title: Lang Lang

text: In December 2007, Lang performed at the Nobel Prize concert in Stockholm. Collaborating with Seiji Ozawa, he appeared at the New Year's Eve gala opening for the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. He also participated in the opening concert at Munich's Olympic Stadium with Mariss Jansons, marking the commencement of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and, in a celebratory concert held the night before the last match of the 2008 Euro Cup finals, Lang played with the Vienna Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta in front of Schönbrunn Palace.


title: Lang Lang

text: In 2008, an audience estimated at between one and four billion people saw Lang's performance in Beijing's opening ceremony for the 2008 Summer Olympics where he was promoted as a symbol of the youth and future of China. During these games, he was also featured on the German TV network ZDF and made several appearances on NBC's "The Today Show" Summer Olympics broadcasts. In the opening ceremony, he performed a melody from the Yellow River Cantata with five-year-old Li Muzi. Lang also collaborated with a German band Schiller to record "Time for Dreams", used to promote some coverage of the 2008 Olympics broadcast in Germany.


title: Lang Lang

text: In February 2008, Lang and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock performed together at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, playing George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue". The two were again brought in by United Airlines for the reintroduction of their "It's Time to Fly" advertising campaign with a series of new animated commercials aired during the 2008 Summer Olympics. In April 2008, he premiered Tan Dun's First Piano Concerto, subtitled "The Fire". Hancock and Lang continued to collaborate with a world tour in summer 2009. Lang played at the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for US President Barack Obama and at the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo the next day.


title: Lang Lang

text: Lang has made numerous TV appearances including "The Today Show", "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", "Good Morning America", "CBS Early Show", and "60 Minutes". He has featured in publications including "The New Yorker", "Esquire", "Vogue" (Germany), "The Times", "Financial Times", "GQ", "Die Welt", "Reader's Digest", and "People". Lang holds the title of the first Ambassador of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra.


title: Lang Lang

text: In 2009, he performed at Carnegie Hall accompanied by Marc Yu, a 10-year-old pianist and musical child prodigy from Pasadena, California, who made his Carnegie Hall debut at the event.


title: Lang Lang

text: Lang was featured in the award-winning German-Austrian documentary Pianomania, which was directed by Lilian Franck and Robert Cibis. The film premiered theatrically in North America, Asia and throughout Europe, and is a part of the Goethe-Institut catalogue.


title: Lang Lang

text: In 2010, he was featured at the Carnegie Hall's China Festival and performed with the New York Philharmonic on New Year's Eve at Avery Fisher Hall.


title: Lang Lang

text: In 2011, Lang opened the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall performing with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He played Liszt's 1st Piano Concerto and Chopin's Grande Polonaise Brillante.


title: Lang Lang

text: In June 2012, he played Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 and Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace.


title: Lang Lang

text: In 2012, Lang gave a masterclass to a select few pianists at the Royal College of Music featuring Lara Ömeroğlu and Martin James Bartlett.


title: Lang Lang

text: In January 2014, Lang collaborated with heavy metal band Metallica at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, performing their iconic 1988 anti-war classic "One".


title: Lang Lang

text: On 19 September, he played with Korean artist PSY for opening ceremony of 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.


title: Lang Lang

text: On 18 October, Lang performed at the Red Velvet Ball with the St. Louis Symphony and David Robertson at Powell Hall.


title: Lang Lang

text: On 8 February 2015, Lang played with Pharrell Williams and Hans Zimmer at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, performing Pharrell's hit song "Happy".


title: Lang Lang

text: On 30 April 2015, Lang performed at the Expo 2015 opening concert with Andrea Bocelli at Piazza del Duomo in Milan.


title: Lang Lang

text: On 4 July 2015, Lang performed "Rhapsody in Blue" during "A Capitol Fourth", a U.S. Independence Day celebration televised from Washington, D.C.


title: Lang Lang

text: On 24 September 2015, Lang performed the "Edvard Grieg Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16" at the New York Philharmonic Opening Gala Concert, Alan Gilbert (conductor) at the David Geffen Hall, New York City.


title: Lang Lang

text: In a cameo appearance in the 30 December 2015 episode of "Mozart in the Jungle", Lang performed a version of Franz Liszt’s "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2".


title: Lang Lang

text: On 19 August 2020, Lang Lang told a Meditative Story about his audition for teacher Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.


title: Lang Lang

text: On 25 September 2021, Lang performed at Global Citizen Live on the Great Lawn in Central Park, New York City. He also played piano for the Coldplay song, Clocks at the same festival.


title: Lang Lang

text: Lang's autobiography, "Journey of a Thousand Miles", published by Random House in 8 languages, was released in the summer of 2008. Delacorte Press also released a version of the autobiography specifically for younger readers, entitled "Playing with Flying Keys".


title: Lang Lang

text: Lang Lang has received many awards and made many television appearances. His DG recording of Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 4 with Christoph Eschenbach was nominated for a Grammy Award during the year of its release.


title: Lang Lang

text: He appeared in "Time" magazine's 2009 list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World, and in "Gramophone" magazine's Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2008, the Recording Academy named him their Cultural Ambassador to China. More recently, Lang has been chosen as an official worldwide ambassador to the 2010 Shanghai Expo. Lang was appointed by the United Nations' Children's Fund (UNICEF) as an International Goodwill Ambassador in 2004. The Chinese government selected him as a vice-president of the All-China Youth Federation.


title: Lang Lang

text: The "Financial Times" reported that Lang is "evangelical in his efforts to spread the popularity of classical music." In October 2008, he launched the Lang International Music Foundation in New York with the support of the Grammys and UNICEF. In May 2009, Lang and his three chosen scholars from the foundation—Charlie Liu, Anna Larsen, and Derek Wang, aged between eight and 10 years old—performed together on "The Oprah Winfrey Show".


title: Lang Lang

text: In June 2011, Lang was engaged by Telefónica to make appearances concerning culture, technology, education and social commitment.


title: Lang Lang

text: On 22 July 2012, Lang carried the London 2012 Olympic torch through Hornchurch on its Redbridge to Bexley leg. On 24 August 2012, he was awarded the Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his engagement in the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival.


title: Lang Lang

text: On 28 October 2013, Lang was chosen by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to be a United Nations Messenger of Peace—a role he says is more important than his music because it can help improve the lives of children around the world through education.


title: Lang Lang

text: Lang married German Korean pianist Gina Alice Redlinger in Paris, France, in June 2019. She gave birth to their first child in January 2021.


title: Jaime Camil

text: Jaime Federico Said Camil de Saldanha da Gama (born 22 July 1973) is a Mexican actor, singer and television personality. He is best known for his roles as Fernando Mendiola in "La Fea Más Bella" and Rogelio de la Vega in "Jane the Virgin", the latter of which brought him two nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.


title: Jaime Camil

text: Camil was born on 22 July 1973 in Mexico City, Mexico. He is the son of Jaime Camil Garza, a Mexican businessman with partial Egyptian heritage, and Cecilia Saldanha da Gama, a Brazilian singer. He earned a bachelor degree in business administration from Universidad Anáhuac; studied acting in New York, Los Angeles, and Mexico; and took classical opera training in Italy.


title: Jaime Camil

text: Camil started his career in 1993 as a radio commentator on Radioactivo 98.5. In 1995, he made his small-screen debut as a host in "El show de Jaime Camil". He continued as a host in TV Azteca's "Qué nochecita con Jaime Camil" (1996) and Televisa's "Operación triunfo" (2002). In 2009, he co-hosted "Aventura por México" with Javier Poza, and in 2010 he hosted the Mexican edition of the game show, "El Gran Show".


title: Jaime Camil

text: In 1999, he released his first album "Para estar contigo", which took him to major cities in Mexico, South America, and the United States. After participating in "El Ultimo Adios (The Last Goodbye)", a tribute to victims of 9/11, Camil released his second disc, "Una vez más", in 2002. The singles "Dime" and "Muriendo por ti" rose to #17 and #24 Billboard's charts. In 2014 he stood on the other side of the microphone for the first time, directing the music video "Perdon" for the group Barston. Several of his albums went platinum after their release.


title: Jaime Camil

text: His work in the telenovela industry began with "Mi destino eres tú" (2000), followed by "Mujer de madera" (2004). The role which finally brought Jaime Camil universal renown was in the romantic comedy telenovela "La fea más bella" (2006–2007). His interpretation of "Don Fernando Mendiola" earned him a nomination for a Best Actor award in the Premios TVyNovelas. After "Las tontas no van al cielo" (2009) with Jacqueline Bracamontes, his next telenovela took him to South America for the Argentine/Mexican co-production of "Los Exitosos Pérez" (2009–2010) in which he played twins. 2012 brought "Por Ella Soy Eva" with Camil's most technically challenging role, and one of his most memorable. His character Juan Carlos disguised himself as an outspoken older woman reminiscent of "Tootsie". "La fea más bella" and "Por Ella Soy Eva" comprised two of the three highest-rated telenovelas since Mexico started keeping records. A year later, his guest appearance on an episode of "Devious Maids" helped propel it to the third-highest-rated show of the series.


title: Jaime Camil

text: His film debut was in "Delfines" in 1997, but it wasn't until 2003 when film producers noticed his talent in acting. He co-starred in three different movies filmed in just a year; "Puños rosas" (rel. 2004), "" (rel. 2004) and "7 Días" (rel. 2005). For his interpretation of "Tony" in "7 Días", Camil was awarded the 2006 "Diosa de plata" as Best Supporting Actor. 2007 saw the release of "I Love Miami." He participated in the Chilean movie "All Inclusive." He went on to play the lead in two romantic comedies, "Recien cazado" filmed in Baja California and Paris, and "Regresa", both released in the winter of 2008-09. Camil voiced the role of Barry in the Spanish-language edition of the animated movie "Bee Movie". In the Spanish version of "Open Season" he dubbed the voice of Elliot, the Mule Deer. He is cofounder and spokesman of the Short Shorts Film Festival Mexico, . and has starred in shorts "Mariana made in Tepito" and "Volver, volver".


title: Jaime Camil

text: Camil has often said that his favorite venue is the stage. In 2005, he played Nestor Castillo in the Broadway-bound musical "The Mambo Kings". Later in 2005 he performed in "Latinologues" on Broadway. His work in Mexican theater includes the role of Bernardo in a revival of "West Side Story" (2004), for which he won the "Palmas de Oro" award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical. In 2007 he played the lead, Father Silvestre, in "El diluvio que viene", which won the APT and ACPT awards for Best Actor in a Musical. He has played colorful characters such as Captain Hook in the musical "Peter Pan" (2007), and the Genie in the musical "Aladdin" (2008). In the summer of 2016, Jaime starred as Billy Flynn in the musical "Chicago" on Broadway in the Ambassador Theater. Camil played Flynn in an extended run from May 31 to July 31, 2016.


title: Jaime Camil

text: In the fall of 2014, he began acting in the role of Rogelio De La Vega, the biological father of Jane Villanueva and a telenovela star, in the CW network comedy, "Jane the Virgin".


title: Jaime Camil

text: In 2018, he starred the main role of Panchito Pistoles on "Legend of the Three Caballeros", which is based on the 1944 film "The Three Caballeros", as well as taking over the role of the "TaleSpin" character Don Karnage for his appearance in the 2017 "DuckTales" reboot.


title: Jaime Camil

text: Camil divides his time between Los Angeles and Mexico City with his wife, model Heidi Balvanera, and their two children. He has two half-siblings and three step-siblings. He speaks four languages: Spanish, English, Portuguese, and French.


title: Jaime Camil

text: His older half-sister, , is an actress and model, with an extensive career in Mexico and other Latin American countries.


title: Ellen Ripley

text: Ellen Louise Ripley, often referred to simply as Ripley, is a fictional character and protagonist of the "Alien" film series, played by American actress Sigourney Weaver. The character earned Weaver worldwide recognition, and the role remains her most famous to date. Ridley Scott, director of the first film in the series, "Alien", made the decision early in production to switch Ripley from a standard male action hero to a heroine.


title: Ellen Ripley

text: "Alien" (1979) and "Aliens" (1986) were heralded for challenging gender roles, particularly in the science fiction, action, and horror genres. Weaver's performances are also highly praised: for "Aliens", she earned her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, which is now seen as a landmark since the Academy, to that point, had given little recognition to the genres of science-fiction and horror. For her role in the franchise, Weaver has also been nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama, a BAFTA Award for Best Leading Newcomer, and four Saturn Awards for Best Actress, winning one for "Aliens".


title: Ellen Ripley

text: Ripley is often considered one of the most significant female protagonists in cinematic history, and is a prominent figure in popular culture. Today, Ripley's influence extends beyond that of the original film franchise; she has appeared in novels, comic books and video games.


title: Ellen Ripley

text: Ripley is introduced as a warrant officer aboard the "Nostromo", a spaceship en route to Earth from Thedus. Having been placed in stasis for the long journey home, the crew is awakened when the "Nostromo "receives a transmission of unknown origin from a nearby planetoid. Following their landing, an unknown creature infiltrates the ship, and kills every other member of the crew. Ripley is the only member to escape from the "Nostromo" prior to its explosion, which she deliberately commenced to kill the monster. However, she discovers that the Alien is also aboard the ship's shuttle, but expels it into space before putting herself in stasis for the return trip to Earth.


title: Ellen Ripley

text: 57 years later, Ripley awakes from her stasis. Her testimony regarding the Alien is met with extreme skepticism; she loses her space flight license as a result of her "questionable judgment," and finds out that her daughter, Amanda, is dead. However, after contact was lost with a colony on LV-426, the planet where her crew first encountered the Alien eggs, Ripley is requested to go with Colonial Marines aboard the "Sulaco" to LV-426. They find the planet infested by many Aliens, who wipe out almost all of the marines. Ripley finally escapes the planet with Corporal Dwayne Hicks, the android Bishop, and Newt, a young girl who is the last surviving colonist. Back on the "Sulaco", they are soon attacked by the surviving Alien Queen, which is finally expelled into space by Ripley. Ripley enters hypersleep alongside the three other survivors for the return to Earth.


title: Ellen Ripley

text: The "Sulaco" launches an escape pod containing the four survivors, which then crashes on Fiorina 'Fury' 161, an abandoned foundry facility and penal colony. Ripley alone survives the crash. Unbeknownst to her, an Alien egg had been aboard the ship. Once hatched in the prison, the creature begins to kill inmates and guards, but strangely refuses to kill her. After rallying the inmates and preparing the defense against the creature, Ripley discovers the embryo of an Alien Queen growing inside her, thus realizing why she had not been attacked. After having killed the Alien by thermal shock, Ripley sacrifices herself by diving into a gigantic furnace just as the alien Queen begins to erupt from her chest. Her plan was to exterminate the final trace of the Aliens and prevent the Weyland-Yutani Corporation from using it as a biological weapon. However, as seen earlier in the film, the aliens are able to survive being submerged in molten lead so the Queen's fate is uncertain.


title: Ellen Ripley

text: 200 years after her death, scientists clone Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and surgically retrieve the Alien Queen embryo from her body. The United Systems Military hopes to breed Aliens to study on the spaceship USM "Auriga", using kidnapped hosts delivered to them by a group of mercenaries. The Aliens escape their enclosures, while Ripley and the mercenaries attempt to flee to the "Betty". They must destroy the "Auriga", lest it make its emergency landing and unleashes Xenomorphs on Earth. Ripley is taken to the Alien nest, where the Queen gives birth to a Newborn, a Xenomorph with human traits. The hybrid Alien recognizes Ripley as its mother and kills the Queen. Ripley escapes to the "Betty", where she tearfully kills the Newborn when it is discovered aboard attacking the other survivors. The "Auriga" crashes into Earth, destroying all the remaining Xenomorphs in a massive explosion. From the windows of the "Betty," Call and Ripley look down at Earth, and when Call asks what Ripley wants to do next, she says, "I'm a stranger here myself." In an alternate ending, the "Betty" lands in a ruined Paris.


title: Ellen Ripley

text: After director Neill Blomkamp announced on February 19, 2015 that his next film would be a fifth "Alien" movie, Weaver confirmed on February 25 that she would reprise her role as Ripley in the film. On 21 January 2017, in response to a fan question on Twitter asking what the chances were of his Alien project actually happening, Blomkamp responded "slim." In April, Scott said he didn't think the film will ever be made. He elaborated that there was never a complete script, just a 10-page pitch, that Fox decided they didn't want to pursue any further. Commentators have noted this goes against Weaver's and James Cameron's statements about reading Blomkamp's script for the film, although it's possible Weaver and Cameron were referring to the pitch document. On May 1, 2017, Ridley Scott confirmed that the fifth film is not happening.


title: Ellen Ripley

text: An alternate ending for "The Predator" displaying a Weyland-Yutani Corp pod containing Ripley (played by Breanna Watkins) wearing a Weyland-Yutani breathing apparatus shaped like an Alien Facehugger was yet one among several references intended to further connect the "Predator" films to the "Alien" films.


title: Ellen Ripley

text: Ripley has two cameos in the "Stasis Interrupted" DLC for the game. In this prequel campaign, Ripley is seen being impregnated by a facehugger and also appeared recreating the same final scene of "Alien 3." The game also revealed that Hicks actually survived the events of "Alien 3" as he was retrieved by another Colonial Marines team, with the body in the stasis chamber that crashed being another marine who was knocked into Hicks' pod during a firefight, dying when the EEV crashed. Ripley, Newt and Bishop's pods were ejected while Hicks had to go with the other Marines.


title: Ellen Ripley

text: In 2014, Weaver reprised her role as Ripley for the first time in 17 years for a voice cameo in the video game "", centered on Ripley's daughter Amanda, and more extensively in its two DLCs set during the events of "Alien".


title: Ellen Ripley

text: This game, set 15 years after the events of "Alien" and 42 years before the events of "Aliens", features Ripley's daughter Amanda. Amanda was originally introduced in the extended version of "Aliens", when Ripley learns that during her 57-years long stasis, Amanda grew up, married, and died. In the game, Amanda investigates potential clues regarding her mother's disappearance, and goes to the space station "Sevastopol" in hope to find answers. Near the end of the game, Amanda ultimately finds a vocal message from her mother (voiced by Weaver), who added a personal message to the "Nostromo" final log entry at the end of "Alien" addressed to Amanda, in which Ripley explains the true nature of the disappearance of the "Nostromo", tells her she loves her, and hopes that she will get to hear this someday.


title: Ellen Ripley

text: Weaver also reprises her role more extensively alongside several other original cast members in the game's two DLCs, set during the events of "Alien". Ripley is joined by Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Lambert (Veronica Cartwright), Brett (Harry Dean Stanton), Parker (Yaphet Kotto) and Ash (Ian Holm, likeness only), allowing the player to play through two iconic scenes from the film. With the Nostromo Edition pre-order, the "Crew Expendable" bonus content allows gamers to play as one of the surviving crew members just after Brett's demise to entice the Alien to the ship's airlock. In the "Last Survivor", Ripley initiates the self-destruct sequence before escaping on the "Narcissus".


title: Ellen Ripley

text: Two hundred years after Ripley's death, a clone of Ripley is successfully produced aboard the spaceship "Auriga". Her DNA proved difficult to separate from that of the alien that was inside her during the events of "Alien 3", so the first six clones were useless monstrosities. The seventh clone turned out human enough to warrant an attempt at retrieving the alien inside her, but this also ended in failure. The eighth clone proves successful, and becomes the central character of a new story. However, the separation was still not perfect. Number 8 has enhanced strength and reflexes, acidic blood, and an empathic link with the Aliens, and the aliens have slightly more human traits, including a browner skin coloration and changes to their reproductive cycle. Number Eight learns to talk and interact with humans, but soon Aliens escape their confinement and kill most of the crew. She escapes from her cell and later meets and joins a group of mercenaries; developing a close relationship with their youngest member, Annalee Call. The now fully-grown Alien Queen, having developed a womb because of Ripley's DNA, gives birth to a human-Alien hybrid, who kills the Queen and imprints on Number Eight as its mother. After escaping the "Auriga" in the "Betty", Ripley kills the newborn Alien by using her own acidic blood to burn a hole through a viewing pane, causing the creature to be sucked violently through the small hole and into the vacuum of space, saving Call. In a scene included in the extended edition of the film (referenced in the events of "Alien: Sea of Sorrows"), the "Betty" lands on Earth and Ripley and Call discover that Paris is desolate.


title: Ellen Ripley

text: At the beginning of "Alien: Sea of Sorrows", set 200 years after the events of "Alien Resurrection", it is revealed that the crashing of the "Auriga" at the end of "Alien Resurrection" caused the destruction in Paris seen at the end of that film. Additionally, the protagonist of the novel, Decker, is stated to be a descendant of Ellen Ripley, but there are several hints throughout the novel that Decker's grandmother was Ripley 8 (mainly his empathic abilities, the fact Amanda Ripley-McClaren is stated to have had no children in "Aliens", and when Decker is shown a picture of Ripley he says that she isn't the person he sees in his head).


title: Ellen Ripley

text: Ripley's life and career have been extensively expanded on in various spin-off comics and novels, many of which were written before her death on Fiorina 161, providing instead a chronology continuing on from the end of "Aliens". In the Dark Horse novel series, Ripley appears at the end of Book 3, "The Female War"; but subsequent books, in order to bring the book continuity in line with the film continuity, reveal that she is actually an android created in Ripley's likeness and given false memories. All novels were rebooted in 2012, meaning the only canonical books featuring Ripley are "Out of the Shadows" (by Tim Lebbon), "Sea of Sorrows" (by James A. Moore) and "River of Pain". In "Out of the Shadows", Ripley is woken from stasis 37 years after the events of "Alien", fights Xenomorphs alongside several miners, and is put in stasis again the end of the book with her memory of these events erased to spare her from the worst of the psychological trauma she has experienced. Ripley is mentioned repeatedly in "Sea of Sorrows", which stars the grandson of Ripley 8, and appears in "River of Pain", which takes place before and during the events of "Aliens". The comic book "Aliens versus Predator versus The Terminator" picks up where "Alien Resurrection" left off and continues the story of Ripley 8 after "Resurrection". This storyline sees Ripley 8 allying with the Predators to defeat both a new wave of Aliens and a group of Terminators created by a long-dormant Skynet program to reinvent itself if it was destroyed, culminating in Ripley 8 apparently sacrificing herself to destroy the original super-soldier/Terminator. An Audio-Animatronic Ripley was featured in the "Alien" scene of The Great Movie Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World from 1989 to 2017.


title: Ellen Ripley

text: Ellen Ripley is often featured in lists of the best characters in film history: in 2008, American Film Institute ranked her as the eighth best hero in American film history in their list of the 100 greatest heroes and villains, the second highest ranked female character after Clarice Starling. In 2009, "Entertainment Weekly" ranked Ripley fifth on their list of "The 20 All Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture", calling her "one of the first female movie characters who isn't defined by the men around her, or by her relationship to them." The same year, she was ranked #9 on "Empire" magazine's compilation of "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" in 2008 and #5 in 2015, being the highest ranked female in both.


title: Ellen Ripley

text: She was ranked eight on "Premiere" magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time", with her Defining Moment being "Ripley's nervy refusal to open the ship's hatch so that Kane (John Hurt) can be admitted - with a thing attached to his face." She was the third highest ranked female of the list, after Annie Hall and Scarlett O'Hara. She was ranked 57 on "Fandomania" list of the "100 Greatest Fictional Characters". In 2009, MTV selected her as the second Greatest Movie Badass Of All Time, the only women with Sarah Connor, ranked sixth. In 2011, UGO Networks ranked her the 75th Hottest Sci-Fi Girl of All Time. and website "Total Sci-Fi" ranked her first on their top of the 25 Women Who Shook Sci-Fi, stating "one of the most iconic characters in cinema history" and "one of the most critically analysed characters in the history of cinema." In 2011, "Total Film" ranked her the best female character of any film.


title: Ellen Ripley

text: For her performance in "Alien", Weaver was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Leading Newcomer and a Saturn Award for Best Actress.


title: Ellen Ripley

text: Although her performance had already been acclaimed in the first film, "Aliens" gave worldwide recognition to Weaver: she was the third horror actress in history (after Ellen Burstyn for "The Exorcist" and Sissy Spacek for "Carrie") to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. She also received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama, and won the Saturn Award for Best Actress, the first award in her career (except a minor award, the Mystfest Award for Best Actress, won for "Half Moon Street").


title: Ellen Ripley

text: Weaver was also co-producer of the third and fourth films of the franchise. Although they were less successful critically, Weaver's performance was praised: she received her third and fourth Saturn Award for Best Actress nominations for both films and a nomination for a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress – Sci-Fi for "Alien Resurrection". Although she didn't win awards specifically for "Alien 3" and "Alien Resurrection", she won the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year Award for her acting work during the 1997 film year, including "Alien Resurrection", "The Ice Storm" and "".


title: Ellen Ripley

text: Weaver won a DVDX Award for Best Audio Commentary (New for DVD) for her audio participation, among numerous other members of the crew, in the audio commentary of "Alien" in its 2003-reissue in "Alien Quadrilogy". On his presentation speech about Weaver before rewarding her for her overall career with the Heroine Award at the 2010 Scream Awards, "Aliens" director James Cameron stated her main participations in film history as the "Alien" franchise, "Ghostbusters" and "Avatar".


title: Lacey Sturm

text: Lacey Nicole Sturm (née Mosley, previously Carder; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer and songwriter born in Homestead, Florida, but raised in Arlington, Texas. She is a co-founder and lead vocalist of the hard rock band Flyleaf. In February 2016, Sturm became the first solo female artist to top the "Billboard" Hard Rock Albums chart with her debut release "Life Screams".


title: Lacey Sturm

text: Sturm was an atheist prior to becoming a Christian. She had contemplated suicide and then ended up in a church where a man spoke to her what she believed to be words from God. In her book, she wrote that after her conversion, she experienced life and God like never before. With brand new eyes, she said she felt like God was saying, "Yes, I know you. I know all the things you have done. I am not shocked by any of it. Come close to me, my love, just like you are. I have already forgiven your past and future. And, if you let me, I will make you new. I will make you into all that I have planned for you. You are beautiful, my love."


title: Lacey Sturm

text: On September 6, 2008, she married Joshua Sturm, the guitarist for the band Kairos, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The couple have three sons together.


title: Lacey Sturm

text: In 2000, Sturm began to play with drummer James Culpepper. The pair worked with guitarists Sameer Bhattacharya and Jared Hartmann. In 2002, Pat Seals, Flyleaf's current bassist, joined, forming a group named Passerby. Due to legal reasons, they renamed themselves Flyleaf in June 2004.


title: Lacey Sturm

text: On October 22, 2012, shortly before the release of "New Horizons", Sturm revealed that she had amicably left Flyleaf. The album was nominated for the 2012 Rock Album of the Year Dove Award.


title: Lacey Sturm

text: In an interview promoting her book "The Reason: How I Discovered a Life Worth Living", Sturm explained that a primary reason for her leaving the band was the death of the band's sound engineer. The band performed one last show as a means to help the sound engineer's wife and child. This experience caused Sturm to consider her own son and wonder what she would do if she knew she had only one more year with him. "It was really amazing to recognize this season changing in my life and the freedom that I was gonna be able to focus on my family," Sturm said. "And although it was really hard, I'm thankful. And that's the reason I stepped down from Flyleaf."


title: Lacey Sturm

text: On November 7, 2022, it was announced by Flyleaf that Sturm had returned to the band, with the band now calling themselves "Flyleaf with Lacey Sturm".


title: Lacey Sturm

text: Sturm provided backing vocals on "Run to You" and "Born Again," two tracks on Christian rock band Third Day's 2008 album "Revelation". She received two Grammy nominations at the 52nd Grammy Awards for her work with Third Day: "Born Again" was nominated for Best Gospel Song and Best Gospel Performance.


title: Lacey Sturm

text: She has also worked with Apocalyptica on their song "Broken Pieces" and with Orianthi on the song "Courage."


title: Lacey Sturm

text: In 2020, she performed as a guest vocalist in Breaking Benjamin's song "Dear Agony (Aurora Version)."


title: Lacey Sturm

text: In 2021, she performed as a guest vocalist on Love and Death's cover of DJ Snake and Justin Bieber's song "Let Me Love You" on the album "Perfectly Preserved".


title: Lacey Sturm

text: On October 13, 2014, Lacey announced via social media that she had a new band that was being put together. "[We're working on a] solo project and we are calling it Lacey. The brilliant drummer Tom Gascon, amazing bassist Ben Hull, my husband Josh Sturm who's an awesome guitarist and I have written some of my favorite heavy rock songs ever. And we will be rocking them for you tomorrow night! I can't wait!" The band premiered October 2014 at The Blind Tiger in Greensboro, North Carolina.


title: Lacey Sturm

text: Her debut solo album, "Life Screams", was released in 2016 opening at No. 74 on the "Billboard" 200, topping the "Billboard" Hard Rock Albums chart, No. 7 on Alternative Albums and No. 8 on Top Rock Albums. In 2017, Sturm toured with American hard rock band Letters from the Fire.


title: Lacey Sturm

text: Sturm released the single "The Decree" from her upcoming album in May 2020. The song was written with Skillet's Korey Cooper.


title: Lacey Sturm

text: Sturm has a role in the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's worldwide video, "The Cross", released in November 2013. Lecrae and Sturm shared the video in honor of Graham's 95th birthday. She sings the final song: "Mercy Tree". An accompanying album, "My Hope", on which Sturm has two songs, "The Reason" and "Mercy Tree" was released.


title: Lacey Sturm

text: She was also featured as a solo performer in Franklin Graham's "Rock the Lakes", "Rock the Range", and "Rock the River" evangelistic tours throughout mid-August and late September 2011 where she gave her testimony and sang two songs – a self-written song entitled "The Reason", and an acoustic version of "Born Again" by Third Day. Sturm performed at most "Rock the Lakes" and "Rock the River" events again in 2012.


title: Lacey Sturm

text: Shortly after giving birth to her second son in August 2013, Sturm embarked on a nationwide speaking tour with Nick Hall of PULSE, a Twin Cities-based nonprofit organization. The ResetMovement is described on their website as empowering a generation to live fully for Jesus.


title: Lacey Sturm

text: The Whosoevers is a movement fueled by what the founders see as an overwhelming need to encourage individuals and speak purpose into the lives of millions around the world. The non-profit organization was founded in 2009 as a collaboration between Sonny Sandoval, Ryan Ries and Brian "Head" Welch with the intent to positively impact today's music, skateboarding and art culture. Ambassadors include Sturm, Annie Lobert, freestyle motocross athlete Ronnie Faisst, and lead singer of the band Islander Mikey Carvajal.


title: Lacey Sturm

text: In September 2014 Sturm published her first book, an autobiography, titled "The Reason: How I Discovered a Life Worth Living".


title: Lacey Sturm

text: It was announced in March 2016 that her second book titled "The Mystery: Finding Love in a World of Broken Lovers" would be available in October 2016.


title: Lacey Sturm

text: It was announced in July 2019 that a collaboration with Michael Kadrie would begin to write a screenplay for a feature film based on Sturm's book "The Reason: How I Discovered a Life Worth Living".


title: James Buckley (actor)

text: James Patrick Buckley (born 14 August 1987) is an English actor, musician, YouTuber and streamer. He is best known for playing Jay Cartwright in the E4 sitcom "The Inbetweeners."


title: James Buckley (actor)

text: James Patrick Buckley was born in Croydon, England. His father was a postman and his mother worked for the Home Office. It was while taking part in school plays that Buckley found out how much he enjoyed performing and, from the age of seven, started going to a stage school at weekends. The family later moved to Dagenham and by the age of eleven, Buckley began his first professional jobs in the West End shows "Whistle Down the Wind" and "Les Misérables". The same year, he also began attending The Chafford School. Buckley stated that school interested him so little, that he did not collect his GCSE results.


title: James Buckley (actor)

text: Buckley's first role was in 2001 as Johnny Vaughan's twelve-year-old godson in the BBC sitcom "'Orrible". He then appeared in a Hellmann's advertisement in 2004 and in a 2005 music video for the Gravenhurst track 'I Turn My Face To The Forest Floor' directed by Ralitza Petrova. His stage credits include the West End musical "Les Misérables" as Gavroche and "Whistle Down the Wind" as Clarence. As well as "The Inbetweeners" and "Rock & Chips", Buckley's other credits include an episode of "Skins" and episodes of "The Bill", "Holby City" and "Teachers".


title: James Buckley (actor)

text: He also played the character of Fred in "Off the Hook". For Red Nose Day 2011, Buckley and his "Inbetweeners" co-stars went on a "rude road trip" and visited the rudest street names in the United Kingdom in 50 hours. In April 2011, Buckley received a BAFTA nomination for his role in "The Inbetweeners". Buckley played the main character in the short film "Veronique". Buckley appears in the 2011 film "Everywhere and Nowhere". That same year, Buckley reprised his role as Jay Cartwright in the film, "The Inbetweeners Movie", and its sequel, "The Inbetweeners 2" in 2014.


title: James Buckley (actor)

text: In April 2016, Buckley started a YouTube gaming channel called "Completed It Mate" — a reference to The Inbetweeners episode "Will's Dilemma" — which has over 428,000 subscribers as of September 2021. He moved to Twitch under the same name. Since beginning his channel, Buckley has collaborated with other YouTubers, most notably with the Rooster Teeth group Achievement Hunter, when he appeared on their "Off Topic Podcast" and multiple episodes of their "Let's Play" series. He has also appeared on "Alternative Lifestyle", a YouTube series created by Sugar Pine 7, another Rooster Teeth subsidiary.


title: James Buckley (actor)

text: From 2017 to 2019, Buckley played the role of double-glazing salesman Brian Fitzpatrick in the BBC Two sitcom "White Gold".


title: James Buckley (actor)

text: In March 2020, Buckley appeared as a contestant on an episode of "The Great Celebrity Bake Off for SU2C", alongside Patsy Palmer, Richard Dreyfuss and Scarlett Moffatt, in which he won.


title: James Buckley (actor)

text: Buckley does voice-overs. He worked with AllAboutCareers.com to produce an explanatory animation for the website. Buckley is also the narrator on E4's show "Little Box of Horrors". He starred in the music video for States of Emotion's track "The Unsung", and also features on backing vocals and guitar on Steve Cradock's album "Peace City West". In 2012, Buckley made his directorial debut, where he directed and starred in a music video for the Essex band The Milk.


title: James Buckley (actor)

text: Buckley has appeared in commercials for Orange, with the cast of "The Expendables 2", Game, and bookmaker Ladbrokes, as well as providing voice-over for Envirofone, Trunki and Hastings Direct. In 2020, Oldham Council commissioned Buckley to produce a Cameo video message outlining safety measures put in place by the council to help stop the spread of coronavirus.


title: James Buckley (actor)

text: In the latter end of 2021, Buckley was announced to be playing the part of Ben in the stage play , taking over the role from Jake Wood in its move to the Gielgud Theatre.


title: James Buckley (actor)

text: Buckley is a Twitch streamer and YouTuber under the channel names "Completed It Mate" and "At Home With The Buckleys", the former of which is a reference to a line that his character Jay says in an episode of "The Inbetweeners".


title: James Buckley (actor)

text: Buckley married Clair Meek in 2012. They originally bonded over their shared obsession with the Beatles, particularly George Harrison, their shared favourite. They have two children.


title: Lucas Digne

text: Lucas Digne (; born 20 July 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as a left-back for club Aston Villa and the France national team.


title: Lucas Digne

text: Digne began his career at Lille before joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2013. After spending a season on loan at Roma, he moved to Barcelona in July 2016. Despite not playing regularly at either club, he won twelve honours at Paris and Barcelona combined. He joined Everton in August 2018, making 113 appearances before transferring to Aston Villa in January 2022.


title: Lucas Digne

text: Digne won the 2013 World Cup with the France under-20 team, and made his senior international debut in March 2014. He represented France at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2016 (where his nation reached the final), and UEFA Euro 2020.


title: Lucas Digne

text: Born in Meaux, Seine-et-Marne, Digne finished his development at Lille, signing his first professional contract on 27 July 2010 for three years. Ahead of the 2011–12 season, Digne was promoted to the senior team permanently and assigned the number 3 shirt. He made his professional debut on 26 October 2011 in a 6–1 victory over Sedan in the last 16 of the Coupe de la Ligue.


title: Lucas Digne

text: In January 2012, Digne extended his contract until 2016. On 28 January, he made his Ligue 1 debut at the Stadium Nord Lille Metropole, playing the final two minutes of a 3–0 win over Saint-Étienne. He totalled 16 league appearances as the defending champions came third.


title: Lucas Digne

text: Digne was a regular in the 2012–13 season. On 23 February 2013, having given Lille the lead in a 3–1 win at Ajaccio when his cross was deflected in by Yoann Poulard, he was sent off after an hour for a foul on Matthieu Chalmé. He scored his first goal on 7 April, a penalty in a 5–0 home win over Lorient, and two weeks later he added another to equalise in a 2–1 comeback victory at Bastia.


title: Lucas Digne

text: On 17 July 2013, Digne signed a five-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain, on a fee believed to be around €15 million. On 3 August, he was an unused substitute as they won the 2013 Trophée des Champions with a 2–1 victory over Bordeaux in Gabon. He did not make his debut until 13 September in a 2–0 win at the same opponents, as manager Laurent Blanc rotated his squad ahead of the UEFA Champions League. PSG ended the season with both the league and league cup titles, though Digne was back-up to Brazilian veteran Maxwell.


title: Lucas Digne

text: Digne played the full 90 minutes in the 2014 Trophée des Champions, which PSG won 2–0 against Guingamp in Beijing. The Parisians won all four domestic honours in 2014–15, with Digne an unused substitute in their Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue final victories.


title: Lucas Digne

text: On 26 August 2015, Italian Serie A club Roma signed Digne from PSG on a season-long loan deal for €2.5 million, with the option to make the move permanent at the end of the season. He made his debut five days later, playing the entire match in a 2–1 victory against title holders Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico. He blew a sarcastic kiss at opponent Roberto Pereyra and advised him to check the scoreboard, a gesture likened to one by Roma captain Francesco Totti to Igor Tudor of the same rival in a 4–0 win in February 2004.


title: Lucas Digne

text: Digne scored his first goal for the "Giallorossi" on 26 September with a close-range header in a 5–1 home win over Carpi, having earlier assisted Kostas Manolas in opening his account for the club. Against the same opponents on 12 February, he returned from injury to score from 30 metres in a 3–1 win, and on 17 April he opened a 3–3 draw at Atalanta. The team from Italy's capital came third in Serie A, and Digne declared that he wanted the move to be made permanent.


title: Lucas Digne

text: On 13 July 2016, Digne joined Spanish La Liga side Barcelona on a five-year deal. The fee was €16.5 million (£13.8 million), with the possibility to increase to €20.5 million (£17.1 million), according to individual and team results. On 14 August 2016, Digne made his first appearance for Barcelona in a 0–2 victory against Sevilla in the 2016 Supercopa de España first leg, as a 27th-minute substitute for compatriot Jérémy Mathieu.


title: Lucas Digne

text: He played 26 total games in his first season at the Camp Nou, scoring once in a 7–0 (8–1 aggregate) win over Segunda División B club Hércules in the last 32 of the Copa del Rey on 21 December 2016. Barcelona won that cup, with Digne unused in the final on 27 May 2017, a 3–1 win over Alavés.


title: Lucas Digne

text: Digne played 20 times in 2017–18 as Barcelona won the league and cup double under new manager Ernesto Valverde. On 18 October 2017, he scored from Lionel Messi's assist in a 3–1 home win over Olympiacos in the Champions League group stage.


title: Lucas Digne

text: Digne joined English club Everton on 1 August 2018, for a five-year deal on an initial fee of £18 million. He made his debut ten days later, replacing double goalscorer and fellow debutant Richarlison for the last four minutes of a 2–2 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers. On his first start on 29 August in a 3–1 EFL Cup win against Rotherham United, he assisted a goal from Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Digne made his first Premier League start for Everton four days later in a home game against Huddersfield Town, and assisted Calvert-Lewin's headed equaliser in a 1–1 draw.


title: Lucas Digne

text: By the start of October, Digne had become Everton's first-choice left back, ahead of veteran Leighton Baines. He scored his first goal for the club on 10 December, in the sixth minute of stoppage time at the end of a match against Watford, curling in a free kick for a 2–2 draw. Sixteen days later he scored twice in a 5–1 win at Burnley, with a free kick and a 30-yard shot. On 29 January 2019 he was sent off in a 1–0 win at Huddersfield for denying Adama Diakhaby a goalscoring opportunity with a foul. Digne's first season at Everton concluded with individual honours as he was named the Club’s Player of the Season, as voted for by supporters, and Players' Player of the Season alongside midfielder Idrissa Gueye, the first time the award had been shared.


title: Lucas Digne

text: On 25 October 2020, Digne was sent off in a 2–0 loss at Southampton for a foul on Kyle Walker-Peters. Referee Kevin Friend recorded it as "serious foul play" which is punished with a three-game suspension, but the ban was reduced to one match on appeal.


title: Lucas Digne

text: In January 2022, Digne told Everton manager Rafael Benítez that he no longer wanted to play for the club and wished to leave. He had argued with the manager over tactics.


title: Lucas Digne

text: On 13 January 2022, Aston Villa announced the signing of Digne from Everton for a fee of £25 million, with a contract until 2026. He made his debut two days later, in a 2–2 home draw with Manchester United. On 23 August, Digne scored his first goal for the team in a 4–1 victory at Bolton Wanderers in the second round of the EFL Cup.


title: Lucas Digne

text: On 21 September 2022, Digne suffered a stress fracture to his ankle whilst on international duty with France. This kept him out of the squad until 29 October, when he returned as a second-half substitute in a 4–0 defeat to Newcastle United.


title: Lucas Digne

text: Digne was a French youth international and represented his nation at the U16, U17, and U18 levels. At the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey, he played every match as France won the title.


title: Lucas Digne

text: He was first called up for the senior side in February 2014, ahead of a friendly match against the Netherlands on 5 March. He debuted in that match, as a half-time substitute for Patrice Evra in a 2–0 win at the Stade de France.


title: Lucas Digne

text: In June, manager Didier Deschamps named Digne as one of 23 members of the French squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, wearing the number 17 shirt. His one appearance for the eventual quarter-finalists was the third group game against Ecuador, in which he suffered a foul that earned the Ecuadorian captain Antonio Valencia a straight red card.


title: Lucas Digne

text: Digne was chosen for the French squad that came runners-up on home soil at UEFA Euro 2016, but did not play. He was put on standby for the squad at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.


title: Lucas Digne

text: At UEFA Euro 2020, Digne came on at half time in the 2–2 group draw with Portugal due to Lucas Hernandez's injury. Minutes later, he too withdrew due to a thigh muscle injury. The injuries at left back forced Deschamps to use an untested 3–5–2 formation in the last 16 against Switzerland, which France lost.


title: Lucas Digne

text: On 27 December 2014, Digne married his girlfriend Tiziri, whom he met while both were in school. The couple have a son and a daughter.


title: Lucas Digne

text: Digne was in Barcelona when it was hit by a terror attack on 17 August 2017, and gave first aid to the victims.


title: Chief of staff

text: The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide-de-camp to an important individual, such as a president, or a senior military officer, or leader of a large organization.


title: Chief of staff

text: In general, a chief of staff provides a buffer between a chief executive and that executive's direct-reporting team. The chief of staff generally works behind the scenes to solve problems, mediate disputes, and deal with issues before they are brought to the chief executive. Often chiefs of staff act as a confidant and advisor to the chief executive, acting as a sounding board for ideas. Ultimately the actual duties depend on the position and the people involved.


title: Chief of staff

text: In general, the positions listed below are not "chiefs of staff" as defined at the top of this page; they are the heads of the various forces/commands and tend to have subordinates that fulfill the "chief of staff" roles.


title: Chief of staff

text: The Sovereign is the Commander-in-Chief. The CDS heads the Chiefs of Staff Committee and is assisted by the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: Braxton began her career in 1990 as a founding member of The Braxtons, an R&B singing group formed with her sisters. The Braxtons released their debut album, "So Many Ways", as a trio in 1996, and disbanded shortly afterward. In 2000, she released her debut self-titled album through DreamWorks Records. Following a thirteen-year break, Braxton released her second studio album, "Love and War" (2013), through Epic Records, which reached the number two position on the "Billboard" 200 chart. She later released her fourth and fifth albums, "Calling All Lovers" (2015) and "Bluebird of Happiness" (2017), respectively. Braxton has won a BET Award and three Soul Train Music Awards throughout her career. She has also been nominated for four Grammy Awards.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: Since 2011, Braxton has starred in the We TV reality television series "Braxton Family Values" alongside her mother and sisters. She also served as a co-host on the Fox syndicated daytime talk show "The Real" from 2013 until 2016, for which she received two Daytime Emmy Award nominations. In 2019, she won the second season of "Celebrity Big Brother".


title: Tamar Braxton

text: Tamar Estine Braxton was born to Michael and Evelyn Braxton in Severn, Maryland on March 17, 1977. The youngest of the Braxtons' six children, Braxton started singing as a toddler. The Braxton children would eventually enter in their church choir, where their father Michael Braxton was a pastor. She and her sisters Toni, Traci, Towanda, and Trina, signed their first record deal with Arista Records in 1989. In 1990, they released their first single, "Good Life", which peaked at No. 79 on the "Billboard" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart. At the time of the single's release, the members' age differences created a problem with marketing. Subsequently, The Braxtons were dropped from Arista Records.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: In 1991, during a showcase with L.A. Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, who were in the process of forming LaFace Records, Toni Braxton, minus her four sisters, was chosen and signed as the label's first female solo artist. At the time, the remaining members were told that LaFace was not looking for another girl group since it had just signed TLC. After Toni's departure from the group, the remaining Braxtons members became backup singers for Toni's first tour, music videos, and promotional appearances. She and her sisters Traci, Towanda, and Trina were featured in the music video for Toni Braxton's third single, "Seven Whole Days", from her self-titled debut album.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: In 1993, LaFace Records A&R Vice President, Bryant Reid, signed The Braxtons to LaFace. However, the group never released an album or single for the label. When Reid moved on to work for Atlantic Records, he convinced executives at LaFace to allow him to take the group to Atlantic also. It was reported in Vibe magazine that in 1995, Traci Braxton had left the group to pursue a career as a youth counselor. However, it was not confirmed until a 2011 promotional appearance on "The Mo'Nique Show", that Traci was not allowed to sign with Atlantic because of her pregnancy at the time.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: In 1996, Tamar, Trina, and Towanda returned with a new album entitled "So Many Ways", which peaked at No. 26 on the "Billboard" R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. At the time of its release, Reid told "Billboard" magazine, "I had a vision for them then that was about young sophistication with sex appeal." The trio also performed a remixed version of "So Many Ways" with rapper Jay-Z on September 9, 1996 at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards. So Many Ways went on to peak at No. 83 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart and number 32 on the UK Singles Chart. Braxton and her fellow group members served as the opening act for Toni Braxton on the European Leg of her Secrets Tour in 1997. The Braxtons decided to part ways as a group after Braxton left to pursue a solo career with DreamWorks Records in 1998.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: Later, Braxton met Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. She recorded her solo debut album, "Ridiculous", so-named for the many different musical styles on the album. The album spawned two buzz singles ("Let Him Go" and "Just Cuz") in hopes of garnering attention from the public eye; however, when the songs failed to gain impact on urban radio outlets, the album was pushed back and canceled. That same year, Braxton was featured on Sole's, "4 The Love of You." Instead of shelving the album, Dreamworks Records abandoned 3 old tracks, added new ones, and renamed it "Tamar". The lead single "Get None" was produced by Jermaine "J.D." Dupri and also featured rap verses from him as well as former Jay-Z protégée Amil. The song also included uncredited background vocals and songwriting by R&B singer Mýa. As soon as the song began to pick up airplay, Braxton announced the album would be released in early 2000, alongside a second single, "If You Don't Wanna Love Me". The album featured production from Missy Elliott, Tim & Bob, and Tricky Stewart, but still peaked at number 127 on the "Billboard" 200. When the album's second single failed to gain significant radio airplay, her label dropped her from their roster.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: In 2001, Braxton's previously unreleased song "Try Me" appeared on the soundtrack album for the film "Kingdom Come". She also began to work alongside her sister Toni Braxton in a number of songs and music video cameos, including the video for "He Wasn't Man Enough." She performed, co-wrote and sang background vocals on songs for Toni's albums, "The Heat" (2000), "Snowflakes" (2001), "More than a Woman" (2002), "Libra" (2005) and "Pulse" (2010). When her sister launched her Las Vegas revue "Toni Braxton: Revealed", Braxton again sang backup until she was replaced by singer Sparkle.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: By 2004, Braxton was signed to Tommy Mottola's reactivated Casablanca Records and began work on her second album. A "Grindin'"-influenced single, "I'm Leaving," was released with a guest appearance from Bump J. alongside promotional remixes featuring Sheek Louch, Styles P. and Ali Vegas.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: In 2010, Braxton signed to Universal Records, where she released a single "The Heart In Me" in July of that year which was included on the "Adidas 2: The Music" compilation. Her momentum with Universal would not rise to a satisfactory level to launch a second album. In January 2010, We TV confirmed that it had signed Braxton and her mother and sisters for a reality television series titled "Braxton Family Values". The show premiered on April 12, 2011. On December 15, 2011, it was confirmed that Braxton and her husband Vincent would star in their own reality series centered on her solo career and their married life. In November 2011, Braxton performed "Love Overboard" at the 2011 Soul Train Awards for Lifetime Achievement recipient Gladys Knight. In September 2012, news broke that Braxton had inked a fresh recording contract with Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records founded by Vincent. Later that month, her reality television show "Tamar & Vince" premiered on We TV.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: Braxton was the featured model for the "Front Row Couture" collection during the "ELLE/Style360" NYC Fashion Week event. Braxton was a co-host of Tameka Cottle's late night talk show, "Tiny Tonight", on VH1. "Basketball Wives" star Tami Roman became a co-host after Braxton. Later, she hosted "The Culturelist", a show on BET's sister channel Centric. Former Destiny's Child member LeToya Luckett became the host after her. Braxton announced she was pregnant with her first child on March 13, 2013, during an interview on "Good Morning America" promoting the new season of "Braxton Family Values". She gave birth to a son, Logan Vincent Herbert, on June 6, 2013.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: In March 2013, it was revealed that Braxton had signed to Epic Records ahead of the release of her second album, "Love and War". The album's lead single, the title track, was released on December 6, 2012. The song was a commercial success, spending 9 weeks at #1 on the Adult R&B Songs chart. Although the single reached number one on the US iTunes chart, it peaked at number 57 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and number 13 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.<ref name="R&B/Hip-Hop Songs history"></ref>


title: Tamar Braxton

text: Braxton released "The One" as the second single from "Love and War" on May 7, 2013; it peaked at number 34 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The third single, "All the Way Home," was released August 21, 2013; it peaked at number 96 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and number 37 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song was followed by the release of "Love and War" on September 3, 2013. The album was a commercial success in the United States, selling 114,000 copies in its opening week, and debuting at number two on the "Billboard" 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Outside the US, it debuted at number 34 on the UK R&B Albums Chart.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: In 2013, Braxton became a co-host of the syndicated daytime talk show "The Real" alongside Adrienne Bailon, Loni Love, Jeannie Mai, and Tamera Mowry, which premiered on July 15, 2013. The second season of "Tamar & Vince" premiered on September 5, 2013. The second season is centered on the preparation and birth of the couple's baby, and her launch of "Love and War". Braxton's special "Listen Up: Tamar Braxton" premiered on Centric in September 2013. Braxton's first Christmas album, "Winter Loversland", was released on November 11, 2013; it debuted at number 43 on the "Billboard" 200 with 8,000 copies sold in its first week. In December 2013, Braxton received three nominations for the 56th Annual Grammy Awards; Best Urban Contemporary Album for "Love and War", and Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance for its title track.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: On February 25, 2014, the remix of Robin Thicke's single "For the Rest of My Life" which features Braxton, was released as a digital single. Season 3 of "Tamar & Vince" premiered in October 2014, and it consisted of 10 episodes just like the previous seasons. On October 6, Braxton's new single "Let Me Know" featuring rapper Future peaked at #2 on the "Billboard" Trending 140 chart, less than an hour after its premiere on Braxton's official SoundCloud account and eventually reached #1 by 12:00 AM October 7. Billboard.com gave the song 4 out of 5 stars in its review of "The Best and Worst Singles of the Week" for the second week of October.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: On May 27, 2015, the single "If I Don't Have You" was released. The song peaked at number 6 on the US Adult R&B Songs chart. Braxton's new album, "Calling All Lovers", was released on October 2, 2015. The album peaked at number two on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. On September 2, 2015, she was revealed as one of the celebrities who would be competing on the 21st season of "Dancing with the Stars". She was paired with reigning champion, Valentin Chmerkovskiy. On November 11, Braxton revealed that she would have to withdraw from the competition due to health problems. Braxton and Chmerkovskiy finished in fifth place overall.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: In October 2015, the group The Braxtons, including all five Braxton sisters, released a holiday album titled "Braxton Family Christmas". On November 21, "Braxton Family Christmas" debuted at number 27 on the US "Billboard" R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, number 10 on the US R&B Chart and number 12 on US Top Holiday Albums on November 21, 2015. The album charted at number 4 on the US Heatseekers Albums on December 12, 2015. On December 7, 2015, Braxton received one Grammy nomination for "If I Don't Have You" at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards; Best R&B Performance from her latest album titled "Calling All Lovers".


title: Tamar Braxton

text: In May 2016, Braxton departed from "The Real". The following month, it was announced on "The Steve Harvey Morning Show" that Steve Harvey had signed Braxton to produce her own talk show and television series with East 112th Street Productions. In April 2017, it was announced that Braxton left Epic Records to sign with Entertainment One for a $1 million deal with the label. On April 27, 2017, Braxton released "My Man" from her fifth album, "Bluebird of Happiness". The song peaked at number three on the US Adult R&B Songs Billboard. "Bluebird of Happiness" was released on September 29, 2017, through Logan Land Records and Entertainment One, with "Blind" released as its second single. The album reached the top of the "Billboard" independent chart.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: On March 23, 2018, Braxton and sister Towanda guest starred on their sister Toni's music video "Long as I Live". In the same year, she appeared on "Hip Hop Squares". On March 28, 2018, Braxton was featured on the Todrick Hall title "National Anthem", from his album "Forbidden". That same year, Braxton co-starred in the stage play "Redemption of a Dogg" opposite Snoop Dogg. In Parallel, she was featured on the song "Lions And Tigers And Bears", from the Todrick Hall musical "Straight Outta Oz".


title: Tamar Braxton

text: In 2019, Braxton appeared as a contestant in the second season of the American reality television series "Celebrity Big Brother". The show premiered on CBS on January 21, 2019 and concluded on February 13, 2019. She went on to win the competition and become the first African-American person to win a season of "Big Brother" in the United States. In "Big Brother" tradition, Braxton appeared on the American television soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful", portraying a character named Chef Chambre. She taped her episode on February 20, 2019. The episode aired on Friday, March 29, 2019.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: Braxton starred in the film "True To The Game 2" alongside Vivica A. Fox, which premiered on April 10, 2020. In support of the film, she released a new song titled "Crazy Kind of Love", produced by Hitmaka, which was officially released on March 20, 2020. In April 2020, it was announced that Braxton would be hosting a reality television series for VH1 entitled "To Catch A Beautician"; the series premiered in June. In July, Braxton and We TV parted ways, with the network stating that it "will work with her representatives to honor her request to end all future work for the network." Braxton's podcast, "Under Construction w/ Tamar Braxton", premiered on streaming services in November 2020, and was nomintated at the 53rd NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Lifestyle/Self-Help Podcast.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: The We TV docuseries "Tamar Braxton: Get Ya Life!", in which she starred, premiered in September 2020. Braxton has since then been featured on several songs for other artists such as, Mr.P and Elijah Blake. She also announced in early 2021 that she has started back recording music (after announcing retirement in 2017) and would be releasing two albums back to back, with the first slated for release in early 2022.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: Braxton possesses a five-octave soprano vocal range. She lists Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Kim Burrell, and her eldest sister, Toni, as some of her influences.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: Braxton is the youngest of her siblings including her sisters Toni, Traci, Towanda, and Trina, as well as her only brother Michael, Jr. On an episode of "The Real", she revealed that she suffered from vitiligo. In November 2015, she discovered that she had several pulmonary emboli in her lungs, which forced her to withdraw from her work on "Dancing with the Stars". During an interview in October 2020, Braxton stated that she had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: In 2001, Braxton was married to her first husband, music producer Darrell "Delite" Allamby. Allamby was a songwriter and producer who worked with his frequent songwriting partner Lincoln "Link" Browder, as well as Silk, Busta Rhymes and Gerald Levert. The two met while Allamby worked on her 2000 debut album's tracks "Money Can't Buy Me Love" and "Once Again". The couple divorced in 2003 after two years of marriage.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: In 2003, Braxton began dating Vincent Herbert, a record executive whom she met through her sister, Toni. The couple married on November 27, 2008. Braxton gave birth to the couple's first child, a son named Logan Vincent, in 2013. In October 2017, Braxton filed for divorce from Herbert, citing "irreconcilable differences" and seeking joint custody of their son. Their divorce was finalized in July 2019.


title: Tamar Braxton

text: Braxton was in a relationship with financial adviser David Adefeso. On July 16, 2020, Braxton was hospitalized following a suicide attempt. In September 2020, Adefeso filed a restraining order against Braxton for domestic violence.


title: Marine Raiders

text: The Marine Raiders are special operations forces originally established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious light infantry warfare. "Edson's" Raiders of 1st Marine Raider Battalion and "Carlson's" Raiders of 2nd Marine Raider Battalion are said to have been the first United States special operations forces to form and see combat during World War II.


title: Marine Raiders

text: Despite the original intent for Raiders to serve in a special operations capacity, most combat operations saw the Raiders employed as conventional infantry. This, combined with the resentment within the rest of the Marine Corps that the Raiders were an "elite force within an elite force", led to the original Raider units being disbanded.


title: Marine Raiders

text: Four Raider battalions served operationally but all were disbanded on 8 January 1944, when the Marine Corps made the doctrinal decision that the Raiders had outlived their original mission. The changing nature of the war in the Pacific, with many large-scale amphibious assaults to come against well-defended islands, negated the requirements for small light units that could strike deep into enemy territory.


title: Marine Raiders

text: On 1 February 1944, the 1st Raider Regiment was redesignated the 4th Marine Regiment, thus assuming the lineage of the regiment that had garrisoned Shanghai in the interwar years and fought gallantly on Bataan and Corregidor. The 1st, 3rd, and 4th Raider Battalions became respectively the 1st, 3rd, and 2nd Battalions of the 4th Marines. The 2nd Raider Battalion filled out the regimental weapons company. Personnel in the Raider Training Center transferred to the newly formed 5th Marine Division. Leavened with new men, the 4th Marines went on to earn additional distinctions in the assaults on Guam and Okinawa. At the close of the war, the regiment joined the occupation forces in Japan and participated in the release from POW compounds of the remaining members of the old 4th Marines.


title: Marine Raiders

text: In 2014, the Marine Special Operations Regiment, serving under the United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC), was renamed the Marine Raider Regiment. This change was implemented as homage to the World War II Raiders. Marine special operators of the Marine Raider Regiment are once again called "Marine Raiders".


title: Marine Raiders

text: One of the deficiencies of the Fleet Marine Force was a lack of fast transport ships that could keep up with a Naval fleet. Until fast attack transports entered the Navy, either the fleet would have to keep its speed down to the speed of the transport ships, or the fleet would have to split in two components; neither option was desirable. With the start of World War II in 1939, a group was formed to come up with a solution that could be rapidly implemented. The group found a large number of destroyers built for the First World War that were in the mothball fleet. These destroyers had four boilers and four smoke stacks and were fast enough to keep up with the fleet. The group discovered that by removing two boilers and smoke stacks room could be found to quarter a company of 130 Marines who would be landed by inflatable boats. These high speed transports were named APDs by the Navy. The APDs later had four Higgins boats attached to them.


title: Marine Raiders

text: In February 1941 one company ("A", "E" and "I") from each battalion of the recently formed 7th Marines were designated "Provisional Rubber Boat Companies" and participated in a Fleet Landing Exercises (FLEX-7) in 1941. After the exercise, General Holland Smith assigned the APDs and rubber boat function to the 1st Battalion 5th Marines.


title: Marine Raiders

text: With America thrust into the war, President Franklin D. Roosevelt became interested in creating an American counterpart to the British Commandos and the Marine Corps was the natural place for this organization. Indeed, the commanding general of the 2nd Marine Division initially proposed the name "Marine Commandos". The Commandant of the Marine Corps, Major General Thomas Holcomb, was of the opinion, however, that "the term 'Marine' is sufficient to indicate a man ready for duty at any time, and the injection of a special name, such as 'Commando,' would be undesirable and superfluous." General Holcomb redesignated the 1st Battalion 5th Marines as the "1st Separate Battalion" and created the 2nd Separate Battalion to be commanded by Carlson in response to pressure from the President.


title: Marine Raiders

text: The debate over the creation of these elite units came to a climax when the new commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester Nimitz, requested "commando units" for raids against lightly defended Japanese-held islands. The commandant selected the term "Raiders" and created two battalions. The 1st Raider Battalion was activated on 16 February 1942, followed by the 2nd Raider Battalion on 19 February. Carlson was given a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and placed in command of the 2nd Raiders, and Lt. Col. (later, Major General) Merritt A. "Red Mike" Edson, command of the 1st.


title: Marine Raiders

text: The Raiders were created by an order from President Roosevelt, acting on proposals from Colonel William J. Donovan and Major Evans F. Carlson. Carlson had been a soldier in the Punitive Expedition to capture Pancho Villa in Mexico and World War I, became a Marine officer during the American occupation of Nicaragua, and served as an Intelligence Officer of the 4th Marines in China. He had seen the tactics and strategy of Communist Chinese irregulars, Zhū Dé and the Eighth Route Army in particular, as they fought the occupying Japanese and became enthralled with their version of guerrilla warfare. In 1933 Carlson had commanded the Marine Detachment at the Warm Springs, Georgia vacation retreat of President Roosevelt, where he formed a close friendship with both Franklin D. Roosevelt and his son James. Carlson resigned from the Marines to speak to American businessmen to warn them against providing materials to Japan. Carlson rejoined the Marines in April 1941, gaining a commission from the Commandant as a reserve major. Carlson still had the President's ear as well as FDR's son James Roosevelt, who was now a Marine Captain and was his friend and protégé.


title: Marine Raiders

text: The Raiders were given the best of the Marines' equipment, and were handpicked from available volunteers. The two units approached their common mission from different directions. Carlson used egalitarian and team-building methods: he treated officers and enlisted men with minimum regard to rank as leaders and fighters, gave his men "ethical indoctrination," describing for each man what he was fighting for and why, and used the Chinese phrase "Gung-ho!" as a motivational slogan which he learned from the Communist forces during his years in China. He also eschewed standard Marine Corps organization, forming six rifle companies of two platoons each, and innovating 3-man "fire teams" as its basic unit. Edson's battalion, however, more closely followed standard Marine Corps doctrine in training, organization, and discipline.


title: Marine Raiders

text: Both Raider battalions were put into action at roughly the same time. On 7 August 1942, Edson's 1st Raider Battalion, assigned to the 1st Marine Division, landed on Tulagi in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate as the opening phase of the Guadalcanal Campaign. After the capture of Tulagi, the Raiders were moved to Guadalcanal to defend Henderson Field. One of their most notable engagements was the "Battle of Edson's Ridge", where the 1st Raiders, remnants of the 1st Parachute Battalion, and the 2nd Battalion 5th Marines scored a major defensive victory over Imperial Japanese Army forces on the night of 13–14 September. Out of the action both Edson and Major Kenneth D. Bailey were awarded the Medal of Honor, the latter posthumously. The Marine Raiders battledress was the M1942 Frog Skin pattern. In 1942, the Marine Raiders were the first unit issued with the M1942 Frog Skin pattern, which was reversible with a five-colour jungle pattern on one side and a three-colour beach pattern on the other side.


title: Marine Raiders

text: Carlson's 2nd Raider Battalion boarded the submarines (SS-168, Cdr William H. Brockman, Jr.) and (APS-1, Cdr John R. "Jack" Pierce) and raided Makin Island on 17–18 August. During the raid, Sergeant Clyde A. Thomason was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and was the first Marine recipient of this honor during World War II. Unfortunately, nine men were unintentionally left on the island when the Raiders returned to the submarines. These men were captured and later beheaded at Kwajalein.


title: Marine Raiders

text: After the Battle of Savo Island, 1400 men in various support units of the 2nd Marine Regiment who had not yet landed on Tulagi were returned to Espiritu Santo after the transports they were on were withdrawn from the area. Deeming them "idle Marines", Admiral Richmond K. Turner decided to form them into a "2nd Provisional Raider Battalion" without consulting the Commandant of the Marine Corps. The unit was ordered created on 29 August 1942 but the order was superseded on 28 September 1942 by theater commander Admiral Robert L. Ghormley. Admiral Turner believed that regimental or larger sized Marine units were not suitable for Marine amphibious forces and desired that all Marine battalions be re-formed as Raider battalions, which may have influenced the Marine Corps to take a dim view of the entire Raider concept.


title: Marine Raiders

text: In the fall of 1942, two additional Raider battalions were created; the 3rd Raiders in Samoa, commanded by Lt. Col. Harry B. Liversedge, and the 4th Raiders at Camp Pendleton, California, commanded by now-Lt. Col. James Roosevelt. These battalions distinguished themselves in heavy combat alongside the 1st and 2d Raiders in the 1943 campaigns in the upper Solomons. On 15 March 1943, the four battalions were organized as the 1st Marine Raider Regiment at Espiritu Santo, with Liversedge as commander and Carlson as executive officer. Lt. Col. Alan Shapley was named commander of the 2nd Raiders a week later and immediately returned it to a standard organization.


title: Marine Raiders

text: The 1st Raider Regiment enforced a common organization among the battalions. Each had a weapons company, and four rifle companies composed of three rifle platoons and a weapons platoon. The result reflected a mixture of Edson's and Carlson's ideas. Carlson's 3-man fire team and 10-man squad organizations were adopted, first by the Raiders and then by the entire Marine Corps. Edson contributed the concept of a highly trained, lightly equipped force using conventional tactics to accomplish special missions or to fill in for a line battalion.


title: Marine Raiders

text: During the New Georgia Campaign, the 1st Marine Raider Regiment was task organized for a new mission with the 1st and 4th Raiders, and two attached battalions of the 37th Infantry Division, commanded by Liversedge. At the same time, the 2nd and 3rd Raider Battalions were temporarily attached to the 2nd Marine Raider Regiment (Provisional) under Shapley, for the invasion of Bougainville, the final combat action of the Raiders before their dissolution. PFC Henry Gurke of the 3rd Raider Battalion was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions of 6 November 1943, on Bougainville.


title: Marine Raiders

text: In December 1943 command of the 1st Raider Regiment passed to Lieutenant Colonel Samuel D. Puller. The regiment left New Caledonia on 21 January and landed on Guadalcanal three days later. The provisional 2d Raider Regiment disbanded and rejoined into the 1st, with the senior Shapley in command and Puller the executive officer.


title: Marine Raiders

text: In early 1944 the Marine Corps had four divisions, with two more being formed. Even with nearly a half million Marines in service, the Corps had insufficient manpower to allocate to the new divisions, because of large numbers of men assigned to defense, parachute, raider, barrage balloon, amphibious tractor and other specialized units. With no further expansion of the Corps planned, the only way to add manpower to the new divisions was to obtain it from existing organizations.


title: Marine Raiders

text: The anticipated need for commando-type units had not materialized, and the development of the amphibious tractor and improved fire support had ended the need for light assault units. The Raiders had generally performed the same missions as line infantry battalions, either wasting their training and skills, or exposing the lightly armed Raiders to excessive casualties. There was also institutional opposition to the existence of an elite force within the Corps. Two senior officers who had been opposed to the Raiders on this basis advanced to positions where they could abolish the units. On 1 January 1944, Gen. Alexander Vandegrift became Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Gen. Gerald C. Thomas became the Director of Plans and Policies.


title: Marine Raiders

text: The previous Director of Plans and Policies had already proposed to disband the Raiders and the Paramarines as "handpicked outfits ... detrimental to morale of other troops." Admiral Ernest King, Chief of Naval Operations, concurred in the proposal, and Vandegrift ordered the change on 8 January 1944. Manpower from the deleted units and their stateside training establishments were redirected to the new divisions, and supply requirements were simplified by the increased uniformity. On 1 February 1944, the 1st Raider Regiment was redesignated the 4th Marine Regiment, and eventually became part of the 6th Marine Division. The 1st, 4th, and 3d Raider Battalions became respectively the 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions, 4th Marines. The 2nd Raider Battalion became the regimental weapons company, lacking the manpower to form an entire Battalion after the costly fighting in the Solomons. Personnel of the Raider Training Battalion at Camp Pendleton transferred to the 5th Marine Division. Many of the men who were formerly assigned to Raider units went on to serve with distinction during 1944 and 1945. For example, Michael Strank, one of the six men in the iconic photograph of the flag raising at Iwo Jima was a former Raider.


title: Marine Raiders

text: During the war, a total of 8,078 men, including 7,710 Marines and 368 sailors, were assigned to Raider units. Raiders received a total of seven Medals of Honor and 136 Navy Crosses.


title: Marine Raiders

text: According to the "Marine Corps Times", the 20 June 2003 activation of the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, which began with Detachment One, paid homage to the Marine Raiders. The Detachment's insignia, designed by Gunnery Sergeant Anthony Siciliano, incorporated the Raiders' famous knife, the United States Marine Raider stiletto, and the Raiders' insignia as a tribute and link to the famed battalions, which existed for only two years after their 1942 inception. MCSOCOM Detachment One served as a three year proof of concept to validate the Marine's capability as a special operations force. Det-1 deployed to Iraq in 2004 as Task Unit Raider under the Command of Naval Special Warfare Task Group One. The extraordinary success of the Det-1 Marines led to the establishment of MARSOC in 2006.


title: Marine Raiders

text: On 6 August 2014, Marine Commandant James F. Amos announced at a MARSOC change of command ceremony that all units within the parent command would undergo a name change. For example, the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion would now be known as the 1st Marine Raider Battalion.


title: Marine Raiders

text: While the critical skills operators within Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC) have the title of Marine Raider, the Raider lineage can be traced through the 4th Marine Regiment (as mentioned above) and the Marine reconnaissance battalions. The 1st and 2nd Force Reconnaissance Companies provided the initial personnel when MARSOC was created.


title: Marine Raiders

text: List of the seven Medal of Honor recipients, five of them posthumously (), who served in Raider units during World War II, as listed on the official website.


title: George Raft

text: George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is remembered for his gangster roles in "Quick Millions" (1931) with Spencer Tracy, "Scarface" (1932) with Paul Muni, "Each Dawn I Die" (1939) with James Cagney, "Invisible Stripes" (1939) with Humphrey Bogart, Billy Wilder's comedy "Some Like It Hot" (1959) with Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon, and as a dancer in "Bolero" (1934) with Carole Lombard and a truck driver in "They Drive by Night" (1940) with Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino and Bogart.


title: George Raft

text: George Raft was born in Hell's Kitchen, New York City, to a family of German descent, the son of Eva ("née" Glockner), a German immigrant, and Conrad Ranft, who was born in Massachusetts to German immigrant parents. His parents were married on November 17, 1895 in Manhattan. Raft's older sister Eva, known as Katie, was born on April 18, 1896. Raft's grandfather had emigrated from Germany and worked on merry-go-rounds and prospected for gold. His father worked in carnivals before settling in New York.


title: George Raft

text: Most obituaries cited Raft's year of birth as 1895, which he stated was correct when he appeared on "The Mike Douglas Show" seven months prior to his death. However, Raft is recorded in the New York City Birth Index as having been born on September 26, 1901 in Manhattan as "George Rauft" (although "Rauft" is likely a mistranscription of "Ranft"). The 1900 census for New York City lists his sister Katie as his parents' only child, with two children born and only one living. In the 1910 census, he is listed as eight years old.


title: George Raft

text: Raft grew up on 41st Street and worked as an errand boy and a fishwrapper after school. His parents sent him to live at his grandparents' house on 164th Street. He left school at the age of 12, and left home at 13. He worked as an apprentice electrician for a year, then boxed professionally for two years beginning at the age of 15. As Dutch Rauft, he fought 14 bouts, with nine victories, three defeats and two draws. Another account says that Raft fought 25 bouts and was knocked out seven times.


title: George Raft

text: Raft played minor-league baseball, reportedly with Springfield of the Eastern League, as a utility outfielder with pitching aspirations. However, his batting was poor and he was dropped.


title: George Raft

text: "I was just trying to find something that I liked that would make me a living," said Raft later. "I saw guys fighting, so I fought. I saw guys playing ball, so I played ball. Then I saw guys dancing... and getting paid for it!"


title: George Raft

text: Raft's mother taught him how to dance, and he danced at outdoor amusement parks and carnivals with his parents. Following his baseball career, he began working as a taxi dancer in the poorer sections of New York. At first he struggled financially, but then he won a Charleston competition and was launched professionally.


title: George Raft

text: Raft started performing exhibition dances in the afternoon at Healy's, Murray's, Rectors and Churchills in New York. He then started working in New York City nightclubs, often in the same venues as did Rudolph Valentino before Valentino became a film actor. Raft had a notable collaboration with Elsie Pilcer. A May 1924 review in "Variety" called him "gifted."


title: George Raft

text: "I could have been the first X-rated dancer," he said later. "I was very erotic. I used to caress myself as I danced. I never felt I was a great dancer. I was more of a stylist, unique. I was never a Fred Astaire or a Gene Kelly, but I was sensuous."


title: George Raft

text: Raft went on tour as a dancer and helped popularize the tango in Paris, Vienna, Rome, London and New York. He had a great success as a dancer in London in 1926, and the Duke of Windsor was "an ardent fan and supporter." Fred Astaire, in his autobiography "Steps in Time" (1959), wrote that Raft was a lightning-fast dancer and did "the fastest Charleston I ever saw." A September 1926 edition of "Variety" spoke of Raft's reputation as "the best Charleston dancer in New York."


title: George Raft

text: During this time, Raft befriended a number of gangsters, including Enoch Johnson and Larry Fay, and he would occasionally drive for Owney Madden. A boyhood friend of gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, and later a "wheel man" for the mob, Raft acknowledged having narrowly avoided a life of crime.


title: George Raft

text: Raft became part of the stage act of flamboyant speakeasy and nightclub hostess Texas Guinan at the 300 Club, and he also produced some of her shows.


title: George Raft

text: His success led him to Broadway, where he again worked as a dancer. His stage performances included "The City Chap" (October 1925) (with music by Jerome Kern), "Gay Paree", "Madhattan", "Palm Beach Nights" (also known as "No Foolin"') and "Padlocks of 1927" (1927). He was called "the fastest Charleston dancer."


title: George Raft

text: Raft later starred in the film "Broadway" (1942), a fictionalized account of his life when he was working the Paramount-Publix circuit and performing in stage shows that were presented before movies.


title: George Raft

text: Owney Madden told Raft that he should be in motion pictures, and Raft decided to try to break into film acting after being threatened by the husband of a woman whom he had been seeing. In 1927, Raft relocated to Hollywood, where he first danced in clubs to pay the bills.


title: George Raft

text: In October 1928, Raft appeared in a stage show presented by Texas Guinan called "Night Club". The "Los Angeles Times" said Raft "scores a tremendous individual hit." "Variety" wrote that Raft appeared at the climax when he "came to the front and did his eccentric dance routine, which he climaxed with the hottest black bottom ever. He goaled the audience, being the big punch of the show."


title: George Raft

text: Raft's screen debut was in "Queen of the Night Clubs" starring Guinan, who insisted Raft have a small role. Although Raft's scenes were cut, a "Variety" review said "...a nite club scene introduces George Raft, the hot stepper, as the m. c. and band leader, being brought down for one of his rip-snorting hoofing specialties." Raft also appeared in stage shows supporting the film. One reviewer called him "a clever dancer". "Queen of the Night Clubs" is considered a lost film.


title: George Raft

text: Raft followed this with small roles in "Gold Diggers of Broadway" and "Side Street". His dancing skills were noticed by director Rowland Brown, who cast him in a substantial supporting gangster role as Spencer Tracy's character's sidekick in "Quick Millions" (1931). Raft's appearances in these films were followed by "Goldie" with Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow, "Hush Money" with Joan Bennett, and the Eddie Cantor musical "Palmy Days".


title: George Raft

text: In "Taxi!" (1932), starring James Cagney and Loretta Young, Raft had a colorful unbilled dancing role as Cagney's competitor in a dance contest, who wins only to be knocked down by Cagney. He was third-billed in an extremely large role as a gangster in "Dancers in the Dark" (1932), below Miriam Hopkins as a dancer and Jack Oakie as a bandleader.


title: George Raft

text: Raft's big break came when cast as the second lead, alongside Paul Muni as Tony Camonte, in Howard Hawks's "Scarface". In the film, he plays second-in-command Guino Rinaldo, who falls in love with Camonte's sister and is murdered by him. Raft's performance is notable for his character's habit of flipping a coin, which became an iconic trope in gangster films; while others claimed credit for the mannerism, writer W.R. Burnett confirmed that it was Raft who invented it. Burnett said: "He realized he wasn't a good actor, which he wasn't. But he knew if he reacted to what other people said, he was effective." "Scarface" was filmed in September 1931, but it was not released by United Artists until the following year. It became a hit and made Raft a star. He said: "That was the big one. People remembered me. I was getting real fan mail – by the bushel basket – and even a dumb kid from 10th Avenue could figure out how to translate that into money."


title: George Raft

text: After filming "Scarface", Raft made "Night World" (1932) at Universal, supporting Lew Ayres, and "Love Is a Racket", directed by William Wellman, although all of Raft's scenes were eventually cut.


title: George Raft

text: Raft signed a contract with Paramount in March 1932. The following month, he was cast in a supporting role in "Madame Racketeer" (1932), and contemporary reports referred to his "menacing suavity." He was announced for "Ladies of the Big House" with Sylvia Sidney and Gene Raymond.


title: George Raft

text: When "Scarface" was released, public response was so strong that Raft was offered the lead role in a film based on a story by Louis Bromfeld, originally titled "Number 55" and then changed to "Night After Night" (1932). When the studio adamantly refused to hire Texas Guinan, upon whom one of the film's characters is based, because of her age, Raft advocated for his friend Mae West to be cast in a supporting role in his first film as leading man. Almost half a century later, Raft and West would die within two days of each other and their bodies would be momentarily placed together on stretchers in a hallway of the same morgue.


title: George Raft

text: Raft was one of several Paramount stars who appeared in the episodic comedy/drama "If I Had a Million" (1932), playing a forger hiding from police who is suddenly given a million dollars with no place to cash the check. He starred in "Under-Cover Man" (1932) and was announced for "Bodyguard", which was never made. He next appeared in "Pick Up" (1933). At the time, Raft told "Variety":


title: George Raft

text: I don't know what I do, but it's not acting. It's me. Supposing I'm supposed to hate a guy. Then I think of somebody I hate and visualize him instead of the actor. Same way when I'm supposed to be in love with the heroine. I think of a girl I could be crazy about and though I'm saying to the actress "I love you, darling", all the time I keep thinking of the other party.


title: George Raft

text: Raft refused to appear in "The Story of Temple Drake" (1933) with Miriam Hopkins, as he did not want to play a sadist. He was replaced by Jack La Rue, who had been originally cast for Raft's role in "Scarface". Raft was placed on suspension in February.


title: George Raft

text: He said: "It's not that I mind being the guy on the wrong side of the law. But I won't take a role that's pure heel. The character has to have some ray of warmth, some redeeming quality – or it just isn't real."


title: George Raft

text: "The Story of Temple Drake" performed poorly at the box office and was believed to have hurt La Rue's career. Raft was removed from suspension in April 1933, and he returned to Hollywood to appear in "Midnight Club" (1933), set in London.


title: George Raft

text: Raft was borrowed by Twentieth Century Pictures, a new production company established by Darryl F. Zanuck (former head of production at Warner Bros.). He appeared in the studio's first film, Raoul Walsh's highly popular and energetic period piece "The Bowery", as Steve Brodie, supposedly the first man to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge and survive. Raft plays the second lead to Wallace Beery as a flamboyant saloon owner who competes with Raft for Fay Wray's character as well as Pert Kelton as a singer/dancer.


title: George Raft

text: Back at Paramount, Raft supported Fredric March and Miriam Hopkins in "All of Me" (1934), which was not popular. Zanuck wanted him for "Blood Money", but Raft was too busy at Paramount.


title: George Raft

text: Raft was meant to appear in "It's a Pleasure to Lose", based on the life of Nick the Greek, but instead was slated to star in "Bolero" (1934), playing a dancer with Carole Lombard. Raft initially refused the film until it was re-written, and the studio suspended him, but Raft eventually made the film, which became a great success. The "New York Times" wrote: "Raft is a vivid and pictorially interesting type, rather than an actor in the technical sense, and consequently he proves unequal to the full implications of the fame-hungry dancer. The exterior attractiveness which Mr. Raft brings to the rôle gives 'Bolero' considerable color, nevertheless."


title: George Raft

text: In March 1934, Raft was suspended a second time for having refused the male lead in Mae West's "It Ain't No Sin" (later changed to "Belle of the Nineties") because his part was subordinate to West's. In May 1934, Raft signed a new contract with Paramount to reflect his star status.


title: George Raft

text: Raft next appeared in "The Trumpet Blows" (1934), playing a matador. The fim was an attempt to invoke Valentino's "Blood and Sand", and for a time, Raft was promoted as a "second Valentino." Raft walked out on the film unhappy with his role, but later returned after re-writes were made. The film was a box-office disappointment.


title: George Raft

text: Raft then starred in "Limehouse Blues" (1934) with Anna May Wong. In February 1934, he admitted to having been involved in three fights during his career as a dancer and actor, including one in which he hit the producer of "Bolero". In August 1934, Raft was involved in a brawl at the Hollywood Brown Derby. At the end of 1934, Raft was listed in a survey of theater managers as among Paramount's secondary tier of stars "if properly cast."


title: George Raft

text: In "Rumba" (1935), Raft was reunited with Lombard. He also starred in "Stolen Harmony" (1935) and was slated to appear in "Gambler's Maxim" from a story by James Edward Grant, but the film was not made.


title: George Raft

text: Raft starred in a brutal and fast-paced adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's "The Glass Key" (1935). He tried a comedy, "Every Night at Eight" (1935), and was borrowed by Columbia Pictures to appear in "She Couldn't Take It" (1935), a comedy in the vein of "It Happened One Night" (1934). He then was borrowed by 20th Century-Fox for "It Had to Happen" (1936) and starred in Paramount's "Yours for the Asking" (1936).