak, read and write French, and 17.3% had no knowledge of French. On Wallis Island, 81.1% of people 14 or older could speak, read and write French, and 14.3% reported that they had no knowledge of French. On Futuna, 71.6% of people 14 or older could speak, read and write French, and 24.3% had no knowledge of French.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: The overwhelming majority (99%) of the people in Wallis and Futuna are Catholics, with the island having been evangelized in the 19th century by Fr Peter Chanel, SM. They are served by their own Diocese of Wallis and Futuna, with a see at Mata Utu, a suffragan diocese of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Nouméa (New Caledonia).


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: The culture of Wallis and Futuna is Polynesian, and is similar to the cultures of its neighbouring nations Samoa and Tonga. The Wallisian and Futunan cultures are very similar to each other in language, dance, cuisine and modes of celebration.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: Fishing and agriculture are the traditional occupations, and most people live in traditional oval, thatch "fale" houses. Kava is a popular beverage brewed in the two islands, as in much else of Polynesia. It also serves as a traditional offering in rituals. Highly detailed tapa cloth art is a specialty of Wallis and Futuna.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: Uvea Museum Association is a private museum that holds a collection of objects that record the history of the Second World War in the territory. It is located in Mata Utu shopping centre and in 2009 was open by appointment.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: In 2018, the territory had 3,132 telephones in use, one AM radio station, and two television broadcast stations. Communication costs are up to ten times higher than in western countries. The island of Wallis has about of roadways, 16 of which are paved. The island of Futuna has only of roadways, none of which are paved. The territory has two main ports, in the harbours at Mata Utu and Leava (on the island of Futuna). These ports support its merchant marine fleet, which comprises three ships (two passenger ships and a petroleum tanker), totaling 92,060 GRT or 45,881 tonnes. There are two airports: Hihifo Airport, on Wallis, which has a paved runway; and Pointe Vele Airport, on Futuna, which has a runway. Now the only commercial flights to and from Wallis are operated by Caledonia-based Aircalin, which has an office in Mata Utu. There are currently no commercial boat operators.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: The French High Commission published a local newspaper in the 1970s, "Nouvelles de Wallis et de Futuna". Today, news is available online via a local program broadcast by the French television network La Première.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: There are 18 primary schools in the territory, 12 on Wallis and six on Futuna, with a combined total of over 5200 students.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: As of 2018, yaws was endemic in the area, but cases were not being reported to the WHO eradication programme.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: Healthcare is available free of charge in two hospitals on Uvea and Futuna islands. There are also three dispensaries.


title: Wallis and Futuna

text: Deforestation is a major concern in the region as only small portions of the original forests remain due to the continued use of wood as the main source of fuel. Consequently, the mountainous terrain of Futuna has become prone to erosion. There are no permanent settlements on Alofi due to the lack of natural freshwater resources, and the presence of infertile soil on the islands of Uvea and Futuna further reduces the agricultural productivity.


title: Estelle Harris

text: Estelle Harris ("née" Nussbaum; April 22, 1928 – April 2, 2022) was an American actress and comedienne, known for her exaggerated shrill, grating voice. She was best known for her role as Estelle Costanza on "Seinfeld". Her other roles included the voice of Mrs. Potato Head in the "Toy Story" franchise, Muriel in "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody", and Mama Gunda in "Tarzan II". During her career, Harris starred in various television commercials.


title: Estelle Harris

text: Harris was born Estelle Nussbaum in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York on April 22, 1928, the younger of two daughters of Isaac ("Ira") and Anna Nussbaum, Polish Jewish immigrants who owned a candy store and soda shop. For many years her date of birth was mistakenly cited as April 4. The correct date was not revealed until after her death. In 1935, when she was 7 years old, the family relocated to Tarentum, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Tarentum High School.


title: Estelle Harris

text: Harris began her career in amateur productions and in dinner theater before moving on to regional theaters and summer stock productions across the country.


title: Estelle Harris

text: She later found success on Madison Avenue as she appeared in as many as 25 national television commercials in a single year, earning her the nickname "Queen of Commercials."


title: Estelle Harris

text: After her children grew up, Harris pursued acting and achieved early success in television commercials, even logging 23 spots in a year at one point. In one of her most-famous commercials, she energetically sang the praises of Handi-Wrap II.


title: Estelle Harris

text: In 1977, Harris began her long format acting career in the film "Looking Up" about three generations of a working class Jewish family in New York City. She became widely known for her supporting role as Estelle Costanza on "Seinfeld". "She is the mother that everybody loves, even though she's a pain in the neck," Harris told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 1998. Despite her iconic role, she was highly reclusive.


title: Estelle Harris

text: In "", she portrayed the old woman who was actually a projection of the Nechani Spirits in the third-season episode "Sacred Ground," which aired on October 20, 1996. She played a small role as Bridget in "Out to Sea" (1997).


title: Estelle Harris

text: In "Toy Story 2" (1999), she provided the voice of Mrs. Potato Head and would continue to reprise the role for the rest of the franchise. In 2005, she lent her voice to Mama Gunda in "Tarzan II". In "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody", Harris had a recurring role as Muriel. In 2007, she appeared in Brad Paisley's music video for the song "Online." Harris reprised her role of Mrs. Potato Head in "Toy Story 3" (2010). She portrayed Bertha Kristal, the mother of CBGB founder Hilly Kristal, in "CBGB" (2013).


title: Estelle Harris

text: Her other voice work included Lula in "Dave the Barbarian", Mama Lipsky in "Kim Possible", Thelma in "The Proud Family", Mrs. Turtle in "Mickey Mouse Works" and "House of Mouse", Death's mother in "Family Guy", the Old Lady Bear in "Brother Bear" (2003), and Audrey in "Home on the Range" (2004). She also provided the voice of Marty's wife in the "American Dad!" episode "In Country...Club." She appeared in "Promoted" (2015) as Sylvia Silver. Harris retired from acting in 2015.


title: Estelle Harris

text: Harris came out of her retirement to reprise her role of Mrs. Potato Head in "Toy Story 4" (2019), which was her final film role.


title: Estelle Harris

text: In 1952, after moving back to New York, Harris met window treatment salesman Sy Harris at a dance. Six months later, they were married. They had two sons, Eric (born 1957) and Glen (born 1961), and a daughter Taryn (born 1964). Eric is a social worker, Glen is a music promoter who doubled as his mother's unofficial manager, and Taryn is a former Nassau County police officer retired on disability. Harris also had three grandsons and one great-grandson. Once her children started school, Harris pursued acting roles, first in amateur productions, then dinner theatre and commercials.


title: Estelle Harris

text: On September 20, 2001, the couple's car blew a tire and flipped twice, but they managed to escape serious injuries. Sy Harris died on January 11, 2021, predeceasing his wife by one year.


title: Estelle Harris

text: On April 2, 2022, Harris died of natural causes at her home in Palm Desert, California, at the age of 93.


title: Macroeconomics

text: Macroeconomics (from the Greek prefix "makro-" meaning "large" + "economics") is a branch of economics dealing with performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole.


title: Macroeconomics

text: For example, using interest rates, taxes, and government spending to regulate an economy's growth and stability.


title: Macroeconomics

text: This includes regional, national, and global economies. According to a 2018 assessment by economists Emi Nakamura and Jón Steinsson, economic "evidence regarding the consequences of different macroeconomic policies is still highly imperfect and open to serious criticism."


title: Macroeconomics

text: Macroeconomists study topics such as GDP (Gross Domestic Product), unemployment (including unemployment rates), national income, price indices, output, consumption, inflation, saving, investment, energy, international trade, and international finance.


title: Macroeconomics

text: Macroeconomics and microeconomics are the two most general fields in economics. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 17 has a target to enhance global macroeconomic stability through policy coordination and coherence as part of the 2030 Agenda.


title: Macroeconomics

text: Macroeconomics descended from the once divided fields of business cycle theory and monetary theory. The quantity theory of money was particularly influential prior to World War II. It took many forms, including the version based on the work of Irving Fisher:


title: Macroeconomics

text: In the typical view of the quantity theory, money velocity (V) and the quantity of goods produced (Q) would be constant, so any increase in money supply (M) would lead to a direct increase in price level (P). The quantity theory of money was a central part of the classical theory of the economy that prevailed in the early twentieth century.


title: Macroeconomics

text: Ludwig Von Mises's work "Theory of Money and Credit", published in 1912, was one of the first books from the Austrian School to deal with macroeconomic topics.


title: Macroeconomics

text: Macroeconomics, at least in its modern form, began with the publication of "General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money" written by John Maynard Keynes. When the Great Depression struck, classical economists had difficulty explaining how goods could go unsold and workers could be left unemployed. In classical theory, prices and wages would drop until the market cleared, and all goods and labor were sold. Keynes offered a new theory of economics that explained why markets might not clear, which would evolve (later in the 20th century) into a group of macroeconomic schools of thought known as Keynesian economics – also called Keynesianism or Keynesian theory.


title: Macroeconomics

text: In Keynes' theory, the quantity theory broke down because people and businesses tend to hold on to their cash in tough economic times – a phenomenon he described in terms of liquidity preferences. Keynes also explained how the multiplier effect would magnify a small decrease in consumption or investment and cause declines throughout the economy. Keynes also noted the role uncertainty and animal spirits can play in the economy.


title: Macroeconomics

text: The generation following Keynes combined the macroeconomics of the "General Theory" with neoclassical microeconomics to create the neoclassical synthesis. By the 1950s, most economists had accepted the synthesis view of the macroeconomy. Economists like Paul Samuelson, Franco Modigliani, James Tobin, and Robert Solow developed formal Keynesian models and contributed formal theories of consumption, investment, and money demand that fleshed out the Keynesian framework.


title: Macroeconomics

text: Milton Friedman updated the quantity theory of money to include a role for money demand. He argued that the role of money in the economy was sufficient to explain the Great Depression, and that aggregate demand oriented explanations were not necessary. Friedman also argued that monetary policy was more effective than fiscal policy; however, Friedman doubted the government's ability to "fine-tune" the economy with monetary policy. He generally favored a policy of steady growth in money supply instead of frequent intervention.


title: Macroeconomics

text: Friedman also challenged the Phillips curve relationship between inflation and unemployment. Friedman and Edmund Phelps (who was not a monetarist) proposed an "augmented" version of the Phillips curve that excluded the possibility of a stable, long-run tradeoff between inflation and unemployment. When the oil shocks of the 1970s created a high unemployment and high inflation, Friedman and Phelps were vindicated. Monetarism was particularly influential in the early 1980s. Monetarism fell out of favor when central banks found it difficult to target money supply instead of interest rates as monetarists recommended. Monetarism also became politically unpopular when the central banks created recessions in order to slow inflation.


title: Macroeconomics

text: New classical macroeconomics further challenged the Keynesian school. A central development in new classical thought came when Robert Lucas introduced rational expectations to macroeconomics. Prior to Lucas, economists had generally used adaptive expectations where agents were assumed to look at the recent past to make expectations about the future. Under rational expectations, agents are assumed to be more sophisticated. A consumer will not simply assume a 2% inflation rate just because that has been the average the past few years; they will look at current monetary policy and economic conditions to make an informed forecast. When new classical economists introduced rational expectations into their models, they showed that monetary policy could only have a limited impact.


title: Macroeconomics

text: Lucas also made an influential critique of Keynesian empirical models. He argued that forecasting models based on empirical relationships would keep producing the same predictions even as the underlying model generating the data changed. He advocated models based on fundamental economic theory that would, in principle, be structurally accurate as economies changed. Following Lucas's critique, new classical economists, led by Edward C. Prescott and Finn E. Kydland, created real business cycle (RB C) models of the macro economy.


title: Macroeconomics

text: RB C models were created by combining fundamental equations from neo-classical microeconomics. In order to generate macroeconomic fluctuations, RB C models explained recessions and unemployment with changes in technology instead of changes in the markets for goods or money. Critics of RB C models argue that money clearly plays an important role in the economy, and the idea that technological regress can explain recent recessions is implausible. However, technological shocks are only the more prominent of a myriad of possible shocks to the system that can be modeled. Despite questions about the theory behind RB C models, they have clearly been influential in economic methodology.


title: Macroeconomics

text: New Keynesian economists responded to the new classical school by adopting rational expectations and focusing on developing micro-founded models that are immune to the Lucas critique. Stanley Fischer and John B. Taylor produced early work in this area by showing that monetary policy could be effective even in models with rational expectations when contracts locked in wages for workers. Other new Keynesian economists, including Olivier Blanchard, Julio Rotemberg, Greg Mankiw, David Romer, and Michael Woodford, expanded on this work and demonstrated other cases where inflexible prices and wages led to monetary and fiscal policy having real effects.


title: Macroeconomics

text: Like classical models, new classical models had assumed that prices would be able to adjust perfectly and monetary policy would only lead to price changes. New Keynesian models investigated sources of sticky prices and wages due to imperfect competition, which would not adjust, allowing monetary policy to impact quantities instead of prices.


title: Macroeconomics

text: By the late 1990s, economists had reached a rough consensus. The nominal rigidity of new Keynesian theory was combined with rational expectations and the RBC methodology to produce dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models. The fusion of elements from different schools of thought has been dubbed the new neoclassical synthesis. These models are now used by many central banks and are a core part of contemporary macroeconomics.


title: Macroeconomics

text: New Keynesian economics, which developed partly in response to new classical economics, strives to provide microeconomic foundations to Keynesian economics by showing how imperfect markets can justify demand management.


title: Macroeconomics

text: The AD-AS model has become the standard textbook model for explaining the macroeconomy. This model shows the price level and level of real output given the equilibrium in aggregate demand and aggregate supply. The aggregate demand curve's downward slope means that more output is demanded at lower price levels. The downward slope is the result of three effects: the Pigou or real balance effect, which states that as real prices fall, real wealth increases, resulting in higher consumer demand of goods; the Keynes or interest rate effect, which states that as prices fall, the demand for money decreases, causing interest rates to decline and borrowing for investment and consumption to increase; and the net export effect, which states that as prices rise, domestic goods become comparatively more expensive to foreign consumers, leading to a decline in exports.


title: Macroeconomics

text: In the conventional Keynesian use of the AS-AD model, the aggregate supply curve is horizontal at low levels of output and becomes inelastic near the point of potential output, which corresponds with full employment. Since the economy cannot produce beyond the potential output, any AD expansion will lead to higher price levels instead of higher output.