title: 22 (Taylor Swift song)

text: Talking about the theme of "22", Swift told "Billboard" that the song captures how she felt about being 22 years old, when she knew about the "possibilities of how you're still learning, but you know enough. [...] That brings about a carefree feeling that is sort of based on in-decision and fear and at the same time letting loose". She said during a February 2013 interview with Ryan Seacrest that the song's inspiration was a group of female friends with whom she often hung out; despite the uncertainty of adulthood, "the one thing that you have is that you have each other". On March 12, 2013, Big Machine in partnership with Republic Records released "22" to US contemporary hit radio as the fourth "Red" single. A day later, it was released exclusively to Swift's official website as a limited-edition CD single, which was sold by itself or via an exclusive package with the Red Tour merchandise. "22" was released in the United Kingdom on March 31, 2013.


title: 22 (Taylor Swift song)

text: Music critics described "22" as a pop song incorporating styles such as bubblegum and dance-pop. Rob Sheffield from "Rolling Stone" described the genre as disco, and Annie Zaleski in the "Cleveland Scene" called the track a "spunky '90s-rock gem". The song begins with an acoustic guitar riff and incorporate an acoustic guitar-based arrangement in the verses, which musicologist James E. Perone described as a "singer-songwriter style". The refrain is upbeat and infuses elements of dance and electronic music; the production incorporates pulsing synthesizers that recall 1980s pop music, and syncopated bass drums that evoke influences from hip hop and alternative rock. "Billboard" said "22" was Swift's "most blatantly 'pop' song" up to that point, and Perone commented that her vocals in "22" are processed by Martin's and Shellback's electronic production, which makes the track sound radically different compared to her previous songs. According to "The Boot"'s Riane Konc, despite the pop production, "22" remains "[an] essential part of [Swift's] country years".


title: 22 (Taylor Swift song)

text: In the lyrics, the narrator celebrates the moments of being 22 years old, inviting friends to dress up, hang out, and "make fun of [their] exes" after having gone through a heartbreak. When she and the friends are at the party, she realizes the place has "too many cool kids" (who murmur, "‘Who's Taylor Swift anyway, ew?"). The group then decides to "ditch the whole scene". Towards the song's conclusion, the narrator dances with a man who "looks like bad news", but whom she "has to have".


title: 22 (Taylor Swift song)

text: Critics observed the conflicting emotions of early adulthood conveyed through "22". Jordan Sargent of "Spin" said the refrain's bass has a "fleeting upward sweep" that reflects the lyrical sentiment of "feeling young and invincible" while facing the impending "doom of growing up". For "Billboard", although the production is upbeat with "the most sugary hooks available", the lyrics are rather contemplative ("We're happy, free, confused and lonely in the best way"). NPR Music's J. English wrote that the contradictory feelings ("We're happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time / It's miserable and magical") serve as a mission statement for "Red" depiction of a wide array of emotions, from the wide-eyed optimism on "Begin Again" to the cautionary tale of celebrity on "The Lucky One". Perone otherwise found the track to be escapist and carefree; whereas the narrators of Swift's previous songs ponder about lost love in her own headspace, the narrator of "22" hangs out at parties and gets along with a man she just met.


title: 22 (Taylor Swift song)

text: "Billboard" review of "Red" appreciated Swift's songwriting on "22" for "succinctly communicating conflicting emotion" despite the track's upbeat production. "Digital Spy"'s Lewis Corner deemed the single another "pop smash" for Swift's career. Reviewers that highlighted "22" as one of the album's best tracks included "Idolator"'s Sam Lansky (praising the "ironclad" hook and lyrics about young adulthood), "USA Today" Jerry Shriver (describing the song as "crisp and breezy"), and the "Tampa Bay Times" Max Asayesh-Brown (complimenting its "jovial warble" as "plain fun"). Mesfin Fekadu of the Associated Press found it better than the lead single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" but deemed the lyrics weak. Some complained that the song resembled the chart hits of pop stars such as Katy Perry and Kesha; dismissive reviews came from "Telegram & Gazette" Craig S. Semon (saying the song was "bouncy but banal" and Swift's vocals "annoying" and "whiny"), AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine (calling it a "ludicrous club-filler"), and "Slant Magazine" Jonathan Keefe (labelling it a "shrill, deliberately vapid knockoff").


title: 22 (Taylor Swift song)

text: At the 2015 Pop Awards held by Broadcast Music, Inc., "22" was one of the three award-winning songs (with "Everything Has Changed" and "Shake It Off") that helped Swift earn recognition as one of the "Songwriters of the Year". Later reviews have been generally positive, with welcoming comments from Lansky (praising the pop hooks as catchy and saying it is impossible to resist its "millennial pink fizz" and "neutered naughtiness"), Sheffield (saying it is "[approximately] 22,000 times more fun than actually being 22"), Nate Jones from "Vulture" (hailing it for simultaneously being "absurdly catchy" and having "enough personality"), and Nick Levine from "Time Out"'s (deeming it "far smarter than the average giddy dance-pop song"). According to "NME" Hannah Mylrea, "Before '22' nobody cared when you celebrated your 22nd birthday [...] and somehow Swift turned it into a milestone." In a 2019 ranking of Swift's 44 singles, "The Guardian" Alexis Petridis placed the song at number four, and lauded its catchiness and contemplative lyrics about early adulthood. Perone nonetheless deemed "22" not as sophisticated and grounded as Swift's previous songs about heartbreak, specifically "Fifteen" (2009).


title: 22 (Taylor Swift song)

text: For the week ending October 28, 2012, "22" debuted at number 44 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and number seven on Hot Digital Songs with first-week sales of 108,000 digital copies; it was the week's highest debut position. After its single release, the song peaked at number 20 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and was the sixth track from "Red" to reach the top 20. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the single triple platinum, denoting three million track-equivalent units based on digital sales and streaming. In the United Kingdom, "22" peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The single also received sales certifications in Australia (double platinum), Canada (platinum), New Zealand (gold), and Japan (gold), and peaked within the top 30 in the first three countries.


title: 22 (Taylor Swift song)

text: Swift travelled to Malibu, California, in February 2013, and filmed the music video for "22" there a day after she attended the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. She premiered the video on March 13, 2013, on "Good Morning America". Directed by Anthony Mandler, the video for "22" departs from the narrative-driven video for Swift's previous single, "I Knew You Were Trouble"; it features scenes of Swift and her friends baking in the kitchen, sunbathing on the beach, bouncing on trampolines, and throwing a house party which ends with Swift diving into the pool, clothes on. Some media publications noticed Swift's fashion as hipster-inspired (her chambray shirt and plastic glasses), with "Cosmopolitan" and "Entertainment Weekly" deeming the aesthetics reminiscent of Instagram's.


title: 22 (Taylor Swift song)

text: "22" was part of the set list to Swift's private concert held on a péniche on the Seine on January 28, 2013. Her first televised performance of "22" was on May 19, 2013, at the "Billboard" Music Awards. Dressed in silver shoes, black high-waisted shorts, and a unicorn T-shirt saying "Haters Gonna Hate", Swift sang the first verse and chorus, and the second verse in the dressing room backstage. She appeared onstage for the rest of the song, joined by "America's Got Talent" winners and the dance crew Jabbawockeez; the performances ended with red balloons falling from the ceiling. The song was part of the set list to the Red Tour (2013–2014), where Swift performed it with a dance troupe.


title: 22 (Taylor Swift song)

text: Swift later included "22" as part of the set lists to her other concerts and shows, including at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in September 2014, at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in October 2016, and at the DirecTV Super Saturday Night, as part of a series of pre-Super Bowl concerts, in February 2017. She performed "22" three times on the Reputation Stadium Tour (2018), as a "surprise song" for the second show in Chicago, the first show in Foxborough, and the show in Sydney. On December 8, 2019, Swift performed the song at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball 2019 in London.


title: 22 (Taylor Swift song)

text: Swift re-recorded of "22" for her second re-recorded album, "Red (Taylor's Version)". She posted a snippet of the re-recorded song, titled "22 (Taylor's Version)", on her Instagram on August 5, 2021. "Red (Taylor's Version)" was released on November 12, 2021, by Republic Records; it is part of Swift's move to claim the ownership to her master recordings after a public dispute with her former label Big Machine and talent manager Scooter Braun.


title: 22 (Taylor Swift song)

text: "22 (Taylor's Version)" was produced by Swift, Shellback, and Christopher Rowe. In reviews of "Red (Taylor's Version)", some critics remarked that "22" was one of Swift's best pop songs. Writing for "Slant Magazine", Jonathan Keefe commented that though the 2012 version was indiscernible from the music of other pop stars of the era, the 2021 re-recorded version improved with a wistful tone.


title: 22 (Taylor Swift song)

text: "22 (Taylor's Version)" peaked within the top 40 of singles charts in Australia, Canada, and Singapore. It peaked at number 52 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and 30 on the "Billboard" Global 200.


title: Hyman Roth

text: Hyman Roth (born Hyman Suchowsky) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1974 film "The Godfather Part II". He is also a minor character in the 2004 novel "The Godfather Returns". Roth is a Jewish mobster, investor and a business partner of Vito Corleone, and later his son Michael Corleone. He is based on notorious mobster and gambling kingpin Meyer Lansky. It was Al Pacino who suggested Lee Strasberg, his former acting teacher, for the role.


title: Hyman Roth

text: Roth's background is supplied in a deleted scene in "The Godfather Part II". In this scene, set in Little Italy, New York in the early 1920s, he is working as a car mechanic. He is noticed by Peter Clemenza, who has been calling him "Johnny Lips". Clemenza introduces him to his friend Vito Corleone, who suggests that he change his name, which was originally Hyman Suchowsky. When Vito asks him whom he admires, Suchowsky says Arnold Rothstein, for having fixed the 1919 World Series; accordingly, he changes his last name to Roth.


title: Hyman Roth

text: Dialogue later in the film explains that Roth worked diligently with the Corleone family during Prohibition, helping them enter the bootlegging trade by setting up a molasses-smuggling operation between Havana and Canada. He was also a close friend and ally of fellow Jewish gangster Moe Greene, the "inventor" of Las Vegas. While Roth admits it would have been wrong to show anger and vengenace after Greene's death, as well as admitting that Greene pushed the limit too often, he is disappointed the famous city has nothing to remember him by. Frank Pentangeli later admits that while Vito Corleone had had a long history with Roth, to include doing business with the man, liking him, and respecting him, the elder Corleone never trusted Hyman Roth.


title: Hyman Roth

text: By the timeline of this film, Roth is based in Miami. Though in poor health, he is extremely wealthy, having made a fortune by running his own organized crime outfit, assisted by his right-hand man, Sicilian Johnny Ola. Roth forms a partnership with Michael Corleone for a profitable business enterprise with the corrupt Cuban government of Fulgencio Batista and a number of major American corporations to take control of a casino in Reno. Roth secretly plans to assassinate Michael, partly to avenge Moe Greene's murder (as depicted in "The Godfather"). Roth instructs Ola to befriend Michael's brother Fredo, who provides Ola (and Roth) information about Michael that enables them to make an attempt on his life.


title: Hyman Roth

text: Michael quickly realizes that Roth perpetrated the murder plot. Remembering his father's advice to "keep enemies close", he maintains a good business relationship with Roth. Michael also suspects a mole within the Corleone family aided Roth, and needs time to uncover his identity.


title: Hyman Roth

text: On New Year's Eve 1958, the last night of Batista's rule, Michael orders Roth killed, confiding to Fredo that Roth will not see the New Year. Michael's bodyguard Busetta attempts to assassinate Roth, who has been recuperating in a hospital, by smothering him with a pillow. However, this assassination attempt is thwarted by Cuban soldiers who enter the hospital ward and open fire on Busetta, killing him instead. Moments later, Fidel Castro's army enters the city, overthrowing the Batista regime and further ruining Michael's plans, as well as those of Roth, who intended to pass ownership of his Cuban casinos to various Mafia heads, with Michael gaining control of the Capri.


title: Hyman Roth

text: Shortly after the Cuban fiasco, the U.S. Senate begins hearings on organized crime. To eliminate Michael as a competitor, Roth manipulates Corleone family "caporegime" Frank Pentangeli into testifying against Michael by having the Rosato brothers, two small-time hoods, attempt to kill Pentangeli. He survives and, believing Michael ordered the attack, agrees to testify against the Corleone family at a Senate hearing. The hearing is really a set piece arranged by Roth in hopes of removing Michael from the scene; the Senate committee's chief counsel is on Roth's payroll. As a counter-move, Michael has Pentangeli's brother, Vincenzo, flown in from Sicily to coerce Pentangeli into silence, thus destroying the government's case against Michael.


title: Hyman Roth

text: Roth is last seen at the Miami airport, where he publicly states that he wishes to retire and live in Israel under the Law of Return. His request (like that of the real-life Meyer Lansky) is rejected by the Israeli High Court, reportedly due to his criminal ties. Michael arranges to have Roth killed at the airport where he is about to be taken into U.S. federal custody. Minutes after disembarking the plane, he is fatally shot by Michael's "caporegime" Rocco Lampone, posing as a reporter. Rocco himself is killed by federal agents as he tries to escape.


title: Hyman Roth

text: Roth's quote ""We're bigger than U.S. Steel"", when boasting how much more successful organized crime is compared with this multinational, was based on a similar quote by gangster Meyer Lansky.


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: Janusz Ryszard Korwin-Mikke (; born 27 October 1942), also known by his initials JKM or simply as Korwin, is a Polish far-right politician, paleolibertarian and author. He was a member of the European Parliament from 2014 until 2018. He was the leader of the Congress of the New Right (KNP), which was formed in 2011 from Liberty and Lawfulness, which he led from its formation in 2009, and the Real Politics Union, which he led from 1990 to 1997 and from 1999 to 2003. Currently, he is the chairman of the party KORWiN, and since 2019 he is a member of the Sejm, elected from the electoral list of Confederation Liberty and Independence.


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: Janusz Korwin-Mikke was born in German-occupied Warsaw on 27 October 1942. He was the only child of Ryszard Mikke and Maria Rosochacka. His father was the head of an engineering department of the State Aviation Works. After the death of his mother during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, he was under the care of his grandmother and later stepmother. Janusz Korwin-Mikke's great-grandfather was Gustaw Izydor Mikke aka Mücke, son of Samuel Beniamin Mücke (who was a brewer in Kielce) and grandson of Samuel Mücke.


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: Korwin-Mikke studied at the Faculty of Mathematics and Faculty of Philosophy of the Warsaw University. For his anti-communist activities, in 1964 he was detained by the communist authorities while studying psychology, law, philosophy and sociology. During the 1968 Polish political crisis, he was again arrested, jailed and expelled from the university for his participation in student protests. Despite his anti-communist activities, JKM was reinstated and allowed to finish his studies with the dean Klemens Szaniawski. He successfully defended his master thesis "Metodologiczne aspekty poglądów Stephena Toulmina" (eng. Methodological aspects of Stephen Toulmin's views), written under the guide of Henryk Jankowski.


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: Korwin-Mikke met with Milton Friedman when Friedman toured Europe advocating free-market policies. Friedman wrote about Janusz Korwin-Mikke in his memoirs:


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: From 1962 to 1982 he was a member of the Democratic Party. In August 1980 he supported the political strike of the Szczecin Shipyard workers, and later he was an adviser of NSZZ Rzemieślników Indywidualnych "Solidarność" (Independent Craftsmen's Union). In 1987 he founded a national conservative, economically liberal political party called "Ruch Polityki Realnej" (Movement of Real Politics), later renamed - "Unia Polityki Realnej" (UPR, Union of Real Politics).


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: Korwin-Mikke was a member of Parliament during the first term of the Sejm of the Third Republic of Poland. He was the originator of the vetting resolution on 28 May 1992, which obliged the Minister of Internal Affairs to disclose the names of all politicians who had been communist secret police agents. The disclosed list contained numerous prominent politicians of most political factions. This led to the government being overthrown by the opposition and the President Lech Walesa.


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: He was his party's candidate in Polish presidential elections, obtaining 2.4% votes in 1995, 1.43% in 2000, 1,4% in 2005, 2.48% in 2010, 3.3% in 2015. In 2018 he co-founded a eurosceptic political party Konfederacja. In 2019 he was elected for deputy in the lower chamber of Polish Parliament (Sejm). He is a self-declared monarchist who claims that democracy is "the most stupid form of government ever conceived". Janusz Korwin-Mikke is a former professional contract bridge player. He has authored, together with Andrzej Macieszczak, a popular book on the subject.


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: He frequently refers to such figures as Frédéric Bastiat, Alexis de Tocqueville, Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, Margaret Thatcher.


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: Korwin-Mikke has been described as a "perpetual political gadfly" by "Politico", and as "a colorful and abrasive character" by "The Guardian".


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: At the plenary session of the European Parliament held after the assault at "Charlie Hebdo", Korwin-Mikke expressed his dissatisfaction with the public reaction to those events by stating 'I am not Charlie. I am for death penalty' and presenting it to the public instead of a sign 'Je suis Charlie' held by the other MEPs.


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: In 1991 Korwin-Mikke published his guidebook for men, "Father's Vademecum", in which he wrote many pieces of advice that have been recognized as highly controversial and sexist, such as "If you cannot resolve conflict with your wife in any way, if you cannot convince her, then, unfortunately, you have to use physical force."


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: He believes that women are, on average, less intelligent than men, citing chess results to back up his claims. He has cited Margaret Thatcher as his political model. He stated that the difference between rape and consensual sex is very subtle, even going as far as saying that "Were you to understand woman's nature, sir, you would know that there is an element of rape in every sexual intercourse". He further claimed that: "there is a hypothesis that the attitudes of men are passed to women they sleep with".


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: On 1 March 2017, Korwin-Mikke sparked controversy by stating that women were paid less than their male counterparts on average due to them being "smaller, weaker and less intelligent", during a debate in the EP regarding the gender pay gap. Two days later, Korwin-Mikke made further comments stating that there was a stereotype that "women have the same intellectual potential as men” and it “must be destroyed because it is not true.”


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: The situations described above, that took place in the gender pay gap debate, culminated in a court hearing. On 31 May 2018 European General Court in the Case T‑352/17 Korwin-Mikke v Parliament lifted sanctions from 14 March 2017 imposed on Korwin Mikke by the President of the Parliament, under which he was suspended for ten days from the plenary sessions of the EP. The Court in Case T-352/17 described interpretation of the provisions of the Rules of Procedure made by the President of the European Parliament and the Bureau of the Parliament, which was the basis for imposing sanctions on Korwin-Mikke, as leading to "an arbitrary restriction of the freedom of expression of MEPs".


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: In 2020, a Polish court overturned a rape conviction because while the victim stated it was non-consensual, she did not scream. Korwin-Mikke was one of the few voices supporting the ruling, saying on Twitter, "If they don’t scream, it shows they want it," and "This criterion has worked for 6,000 years," drawing criticism.


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: In 2014, Korwin-Mikke was fined by President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz for 'expressing himself in a racist manner'. The decision was taken after his speech about EU employment policy on the plenary session on 16 July, during which he said (in English): 'we have 20 million Europeans who are now negroes of Europe'. According to him the word 'negroes' was not meant as an offence, but rather referred to the song by John Lennon and Yoko Ono 'Woman is the Nigger of the world'.


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: During an interview with Rzeczpospolita, Korwin-Mikke expressed support for prohibiting "homosexual propaganda" in schools, as well as prohibiting the organization of Equality Marches. He claimed that "one must slaughter" those who promote gay rights.


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: Korwin-Mikke described Anna Grodzka, the first trans woman to be a member of Parliament in Poland, as a male when stating that Grodzka "extorted his seat in the Sejm by impersonating a woman."


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: He stated that the best way to deal with Muslims in Europe would be to keep them out, ban them from building mosques, and "if need be, oppose them militarily”.


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: Korwin-Mikke has a history of antisemitic stunts and statements. He objected to the Polish government's decision to bar Holocaust denier David Irving from entering Poland. He promoted a conspiracy theory on Jews while commenting media reports about a custom in which residents of the town of Pruchnik beat with sticks the effigy of an Orthodox Jew. In 2020, while making comments on the COVID-19 pandemic, he stated that anti-Jewish pogroms made Jews powerful via natural selection and that rabbis may have engineered this. Korwin-Mikke denies being an antisemite.


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: During the 2012 Summer Paralympics, Korwin-Mikke wrote that the general public should "not see the disabled on television". On the other hand, in 2007, he set up the "Individual Development Foundation" which helps disabled people develop their skills in chess.


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: On 15 April 2015, the Polish news outlet "Wiadomości" quoted Korwin-Mikke that the snipers that shot civilians and police officers during the Maidan protests were trained in Poland and that they acted on behalf of the CIA to provoke riots. Other provocative statements include Korwin-Mikke's claim that there is no written proof that Adolf Hitler was aware of the Holocaust.


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: Korwin-Mikke proposed that the European Commission's Berlaymont building would be better used as a brothel. In July 2015, he was suspended from the EP after giving a Nazi salute and saying "ein Reich, ein Volk, ein Ticket" during a speech to protest against a uniform EU transport ticket. Following the beginning of protests in Belarus, Korwin made a statement praising Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko as a hero for his opposition to the EU.


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: In regard to welfare, Korwin-Mikke claimed that "if someone gives money to an unemployed person, he should have his hand cut off because he is destroying the morale of the people".


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: On 8 September 2015, Korwin-Mikke was giving a speech in EP about the European migrant crisis, during which he described immigrants unwilling to work and only interested in welfare as "human garbage". His opinion met with critical reaction of other MEPs. As a result of this, Korwin-Mikke was once more suspended from the EP for ten days and fined €3062.


title: Janusz Korwin-Mikke

text: Janusz Korwin-Mikke has been described as supporting Russia on a number of occasions since the 2010s. This is evidenced by his statements supporting the Russian annexation of Crimea, his official trip to the peninsula, as well as claims whitewashing Russian history and actions, and criticizing Ukraine. He appeared on Russian television as a Polish politician opposing alleged Polish “Russophobia”. Also after the 2022 Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he often uttered pro-Russian content, denying Russian responsibility for the massacre in Bucha by claiming that the Ukrainians murdered wartime collaborators, criticizing the imposition of sanctions against Russia because of the negative economic impacts of the sanctions, especially in regards to the dispute about deliveries of natural gas, suggesting that both Ukrainian heroism and Russian determination should be admired, since the Ukrainian side is receiving a substantial military support, giving it an advantage in the war, and even claiming that after the war, Ukraine may attack Poland due to Ukrainian irredentist claims on Przemyśl, Chełm, Rzeszów, Gorlice and Tarnów.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: Pinocchio is a 2019 fantasy film, co-written, directed, and co-produced by Matteo Garrone, based on the 1883 book "The Adventures of Pinocchio" by Italian author Carlo Collodi. The film stars child actor Federico Ielapi as the title character, Roberto Benigni as Geppetto, Gigi Proietti as Mangiafuoco, Rocco Papaleo and Massimo Ceccherini as the Cat and the Fox, and Marine Vacth as the adult Fairy with Turquoise Hair. This was the final film featuring Proietti to be released before his death in November 2020.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: "Pinocchio" was a passion project for Garrone, who drew the first storyboard of the story at the age of six. Unlike previous Garrone films, which were directed towards adults, "Pinocchio" is aimed at both adults and children. Most characters, including Pinocchio himself, were created through prosthetic make-up rather than CGI. It is the second live-action Pinocchio film to star Benigni, following the 2002 adaptation, and the second to star Papaleo, after the 2012 animated film.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: The film was released in Italy on 19 December 2019, by 01 Distribution, and grossed €15 million domestically, making it the highest-grossing film of the Christmas week in Italy, as well as Garrone's highest-grossing film domestically (beating 2008's "Gomorrah"), and the sixth highest-grossing film in Italy of 2019–20. An English-dubbed version was released by Vertigo Films in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 14 August 2020, and by Roadside Attractions in the United States and Canada on 25 December 2020.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: "Pinocchio" was met with positive reviews from critics. It received 15 nominations at the 2020 David di Donatello Awards, winning five: Best Sets and Decorations, Best Costumes, Best Makeup, Best Hair Design and Best Visual Effects. It was also nominated for nine Nastro d'Argento Awards, winning six, plus a special mention, and two Academy Award nominations for Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 93rd Academy Awards.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: A poor Italian carpenter named Geppetto decides to build a wooden puppet to tour the country and earn him a living. He names it "Pinocchio". When the puppet becomes sentient, he calls it his son. A Talking Cricket tries to help Pinocchio by giving him advice, but Pinocchio disregards it and burns his feet off by accident when resting near the fireplace. Geppetto promises him new feet on the condition that Pinocchio goes to school.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: Pinocchio sets off to school, but is distracted by the puppet theatre. In the theater, he joins the other living puppets and messes up the show. Furious that his production went upstream, Mangiafuoco locks Pinocchio in his caravan and leaves town. Pinocchio begs to return to his father and Mangiafuoco lets him go, choosing to burn another puppet for firewood in his place. Pinocchio is upset by this and chooses to take the puppet's place. Surprised by his sacrifice, Mangiafuoco releases Pinocchio and gives him five gold coins to give to Geppetto.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: On his way home, Pinocchio meets a fox and a cat pretending to be disabled (the Fox being lame and the Cat going blind). Attracted by the coins, they suggest that Pinocchio should try to sow them so they will sprout into a tree of money in the Field of Miracles, located in the Land of the Barn Owl. The Cat and the Fox trick him and disguise themselves as hooded assassins. Pinocchio hides the coins and attempts to flee but is caught and hung from a tree. He is rescued by a little girl, The Fairy with Turquoise Hair, who asks him why he was not at home or in school. Embarrassed, Pinocchio lies and his nose becomes bigger with each lie until the Fairy is forced to shorten his nose.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: Having learned his lesson, Pinocchio returns home only to meet the Fox and the Cat a second time. Seeing that their plan failed, they convince him to go to the Field of Miracles again. Upon arriving, he plants the coins which the Fox and the Cat steal. Discovering the theft, Pinocchio reports it to the gorilla judge. Since justice does not favor the innocent in Barn Owl, he is sentenced to life. Pinocchio manages to get exonerated by telling the judge that he committed a crime before, making him guilty, and thus he is released.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: Pinocchio returns home, but learns from one of the neighbors that Geppetto has left to look for him overseas in North America. Pinocchio swims into the sea to find him, but gets shipwrecked on the Island of the Busy Bees. He is saved by the Blue Fairy (now a grown adult), who promises to turn him into a real boy if he studies and behaves.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: Pinocchio goes to school and becomes the most studious boy in his class. During his time there however, he befriends Lucignolo, a disobedient boy who invites him to come to the Land of Toys where children can have fun all day long without schools, rules or adults while being taken their by The Coachman. After a long day in the Land of Toys, Pinocchio wakes up with donkey ears and finds Lucignolo has the same problem—they are turning into donkeys.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: The Coachman sells them and with Pinocchio being sold to a circus. One day, Pinocchio notices the Fairy in the audience, trips, and cripples himself. The ringmaster decides to drown him and use his skin for a drum. In the sea, the Fairy summons fishes that nibble away Pinocchio's donkey skin, bringing him back to normal.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: Pinocchio once again swims in search for his father and is swallowed by the a gigantic ravenous whale-like sea monster. He finds Geppetto alive inside the monster. Taking advantage of the sea monster's asthma which forces him to sleep with his mouth open, the two flee from his mouth and reach the shore with the help of a big friendly Tuna.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: They find an abandoned house to rest in. To heal his father, who has gotten sick from the trip, Pinocchio is hired by a farmer to earn milk. Pinocchio continues to work and study and help Geppetto while he recovers, Pinocchio once again meets the Fox and Cat who actually gained their specific disabilities. They want his earnings, but Pinocchio learned from his past mistakes and states that it serves them right. The Fairy then grants Pinocchio his wish. He returns home and shows Geppetto that he has become a real boy.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: On 24 October 2016, it was announced that Toni Servillo was cast as Pinocchio's father Geppetto. Two years later, in October 2018, it was announced that Geppetto would be played by Roberto Benigni (who had played Pinocchio in a previous adaptation directed by himself) who said "A great character, a great story, a great director: playing Geppetto directed by Matteo Garrone is one of the forms of happiness."


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: Nick Dudman was initially announced as working on the film, but later dropped out. Mark Coulier created the character design, prosthetics and special make-up for the film.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: Garrone paid €150,000 out of his own pocket to dub the movie in English before even finding a distributor. He chose to use Italian voices to preserve the Italianness of the film, and to take advantage of the fact that Italians are master dubbers. Three actors dubbed themselves: Federico Ielapi as Pinocchio, Alida Baldari Calabria as the child Fairy and Maurizio Lombardi as the Tuna; Lombardi also dubbed another character, Doctor Raven (played by Massimiliano Gallo). The adult fary, played by Marine Vacth, is dubbed again by Domitilla D'Amico, who had already dubbed her in the Italian version. The dub was directed by Francesco Vairano, who also wrote the English dialogue.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: In May 2020, , one of the movie's producers, said they were very close to selling "Pinocchio" to the US, but the coronavirus outbreak put the selling on hiatus. On July 27, that same year, it was announced that Vertigo Films had bought the UK and Ireland rights to the film, with plans to theatrically release it in late August. On July 28, the British Board of Film Classification gave the film a PG rating. On July 30, Vertigo published the English trailer, and revealed that the movie would be released in UK and Ireland on August 14, with previews from August 10.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: On November 19, 2020, it was announced that Roadside Attractions had bought the US rights to the film. On November 30, it was revealed that the English version of the movie would be released in the United States and Canada on December 25.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: On 29 March 2019, the first promotional image was released. The first trailer was published online on July 3, 2019.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: "Pinocchio" grossed $30.4 million, including $17.8 million in Italy, against a production budget of €11 million.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: In Italy, the film made US$2.9 million in its opening weekend, finishing second behind "". It made $1.9 million in its second weekend and $530,806 in its third, finishing third and sixth, respectively. The film grossed €15 million ($17.1 million) domestically, making it director Garrone's highest-grossing film domestically (beating 2008's "Gomorrah", which made €10.2 million). It was also the sixth highest-grossing film in Italy in the 2019–2020 season (behind "Tolo Tolo", "The Lion King", "Joker", "Frozen II" and "Il primo Natale").


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: In the film's United Kingdom debut it grossed $140,810 (£107,260) from 271 theaters, becoming the third highest-grossing film since the British cinemas' re-opening from the COVID-19 pandemic. It went on to gross $1.1 million in the UK. In the United States, the film debuted to $274,600 from 736 theaters.


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads: "Sticking closely to Carlo Collodi's original story, Matteo Garrone's "Pinocchio" pulls every string to create a visually stunning film that proves that some tales really are timeless." Metacritic reports a weighted average score of 65 out of 100 based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: Deborah Young of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote: 'Matteo Garrone's new "Pinocchio" brings genuine emotion to one of the most ambitious film adaptations to date of Carlo Collodi's 1883 kid classic.' Eric Kohn of "IndieWire" gave it a B rating and wrote: ""Pinocchio" imbues its circumstances with a surprising degree of naturalism, thanks to the filmmaker's careful handling of practical effects that suit the unusual tone." Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" gave it 4/5 stars, saying: ""Pinocchio" is a thoroughly bizarre story; Garrone makes of it a weirdly satisfying spectacle." Simran Hans of "The Observer" also gave the movie 4/5 stars, stating that: "The source material is a neat fit for the Italian film-maker, who traversed similarly episodic fairytale terrain with 2015's "Tale of Tales". It's also a critique of society that feels timeless or, rather, timely – and not just for Garrone". Josefine Algieri of OneRoomwithaView.com wrote, ""Pinocchio" is still an enjoyable film, boasting an appropriately whimsical score and beautiful production design, and succeeds in creating a fairy tale even among the realism of poverty-stricken rural Italy."


title: Pinocchio (2019 film)

text: At the Berlinale film festival 2020, the critics' consensus read that the film suffered from its own sense of realism and quickly bores due to its lack of fairy tale flair, but Begnini's scurrilous performance might occasionally provoke a tired laugh.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD, pronounced ), also known in the United States as "Wild Weasel" and (initially) "Iron Hand" operations, are military actions to suppress enemy surface-based air defenses, including not only surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) but also interrelated systems such as early-warning radar and command, control and communication (C) functions, while also marking other targets to be destroyed by an air strike. Suppression can be accomplished both by physically destroying the systems or by disrupting and deceiving them through electronic warfare. In modern warfare, SEAD missions can constitute as much as 30% of all sorties launched in the first week of combat and continue at a reduced rate through the rest of a campaign. One quarter of American combat sorties in recent conflicts have been SEAD missions. Despite generally being associated with aircraft, SEAD missions may be performed using any means, including through actions by ground forces.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Primitive operations akin to SEAD emerged during the Second World War, during which multiple participants made attempts to degrade enemy ground radar stations. However, SEAD missions performed by dedicated aircraft first undertook combat missions during the Vietnam War, the United States Air Force's EF-105F/F-105G Thunderchief and United States Navy's A-6B Intruder being amongst these pioneers; Operation Linebacker intentionally incorporated SEAD actions to improve the survivability of bombers and increase overall effectiveness. Other early conflicts that saw SEAD missions conducted included the 1982 Falklands War, over Port Stanley, and the 1982 Lebanon War, in the Beqaa Valley. The tactical awareness, or lack thereof, of air defense operators proved to be a decisive factor in the success rate of these missions. The 1986 United States bombing of Libya, while Libya's integrated air defense network was not destroyed, it was damaged without major losses incurred by US forces.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: During the 1990s, extensive use of SEAD was made, particularly during the Gulf War of the early 1990s. Intense aerial attacks of Iraq's integrated air defenses were conducted during Operation Instant Thunder, the Coalition's aerial attacks at the start of the conflict; Iraqi SAM operators regularly resorted to firing missiles with minimal or no guidance due to fears that radar use brought quick retaliation.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: All Iraqi air defenses in the south were destroyed, although the skies remained unsafe for low altitude flight. In the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the defender's air defences proved to be less vulnerable and more effective; although only two aircraft were reportedly lost to Yugoslavian SAMs, the downing of a F-117A Nighthawk marked the first combat loss ever of a stealth aircraft. In the Iraq War of the 2000s, coalition aircraft repeatedly targeted Iraqi SAMs during the opening phase of the conflict, despite this, aerial strikes were usually performed from stand-off distances to avoid these defenses, and low level flight was avoided. In the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, while many Ukrainian air defence facilities were reportedly destroyed or damaged in the first days of the war by Russian air strikes, Russia may not have been able to gain aerial superiority; it has been alleged that Ukrainian mid-range SAM sites have forced planes to fly low, but this makes them vulnerable to shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Prior to the Vietnam War, SEAD was an undefined mission: although attempts to destroy enemy air defense sites were undertaken, they were done so on an individual aircraft basis and in relation to specific targets or operations rather than as part of an overall strategy or doctrine of defense suppression. While crude, these tactics were frequently effective for their time.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: During the Battle of Britain, the German Luftwaffe attempted to destroy Great Britain's Chain Home radar stations in order to degrade the British air defense network. However, German High Command failed to realize the efficiency of not only the radar stations themselves but the command and control system directing Britain's air defenses. After initial optimism regarding the radar sites' destruction, it was eventually decided to halt these attacks altogether except for exceptional circumstances. As the air war in Europe shifted in favor of the Allies, the Germans relied heavily on their AAA to defend against bombing attacks. This was borne out in Allied aircraft losses between 1943 and 1944, where losses to enemy fighters were cut in half but losses to flak increased tenfold.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Understanding the importance of Germany's radar sites, the Allies directed attacks against these installations and introduced new technology to counteract the effects of radar-directed AAA, including CARPET (US) and WINDOW (UK). A change in tactics saw bomber formations flying higher and more spread out to avoid the effects of flak. Bombing missions were also carried out to accomplish the physical destruction of AAA sites, using imagery intelligence to locate the weapons and employing both heavy bombers and fighter-bombers to destroy them. The P-47 Thunderbolt in particular was chosen for this task due to its ability to survive enemy fire. The effect of these missions varied, with losses suffered by fighter-bombers much higher—up to 40% in some cases—on account of their low-altitude attacks. Artillery also played a major role in suppressing air defenses, with the British Army the first to develop what became known as counterflak or "Apple Pie" missions. These missions were first employed to limited effect during the Battle of France but matured as the war progressed. The largest SEAD mission in history took place on March 24, 1945, when artillery forces of the British XII Corps attempted to knock out the local German air defense network in support of Operation Varsity. Although twenty-four thousand artillery shells were fired over the course of twenty-two minutes at some one hundred targets, the mission was unsuccessful due to inaccurate targeting data and insufficient firepower.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: In the Pacific Theater, the Japanese had made only limited progress in developing radar for air defense and what systems they did have were primitive and easy to avoid. Nevertheless, as the Americans began the bombing campaign against Japan there was concern over the large number of radar sites located on the home islands. For this purpose B-24 Liberators and B-29 Superfortresses were fitted with radar-homing devices to conduct "ferret" missions to locate and identify radar transmissions. The information brought back from these missions was used to outfit other B-29s with radar jammers and chaff to confuse Japanese air defense radars as they conducted their missions. B-25 Mitchells were also outfitted with radar-homing equipment and used to lead "hunter-killer" teams of other B-25s in locating and destroying Japanese early-warning radar sites.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: While there were some technological changes between World War II and the Korean War, many of the tactics for dealing with enemy air defenses remained the same. For aircraft performing missions at low altitudes, AAA remained a constant danger; in fact, it was less dangerous for a UNC pilot to engage in air-to-air combat than it was to attack ground targets. The terrain and weather of the Korean Peninsula also contributed to the dangers associated with ground-attack missions. Nevertheless, the advent of jet aircraft brought about many changes. Compared to propeller aircraft, jets were much faster, could climb more steeply, were more resistant to damage and were quieter in operation. They were thus able to more effectively attack ground targets and escape, and while both jet- and propeller-driven aircraft participated in the Korean War the latter suffered heavier losses and were largely phased out by the end of the conflict.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: As the war progressed, the Communists developed a highly centralized integrated air defense network, incorporating early-warning radars, ground-controlled interception (GCI) and AAA. The potency of this network compelled UNC bombers to conduct bombing missions at altitudes beyond the reach of ground-based weapons, although this impacted the accuracy of their bombs. The UNC also possessed an effective air defense network, but the North Korean Air Force had been largely destroyed early in the war and the Chinese Air Force was almost exclusively focused on the mission of air superiority rather than attacking UNC ground forces.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: The Vietnam War saw the evolution of what would become known as SEAD over the course of the conflict. At the start of Operation Rolling Thunder, North Vietnam's air defenses were only dealt with in a piecemeal fashion, in spite of intelligence indicating that the North Vietnam Army was developing an integrated air defense system (IADS) dedicated to air deniability. This included the construction of sixty SA-2 Guideline SAM sites by the end of 1965 which, though only accomplishing one hit for every thirteen missiles fired, were responsible for shooting down nearly 15% of American aircraft lost that year. Early attempts to counter this system consisted of modified F-100 Super Sabres using crude homing equipment to locate and bomb radar-guided SAM and AAA sites, but these missions incurred heavy losses and the threat to American aircraft continued to grow. In 1966 a task force was put together to analyze the challenges presented by the NVA's air defense network and recommend ways to counter it. One of these was for aircraft to operate at low altitudes (below 500 meters) where the missiles were less effective. This also put the aircraft well within range of AAA, which would account for nearly 85% of all American aircraft losses during Rolling Thunder.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Eventually new SEAD-dedicated aircraft were introduced, the Air Force's EF-105F/F-105G Thunderchief and Navy's A-6B Intruder, which mounted more sophisticated detection equipment and carried the AGM-45 Shrike and AGM-78 Standard anti-radiation missiles (ARMs). These fighter-bombers became very adept at tracking down and destroying ground-based air defense weapons, such that it became common for a vast majority of NVA SAM operators to turn off their radars whenever an F-105G was spotted. While this prevented the SAM from physically being destroyed, it essentially accomplished the same mission of suppressing air defenses around the target. Electronic warfare aircraft were also used to suppress air defenses by jamming NVA radars, with first the EB-66 Destroyer joined later by the EA-6B Prowler. By the end of Rolling Thunder these changes had caused a significant degradation in the effectiveness of SAMs: only one SA-2 missile out of every forty-eight fired resulted in a hit. In spite of these changes, SEAD remained a primarily tactical function throughout Rolling Thunder, with American leadership either unaware or unappreciative of North Vietnam's IADS.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Losses suffered by F-105 Wild Weasels spurred on the development of a new variant based on the F-4C Phantom II, the EF-4C Phantom Wild Weasel IV. The first thirty-six of these were delivered to Southeast Asia in 1969 and so missed taking part in Rolling Thunder. While carrying the same electronics as in the F-105G, the dense internal structure of the F-4 Phantom prevented the EF-4C from efficiently mounting this equipment, which meant it could not carry the superior AGM-78 Standard missile. By the start of Operation Linebacker, Wild Weasel missions were both more and less effective. Tactics and technology had evolved which improved the suppression of individual SAM sites, however the American military still failed to consider the integrated nature of North Vietnam's air defense network. Not only did the network possess thousands of radar- and optical-guided AAA and SAM sites, it also consisted of early-warning radars, intelligence-gathering agencies, and hundreds of ground-controlled interceptors. Thus, while fewer American aircraft were lost to SAMs during Linebacker, many more were lost in air-to-air combat.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Operation Linebacker II started off similarly to Linebacker I with regards to SEAD tactics but was remarkable for the introduction of B-52 Stratofortress bombers in the defense-suppression role. During the early part of the operation, a combination of poor tactical employment and overconfidence on the part of Strategic Air Command resulted in the loss of a number of B-52s to SA-2 missiles, enough to force a rethink in how to counteract the enemy's air defenses. The latter part of Linebacker II finally saw a concerted effort made to suppress the entire North Vietnamese IADS and significantly reduced the losses suffered. Only one SA-2 missile for every sixty-eight fired resulted in a hit, the lowest ratio of the entire war. The SEAD tactics displayed at the end of Linebacker II, involving the combination of traditional understanding of SEAD with electronic warfare and C countermeasures, laid the groundwork for future development.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: With the phase-out of the F-105G, the US Air Force was in need of a new SEAD-dedicated aircraft This effort was given more urgency in 1973 when, during the Yom Kippur War, Egypt employed a Soviet-built IADS that severely mauled the Israeli Air Force. After a series of tests, the new F-4G 'Wild Weasel V' first took flight in 1975 and became operational in 1978. Built on the F-4E airframe, the F-4G removed the M61 Vulcan pod to make room for specialized detection and jamming equipment and could carry the latest anti-radiation missile, the AGM-88 HARM. The F-4G Wild Weasel was then joined by EF-111A Raven and EC-130H Compass Call to become part of the USAF's "triad" of electronic combat aircraft. Each aircraft performed its own role in the overall mission of SEAD: the F-4G with seeking out and destroying enemy air defenses, the EC-130 with degrading the enemy's C capabilities, and the EF-111A with jamming enemy early-warning and target-acquisition radars. Additional aircraft often part of SEAD missions included the E-3 Sentry, EC-130E Commando Solo and RC/EC-135.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: On the other hand, the Soviets did not treat SEAD as an independent air operation but as a tactical role to be performed as part of a larger mission, namely an overwhelming air assault against NATO. This role was not carried out by SEAD-specific aircraft but normal bombers and fighter aircraft, such as the Tupolev Tu-16 and Tupolev Tu-22M, which could carry Soviet anti-radiation missiles. These aircraft would be organized into several strike groups whose mission was to lay down "chaff corridors" 40–50 kilometers across at intervals of 10 kilometers, including directly on top of suspected SAM sites. A small number of aircraft in these groups would be equipped with ARMs to physically destroy the sites. These missions were conducted against pre-planned targets which had been previously identified by signals intelligence and other reconnaissance efforts, rather than having aircraft seek out targets of opportunity. The closest the Soviets came to dedicated SEAD platforms were modified stand-off interceptors like the Mikoyan MiG-25BM and attack aircraft like the Sukhoi Su-24M.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: The first example of a post-Vietnam SEAD campaign was by the United Kingdom during the 1982 Falklands War. The RAF Avro Vulcan B.Mk-2 was initially planned to be retired in early 1982 but the outbreak of the Falklands War, in April that year postponed it. The Falklands conflict was the only time that the Vulcan performed SEAD missions, flying very long-range missions against Port Stanley, armed with AGM-45 Shrike missiles mounted on makeshift underwing pylons and carrying a AN/ALQ-101 pod for jamming.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Shortly afterwards was Israel's Operation Mole Cricket 19, launched at the start of the 1982 Lebanon War. During the prior Yom Kippur War of 1973, Egyptian and Syrian SAM batteries proved to be costly to attack for the Israeli Air Force (IAF), such as during Operation Model 5; during the first three days of the war alone, the IAF lost 50 aircraft in about 1,220 sorties, a loss rate of four percent. The IAF found it challenging to provide air support to ground forces. Shortly after the conflict's end, the service stated a multiyear project, active between 1973 and 1978, specifically to devise an effective counter to the SAM threat. By 1982, the Bekaa Valley had been heavily reinforced by the Syrian Armed Forces with a modern Soviet-style air defense network consisting of multiple radar installations, GCI facilities, SAM and AAA sites, and a redundant C network. Prior to the start of the operation, Israel conducted an extensive intelligence-gathering effort, consisting of reconnaissance aircraft, remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs) and electronic surveillance aircraft, to paint an expansive picture of where Syrian air defense sites were located and which radar frequencies they were using.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Israel's attack on the SAMs was inadvertently assisted by the Syrians, who often placed their sites in sub-optimal positions and failed to relocate their equipment, use dummy radars or maintain active combat air patrol. When the operation began, efficient coordination of jamming/deception efforts with attacks against air defense sites effectively neutralized the ground component of the Bekaa Valley IADS. In response to the attacks, the Syrians launched a large number of fighter aircraft, however without the aid of their radar and GCI facilities, these forces were "flying blind" and suffered crippling losses in the resulting air-to-air combat. So complete and disturbing was the Israeli dismantling of the Bekaa Valley IADS that the deputy commander of the Soviet Air Defense Forces was sent to investigate what had gone wrong. Part of Israel's success was due to extensive reconnaissance and preparations prior to the battle, incompetence on the part of the Syrians, and desert conditions conducive to SEAD operations.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Operation El Dorado Canyon, the United States' response to the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing, employed lessons learned from the Bekaa Valley campaign, including extensive planning and practice runs. In contrast to the Israeli mission though the goal of El Dorado Canyon was not the destruction of Libya's IADS itself but to conduct a punitive strike against Muammar Gaddafi. Suppressing the IADS through non-lethal means would help accomplish this mission and, just as important after the Vietnam War, reduce casualties suffered by the strike group. For this reason, electronic jamming played a more prominent role in the operation than at Bekaa Valley and was carried out by both EF-111A Ravens and EA-6B Prowlers in the first ever joint US Air Force-Navy SEAD operation. For several reasons, F-4G Wild Weasels could not take part in El Dorado Canyon, requiring the use of the Navy's carrier-borne A-7E Corsair IIs and F/A-18 Hornets to attack Libyan SAM sites. Their lack of the Wild Weasel's specialized equipment required these fighters to fire their HARMs preemptively at Libyan SAM sites, a costly and wasteful method which nevertheless was effective due to the limited nature of the raid. For their part, the Libyans and their Soviet advisers had also learned lessons from the Bekaa Valley campaign: their IADS was constructed with multiple redundancies (including overlapping radar coverage and hardened landlines between defense sites) and a wider array of both Soviet and Western radar systems able to operate on multiple frequencies to avoid jamming. In the end, US forces succeeded in suppressing the Libyan IADS and conducted their punitive strike with minimal casualties suffered.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Coalition forces made extensive use of SEAD during the Gulf War against Iraq in order to counter its – at least on paper – formidable IADS. By 1990 Iraq was protected by approximately 3,700 SAMs, organized into 105 firing batteries, and approximately 7,000 AAA pieces, supported by hundreds of overlapping early warning, search and acquisition radars. In the air the Iraq Air Force was the sixth largest in the world, including hundreds of interceptors which were housed and protected within hardened bunkers. At the center of the Iraqi IADS was Kari, an automated C system developed by Iraq and built by French contractors in the wake of Operation Opera (Kari in turn is the French spelling of Iraq backwards). Kari tied the entire IADS to a single location, the national Air Defense Operations Center (ADOC) located in an underground bunker in Baghdad, and in turn divided the country into four defense sectors each overseen by a Sector Operations Center (SOC) located at H-3, Kirkuk, Taji and Talil; a fifth SOC was added at Ali Al Salem to cover the recently conquered Kuwait. Each SOC oversaw the local airspace and commanded anywhere from two to five Intercept Operations Centers (IOCs) per sector. The IOCs were located in bunkers constructed at Iraqi Air Force bases and tied into local radar systems, whose information they could pass on to their SOC and thence on to Baghdad. In this way a SOC was capable of simultaneously tracking 120 aircraft and selecting for the appropriate weapon system to engage them. The SOC could automatically target for SA-2 and SA-3 SAM systems in their sector, which meant the SAMs did not have to turn on their own radar and reveal their position, or an IOC could direct local interceptors to engage the targets. Baghdad itself was one of the most heavily defended cities in the world – more heavily defended several times over than Hanoi during the Vietnam War – protected by 65% of Iraq's SAMs and over half of its AAA pieces.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: However, the Iraqi IADS had several fatal flaws of which Coalition air forces were able to take advantage. The system was primarily oriented towards defending against much smaller attacks from Iraq's most likely enemies – Iran, Syria and Israel – and focused on point defense rather than area defense. This meant there were significant gaps in its coverage, particularly on the orientation from Saudi Arabia straight to Baghdad, and attacking aircraft would be able to approach their target from multiple directions. Much of the Iraqi air defense equipment was also quite outdated: Iraqi SA-2 and SA-3 systems were nearing the end of their operational lifespan and their countermeasures well known at this point, while what SA-6, SA-8 and Roland systems they possessed weren't much younger either. Likewise a majority of Iraq's interceptor force were less-capable MiG-21s, with fewer more modern variants including export versions of the MiG-29 and F1 Mirage. Furthermore, the IADS was centralized to a fault. Although each IOC was datalinked to their respective SOC and in turn back to the ADOC, the defense sectors couldn't share information between each other. If a SOC was knocked out of action the attached air defense weapons lost all ability to coordinate their response; its respective SAM batteries would be forced to rely on their own radar systems while most AAA guns lacked any radar guidance. Training was also poor, with Iraqi pilots overly reliant on ground-control instructions such that if the IOCs were disabled they lost situation awareness and became easy targets.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Suppression of the Iraqi IADS played a prominent role in Operation Instant Thunder, the preliminary air campaign plan against Iraq which served as the basis for Operation Desert Storm's air campaign. In its initial limited form, Instant Thunder called for three dedicated SEAD squadrons which would significantly degrade the IADS enough to allow decimating strikes against Iraq's military and political leadership and other strategic targets. This role for SEAD was further expanded as the mission grew in scope, involving a larger number of aircraft to completely destroy the air defenses protecting southern Iraq and Kuwait. Planning for this mission was helped when the CIA contacted the French engineer responsible for designing the Kari IADS and passed along information about its vulnerabilities and limitations. In its final form, Phase II of the Desert Storm air campaign sought to decimate the southern Iraqi IADS within two days of the start of hostilities. F-4G Wild Weasels and other aircraft capable of carrying HARM missiles would destroy air defense sites themselves, electronic warfare aircraft would disrupt radars and other systems, and additional targets would be struck in order to support this mission, such as temporarily knocking out Iraq's electrical infrastructure. In addition to traditional SEAD systems the Persian Gulf War would also see the use of unconventional assets in knocking out Iraq's air defenses, in particular cruise missiles and F-117A Nighthawks, which would be used to attack sensitive targets.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: The opening shots of Operation Desert Storm were fired on January 17 in pursuit of defense-suppression: at 2:20AM local time Task Force Normandy, a group of twelve American helicopters, infiltrated into Iraq with the goal of destroying two early-warning radar sites. Three MH-53J Pave Lows guided nine AH-64 Apaches to the targets, which the gunships destroyed, opening a hole in the Iraqi IADS for the initial wave of aircraft to exploit. Two F-117As knocked out the Nukhayb IOC, further widening the gap, although their next attack against the H-3 SOC was unsuccessful. Among the first targets hit by F-117As attacking into Baghdad, bombs damaged the Al Taqaddum IOC and Talil SOC, shortly followed by Tomahawk strikes that disabled the electrical grid upon which Kari depended; reportedly some used special warheads filled with carbon fiber bundles to short-circuit the network. For the next several hours dozens of Coalition aircraft poured into Iraq. Those which weren't specifically directed to suppress air defenses had significant SEAD escort, including the use of BQM-74 drones and ADM-141 TALD decoys which would both "take the hit" for the manned airplanes and cause the Iraqis to reveal their position when they tracked or fired upon the lure. The first night's largest sortie was a joint US Air Force-Navy SEAD mission consisting of fifty aircraft designed to look like a bombing raid on Baghdad but which instead were fitted out with decoys, drones and HARMs to destroy air defenses protecting the city. With Kari degraded due to the disabling of the civilian electrical grid the Iraqi SAMs were forced to use their organic radar, producing what one pilot called "HARM Heaven". A total of 67 HARMs were fired over the course of twenty minutes, causing a significant reduction in Iraqi air defenses around the capital based on follow-up missions.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Throughout the rest of the first night additional air-defense targets were hit by Coalition aircraft with varying levels of success while strikes against other targets consisted of a high ratio of SEAD and escort to strike aircraft. This pace of attack against air-defense and other targets continued into the first day, involving a variety of different aircraft, and spread to targets in Kuwait. A-10 Thunderbolt IIs were used to attack early-warning radars and similar sites along the border in operations known humorously as "Wart Weaseling" (a play on the Wild Weasel and the A-10 "Warthog" nicknames). Unable to use Kari and fearful of turning their own radars on, Iraqi SAM operators resorted to firing their missiles with minimal or no guidance. Furthermore, units of the Iraqi Army – even the elite Republican Guard – possessed inadequate SAM defenses by NATO or Soviet standards. This allowed Coalition aircraft to attack them from the relative safety of higher altitudes.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: By the end of the first forty-eight hours of Desert Storm, the Coalition had achieved its goal of significantly degrading Kari, including the destruction of all air defenses in the south. Although the Iraqis would replace most destroyed radars and bring back many IOCs and SOCs to at least partial operation, this was done so in an unorganized manner, with the Coalition continuing to bomb any reactivated sites. In effect, combined with the failure of Iraq's air force to defend its airspace, the Coalition had gained air supremacy in the skies over Iraq from nearly the outset of the conflict.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Coalition aircraft conducting strategic bombing and interdiction inside Iraq were now free to operate at medium altitudes of and higher with no danger of SAM activity. This also put them beyond the effective range of most of Iraq's AAA pieces, which remained a threat. Baghdad's heavy AAA defenses also continued to make it a difficult target to attack, as Coalition forces found out during an attempted strike on January 19 against the Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center. A variety factors, including the threat of AAA and ballistic SAMs, resulted in the strike's failure and loss of two aircraft.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: By January 27, no C activity was detected at the SOC level by Coalition forces, and only limited activity at the IOC level. At the end of the conflict, the DIA estimated Kari was operating at 25% its original capacity, and that it would take at least ten years to rebuild the system and another five to retrain the personnel needed to operate it. In total, the SEAD campaign by the Coalition was an unequivocal success, allowing Coalition aircraft to fly at medium and high altitudes over Kuwait and Iraq with impunity. The only losses Coalition aircraft suffered to Iraqi air defenses after the first two days occurred when they operated at low altitudes, primarily conducting close air support or other missions to assist ground forces.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: The bombing campaign of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during mid-1999, dubbed Operation Allied Force, was an overall success for NATO forces, but the mission to suppress Yugoslav air defenses proved to be more difficult than prior operations during the Gulf War. SEAD operations for NATO were principally carried out by the US Air Force, with fifty F-16CJ Block 50 Fighting Falcons, and the US Navy and Marines, with 30 EA-6B Prowlers; additional support was provided by Italian and German Tornado ECRs, a purpose-developed SEAD model. Many NATO aircraft were furnished with new towed decoys designed to lure away any missiles fired at them, and reportedly for the first time cyberwarfare was used to target Yugoslav air defense computer systems.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: However, a number of deficiencies in NATO's SEAD operations were revealed during the course of the bombing campaign. The US Air Force had allowed its electronic warfare branch to atrophy in the years after the Gulf War, resulting in greater response times to engaging a SAM threat. Airspace restrictions and rules of engagement limited where NATO aircraft could fly and what targets they could hit, leaving some air defense systems untouched. Kosovo's mountainous terrain also made it difficult for NATO to locate and target Yugoslav air defenses, while at the same time the region's poor infrastructure limited where Yugoslav SAM and AAA sites could be placed. Furthermore, according to a post-conflict US intelligence report, Yugoslavia had a spy in NATO's headquarters in Brussels who in the early part of the conflict leaked flight plans and target details to the Yugoslav military, allowing Yugoslav military assets to be relocated to avoid detection; NATO responded by limiting the number of people with access to its plans, which appeared to be successful.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Yugoslavia had a much smaller IADS than Iraq during the Gulf War, but took greater steps at preserving it from NATO's bombing campaign. The Yugoslav integrated air defence system (IADS) was extensive, including underground command sites and buried landlines, which allowed for information to be shared between systems; thus, active radar in one area could target NATO aircraft for SAMs and AAA in another area with no active radar, further limiting NATO's ability to target air defences. By focusing on its operational survival, Yugoslav air defenses ceded a certain amount of air superiority to NATO forces. Yet the persistence of their credible SAM threat forced NATO to allocate greater resources to continued SEAD operations rather than conducting other missions, while Yugoslav AAA and MANPADS forced NATO aircraft to fly at or higher. NATO reportedly fired 743 HARMs during the course of the 78-day campaign, but could confirm the destruction of only 3 of the original 25 SA-6 batteries. At the same time, over 800 SAMs were fired by Yugoslav forces at NATO aircraft, including 477 SA-6s and 124 confirmed MANPADS, for the downing of only two aircraft and several more damaged. That one of the two aircraft shot down was an F-117A Nighthawk marked the first combat loss ever of a stealth aircraft and typified some of the issues NATO faced during the campaign.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: At the onset of the Iraq War, Iraq's IADS was a fraction of what it had been during the Gulf War, though it was still one of the densest defense networks in the world. Over 200 SAM systems were still operational, mainly the older SA-2s, SA-3s and SA-6s, along with over 2,000 MANPADS and large numbers of AA guns. Improvements had been made to Kari, including greater usage of fiber optic cables, and more advanced equipment such as GPS guidance jammers were acquired. In addition to the ADOC and four original SOCs, a fifth SOC was created in Baghdad and specifically assigned to defend Saddam's palaces, the Republican Guards, and key security facilities.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Still, the defense network was relatively outdated and thus unable to seriously challenge the Coalition's dominance of Iraqi airspace, which had not only succeeded in suppressing Iraqi defenses during the Gulf War but continued to do so during the enforcement of Iraqi no-fly zones. Starting on March 1, aggressive "enforcement" of the no-fly zones accounted for the destruction of as many as a third of Iraq's missile launchers and radars by the time the invasion commenced on March 20. Numerous aircraft, such as the Panavia Tornado fighter-bomber, penetrated Iraqi airspace to conduct bombing raids during the opening phase of the conflict, striking at Iraqi installations.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: During the course of the invasion, there were 1,660 reports of SAM launches and similar numbers of AAA firings, for the loss of very few aircraft. While Iraq largely failed to shoot down many Coalition aircraft, the sheer numbers of their air defenses still made them dangerous until the final stages of the invasion. This was true in particular for its large number of short-range missile and AAA weapons, which made low-altitude missions deadly and were harder to suppress. Where possible, Coalition forces conducted stand-off strikes from outside the range of these defenses. The unsuccessful 2003 attack on Karbala exemplifies the dangers faced by aircraft operating at low altitudes around air defenses.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Many Ukrainian air defence facilities were reportedly destroyed or damaged in the first days of the invasion by Russian air strikes. On 5 March 2022, the Russian Air Force (VVS) declared that it had achieved air superiority, 11 days after the beginning of the invasion, but not air supremacy. However, that same day, Russia lost at least ten aircraft. On 11 March 2022, retired United States Air Force Lieutenant General David Deptula stated in "The New York Times" that the Russian Air Force had not achieved air superiority, noting that supposedly vulnerable Ukrainian drones had continued to operate against Russian forces.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: While several early air strikes on Yavoriv in Western Ukraine were performed by Russian bombers, their munitions were firing from a distance while flying within Russian air space, rather than entering Ukrainian air space; on 13 March 2022, dozens of air-launched cruise missiles were launched from within Russia to reach Western Ukraine, because it was allegedly too dangerous for the Russian Air Force to fly over Ukrainian space due to Ukrainian air defenses. Ukrainian mid-range SAM sites forced planes to fly low, making them vulnerable to Stinger and other shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles, while a lack of training and flight hours for Russian pilots allegedly rendered them inexperienced for the type of close ground support missions typical of modern air forces. On 18 May 2022, near Izyum, a Russian Zhitel electronic warfare apparatus was detected, located, and disabled by Ukraine's ground and air forces.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: On 30 August 2022, Command of Ukrainian Air Force (KpsZSU) released a video of its MiG-29 jets firing AGM-88 HARM missiles against Russian air defenses, one day after an alleged attack on Russian radar site for S-400 SAM batteries near Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea. Earlier in the Summer, multiple Russian SAM batteries has been hit and the remains of AGM-88 missiles had been found on site. The U.S. government acknowledged the previously undisclosed transfer of AGM-88 missiles to Ukraine on August 8.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: There are also suspicions of M31A1 GMLRS guided rockets firing from M142 HIMARS rocket artillery been used by Ukrainian military against Russian air defense systems.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: The weapons most often associated with this mission are anti-radiation missiles (ARMs), which work by homing in on radio emission sources like radar antennae. These missiles are equipped with relatively small warheads, limiting collateral damage, but can easily destroy radar antennae and thus cripple an enemy's air defense system. Early examples of ARMs could be fooled by turning off the radar system, which would cease emitting radiation for the missile to track; more recent missiles are fitted with fire-control systems which "remember" where the source was and continue towards that location. Anti-radiation missiles proved particularly effective during the Vietnam War where, despite the small number carried relative to other munitions, they accounted for 46% of all SA-2 batteries destroyed.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: However, a weapon need not be designed specifically for SEAD missions to be used to damage or destroy a component of an air defense system. A Paveway LGB for example is not a SEAD-specific munition, but when used to destroy a radar antenna it still achieves the desired effect. The American AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon is a valuable SEAD weapon due to its fairly long standoff range which allows the launching aircraft to avoid being threatened by all but the longest-range missiles, and its relatively large area of destruction against lightly armored targets.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Possibly the most effective type of unguided ("dumb") weapon used during SEAD strikes are cluster bombs. This is due to the fact many SAM sites are dispersed over a fairly wide area (in order to increase the difficulty of inflicting serious damage on the battery) and the relative "softness" of the targets (unarmored missile launchers, exposed radar antennas, etc.). The Mk-20 Rockeye II anti-armor cluster munition and the CBU-87 general-purpose cluster munition are typical examples of these types of weapons.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Artillery is also used to conduct SEAD missions. After World War II, the combined arms nature of warfare meant an increased role in ground forces performing SEAD missions in support of air operations. During the Cold War the American military developed a joint definition of SEAD responsibilities, with the Army responsible for all SEAD missions within the range of observable fire and the Air Force for all missions further away. The Soviet Union placed less emphasis on using artillery to conduct SEAD missions, although where possible artillery would be used to clear a path for attack helicopters. Because of their superior range, rocket artillery such as MLRS are the ideal weapon for conducting SEAD operations.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: Loitering Munitions and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) play an increasingly vital role in conducting SEAD missions. Due to the dangerous nature of attacking air defenses, the use of UAVs can provide a more cost-effective and less risky method of conducting SEAD. This is especially true since the pilot is not directly at risk and so a commander may be more willing to sacrifice UAVs to accomplish the mission. The first UAVs used in the SEAD role occurred during the Vietnam War, when versions of the Lightning Bug were adapted to carry chaff and other electronic countermeasures. Modern examples of SEAD-specific loitering munitions include the IAI Harpy which loiters over areas with potential SAM activity, searches for SAM activity, and then crashes (with in-built warhead) into the target.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: , the main United States Air Force (USAF) SEAD aircraft is the F-16CJ Fighting Falcon following the retirement of the EF-111A Raven; while the United States Navy (USN) replaced the EA-6B Prowler with the Boeing EA-18G Growler. The Air Force and Navy in recent decades have emphasized multirole aircraft over dedicated single-role designs with aircraft such as the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-15E Strike Eagle capable of carrying the AGM-88 HARM and fulfilling the SEAD mission. The use of so-called "dumb planes" which lack the dedicated detection equipment of a true Wild Weasel is supposedly offset by their ability to carry a "smart missile" as well as perform a variety of missions besides SEAD, with a lower operating cost. However, there is concern that such platforms are less effective for this role because of the lack of specialized equipment, forcing them to employ expensive anti-radiation missiles in a less accurate and cost-effective manner. The advent of Fifth-generation fighters has seen somewhat of a return to dedicated role aircraft: while the F-22 Raptor is capable of carrying ground ordnance, the aircraft's primary mission is air superiority unlike the more balanced profile of the F-16 and F/A-18. The F-35 Lightning II is intended to fulfill the ground strike mission.


title: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses

text: In European NATO air forces, the SEAD mission falls mostly to German Air Force Tornado Electronic Combat and Reconnaissance variant (ECR), and Aeronautica Militare (AMI) Tornado ECRs. Tornado ECRs employ the AGM-88 HARM missile in this role. Some modern SEAD aircraft are modified to equip some level of offensive jamming equipment to aid in the suppression of hostile surface to air missile systems (SAMs). However, the vast majority of SEAD aircraft are only equipped with defensive jamming systems to aid in self-protection against hostile SAMs or fighter aircraft.


title: Angus MacLane

text: Angus MacLane (born April 13, 1975) is an American animator, storyboard artist, character designer, screenwriter, film director, and voice actor currently working at Pixar. He co-directed the film "Finding Dory" (2016) and made his solo feature directorial debut with the "Toy Story" spin-off film "Lightyear" (2022). MacLane is also a Lego enthusiast and created the CubeDudes building format and designed a LEGO WALL-E that has become an official set from The Lego Group.


title: Angus MacLane

text: Angus MacLane was born on April 13, 1975 in Riverside County, California but grew up in Portland, Oregon. He originally wanted to be a comic book artist but halfway through school switched to animation and hoped one day he could work at the Will Vinton Studios (now Laika) and would eventually go on to work for the studio before working for Pixar. In 1997, he received a bachelor of fine arts from Rhode Island School of Design.


title: Angus MacLane

text: He worked as an animator on every Pixar feature film from "A Bug's Life" through "Toy Story 3". He also worked in the character development on "Monsters, Inc." and "The Incredibles".


title: Angus MacLane

text: His work on "The Incredibles" gained him an Annie for Outstanding Achievement in Character Animation. After serving as Supervising Animator on "One Man Band", MacLane started working on the story team for Andrew Stanton's "WALL-E" and later moved up to Directing Animator. After animating a small scene for a side character named BURN-E, MacLane wanted to know what might happen to the character. He originally wanted BURN-E's story arc part of the actual film, but Stanton ended up wanting him to develop it into a short which eventually became "BURN-E", which can now be viewed on the DVD and Blu-ray releases of "WALL-E". For a short amount of time, he worked on the animation for "Up", and the animation on "Toy Story 3".


title: Angus MacLane

text: After "BURN-E", MacLane started to move further to directing and writing works in the studio with the "Toy Story Toon:" "Small Fry" and Pixar's first TV special "Toy Story of Terror!", for which he won an Annie for Outstanding Achievement in Directing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production. In addition, MacLane co-directed Pixar's 2016 film "Finding Dory" and directed the 2022 film "Lightyear".


title: Dick Vitale

text: Richard John Vitale (; born June 9, 1939), also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his 41-year tenure as a college basketball broadcaster for ESPN. He is known for catchphrases such as "This is awesome, baby!" and "diaper dandy" (outstanding freshman player), as well as his enthusiastic and colorful remarks during games. He has also written nine books, and appeared in several films.


title: Dick Vitale

text: Vitale was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and grew up in Garfield, New Jersey. He moved to East Paterson (now Elmwood Park) in his freshman year of high school. His father, John, was a piece work clothing press operator and had a second job as a security guard. His mother, Mae, worked in a factory as a seamstress and sewed coats until she suffered a stroke.


title: Dick Vitale

text: Vitale graduated from East Rutherford High School, and in 1963, he graduated from Seton Hall University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. He later earned a master's degree in education from Paterson State College.


title: Dick Vitale

text: Vitale took his first job as a coach at an elementary school in Garfield, New Jersey in 1958. Eventually he moved up to the high school level to become head coach at Garfield High School for one season, and then at East Rutherford High School (his alma mater), where he had a record of 131–47 from 1964 to 1971 and led his teams to two New Jersey state championships.


title: Dick Vitale

text: In 1971, Vitale moved to Rutgers University as an assistant coach under head coach Dick Lloyd. After two seasons there, he was hired in 1973 by the University of Detroit to become its head coach. Vitale took Detroit to the 32-team NCAA tournament in 1977. Vitale had a 78–30 record during his tenure at Detroit, which included a 21-game winning streak during the 1977 season. During that streak the Titans defeated the eventual champion Marquette, on the road, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Following the 1977 season, his fourth as Detroit head coach, Vitale was named the university's athletic director.


title: Dick Vitale

text: Vitale left the Titans and college basketball to coach the Detroit Pistons of the NBA in the 1978–79 Detroit Pistons season, leading them to a 30–52 (.366) record. Vitale was hospitalized with stress related stomach issues during his first season on the bench in Detroit as the team struggled. In his second year, on November 8, 1979, Pistons owner Bill Davidson came to Vitale's house and told him that the Pistons were making a coaching change. It was twelve games into the 1979–80 Detroit Pistons season, and with the Pistons off to a 4–8 start, Vitale was fired.


title: Dick Vitale

text: A significant reason for Vitale's downfall with the Pistons was the maneuver that brought Bob McAdoo to Detroit. M.L. Carr's decision to sign with Boston as a free agent in 1979 spawned a transaction in which the Pistons, with Vitale in charge of player personnel, entitled to compensation for Carr, demanded McAdoo, whom the Celtics were looking to unload due to injuries. The Pistons sent two 1980 first-round draft picks (in addition to Carr) to the Celtics in exchange for McAdoo in a combination free agent signing/trade. The Pistons would have the worst season in franchise history in 1979–80, and their pick would become the first overall pick in the 1980 draft. Boston then traded the two picks to the Warriors (who selected Joe Barry Carroll with the number 1 pick and Rickey Brown with the number 13 pick) in exchange for Robert Parish and the number 3 pick (Kevin McHale).


title: Dick Vitale

text: Following his departure as coach of the Detroit Pistons, Scotty Connal gave Vitale his first TV opportunity at the then fledgling ESPN cable network. His first reaction to the job of broadcaster was "Absolutely no way. I know nothing about TV. I want to get back to where I belong and my spirit belongs." He was reluctant to accept the position but his wife Lorraine told him to "go on TV and have some fun", so Vitale accepted on a temporary basis until another coaching job became available. He called ESPN's first college basketball game on December 5, 1979, when DePaul defeated Wisconsin 90–77. His first play-by-play partner was Joe Boyle.


title: Dick Vitale

text: Vitale was not a natural at first for broadcasting. He missed his first-ever production meeting when he was walking the streets of Chicago. Also, he would talk while the producers were talking to him through his earpiece, during commercials, and while the play-by-play man was talking. Vitale himself was not sure if broadcasting would fit him. Connal, who had hired him, told him, "You have a quality we can't teach." Vitale did not understand this until many people wanted his autograph at the 1983 Final Four. He credits a lot of his success to working with Jim Simpson at the beginning of his career.


title: Dick Vitale

text: In 1985, after the American Broadcasting Company acquired ESPN, Vitale also began doing broadcasts on the ABC network.


title: Dick Vitale

text: In 1999, Vitale was featured in a series of thirty-second promo shorts for "Hoops Malone". The shorts, which aired in heavy rotation on ESPN, were presented as a sitcom featuring Vitale, George Gervin and others, including a puppet called "O'Hoolix". ESPN promoted "Hoops" with banners and other marketing premiums, with the idea of generating buzz about the show, but no actual episodes were ever produced. Though this led to an offer for Vitale to do an actual sitcom, he turned down the opportunity.


title: Dick Vitale

text: In December 2002, Vitale called a St. Vincent – St. Mary's–Oak Hill Academy prep game, featuring then high school phenom LeBron James. He announced the game with Dan Shulman and NBA great Bill Walton.


title: Dick Vitale

text: In February 2015, ESPN removed Vitale from covering Duke-UNC basketball. He had covered every Duke-UNC game televised by ESPN since 1979.


title: Dick Vitale

text: Vitale is a voter on the AP Top 25 men's basketball polls, the annual Naismith Award and the John Wooden Award.


title: Dick Vitale

text: Vitale called his first NBA game on television since the 1984 NBA playoffs, along with Dan Shulman, on January 7, 2009 when the Miami Heat played the Denver Nuggets as ESPN swapped its NBA and NCAA crews. During ESPN's first incarnation covering the NBA, he regularly covered games.


title: Dick Vitale

text: As of 2009, Vitale had called close to a thousand games. Vitale, a color commentator, is primarily paired with play-by-play announcers Mike Patrick, primarily those in the ACC games; and Dan Shulman for Saturday Primetime and other non-ACC games. During the postseason, he appears as an in-studio analyst with host Rece Davis and fellow analysts Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps, Hubert Davis, and Bob Knight. Previously, he has been paired with Keith Jackson, Roger Twibell, and Brent Musburger for ABC as well as Jim Simpson, Tim Brando, Mike Tirico, Dave O'Brien, Sean McDonough and Brad Nessler. He worked in the studio with Bob Ley, John Saunders, Tirico, and Chris Fowler as well as Jim Valvano.


title: Dick Vitale

text: Dick Vitale lent his name, voice and likeness to the 1994 Sega Genesis college basketball video game, "Dick Vitale's "Awesome, Baby!" College Hoops", developed and sold by Time Warner Interactive and only released in the United States. Later, Vitale and Brad Nessler provided the commentator voices for EA Sports' NCAA Basketball (formerly NCAA March Madness) video game series until its 2010 discontinuation.


title: Dick Vitale

text: In 2004, Vitale released a descriptive autobiography co-written with Dick Weiss, entitled "Living a Dream". The book has several thoughts and comments on his days with the Pistons and ESPN, and memories of former NC State basketball Coach Jim Valvano.


title: Dick Vitale

text: Vitale has appeared in commercials for DiGiorno pizza, Oberto beef jerky, the Airborne Athletics basketball training device Dr. Dish, GEICO and Hooters restaurants.


title: Dick Vitale

text: Appearing in early 1990s Taco Bell TV ads promoting the 7-layer burrito, Vitale exclaimed, "It's 'Sevendipity,' baby !!


title: Dick Vitale

text: In 1988, Vitale had a cameo appearance as a baseball color commentator, sharing the crowded broadcast booth with Curt Gowdy, Jim Palmer, Dick Enberg, Mel Allen, Tim McCarver and Joyce Brothers in "". He guest starred on "The Cosby Show" along with friend Jim Valvano as furniture movers in the eighth-season episode "". Other film appearances have generally been Vitale playing himself and commentating the fictional games occurring in those films.


title: Dick Vitale

text: Vitale married Lorraine McGrath in 1971. The couple have two daughters, Terri and Sherri, and five grandchildren. He has lived in Lakewood Ranch, Florida in the greater Tampa Bay area since the 1990s and has become a well-known fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Lightning, and Rays. He is a Roman Catholic.


title: Dick Vitale

text: In August 2021, Vitale announced that he was undergoing treatment to remove melanoma that had been discovered by doctors. In October of the same year, Vitale also announced that his doctors had diagnosed him with lymphoma which he would seek treatment to combat. In January 2022, ESPN announced Vitale would not commentate any more college basketball games that season.


title: Siege of Petersburg

text: The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a classic military siege, in which a city is usually surrounded and all supply lines are cut off, nor was it strictly limited to actions against Petersburg. The campaign consisted of nine months of trench warfare in which Union forces commanded by Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Petersburg unsuccessfully and then constructed trench lines that eventually extended over from the eastern outskirts of Richmond, Virginia, to around the eastern and southern outskirts of Petersburg. Petersburg was crucial to the supply of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army and the Confederate capital of Richmond. Numerous raids were conducted and battles fought in attempts to cut off the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. Many of these battles caused the lengthening of the trench lines.


title: Siege of Petersburg

text: Lee finally gave into the pressure and abandoned both cities in April 1865, leading to his retreat and surrender at Appomattox Court House. The siege of Petersburg foreshadowed the trench warfare that was common in World War I, earning it a prominent position in military history. It also featured the war's largest concentration of African-American troops, who suffered heavy casualties at such engagements as the Battle of the Crater and Chaffin's Farm.


title: Siege of Petersburg

text: In March 1864, Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to lieutenant general and was given command of the Union Army. He devised a coordinated strategy to apply pressure on the Confederacy from many points, something President Abraham Lincoln had urged his generals to do from the beginning of the war. Grant put Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman in immediate command of all forces in the West and moved his own headquarters to be with the Army of the Potomac (still commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade) in Virginia, where he intended to maneuver Lee's army to a decisive battle; his secondary objective was to capture Richmond (the capital of the Confederacy), but Grant knew that the latter would happen automatically once the former was accomplished. His coordinated strategy called for Grant and Meade to attack Lee from the north, while Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler drove toward Richmond from the southeast; Maj. Gen. Franz Sigel to control the Shenandoah Valley; Sherman to invade Georgia, defeat Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, and capture Atlanta; Brig. Gens. George Crook and William W. Averell to operate against railroad supply lines in West Virginia; and Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks to capture Mobile, Alabama.


title: Siege of Petersburg

text: Most of these initiatives failed, often because of the assignment of generals to Grant for political rather than military reasons. Butler's Army of the James bogged down against inferior forces under Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard before Richmond in the Bermuda Hundred Campaign. Sigel was soundly defeated at the Battle of New Market in May and soon afterward he was replaced by Maj. Gen. David Hunter. Banks was distracted by the Red River Campaign and failed to move on Mobile. However, Crook and Averell were able to cut the last railway linking Virginia and Tennessee, and Sherman's Atlanta Campaign was a success, although it dragged on through the fall.