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Lapu-Lapu

Lapu-Lapu (Baybayin: [?][?][?][?]

Name

There had been many folk accounts surrounding Lapu-Lapu's origin. One oral tradition is that the Sugbuanons of Opong was once ruled by datu named Mangal and later succeeded by his son named Lapu-Lapu. Another is from oral chronicles from the reign of the last king of Cebu, Rajah Tupas (d. 1565). This was compiled and written in Baybayin in the book Aginid, Bayok sa Atong Tawarik ("Glide on, Odes to Our History") in 1952 by Jovito Abellana. The chronicle records the founding of the Rajahnate of Cebu by a certain Sri Lumay (also known as Rajamuda Lumaya), who was a prince from the Hindu Chola dynasty of Sumatra. His sons, Sri Alho and Sri Ukob, ruled the neighboring communities of Sialo and Nahalin, respectively. The islands they were in were collectively known as Pulua Kang Dayang or Kangdaya (literally "[the islands] of the lady"). Sri Lumay was noted for his strict policies in defending against Moro raiders and slavers from Mindanao. His use of scorched earth tactics to repel invaders gave rise to the name Kang Sri Lumayng Sugbo (literally "that of Sri Lumay's great fire") to the town, which was later shortened to Sugbo ("conflagration"). Upon his death in a battle against the raiders, Sri Lumay was succeeded by his youngest son, Sri Bantug, who ruled from the region of Singhapala (literally "lion city"), now Mabolo in modern Cebu City. Sri Bantug died of a disease during an epidemic and was succeeded by his son Rajah Humabon (also known as Sri Humabon or Rajah Humabara). During Humabon's reign, the region had become an important trading center. The harbors of Sugbo became known colloquially as sinibuayng hingpit ("the place for trading"), shortened to sibu or sibo ("to trade"), from which the modern name "Cebu" originates. According to the epic Aginid, this was the period in which Lapu-Lapu (as Lapulapu Dimantag) was first recorded as arriving from Borneo. He asked Humabon for a place to settle, and the king offered him the region of Mandawili (now Mandaue), including the island known as Opong (or Opon), hoping that Lapu-Lapu's people would cultivate the land. They were successful in this, and the influx of farm produce from Mandawili enriched the trade port of Sugbo further. The relationship between Lapu-Lapu and Humabon later deteriorated when Lapu-Lapu turned to piracy. He began raiding merchant ships passing the island of Opong, affecting trade in Sugbo. The island thus earned the name Mangatang ("those who lie in wait"), later evolving to "Mactan". CANNOTANSWER

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Dan Quayle

Quayle was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Martha Corinne (nee Pulliam) and James Cline Quayle. He has sometimes been incorrectly referred to as James Danforth Quayle III. In his memoirs, he points out that his birth name was simply James Danforth Quayle. The name Quayle originates from the Isle of Man, where his great-grandfather was born.

Personal life

Quayle lives with his wife, Marilyn Quayle in Paradise Valley, Arizona. Quayle authored a 1994 memoir, Standing Firm, which became a bestseller. His second book, The American Family: Discovering the Values that Make Us Strong, was published in 1996 and a third book, Worth Fighting For, in 1999. Quayle writes a nationally syndicated newspaper column, serves on a number of corporate boards, chairs several business ventures, and was chairman of Campaign America, a national political action committee. In 1999, Dan Quayle joined Cerberus Capital Management, a multibillion-dollar private-equity firm, where he serves as chairman of the company's Global Investments division. As chairman of the international advisory board of Cerberus Capital Management, he recruited former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney, who would have been installed as chairman if Cerberus had successfully acquired Air Canada. In early 2014 he traveled to Belfast, Northern Ireland, in an attempt to speed approval for a deal where Cerberus acquired nearly PS1.3 billion in Northern Ireland loans from the Republic of Ireland's National Asset Management Agency. That deal is being investigated by the Irish government, and Quayle's involvement is being investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York as potentially a "very serious" misuse of the vice president's office. Quayle is an Honorary Trustee Emeritus of the Hudson Institute and is president of Quayle and Associates. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors of Heckmann Corporation, a water-sector company, since the company's inception and serves as Chairman of the company's Compensation and Nominating & Governance Committees. Quayle is a director of Aozora Bank, Tokyo, Japan. He has also been on the board of directors of other companies, including K2 Sports, Amtran Inc., Central Newspapers Inc., BTC Inc. and Carvana Co. His son Ben Quayle was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2010, but failed to win re-election in 2012. CANNOTANSWER

James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, Quayle represented Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 to 1981 and in the U.S. Senate from 1981 to 1989. A native of Indianapolis, Quayle spent most of his childhood in Paradise Valley, a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona. He married Marilyn Tucker in 1972 and obtained his J.D. degree from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1974. He and Marilyn practiced law in Huntington, Indiana, before his election to the United States House of Representatives in 1976. In 1980, he was elected to the U.S. Senate. In 1988, vice president and Republican presidential nominee George H. W. Bush chose Quayle as his running mate. His vice presidential debate against Lloyd Bentsen was notable for Bentsen's "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" quip. The Bush–Quayle ticket nevertheless defeated the Democratic ticket of Michael Dukakis and Bentsen, and Quayle became vice president in January 1989. During his tenure, Quayle made official visits to 47 countries and was appointed chairman of the National Space Council. As vice president, he developed a reputation for making gaffes. He secured re-nomination for vice president in 1992, but Democrat Bill Clinton and his running mate Al Gore defeated the Bush–Quayle ticket. In 1994, Quayle published his memoir, Standing Firm. He declined to run for president in 1996 because of phlebitis. He sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, but withdrew his campaign early on and supported the eventual nominee, George W. Bush. He joined Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm, in 1999. Since leaving office, Quayle has remained active in the Republican Party, including making several presidential endorsements in 2000, 2012, and 2016. Early life, education, and career Quayle was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Martha Corinne (née Pulliam) and James Cline Quayle. He has sometimes been incorrectly referred to as James Danforth Quayle III. In his memoir he points out that his birth name was simply James Danforth Quayle. The name Quayle originates from the Isle of Man, where his great-grandfather was born. His maternal grandfather, Eugene C. Pulliam, was a wealthy and influential publishing magnate who founded Central Newspapers, Inc., and owned more than a dozen major newspapers, such as The Arizona Republic and The Indianapolis Star. James C. Quayle moved his family to Arizona in 1955 to run a branch of the family's publishing empire. After spending much of his youth in Arizona, Quayle returned to his native Indiana and graduated from Huntington North High School in Huntington in 1965. He then matriculated at DePauw University, where he received his B.A. degree in political science in 1969, was a 3-year letterman for the university's golf team (1967–1969) and a member of the fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon (Psi Phi chapter). After graduation, Quayle joined the Indiana National Guard and served from 1969 to 1975, reaching the rank of sergeant; his joining meant that he was not subject to the draft. In 1970, while serving in the Guard, Quayle enrolled at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. He was admitted under a program for students who could demonstrate "special factors" as his grades did not meet the regular admission standards. In 1974, Quayle earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree. At Indiana University, he met his future wife, Marilyn, who was taking night classes at the same law school at the time. Quayle became an investigator for the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Indiana Attorney General in July 1971. Later that year, he became an administrative assistant to Governor Edgar Whitcomb. From 1973 to 1974, he was the Director of the Inheritance Tax Division of the Indiana Department of Revenue. After graduating from law school in 1974, Quayle worked as associate publisher of his family's newspaper, the Huntington Herald-Press. Congressional tenure In 1976, Quayle was elected to the House of Representatives from Indiana's 4th congressional district, defeating eight-term incumbent Democrat J. Edward Roush by a 55%-to-45% margin. He was reelected in 1978, 64% to 34%. In November 1978, Congressman Leo Ryan of California invited Quayle to accompany him on a delegation to investigate unsafe conditions at the Jonestown settlement in Guyana, but Quayle was unable to participate. The decision likely saved Quayle's life, because Ryan and his entourage were subsequently murdered at the airstrip in Jonestown as the party tried to escape the massacre. In 1980, at age 33, Quayle became the youngest person ever elected to the Senate from the state of Indiana, defeating three-term incumbent Democrat Birch Bayh with 54% of the vote. Making Indiana political history again, Quayle was reelected to the Senate in 1986 with the largest margin ever achieved to that date by a candidate in a statewide Indiana race, taking 61% of the vote against his Democratic opponent, Jill Long. In 1986, Quayle was criticized for championing the cause of Daniel Anthony Manion, a candidate for a federal appellate judgeship, who was in law school one year ahead of Quayle. The American Bar Association had evaluated Manion as "qualified/unqualified", its lower passing grade. Manion was nominated for the Seventh Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals by President Ronald Reagan on February 21, 1986, and confirmed by the Senate on June 26, 1986. Vice presidency (1989–1993) 1988 campaign On August 16, 1988, at the Republican convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, George H. W. Bush chose Quayle to be his running mate in the 1988 United States presidential election. The choice immediately became controversial. Outgoing President Reagan praised Quayle for his "energy and enthusiasm". Press coverage of the convention was dominated by questions about "the three Quayle problems". The questions involved his military service, a golf holiday in Florida where he and several other politicians shared a house with lobbyist Paula Parkinson, and whether he had enough experience to be vice president. Quayle seemed at times rattled and at other times uncertain or evasive as he responded to questions. Delegates to the convention generally blamed television and newspapers for the focus on Quayle's problems, but Bush's staff said they thought Quayle had mishandled the questions about his military record, leaving questions dangling. Although Bush was trailing by up to 15 points in public opinion polls taken before the convention, in August the Bush–Quayle ticket took the lead, which it did not relinquish for the rest of the campaign. In the October 1988 vice-presidential debate, Quayle debated Democratic candidate Lloyd Bentsen. During the debate, Quayle's strategy was to criticize Dukakis as too liberal. When the debate turned to Quayle's relatively limited experience in public life, he compared the length of his congressional service (12 years) with that of President John F. Kennedy (14 years); Kennedy had less experience than his rivals during the 1960 presidential nomination. It was a factual comparison, although Quayle's advisers cautioned beforehand that it could be used against him. Bentsen's response—"I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy"—subsequently became a part of the political lexicon. The Bush–Quayle ticket won the November election by a 53–46 percent margin, sweeping 40 states and capturing 426 electoral votes. He was sworn in on January 20, 1989. Quayle cast no tie-breaking votes as president of the Senate, becoming only the second vice-president (after Charles W. Fairbanks) not to do so while serving a complete term. Tenure During his vice presidency, Quayle made official trips to 47 countries. Bush named Quayle head of the Council on Competitiveness and the first chairman of the National Space Council. As head of the NSC he called for greater efforts to protect Earth against the danger of potential asteroid impacts. After a briefing by Lt. General Daniel O. Graham, (USA Ret.), Max Hunter, and Jerry Pournelle, Quayle sponsored the development of an experimental Single Stage to Orbit X-Program, which resulted in the building of the McDonnell Douglas DC-X. Quayle has since described the vice presidency as "an awkward office. You're president of the Senate. You're not even officially part of the executive branch—you're part of the legislative branch. You're paid by the Senate, not by the executive branch. And it's the president's agenda. It's not your agenda. You're going to disagree from time to time, but you salute and carry out the orders the best you can". Murphy Brown On May 19, 1992, Quayle gave a speech titled Reflections on Urban America to the Commonwealth Club of California on the subject of the Los Angeles riots. In the speech he blamed the violence on a decay of moral values and family structure in American society. In an aside, he cited the single mother title character in the television program Murphy Brown as an example of how popular culture contributes to this "poverty of values", saying, "It doesn't help matters when prime-time TV has Murphy Brown—a character who supposedly epitomizes today's intelligent, highly paid, professional woman—mocking the importance of fathers, by bearing a child alone, and calling it just another 'lifestyle choice'." The "Murphy Brown speech" became one of the most memorable of the 1992 campaign. Long after the outcry had ended, the comment continued to have an effect on U.S. politics. Stephanie Coontz, a professor of family history and the author of several books and essays about the history of marriage, said that this brief remark by Quayle about Murphy Brown "kicked off more than a decade of outcries against the 'collapse of the family. In 2002, Candice Bergen, the actress who played Brown, said "I never have really said much about the whole episode, which was endless, but his speech was a perfectly intelligent speech about fathers not being dispensable and nobody agreed with that more than I did." Others interpreted it differently; singer Tanya Tucker was widely quoted as saying "Who the hell is Dan Quayle to come after single mothers?" Gaffes Throughout his time as vice president, Quayle was widely ridiculed in the media and by many in the general public, both in the U.S. and overseas, as an intellectual lightweight and an incompetent individual. Contributing greatly to the perception of Quayle's incompetence was his tendency to make public statements that were either impossible ("I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future"), self-contradictory ("I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy, but that could change"), self-contradictory and confused ("The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. ... No, not our nation's, but in World War II. I mean, we all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century, but in this century's history"), or just confused (such as the comments he made in a May 1989 address to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). Commenting on the UNCF's slogan—which is "a mind is a terrible thing to waste"—Quayle said, "You take the UNCF model that what a waste it is to lose one's mind or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is"). On June 15, 1992, Quayle altered 12-year-old student William Figueroa's correct spelling of "potato" to "potatoe" at the Muñoz Rivera Elementary School spelling bee in Trenton, New Jersey. He was the subject of widespread ridicule for his error. According to The New York Times and Quayle's memoirs, he was relying on cards provided by the school, which Quayle says included the misspelling. Quayle said he was uncomfortable with the version he gave, but did so because he decided to trust the school's incorrect written materials instead of his own judgment. 1992 campaign In the 1992 election, Bush and Quayle were challenged in their bid for reelection by the Democratic ticket of Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton and Tennessee Senator Al Gore and the independent ticket of Texas businessman Ross Perot and retired Vice Admiral James Stockdale. As Bush lagged in the polls in the weeks preceding the August 1992 Republican National Convention, some Republican strategists (led by Secretary of State James Baker) viewed Quayle as a liability to the ticket and pushed for his replacement. Quayle ultimately survived the challenge and secured renomination. During the 1992 presidential campaign, Quayle told the news media that he believed homosexuality was a choice, and "the wrong choice". Quayle faced off against Gore and Stockdale in the vice presidential debate on October 13, 1992. He attempted to avoid the one-sided outcome of his debate with Bentsen four years earlier by staying on the offensive. Quayle criticized Gore's book Earth in the Balance with specific page references, though his claims were subsequently criticized by the liberal group FAIR for inaccuracy. In Quayle's closing argument, he sharply asked voters, "Do you really believe Bill Clinton will tell the truth?" and "Do you trust Bill Clinton to be your president?" Gore and Stockdale talked more about the policies and philosophies they espoused. Republican loyalists were largely relieved and pleased with Quayle's performance, and his camp attempted to portray it as an upset triumph against a veteran debater, but post-debate polls were mixed on whether Gore or Quayle had won. It ultimately proved to be a minor factor in the election, which Bush and Quayle lost, 168 electoral votes to 370. Post–vice presidency (1993–present) Initial activities In 1993, Quayle became the trustee of the Hudson Institute. From 1993 to January 1999, he served on the board of Central Newspapers, Inc., and from 1995 until January 1999, he headed the Campaign America political action committee. Quayle authored a 1994 memoir, Standing Firm, which became a bestseller. Quayle's second book, The American Family: Discovering the Values That Make Us Strong, was co-authored with Diane Medved and published in 1996. He later published his third book Worth Fighting For, in 1999. Quayle moved to Arizona in 1996. He considered but decided against running for governor of Indiana in 1996, and decided against running for the 1996 Republican presidential nomination, citing health problems related to phlebitis. In 1997 and 1998, Quayle was a "distinguished visiting professor of international studies" at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. 2000 presidential campaign During a January 1999 appearance on Larry King Live, Quayle said he would run for president in 2000. On January 28, 1999, he officially created an exploratory committee. On April 14, 1999, at a rally held at his alma mater Huntington North High School's gymnasium, Quayle officially launched his campaign for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination. In July 1999, he published his book Worth Fighting For. During campaign appearances, Quayle criticized fellow candidate George W. Bush. Early on, he criticized Bush's use of the term "compassionate conservative". Quayle finished eighth in the August 1999 Ames Straw Poll. He withdrew from the race the next month and supported Bush. Subsequent activities Quayle, then working as an investment banker in Phoenix, was mentioned as a candidate for governor of Arizona before the 2002 election, but declined to run. On January 31, 2011, Quayle wrote a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to commute Jonathan Pollard's sentence. In December 2011, Quayle endorsed Mitt Romney for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. In the 2016 presidential election, Quayle endorsed Jeb Bush. After Bush failed to win the nomination, Quayle endorsed Donald Trump; he was later seen visiting with Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan before Trump's inauguration. The Dan Quayle Center and Museum, in Huntington, Indiana, features information on Quayle and all U.S. vice presidents. Quayle is an Honorary Trustee Emeritus of the Hudson Institute and president of Quayle and Associates. He has also been a member of the board of directors of Heckmann Corporation, a water-sector company, since the company's inception and serves as chair of the company's Compensation and Nominating & Governance Committees. Quayle is a director of Aozora Bank, based in Tokyo, Japan. He has also been on the boards of directors of other companies, including K2 Sports, AmTran Inc., Central Newspapers Inc., BTC Inc. and Carvana Co. According to the book Peril, by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, Quayle played a central role in advising Vice President Mike Pence to certify the 2020 United States presidential election as per the Senate rules. Quayle attended President Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20, 2021. Cerberus Capital Management In 1999, Quayle joined Cerberus Capital Management, a multibillion-dollar private-equity firm, where he serves as chair of the company's Global Investments division. As chair of the international advisory board of Cerberus Capital Management, he recruited former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney, who would have been installed as chair if Cerberus had acquired Air Canada. In early 2014, Quayle traveled to Belfast, Northern Ireland, in an attempt to speed approval for a deal in which Cerberus acquired nearly £1.3 billion in Northern Ireland loans from the Republic of Ireland's National Asset Management Agency. The Irish government is investigating the deal, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York are investigating Quayle's involvement as a potentially "very serious" misuse of the vice president's office. As of December 2018, Quayle served as chair of Global Investments at Cerberus. Personal life Quayle lives with his wife, Marilyn Quayle, in Paradise Valley, Arizona. They married in November 1972 and have three children: Tucker, Benjamin, and Corinne. Benjamin Quayle served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013, representing Arizona's 3rd congressional district. Electoral history Published material Standing Firm: A Vice-Presidential Memoir, HarperCollins, May 1994. Hardcover. ; mass market paperback, May 1995; ; limited edition, 1994. . The American Family: Discovering the Values That Make Us Strong (with Diane Medved), Harpercollins, April 1996. (hardcover). (paperback). Worth Fighting For, W Publishing Group, July 1999. . See also Footnotes Further reading Richard F. Fenno Jr., The Making of a Senator: Dan Quayle, Congressional Quarterly Press, 1989. . online free to borrow What a Waste It Is to Lose One's Mind: The Unauthorized Autobiography of Dan Quayle, Quayle Quarterly (published by Rose Communications), April 1992, . Joe Queenan, Imperial Caddy: The Rise of Dan Quayle in America and the Decline and Fall of Practically Everything Else, Hyperion Books; October 1992 (1st edition). . External links Campaign contributions made by Dan Quayle "Reflections on Urban America" speech to the Commonwealth Club of California ("Murphy Brown speech"): Transcript, Audio List of Quayle quotations Another list of Quayle quotations Vice Presidential Museum at the Dan Quayle Center VP Quayle Receives DePauw's McNaughton Medal for Public Service; October 26, 1990 Genealogy of the family of J. Danforth Quayle Ubben Lecture at DePauw University; March 31, 2015 |- |- |- |- |- Category:1947 births Category:1988 United States vice-presidential candidates Category:1992 United States vice-presidential candidates Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:20th-century American lawyers Category:20th-century American male writers Category:20th-century American memoirists Category:20th-century American politicians Category:20th-century vice presidents of the United States Category:21st-century American businesspeople Category:American investors Category:American people of Manx descent Category:Arizona Republicans Category:Candidates in the 2000 United States presidential election Category:Cerberus Capital Management Category:Christians from Arizona Category:Christians from Indiana Category:DePauw Tigers men's golfers Category:George H. W. Bush administration cabinet members Category:Indiana National Guard personnel Category:Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law alumni Category:Indiana lawyers Category:Living people Category:People from Huntington, Indiana Category:People from Paradise Valley, Arizona Category:Politicians from Indianapolis Category:Presbyterian Church in America members Category:Pulliam family Category:Quayle family Category:Republican Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Category:Republican Party United States senators from Indiana Category:Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana Category:Republican Party vice presidents of the United States Category:United States Army soldiers Category:Vice presidents of the United States Category:Writers from Arizona Category:Writers from Indianapolis

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Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei (Chinese: Ai Wei Wei ; pinyin: Ai Weiwei, English pronunciation ; born 28 August 1957 in Beijing) is a Chinese contemporary artist and activist. His father's (Ai Qing) original surname was written Jiang (Jiang ). Ai collaborated with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron as the artistic consultant on the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics.

Tax case

In June 2011, the Beijing Local Taxation Bureau demanded a total of over 12 million yuan (US$1.85 million) from Beijing Fa Ke Cultural Development Ltd. in unpaid taxes and fines, and accorded three days to appeal the demand in writing. According to Ai's wife, Beijing Fa Ke Cultural Development Ltd. has hired two Beijing lawyers as defense attorneys. Ai's family state that Ai is "neither the chief executive nor the legal representative of the design company, which is registered in his wife's name." Offers of donations poured in from Ai's fans across the world when the fine was announced. Eventually an online loan campaign was initiated on 4 November 2011, and close to 9 million RMB was collected within ten days, from 30,000 contributions. Notes were folded into paper planes and thrown over the studio walls, and donations were made in symbolic amounts such as 8964 (4 June 1989, Tiananmen Massacre) or 512 (12 May 2008, Sichuan earthquake). To thank creditors and acknowledge the contributions as loans, Ai designed and issued loan receipts to all who participated in the campaign. Funds raised from the campaign were used as collateral, required by law for an appeal on the tax case. Lawyers acting for Ai submitted an appeal against the fine in January 2012; the Chinese government subsequently agreed to conduct a review. In June 2012, the court heard the tax appeal case. Ai's wife, Lu Qing, the legal representative of the design company, attended the hearing. Lu was accompanied by several lawyers and an accountant, but the witnesses they had requested to testify, including Ai, were prevented from attending a court hearing. Ai asserts that the entire matter - including the 81 days he spent in jail in 2011 - is intended to suppress his provocations. Ai said he had no illusions as to how the case would turn out, as he believes the court will protect the government's own interests. On 20 June, hundreds of Ai's supporters gathered outside the Chaoyang District Court in Beijing despite a small army of police officers, some of whom videotaped the crowd and led several people away. On 20 July, Ai's tax appeal was rejected in court. The same day Ai's studio released "The Fake Case" which tracks the status and history of this case including a timeline and the release of official documents. On 27 September, the court upheld the 2.4 million tax evasion fine. Ai had previously deposited 1.33 million in a government-controlled account in order to appeal. Ai said he will not pay the remainder because he does not recognize the charge. In October 2012, authorities revoked the license of Beijing Fa Ke Cultural Development Ltd. for failing to re-register, an annual requirement by the administration. The company was not able to complete this procedure as its materials and stamps were confiscated by the government. CANNOTANSWER

Ai Weiwei (, ; born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been openly critical of the Chinese Government's stance on democracy and human rights. He investigated government corruption and cover-ups, in particular the Sichuan schools corruption scandal following the collapse of "tofu-dreg schools" in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. In 2011, Ai Weiwei was arrested at Beijing Capital International Airport on 3 April, for "economic crimes". He was detained for 81 days without charge. Ai Weiwei emerged as a vital instigator in Chinese cultural development, an architect of Chinese modernism, and one of the nation's most vocal political commentators. Ai Weiwei encapsulates political conviction and his personal poetry in his many sculptures, photographs, and public works. In doing this, he makes use of Chinese art forms to display Chinese political and social issues. After being allowed to leave China in 2015, he has lived in Berlin, Germany, in Cambridge, UK, with his family, and in Portugal. Life Early life and work Ai's father was the Chinese poet Ai Qing, who was denounced during the Anti-Rightist Movement. In 1958, the family was sent to a labour camp in Beidahuang, Heilongjiang, when Ai was one year old. They were subsequently exiled to Shihezi, Xinjiang in 1961, where they lived for 16 years. Upon Mao Zedong's death and the end of the Cultural Revolution, the family returned to Beijing in 1976. In 1978, Ai enrolled in the Beijing Film Academy and studied animation. In 1978, he was one of the founders of the early avant garde art group the "Stars", together with Ma Desheng, Wang Keping, Mao Lizi, Huang Rui, Li Shuang, Ah Cheng and Qu Leilei. The group disbanded in 1983, yet Ai participated in regular Stars group shows, The Stars: Ten Years, 1989 (Hanart Gallery, Hong Kong and Taipei), and a retrospective exhibition in Beijing in 2007: Origin Point (Today Art Museum, Beijing). Life in the United States From 1981 to 1993, he lived in the United States. He was among the first generation of students to study abroad following China's reform in 1980, being one of the 161 students to take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) in 1981. For the first few years, Ai lived in Philadelphia and San Francisco. He studied English at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Berkeley. Later, he moved to New York City. He studied briefly at Parsons School of Design. Ai attended the Art Students League of New York from 1983 to 1986, where he studied with Bruce Dorfman, Knox Martin and Richard Pousette-Dart. He later dropped out of school and made a living out of drawing street portraits and working odd jobs. During this period, he gained exposure to the works of Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, and Jasper Johns, and began creating conceptual art by altering readymade objects. Ai befriended beat poet Allen Ginsberg while living in New York, following a chance meeting at a poetry reading where Ginsberg read out several poems about China. Ginsberg had traveled to China and met with Ai's father, the noted poet Ai Qing, and consequently Ginsberg and Ai became friends. When he was living in the East Village (from 1983 to 1993), Ai carried a camera with him all the time and would take pictures of his surroundings wherever he was. The resulting collection of photos were later selected and is now known as the New York Photographs. At the same time, Ai became fascinated by blackjack card games and frequented Atlantic City casinos. He is still regarded in gambling circles as a top tier professional blackjack player according to an article published on blackjackchamp.com. Return to China In 1993, Ai returned to China after his father became ill. He helped establish the experimental artists' Beijing East Village and co-published a series of three books about this new generation of artists with Chinese curator Feng Boyi: Black Cover Book (1994), White Cover Book (1995), and Gray Cover Book (1997). In 1999, Ai moved to Caochangdi, in the northeast of Beijing, and built a studio house – his first architectural project. Due to his interest in architecture, he founded the architecture studio FAKE Design, in 2003. In 2000, he co-curated the art exhibition Fuck Off with curator Feng Boyi in Shanghai, China. Life in Europe In 2011, Ai was arrested in China on charges of tax evasion, jailed for 81 days, and then released. The government had confiscated his passport and refused him any other travel papers. Following the return of his passport in 2015, Ai moved to Berlin where he maintained a large studio in a former brewery. He lived in the studio and used it as the base for his international work. In 2019, he announced he would be leaving Berlin, saying that Germany is not an open culture. In September 2019, he moved to live in Cambridge, England. As of 2021, Ai lives in Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal. He still maintains a base in Cambridge, where his son attends school, and a studio in Berlin. Ai says he will stay in Portugal long-term "unless something happens". Ai sits on the Board of Advisors for the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK). Personal life Ai is married to artist Lu Qing. He has a son, Ai Lao, born 2009 with Wang Fen. Ai is fond of cats. Political activity and controversies Internet activities In 2005, Ai was invited to start blogging by Sina Weibo, the biggest internet platform in China. He posted his first blog on 19 November. For four years, he "turned out a steady stream of scathing social commentary, criticism of government policy, thoughts on art and architecture, and autobiographical writings." The blog was shut down by Sina on 28 May 2009. Ai then turned to Twitter and wrote prolifically on the platform, claiming at least eight hours online every day. He wrote almost exclusively in Chinese using the account @aiww. As of 31 December 2013, Ai has declared that he would stop tweeting but the account remains active in forms of retweets and Instagram posts. In 2013, Dale Eisinger of Complex ranked Ai's blog as the fourth greatest work of performance art ever, with the writer arguing, "Much in the way early performance artists documented with film and video, Ai used the prevalent medium of his time—the web—to examine the increasingly fine line between public life and the artist's work. Ai here used his presence to create something full and tangible rather than just a symbolic representation of his critique." In 2023 he created a mobile app to which gives users a picture of Ai's own middle finger which they can insert over another image of any place on earth (from google earth) which they disapprove of. Citizens' investigation on Sichuan earthquake student casualties Ten days after the 8.0-magnitude earthquake in Sichuan province on 12 May 2008, Ai led a team to survey and film the post-quake conditions in various disaster zones. In response to the government's lack of transparency in revealing names of students who perished in the earthquake due to substandard school campus constructions, Ai recruited volunteers online and launched a "Citizens' Investigation" to compile names and information of the student victims. On 20 March 2009, he posted a blog titled "Citizens' Investigation" and wrote: "To remember the departed, to show concern for life, to take responsibility, and for the potential happiness of the survivors, we are initiating a 'Citizens' Investigation.' We will seek out the names of each departed child, and we will remember them." As of 14 April 2009, the list had accumulated 5,385 names. Ai published the collected names as well as numerous articles documenting the investigation on his blog which was shut down by Chinese authorities in May 2009. He also posted his list of names of schoolchildren who died on the wall of his office at FAKE Design in Beijing. Ai suffered headaches and claimed he had difficulty concentrating on his work since returning from Chengdu in August 2009, where he was beaten by the police for trying to testify for Tan Zuoren, a fellow investigator of the shoddy construction and student casualties in the earthquake. On 14 September 2009, Ai was diagnosed to be suffering internal bleeding in a hospital in Munich, Germany, and the doctor arranged for emergency brain surgery. The cerebral hemorrhage is believed to be linked to the police attack. According to the Financial Times, in an attempt to force Ai to leave the country, two accounts used by him had been hacked in a sophisticated attack on Google in China dubbed Operation Aurora, their contents read and copied; his bank accounts were investigated by state security agents who claimed he was under investigation for "unspecified suspected crimes". Shanghai studio controversy Ai was placed under house arrest in November 2010 by the Chinese police. He said this was to prevent the planned party marking the demolition of his brand new Shanghai studio. The building was designed by Ai himself with assistance, and potency coming from a "high official [from Shanghai]" the new studio was a part of a new traditionally design by Shanghai Municipal jurisdiction. He was going to use it as a studio and mentor different architecture courses. After Ai was charged with constructing the studio without the required approval and the knockdown notice had been processed, Ai said officials had been anxious and the paperwork and planning process was "under government supervision". According to Ai, a few different artists were invited to create and structure new studios in this area of Shanghai because officials wanted to create a friendly environment. Ai stated on 3 November 2010 that authorities had let him know him two months earlier that the newly completed studio would be knocked down because it was illegal and did not meet the needs. Ai criticized that this was biased, stating that he was "the only one singled out to have my studio destroyed". The Guardian reported Ai saying Shanghai municipal authorities were "upset " by documentaries on subjects they considered delicate—in particular a documentary featuring Shanghai resident Feng Zhenghu, who lived in forced separation for three months in Narita Airport, Tokyo, and one focused on Yang Jia, who murdered six Shanghai police officers. At the end of the term, the gathering took place without Ai. All of his fans had a river crab, an allusion to "harmony", and a euphemism used to jeer official censorship. Ai was eventually released from house arrest the next day. Like other activists and intellectuals, Ai was stopped from leaving China in late 2010. Ai suggested that the higher ups wanted to stop him from attending a ceremony in December 2010 to award the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize to fellow dissident Liu Xiaobo. Ai said that he was never invited to the ceremony and was attempting to travel to South Korea where he had an important meeting when he was told that he could not leave for reasons of national security. On 11 January 2011, Ai's studio was knocked down and destroyed in a surprise move by the government, who had previously told him the studio would be destroyed only after the beginning of the New Year on 3 February 2011. 2011 arrest On 3 April 2011, Ai was arrested at Beijing Capital International Airport just before catching a flight to Hong Kong and his studio facilities were searched. A police contingent of approximately 50 officers came to his studio, threw a cordon around it and searched the premises. They took away laptops and the hard drive from the main computer; along with Ai, police also detained eight staff members and Ai's wife, Lu Qing. Police also visited the mother of Ai's two-year-old son. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on 7 April that Ai was arrested under investigation for alleged economic crimes. Then, on 8 April, police returned to Ai's workshop to examine his financial affairs. On 9 April, Ai's accountant, as well as studio partner Liu Zhenggang and driver Zhang Jingsong, disappeared, while Ai's assistant Wen Tao has remained missing since Ai's arrest on 3 April. Ai's wife said that she was summoned by the Beijing Chaoyang district tax bureau, where she was interrogated about his studio's tax on 12 April. South China Morning Post reports that Ai received at least two visits from the police, the last being on 31 March – three days before his detention – apparently with offers of membership to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. A staff member recalled that Ai had mentioned receiving the offer earlier, "[but Ai] didn't say if it was a membership of the CPPCC at the municipal or national level, how he responded or whether he accepted it or not." On 24 February, amid an online campaign for Middle East-style protests in major Chinese cities by overseas dissidents, Ai posted on his Twitter account: "I didn't care about jasmine at first, but people who are scared by jasmine sent out information about how harmful jasmine is often, which makes me realize that jasmine is what scares them the most. What a jasmine!" Response to Ai's arrest Analysts and other activists said Ai had been widely thought to be untouchable, but Nicholas Bequelin from Human Rights Watch suggested that his arrest was calculated to send a message that no one is immune and that the arrest must have had the approval of someone in the top leadership. International governments, human rights groups and art institutions, among others, called for Ai's release, while Chinese officials did not notify Ai's family of his whereabouts. State media started describing Ai as a "deviant and a plagiarist" in early 2011. A Chinese Communist Party tabloid Global Times editorial on 6 April 2011 attacked Ai, and two days later, the journal scorned Western media for questioning Ai's charge as a "catch-all crime", and denounced the use of his political activism as a "legal shield" against everyday crimes. Frank Ching expressed in the South China Morning Post that how the Global Times could radically shift its position from one day to the next was reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. Michael Sheridan of The Times suggested that Ai had offered himself to the authorities on a platter with some of his provocative art, particularly photographs of himself nude with only a toy alpaca hiding his modesty – with a caption『草泥马挡中央』 ("grass mud horse covering the middle"). The term possesses a double meaning in Chinese: one possible interpretation was given by Sheridan as: "Fuck your mother, the party central committee". Ming Pao in Hong Kong reacted strongly to the state media's character attack on Ai, saying that authorities had employed "a chain of actions outside the law, doing further damage to an already weak system of laws, and to the overall image of the country." Pro-Beijing newspaper in Hong Kong, Wen Wei Po, announced that Ai was under arrest for tax evasion, bigamy and spreading indecent images on the internet, and vilified him with multiple instances of strong rhetoric. Supporters said "the article should be seen as a mainland media commentary attacking Ai, rather than as an accurate account of the investigation." The United States and European Union protested Ai's detention. The international arts community also mobilised petitions calling for the release of Ai: "1001 Chairs for Ai Weiwei" was organized by Creative Time of New York that calls for artists to bring chairs to Chinese embassies and consulates around the world on 17 April 2011, at 1 pm local time "to sit peacefully in support of the artist's immediate release."> Artists in Hong Kong, Germany and Taiwan demonstrated and called for Ai to be released. One of the major protests by U.S. museums took place on 19 and 20 May when the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego organized a 24-hour silent protest in which volunteer participants, including community members, media, and museum staff, occupied two traditionally styled Chinese chairs for one-hour periods. The 24-hour sit-in referenced Ai's sculpture series, Marble Chair, two of which were on view and were subsequently acquired for the museum's permanent collection. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the International Council of Museums, which organised petitions, said they had collected more than 90,000 signatures calling for the release of Ai. On 13 April 2011, a group of European intellectuals led by Václav Havel had issued an open letter to Wen Jiabao, condemning the arrest and demanding the immediate release of Ai. The signatories include Ivan Klíma, Jiří Gruša, Jáchym Topol, Elfriede Jelinek, Adam Michnik, Adam Zagajewski, Helmuth Frauendorfer; Bei Ling (Chinese:贝岭), a Chinese poet in exile drafted and also signed the open letter. On 16 May 2011, the Chinese authorities allowed Ai's wife to visit him briefly. Liu Xiaoyuan, his attorney and personal friend, reported that Wei was in good physical condition and receiving treatment for his chronic diabetes and hypertension; he was not in a prison or hospital but under some form of house arrest. He is the subject of the 2012 documentary film Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, directed by American filmmaker Alison Klayman, which received a special jury prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and opened the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, North America's largest documentary festival, in Toronto on 26 April 2012. Release On 22 June 2011, the Chinese authorities released Ai from jail after almost three months' detention on charges of tax evasion. Beijing Fa Ke Cultural Development Ltd. (), a company Ai controlled, had allegedly evaded taxes and intentionally destroyed accounting documents. State media also reports that Ai was granted bail on account of Ai's "good attitude in confessing his crimes", willingness to pay back taxes, and his chronic illnesses. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, he was prohibited from leaving Beijing without permission for one year. Ai's supporters widely viewed his detention as retaliation for his vocal criticism of the government. On 23 June 2011, professor Wang Yujin of China University of Political Science and Law stated that the release of Ai on bail shows that the Chinese government could not find any solid evidence of Ai's alleged "economic crime". On 24 June 2011, Ai told a Radio Free Asia reporter that he was thankful for the support of the Hong Kong public, and praised Hong Kong's conscious society. Ai also mentioned that his detention by the Chinese regime was hellish (Chinese: 九死一生), and stressed that he is forbidden to say too much to reporters. After his release, his sister gave some details about his detention condition to the press, explaining that he was subjected to a kind of psychological torture: he was detained in a tiny room with constant light, and two guards were set very close to him at all times, and watched him constantly. In November, Chinese authorities were again investigating Ai and his associates, this time under the charge of spreading pornography. Lu was subsequently questioned by police, and released after several hours though the exact charges remain unclear. In January 2012, in its International Review issue Art in America magazine featured an interview with Ai Weiwei at his home in China. J.J. Camille (the pen name of a Chinese-born writer living in New York), "neither a journalist nor an activist but simply an art lover who wanted to talk to him" had travelled to Beijing the previous September to conduct the interview and to write about his visit to "China's most famous dissident artist" for the magazine. On 21 June 2012, Ai's bail was lifted. Although he was allowed to leave Beijing, the police informed him that he was still prohibited from traveling to other countries because he is "suspected of other crimes", including pornography, bigamy and illicit exchange of foreign currency. Until 2015, he remained under heavy surveillance and restrictions of movement, but continued to criticize through his work. In July 2015, he was given a passport and permitted to travel abroad. Ai says that at the beginning of his detention he was proud of being detained much like his father had been earlier. He also says it allowed him to try a dialogue with the authorities, something which had never been possible before. Tax case In June 2011, the Beijing Local Taxation Bureau demanded a total of over 12 million yuan (US$1.85  million) from Beijing Fa Ke Cultural Development Ltd. in unpaid taxes and fines, and accorded three days to appeal the demand in writing. According to Ai's wife, Beijing Fa Ke Cultural Development Ltd. has hired two Beijing lawyers as defense attorneys. Ai's family state that Ai is "neither the chief executive nor the legal representative of the design company, which is registered in his wife's name." Offers of donations poured in from Ai's fans across the world when the fine was announced. Eventually, an online loan campaign was initiated on 4 November 2011, and close to 9 million RMB was collected within ten days, from 30,000 contributions. Notes were folded into paper planes and thrown over the studio walls, and donations were made in symbolic amounts such as 8964 (4 June 1989, Tiananmen Massacre) or 512 (12 May 2008, Sichuan earthquake). To thank creditors and acknowledge the contributions as loans, Ai designed and issued loan receipts to all who participated in the campaign. Funds raised from the campaign were used as collateral, required by law for an appeal on the tax case. Lawyers acting for Ai submitted an appeal against the fine in January 2012; the Chinese government subsequently agreed to conduct a review. In June 2012, the court heard the tax appeal case. Ai's wife, Lu Qing, the legal representative of the design company, attended the hearing. Lu was accompanied by several lawyers and an accountant, but the witnesses they had requested to testify, including Ai, were prevented from attending a court hearing. Ai asserts that the entire matter – including the 81 days he spent in jail in 2011 – is intended to suppress his provocations. Ai said he had no illusions as to how the case would turn out, as he believes the court will protect the government's own interests. On 20 June, hundreds of Ai's supporters gathered outside the Chaoyang District Court in Beijing despite a small army of police officers, some of whom videotaped the crowd and led several people away. On 20 July, Ai's tax appeal was rejected in court. The same day Ai's studio released "The Fake Case" which tracks the status and history of this case including a timeline and the release of official documents. On 27 September, the court upheld the tax evasion fine. Ai had previously deposited in a government-controlled account in order to appeal. Ai said he will not pay the remainder because he does not recognize the charge. In October 2012, authorities revoked the license of Beijing Fa Ke Cultural Development Ltd. for failing to re-register, an annual requirement by the administration. The company was not able to complete this procedure as its materials and stamps were confiscated by the government. "15 Years of Chinese Contemporary Art Award (CCAA)" – Power Station of Art, Shanghai, 2014 On 26 April 2014, Ai's name was removed from a group show taking place at the Shanghai Power Station of Art. The exhibition was held to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the art prize created by Uli Sigg in 1998, with the purpose of promoting and developing Chinese contemporary art. Ai won the Lifetime Contribution Award in 2008 and was part of the jury during the first three editions of the prize. He was then invited to take part in the group show together with the other selected Chinese artists. Shortly before the exhibition's opening, some museum workers removed his name from the list of winners and jury members painted on a wall. Also, Ai's works Sunflower Seeds and Stools were removed from the show and kept in a museum office (see photo on Ai Weiwei's Instagram). Sigg declared that it was not his decision and that it was a decision of the Power Station of Art and the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture. "Hans van Dijk: 5000 Names – UCCA" In May 2014, the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, a non-profit art center situated in the 798 art district of Beijing, held a retrospective exhibition in honor of the late curator and scholar, Hans Van Dijk. Ai, a good friend of Hans and a fellow co-founder of the China Art Archives and Warehouse (CAAW), participated in the exhibition with three artworks. On the day of the opening, Ai realized his name was omitted from both Chinese and English versions of the exhibition's press release. Ai's assistants went to the art center and removed his works. It is Ai's belief that, in omitting his name, the museum altered the historical record of van Dijk's work with him. Ai started his own research about what actually happened, and between 23 and 25 May he interviewed the UCCA's director, Philip Tinari, the guest curator of the exhibition, Marianne Brouwer, and the UCCA chief, Xue Mei. He published the transcripts of the interviews on Instagram. In one of the interviews, the CEO of the UCCA, Xue Mei, admitted that, due to the sensitive time of the exhibition, Ai's name was taken out of the press releases on the day of the opening and it was supposed to be restored afterwards. This was to avoid problems with the Chinese authorities, who threatened to arrest her. Support for Julian Assange Ai has long advocated for the release of Julian Assange. In 2016, he co-signed a letter which stated that the UK and Sweden were undermining the UN by ignoring the findings of a UN working group that found Assange was being arbitrarily detained. The letter called on the UK and Sweden to guarantee Assange's freedom of movement and provide compensation. Ai visited Assange in high security Belmarsh Prison after his arrest by the UK. In September 2019, Ai held a silent protest in support of Assange outside London's Old Bailey court where Assange's extradition hearing was being held. Ai called for Assange's freedom and said "He truly represents the very core value of why we are fighting, the freedom of the press." In 2021, Ai was invited to submit a piece for the virtual UK art exhibition The Great Big Art Exhibition, which was organised by Firstsite. Ai's piece, called Postcard for Political Prisoners, incorporated a photograph of the running machine used by Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy. After initially accepting Ai's idea, Firstsite's director said that it could not include his project "due to time constraints, and because it did not fit with the concept of the exhibition." Ai said he thought the reason for the rejection was that the exhibition did not "want to touch on a topic like Assange." Artistic works Weiwei is often referred to as China's most famous artist. He has created works that focus on human rights abuses using video, photography, wallpaper, and porcelain. Documentaries Beijing video works From 2003 to 2005, Ai Weiwei recorded the results of Beijing's developing urban infrastructure and its social conditions. Beijing 2003 2003, Video, 150 hours Beginning under the Dabeiyao highway interchange, the vehicle from which Beijing 2003 was shot traveled every road within the Fourth Ring Road of Beijing and documented the road conditions. Approximately 2400 kilometers and 150 hours of footage later, it ended where it began under the Dabeiyao highway interchange. The documentation of these winding alleyways of the city center – now largely torn down for redevelopment – preserved a visual record of the city that is free of aesthetic judgment. Chang'an Boulevard 2004, Video, 10h 13m Moving from east to west, Chang'an Boulevard traverses Beijing's most iconic avenue. Along the boulevard's 45-kilometer length, it recorded the changing densities of its far-flung suburbs, central business districts, and political core. At each 50-meter increment, the artist records a single frame for one minute. The work reveals the rhythm of Beijing as a capital city, its social structure, cityscape, socialist-planned economy, capitalist market, political power center, commercial buildings, and industrial units as pieces of a multi-layered urban collage. Beijing: The Second Ring 2005, Video, 1h 6m Beijing: The Third Ring 2005 Video, 1h 50m Beijing: The Second Ring and Beijing: The Third Ring capture two opposite views of traffic flow on every bridge of each Ring Road, the innermost arterial highways of Beijing. The artist records a single frame for one minute for each view on the bridge. Beijing: The Second Ring was entirely shot on cloudy days, while the segments for Beijing: The Third Ring were entirely shot on sunny days. The films document the historic aspects and modern development of a city with a population of nearly 11 million people. Fairytale 2007, video, 2h 32m Fairytale covers Ai Weiwei's project Fairytale, part of Europe's most innovative five-year art event Documenta 12 in Kassel, Germany in 2007. Ai invited 1001 Chinese citizens of different ages and from various backgrounds to travel to Kassel, Germany to experience a fairytale of their own. The 152-minute long film documents the ideation and process of staging Fairytale and covering project preparations, participants' challenges, and travel to Germany. Along with this documentary, Fairytale was documented through written materials and photographs of participants and artifacts from the event. Fairytale was an act of social subversion, improving relationships between China and the West through interactions among participants and the citizens of Kassel. Ai Weiwei felt that he was able to make a positive influence on both participants of Fairytale and Kassel citizens. Little Girl's Cheeks 2008, video, 1h 18m On 15 December 2008, a citizens' investigation began with the goal of seeking an explanation for the casualties of the Sichuan earthquake that happened on 12 May 2008. The investigation covered 14 counties and 74 townships within the disaster zone, and studied the conditions of 153 schools that were affected by the earthquake. By gathering and confirming comprehensive details about the students, such as their age, region, school, and grade, the group managed to affirm that there were 5,192 students who perished in the disaster. Among a hundred volunteers, 38 of them participated in fieldwork, with 25 of them being controlled by the Sichuan police for a total of 45 times. This documentary is a structural element of the citizens' investigation. 4851 2009, looped video, 1h 27m At 14:28 on 12 May 2008, an 8.0-magnitude earthquake happened in Sichuan, China. Over 5,000 students in primary and secondary schools perished in the earthquake, yet their names went unannounced. In reaction to the government's lack of transparency, a citizen's investigation was initiated to find out their names and details about their schools and families. As of 2 September 2009, there were 4,851 confirmed. This video is a tribute to these perished students and a memorial for innocent lives lost. A Beautiful Life 2009, video, 48m This video documents the story of Chinese citizen Feng Zhenghu and his struggles to return home. In 2009, authorities in Shanghai prevented Feng Zhenghu, who was originally from Wenzhou, Zhejiang, from returning home a total of eight times that year. On 4 November 2009 Feng Zhenghu attempted to return home for the ninth time but instead Chinese police forcibly put him on a flight to Japan. Upon arrival at Narita Airport outside of Tokyo, Feng refused to enter Japan and decided to live in the Immigration Hall at Terminal 1, as an act of protest. He relied on gifts of food from tourists for sustenance and lived in a passageway in the Narita Airport for 92 days. He posted updates over Twitter which attracted international media coverage and concern from Chinese netizens and international communities. On 31 January, Feng announced an end to his protest at the Narita Airport. On 12 February Feng was allowed to re-enter China, where he reunited with his family at their home in Shanghai. Ai Weiwei and his assistant Gao Yuan, went from Beijing to interview Feng Zhenghu three times at Narita Airport, on 16 November, 20 November 2009 and 31 January 2010 and documented his stay in the airport passageway and the entire process of his return to China. Disturbing the Peace (Laoma Tihua) 2009, video, 1h 19m Ai Weiwei studio production Laoma Tihua is a documentary of an incident during Tan Zuoren's trial on 12 August 2009. Tan Zuoren was charged with "inciting subversion of state power". Chengdu police detained witnessed during the trial of the civil rights advocate, which is an obstruction of justice and violence. Tan Zuoren was charged as a result of his research and questioning regarding the 5.12 Wenchuan students' casualties and the corruption resulting poor building construction. Tan Zuoren was sentenced to five years of prison. One Recluse 2010, video, 3h In June 2008, Yang Jia carried a knife, a hammer, a gas mask, pepper spray, gloves and Molotov cocktails to the Zhabei Public Security Branch Bureau and killed six police officers, injuring another police officer and a guard. He was arrested on the scene, and was subsequently charged with intentional homicide. In the following six months, while Yang Jia was detained and trials were held, his mother has mysteriously disappeared. This video is a documentary that traces the reasons and motivations behind the tragedy and investigates into a trial process filled with shady cover-ups and questionable decisions. The film provides a glimpse into the realities of a government-controlled judicial system and its impact on the citizens' lives. Hua Hao Yue Yuan 2010, video, 2h 6m "The future dictionary definition of 'crackdown' will be: First cover one's head up firmly, and then beat him or her up violently". – @aiww In the summer of 2010, the Chinese government began a crackdown on dissent, and Hua Hao Yue Yuan documents the stories of Liu Dejun and Liu Shasha, whose activism and outspoken attitude led them to violent abuse from the authorities. On separate occasions, they were kidnapped, beaten and thrown into remote locations. The incidents attracted much concern over the Internet, as well as wide speculation and theories about what exactly happened. This documentary presents interviews of the two victims, witnesses and concerned netizens. In which it gathers various perspectives about the two beatings, and brings us closer to the brutal reality of China's "crackdown on crime". Remembrance 2010, voice recording, 3h 41m On 24 April 2010 at 00:51, Ai Weiwei (@aiww) started a Twitter campaign to commemorate students who perished in the earthquake in Sichuan on 12 May 2008. 3,444 friends from the Internet delivered voice recordings, the names of 5,205 perished were recited 12,140 times. Remembrance is an audio work dedicated to the young people who lost their lives in the Sichuan earthquake. It expresses thoughts for the passing of innocent lives and indignation for the cover-ups on truths about sub-standard architecture, which led to the large number of schools that collapsed during the earthquake. San Hua 2010, video, 1h 8m The shooting and editing of this video lasted nearly seven months at the Ai Weiwei studio. It began near the end of 2007 in an interception organized by cat-saving volunteers in Tianjin, and the film locations included Tianjin, Shanghai, Rugao of Jiangsu, Chaoshan of Guangzhou, and Hebei Province. The documentary depicts a complete picture of a chain in the cat-trading industry. Since the end of 2009 when the government began soliciting expert opinion for the Animal Protection Act, the focus of public debate has always been on whether one should be eating cats or not, or whether cat-eating is a Chinese tradition or not. There are even people who would go as far as to say that the call to stop eating cat meat is "imposing the will of the minority on the majority". Yet the "majority" does not understand the complete truth of cat-meat trading chains: cat theft, cat trafficking, killing cats, selling cats, and eating cats, all the various stages of the trade and how they are distributed across the country, in cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Rugao, Wuhan, Guangzhou, and Hebei. Ordos 100 2011, video, 1h 1m This documentary is about the construction project curated by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei. One hundred architects from 27 countries were chosen to participate and design a 1000 square meter villa to be built in a new community in Inner Mongolia. The 100 villas would be designed to fit a master plan designed by Ai Weiwei. On 25 January 2008, the 100 architects gathered in Ordos for a first site visit. The film Ordos 100 documents the total of three site visits to Ordos, during which time the master plan and design of each villa was completed. As of 2016, the Ordos 100 project remains unrealized. So Sorry 2011, video, 54m As a sequel to Ai Weiwei's film Lao Ma Ti Hua, the film so sorry (named after the artist's 2009 exhibition in Munich, Germany) shows the beginnings of the tension between Ai Weiwei and the Chinese Government. In Lao Ma Ti Hua, Ai Weiwei travels to Chengdu, Sichuan to attend the trial of the civil rights advocate Tan Zuoren, as a witness. So Sorry shows the investigation led by Ai Weiwei studio to identify the students who died during the Sichuan earthquake as a result of corruption and poor building constructions leading to the confrontation between Ai Weiwei and the Chengdu police. After being beaten by the police, Ai Weiwei traveled to Munich, Germany to prepare his exhibition at the museum Haus der Kunst. The result of his beating led to intense headaches caused by a brain hemorrhage and was treated by emergency surgery. These events mark the beginning of Ai Weiwei's struggle and surveillance at the hands of the state police. Ping'an Yueqing 2011, video, 2h 22m This documentary investigates the death of popular Zhaiqiao village leader Qian Yunhui in the fishing village of Yueqing, Zhejiang province. When the local government confiscated marshlands in order to convert them into construction land, the villagers were deprived of the opportunity to cultivate these lands and be fully self-subsistent. Qian Yunhui, unafraid of speaking up for his villagers, travelled to Beijing several times to report this injustice to the central government. In order to silence him, he was detained by local government repeatedly. On 25 December 2010, Qian Yunhui was hit by a truck and died on the scene. News of the incident and photos of the scene quickly spread over the internet. The local government claimed that Qian Yunhui was the victim of an ordinary traffic accident. This film is an investigation conducted by Ai Weiwei studio into the circumstances of the incident and its connection to the land dispute case, mainly based on interviews of family members, villagers and officials. It is an attempt by Ai Weiwei to establish the facts and find out what really happened on 25 December 2010. During shooting and production, Ai Weiwei studio experienced significant obstruction and resistance from local government. The film crew was followed, sometimes physically stopped from shooting certain scenes and there were even attempts to buy off footage. All villagers interviewed for the purposes of this documentary have been interrogated or illegally detained by local government to some extent. The Crab House 2011, video, 1h 1m Early in 2008, the district government of Jiading, Shanghai invited Ai Weiwei to build a studio in Malu Township, as a part of the local government's efforts in developing its cultural assets. By August 2010, the Ai Weiwei Shanghai Studio completed all of its construction work. In October 2010, the Shanghai government declared the Ai Weiwei Shanghai Studio an illegal construction, and it was subjected to demolition. On 7 November 2010, when Ai Weiwei was placed under house arrest by public security in Beijing, over 1,000 netizens attended the "River Crab Feast" at the Shanghai Studio. On 11 January 2011, the Shanghai city government forcibly demolished the Ai Weiwei Studio within a day, without any prior notice. Stay Home 2013, video, 1h 17m This video tells the story of Liu Ximei, who at her birth in 1985 was given to relatives to be raised because she was born in violation of China's strict one-child policy. When she was ten years old, Liu was severely injured while working in the fields and lost large amounts of blood. While undergoing treatment at a local hospital, she was given a blood transfusion that was later revealed to be contaminated with HIV. Following this exposure to the virus, Liu contracted AIDS. According to official statistics, in 2001 there were 850,000 AIDS sufferers in China, many of whom contracted the illness in the 1980s and 1990s as the result of a widespread plasma market operating in rural, impoverished areas and using unsafe collection methods. Ai Weiwei's Appeal ¥15,220,910.50 2014, video, 2h 8m Ai Weiwei's Appeal ¥15,220,910.50 opens with Ai Weiwei's mother at the Venice Biennial in the summer of 2013 examining Ai's large S.A.C.R.E.D. installation portraying his 81-day imprisonment. The documentary goes onto chronologically reconstruct the events that occurred from the time he was arrested at the Beijing airport in April 2011 to his final court appeal in September 2012. The film portrays the day-to-day activity surrounding Ai Weiwei, his family and his associates ranging from consistent visits by the authorities, interviews with reporters, support and donations from fans, and court dates. The Film premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam on 23 January 2014. Fukushima Art Project 2015, video, 30m This documentary on the Fukushima Art Project is about artist Ai Weiwei's investigation of the site as well as the project's installation process. In August 2014, Ai Weiwei was invited as one of the participating artists for the Fukushima Nuclear Zone by the Japanese art coalition Chim↑Pom, as part of the project Don't Follow the Wind. Ai accepted the invitation and sent his assistant Ma Yan to the exclusion zone in Japan to investigate the site. The Fukushima Exclusion Zone is thus far located within the 20-kilometer radius of land area of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. 25,000 people have already been evacuated from the Exclusion Zone. Both water and electric circuits were cut off. Entrance restriction is expected to be relieved in the next thirty years, or even longer. The art project will also be open to public at that time. The three spots usable as exhibition spaces by the artists are all former residential houses, among which exhibition sites one and two were used for working and lodging; and exhibition site three was used as a community entertainment facility with an ostrich farm. Ai brought about two projects, A Ray of Hope and Family Album after analyzing materials and information generated from the site. In A Ray of Hope, a solar photovoltaic system is built on exhibition site one, on the second level of the old warehouse. Integral LED lighting devices are used in the two rooms. The lights would turn on automatically from 7 to 10pm, and from 6 to 8am daily. This lighting system is the only light source in the Exclusion Zone after this project was installed. Photos of Ai and his studio staff at Caochangdi that make up project Family Album are displayed on exhibition site two and three, in the seven rooms where locals used to live. The twenty-two selected photos are divided in five categories according to types of events spanning eight years. Among these photos, six of them were taken from the site investigation at the 2008 Sichuan earthquake; two were taken during the time when he was illegally detained after pleading the Tan Zuoren case in Chengdu, China in August 2009; and three others taken during his surgical treatment for his head injury from being attacked in the head by police officers in Chengdu; five taken of him being followed by the police and his Beijing studio Fake Design under surveillance due to the studio tax case from 2011 to 2012; four are photos of Ai Weiwei and his family from year 2011 to year 2013; and the other two were taken earlier of him in his studio in Caochangdi (One taken in 2005 and the other in 2006). Human Flow A feature documentary directed by Weiwei and co-produced by Andy Cohen about the global refugee crisis. Coronation A feature-length documentary directed by Weiwei about happenings in Wuhan, China during the COVID-19 pandemic. When discussing the film Weiwei claimed "it's obvious the disease is not from an animal. It's not a natural disease, it's something that's leaked out, after years of research." Visual arts Ai's visual art includes sculptural installations, woodworking, video and photography. "Ai Weiwei: According to What", adapted and expanded by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden from a 2009 exhibition at Tokyo's Mori Art Museum, was Ai's first North American museum retrospective. It opened at the Hirshhorn in Washington, D.C. in 2013, and subsequently traveled to the Brooklyn Museum, New York, and two other venues. His works address his investigation into the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake and responses to the Chinese government's detention and surveillance of him. His recent public pieces have called attention to the Syrian refugee crisis. Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn (1995) Performance in which Ai lets an ancient ceramic urn fall from his hands and smash to pieces on the ground. The performance was memorialized in a series of three photographic still frames. Map of China (2008) Sculpture resembling a park bench or tree trunk, but its cross-section is a map of China. It is four metres long and weighs 635 kilograms. It is made from wood salvaged from Qing dynasty temples. Table with two legs on the wall (2008) Ming dynasty table cut in half and rejoined at a right angle to rest two feet on the wall and two on the floor. The reconstruction was completed using Chinese period specific joinery techniques. Straight (2008–2012) 150 tons of twisted steel reinforcements recovered from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake building collapse sites were straightened out and displayed as an installation. Sunflower Seeds (2010) In October 2010, at the Tate Modern in London, Ai displayed 100 million handmade and painted porcelain sunflower seeds. The work as installed was called 1-125,000,000 and subsequent installations have been titled Sunflower Seeds. The initial installation had the seeds spread across the floor of the Turbine Hall in a thin 10 cm layer. The seeds weigh about 10 metric tonnes and were made by artisans over two and a half years by 1,600 Jingdezhen artisans in a city where porcelain had been made for over a thousand years. The sculpture refers to chairman Mao's rule and the Chinese Communist Party. The mass of tiny seeds represents that, together, the people of China can stand up and overthrow the Chinese Communist Party. The seeds also refer to China's current mass automated production, based on Western consumerist culture. The sculpture challenges the "Made in China" mantra, memorialising labour-intensive traditional methods of crafting objects. Surveillance Camera (2010) Ai WeiWei's marble sculpture resembles a Surveillance Camera to express the alarming rate of how technological advancements are being used in the modern world. WeiWei created this sculpture in response to the Chinese Government surveilling and incorporating listening devices in and around his studio, located in Beijing. The Chinese government did this as punishment for WeiWei's outspoken criticism of the Chinese Government. He Xie/Crab (2010) Sculptures of a large amount of crabs. Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads (2011) Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads are sculptures of zodiac animals inspired by the water clock-fountain at the Old Summer Palace. Belongings of Ye Haiyan (2013) Ye Haiyan's (叶海燕) Belongings is a collaborative piece between Ai Weiwei and Ye Haiyan. Ye, also referred to as "Hooligan Sparrow", is an activist for women's rights and sex worker's rights. After consistent surveillance and harassment for her outspoken activism as chronicled in Nanfu Wang's documentary Hooligan Sparrow, Haiyan and her daughter were met with multiple evictions in various cities and ultimately ended up on the side of the road with all of their belongings and no place to go. Ai Weiwei was able to help them financially and included this piece in his exhibition "According to What?". The display consists of four walls which display pictures of Haiyan, her daughter, and their life's belongings that they packed quickly prior to their first eviction. In the center, Ai recreated their belongings before they were confiscated. The whole arrangement demonstrates the realities of publicly speaking out against injustices in China. Coca-Cola Vases (1994) Han dynasty vases with the Coca-Cola logo brushed onto them is one of the artists' longest running series, begun in 1994 and continuing to the present day. Grapes (2014) 32 Qing dynasty stools joined together in a cluster with legs pointing out. Free-speech Puzzle (2014) Individual porcelain ornaments, each painted with characters for "free speech", which when set together form a map of China. Trace (2014) Consisting of 176 2D-portraits in Lego which are set onto a large floor space, Trace was commissioned by the FOR-SITE Foundation, the United States National Park Service and the Golden Gate Park Conservancy. The original installation was at Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay; the 176 portraits being of various political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. After seeing one million visitors during its one-year display at Alcatraz, the installation was moved and put on display at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. (in a modified form; the pieces had to be arranged to fit the circular floor space). The display at the Hirshhorn ran from 28 June 2017 – 1 January 2018. The display also included two versions of his wallpaper work The Animal That Looks Like a Llama but Is Really an Alpaca and a video running on a loop. The 2019 documentary film Yours Truly covered the creation of Trace and an associated exhibit, Yours Truly, also at Alcatraz, where visitors could write postcards to be sent to selected political prisoners. Law of the Journey (2017) As the culmination of Ai's experiences visiting 40 refugee camps in 2016, Law of the Journey featured an all-black, inflatable boat carrying 258 faceless refugee figures. The art piece is currently on display at the National Gallery in Prague until 7 January 2018. Two Iron Trees at The Shrine of Book (2017) Permanent exhibit, unique setting of two Iron Trees from now on frame the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem, Israel where Dead Sea Scrolls are preserved. Journey of Laziz (2017) The exhibition was on the view in the Israel Museum until the end of October 2017. Journey of Laziz is a video installation, showing the mental breakdown and overall suffering of a tiger living in the "world's worst zoo" in Gaza. Hansel and Gretel (2017) The exhibition at the Park Avenue Armory from 7 June- 6 August 2017, Hansel and Gretel was an installation exploring the theme of surveillance. The project, a collaboration of Ai Weiwei and architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, features surveillance cameras equipped with facial recognition software, near-infrared floor projections, tethered, autonomous drones and sonar beacons. A companion website includes a curatorial statement, artist biographies, a livestream of the installation and a timeline of surveillance technology from ancient to modern times. The Animal That Looks Like a Llama but Is Really an Alpaca (2017) The Animal That Looks Like a Llama but Is Really an Alpaca, and its companion piece The Plain Version of The Animal That Looks Like a Llama but Is Really an Alpaca, is a wallpaper work consisting of intricate tiled patterns showing various pieces of surveillance equipment in whimsical arrangements. The two pieces were installed at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., as part of a full-floor exhibition of his work that also included a video and the 2014 installation Trace. man in a cube (2017) Ai Weiwei created the sculpture man in a cube for the exhibition Luther and the Avantgarde in Wittenberg to mark the 2017 quincentenary of the Reformation. In it, the artist worked through his experiences of anxiety and isolation following his arrest by Chinese authorities: "My work is physically a concrete block, which contains within it a single figure in solitude. That figure is the likeness of myself during my eighty-one days under secret detention in 2011." Concentrating on ideas and language helped Ai Weiwei endure his imprisonment. He was also intrigued by the connectedness of freedom, language and ideas in Martin Luther, to whom he explicitly paid tribute with man in a cube. Once the exhibition in Wittenberg closed, the Stiftung Lutherhaus Eisenach endeavored to make this exceptional manifestation of contemporary Reformation commemoration, man in a cube, permanently accessible to a wide audience. Thanks to the generous support of numerous backers, the museum managed to acquire the sculpture in 2019. It was erected in the courtyard of the Lutherhaus and presented to the public in a ceremony the following year, the five hundredth anniversary of the publication of Martin Luther's treatise On the Freedom of a Christian. Good Fences Make Good Neighbors Ai Weiwei's 2017–18 New York City-wide public art exhibition. Forever Bicycles Forever Bicycles is a sculpture made of many interconnected bicycles. The sculpture was installed as 1,300 bicycles in Austin, Texas, in 2017. The sculpture was moved to The Forks in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and reassembled as 1,254 bicycles in 2019. The sculpture's bicycles are made to resemble the Shanghai Forever Co. bicycles that were financially out of reach for the artist's family during his youth. Forever A sculpture of many bicycles is displayed as public art in the gardens of the Artz Pedregal shopping mall in Mexico City since its opening in March 2018, and it is part of Fundación Arte Abierto's collection. Priceless A collaboration with conceptual artist Kevin Abosch primarily made up of two standard ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain, called PRICELESS (PRCLS is its symbol). One of these tokens is forever unavailable to anyone, but the other is meant for distribution and is divisible up to 18 decimal places, meaning it can be given away one quintillionth at a time. A nominal amount of the distributable token was "burned" (put into digital wallets with the keys thrown away), and these wallet addresses were printed on paper and sold to art buyers in a series of 12 physical works. Each wallet address alphanumeric is a proxy for a shared moment between Abosch and Ai. Er Xi A monstrous sculptures at Le Bon Marché in Paris to "speak to our inner child". Artist Ai Weiwei has used traditional Chinese kite-making techniques to create mythological characters and creatures for windows, atriums and the gallery at Paris department store Le Bon Marché (+ slideshow). Er Xi opened on 16 January 2016 until 20 February 2016 at Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, located on Rue de Sèvres in Paris' 7th arrondissement. Architecture Ai Weiwei is also a notable architect known for his collaborations with Herzog & de Meuron and Wang Shu. In 2005, Ai was invited by Wang Shu as an external teacher of the Architecture Department of China Academy of Art. Jinhua Park In 2002, he was the curator of the project Jinhua Architecture Park. Tsai Residence In 2006, Ai and HHF Architects designed a private residence in upstate New York. According to The New York Times, the Tsai Residence is divided into four modules and the details are "extraordinarily refined". In 2009, the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design selected the home for its International Architecture Awards, one of the world's most prestigious global awards for new architecture, landscape architecture, interiors and urban planning. In 2010, Wallpaper* magazine nominated the residence for its Wallpaper Design Awards category: Best New Private House. A detached guesthouse, also designed by Ai and HHF Architects, was completed after the main house and, according to New York Magazine, looks like a "floating boomerang of rusty Cor-Ten steel". Ordos 100 In 2008, Ai curated the architecture project Ordos 100 in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia. He invited 100 architects from 29 countries to participate in this project. Beijing National Stadium Ai was commissioned as the artistic consultant for design, collaborating with the Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron, for the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics, also known as the "Bird's Nest". Although ignored by the Chinese media, he had voiced his anti-Olympics views. He later distanced himself from the project, saying, "I've already forgotten about it. I turn down all the demands to have photographs with it," saying it is part of a "pretend smile" of bad taste. In August 2007, he also accused those choreographing the Olympic opening ceremony, including Steven Spielberg and Zhang Yimou, of failing to live up to their responsibility as artists. Ai said "It's disgusting. I don't like anyone who shamelessly abuses their profession, who makes no moral judgment." In February 2008, Spielberg withdrew from his role as advisor to the 2008 Summer Olympics. When asked why he participated in the designing of the Bird's Nest in the first place, Ai replied "I did it because I love design." Serpentine Pavilion In summer 2012, Ai teamed again with Herzog & de Meuron on a "would-be archaeological site [as] a game of make-believe and fleeting memory" as the year's temporary Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London's Kensington Gardens. Books Venice Elegy This edition of Yang Lian's poems and Ai Weiwei's visual images was realized by the publishing house Damocle Edizioni – Venice in 200 numbered copies on Fabriano Paper. The book was printed in Venice, May 2018. Every book is hand signed by Yang Lian and Ai Weiwei. Traces of Survival In December 2014 Ruya Foundation for Contemporary Culture in Iraq provided drawing materials to three refugee camps in Iraq: Camp Shariya, Camp Baharka and Mar Elia Camp. Ruya Foundation collected over 500 submissions. A number of these images were then selected by Ai Weiwei for a major publication, Traces of Survival: Drawings by Refugees in Iraq selected by Ai Weiwei, that was published to coincide with the Iraq Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale. 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows Released in November 2021, 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows is a memoir that documents the life of Ai Weiwei with a focus on his father, the renowned Chinese poet, Ai Qing. The book begins by documenting AI Weiwei's relationship with his father and the parallels between their lives and struggles before describing Ai's success as an artist and his constant struggle with the Chinese authorities over censorship and personal freedoms. Music On 24 October 2012, Ai went live with a cover of Gangnam Style, the famous K-pop phenomenon by South Korean rapper PSY, through the posting of a four-minute long parody video on YouTube. The video was an attempt to criticize the Chinese government's attempt to silence his activism and was quickly blocked by national authorities. On 22 May 2013, Ai debuted his first single Dumbass over the internet, with a music video shot by cinematographer Christopher Doyle. The video was a reconstruction of Ai's experience in prison, during his 81-day detention, and dives in and out of the prison's reality and the guarding soldiers' fantasies. He later released a second single, Laoma Tihua, on 20 June 2013 along with a video on his experience of state surveillance, with footage compiled from his studio's documentaries. On 22 June 2013, the two-year anniversary of Ai's release, he released his first music album The Divine Comedy. Later in August, he released a third music video for the song Chaoyang Park, also included in the album. Other engagements Ai is the artistic director of China Art Archives & Warehouse (CAAW), which he co-founded in 1997. This contemporary art archive and experimental gallery in Beijing concentrates on experimental art from the People's Republic of China, initiates and facilitates exhibitions and other forms of introductions inside and outside China. The building which houses it was designed by Ai in 2000. On 15 March 2010, Ai took part in Digital Activism in China, a discussion hosted by The Paley Media Center in New York with Jack Dorsey (founder of Twitter) and Richard MacManus. Also in 2010 he served as jury member for Future Generation Art Prize, Kiev, Ukraine; contributed design for Comme de Garcons Aoyama Store, Tokyo, Japan; and participated in a talk with Nobel Prize winner Herta Müller at the International Culture festival in Cologne, Germany. In 2011, Ai sat on the jury of an international initiative to find a universal Logo for Human Rights. The winning design, combining the silhouette of a hand with that of a bird, was chosen from more than 15,300 suggestions from over 190 countries. The initiative's goal was to create an internationally recognized logo to support the global human rights movement.[98] In 2013, after the existence of the PRISM surveillance program was revealed, Ai said "Even though we know governments do all kinds of things I was shocked by the information about the US surveillance operation, Prism. To me, it's abusively using government powers to interfere in individuals' privacy. This is an important moment for international society to reconsider and protect individual rights."[99] In 2012, Ai interviewed a member of the 50 Cent Party, a group of "online commentators" (otherwise known as sockpuppets) covertly hired by the Chinese government to post "comments favourable towards party policies and [intending] to shape public opinion on internet message boards and forums". Keeping Ai's source anonymous, the transcript was published by the British magazine New Statesman on 17 October 2012, offering insights on the education, life, methods and tactics used by professional trolls serving pro-government interests. Ai designed the cover for 17 June 2013 issue of Time magazine. The cover story, by Hannah Beech, is "How China Sees the World". Time magazine called it "the most beautiful cover we've ever done in our history." In 2011, Ai served as co-director and curator of the 2011 Gwangju Design Biennale, and co-curator of the exhibition Shanshui at The Museum of Art Lucerne. Also in 2011, Ai spoke at TED (conference) and was a guest lecturer at Oslo School of Architecture and Design. In 2013, Ai became a Reporters Without Borders ambassador. He also gave a hundred pictures to the NGO in order to release a Photo book and a digital album, both sold in order to fund freedom of information projects. In 2014–2015, Ai explored human rights and freedom of expression through an exhibition of his art exclusively created for Alcatraz, a notorious federal penitentiary in San Francisco Bay. Ai's @Large exhibit raised questions and contradictions about human rights and the freedom of expression through his artwork at the island's layered legacy as a 19th-century military fortress. In February 2016, Ai WeiWei attached 14,000 bright orange life jackets to the columns of the Konzerthaus in Berlin. The life jackets had been discarded by refugees arriving on the shore on the Greek island of Lesbos. Later that year, he installed a different piece, also using discarded life jackets, at the pond at the Belvedere Palace in Vienna. In 2017, Wolfgang Tillmans, Anish Kapoor and Ai Weiwei are among the six artists that have designed covers for ES Magazine celebrating the "resilience of London" in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire and recent terror attacks. In September 2019, the newly expanded and renovated Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University in St. Louis opened with a major exhibition of work by Ai Weiwei: "Bare Life". A film by Ai Weiwei, CIRCA 20:20, was screened on global network of billboard screens in London, Tokyo and Seoul in October 2020. From March 16 until September 4, 2022, a retrospective on Ai Weiwei's work is on display at the Albertina in Vienna, Austria under the title "Ai Weiwei. In Search of Humanity". Awards and honors 2008 Chinese Contemporary Art Awards, Lifetime Achievement 2009 GQ Men of the Year 2009, Moral Courage (Germany); the ArtReview Power 100, rank 43; International Architecture Awards, Anthenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, Chicago, US 2010 In March 2010, Ai received an honorary doctorate degree from the Faculty of Politics and Social Science, University of Ghent, Belgium. In September 2010, Ai received Das Glas der Vernunft (The Prism of Reason), Kassel Citizen Award, Kassel, Germany. Ai was ranked 13th in ArtReviews guide to the 100 most powerful figures in contemporary art: Power 100, 2010. In 2010, he was also awarded a Wallpaper Design Award for the Tsai Residence, which won Best New Private House. Asteroid 83598 Aiweiwei, discovered by Bill Yeung in 2001, was named in his honor. The official was published by the Minor Planet Center on 28 November 2010 (). 2011 On 20 April 2011, Ai was appointed visiting professor of the Berlin University of the Arts. In October 2011, when ArtReview magazine named Ai number one in their annual Power 100 list, the decision was criticized by the Chinese authorities. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin responded, "China has many artists who have sufficient ability. We feel that a selection that is based purely on a political bias and perspective has violated the objectives of the magazine". In December 2011, Ai was one of four runners-up in Times Person of the Year award. Other awards included: Wall Street Journal Innovators Award (Art); Foreign Policy Top Global Thinkers of 2011, rank 18; the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation Award for Courage; ArtReview Power 100, rank 1; membership at the Academy of Arts, Berlin, Germany; the 2011 Time 100; the Wallpaper* 150; honorary academician at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK; and Skowhegan Medal for Multidisciplinary Art, New York City, US. 2012 Along with Saudi Arabian women's rights activist Manal al-Sharif and Burmese dissident Aung San Suu Kyi, Ai received the inaugural Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent of the Human Rights Foundation on 2 May 2012. Ai was also awarded an honorary degree from Pratt Institute, honorary fellowship from Royal Institute of British Architects, elected as foreign member of Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, and recipient of the International Center of Photography Cornell Capa Award. Ai was ranked 3rd in ArtReviews Power 100. He was one of 12 visionaries honoured by Condé Nast Traveler, along with Hillary Clinton, Kofi Annan, and Nelson Mandela. 2013 In April, Ai received the Appraisers Association Award for Excellence in the Arts. Fast Company has listed him among its 2013 list of 100 Most Creative People in Business. His guest-edit in the 18 October issue of New Statesman has won an Amnesty Media Award in June 2013. He has received the St. Moritz Art Masters Lifetime Achievement Award by Cartier in August. His documentary Ping'an Yueqing (2012) has won the Spirit of Independence award at the Beijing Independent Film Festival. He was ranked no.9 in ArtReview Power 100. He received an honorary doctorate in fine arts at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, US. 2015 On 21 May 2015, Ai, along with the folk singer Joan Baez, received Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience Award, in Berlin, for showing exceptional leadership in the fight for human rights, through his life and work. The artist, who was at the time under surveillance and forbidden from leaving China, could not take part in the ceremony. His son Ai Lao accepted the prize on behalf of his father, called on the stage by Tate Modern director, Chris Dercon, who also spoke on behalf of the Chinese activist. Chris Dercon, who received the award on behalf of Ai Weiwei, said that Ai Weiwei wanted to pay tribute to those people in worse conditions than him, including civil rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang who faces eight years in prison, imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize-winning poet Liu Xiaobo, journalist Gao Yu, women's rights activist Su Changlan, activist Liu Ping and academic Ilham Tohti. 2018 In 2018, Ai Weiwei received Marina Kellen French Outstanding Contributions to the Arts Award granted by the Americans for the Arts. See also WeiweiCam Notes References Further reading Medium, Artists on the Cutting Edge, by Addison Fach, 1 December 2017 WideWalls magazine, Excessivism – A Phenomenon Every Art Collector Should Know, by Angie Kordic Gallereo magazine, The Newest Art Movement You've Never Heard of, 20 November 2015 The Huffington Post, Excessivism: Irony, *Imbalance and a New Rococo, by Shana Nys Dambrot, art critic, curator, 23 September 2015 Spalding, David. @large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz, 2014. Print. @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz Ai, Weiwei; Anthony Pins. Ai Weiwei: Spatial Matters : Art Architecture and Activism, 2014. Print. Ai Weiwei: spatial matters : art architecture and activism External links Ai Weiwei exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts London Ai Weiwei at De Pont Museum of Contemporary Art Ai Weiwei. Study of Perspective. Photographic series produced 1995–2011. Public Delivery Category:1957 births Category:Art Students League of New York alumni Category:Living people Category:Chinese contemporary artists Category:Chinese performance artists Category:Chinese architects Category:Chinese documentary film directors Category:Chinese male bloggers Category:Chinese art critics Category:Chinese curators Category:People's Republic of China writers Category:Writers from Beijing Category:Beijing Film Academy alumni Category:Parsons School of Design alumni Category:Chinese dissidents Category:Artists from Beijing Category:Film directors from Beijing Category:Prisoners and detainees of the People's Republic of China Category:Weiquan movement Category:Victims of human rights abuses Category:Political artists Category:Articles containing video clips Category:Honorary Members of the Royal Academy Category:Sports venue architects Category:Chinese art collectors Category:People from the East Village, Manhattan Category:Chinese emigrants to Germany Category:Chinese emigrants to England Category:Enforced disappearances in China Category:Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts Category:Chinese artists

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Bob Cousy

Robert Joseph Cousy (born August 9, 1928) is an American retired professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard with the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963 and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals in the 1969-70 season. Making his high school varsity squad as a junior, he went on to earn a scholarship to the College of the Holy Cross, where he led the Crusaders to berths in the 1948 NCAA Tournament and 1950 NCAA Tournament and was named an NCAA All-American for 3 seasons. Cousy was initially drafted by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks as the third overall pick in the first round of the 1950 NBA draft, but after he refused to report, he was picked up by Boston.

Post-playing careerEdit

After retiring as a player, Cousy published his autobiography Basketball Is My Life in 1963, and in the same year became coach at Boston College. In the 1965 ECAC Holiday Basketball Festival at Madison Square Garden, Providence defeated Boston College 91-86 in the title game, when the Friars were led by Tourney MVP and All-American Jimmy Walker. Providence was coached by Joe Mullaney, who was Cousy's teammate at Holy Cross when the two men were players there in 1947. In his six seasons there, he had a record of 117 wins and 38 losses and was named New England Coach of the Year for 1968 and 1969. Cousy led the Eagles to three NIT appearances, including a berth in the 1969 NIT Championship and two National Collegiate Athletic Association tournaments, including the 1967 Eastern Regional Finals. Cousy grew bored with college basketball and returned to the NBA as coach of the Cincinnati Royals, team of fellow Hall-of-Fame point guard Oscar Robertson. He later said about this engagement, "I did it for the money. I was made an offer I couldn't refuse." In 1970, the 41-year-old Cousy even made a late-season comeback as a player to boost ticket sales. Despite his meager output of 5 points in 34 minutes of playing time in seven games, ticket sales jumped by 77 percent. He continued as coach of the team after it moved from Cincinnati to Kansas City/Omaha, but stepped down as the Kings' coach early in the 1973-74 NBA season with a 141-209 record. In later life, Cousy was Commissioner of the American Soccer League from 1974 to 1979. He has been a color analyst on Celtics telecasts since the 1980s." In addition, Cousy had a role in the basketball film Blue Chips in 1993, in which he played a college athletic director. Today he is a marketing consultant for the Celtics, and occasionally makes broadcast appearances with Mike Gorman and ex-Celtic teammate Tom Heinsohn. CANNOTANSWER

Robert Joseph Cousy ( , born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time NBA All-Star and 1957 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), he was a core piece during the early half of the Celtics dynasty winning six NBA championships during his 13-year tenure with the Celtics. Nicknamed "The Houdini of the Hardwood", Cousy was the NBA assists leader for eight consecutive seasons, introducing a new blend of ball-handling and passing skills to the NBA. He is regarded as the first great point guard of the NBA. Making his high school varsity squad as a junior, Cousy went on to earn a scholarship to the College of the Holy Cross, where he led the Crusaders to berths in the 1948 NCAA Tournament and 1950 NCAA Tournament, while winning NCAA All-American honors for three seasons. Cousy entered the 1950 NBA draft and was initially drafted by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks as the third overall pick in the first round, but after he refused to report he was picked up by Boston. Following his playing career with the Celtics he served as a college basketball coach and an NBA head coach for the Cincinnati Royals. Upon his election to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1971 the Celtics retired his No. 14 jersey and hung it in the rafters of the Garden. Cousy was named to the NBA 25th Anniversary Team in 1971, the NBA 35th Anniversary Team in 1981, the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996, and the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021 making him one of only four players that were selected to each of those teams. He is also one of only two of these players who is still alive with Bob Pettit as of 2023 and the older of the two living members. He was also the first president of National Basketball Players Association. On August 22, 2019, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump. Early life Cousy was the only son of poor French immigrants living in New York City. He grew up in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan's East Side, in the midst of the Great Depression. His father Joseph was a cab driver, who earned extra income by moonlighting. The elder Cousy had served in the German Army during World War I. Shortly after the war, his first wife died of pneumonia, leaving behind a young daughter. He married Julie Corlet, a secretary and French teacher from Dijon. At the time of the 1930 census, the family was renting an apartment in Astoria, Queens, for $50 per month. The younger Cousy spoke French for the first 5 years of his life, and started to speak English only after entering primary school. He spent his early days playing stickball in a multicultural environment, regularly playing with Black, Jewish and other ethnic minority children. These experiences ingrained him with a strong anti-racist sentiment, an attitude he prominently promoted during his professional career. When he was 12, his family moved to a rented house in St. Albans, Queens. That summer, the elder Cousy put a $500 down payment for a $4,500 house four blocks away. He rented out the bottom two floors of the three-story building to tenants to help make his mortgage payments on time. Cousy took up basketball at the age of 13 as a student at St. Pascal's elementary school, and was "immediately hooked". The following year, he entered Andrew Jackson High School in St Albans. His basketball success was not immediate, and in fact he was cut from the school team in his first year. Later that year, he joined the St. Albans Lindens of the Press League, a basketball league sponsored by the Long Island Press, where he began to develop his basketball skills and gained much-needed experience. The next year, however, he was again cut during the tryouts for the school basketball team. That same year, he fell out of a tree and broke his right hand. The injury forced him to play left-handed until his hand healed, making him effectively ambidextrous. In retrospect, he described this accident as "a fortunate event" and cited it as a factor in making him more versatile on the court. During a Press League game, the high school basketball coach saw him play. He was impressed by the budding star's two-handed ability and invited Cousy to come to practice the following day to try out for the junior varsity team. He did well enough to become a permanent member of the JV squad. He continued to practice day and night, and by his junior year was sure he was going to be promoted to the varsity; but failing his citizenship course made him ineligible for the first semester. He joined the varsity squad midway through the season, however, scoring 28 points in his first game. He had no intention of attending college, but after he started to make a name for himself on the basketball court he started to focus on improving in both academics and basketball skills to make it easier for him to get into college. He again excelled in basketball his senior year, leading his team to the Queens divisional championship and amassing more points than any other New York City high school basketball player. He was even named captain of the Journal-American All-Scholastic team. He then began to plan for college. His family had wanted him to attend a Catholic school, and he wanted to go somewhere outside New York City. Boston College recruited him, and he considered accepting the BC offer, but it had no dormitories, and he was not interested in being a commuter student. Soon afterward, he received an offer from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts about forty miles (64 kilometers) west of Boston. He was impressed by the school, and accepted the basketball scholarship it offered him. He spent the summer before matriculating working at Tamarack Lodge in the Catskill Mountains and playing in a local basketball league along with a number of established college players. College career Cousy was one of six freshmen on the Holy Cross Crusaders' varsity basketball team in 1946–47. From the start of the season, coach Doggie Julian chose to play the six freshmen off the bench in a two-team system, so that each player would get some time on the court. As members of the "second team", they would come off the bench nine and a half minutes into the game, where they would relieve the "first team" starters. They would sometimes get to play as much as a third or even half of the game, but even at that Cousy was so disappointed with the lack of playing time that he went to the campus chapel after practice to pray that Julian would give him more of a chance to show off his talents on the court. Early in the season, however, he got into trouble with Julian, who accused him of being a showboater. Even as late as that 1946–47 season, basketball was a static game, depending on slow, deliberate player movement and flat-footed shots. Far different was Cousy's up-tempo, streetball-like game, marked by ambidextrous finesse play and notable for behind-the-back dribbling and no-look, behind-the-back and half-court passing. Even so, he had enough playing time in games to score 227 points for the season, finishing with the third-highest total on the team. Led by stars George Kaftan and Joe Mullaney, the Crusaders finished the 1946–47 basketball season 24–3. On the basis of that record, Holy Cross got into the 1947 NCAA Tournament as the last seed in the then only eight-team tournament. In the first game, they defeated Navy 55–47 in front of a sell-out crowd at Madison Square Garden. Mullaney led the team in scoring with 18 points, thanks to Navy coach Ben Carnevale's decision to have his players back off from Mullaney, who was reputed as being more of a playmaker than a shooter. In the semifinal game, the Crusaders faced CCNY, coached by Nat Holman, one of the game's earliest innovators. Led by Kaftan's 30 points, Holy Cross easily defeated the Beavers 60–45. In the championship game, the Crusaders faced Oklahoma, coached by Bruce Drake, in another sold-out game at Madison Square Garden. Kaftan followed up his 30-point semifinal heroics with a mere 18 points in the title game, which was far more than enough for the team to defeat the Sooners 58–47. Cousy played poorly, however, scoring only four points on 2-for-13 shots. Holy Cross became the first New England college to win the NCAA tournament. On their arrival back in Worcester, the team was given a hero's welcome by about 10,000 cheering fans who met their train at Union Station. The following season Julian limited Cousy's playing time, to the point that the frustrated sophomore contemplated transferring out of Holy Cross. Cousy wrote a letter to coach Joe Lapchick of St. John's University in New York, informing him that he was considering a transfer there. Lapchick wrote back to Cousy that he considered Julian "one of the finest basketball coaches in America" and that he believed Julian had no bad intentions in restricting his playing time. He told Cousy that Julian would use him more often during his later years with the team. Lapchick alerted Cousy that transferring was a very risky move: according to NCAA rules, the player would be required to sit out a year before becoming eligible to play for the school to which he transferred. Cousy still managed to lead the Crusaders in scoring and was an AP Third Team All American. Cousy again led the team in scoring in his junior year, and was named a Second Team All American by multiple services, including the AP. During Cousy's senior year of 1949–1950, with 5 minutes to go and Holy Cross training in a game against Loyola of Chicago at Boston Garden, the crowd started to chant "We want Cousy!" until coach Julian relented. In these few minutes, Cousy scored 11 points and hit a game-winning buzzer-beater coming off a behind-the-back dribble. The performance established him as a team leader, and he then led Holy Cross to 26 straight wins and a Number 4 national ranking. He was a consensus First Team All-American, and led the team in scoring for the third straight season with 19.4 points per game. A three-time All-American, Cousy ended his college career in the 1950 NCAA Tournament, when Holy Cross fell to North Carolina State in an opening-round game at Madison Square Garden. CCNY would go on to win the tournament. Professional career Boston Celtics (1950–1963) Early years (1950–1956) Cousy turned pro and made himself available for the 1950 NBA draft. The Boston Celtics had just concluded the 1949–50 NBA season with a poor 22–46 win–loss record and had the first draft pick. It was strongly anticipated that they would draft the highly coveted local favorite Cousy. However, coach Red Auerbach snubbed him for center Charlie Share, saying: "Am I supposed to win, or please the local yokels?" The local press strongly criticized Auerbach, but other scouts were also skeptical about Cousy, viewing him as flamboyant but ineffective. One scout wrote in his report: "The first time he tries that fancy Dan stuff in this league, they'll cram the ball down his throat." As a result, the Tri-Cities Blackhawks drafted Cousy, but the point guard was unenthusiastic about his new employer. Cousy was trying to establish a driving school in Worcester, Massachusetts and did not want to relocate to the Midwestern triangle of the three small towns of Moline, Rock Island and Davenport. As compensation for having to give up his driving school, Cousy demanded a salary of $10,000 from Blackhawks owner Ben Kerner. When Kerner offered him only $6,000, Cousy refused to report. Cousy was then picked up by the Chicago Stags, but when they folded, league Commissioner Maurice Podoloff declared three Stags available for a dispersal draft: team scoring leader Max Zaslofsky, Andy Phillip and Cousy. Celtics owner Walter A. Brown was one of the three club bosses invited. He later made it clear that he was hoping for Zaslofsky, would have tolerated Phillip, and did not want Cousy. When the Celtics drew Cousy, Brown confessed: "I could have fallen to the floor." Brown reluctantly gave him a $9,000 salary. It was not long before both Auerbach and Brown changed their minds. With averages of 15.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists a game, Cousy received the first of his 13 consecutive NBA All-Star selections and led a Celtics team with future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers Ed Macauley and Bones McKinney to a 39–30 record in the 1950–51 NBA season. However, in the 1951 NBA Playoffs, the Celtics were beaten by the New York Knicks. With future Hall-of-Fame guard Bill Sharman on board the next season, Cousy averaged 21.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game en route to his first All-NBA First Team nomination. Nonetheless, the Celtics lost to the Knicks in the 1952 NBA Playoffs. In the following season, Cousy made further progress. Averaging 7.7 assists per game, he won the first of his eight consecutive assists titles. These numbers were made despite the fact that the NBA had not yet introduced the shot clock, making the game static and putting prolific assist givers at a disadvantage. Powered by Auerbach's quick fastbreak-dominated tactics, the Celtics won 46 games and beat the Syracuse Nationals 2–0 in the 1953 NBA Playoffs. Game 2 ended 111–105 in a 4-overtime thriller, in which Cousy had a much-lauded game. Despite having an injured leg, he scored 25 points after four quarters, scored 6 of his team's 9 points in the first overtime, hit a clutch free throw in the last seconds, and scored all 4 of Boston's points in the second overtime. He scored 8 more points in the third overtime, among them a 25-ft. buzzer beater. In the fourth overtime, he scored 9 of Boston's 12 points. Cousy played 66 minutes, and scored 50 points after making a still-standing record of 30 free throws in 32 attempts. This game is regarded by the NBA as one of the finest scoring feats ever, in line with Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game. However, for the third time in a row, the Knicks beat Boston in the next round. In the next three years, Cousy firmly established himself as one of the league's best point guards. Leading the league in assists all 3 seasons, and averaging 20 points and 7 rebounds, the versatile Cousy earned himself three more All-NBA First Team and All-Star honors, and was also Most Valuable Player of the 1954 NBA All-Star Game. In terms of playing style, Cousy introduced an array of visually attractive street basketball moves, described by the NBA as a mix of ambidextrous, behind-the-back dribbling and "no-look passes, behind-the-back feeds or half-court fastbreak launches". Cousy's modus operandi contrasted with the rest of the NBA, which was dominated by muscular low post scorers and deliberate set shooters. Soon, he was called "Houdini of the Hardwood" after the magician Harry Houdini. Cousy's crowd-pleasing and effective play drew the crowd into the Boston Garden and also won over coach Auerbach, who no longer saw him as a liability, but as an essential building block for the future. The Celtics eventually added two talented forwards, future Hall-of-Famer Frank Ramsey and defensive specialist Jim Loscutoff. Along with Celtics colleague Bob Brannum, Loscutoff also became Cousy's unofficial bodyguard, retaliating against opposing players who would try to hurt him. The Celtics were unable to make their mark in the 1954 NBA Playoffs, 1955 NBA Playoffs, and 1956 NBA Playoffs, where they lost three times in a row against the Nationals. Cousy attributed the shortcomings to fatigue, stating: "We would get tired in the end and could not get the ball". As a result, Auerbach sought a defensive center who could get easy rebounds, initiate fast breaks and close out games. Celtics dynasty years (1957–1963) Before the 1956–57 NBA season, Auerbach drafted two future Hall-of-Famers: forward Tom Heinsohn, and defensive center Bill Russell. Powered by these new players, the Celtics went 44–28 in the regular season, and Cousy averaged 20.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and a league-leading 7.5 assists, earning his first NBA Most Valuable Player Award; he also won his second NBA All-Star Game MVP award. The Celtics reached the 1957 NBA Finals, and powered by Cousy on offense and rugged center Russell on defense, they beat the Hawks 4–3, who were noted for future Hall-of-Fame power forward Bob Pettit and former teammates Macauley and Hagan. Cousy finally won his first title. In the 1957–58 NBA season, Cousy had yet another highly productive year, with his 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game leading to nominations into the All-NBA First Team and the All-Star team. He again led the NBA in assists. The Celtics reached the 1958 NBA Finals against the Hawks, but when Russell succumbed to a foot injury in Game 3, the Celtics faded and bowed out four games to two. This was the last losing NBA playoff series in which Cousy would play. In the following 1958–59 NBA season, the Celtics got revenge on their opposition, powered by an inspired Cousy, who averaged 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and a league-high 8.6 assists a game, won another assists title and another pair of All-NBA First Team and All-Star team nominations. Late in the season, Cousy reasserted his playmaking dominance by setting an NBA record with 28 assists in a game against the Minneapolis Lakers. While that record was broken 19 years later, Cousy also set a record for 19 assists in a half which has never been broken. The Celtics stormed through the playoffs and, behind Cousy's 51 total assists (still a record for a four-game NBA Finals series), defeated the Minneapolis Lakers in the first 4–0 sweep ever in the 1959 NBA Finals. In the 1959–60 NBA season, Cousy was again productive, his 19.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game earning him his eighth consecutive assists title and another joint All-NBA First Team and All-Star team nomination. Again, the Celtics defeated all opposition and won the 1960 NBA Finals 4–3 against the Hawks. A year later, the 32-year-old Cousy scored 18.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game, winning another pair of All-NBA First Team and All-Star nominations, but failing to win the assists crown after eight consecutive seasons. However, the Celtics won the 1961 NBA Finals after convincingly beating the Hawks 4–1. In the 1961–62 NBA season, the aging Cousy slowly began to fade statistically, averaging 15.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists, and was voted into the All-NBA Second Team after ten consecutive First Team nominations. Still, he enjoyed a satisfying postseason, winning the 1962 NBA Finals after 4–3 battles against two upcoming teams, the Philadelphia Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers. The Finals series against the Lakers was especially dramatic, because Lakers guard Frank Selvy failed to make a last-second buzzer beater in Game 7 which would have won the title. Finally, in the 1962–63 NBA season, the last of his career, Cousy averaged 13.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists, and collected one last All-Star and All-NBA Second Team nomination. In the 1963 NBA Finals, the Celtics again won 4–2 against the Lakers, and Cousy finished his career on a high note: in the fourth quarter of Game 6, Cousy sprained an ankle and had to be helped to the bench. He went back in with Boston up 1. Although he did not score again, he was credited with providing an emotional lift that carried the Celtics to victory, 112–109. The game ended with Cousy throwing the ball into the rafters. Retirement At age 34, Cousy held his retirement ceremony on March 17, 1963, in a packed Boston Garden. The event became known as the Boston Tear Party, when the crowd's response overwhelmed Cousy, left him speechless, and caused his planned 7-minute farewell to go on for 20. Joe Dillon, a water worker from South Boston, Massachusetts, and a devoted Celtics fan, screamed "We love ya, Cooz", breaking the tension and the crowd went into cheers. As a testament to Cousy's legacy, President John F. Kennedy wired to Cousy: "The game bears the indelible stamp of your rare skills and competitive daring, and it will serve as a living reminder of your long and illustrious career so long as it is played." Cincinnati Royals (1969–1970) During the 1969–70 NBA season, the then 41-year-old Cousy, who was also the head coach for the Royals, made a late-season comeback as a player for seven games. NBA career statistics Regular season Playoffs Coaching career College coach After retiring as a player, Cousy published his autobiography Basketball Is My Life in 1963, and in the same year became coach at Boston College. In the 1965 ECAC Holiday Basketball Festival at Madison Square Garden, Providence defeated Boston College 91–86 in the title game, when the Friars were led by Tourney MVP and All-American Jimmy Walker. Providence was coached by Joe Mullaney, who was Cousy's teammate at Holy Cross when the two men were players there in 1947. In his six seasons there, he had a record of 114 wins and 38 losses and was named New England Coach of the Year for 1968 and 1969. Cousy led the Eagles to three NIT appearances, including a berth in the 1969 NIT Championship and two National Collegiate Athletic Association tournaments, including the 1967 Eastern Regional Finals. NBA coach Cousy grew bored with college basketball and returned to the NBA as coach of the Cincinnati Royals, team of fellow Hall-of-Fame point guard Oscar Robertson. He later said about this engagement, "I did it for the money. I was made an offer I couldn't refuse." He continued as coach of the team after it moved from Cincinnati to Kansas City/Omaha, but stepped down as the Kings' coach early in the 1973–74 NBA season with a 141–209 record. Coaching record College coaching record NBA coaching record |- | align="left" |Cincinnati | align="left" | |82||36||46||.439|| align="center" |5th in Eastern||—||—||—||— | align="center" |Missed playoffs |- | align="left" |Cincinnati | align="left" | |82||33||49||.402|| align="center" |3rd in Central||—||—||—||— | align="center" |Missed playoffs |- | align="left" |Cincinnati | align="left" | |82||30||52||.366|| align="center" |3rd in Central||—||—||—||— | align="center" |Missed playoffs |- | align="left" |Kansas City–Omaha | align="left" | |82||36||46||.439|| align="center" |4th in Midwest||—||—||—||— | align="center" |Missed playoffs |- | align="left" |Kansas City–Omaha | align="left" | |20||6||14||.300|| align="center" |(resigned)||—||—||—||— | align="center" |— |-class="sortbottom" | align="left" |Career | ||348||141||207||.405|| ||—||—||—||— | align="center" |— Legacy In 1954, the NBA had no health benefits, pension plan, minimum salary, and the average player's salary was $8,000 ($82,000 in 2021 dollars) a season. To combat this, Cousy organized the National Basketball Players Association, the first trade union among those in the four major North American professional sports leagues. Cousy served as its first president until 1958. In his 13-year, 924-game NBA playing career, Cousy finished with 16,960 points, 4,786 rebounds and 6,955 assists, translating to averages of 18.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game. He was regarded as the first great point guard of the NBA, winning eight of the first 11 assist titles in the league, all of them en bloc, and had a highly successful career, winning six NBA titles, one MVP award, 13 All-Star and 12 All-NBA First and Second Team call-ups and two All-Star MVP awards. With his eye-catching dribbling and unorthodox passing, Cousy popularized modern guard play and raised the profile of the Boston Celtics and the entire NBA. His fast-paced playing style was later emulated by the likes of Pete Maravich and Magic Johnson. In recognition of his feats, Cousy was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1971 and in 1963, the Celtics retired his uniform number, 14, the first of two numbers retired (the other was Ed Macauley’s number 22). Celtics owner Walter Brown said: "The Celtics wouldn't be here without him [Cousy]. He made basketball in this town. If he had played in New York he would have been the biggest thing since [New York Yankees baseball legend] Babe Ruth. I think he is anyway." In addition, on May 11, 2006, ESPN.com rated Cousy as the fifth-greatest point guard of all time, lauding him as "ahead of his time with his ballhandling and passing skills" and pointing out he is one of only seven point guards ever to win an NBA Most Valuable Player award. On November 16, 2008, Cousy's college uniform number, 17, was hoisted to the Hart Center rafters. During halftime of a game between the Holy Cross Crusaders and St. Joseph's Hawks, the uniform numbers of Cousy, George Kaftan, Togo Palazzi, and Tommy Heinsohn became the first to hang from the gymnasium's ceiling. On July 1, 2019, Cousy advised The Boston Globe that he had received an official letter notifying him that he would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump on August 22, 2019. He received the medal at a ceremony in the Oval Office. A statue of Cousy was installed outside the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 2021. Cousy has been the recipient of several basketball awards being named after him. The Bob Cousy Award has been presented annually since 2004 by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate point guard. In 2022, the NBA renamed its Eastern Conference championship trophy in honor of Cousy. Off the court Soccer league commissioner Despite his unfamiliarity with the sport, Cousy was appointed Commissioner of the American Soccer League on December 19, 1974. His most notable act as commissioner was to declare the New York Apollo and Boston Astros co‐champions after both teams played 67 minutes of extra time without resolution in the second and deciding leg of the league's championship series on September 20, 1975. He was relieved of his duties on December 1, 1979. Pennsylvania Stoners club owner Willie Ehrlich explained the dismissal by stating, "After five years as commissioner, Cousy still goes around telling people he knows nothing about soccer." Personal life Cousy married his college sweetheart, Missie Ritterbusch, in December 1950, six months after he graduated from Holy Cross. They lived in Worcester, Massachusetts, and had two daughters. His wife died on September 20, 2013, after suffering from dementia for several years. Cousy was well-known, both on and off the court, for his public stance against racism, a result of his upbringing in a multicultural environment. In 1950, the Celtics played a game in the then-segregated city of Charlotte, North Carolina, and teammate Chuck Cooper—the first African-American in NBA history to be drafted—would have been denied a hotel room. Instead of taking the hotel room, Cousy insisted on travelling with Cooper on an uncomfortable overnight train. He described their visit to a segregated men's toilet—Cooper was prohibited from using the clean "for whites" bathroom and had to use the shabby "for colored" facility—as one of the most shameful experiences of his life. He also sympathized with the plight of black Celtics star Bill Russell, who was frequently a victim of racism. He was close to his Celtics mentor, head coach Red Auerbach, and was one of the few permitted to call him "Arnold", his given name, instead of his nickname "Red". He was a color analyst on Celtics telecasts during the 1980s." In addition, he had a role in the 1994 basketball film Blue Chips, in which he played a college athletic director. He is currently a marketing consultant for the Celtics, and occasionally makes broadcast appearances with Mike Gorman (and with ex-Celtic teammate Tom Heinsohn prior to Heinsohn's death on November 9, 2020). See also List of athletes who came out of retirement List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders List of National Basketball Association career triple-double leaders List of National Basketball Association career playoff assists leaders List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game List of National Basketball Association single-game playoff scoring leaders References External links Bob Cousy on nba.com Category:1928 births Category:Living people Category:All-American college men's basketball players Category:American men's basketball players Category:American people of French descent Category:American sports announcers Category:Andrew Jackson High School (Queens) alumni Category:Basketball coaches from New York (state) Category:Basketball players from New York City Category:Basketball players from Worcester, Massachusetts Category:Boston Celtics announcers Category:Boston Celtics players Category:Boston College Eagles men's basketball coaches Category:Cincinnati Royals head coaches Category:Cincinnati Royals players Category:College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Category:Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball players Category:Kansas City-Omaha Kings head coaches Category:Kansas City Kings head coaches Category:Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Category:National Basketball Association All-Stars Category:National Basketball Association broadcasters Category:National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award winners Category:National Basketball Association players with retired numbers Category:National Basketball Players Association presidents Category:People from St. Albans, Queens Category:People from Yorkville, Manhattan Category:Player-coaches Category:Point guards Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:Sportspeople from Manhattan Category:Tri-Cities Blackhawks draft picks

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Bill Monroe

Monroe was born on his family's farm near Rosine, Kentucky, the youngest of eight children of James Buchanan "Buck" and Malissa (Vandiver) Monroe. His mother and her brother, Pendleton "Pen" Vandiver, were both musically talented, and Monroe and his family grew up playing and singing at home. Bill was of Scottish heritage. Because his older brothers Birch and Charlie already played the fiddle and guitar, Bill Monroe was resigned to playing the less desirable mandolin.

Professional career

In 1929, Monroe moved to Indiana to work at an oil refinery with his brothers Birch and Charlie, and childhood friend and guitarist William "Old Hickory" Hardin. Together with a friend Larry Moore, they formed the "Monroe Brothers", to play at local dances and house parties. Birch Monroe and Larry Moore soon left the group, and Bill and Charlie carried on as a duo, eventually winning spots performing live on radio stations-- first in Indiana and then, sponsored by Texas Crystals, on several radio broadcasts in Iowa, Nebraska, South Carolina and North Carolina from 1934 to 1936. RCA Victor signed the Monroe Brothers to a recording contract in 1936. They scored an immediate hit single with the gospel song "What Would You Give in Exchange For Your Soul?" and ultimately recorded 60 tracks for Victor's Bluebird label between 1936 and 1938. After the Monroe Brothers disbanded in 1938, Bill Monroe formed The Kentuckians in Little Rock, Arkansas, but the group only lasted for three months. Monroe then left Little Rock for Atlanta, Georgia, to form the first edition of the Blue Grass Boys with singer/guitarist Cleo Davis, fiddler Art Wooten, and bassist Amos Garren. Bill had wanted "Old Hickory" to become one of the original members of his "Blue Grass Boys", however William Hardin had to decline. In October 1939, Monroe successfully auditioned for a regular spot on the Grand Ole Opry, impressing Opry founder George D. Hay with his energetic performance of Jimmie Rodgers's "Mule Skinner Blues". Monroe recorded that song, along with seven others, at his first solo recording session for RCA Victor in 1940; by this time, the Blue Grass Boys consisted of singer/guitarist Clyde Moody, fiddler Tommy Magness, and bassist Bill Wesbrooks. While the fast tempos and instrumental virtuosity characteristic of bluegrass music are apparent even on these early tracks, Monroe was still experimenting with the sound of his group. He seldom sang lead vocals on his Victor recordings, often preferring to contribute high tenor harmonies as he had in the Monroe Brothers. A 1945 session for Columbia Records featured an accordion, soon dropped from the band. Most importantly, while Monroe added banjo player David "'Stringbean" Akeman to the Blue Grass Boys in 1942, Akeman played the instrument in a relatively primitive style and was rarely featured in instrumental solos. Monroe's pre-1946 recordings represent a transitional style between the string-band tradition from which he came and the musical innovation to follow. CANNOTANSWER

William Smith Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the "Father of Bluegrass". The genre takes its name from his band, the Blue Grass Boys, who named their group for the bluegrass of Monroe's home state of Kentucky. He described the genre as "Scottish bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin'. It's Methodist and Holiness and Baptist. It's blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound." Early life Monroe was born on his family's farm near Rosine, Kentucky, the youngest of eight children of James Buchanan "Buck" and Malissa (Vandiver) Monroe. His mother and her brother, James Pendleton "Pen" Vandiver, were both musically talented, and Monroe and his family grew up playing and singing at home. Bill was of Scottish and English heritage. Because his older brothers Birch and Charlie already played the fiddle and guitar, Bill was resigned to playing the less desirable mandolin. He recalled that his brothers insisted that he remove four of the mandolin's eight strings so he would not play too loudly. Monroe's mother died when he was ten, and his father died six years later. By and by his brothers and sisters moved away, leaving Monroe to bounce between uncles and aunts until finally settling in with his disabled uncle Pendleton Vandiver, whom he often accompanied when Vandiver played the fiddle at dances. This experience inspired one of Monroe's most famous compositions, "Uncle Pen", recorded in 1950, and the 1972 album Bill Monroe's Uncle Pen. On that album, Monroe recorded a number of traditional fiddle tunes he had often heard performed by Vandiver. Vandiver has been credited with giving Monroe "a repertoire of tunes that sank into Bill's aurally trained memory and a sense of rhythm that seeped into his bones." Also significant in Monroe's musical life was Arnold Shultz, an influential fiddler and guitarist who introduced Monroe to the blues. Professional career In 1929, Monroe moved to Indiana to work at an oil refinery with his brothers Birch and Charlie, and childhood friend and guitarist William "Old Hickory" Hardin. Together with a friend, Larry Moore, they formed the "Monroe Brothers", to play at local dances and house parties. Birch and Moore soon left the group, and Bill and Charlie carried on as a duo, eventually winning spots performing live on radio stations, first in Indiana and then, sponsored by Texas Crystals, on several radio broadcasts in Shenandoah, Iowa, Nebraska, South Carolina and North Carolina from 1934 to 1936. RCA Victor signed the Monroe Brothers to a recording contract in 1936. They scored an immediate hit single with the gospel song "What Would You Give in Exchange For Your Soul?" and ultimately recorded 60 tracks for Victor's Bluebird label between 1936 and 1938. After the Monroe Brothers disbanded in 1938, Bill Monroe formed The Kentuckians in Little Rock, Arkansas, but the group only lasted for three months. Monroe then left Little Rock for Atlanta, Georgia, to form the first edition of the Blue Grass Boys, with singer/guitarist Cleo Davis, fiddler Art Wooten, and bassist Amos Garren. Bill had wanted William Hardin to become one of the original members of his Blue Grass Boys; however, he had to decline. In October 1939, Monroe successfully auditioned for a regular spot on the Grand Ole Opry, impressing Opry founder George D. Hay with his energetic performance of Jimmie Rodgers's "Mule Skinner Blues". Monroe recorded that song, along with seven others, at his first solo recording session for RCA Victor in 1940; by this time, the Blue Grass Boys consisted of singer/guitarist Clyde Moody, fiddler Tommy Magness, and bassist Bill Wesbrooks. While the fast tempos and instrumental virtuosity characteristic of bluegrass music are apparent even on these early tracks, Monroe was still experimenting with the sound of his group. He seldom sang lead vocals on his Victor recordings, often preferring to contribute high tenor harmonies as he had in the Monroe Brothers. A 1945 session for Columbia Records featured an accordion, soon dropped from the band. Most importantly, Monroe added banjo player David "Stringbean" Akeman to the Blue Grass Boys in 1942. Akeman played the instrument in a relatively primitive style and was rarely featured in instrumental solos. Monroe's pre-1946 recordings represent a transitional style between the string-band tradition from which he came and the musical innovation to follow. "Original Bluegrass Band" and Monroe's heyday as a star Key developments occurred in Monroe's music with the addition of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs to the Blue Grass Boys in December 1945. Flatt played a solid rhythm guitar style that would help to set the course for bluegrass timing. Scruggs played the banjo with a distinctive three-finger picking style that immediately caused a sensation among Opry audiences. Flatt and Scruggs joined a highly accomplished group that included fiddler Howdy Forrester and bassist Joe Forrester and would soon include fiddler Chubby Wise and bassist Howard Watts, who often performed under the name "Cedric Rainwater". In retrospect, this line-up of the Blue Grass Boys has been dubbed the "Original Bluegrass Band", as the music finally included all the elements that characterize bluegrass music, including breakneck tempos, sophisticated vocal harmony arrangements, and impressive instrumental proficiency demonstrated in solos or "breaks" on the mandolin, banjo, and fiddle. By this time, Monroe had acquired the 1923 Gibson F5 model "Lloyd Loar" mandolin, which became his trademark instrument for the remainder of his career. The 28 songs recorded by this version of the Blue Grass Boys for Columbia Records in 1946 and 1947 soon became classics of the genre, including "Toy Heart", "Blue Grass Breakdown", "Molly and Tenbrooks", "Wicked Path of Sin", "My Rose of Old Kentucky", "Little Cabin Home on the Hill", and Monroe's most famous song "Blue Moon of Kentucky", which was recorded by Elvis Presley in 1954, appearing as the B-side of his first single for Sun Records. Monroe gave his blessing to Presley's rock and roll cover of the song, originally a slow ballad in waltz time, and re-recorded it himself with a faster arrangement after Presley's version became a hit. Several gospel-themed numbers are credited to the "Blue Grass Quartet", which featured four-part vocal arrangements accompanied solely by mandolin and guitar – Monroe's usual practice when performing "sacred" songs. Both Flatt and Scruggs left Monroe's band in early 1948, soon forming their own group, the Foggy Mountain Boys. In 1949, after signing with Decca Records, Monroe entered what has been called the "golden age" of his career with what many consider the classic "high lonesome" version of the Blue Grass Boys, featuring the lead vocals and rhythm guitar of Jimmy Martin, the banjo of Rudy Lyle (replacing Don Reno), and fiddlers such as Merle "Red" Taylor, Charlie Cline, Bobby Hicks, and Vassar Clements. This band recorded a number of bluegrass classics, including "My Little Georgia Rose", "On and On", "Memories of Mother and Dad", and "Uncle Pen", as well as instrumentals such as "Roanoke", "Big Mon", "Stoney Lonesome", "Get Up John", and the mandolin feature "Raw Hide". Carter Stanley joined the Blue Grass Boys as guitarist for a short time in 1951 during a period when The Stanley Brothers had temporarily disbanded. On January 16, 1953, Monroe was critically injured in a two-car wreck. He and "Bluegrass Boys" bass player, Bessie Lee Mauldin, were returning home from a fox hunt north of Nashville. On highway 31-W, near White House, their car was struck by a drunken driver. Monroe, who had suffered injuries to his back, left arm and nose, was rushed to General Hospital in Nashville. It took him almost four months to recover and resume touring. In the meantime Charlie Cline and Jimmy Martin kept the band together. By the late 1950s, however, Monroe's commercial fortunes had begun to slip. The rise of rock-and-roll and the development of the "Nashville sound" in mainstream country music both represented threats to the viability of bluegrass. While still a mainstay on the Grand Ole Opry, Monroe found diminishing success on the singles charts, and struggled to keep his band together in the face of declining demand for live performances. Folk revival Monroe's fortunes began to improve during the American folk music revival of the early 1960s. Many college students and other young people were beginning to discover Monroe, associating his style more with traditional folk music than with the country-and-western genre with which it had previously been identified. The word "bluegrass" first appeared around this time to describe the sound of Monroe and similar artists such as Flatt and Scruggs, the Stanley Brothers, Reno and Smiley, Jim and Jesse, and the Osborne Brothers. While Flatt and Scruggs immediately recognized the potential for a lucrative new audience in cities and on college campuses in the North, Monroe was slower to respond. Under the influence of Ralph Rinzler, a young musician and folklorist from New Jersey who briefly became Monroe's manager in 1963, Monroe gradually expanded his geographic reach beyond the traditional southern country music circuit. Rinzler was also responsible for a lengthy profile and interview in the influential folk music magazine Sing Out! that first publicly referred to Monroe as the "father" of bluegrass. Accordingly, at the first bluegrass festival organized by Carlton Haney at Roanoke, Virginia in 1965, Bill Monroe was the central figure. In 1964, before the Grateful Dead got together, Jerry Garcia caravanned across the country from California to tag along with Monroe. The growing national popularity of Monroe's music during the 1960s was also apparent in the increasingly diverse background of musicians recruited into his band. Non-southerners who served as Blue Grass Boys during this period included banjo player Bill Keith and singer/guitarist Peter Rowan from Massachusetts, fiddler Gene Lowinger from New Jersey, banjo player Lamar Grier from Maryland, banjo player Steve Arkin from New York, and singer/guitarist Roland White and fiddler Richard Greene from California. Later years Even after the folk revival faded in the mid-1960s, it left a loyal audience for bluegrass music. Bluegrass festivals became common, with fans often traveling long distances to see a number of different acts over several days of performances. In 1967, Monroe himself founded an annual bluegrass festival at Bean Blossom in southern Indiana, a park he had purchased in 1951, which routinely attracted a crowd of thousands; a double LP from the festival featuring Monroe, Jimmy Martin, Lester Flatt, and Jim and Jesse was released in 1973. The annual Bill Monroe Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival is now the world's oldest continuously running annual bluegrass festival. Monroe's compositions during his later period were largely instrumentals, including "Jerusalem Ridge", "Old Dangerfield" (originally spelled Daingerfield after the town in East Texas), and "My Last Days on Earth"; he settled into a new role as a musical patriarch who continued to influence younger generations of musicians. Monroe recorded two albums of duets in the 1980s; the first featured collaborations with country stars such as Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, and The Oak Ridge Boys, while the second paired him with other prominent bluegrass musicians. A 1989 live album celebrated his 50th year on the Grand Ole Opry. Monroe also kept a hectic touring schedule. On April 7, 1990, Monroe performed for Farm Aid IV in Indianapolis, Indiana along with Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and with many other artists. Death Monroe's last performance occurred on March 15, 1996. He ended his touring and playing career in April, following a stroke. Monroe died on September 9, 1996, in Springfield, Tennessee, four days before his 85th birthday. Legacy and influence Bill Monroe was made an honorary Kentucky Colonel in 1966. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as an "early influence") in 1997. Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills, Hank Williams Sr., and Johnny Cash are the only other performers honored in all three. As the "father of bluegrass", he was also an inaugural inductee into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1991. Monroe was a recipient of a 1982 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. That year's fellowships were the first bestowed by the NEA. In 1993, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and he was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1995. His well-known song "Blue Moon of Kentucky" has been covered not only by bluegrass but also rock and country artists, most notably Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, and Patsy Cline. In 2003, CMT had Bill Monroe ranked No. 16 on CMT 40 Greatest Men of Country Music. Artists that claimed to be influenced by or to be playing the bluegrass genre were often bullied by Bill Monroe. He always considered himself the father and caretaker of bluegrass. He would often say of new bands that did not perform to his standards, "That ain't no part of nothin'." Even those who question the scope of bluegrass refer to Monroe as a "musical giant" and recognize that "there would be no bluegrass without Bill Monroe." More than 150 musicians played in the Blue Grass Boys over the nearly 60 years of Monroe's performing career. Monroe tended to recruit promising young musicians who served an apprenticeship with him before becoming accomplished artists in their own right. Some of Monroe's band members who went on to greater prominence include singer/guitarists Clyde Moody, Lester Flatt, Jack Cook, Mac Wiseman, Jimmy Martin, Carter Stanley, Del McCoury, Peter Rowan, Roland White, Roland Dunn and Doug Green; banjo players Earl Scruggs, Bob Black, Butch Robins, Buck Trent, Don Reno, Stringbean, Sonny Osborne, and Bill Keith; and fiddlers Tommy Magness, Chubby Wise, Vassar Clements, Byron Berline, Kenny Baker, Bobby Hicks, Gordon Terry, Randall Franks and Glen Duncan. Monroe also regularly performed with flat-picking guitar virtuoso Doc Watson. Modern bluegrass singer and mandolin player Ricky Skaggs was influenced by Monroe. Skaggs was only six years old, in 1960, when he first got to perform on stage with Monroe and his band at the high school in Martha, Kentucky. He stated, "I think Bill Monroe's importance to American music is as important as someone like Robert Johnson was to blues, or Louis Armstrong. He was so influential: I think he's probably the only musician that had a whole style of music named after his band." In 1999, the portion of Indiana State Road 135 running from Morgantown through to Nashville, Indiana was dedicated to Bill Monroe and is known as the Bill Monroe Memorial Highway. Discography Southern Flavor (1988) Cryin' Holy Unto the Lord (1991) References Sources Ewing, Tom. 2018. Bill Monroe: The Life and Music of the Blue Grass Man. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Klein, Bradley. (2011). "Bill Monroe: Celebrating The Father Of Bluegrass At 100". NPR. Rumble, John (1998). "Bill Monroe". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 350–2. Smith, Richard D. (2000). Can't You Hear Me Callin': The Life of Bill Monroe, Father of Bluegrass. Little, Brown and Company. . Rosenberg, Neil V., and Charles K. Wolfe (2007). The Music of Bill Monroe. University of Illinois Press. . External links Country Music Hall of Fame profile International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor profile Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame profile Recording of "Wayfaring Stranger" from the 1993 Florida Folk Festival (available for public use from the State Archives of Florida) Bill Monroe: Father of Bluegrass Music (documentary video) "Bill Monroe in Indiana: From Lake to Brown County, Oil to Bluegrass," Indiana Historical Bureau Bill Monroe recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. * Category:1911 births Category:1996 deaths Category:People from Ohio County, Kentucky Category:Bluegrass musicians from Kentucky Category:Country musicians from Kentucky Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Grand Ole Opry members Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:National Heritage Fellowship winners Category:Peabody Award winners Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:American bluegrass mandolinists Category:20th-century American singers Category:Singer-songwriters from Kentucky

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Bill Monroe

Monroe was born on his family's farm near Rosine, Kentucky, the youngest of eight children of James Buchanan "Buck" and Malissa (Vandiver) Monroe. His mother and her brother, Pendleton "Pen" Vandiver, were both musically talented, and Monroe and his family grew up playing and singing at home. Bill was of Scottish heritage. Because his older brothers Birch and Charlie already played the fiddle and guitar, Bill Monroe was resigned to playing the less desirable mandolin.

Folk revival

Monroe's fortunes began to improve during the "folk revival" of the early 1960s. Many college students and other young people were beginning to discover Monroe, associating his style more with traditional folk music than with the country-and-western genre with which it had previously been identified. The word "bluegrass" first appeared around this time to describe the sound of Monroe and similar artists such as Flatt and Scruggs, the Stanley Brothers, Reno and Smiley, Jim and Jesse, and the Osborne Brothers. While Flatt and Scruggs immediately recognized the potential for a lucrative new audience in cities and on college campuses in the North, Monroe was slower to respond. Under the influence of Ralph Rinzler, a young musician and folklorist from New Jersey who briefly became Monroe's manager in 1963, Monroe gradually expanded his geographic reach beyond the traditional southern country music circuit. Rinzler was also responsible for a lengthy profile and interview in the influential folk music magazine Sing Out! that first publicly referred to Monroe as the "father" of bluegrass. Accordingly, at the first bluegrass festival organized by Carlton Haney at Roanoke, Virginia in 1965, Bill Monroe was the central figure. The growing national popularity of Monroe's music during the 1960s was also apparent in the increasingly diverse background of musicians recruited into his band. Non-southerners who served as Blue Grass Boys during this period included banjo player Bill Keith and singer/guitarist Peter Rowan from Massachusetts, fiddler Gene Lowinger from New York, banjo player Lamar Grier from Maryland, banjo player Steve Arkin from New York, and singer/guitarist Roland White and fiddler Richard Greene from California. CANNOTANSWER

William Smith Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the "Father of Bluegrass". The genre takes its name from his band, the Blue Grass Boys, who named their group for the bluegrass of Monroe's home state of Kentucky. He described the genre as "Scottish bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin'. It's Methodist and Holiness and Baptist. It's blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound." Early life Monroe was born on his family's farm near Rosine, Kentucky, the youngest of eight children of James Buchanan "Buck" and Malissa (Vandiver) Monroe. His mother and her brother, James Pendleton "Pen" Vandiver, were both musically talented, and Monroe and his family grew up playing and singing at home. Bill was of Scottish and English heritage. Because his older brothers Birch and Charlie already played the fiddle and guitar, Bill was resigned to playing the less desirable mandolin. He recalled that his brothers insisted that he remove four of the mandolin's eight strings so he would not play too loudly. Monroe's mother died when he was ten, and his father died six years later. By and by his brothers and sisters moved away, leaving Monroe to bounce between uncles and aunts until finally settling in with his disabled uncle Pendleton Vandiver, whom he often accompanied when Vandiver played the fiddle at dances. This experience inspired one of Monroe's most famous compositions, "Uncle Pen", recorded in 1950, and the 1972 album Bill Monroe's Uncle Pen. On that album, Monroe recorded a number of traditional fiddle tunes he had often heard performed by Vandiver. Vandiver has been credited with giving Monroe "a repertoire of tunes that sank into Bill's aurally trained memory and a sense of rhythm that seeped into his bones." Also significant in Monroe's musical life was Arnold Shultz, an influential fiddler and guitarist who introduced Monroe to the blues. Professional career In 1929, Monroe moved to Indiana to work at an oil refinery with his brothers Birch and Charlie, and childhood friend and guitarist William "Old Hickory" Hardin. Together with a friend, Larry Moore, they formed the "Monroe Brothers", to play at local dances and house parties. Birch and Moore soon left the group, and Bill and Charlie carried on as a duo, eventually winning spots performing live on radio stations, first in Indiana and then, sponsored by Texas Crystals, on several radio broadcasts in Shenandoah, Iowa, Nebraska, South Carolina and North Carolina from 1934 to 1936. RCA Victor signed the Monroe Brothers to a recording contract in 1936. They scored an immediate hit single with the gospel song "What Would You Give in Exchange For Your Soul?" and ultimately recorded 60 tracks for Victor's Bluebird label between 1936 and 1938. After the Monroe Brothers disbanded in 1938, Bill Monroe formed The Kentuckians in Little Rock, Arkansas, but the group only lasted for three months. Monroe then left Little Rock for Atlanta, Georgia, to form the first edition of the Blue Grass Boys, with singer/guitarist Cleo Davis, fiddler Art Wooten, and bassist Amos Garren. Bill had wanted William Hardin to become one of the original members of his Blue Grass Boys; however, he had to decline. In October 1939, Monroe successfully auditioned for a regular spot on the Grand Ole Opry, impressing Opry founder George D. Hay with his energetic performance of Jimmie Rodgers's "Mule Skinner Blues". Monroe recorded that song, along with seven others, at his first solo recording session for RCA Victor in 1940; by this time, the Blue Grass Boys consisted of singer/guitarist Clyde Moody, fiddler Tommy Magness, and bassist Bill Wesbrooks. While the fast tempos and instrumental virtuosity characteristic of bluegrass music are apparent even on these early tracks, Monroe was still experimenting with the sound of his group. He seldom sang lead vocals on his Victor recordings, often preferring to contribute high tenor harmonies as he had in the Monroe Brothers. A 1945 session for Columbia Records featured an accordion, soon dropped from the band. Most importantly, Monroe added banjo player David "Stringbean" Akeman to the Blue Grass Boys in 1942. Akeman played the instrument in a relatively primitive style and was rarely featured in instrumental solos. Monroe's pre-1946 recordings represent a transitional style between the string-band tradition from which he came and the musical innovation to follow. "Original Bluegrass Band" and Monroe's heyday as a star Key developments occurred in Monroe's music with the addition of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs to the Blue Grass Boys in December 1945. Flatt played a solid rhythm guitar style that would help to set the course for bluegrass timing. Scruggs played the banjo with a distinctive three-finger picking style that immediately caused a sensation among Opry audiences. Flatt and Scruggs joined a highly accomplished group that included fiddler Howdy Forrester and bassist Joe Forrester and would soon include fiddler Chubby Wise and bassist Howard Watts, who often performed under the name "Cedric Rainwater". In retrospect, this line-up of the Blue Grass Boys has been dubbed the "Original Bluegrass Band", as the music finally included all the elements that characterize bluegrass music, including breakneck tempos, sophisticated vocal harmony arrangements, and impressive instrumental proficiency demonstrated in solos or "breaks" on the mandolin, banjo, and fiddle. By this time, Monroe had acquired the 1923 Gibson F5 model "Lloyd Loar" mandolin, which became his trademark instrument for the remainder of his career. The 28 songs recorded by this version of the Blue Grass Boys for Columbia Records in 1946 and 1947 soon became classics of the genre, including "Toy Heart", "Blue Grass Breakdown", "Molly and Tenbrooks", "Wicked Path of Sin", "My Rose of Old Kentucky", "Little Cabin Home on the Hill", and Monroe's most famous song "Blue Moon of Kentucky", which was recorded by Elvis Presley in 1954, appearing as the B-side of his first single for Sun Records. Monroe gave his blessing to Presley's rock and roll cover of the song, originally a slow ballad in waltz time, and re-recorded it himself with a faster arrangement after Presley's version became a hit. Several gospel-themed numbers are credited to the "Blue Grass Quartet", which featured four-part vocal arrangements accompanied solely by mandolin and guitar – Monroe's usual practice when performing "sacred" songs. Both Flatt and Scruggs left Monroe's band in early 1948, soon forming their own group, the Foggy Mountain Boys. In 1949, after signing with Decca Records, Monroe entered what has been called the "golden age" of his career with what many consider the classic "high lonesome" version of the Blue Grass Boys, featuring the lead vocals and rhythm guitar of Jimmy Martin, the banjo of Rudy Lyle (replacing Don Reno), and fiddlers such as Merle "Red" Taylor, Charlie Cline, Bobby Hicks, and Vassar Clements. This band recorded a number of bluegrass classics, including "My Little Georgia Rose", "On and On", "Memories of Mother and Dad", and "Uncle Pen", as well as instrumentals such as "Roanoke", "Big Mon", "Stoney Lonesome", "Get Up John", and the mandolin feature "Raw Hide". Carter Stanley joined the Blue Grass Boys as guitarist for a short time in 1951 during a period when The Stanley Brothers had temporarily disbanded. On January 16, 1953, Monroe was critically injured in a two-car wreck. He and "Bluegrass Boys" bass player, Bessie Lee Mauldin, were returning home from a fox hunt north of Nashville. On highway 31-W, near White House, their car was struck by a drunken driver. Monroe, who had suffered injuries to his back, left arm and nose, was rushed to General Hospital in Nashville. It took him almost four months to recover and resume touring. In the meantime Charlie Cline and Jimmy Martin kept the band together. By the late 1950s, however, Monroe's commercial fortunes had begun to slip. The rise of rock-and-roll and the development of the "Nashville sound" in mainstream country music both represented threats to the viability of bluegrass. While still a mainstay on the Grand Ole Opry, Monroe found diminishing success on the singles charts, and struggled to keep his band together in the face of declining demand for live performances. Folk revival Monroe's fortunes began to improve during the American folk music revival of the early 1960s. Many college students and other young people were beginning to discover Monroe, associating his style more with traditional folk music than with the country-and-western genre with which it had previously been identified. The word "bluegrass" first appeared around this time to describe the sound of Monroe and similar artists such as Flatt and Scruggs, the Stanley Brothers, Reno and Smiley, Jim and Jesse, and the Osborne Brothers. While Flatt and Scruggs immediately recognized the potential for a lucrative new audience in cities and on college campuses in the North, Monroe was slower to respond. Under the influence of Ralph Rinzler, a young musician and folklorist from New Jersey who briefly became Monroe's manager in 1963, Monroe gradually expanded his geographic reach beyond the traditional southern country music circuit. Rinzler was also responsible for a lengthy profile and interview in the influential folk music magazine Sing Out! that first publicly referred to Monroe as the "father" of bluegrass. Accordingly, at the first bluegrass festival organized by Carlton Haney at Roanoke, Virginia in 1965, Bill Monroe was the central figure. In 1964, before the Grateful Dead got together, Jerry Garcia caravanned across the country from California to tag along with Monroe. The growing national popularity of Monroe's music during the 1960s was also apparent in the increasingly diverse background of musicians recruited into his band. Non-southerners who served as Blue Grass Boys during this period included banjo player Bill Keith and singer/guitarist Peter Rowan from Massachusetts, fiddler Gene Lowinger from New Jersey, banjo player Lamar Grier from Maryland, banjo player Steve Arkin from New York, and singer/guitarist Roland White and fiddler Richard Greene from California. Later years Even after the folk revival faded in the mid-1960s, it left a loyal audience for bluegrass music. Bluegrass festivals became common, with fans often traveling long distances to see a number of different acts over several days of performances. In 1967, Monroe himself founded an annual bluegrass festival at Bean Blossom in southern Indiana, a park he had purchased in 1951, which routinely attracted a crowd of thousands; a double LP from the festival featuring Monroe, Jimmy Martin, Lester Flatt, and Jim and Jesse was released in 1973. The annual Bill Monroe Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival is now the world's oldest continuously running annual bluegrass festival. Monroe's compositions during his later period were largely instrumentals, including "Jerusalem Ridge", "Old Dangerfield" (originally spelled Daingerfield after the town in East Texas), and "My Last Days on Earth"; he settled into a new role as a musical patriarch who continued to influence younger generations of musicians. Monroe recorded two albums of duets in the 1980s; the first featured collaborations with country stars such as Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, and The Oak Ridge Boys, while the second paired him with other prominent bluegrass musicians. A 1989 live album celebrated his 50th year on the Grand Ole Opry. Monroe also kept a hectic touring schedule. On April 7, 1990, Monroe performed for Farm Aid IV in Indianapolis, Indiana along with Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and with many other artists. Death Monroe's last performance occurred on March 15, 1996. He ended his touring and playing career in April, following a stroke. Monroe died on September 9, 1996, in Springfield, Tennessee, four days before his 85th birthday. Legacy and influence Bill Monroe was made an honorary Kentucky Colonel in 1966. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as an "early influence") in 1997. Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills, Hank Williams Sr., and Johnny Cash are the only other performers honored in all three. As the "father of bluegrass", he was also an inaugural inductee into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1991. Monroe was a recipient of a 1982 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. That year's fellowships were the first bestowed by the NEA. In 1993, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and he was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1995. His well-known song "Blue Moon of Kentucky" has been covered not only by bluegrass but also rock and country artists, most notably Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, and Patsy Cline. In 2003, CMT had Bill Monroe ranked No. 16 on CMT 40 Greatest Men of Country Music. Artists that claimed to be influenced by or to be playing the bluegrass genre were often bullied by Bill Monroe. He always considered himself the father and caretaker of bluegrass. He would often say of new bands that did not perform to his standards, "That ain't no part of nothin'." Even those who question the scope of bluegrass refer to Monroe as a "musical giant" and recognize that "there would be no bluegrass without Bill Monroe." More than 150 musicians played in the Blue Grass Boys over the nearly 60 years of Monroe's performing career. Monroe tended to recruit promising young musicians who served an apprenticeship with him before becoming accomplished artists in their own right. Some of Monroe's band members who went on to greater prominence include singer/guitarists Clyde Moody, Lester Flatt, Jack Cook, Mac Wiseman, Jimmy Martin, Carter Stanley, Del McCoury, Peter Rowan, Roland White, Roland Dunn and Doug Green; banjo players Earl Scruggs, Bob Black, Butch Robins, Buck Trent, Don Reno, Stringbean, Sonny Osborne, and Bill Keith; and fiddlers Tommy Magness, Chubby Wise, Vassar Clements, Byron Berline, Kenny Baker, Bobby Hicks, Gordon Terry, Randall Franks and Glen Duncan. Monroe also regularly performed with flat-picking guitar virtuoso Doc Watson. Modern bluegrass singer and mandolin player Ricky Skaggs was influenced by Monroe. Skaggs was only six years old, in 1960, when he first got to perform on stage with Monroe and his band at the high school in Martha, Kentucky. He stated, "I think Bill Monroe's importance to American music is as important as someone like Robert Johnson was to blues, or Louis Armstrong. He was so influential: I think he's probably the only musician that had a whole style of music named after his band." In 1999, the portion of Indiana State Road 135 running from Morgantown through to Nashville, Indiana was dedicated to Bill Monroe and is known as the Bill Monroe Memorial Highway. Discography Southern Flavor (1988) Cryin' Holy Unto the Lord (1991) References Sources Ewing, Tom. 2018. Bill Monroe: The Life and Music of the Blue Grass Man. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Klein, Bradley. (2011). "Bill Monroe: Celebrating The Father Of Bluegrass At 100". NPR. Rumble, John (1998). "Bill Monroe". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 350–2. Smith, Richard D. (2000). Can't You Hear Me Callin': The Life of Bill Monroe, Father of Bluegrass. Little, Brown and Company. . Rosenberg, Neil V., and Charles K. Wolfe (2007). The Music of Bill Monroe. University of Illinois Press. . External links Country Music Hall of Fame profile International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor profile Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame profile Recording of "Wayfaring Stranger" from the 1993 Florida Folk Festival (available for public use from the State Archives of Florida) Bill Monroe: Father of Bluegrass Music (documentary video) "Bill Monroe in Indiana: From Lake to Brown County, Oil to Bluegrass," Indiana Historical Bureau Bill Monroe recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. * Category:1911 births Category:1996 deaths Category:People from Ohio County, Kentucky Category:Bluegrass musicians from Kentucky Category:Country musicians from Kentucky Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Grand Ole Opry members Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:National Heritage Fellowship winners Category:Peabody Award winners Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:American bluegrass mandolinists Category:20th-century American singers Category:Singer-songwriters from Kentucky

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Kanye West

West was born on June 8, 1977, in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents divorced when he was three years old. After the divorce, he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. His father, Ray West, is a former Black Panther and was one of the first black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Business ventures

West founded the record label and production company GOOD Music in 2004, in conjunction with Sony BMG, shortly after releasing his debut album, The College Dropout. John Legend, Common, and West were the label's inaugural artists. The label houses artists including West, Big Sean, Pusha T, Teyana Taylor, Yasiin Bey / Mos Def, D'banj and John Legend, and producers including Hudson Mohawke, Q-Tip, Travis Scott, No I.D., Jeff Bhasker, and S1. GOOD Music has released ten albums certified gold or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In November 2015, West appointed Pusha T the new president of GOOD Music. In August 2008, West revealed plans to open 10 Fatburger restaurants in the Chicago area; the first was set to open in September 2008 in Orland Park. The second followed in January 2009, while a third location is yet to be revealed, although the process is being finalized. His company, KW Foods LLC, bought the rights to the chain in Chicago. Ultimately, in 2009, only two locations actually opened. In February 2011, West shut down the Fatburger located in Orland Park. Later that year, the remaining Beverly location also was shuttered. On January 5, 2012, West announced his establishment of the creative content company DONDA, named after his late mother Donda West. In his announcement, West proclaimed that the company would "pick up where Steve Jobs left off"; DONDA would operate as "a design company which will galvanize amazing thinkers in a creative space to bounce their dreams and ideas" with the "goal to make products and experiences that people want and can afford." West is notoriously secretive about the company's operations, maintaining neither an official website nor a social media presence. In stating DONDA's creative philosophy, West articulated the need to "put creatives in a room together with like minds" in order to "simplify and aesthetically improve everything we see, taste, touch, and feel.". Contemporary critics have noted the consistent minimalistic aesthetic exhibited throughout DONDA creative projects. On March 30, 2015, it was announced that West is a co-owner, with various other music artists, in the music streaming service Tidal. The service specialises in lossless audio and high definition music videos. Jay-Z acquired the parent company of Tidal, Aspiro, in the first quarter of 2015. Including Beyonce and Jay-Z, sixteen artist stakeholders (such as Rihanna, Beyonce, Madonna, Chris Martin, Nicki Minaj and more) co-own Tidal, with the majority owning a 3% equity stake. The idea of having an all artist owned streaming service was created by those involved to adapt to the increased demand for streaming within the current music industry, and to rival other streaming services such as Spotify, which have been criticised for their low payout of royalties. "The challenge is to get everyone to respect music again, to recognize its value", stated Jay-Z on the release of Tidal. On June 6, 2016, West announced the Yeezy Season 2 Zine and the Adidas Yeezy Boost 750 will be released to retailers on June 11. They are high-top shoes with a glow in the dark sole. In an interview with Vogue, he stated that there will be Yeezy stores with the first located in California. CANNOTANSWER

Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the early 2000s, producing singles for several artists and developing the "chipmunk soul" sampling style. Intent on pursuing a solo career as a rapper, he released his debut studio album, The College Dropout (2004), to critical and commercial success. He founded the record label GOOD Music later that year. West explored diverse musical elements like orchestras, synthesizers, and autotune on the albums Late Registration (2005), Graduation (2007), and 808s & Heartbreak (2008). His fifth and sixth albums My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) and Yeezus (2013) were also met with critical and commercial success. West further diversified his musical styles on The Life of Pablo (2016) and Ye (2018) and explored Christian and gospel music on Jesus Is King (2019). His tenth album Donda (2021) was released to continued commercial success but mixed critical reception. West's discography also includes the two full-length collaborative albums Watch the Throne (2011) with Jay-Z and Kids See Ghosts (2018) with Kid Cudi. One of the world's best-selling music artists, with over 160 million records sold, West has won 24 Grammy Awards and 75 nominations, the joint tenth-most of all time, and the joint-most Grammy awards of any rapper along with Jay-Z. Among his other awards are the Billboard Artist Achievement Award, a joint-record three Brit Awards for Best International Male Solo Artist and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Six of West's albums were included on Rolling Stones 2020 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list with the same publication naming him one of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. He holds the joint record (with Bob Dylan) for most albums (4) topping the annual Pazz & Jop critic poll. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2005 and 2015. As a fashion designer, he has collaborated with Nike, Louis Vuitton, Gap, and A.P.C. on clothing and footwear and led the Yeezy collaboration with Adidas. He is also the founder and head of the creative content company Donda. West's outspoken views have received significant media coverage; he has been a frequent source of controversy due to his conduct on social media and at awards shows and public settings, as well as his comments on the music and fashion industries, U.S. politics, race, and slavery. His Christian faith, high-profile marriage to Kim Kardashian, and mental health have also been topics of media attention. In 2020, West launched an unsuccessful independent presidential campaign that primarily advocated for a consistent life ethic. In 2022, he was widely condemned and lost many sponsors and partnershipsincluding his collaborations with Adidas, Gap, and Balenciagaafter making a series of antisemitic statements. In November 2022, he announced his 2024 presidential campaign, appearing publicly with Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist. West later publicly praised Adolf Hitler, denied the Holocaust, and identified as a Nazi. Early life West was born on June 8, 1977, in Atlanta, Georgia. After his parents divorced when he was three years old, he moved with his mother to Chicago, Illinois. His father, Ray West, is a former Black Panther and was one of the first black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Ray later became a Christian counselor, and in 2006, opened the Good Water Store and Café in Lexington Park, Maryland, with startup capital from his son. West's mother, Donda C. West (née Williams), was a professor of English at Clark Atlanta University and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as his manager. West was raised in a middle-class environment, attending Polaris School for Individual Education in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois, after living in Chicago. At the age of 10, West moved with his mother to Nanjing, China, where she was teaching at Nanjing University as a Fulbright Scholar. According to his mother, West was the only foreigner in his class, but he settled in well and quickly picked up the language, although he has since forgotten most of it. When asked about his grades in high school, West replied, "I got A's and B's." West demonstrated an affinity for the arts at an early age; he began writing poetry when he was five years old. West started rapping in the third grade and began making musical compositions in the seventh grade, eventually selling them to other artists. West crossed paths with producer No I.D., who became West's friend and mentor. After graduating from high school, West received a scholarship to attend Chicago's American Academy of Art in 1997 and began taking painting classes. Shortly after, he transferred to Chicago State University to study English. At age 20, he dropped out to pursue his musical career. This greatly displeased his mother, who was also a professor at the university, although she would later accept the decision. Musical career 1996–2002: Early work and Roc-A-Fella West began his early production career in the mid-1990s, creating beats primarily for burgeoning local artists around his area. His first official production credits came at nineteen when he produced eight tracks on Down to Earth, the 1996 debut album of a Chicago rapper, Grav. In 1998, West was the first person signed to the management-production company Hip Hop Since 1978. For a time, West acted as a ghost producer for Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie. Because of his association with D-Dot, West was not able to release a solo album, so he formed the Go-Getters, a rap group composed of him, GLC, Timmy G, Really Doe, and Arrowstar. The Go-Getters released their first and only studio album World Record Holders in 1999. West spent much of the late 1990s producing records for several well-known artists and music groups. He produced the third track on Foxy Brown's second studio album Chyna Doll, which became the first hip-hop album by a female rapper to debut at the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. In 2000, West began producing for artists on Roc-A-Fella. West is often credited with revitalizing Jay-Z's career with his contributions to Jay-Z's 2001 album The Blueprint, which Rolling Stone ranked among their list of greatest hip-hop albums. Serving as an in-house producer for Roc-A-Fella, West produced music for other artists on the label, including Beanie Sigel and Freeway. He also crafted hit songs for Ludacris, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson. Meanwhile, West struggled to attain a record deal as a rapper. Multiple record companies, including Capitol Records, denied or ignored him because he did not portray the gangsta image prominent in mainstream hip hop at the time. Desperate to keep West from defecting to another label, then-label head Damon Dash reluctantly signed West to Roc-A-Fella. A 2002 car accident, which shattered his jaw, inspired West; two weeks after being admitted to the hospital, he recorded "Through the Wire" at the Record Plant Studios with his jaw still wired shut. The song was first available on West's "Get Well Soon..." mixtape, released in December 2002. At the same time, West announced that he was working on an album called The College Dropout, whose overall theme was to "make your own decisions. Don't let society tell you, 'This is what you have to do.'" 2003–2006: The College Dropout and Late Registration West recorded the remainder of the album in Los Angeles while recovering from the car accident. It was leaked months before its release date, and West used the opportunity to remix, remaster, and revise the album before its release; West added new verses, string arrangements, gospel choirs, and improved drum programming. The album was postponed three times from its initial date in August 2003, and was eventually released in February 2004, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200 as his debut single, "Through the Wire" peaked at No. 15 while on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five weeks. "Slow Jamz", his second single, featuring Twista and Jamie Foxx, became the three musicians' first No. 1 hit. The College Dropout received near-universal critical acclaim, was voted the top album of the year by two major music publications, and has consistently been ranked among the great hip-hop works and debut albums by artists. "Jesus Walks", the album's fourth single, reached the top 20 of the Billboard pop charts, despite industry executives' predictions that a song containing such blatant declarations of faith would never make it to the radio. The College Dropout was certified triple platinum in the US, and garnered West 10 Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year, and Best Rap Album (which it received). During this period, West founded GOOD Music, a record label and management company that housed affiliate artists and producers, such as No I.D. and John Legend, and produced singles for Brandy, Common, Legend, and Slum Village. West invested $2 million and took over a year to make his second album. West was inspired by Roseland NYC Live, a 1998 live album by English trip hop group Portishead, produced with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, incorporating string arrangements into his hip-hop production. Though West had not been able to afford many live instruments around the time of his debut album, the money from his commercial success enabled him to hire a string orchestra for his second album Late Registration. West collaborated with American film score composer Jon Brion, who served as the album's co-executive producer for several tracks. Late Registration sold over 2.3 million units in the United States alone by the end of 2005 and was considered by industry observers as the only successful major album release of the fall season, which had been plagued by steadily declining CD sales. When his song "Touch the Sky" failed to win Best Video at the 2006 MTV Europe Music Awards, West went onto the stage as the award was being presented to Justice and Simian for "We Are Your Friends" and argued that he should have won the award instead. Hundreds of news outlets worldwide criticized the outburst. On November 7, 2006, West apologized for this outburst publicly during his performance as support act for U2 for their Vertigo concert in Brisbane. He later spoofed the incident on the 33rd-season premiere of Saturday Night Live in September 2007. 2007–2009: Graduation, 808s & Heartbreak, and VMAs incident West's third studio album, Graduation, garnered major publicity when its release date pitted West in a sales competition against rapper 50 Cent's Curtis. Upon their September 2007 releases, Graduation outsold Curtis by a large margin, debuting at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and selling 957,000 copies in its first week. Graduation continued the string of critical and commercial successes by West, and the album's lead single, "Stronger", garnered his third number-one hit. "Stronger", which samples French house duo Daft Punk, has been accredited to not only encouraging other hip-hop artists to incorporate house and electronica elements into their music, but also for playing a part in the revival of disco and electro-infused music in the late 2000s. His mother's death in November 2007 and the end of his engagement to Alexis Phifer profoundly affected West, who set off for his 2008 Glow in the Dark Tour shortly thereafter. Recorded mostly in Honolulu, Hawaii in three weeks, West announced his fourth album, 808s & Heartbreak, at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, where he performed its lead single, "Love Lockdown". Music audiences were taken aback by the uncharacteristic production style and the presence of Auto-Tune, which typified the pre-release response to the record. 808s & Heartbreak was released by Island Def Jam in November 2008. Upon its release, the lead single "Love Lockdown" debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, while follow-up single "Heartless" debuted at number four. While it was criticized prior to release, 808s & Heartbreak is considered to have had a significant effect on hip-hop music, encouraging other rappers to take more creative risks with their productions. While Taylor Swift was accepting her award for Best Female Video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, West went on stage and grabbed the microphone from her to proclaim that Beyoncé deserved the award instead. He was subsequently removed from the remainder of the show for his actions. West was criticized by various celebrities for the outburst, and by President Barack Obama, who called West a "jackass". The incident sparked a large influx of Internet photo memes. West subsequently apologized, including personally to Swift. However, in a November 2010 interview, he seemed to recant his past apologies, describing the act at the 2009 awards show as "selfless". 2010–2012: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Watch the Throne, and Cruel Summer Following the highly publicized incident, West took a brief break from music and threw himself into fashion, only to hole up in Hawaii for the next few months writing and recording his next album. Importing his favorite producers and artists to work on and inspire his recording, West kept engineers behind the boards 24 hours a day and slept only in increments. Noah Callahan-Bever, a writer for Complex, was present during the sessions and described the "communal" atmosphere as thus: "With the right songs and the right album, he can overcome any and all controversy, and we are here to contribute, challenge, and inspire." A variety of artists contributed to the project, including close friends Jay-Z, Kid Cudi and Pusha T, as well as off-the-wall collaborations, such as with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, West's fifth studio album, was released in November 2010 to widespread acclaim from critics, many of whom considered it his best work and said it solidified his comeback. In stark contrast to his previous effort, which featured a minimalist sound, Dark Fantasy adopts a maximalist philosophy and deals with themes of celebrity and excess. The record included the international hit "All of the Lights", and Billboard hits "Power", "Monster", and "Runaway", the latter of which accompanied a 35-minute film of the same name directed by and starring West. During this time, West initiated the free music program GOOD Fridays through his website, offering a free download of previously unreleased songs each Friday, a portion of which were included on the album. This promotion ran from August to December 2010. Dark Fantasy went on to go platinum in the United States, but its omission as a contender for Album of the Year at the 54th Grammy Awards was viewed as a "snub" by several media outlets. 2011 saw West embark on a festival tour to commemorate the release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy performing and headlining numerous festivals including; SWU Music & Arts, Austin City Limits, Oya Festival, Flow Festival, Live Music Festival, The Big Chill, Essence Music Festival, Lollapalooza and Coachella which was described by The Hollywood Reporter as "one of greatest hip-hop sets of all time", West released the collaborative album Watch the Throne with Jay-Z in August 2011. By employing a sales strategy that released the album digitally weeks before its physical counterpart, Watch the Throne became one of the few major label albums in the Internet age to avoid a leak. "Niggas in Paris" became the record's highest-charting single, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. The co-headlining Watch the Throne Tour kicked off in October 2011 and concluded in June 2012. In 2012, West released the compilation album Cruel Summer, a collection of tracks by artists from West's record label GOOD Music. 2013–2015: Yeezus and the Yeezus Tour Sessions for West's sixth solo effort begin to take shape in early 2013 in his own personal loft's living room at a Paris hotel. Determined to "undermine the commercial", he once again brought together close collaborators and attempted to incorporate Chicago drill, dancehall, acid house, and industrial music. Primarily inspired by architecture, West's perfectionist tendencies led him to contact producer Rick Rubin fifteen days shy of its due date to strip down the record's sound in favor of a more minimalist approach. Initial promotion of his sixth album included worldwide video projections of the album's music and live television performances. Yeezus, West's sixth album, was released June 18, 2013, to rave reviews from critics. It became his sixth consecutive number one debut, but also marked his lowest solo opening week sales. In September 2013, West announced he would be headlining his first solo tour in five years, to support Yeezus, with fellow American rapper Kendrick Lamar accompanying him as a supporting act. The tour was met with rave reviews from critics. Rolling Stone described it as "crazily entertaining, hugely ambitious, emotionally affecting (really!) and, most importantly, totally bonkers". Writing for Forbes, Zack O'Malley Greenburg praised West for "taking risks that few pop stars, if any, are willing to take in today's hyper-exposed world of pop", describing the show as "overwrought and uncomfortable at times, but [it] excels at challenging norms and provoking thought in a way that just isn't common for mainstream musical acts of late". West subsequently released a number of singles featuring Paul McCartney, including "Only One" and "FourFiveSeconds", also featuring Rihanna. In November 2013, West stated that he was beginning work on his next studio album, hoping to release it by mid-2014, with production by Rick Rubin and Q-Tip. Having initially announced a new album entitled Yeezus II slated for a 2014 release, West announced in March 2015 that the album would instead be tentatively called So Help Me God. In May 2015, West was awarded an honorary doctorate by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for his contributions to music, fashion, and popular culture. The next month, West headlined at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK, despite a petition signed by almost 135,000 people against his appearance. Another petition aimed to block West from headlining the 2015 Pan American Games, garnering 50,000 supporters. 2016–2017: The Life of Pablo and tour cancellation West announced in January 2016 that SWISH would be released on February 11, and later that month, released new songs "Real Friends" and a snippet of "No More Parties in LA" with Kendrick Lamar. On January 26, 2016, West revealed he had renamed the album from SWISH to Waves. In the weeks leading up to the album's release, West became embroiled in several Twitter controversies. Several days ahead of its release, West again changed the title, this time to The Life of Pablo. On February 11, West premiered the album at Madison Square Garden as part of the presentation of his Yeezy Season3 clothing line. Following the preview, West announced that he would be modifying the tracklist once more before its release to the public. He released the album exclusively on Tidal on February 14, 2016, following a performance on SNL. Following its release, West continued to tinker with mixes of several tracks, describing the work as "a living breathing changing creative expression" and proclaiming the end of the album as a dominant release form. Despite West's earlier comments, in addition to Tidal, the album was released through several other competing services starting in April. In February 2016, West stated on Twitter that he was planning to release another album in the summer of 2016, tentatively called Turbo Grafx 16 in reference to the 1990s video game console of the same name. In June 2016, West released the collaborative lead single "Champions" off the GOOD Music album Cruel Winter, which has yet to be released. Later that month, West released a controversial video for "Famous", which depicted wax figures of several celebrities (including West, Kardashian, Taylor Swift, businessman and then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, comedian Bill Cosby, and former president George W. Bush) sleeping nude in a shared bed. In August 2016, West embarked on the Saint Pablo Tour in support of The Life of Pablo. The performances featured a mobile stage suspended from the ceiling. West postponed several dates in October following the Paris robbery of several of his wife's effects. On November 21, 2016, West cancelled the remaining 21 dates on the Saint Pablo Tour, following a week of no-shows, curtailed concerts and rants about politics. He was later admitted for psychiatric observation at UCLA Medical Center. He stayed hospitalized over the Thanksgiving weekend because of a temporary psychosis stemming from sleep deprivation and extreme dehydration. Following this episode West took an 11-month break from posting on Twitter and the public in general. 2017–2019: Ye and the Wyoming Sessions It was reported in May 2017 that West was recording new music in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with a wide range of collaborators. In April 2018, West announced plans to write a philosophy book entitled Break the Simulation, later clarifying that he was sharing the book "in real time" on Twitter and began posting content that was likened to "life coaching". Later that month, he also announced two new albums, a solo album and self-titled collaboration with Kid Cudi under the name Kids See Ghosts, both of which would be released in June. Additionally, he revealed he would produce upcoming albums by GOOD Music label-mates Pusha T and Teyana Taylor, as well as Nas. Shortly thereafter, West released the non-album singles "Lift Yourself", a "strange, gibberish track" featuring nonsensical lyrics, and "Ye vs. the People", in which he and T.I. discussed West's controversial support of Donald Trump. Pusha T's Daytona, "the first project out of Wyoming", was released in May to critical acclaim, although the album's artwork—a photograph of deceased singer Whitney Houston's bathroom that West paid $85,000 to license—attracted some controversy. The following week, West released his eighth studio album, Ye. West has suggested that he scrapped the original recordings of the album and re-recorded it within a month. The week after, West released a collaborative album with Kid Cudi, titled Kids See Ghosts, named after their group of the same name. West also completed production work on Nas' Nasir and Teyana Taylor's K.T.S.E., which were released in June 2018. In September, West announced his ninth studio album Yandhi to be released by the end of the month and a collaborative album with fellow Chicagoan rapper Chance the Rapper titled Good Ass Job. That same month, West announced that he would be changing his stage name to "Ye". Yandhi was originally set for release in September 2018 but was postponed multiple times. In January 2019, West pulled out of headlining that year's Coachella festival after negotiations broke down due to discord regarding stage design. In July, it was reported that songs from West's unreleased album Yandhi were leaked online. The following month, Kim Kardashian announced that West's next album would be titled Jesus Is King, effectively scrapping Yandhi. By October, the entire unfinished album was available for a short time on streaming services Spotify and Tidal. 2019–present: Jesus Is King, Donda, and Donda 2 On January 6, 2019, West started his weekly "Sunday Service" orchestration which includes soul variations of both West's and others' songs attended by multiple celebrities including the Kardashians, Charlie Wilson, and Kid Cudi. West previewed a new song, "Water" at his "Sunday Service" orchestration performance at Coachella 2019, which was later revealed to feature on his upcoming album Jesus Is King; West released the album on October 25, 2019. It became the first to ever top the Billboard 200, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Top Rap Albums, Top Christian Albums and Top Gospel Albums at the same time. On December 25, 2019, West and Sunday Service released Jesus Is Born, containing 19 songs including several re-workings of older West songs. West released a single titled "Wash Us in the Blood" on June 30, 2020, featuring fellow American rapper and singer Travis Scott, along with the music video, which was set to serve as the lead single from his tenth studio album Donda. However, in September 2020, West stated that he would not be releasing any further music until he is "done with [his] contract with Sony and Universal". On October 16, he released the single "Nah Nah Nah". West held several listening parties at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for his upcoming album Donda in the summer of 2021, where he had taken up temporary residence in one of the stadium's locker rooms, converting it into a recording studio to finish the recording. After multiple delays, Donda was released on August 29, 2021. West claimed the album was released early without his approval and alleged that Universal had altered the tracklist. He released a delux edition of Donda, including five new songs, to streaming services on November 14, 2021. On November 20, days after ending their long-running feud, West and rapper Drake confirmed that they would stage the "Free Larry Hoover" benefit concert on December 9 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. On January 5, 2022, West was announced as one of the 2022 headliners of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Later that month on January 15, West released the first single for his upcoming album Donda 2, "Eazy" featuring The Game, to be executive produced by American rapper Future. West hosted a listening event for the album at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, on February 22. In April, shortly before Coachella, West pulled out as headlining act, then proceeded to pull out of headlining Rolling Loud. West and The Game performed the single on July 22, marking West's first performance in five months following the low profile he had been keeping since Donda 2 remained unfinished. A day later, despite cancelling as headliner, he appeared at Rolling Loud during Lil Durk's set. In December 2022, after weeks of controversial antisemitic statements, West released a new song "Someday We'll All Be Free" on his Instagram. Musical style West's musical career is defined by frequent stylistic shifts and different musical approaches. In the subsequent years since his debut, West has both musically and lyrically taken an increasingly experimental approach to crafting progressive hip hop music while maintaining accessible pop sensibilities. Ed Ledsham of PopMatters said that "West's melding of multiple genres into the hip-hop fold is a complex act that challenges the dominant white notions of what constitutes true 'art' music." West's rhymes have been described as funny, provocative and articulate, capable of seamlessly segueing from shrewd commentary to comical braggadocio to introspective sensitivity. West imparts that he strives to speak in an inclusive manner so groups from different racial and gender backgrounds can comprehend his lyrics, saying he desired to sound "just as ill as Jadakiss and just as understandable as Will Smith". Early in his career, West pioneered a style of hip-hop production dubbed "chipmunk-soul", a sampling technique involving the manipulation of tempo in order to chop and stretch pitched-up samples from vintage soul songs. On his debut studio album, The College Dropout (2004), West formed the constitutive elements of his style, described as intricate hip-hop beats, topical subject matter, and clumsy rapping laced with inventive wordplay. The record saw West diverge from the then-dominant gangster persona in hip hop in favor of more diverse, topical lyrical subjects, including higher education, materialism, self-consciousness, minimum-wage labor, institutional prejudice, class struggle, family, sexuality, his struggles in the music industry, and middle-class upbringing. Over time, West has explored a variety of music genres, encompassing and taking inspiration from chamber pop on his second studio album, Late Registration (2005), arena rock and europop on his third album, Graduation (2007), synth-driven electropop on his fourth album, 808s & Heartbreak (2008), acid-house, drill, industrial rap and trap on Yeezus (2013), gospel and Christian rap on The Life of Pablo (2016), Jesus is King (2019) and Donda (2021), and psychedelic music on Kids See Ghosts (2018). Other ventures Fashion Early in his career, West made clear his interest in fashion and desire to work in the clothing design industry. He launched his own clothing line in spring 2006, and developed it over the following four years before the line was ultimately cancelled in 2009. In January 2007, West's first sneaker collaboration was released, a special-edition Bapesta from A Bathing Ape. In 2009, West collaborated with Nike to release his own shoe, the Air Yeezys, becoming the first non-athlete to be given a shoe deal with the company. In January 2009, he introduced his first shoe line designed for Louis Vuitton during Paris Fashion Week. The line was released in summer 2009. West has additionally designed shoewear for Italian shoemaker Giuseppe Zanotti. In fall 2009, West moved to Rome, where he interned at Italian fashion brand Fendi, giving ideas for the men's collection. In March 2011, West collaborated with M/M Paris for a series of silk scarves featuring artwork from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. In October 2011, West premiered his women's fashion label at Paris Fashion Week. His debut fashion show received mixed-to-negative reviews. In March 2012, West premiered a second fashion line at Paris Fashion Week. Critics deemed the sophomore effort "much improved" compared to his first show. On December 3, 2013, Adidas officially confirmed a new shoe collaboration deal with West. After months of anticipation and rumors, West confirmed the release of the Adidas Yeezy Boosts. In 2015, West unveiled a Yeezy clothing line, premiering in collaboration with Adidas early that year. In June 2016, Adidas announced a new long-term contract with Kanye West that extended the Yeezy line to a number of stores, planning to sell sports performance products like basketball, football, and soccer, although Adidas terminated the partnership with West in October 2022 due to his antisemitic remarks. In May 2021, West signed a 10-year deal linking Yeezy with GAP, however, in September 2022, West announced that he was ending the deal. Business ventures West founded the record label and production company GOOD Music in 2004, in conjunction with Sony BMG, shortly after releasing his debut album, The College Dropout. West, alongside then-unknown Ohio singer John Legend and fellow Chicago rapper Common were the label's inaugural artists. The label houses artists including West, Big Sean, Pusha T, Teyana Taylor, Yasiin Bey / Mos Def, D'banj and John Legend, and producers including Hudson Mohawke, Q-Tip, Travis Scott, No I.D., Jeff Bhasker, and S1. GOOD Music has released ten albums certified gold or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In November 2015, West appointed Pusha T the new president of GOOD Music. In August 2008, West revealed plans to open 10 Fatburger restaurants in the Chicago area; the first was set to open in September 2008 in Orland Park. The second followed in January 2009, while a third location is yet to be revealed, although the process is being finalized. His company, KW Foods LLC, bought the rights to the chain in Chicago. Ultimately, in 2009, only two locations actually opened. In February 2011, West shut down the Fatburger located in Orland Park. In January 2012, West announced his establishment of the creative content company Donda, named after his late mother. In his announcement, West proclaimed that the company would "pick up where Steve Jobs left off"; Donda would operate as a "design company" with a goal to "make products and experiences that people want and can afford". In stating Donda's creative philosophy, West articulated the need to "put creatives in a room together with like minds" in order to "simplify and aesthetically improve everything we see, taste, touch, and feel." West is notoriously secretive about the company's operations, maintaining neither an official website nor a social media presence. Contemporary critics have noted the consistent minimalistic aesthetic exhibited throughout Donda creative projects. West expressed interest in starting an architecture firm in May 2013, saying "I want to do product, I am a product person, not just clothing but water bottle design, architecture... I make music but I shouldn't be limited to one place of creativity" and then later in November 2013, delivering a manifesto on his architectural goals during a visit to Harvard Graduate School of Design. In May 2018, West announced he was starting an architecture firm called Yeezy Home, which will act as an arm of his already successful Yeezy fashion label. In June 2018, the first Yeezy Home collaboration was announced by designer Jalil Peraza, teasing an affordable concrete prefabricated home as part of a social housing project. In March 2015, it was announced that West is a co-owner, with various other music artists, in the music streaming service Tidal. The service specialises in lossless audio and high definition music videos. Jay-Z acquired the parent company of Tidal, Aspiro, in the first quarter of 2015. Sixteen artist stakeholders including Jay-Z, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Madonna, Chris Martin, Nicki Minaj co-own Tidal, with the majority owning a 3% equity stake. In October 2022, in direct response to bans he received on Twitter and Instagram stemming from his antisemitic comments, West reached an agreement in principle to acquire the alt-tech social network Parler for an undisclosed amount. Parler and West mutually agreed to terminate the proposed deal in mid-November. Philanthropy West, alongside his mother, founded the Kanye West Foundation in Chicago in 2003, tasked with a mission to battle dropout and illiteracy rates, while partnering with community organizations to provide underprivileged youth access to music education. In 2007, West and the Foundation partnered with Strong American Schools as part of their "Ed in '08" campaign. As spokesman for the campaign, West appeared in a series of PSAs for the organization, and hosted an inaugural benefit concert in August of that year. In 2008, following the death of West's mother, the foundation was rechristened The Dr. Donda West Foundation. The foundation ceased operations in 2011. In 2013, Kanye West and friend Rhymefest founded Donda's House, Inc., a program aimed at helping at-risk Chicago youth. West has contributed to hurricane relief in 2005 by participating in a Hurricane Katrina benefit concert after the storm had ravaged black communities in New Orleans and in 2012 when he performed at a Hurricane Sandy benefit concert. In January 2019, West donated $10 million towards the completion of the Roden Crater by American artist James Turrell. In June 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the following protests, he donated $2million between the family of Floyd and other victims of police brutality, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. The donation funded legal fees for Arbery and Taylor's families, as well as establishing a 529 plan to fully cover college tuition for Floyd's daughter. Acting and filmmaking West made cameo appearances as himself in the films State Property 2 (2005) and The Love Guru (2008), and in an episode of the television show Entourage in 2007. West provided the voice for "Kenny West", a rapper, in the animated sitcom The Cleveland Show. In 2009, he starred in the Spike Jonze-directed short film We Were Once a Fairytale (2009), playing himself acting belligerently while drunk in a nightclub. West wrote, directed, and starred in the musical short film Runaway (2010), which heavily features music from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The film depicts a relationship between a man, played by West, and a half-woman, half-phoenix creature. In 2012, West wrote and directed another short film, titled Cruel Summer, which premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in a custom pyramid-shaped screening pavilion featuring seven screens constructed for the film. The film was inspired by the compilation album of the same name. West made a cameo appearance in the comedy Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013) as a MTV News representative in the film's fight scene. In September 2018, West announced starting of film production company named Half Beast, LLC. A documentary shot over 21 years featuring footage of West's early days in Chicago through the death of his mother to his presidential run was announced to debut in 2021. Titled Jeen-Yuhs, it was acquired by Netflix for $30 million. Politics 2020 presidential campaign On July 4, 2020, West announced on Twitter that he would be running in the 2020 presidential election. On July 7, West was interviewed by Forbes about his presidential run, where he announced that his running mate would be Wyoming preacher Michelle Tidball, and that he would run as an independent under the "Birthday Party", explaining his decision of why he chose the name, saying, "Because when we win, it's everybody's 'birthday'." West also said he no longer supported Trump because he "hid in [a] bunker" during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continuing, he said, "You know? Obama's special. Trump's special. We say Kanye West is special. America needs special people that lead. Bill Clinton? Special. Joe Biden's not special." Various political pundits speculated that West's presidential run was a publicity stunt to promote his latest music releases. On July 15, 2020, official paperwork was filed with the Federal Election Commission for West, under the "BDY" Party affiliation amid claims that he was preparing to drop out. West held his first rally that weekend, on July 19. West aligned himself with the philosophy of a consistent life ethic, a tenet of Christian democracy. His platform advocated for the creation of a culture of life, endorsing environmental stewardship, supporting the arts, buttressing faith-based organizations, restoring school prayer, providing for a strong national defense, and "America First" diplomacy. In July 2020, West told Forbes that he is ignorant on issues such as taxes and foreign policy. West conceded on Twitter on November 4, 2020. He received 66,365 votes in the 12 states he had ballot access in, receiving an average of 0.32%. Reported write-in votes gave West an additional 3,931 votes across 5 states. In addition, the Roque De La Fuente / Kanye West ticket won 60,160 votes in California (0.34%). According to Reuters, on January 4, 2021, a Kanye West-linked publicist pressured a Georgia election worker to confess to bogus charges of election tampering to assist Trump's claims of election interference. In December 2021, The Daily Beast reported that West's presidential campaign received millions of dollars in services from a secret network of Republican operatives, payments to which the committee did not report. According to campaign finance experts, this was done to conceal a connection. 2024 presidential campaign West has stated his intentions to run for president again in the 2024 presidential election. In November 2019, he said at an event, "When I run for president in 2024, we would've created so many jobs that I'm not going to run, I'm going to walk." He was met with laughter from the audience. On October 24, 2020, while running for president, West told Joe Rogan on his podcast that he would be open to running for Governor of California. On May 19, 2021, Fox News reported that it had obtained a letter concerning an RFAI (Request for further information) from the Federal Election Commission regarding an exploratory presidential committee. West's representatives stated, "Kanye West has not decided whether to become a candidate for president in the 2024 election, and the activity of the Kanye 2020 committee that prompted this RFAI is strictly exploratory." On subsequent interviews, merchandise, and in songs lyrics, West would repeatedly insinuate that he will indeed run. On November 20, 2022, Kanye announced his intention to run in 2024. Views West has been an outspoken and controversial celebrity throughout his career, receiving criticism from the mainstream media, industry colleagues and entertainers, and three U.S. presidents. In a 2005 speech, West criticized both the media and the government's racial disparities in their response to Hurricane Katrina, stating on live television that "George Bush doesn't care about black people". West has voiced his opposition to abortion in 2013, citing his belief in the Sixth Commandment, and in 2022 deemed abortion "genocide and population control" of black people. He has stated that the 400-year enslavement of Africans "sounds like a choice", before elaborating that his comment was in reference to mental enslavement and argued for free thought. He later apologized for the comment. In late 2022, West made a series of antisemitic statements, resulting in the termination of his collaborations, sponsorships, and partnerships with Vogue, CAA, Balenciaga, Gap, and Adidas. West was widely condemned after appearing at a dinner hosted by Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago beside Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist. In a subsequent December appearance on Alex Jones's InfoWars, West praised Adolf Hitler, denied the Holocaust, and identified as a Nazi. Following the interview, West's Twitter account was terminated after he posted an image depicting a swastika entangled within a Star of David. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago later rescinded West's honorary degree. According to a 2023 report published by the Anti-Defamation League, West's antisemitic rhetoric has caused several instances of hate-speech vandalism, harassment, and violence across the United States. Personal life West's net worth was as high as $1.8 billion in 2021. In October 2022, Forbes estimated his net worth to have dropped to $400 million in large part due to Adidas's termination of their partnership following a series of public antisemitic statements. In August 2021, West applied to have his legal name changed from "Kanye Omari West" to "Ye," with no middle or last name; he cited "personal reasons" for the change. The request was granted in October. West had alluded to wishing to change his name since 2018 and had used Ye as a nickname for several years prior, stating in a 2018 interview that "ye" () was the most commonly used word in the Bible: "In the Bible it means 'you'. So, I'm you. I'm us. It's us. It went from being Kanye, which means the only one, to just Ye." Relationships and family Kim Kardashian In April 2012, West began dating reality television star Kim Kardashian, with whom he had already been long-time friends. West and Kardashian became engaged in October 2013, and married at Fort di Belvedere in Florence in May 2014. Their private ceremony was subject to widespread mainstream coverage, with which West took issue. The couple's high-profile status and respective careers have resulted in their relationship becoming subject to heavy media coverage; The New York Times referred to their marriage as "a historic blizzard of celebrity". West and Kardashian have four children: North West (born June 2013), Saint West (born December 2015), Chicago West (born via surrogate in January 2018), and Psalm West (born via surrogate in May 2019). In July 2020, during a presidential campaign rally of his, West revealed that he had previously considered abortion during Kardashian's first pregnancy but has since taken anti-abortion views. In April 2015, West and Kardashian traveled to Jerusalem to have North baptized in the Armenian Apostolic Church at the Cathedral of St. James. In September 2018, West announced that he would be permanently moving back to Chicago to establish his Yeezy company headquarters there. This did not actually occur, and West instead went on to purchase two ranches near Cody, Wyoming, where he recorded his eighth solo studio album, Ye. Kardashian resides with their children in a home that the now-divorced couple owns in California, whereas West moved into a home across the street to continue to be near their children. In fall 2021, West began the process of selling his Wyoming ranch. In July 2020, West acknowledged the possibility of Kardashian ending their marriage due to his adoption of anti-abortion views. Later that month, West wrote on Twitter that he had been attempting to divorce Kardashian. He also wrote that the Kardashian family was attempting "to lock [him] up". In January 2021, CNN reported that the couple were discussing divorce. A month later, Kardashian filed for divorce, with the couple citing "irreconcilable differences", agreeing to joint custody of their children, and declining spousal support from each other. The divorce settlement was finalized in November 2022, and West was ordered to pay $200,000 in monthly child support and be responsible for half of the children's medical, educational, and security expenses. Other relationships West began an on-and-off relationship with the designer Alexis Phifer in 2002, and they became engaged in August 2006. They ended their 18-month engagement in 2008. Phifer stated that the pair had split amicably and remained friends. West dated model Amber Rose from 2008 until mid-2010. In an interview following their split, West stated that he had to take "30 showers" before committing to his next relationship with Kim Kardashian. In response, Rose stated that she had been "bullied" and "slut-shamed" by West throughout their relationship. In January 2022, actress Julia Fox confirmed in an Interview essay that she was dating West. West continued to say that he wanted his "family back" and publicly lashed out at Kardashian's new boyfriend, comedian Pete Davidson. His treatment of Davidson and Kardashian has been described by commentators as harassment and abusive; the 64th Annual Grammy Awards dropped him as a performer in response to his "concerning online behavior". Less than two months after confirming their relationship, Fox said that she and West had split up but remained on good terms. She later said that she dated West purely to "give people something to talk about" during the COVID-19 pandemic and to "get him off Kim's case". In January 2023, it was reported that West had informally married Australian architect Bianca Censori, who works for West's Yeezy brand, in a private ceremony in Beverly Hills. The ceremony had no legal standing; the couple did not file for a marriage license. In response to West's subsequent trips to Australia to visit Censori's family, Australian Minister for Education Jason Clare commented that West may be denied a visa due to his recent antisemitic remarks. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry further argued against granting West entry. Legal problems In December 2006, Robert "Evel" Knievel sued the rapper for trademark infringement of his name and likeness in West's video for "Touch the Sky". Knievel took issue with the "vulgar and offensive" and "sexually charged video" in which West takes on the persona of "Evel Kanyevel" that Knievel claimed damaged his reputation. The suit sought monetary damages and an injunction to stop distribution of the video. West's attorneys argued that the music video amounted to satire and therefore was covered under the First Amendment. Days before his death in November 2007, Knievel amicably settled the suit after being paid a visit by West, saying, "I thought he was a wonderful guy and quite a gentleman." In 2014, after an altercation with a paparazzo at the Los Angeles Airport, West was sentenced to serve two years' probation for a misdemeanor battery conviction, and was required to attend 24 anger management sessions, perform 250 hours of community service, and pay restitution to the photographer. A separate civil lawsuit brought by the paparazzo was settled in 2015, a week before it was due for trial. According to TMZ, an appeal to have West's conviction expunged from his criminal record was granted by a judge in 2016. Religious beliefs After the success of his song "Jesus Walks" from the album The College Dropout, West was questioned on his beliefs and said, "I will say that I'm spiritual. I have accepted Jesus as my Savior. And I will say that I fall short every day." In a 2008 interview with The Fader, West stated that "I'm like a vessel, and God has chosen me to be the voice and the connector". In a 2009 interview with online magazine Bossip, West stated that he believed in God, but at the time felt that he "would never go into a religion". In 2014, West referred to himself as a Christian during one of his concerts. Kim Kardashian stated in September 2019: "He has had an amazing evolution of being born again and being saved by Christ." In October 2019, West said with respect to his past, "When I was trying to serve multiple gods it drove me crazy" in reference to the "god of ego, god of money, god of pride, the god of fame", and that "I didn't even know what it meant to be saved" and that now "I love Jesus Christ. I love Christianity." Politics In September 2012, West donated $1,000 to Barack Obama's re-election campaign, and in August 2015 he donated $2,700 to Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign. He also donated $15,000 to the Democratic National Committee in October 2014. In December 2016, West met with President-elect Donald Trump to discuss bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago. West subsequently stated he would have voted for Trump had he voted. In February 2017, however, West deleted all his tweets about Trump in purported dislike of the new president's policies, particularly the travel ban. West reiterated his support for Donald Trump in April 2018. In October 2018, West donated to progressive Chicago mayoral candidate Amara Enyia. That same month, he voiced support for the Blexit movement, a campaign started by conservative commentator Candace Owens, whom he had previously associated with. Mental health On November 19, 2016, West abruptly ended a concert before being committed at the recommendation of authorities to the UCLA Medical Center with hallucinations and paranoia. While the episode was first described as one of "temporary psychosis" caused by dehydration and sleep deprivation, West's mental state was abnormal enough for his 21 cancelled concerts to be covered by his insurance policy. He was reportedly paranoid and depressed throughout the hospitalization, but remained formally undiagnosed. Some have speculated that the Paris robbery of his wife may have triggered the paranoia. On November 30, West was released from the hospital. In his song "FML" and his featured verse on Vic Mensa's song "U Mad", he refers to using the antidepressant medication Lexapro, and in his unreleased song "I Feel Like That", he mentions feeling many common symptoms of depression and anxiety. In a 2018 interview, West said that he had become addicted to opioids when they were prescribed to him after liposuction. The addiction may have contributed to his nervous breakdown in 2016. West said that he often has suicidal ideation. West was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016, though his diagnosis was not made public until his 2018 album Ye. He told President Donald Trump that it was a misdiagnosis. He had reportedly accepted the diagnosis again by 2019, but again suggested that it had been a misdiagnosis in 2022. In December 2022, he suggested that he may be autistic. Musical impact West is among the most critically acclaimed popular music artists of the 21st century, earning praise from music critics, fans, industry peers, and cultural figures. In 2014, NME named him the third most influential artist in music. Billboard senior editor Alex Gale declared West "absolutely one of the best, and you could make the argument for the best artist of the 21st century." Sharing similar sentiments, Dave Bry of Complex Magazine called West the twenty-first century's "most important artist of any art form, of any genre." The Atlantic writer David Samuels commented, "Kanye's power resides in his wild creativity and expressiveness, his mastery of form, and his deep and uncompromising attachment to a self-made aesthetic that he expresses through means that are entirely of the moment: rap music, digital downloads, fashion, Twitter, blogs, live streaming video." Joe Muggs of The Guardian argued that "there is nobody else who can sell as many records as West does [...] while remaining so resolutely experimental and capable of stirring things up culturally and politically." Rolling Stone credited West with transforming hip-hop's mainstream, "establishing a style of introspective yet glossy rap" while deeming him "a producer who created a signature sound and then abandoned it to his imitators, a flashy, free-spending sybarite with insightful things to say about college, culture, and economics, an egomaniac with more than enough artistic firepower to back it up." Writing for Highsnobiety, Shahzaib Hussain stated that West's first three albums "cemented his role as a progressive rap progenitor". AllMusic editor Jason Birchmeier described West as "[shattering] certain stereotypes about rappers, becoming a superstar on his own terms without adapting his appearance, his rhetoric, or his music to fit any one musical mold". Lawrence Burney of Noisey has credited West with the commercial decline of the gangsta rap genre that once dominated mainstream hip-hop. The release of his third studio album has been described as a turning point in the music industry, and is considered to have helped pave the way for new rappers who did not follow the hardcore-gangster mold to find wider mainstream acceptance. Hip-hop artists like Drake, Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, and Chance the Rapper have acknowledged being influenced by West. Several other artists and music groups of various genres have named West as an influence on their work. Awards and achievements West is the fourth-highest certified artist in the US by digital singles (69 million). He had the most RIAA digital song certifications by a male artist in the 2000s (19), and was the fourth best-selling digital songs artist of the 2000s in the US. In Spotify's first ten years from 2008 to 2018, West was the sixth most streamed artist, and the fourth fastest artist to reach one billion streams. West has the joint-most consecutive studio album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 (9). He ranked third on Billboards 2000s decade-end list of top producers and has topped the annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll the joint-most times (four albums) with Bob Dylan. West has been nominated for 75 Grammys, out of which he has won 24. He has been the most nominated act at five ceremonies, and has received the fourth-most wins overall in the 2000s. In 2008, West became the first solo artist to have his first three albums receive nominations for Album of the Year. West has won a Webby Award for Artist of the Year, an Accessories Council Excellence Award for being a stylemaker, International Man of the Year at the GQ Awards, a Clio Award for The Life of Pablo Album Experience, and an honour by The Recording Academy. West is one of eight acts to have won the Billboard Artist Achievement Award. In 2015, he became the third rap act to win the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. West's first six solo studio albums were included on Rolling Stones 2020 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Entertainment Weekly named The College Dropout the best album of the 2000s, Complex named Graduation the best album released between 2002 and 2012, 808s & Heartbreak was named by Rolling Stone as one of the 40 most groundbreaking albums of all time, The A.V. Club named My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy the best album of the 2010s, Yeezus was the most critically acclaimed album of 2013 according to Metacritic, and The Life of Pablo was the first album to top the Billboard 200, go platinum in the US, and go gold in the UK, via streaming alone. Discography Studio albums The College Dropout (2004) Late Registration (2005) Graduation (2007) 808s & Heartbreak (2008) My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) Yeezus (2013) The Life of Pablo (2016) Ye (2018) Jesus Is King (2019) Donda (2021) Collaborative albums Watch the Throne (2011) (with Jay-Z) Kids See Ghosts (2018) (with Kid Cudi, as Kids See Ghosts) Compilation albums Cruel Summer (2012) (with GOOD Music) Demo albums Donda 2 (2022) Videography The College Dropout Video Anthology (2004) Late Orchestration (2006) VH1 Storytellers (2010) Runaway (2010) Jesus Is King (2019) Jeen-Yuhs (2022) Tours Headlining tours School Spirit Tour (2004) Touch the Sky Tour (2005–2006) Glow in the Dark Tour (2008) Watch the Throne Tour (with Jay-Z) (2011–2012) The Yeezus Tour (2013–2014) Saint Pablo Tour (2016) Supporting tours Truth Tour (with Usher) (2004) Vertigo Tour (with U2) (2005–2006) A Bigger Bang (with The Rolling Stones) (2006) Books Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar (2007) Thank You and You're Welcome (2009) Through the Wire: Lyrics & Illuminations (2009) Glow in the Dark (2009) See also Album era Black conservatism in the United States List of people with bipolar disorder List of Christian hip hop artists Notes References Further reading Kanye in Oxford: The #YeezOx highlights. Retrieved April 27, 2015. 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Kanye West

West was born on June 8, 1977, in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents divorced when he was three years old. After the divorce, he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. His father, Ray West, is a former Black Panther and was one of the first black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

2010-12: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and collaborations

Following the highly publicized incident, West took a brief break from music and threw himself into fashion, only to hole up in Hawaii for the next few months writing and recording his next album. Importing his favorite producers and artists to work on and inspire his recording, West kept engineers behind the boards 24 hours a day and slept only in increments. Noah Callahan-Bever, a writer for Complex, was present during the sessions and described the "communal" atmosphere as thus: "With the right songs and the right album, he can overcome any and all controversy, and we are here to contribute, challenge, and inspire." A variety of artists contributed to the project, including close friends Jay-Z, Kid Cudi and Pusha T, as well as off-the-wall collaborations, such as with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, West's fifth studio album, was released in November 2010 to widespread acclaim from critics, many of whom considered it his best work and said it solidified his comeback. In stark contrast to his previous effort, which featured a minimalist sound, Dark Fantasy adopts a maximalist philosophy and deals with themes of celebrity and excess. The record included the international hit "All of the Lights", and Billboard hits "Power", "Monster", and "Runaway", the latter of which accompanied a 35-minute film of the same name directed by and starring West. During this time, West initiated the free music program GOOD Fridays through his website, offering a free download of previously unreleased songs each Friday, a portion of which were included on the album. This promotion ran from August 20 - December 17, 2010. Dark Fantasy went on to go platinum in the United States, but its omission as a contender for Album of the Year at the 54th Grammy Awards was viewed as a "snub" by several media outlets. 2011 saw West embark on a festival tour to commemorate the release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy performing and headlining numerous festivals including; SWU Music & Arts, Austin City Limits, Oya Festival, Flow Festival, Live Music Festival, The Big Chill, Essence Music Festival, Lollapalooza and Coachella which was described by The Hollywood Reporter as "one of greatest hip-hop sets of all time", West released the collaborative album Watch the Throne with Jay-Z in August 2011. By employing a sales strategy that released the album digitally weeks before its physical counterpart, Watch the Throne became one of the few major label albums in the Internet age to avoid a leak. "Niggas in Paris" became the record's highest charting single, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. The co-headlining Watch the Throne Tour kicked off in October 2011 and concluded in June 2012. In 2012, West released the compilation album Cruel Summer, a collection of tracks by artists from West's record label GOOD Music. Cruel Summer produced four singles, two of which charted within the top twenty of the Hot 100: "Mercy" and "Clique". West also directed a film of the same name that premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in custom pyramid-shaped screening pavilion featuring seven screens. CANNOTANSWER

Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the early 2000s, producing singles for several artists and developing the "chipmunk soul" sampling style. Intent on pursuing a solo career as a rapper, he released his debut studio album, The College Dropout (2004), to critical and commercial success. He founded the record label GOOD Music later that year. West explored diverse musical elements like orchestras, synthesizers, and autotune on the albums Late Registration (2005), Graduation (2007), and 808s & Heartbreak (2008). His fifth and sixth albums My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) and Yeezus (2013) were also met with critical and commercial success. West further diversified his musical styles on The Life of Pablo (2016) and Ye (2018) and explored Christian and gospel music on Jesus Is King (2019). His tenth album Donda (2021) was released to continued commercial success but mixed critical reception. West's discography also includes the two full-length collaborative albums Watch the Throne (2011) with Jay-Z and Kids See Ghosts (2018) with Kid Cudi. One of the world's best-selling music artists, with over 160 million records sold, West has won 24 Grammy Awards and 75 nominations, the joint tenth-most of all time, and the joint-most Grammy awards of any rapper along with Jay-Z. Among his other awards are the Billboard Artist Achievement Award, a joint-record three Brit Awards for Best International Male Solo Artist and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Six of West's albums were included on Rolling Stones 2020 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list with the same publication naming him one of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. He holds the joint record (with Bob Dylan) for most albums (4) topping the annual Pazz & Jop critic poll. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2005 and 2015. As a fashion designer, he has collaborated with Nike, Louis Vuitton, Gap, and A.P.C. on clothing and footwear and led the Yeezy collaboration with Adidas. He is also the founder and head of the creative content company Donda. West's outspoken views have received significant media coverage; he has been a frequent source of controversy due to his conduct on social media and at awards shows and public settings, as well as his comments on the music and fashion industries, U.S. politics, race, and slavery. His Christian faith, high-profile marriage to Kim Kardashian, and mental health have also been topics of media attention. In 2020, West launched an unsuccessful independent presidential campaign that primarily advocated for a consistent life ethic. In 2022, he was widely condemned and lost many sponsors and partnershipsincluding his collaborations with Adidas, Gap, and Balenciagaafter making a series of antisemitic statements. In November 2022, he announced his 2024 presidential campaign, appearing publicly with Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist. West later publicly praised Adolf Hitler, denied the Holocaust, and identified as a Nazi. Early life West was born on June 8, 1977, in Atlanta, Georgia. After his parents divorced when he was three years old, he moved with his mother to Chicago, Illinois. His father, Ray West, is a former Black Panther and was one of the first black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Ray later became a Christian counselor, and in 2006, opened the Good Water Store and Café in Lexington Park, Maryland, with startup capital from his son. West's mother, Donda C. West (née Williams), was a professor of English at Clark Atlanta University and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as his manager. West was raised in a middle-class environment, attending Polaris School for Individual Education in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois, after living in Chicago. At the age of 10, West moved with his mother to Nanjing, China, where she was teaching at Nanjing University as a Fulbright Scholar. According to his mother, West was the only foreigner in his class, but he settled in well and quickly picked up the language, although he has since forgotten most of it. When asked about his grades in high school, West replied, "I got A's and B's." West demonstrated an affinity for the arts at an early age; he began writing poetry when he was five years old. West started rapping in the third grade and began making musical compositions in the seventh grade, eventually selling them to other artists. West crossed paths with producer No I.D., who became West's friend and mentor. After graduating from high school, West received a scholarship to attend Chicago's American Academy of Art in 1997 and began taking painting classes. Shortly after, he transferred to Chicago State University to study English. At age 20, he dropped out to pursue his musical career. This greatly displeased his mother, who was also a professor at the university, although she would later accept the decision. Musical career 1996–2002: Early work and Roc-A-Fella West began his early production career in the mid-1990s, creating beats primarily for burgeoning local artists around his area. His first official production credits came at nineteen when he produced eight tracks on Down to Earth, the 1996 debut album of a Chicago rapper, Grav. In 1998, West was the first person signed to the management-production company Hip Hop Since 1978. For a time, West acted as a ghost producer for Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie. Because of his association with D-Dot, West was not able to release a solo album, so he formed the Go-Getters, a rap group composed of him, GLC, Timmy G, Really Doe, and Arrowstar. The Go-Getters released their first and only studio album World Record Holders in 1999. West spent much of the late 1990s producing records for several well-known artists and music groups. He produced the third track on Foxy Brown's second studio album Chyna Doll, which became the first hip-hop album by a female rapper to debut at the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. In 2000, West began producing for artists on Roc-A-Fella. West is often credited with revitalizing Jay-Z's career with his contributions to Jay-Z's 2001 album The Blueprint, which Rolling Stone ranked among their list of greatest hip-hop albums. Serving as an in-house producer for Roc-A-Fella, West produced music for other artists on the label, including Beanie Sigel and Freeway. He also crafted hit songs for Ludacris, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson. Meanwhile, West struggled to attain a record deal as a rapper. Multiple record companies, including Capitol Records, denied or ignored him because he did not portray the gangsta image prominent in mainstream hip hop at the time. Desperate to keep West from defecting to another label, then-label head Damon Dash reluctantly signed West to Roc-A-Fella. A 2002 car accident, which shattered his jaw, inspired West; two weeks after being admitted to the hospital, he recorded "Through the Wire" at the Record Plant Studios with his jaw still wired shut. The song was first available on West's "Get Well Soon..." mixtape, released in December 2002. At the same time, West announced that he was working on an album called The College Dropout, whose overall theme was to "make your own decisions. Don't let society tell you, 'This is what you have to do.'" 2003–2006: The College Dropout and Late Registration West recorded the remainder of the album in Los Angeles while recovering from the car accident. It was leaked months before its release date, and West used the opportunity to remix, remaster, and revise the album before its release; West added new verses, string arrangements, gospel choirs, and improved drum programming. The album was postponed three times from its initial date in August 2003, and was eventually released in February 2004, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200 as his debut single, "Through the Wire" peaked at No. 15 while on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five weeks. "Slow Jamz", his second single, featuring Twista and Jamie Foxx, became the three musicians' first No. 1 hit. The College Dropout received near-universal critical acclaim, was voted the top album of the year by two major music publications, and has consistently been ranked among the great hip-hop works and debut albums by artists. "Jesus Walks", the album's fourth single, reached the top 20 of the Billboard pop charts, despite industry executives' predictions that a song containing such blatant declarations of faith would never make it to the radio. The College Dropout was certified triple platinum in the US, and garnered West 10 Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year, and Best Rap Album (which it received). During this period, West founded GOOD Music, a record label and management company that housed affiliate artists and producers, such as No I.D. and John Legend, and produced singles for Brandy, Common, Legend, and Slum Village. West invested $2 million and took over a year to make his second album. West was inspired by Roseland NYC Live, a 1998 live album by English trip hop group Portishead, produced with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, incorporating string arrangements into his hip-hop production. Though West had not been able to afford many live instruments around the time of his debut album, the money from his commercial success enabled him to hire a string orchestra for his second album Late Registration. West collaborated with American film score composer Jon Brion, who served as the album's co-executive producer for several tracks. Late Registration sold over 2.3 million units in the United States alone by the end of 2005 and was considered by industry observers as the only successful major album release of the fall season, which had been plagued by steadily declining CD sales. When his song "Touch the Sky" failed to win Best Video at the 2006 MTV Europe Music Awards, West went onto the stage as the award was being presented to Justice and Simian for "We Are Your Friends" and argued that he should have won the award instead. Hundreds of news outlets worldwide criticized the outburst. On November 7, 2006, West apologized for this outburst publicly during his performance as support act for U2 for their Vertigo concert in Brisbane. He later spoofed the incident on the 33rd-season premiere of Saturday Night Live in September 2007. 2007–2009: Graduation, 808s & Heartbreak, and VMAs incident West's third studio album, Graduation, garnered major publicity when its release date pitted West in a sales competition against rapper 50 Cent's Curtis. Upon their September 2007 releases, Graduation outsold Curtis by a large margin, debuting at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and selling 957,000 copies in its first week. Graduation continued the string of critical and commercial successes by West, and the album's lead single, "Stronger", garnered his third number-one hit. "Stronger", which samples French house duo Daft Punk, has been accredited to not only encouraging other hip-hop artists to incorporate house and electronica elements into their music, but also for playing a part in the revival of disco and electro-infused music in the late 2000s. His mother's death in November 2007 and the end of his engagement to Alexis Phifer profoundly affected West, who set off for his 2008 Glow in the Dark Tour shortly thereafter. Recorded mostly in Honolulu, Hawaii in three weeks, West announced his fourth album, 808s & Heartbreak, at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, where he performed its lead single, "Love Lockdown". Music audiences were taken aback by the uncharacteristic production style and the presence of Auto-Tune, which typified the pre-release response to the record. 808s & Heartbreak was released by Island Def Jam in November 2008. Upon its release, the lead single "Love Lockdown" debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, while follow-up single "Heartless" debuted at number four. While it was criticized prior to release, 808s & Heartbreak is considered to have had a significant effect on hip-hop music, encouraging other rappers to take more creative risks with their productions. While Taylor Swift was accepting her award for Best Female Video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, West went on stage and grabbed the microphone from her to proclaim that Beyoncé deserved the award instead. He was subsequently removed from the remainder of the show for his actions. West was criticized by various celebrities for the outburst, and by President Barack Obama, who called West a "jackass". The incident sparked a large influx of Internet photo memes. West subsequently apologized, including personally to Swift. However, in a November 2010 interview, he seemed to recant his past apologies, describing the act at the 2009 awards show as "selfless". 2010–2012: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Watch the Throne, and Cruel Summer Following the highly publicized incident, West took a brief break from music and threw himself into fashion, only to hole up in Hawaii for the next few months writing and recording his next album. Importing his favorite producers and artists to work on and inspire his recording, West kept engineers behind the boards 24 hours a day and slept only in increments. Noah Callahan-Bever, a writer for Complex, was present during the sessions and described the "communal" atmosphere as thus: "With the right songs and the right album, he can overcome any and all controversy, and we are here to contribute, challenge, and inspire." A variety of artists contributed to the project, including close friends Jay-Z, Kid Cudi and Pusha T, as well as off-the-wall collaborations, such as with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, West's fifth studio album, was released in November 2010 to widespread acclaim from critics, many of whom considered it his best work and said it solidified his comeback. In stark contrast to his previous effort, which featured a minimalist sound, Dark Fantasy adopts a maximalist philosophy and deals with themes of celebrity and excess. The record included the international hit "All of the Lights", and Billboard hits "Power", "Monster", and "Runaway", the latter of which accompanied a 35-minute film of the same name directed by and starring West. During this time, West initiated the free music program GOOD Fridays through his website, offering a free download of previously unreleased songs each Friday, a portion of which were included on the album. This promotion ran from August to December 2010. Dark Fantasy went on to go platinum in the United States, but its omission as a contender for Album of the Year at the 54th Grammy Awards was viewed as a "snub" by several media outlets. 2011 saw West embark on a festival tour to commemorate the release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy performing and headlining numerous festivals including; SWU Music & Arts, Austin City Limits, Oya Festival, Flow Festival, Live Music Festival, The Big Chill, Essence Music Festival, Lollapalooza and Coachella which was described by The Hollywood Reporter as "one of greatest hip-hop sets of all time", West released the collaborative album Watch the Throne with Jay-Z in August 2011. By employing a sales strategy that released the album digitally weeks before its physical counterpart, Watch the Throne became one of the few major label albums in the Internet age to avoid a leak. "Niggas in Paris" became the record's highest-charting single, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. The co-headlining Watch the Throne Tour kicked off in October 2011 and concluded in June 2012. In 2012, West released the compilation album Cruel Summer, a collection of tracks by artists from West's record label GOOD Music. 2013–2015: Yeezus and the Yeezus Tour Sessions for West's sixth solo effort begin to take shape in early 2013 in his own personal loft's living room at a Paris hotel. Determined to "undermine the commercial", he once again brought together close collaborators and attempted to incorporate Chicago drill, dancehall, acid house, and industrial music. Primarily inspired by architecture, West's perfectionist tendencies led him to contact producer Rick Rubin fifteen days shy of its due date to strip down the record's sound in favor of a more minimalist approach. Initial promotion of his sixth album included worldwide video projections of the album's music and live television performances. Yeezus, West's sixth album, was released June 18, 2013, to rave reviews from critics. It became his sixth consecutive number one debut, but also marked his lowest solo opening week sales. In September 2013, West announced he would be headlining his first solo tour in five years, to support Yeezus, with fellow American rapper Kendrick Lamar accompanying him as a supporting act. The tour was met with rave reviews from critics. Rolling Stone described it as "crazily entertaining, hugely ambitious, emotionally affecting (really!) and, most importantly, totally bonkers". Writing for Forbes, Zack O'Malley Greenburg praised West for "taking risks that few pop stars, if any, are willing to take in today's hyper-exposed world of pop", describing the show as "overwrought and uncomfortable at times, but [it] excels at challenging norms and provoking thought in a way that just isn't common for mainstream musical acts of late". West subsequently released a number of singles featuring Paul McCartney, including "Only One" and "FourFiveSeconds", also featuring Rihanna. In November 2013, West stated that he was beginning work on his next studio album, hoping to release it by mid-2014, with production by Rick Rubin and Q-Tip. Having initially announced a new album entitled Yeezus II slated for a 2014 release, West announced in March 2015 that the album would instead be tentatively called So Help Me God. In May 2015, West was awarded an honorary doctorate by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for his contributions to music, fashion, and popular culture. The next month, West headlined at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK, despite a petition signed by almost 135,000 people against his appearance. Another petition aimed to block West from headlining the 2015 Pan American Games, garnering 50,000 supporters. 2016–2017: The Life of Pablo and tour cancellation West announced in January 2016 that SWISH would be released on February 11, and later that month, released new songs "Real Friends" and a snippet of "No More Parties in LA" with Kendrick Lamar. On January 26, 2016, West revealed he had renamed the album from SWISH to Waves. In the weeks leading up to the album's release, West became embroiled in several Twitter controversies. Several days ahead of its release, West again changed the title, this time to The Life of Pablo. On February 11, West premiered the album at Madison Square Garden as part of the presentation of his Yeezy Season3 clothing line. Following the preview, West announced that he would be modifying the tracklist once more before its release to the public. He released the album exclusively on Tidal on February 14, 2016, following a performance on SNL. Following its release, West continued to tinker with mixes of several tracks, describing the work as "a living breathing changing creative expression" and proclaiming the end of the album as a dominant release form. Despite West's earlier comments, in addition to Tidal, the album was released through several other competing services starting in April. In February 2016, West stated on Twitter that he was planning to release another album in the summer of 2016, tentatively called Turbo Grafx 16 in reference to the 1990s video game console of the same name. In June 2016, West released the collaborative lead single "Champions" off the GOOD Music album Cruel Winter, which has yet to be released. Later that month, West released a controversial video for "Famous", which depicted wax figures of several celebrities (including West, Kardashian, Taylor Swift, businessman and then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, comedian Bill Cosby, and former president George W. Bush) sleeping nude in a shared bed. In August 2016, West embarked on the Saint Pablo Tour in support of The Life of Pablo. The performances featured a mobile stage suspended from the ceiling. West postponed several dates in October following the Paris robbery of several of his wife's effects. On November 21, 2016, West cancelled the remaining 21 dates on the Saint Pablo Tour, following a week of no-shows, curtailed concerts and rants about politics. He was later admitted for psychiatric observation at UCLA Medical Center. He stayed hospitalized over the Thanksgiving weekend because of a temporary psychosis stemming from sleep deprivation and extreme dehydration. Following this episode West took an 11-month break from posting on Twitter and the public in general. 2017–2019: Ye and the Wyoming Sessions It was reported in May 2017 that West was recording new music in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with a wide range of collaborators. In April 2018, West announced plans to write a philosophy book entitled Break the Simulation, later clarifying that he was sharing the book "in real time" on Twitter and began posting content that was likened to "life coaching". Later that month, he also announced two new albums, a solo album and self-titled collaboration with Kid Cudi under the name Kids See Ghosts, both of which would be released in June. Additionally, he revealed he would produce upcoming albums by GOOD Music label-mates Pusha T and Teyana Taylor, as well as Nas. Shortly thereafter, West released the non-album singles "Lift Yourself", a "strange, gibberish track" featuring nonsensical lyrics, and "Ye vs. the People", in which he and T.I. discussed West's controversial support of Donald Trump. Pusha T's Daytona, "the first project out of Wyoming", was released in May to critical acclaim, although the album's artwork—a photograph of deceased singer Whitney Houston's bathroom that West paid $85,000 to license—attracted some controversy. The following week, West released his eighth studio album, Ye. West has suggested that he scrapped the original recordings of the album and re-recorded it within a month. The week after, West released a collaborative album with Kid Cudi, titled Kids See Ghosts, named after their group of the same name. West also completed production work on Nas' Nasir and Teyana Taylor's K.T.S.E., which were released in June 2018. In September, West announced his ninth studio album Yandhi to be released by the end of the month and a collaborative album with fellow Chicagoan rapper Chance the Rapper titled Good Ass Job. That same month, West announced that he would be changing his stage name to "Ye". Yandhi was originally set for release in September 2018 but was postponed multiple times. In January 2019, West pulled out of headlining that year's Coachella festival after negotiations broke down due to discord regarding stage design. In July, it was reported that songs from West's unreleased album Yandhi were leaked online. The following month, Kim Kardashian announced that West's next album would be titled Jesus Is King, effectively scrapping Yandhi. By October, the entire unfinished album was available for a short time on streaming services Spotify and Tidal. 2019–present: Jesus Is King, Donda, and Donda 2 On January 6, 2019, West started his weekly "Sunday Service" orchestration which includes soul variations of both West's and others' songs attended by multiple celebrities including the Kardashians, Charlie Wilson, and Kid Cudi. West previewed a new song, "Water" at his "Sunday Service" orchestration performance at Coachella 2019, which was later revealed to feature on his upcoming album Jesus Is King; West released the album on October 25, 2019. It became the first to ever top the Billboard 200, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Top Rap Albums, Top Christian Albums and Top Gospel Albums at the same time. On December 25, 2019, West and Sunday Service released Jesus Is Born, containing 19 songs including several re-workings of older West songs. West released a single titled "Wash Us in the Blood" on June 30, 2020, featuring fellow American rapper and singer Travis Scott, along with the music video, which was set to serve as the lead single from his tenth studio album Donda. However, in September 2020, West stated that he would not be releasing any further music until he is "done with [his] contract with Sony and Universal". On October 16, he released the single "Nah Nah Nah". West held several listening parties at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for his upcoming album Donda in the summer of 2021, where he had taken up temporary residence in one of the stadium's locker rooms, converting it into a recording studio to finish the recording. After multiple delays, Donda was released on August 29, 2021. West claimed the album was released early without his approval and alleged that Universal had altered the tracklist. He released a delux edition of Donda, including five new songs, to streaming services on November 14, 2021. On November 20, days after ending their long-running feud, West and rapper Drake confirmed that they would stage the "Free Larry Hoover" benefit concert on December 9 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. On January 5, 2022, West was announced as one of the 2022 headliners of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Later that month on January 15, West released the first single for his upcoming album Donda 2, "Eazy" featuring The Game, to be executive produced by American rapper Future. West hosted a listening event for the album at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, on February 22. In April, shortly before Coachella, West pulled out as headlining act, then proceeded to pull out of headlining Rolling Loud. West and The Game performed the single on July 22, marking West's first performance in five months following the low profile he had been keeping since Donda 2 remained unfinished. A day later, despite cancelling as headliner, he appeared at Rolling Loud during Lil Durk's set. In December 2022, after weeks of controversial antisemitic statements, West released a new song "Someday We'll All Be Free" on his Instagram. Musical style West's musical career is defined by frequent stylistic shifts and different musical approaches. In the subsequent years since his debut, West has both musically and lyrically taken an increasingly experimental approach to crafting progressive hip hop music while maintaining accessible pop sensibilities. Ed Ledsham of PopMatters said that "West's melding of multiple genres into the hip-hop fold is a complex act that challenges the dominant white notions of what constitutes true 'art' music." West's rhymes have been described as funny, provocative and articulate, capable of seamlessly segueing from shrewd commentary to comical braggadocio to introspective sensitivity. West imparts that he strives to speak in an inclusive manner so groups from different racial and gender backgrounds can comprehend his lyrics, saying he desired to sound "just as ill as Jadakiss and just as understandable as Will Smith". Early in his career, West pioneered a style of hip-hop production dubbed "chipmunk-soul", a sampling technique involving the manipulation of tempo in order to chop and stretch pitched-up samples from vintage soul songs. On his debut studio album, The College Dropout (2004), West formed the constitutive elements of his style, described as intricate hip-hop beats, topical subject matter, and clumsy rapping laced with inventive wordplay. The record saw West diverge from the then-dominant gangster persona in hip hop in favor of more diverse, topical lyrical subjects, including higher education, materialism, self-consciousness, minimum-wage labor, institutional prejudice, class struggle, family, sexuality, his struggles in the music industry, and middle-class upbringing. Over time, West has explored a variety of music genres, encompassing and taking inspiration from chamber pop on his second studio album, Late Registration (2005), arena rock and europop on his third album, Graduation (2007), synth-driven electropop on his fourth album, 808s & Heartbreak (2008), acid-house, drill, industrial rap and trap on Yeezus (2013), gospel and Christian rap on The Life of Pablo (2016), Jesus is King (2019) and Donda (2021), and psychedelic music on Kids See Ghosts (2018). Other ventures Fashion Early in his career, West made clear his interest in fashion and desire to work in the clothing design industry. He launched his own clothing line in spring 2006, and developed it over the following four years before the line was ultimately cancelled in 2009. In January 2007, West's first sneaker collaboration was released, a special-edition Bapesta from A Bathing Ape. In 2009, West collaborated with Nike to release his own shoe, the Air Yeezys, becoming the first non-athlete to be given a shoe deal with the company. In January 2009, he introduced his first shoe line designed for Louis Vuitton during Paris Fashion Week. The line was released in summer 2009. West has additionally designed shoewear for Italian shoemaker Giuseppe Zanotti. In fall 2009, West moved to Rome, where he interned at Italian fashion brand Fendi, giving ideas for the men's collection. In March 2011, West collaborated with M/M Paris for a series of silk scarves featuring artwork from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. In October 2011, West premiered his women's fashion label at Paris Fashion Week. His debut fashion show received mixed-to-negative reviews. In March 2012, West premiered a second fashion line at Paris Fashion Week. Critics deemed the sophomore effort "much improved" compared to his first show. On December 3, 2013, Adidas officially confirmed a new shoe collaboration deal with West. After months of anticipation and rumors, West confirmed the release of the Adidas Yeezy Boosts. In 2015, West unveiled a Yeezy clothing line, premiering in collaboration with Adidas early that year. In June 2016, Adidas announced a new long-term contract with Kanye West that extended the Yeezy line to a number of stores, planning to sell sports performance products like basketball, football, and soccer, although Adidas terminated the partnership with West in October 2022 due to his antisemitic remarks. In May 2021, West signed a 10-year deal linking Yeezy with GAP, however, in September 2022, West announced that he was ending the deal. Business ventures West founded the record label and production company GOOD Music in 2004, in conjunction with Sony BMG, shortly after releasing his debut album, The College Dropout. West, alongside then-unknown Ohio singer John Legend and fellow Chicago rapper Common were the label's inaugural artists. The label houses artists including West, Big Sean, Pusha T, Teyana Taylor, Yasiin Bey / Mos Def, D'banj and John Legend, and producers including Hudson Mohawke, Q-Tip, Travis Scott, No I.D., Jeff Bhasker, and S1. GOOD Music has released ten albums certified gold or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In November 2015, West appointed Pusha T the new president of GOOD Music. In August 2008, West revealed plans to open 10 Fatburger restaurants in the Chicago area; the first was set to open in September 2008 in Orland Park. The second followed in January 2009, while a third location is yet to be revealed, although the process is being finalized. His company, KW Foods LLC, bought the rights to the chain in Chicago. Ultimately, in 2009, only two locations actually opened. In February 2011, West shut down the Fatburger located in Orland Park. In January 2012, West announced his establishment of the creative content company Donda, named after his late mother. In his announcement, West proclaimed that the company would "pick up where Steve Jobs left off"; Donda would operate as a "design company" with a goal to "make products and experiences that people want and can afford". In stating Donda's creative philosophy, West articulated the need to "put creatives in a room together with like minds" in order to "simplify and aesthetically improve everything we see, taste, touch, and feel." West is notoriously secretive about the company's operations, maintaining neither an official website nor a social media presence. Contemporary critics have noted the consistent minimalistic aesthetic exhibited throughout Donda creative projects. West expressed interest in starting an architecture firm in May 2013, saying "I want to do product, I am a product person, not just clothing but water bottle design, architecture... I make music but I shouldn't be limited to one place of creativity" and then later in November 2013, delivering a manifesto on his architectural goals during a visit to Harvard Graduate School of Design. In May 2018, West announced he was starting an architecture firm called Yeezy Home, which will act as an arm of his already successful Yeezy fashion label. In June 2018, the first Yeezy Home collaboration was announced by designer Jalil Peraza, teasing an affordable concrete prefabricated home as part of a social housing project. In March 2015, it was announced that West is a co-owner, with various other music artists, in the music streaming service Tidal. The service specialises in lossless audio and high definition music videos. Jay-Z acquired the parent company of Tidal, Aspiro, in the first quarter of 2015. Sixteen artist stakeholders including Jay-Z, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Madonna, Chris Martin, Nicki Minaj co-own Tidal, with the majority owning a 3% equity stake. In October 2022, in direct response to bans he received on Twitter and Instagram stemming from his antisemitic comments, West reached an agreement in principle to acquire the alt-tech social network Parler for an undisclosed amount. Parler and West mutually agreed to terminate the proposed deal in mid-November. Philanthropy West, alongside his mother, founded the Kanye West Foundation in Chicago in 2003, tasked with a mission to battle dropout and illiteracy rates, while partnering with community organizations to provide underprivileged youth access to music education. In 2007, West and the Foundation partnered with Strong American Schools as part of their "Ed in '08" campaign. As spokesman for the campaign, West appeared in a series of PSAs for the organization, and hosted an inaugural benefit concert in August of that year. In 2008, following the death of West's mother, the foundation was rechristened The Dr. Donda West Foundation. The foundation ceased operations in 2011. In 2013, Kanye West and friend Rhymefest founded Donda's House, Inc., a program aimed at helping at-risk Chicago youth. West has contributed to hurricane relief in 2005 by participating in a Hurricane Katrina benefit concert after the storm had ravaged black communities in New Orleans and in 2012 when he performed at a Hurricane Sandy benefit concert. In January 2019, West donated $10 million towards the completion of the Roden Crater by American artist James Turrell. In June 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the following protests, he donated $2million between the family of Floyd and other victims of police brutality, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. The donation funded legal fees for Arbery and Taylor's families, as well as establishing a 529 plan to fully cover college tuition for Floyd's daughter. Acting and filmmaking West made cameo appearances as himself in the films State Property 2 (2005) and The Love Guru (2008), and in an episode of the television show Entourage in 2007. West provided the voice for "Kenny West", a rapper, in the animated sitcom The Cleveland Show. In 2009, he starred in the Spike Jonze-directed short film We Were Once a Fairytale (2009), playing himself acting belligerently while drunk in a nightclub. West wrote, directed, and starred in the musical short film Runaway (2010), which heavily features music from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The film depicts a relationship between a man, played by West, and a half-woman, half-phoenix creature. In 2012, West wrote and directed another short film, titled Cruel Summer, which premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in a custom pyramid-shaped screening pavilion featuring seven screens constructed for the film. The film was inspired by the compilation album of the same name. West made a cameo appearance in the comedy Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013) as a MTV News representative in the film's fight scene. In September 2018, West announced starting of film production company named Half Beast, LLC. A documentary shot over 21 years featuring footage of West's early days in Chicago through the death of his mother to his presidential run was announced to debut in 2021. Titled Jeen-Yuhs, it was acquired by Netflix for $30 million. Politics 2020 presidential campaign On July 4, 2020, West announced on Twitter that he would be running in the 2020 presidential election. On July 7, West was interviewed by Forbes about his presidential run, where he announced that his running mate would be Wyoming preacher Michelle Tidball, and that he would run as an independent under the "Birthday Party", explaining his decision of why he chose the name, saying, "Because when we win, it's everybody's 'birthday'." West also said he no longer supported Trump because he "hid in [a] bunker" during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continuing, he said, "You know? Obama's special. Trump's special. We say Kanye West is special. America needs special people that lead. Bill Clinton? Special. Joe Biden's not special." Various political pundits speculated that West's presidential run was a publicity stunt to promote his latest music releases. On July 15, 2020, official paperwork was filed with the Federal Election Commission for West, under the "BDY" Party affiliation amid claims that he was preparing to drop out. West held his first rally that weekend, on July 19. West aligned himself with the philosophy of a consistent life ethic, a tenet of Christian democracy. His platform advocated for the creation of a culture of life, endorsing environmental stewardship, supporting the arts, buttressing faith-based organizations, restoring school prayer, providing for a strong national defense, and "America First" diplomacy. In July 2020, West told Forbes that he is ignorant on issues such as taxes and foreign policy. West conceded on Twitter on November 4, 2020. He received 66,365 votes in the 12 states he had ballot access in, receiving an average of 0.32%. Reported write-in votes gave West an additional 3,931 votes across 5 states. In addition, the Roque De La Fuente / Kanye West ticket won 60,160 votes in California (0.34%). According to Reuters, on January 4, 2021, a Kanye West-linked publicist pressured a Georgia election worker to confess to bogus charges of election tampering to assist Trump's claims of election interference. In December 2021, The Daily Beast reported that West's presidential campaign received millions of dollars in services from a secret network of Republican operatives, payments to which the committee did not report. According to campaign finance experts, this was done to conceal a connection. 2024 presidential campaign West has stated his intentions to run for president again in the 2024 presidential election. In November 2019, he said at an event, "When I run for president in 2024, we would've created so many jobs that I'm not going to run, I'm going to walk." He was met with laughter from the audience. On October 24, 2020, while running for president, West told Joe Rogan on his podcast that he would be open to running for Governor of California. On May 19, 2021, Fox News reported that it had obtained a letter concerning an RFAI (Request for further information) from the Federal Election Commission regarding an exploratory presidential committee. West's representatives stated, "Kanye West has not decided whether to become a candidate for president in the 2024 election, and the activity of the Kanye 2020 committee that prompted this RFAI is strictly exploratory." On subsequent interviews, merchandise, and in songs lyrics, West would repeatedly insinuate that he will indeed run. On November 20, 2022, Kanye announced his intention to run in 2024. Views West has been an outspoken and controversial celebrity throughout his career, receiving criticism from the mainstream media, industry colleagues and entertainers, and three U.S. presidents. In a 2005 speech, West criticized both the media and the government's racial disparities in their response to Hurricane Katrina, stating on live television that "George Bush doesn't care about black people". West has voiced his opposition to abortion in 2013, citing his belief in the Sixth Commandment, and in 2022 deemed abortion "genocide and population control" of black people. He has stated that the 400-year enslavement of Africans "sounds like a choice", before elaborating that his comment was in reference to mental enslavement and argued for free thought. He later apologized for the comment. In late 2022, West made a series of antisemitic statements, resulting in the termination of his collaborations, sponsorships, and partnerships with Vogue, CAA, Balenciaga, Gap, and Adidas. West was widely condemned after appearing at a dinner hosted by Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago beside Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist. In a subsequent December appearance on Alex Jones's InfoWars, West praised Adolf Hitler, denied the Holocaust, and identified as a Nazi. Following the interview, West's Twitter account was terminated after he posted an image depicting a swastika entangled within a Star of David. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago later rescinded West's honorary degree. According to a 2023 report published by the Anti-Defamation League, West's antisemitic rhetoric has caused several instances of hate-speech vandalism, harassment, and violence across the United States. Personal life West's net worth was as high as $1.8 billion in 2021. In October 2022, Forbes estimated his net worth to have dropped to $400 million in large part due to Adidas's termination of their partnership following a series of public antisemitic statements. In August 2021, West applied to have his legal name changed from "Kanye Omari West" to "Ye," with no middle or last name; he cited "personal reasons" for the change. The request was granted in October. West had alluded to wishing to change his name since 2018 and had used Ye as a nickname for several years prior, stating in a 2018 interview that "ye" () was the most commonly used word in the Bible: "In the Bible it means 'you'. So, I'm you. I'm us. It's us. It went from being Kanye, which means the only one, to just Ye." Relationships and family Kim Kardashian In April 2012, West began dating reality television star Kim Kardashian, with whom he had already been long-time friends. West and Kardashian became engaged in October 2013, and married at Fort di Belvedere in Florence in May 2014. Their private ceremony was subject to widespread mainstream coverage, with which West took issue. The couple's high-profile status and respective careers have resulted in their relationship becoming subject to heavy media coverage; The New York Times referred to their marriage as "a historic blizzard of celebrity". West and Kardashian have four children: North West (born June 2013), Saint West (born December 2015), Chicago West (born via surrogate in January 2018), and Psalm West (born via surrogate in May 2019). In July 2020, during a presidential campaign rally of his, West revealed that he had previously considered abortion during Kardashian's first pregnancy but has since taken anti-abortion views. In April 2015, West and Kardashian traveled to Jerusalem to have North baptized in the Armenian Apostolic Church at the Cathedral of St. James. In September 2018, West announced that he would be permanently moving back to Chicago to establish his Yeezy company headquarters there. This did not actually occur, and West instead went on to purchase two ranches near Cody, Wyoming, where he recorded his eighth solo studio album, Ye. Kardashian resides with their children in a home that the now-divorced couple owns in California, whereas West moved into a home across the street to continue to be near their children. In fall 2021, West began the process of selling his Wyoming ranch. In July 2020, West acknowledged the possibility of Kardashian ending their marriage due to his adoption of anti-abortion views. Later that month, West wrote on Twitter that he had been attempting to divorce Kardashian. He also wrote that the Kardashian family was attempting "to lock [him] up". In January 2021, CNN reported that the couple were discussing divorce. A month later, Kardashian filed for divorce, with the couple citing "irreconcilable differences", agreeing to joint custody of their children, and declining spousal support from each other. The divorce settlement was finalized in November 2022, and West was ordered to pay $200,000 in monthly child support and be responsible for half of the children's medical, educational, and security expenses. Other relationships West began an on-and-off relationship with the designer Alexis Phifer in 2002, and they became engaged in August 2006. They ended their 18-month engagement in 2008. Phifer stated that the pair had split amicably and remained friends. West dated model Amber Rose from 2008 until mid-2010. In an interview following their split, West stated that he had to take "30 showers" before committing to his next relationship with Kim Kardashian. In response, Rose stated that she had been "bullied" and "slut-shamed" by West throughout their relationship. In January 2022, actress Julia Fox confirmed in an Interview essay that she was dating West. West continued to say that he wanted his "family back" and publicly lashed out at Kardashian's new boyfriend, comedian Pete Davidson. His treatment of Davidson and Kardashian has been described by commentators as harassment and abusive; the 64th Annual Grammy Awards dropped him as a performer in response to his "concerning online behavior". Less than two months after confirming their relationship, Fox said that she and West had split up but remained on good terms. She later said that she dated West purely to "give people something to talk about" during the COVID-19 pandemic and to "get him off Kim's case". In January 2023, it was reported that West had informally married Australian architect Bianca Censori, who works for West's Yeezy brand, in a private ceremony in Beverly Hills. The ceremony had no legal standing; the couple did not file for a marriage license. In response to West's subsequent trips to Australia to visit Censori's family, Australian Minister for Education Jason Clare commented that West may be denied a visa due to his recent antisemitic remarks. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry further argued against granting West entry. Legal problems In December 2006, Robert "Evel" Knievel sued the rapper for trademark infringement of his name and likeness in West's video for "Touch the Sky". Knievel took issue with the "vulgar and offensive" and "sexually charged video" in which West takes on the persona of "Evel Kanyevel" that Knievel claimed damaged his reputation. The suit sought monetary damages and an injunction to stop distribution of the video. West's attorneys argued that the music video amounted to satire and therefore was covered under the First Amendment. Days before his death in November 2007, Knievel amicably settled the suit after being paid a visit by West, saying, "I thought he was a wonderful guy and quite a gentleman." In 2014, after an altercation with a paparazzo at the Los Angeles Airport, West was sentenced to serve two years' probation for a misdemeanor battery conviction, and was required to attend 24 anger management sessions, perform 250 hours of community service, and pay restitution to the photographer. A separate civil lawsuit brought by the paparazzo was settled in 2015, a week before it was due for trial. According to TMZ, an appeal to have West's conviction expunged from his criminal record was granted by a judge in 2016. Religious beliefs After the success of his song "Jesus Walks" from the album The College Dropout, West was questioned on his beliefs and said, "I will say that I'm spiritual. I have accepted Jesus as my Savior. And I will say that I fall short every day." In a 2008 interview with The Fader, West stated that "I'm like a vessel, and God has chosen me to be the voice and the connector". In a 2009 interview with online magazine Bossip, West stated that he believed in God, but at the time felt that he "would never go into a religion". In 2014, West referred to himself as a Christian during one of his concerts. Kim Kardashian stated in September 2019: "He has had an amazing evolution of being born again and being saved by Christ." In October 2019, West said with respect to his past, "When I was trying to serve multiple gods it drove me crazy" in reference to the "god of ego, god of money, god of pride, the god of fame", and that "I didn't even know what it meant to be saved" and that now "I love Jesus Christ. I love Christianity." Politics In September 2012, West donated $1,000 to Barack Obama's re-election campaign, and in August 2015 he donated $2,700 to Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign. He also donated $15,000 to the Democratic National Committee in October 2014. In December 2016, West met with President-elect Donald Trump to discuss bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago. West subsequently stated he would have voted for Trump had he voted. In February 2017, however, West deleted all his tweets about Trump in purported dislike of the new president's policies, particularly the travel ban. West reiterated his support for Donald Trump in April 2018. In October 2018, West donated to progressive Chicago mayoral candidate Amara Enyia. That same month, he voiced support for the Blexit movement, a campaign started by conservative commentator Candace Owens, whom he had previously associated with. Mental health On November 19, 2016, West abruptly ended a concert before being committed at the recommendation of authorities to the UCLA Medical Center with hallucinations and paranoia. While the episode was first described as one of "temporary psychosis" caused by dehydration and sleep deprivation, West's mental state was abnormal enough for his 21 cancelled concerts to be covered by his insurance policy. He was reportedly paranoid and depressed throughout the hospitalization, but remained formally undiagnosed. Some have speculated that the Paris robbery of his wife may have triggered the paranoia. On November 30, West was released from the hospital. In his song "FML" and his featured verse on Vic Mensa's song "U Mad", he refers to using the antidepressant medication Lexapro, and in his unreleased song "I Feel Like That", he mentions feeling many common symptoms of depression and anxiety. In a 2018 interview, West said that he had become addicted to opioids when they were prescribed to him after liposuction. The addiction may have contributed to his nervous breakdown in 2016. West said that he often has suicidal ideation. West was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016, though his diagnosis was not made public until his 2018 album Ye. He told President Donald Trump that it was a misdiagnosis. He had reportedly accepted the diagnosis again by 2019, but again suggested that it had been a misdiagnosis in 2022. In December 2022, he suggested that he may be autistic. Musical impact West is among the most critically acclaimed popular music artists of the 21st century, earning praise from music critics, fans, industry peers, and cultural figures. In 2014, NME named him the third most influential artist in music. Billboard senior editor Alex Gale declared West "absolutely one of the best, and you could make the argument for the best artist of the 21st century." Sharing similar sentiments, Dave Bry of Complex Magazine called West the twenty-first century's "most important artist of any art form, of any genre." The Atlantic writer David Samuels commented, "Kanye's power resides in his wild creativity and expressiveness, his mastery of form, and his deep and uncompromising attachment to a self-made aesthetic that he expresses through means that are entirely of the moment: rap music, digital downloads, fashion, Twitter, blogs, live streaming video." Joe Muggs of The Guardian argued that "there is nobody else who can sell as many records as West does [...] while remaining so resolutely experimental and capable of stirring things up culturally and politically." Rolling Stone credited West with transforming hip-hop's mainstream, "establishing a style of introspective yet glossy rap" while deeming him "a producer who created a signature sound and then abandoned it to his imitators, a flashy, free-spending sybarite with insightful things to say about college, culture, and economics, an egomaniac with more than enough artistic firepower to back it up." Writing for Highsnobiety, Shahzaib Hussain stated that West's first three albums "cemented his role as a progressive rap progenitor". AllMusic editor Jason Birchmeier described West as "[shattering] certain stereotypes about rappers, becoming a superstar on his own terms without adapting his appearance, his rhetoric, or his music to fit any one musical mold". Lawrence Burney of Noisey has credited West with the commercial decline of the gangsta rap genre that once dominated mainstream hip-hop. The release of his third studio album has been described as a turning point in the music industry, and is considered to have helped pave the way for new rappers who did not follow the hardcore-gangster mold to find wider mainstream acceptance. Hip-hop artists like Drake, Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, and Chance the Rapper have acknowledged being influenced by West. Several other artists and music groups of various genres have named West as an influence on their work. Awards and achievements West is the fourth-highest certified artist in the US by digital singles (69 million). He had the most RIAA digital song certifications by a male artist in the 2000s (19), and was the fourth best-selling digital songs artist of the 2000s in the US. In Spotify's first ten years from 2008 to 2018, West was the sixth most streamed artist, and the fourth fastest artist to reach one billion streams. West has the joint-most consecutive studio album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 (9). He ranked third on Billboards 2000s decade-end list of top producers and has topped the annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll the joint-most times (four albums) with Bob Dylan. West has been nominated for 75 Grammys, out of which he has won 24. He has been the most nominated act at five ceremonies, and has received the fourth-most wins overall in the 2000s. In 2008, West became the first solo artist to have his first three albums receive nominations for Album of the Year. West has won a Webby Award for Artist of the Year, an Accessories Council Excellence Award for being a stylemaker, International Man of the Year at the GQ Awards, a Clio Award for The Life of Pablo Album Experience, and an honour by The Recording Academy. West is one of eight acts to have won the Billboard Artist Achievement Award. In 2015, he became the third rap act to win the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. West's first six solo studio albums were included on Rolling Stones 2020 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Entertainment Weekly named The College Dropout the best album of the 2000s, Complex named Graduation the best album released between 2002 and 2012, 808s & Heartbreak was named by Rolling Stone as one of the 40 most groundbreaking albums of all time, The A.V. Club named My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy the best album of the 2010s, Yeezus was the most critically acclaimed album of 2013 according to Metacritic, and The Life of Pablo was the first album to top the Billboard 200, go platinum in the US, and go gold in the UK, via streaming alone. Discography Studio albums The College Dropout (2004) Late Registration (2005) Graduation (2007) 808s & Heartbreak (2008) My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) Yeezus (2013) The Life of Pablo (2016) Ye (2018) Jesus Is King (2019) Donda (2021) Collaborative albums Watch the Throne (2011) (with Jay-Z) Kids See Ghosts (2018) (with Kid Cudi, as Kids See Ghosts) Compilation albums Cruel Summer (2012) (with GOOD Music) Demo albums Donda 2 (2022) Videography The College Dropout Video Anthology (2004) Late Orchestration (2006) VH1 Storytellers (2010) Runaway (2010) Jesus Is King (2019) Jeen-Yuhs (2022) Tours Headlining tours School Spirit Tour (2004) Touch the Sky Tour (2005–2006) Glow in the Dark Tour (2008) Watch the Throne Tour (with Jay-Z) (2011–2012) The Yeezus Tour (2013–2014) Saint Pablo Tour (2016) Supporting tours Truth Tour (with Usher) (2004) Vertigo Tour (with U2) (2005–2006) A Bigger Bang (with The Rolling Stones) (2006) Books Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar (2007) Thank You and You're Welcome (2009) Through the Wire: Lyrics & Illuminations (2009) Glow in the Dark (2009) See also Album era Black conservatism in the United States List of people with bipolar disorder List of Christian hip hop artists Notes References Further reading Kanye in Oxford: The #YeezOx highlights. Retrieved April 27, 2015. 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Béla Fleck and the Flecktones

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones is an American band that combines jazz and bluegrass music. The band's name is a play on 1960s rock band Dick Dale and the Del-Tones. The Flecktones formed in 1988 when Bela Fleck was invited to perform on the PBS TV series The Lonesome Pine Specials. The original members were Fleck on banjo, Victor Wooten on bass guitar, his brother Roy Wooten on Drumitar, and Howard Levy on harmonica and keyboards.

Return to quartet

In April 1997, the Flecktones became a quartet again, as they added saxophone player Jeff Coffin to the mix. Coffin would remain in the band from 1997 until 2008. In June 1997, the Flecktones opened for The Dave Matthews Band. In July the Flecktones toured Europe and sat in on the second set of a Phish show in Lyon, France. This marked the second and final time that the Flecktones played with Phish. In June 1998, the Flecktones released their sixth album, and fifth studio album, Left of Cool. Left of Cool represents a switch from previous Flecktones albums, as the band, according to critic Terri Horak "jettisoned their self-imposed rule to only record what could be duplicated on live instruments." In July 2000, the Flecktones released their eighth album, Outbound. Outbound is another studio album, and again the Flecktones' philosophy with this album was to do something different from everything they had done before. What makes Outbound unique is the way in which the Flecktones recorded the album. The quartet recorded each track on the album, then invited guest musicians to overdub vocals or instrumentation. Outbound guests include: Jon Anderson from Yes, Shawn Colvin and John Medeski, of Medeski, Martin and Wood, to name a few. The album earned the Flecktones the Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album that year. Live at the Quick, which was also released as a DVD, is the band's ninth album, and second live album. For fans of live Flecktones, this album, like Live Art, successfully captured the sound and feel of the Flecktones in concert. Little Worlds, the band's tenth album was released on August 12, 2003. Like previous Flecktones' albums, Little Worlds features a slew of musical guests, from Sam Bush on mandolin, Derek Trucks on guitar and even former New York Yankee and guitarist Bernie Williams works his way into a track. Little Worlds was released as a 3-CD album, but for the less committed listener, the band also released Ten From Little Worlds, which includes ten songs off of the original 3-CD Little Worlds. In February 2006, the band released their eleventh album, The Hidden Land. As with every Flecktones album, they needed to change something from their last album. For The Hidden Land, the Flecktones didn't want any guest musicians. "'The truth is, the last few records are not what we are,' Fleck said. 'Obviously, we loved playing with those musicians, but if you keep on doing it, you become a gathering point rather than a group with its own identity.'" For the Flecktones to keep moving forward, they felt their music had to get back to the roots of the quartet. After spending much of the year apart, the Flecktones came together in 2008 to release a holiday album, Jingle All the Way. CANNOTANSWER

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is an American band that combines jazz and bluegrass music. The Flecktones formed in 1988 when Béla Fleck was invited to perform on the PBS TV series The Lonesome Pine Specials. The original members were Fleck on banjo, Victor Wooten on bass guitar, his brother Roy Wooten on Drumitar, and Howard Levy on harmonica and keyboards. After Levy's departure in 1992 the group continued as a trio for several years until recruiting Jeff Coffin in 1997 on saxophones. Coffin quit the group in 2010, and Levy rejoined in 2011. History Formation Near the end of his time with the New Grass Revival band, Fleck was invited to play for the Lonesome Pine Special on PBS in 1988, and he gathered a group of musicians to assist him. He had met Howard Levy the year before at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Victor Wooten auditioned over the phone and volunteered his brother Roy as a potential member. After the PBS performance, Fleck decided to keep the group together, calling it Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. His compositions became more complex. The Flecktones merged bluegrass with jazz, presenting record store owners with the problem of selecting a genre under which to stock their whimsically titled albums, whose covers bore cartoons. The leader played electric banjo and was influenced by the Kentucky bluegrass of Earl Scruggs and "The Ballad of Jed Clampett". Victor Wooten broke into jazz bass solos. Roy Wooten called himself "Future Man" and played drumitar, an instrument of his own creation. Melodies were usually taken by Howard Levy. Their first video, "Sinister Minister", was in rotation at the networks VH-1, which played pop and adult contemporary music; BET, the Black Entertainment channel; and Country Music Television. They performed at jazz festivals with soul singer Stevie Wonder, blues guitarist Bonnie Raitt, and the Christian a cappella group Take 6. Followers of the Grateful Dead took note. Recording Their debut album, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones (Warner Bros, 1989), received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Album, as did their second album, Flight of the Cosmic Hippo (Warner Bros., 1991), which also received a nomination for Best Instrumental Composition for the song "Blu-Bop". Their second album contained the Flecktones's version of "The Star-Spangled Banner". Their next album had another cartoon cover and the palindromic title UFO TOFU (Warner Bros., 1992). The song "Bonnie & Slyde" had Fleck playing banjo atypically with a slide, an idea suggested to him by slide guitarist Bonnie Raitt. UFO Tofu would be the last album the Flecktones recorded with their original lineup until Rocket Science in 2011. Howard Levy left the band in December 1992. While the departure of Levy was tough for the band, it was not unexpected. During their 1992 tour it became evident to the band that Levy was not happy with the rigors of touring and wanted to spend more time with his wife and children. The remaining trio, consisting of Fleck and the Wooten brothers, recorded their fourth album, Three Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. "'Once we started rehearsing, everything was fine,' said Fleck. 'We started finding ways to sound good, and it was real exciting.'" Without Levy, the Flecktones as usual spent most of 1993 on the road and released Three Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in September of that year. Return to quartet In April 1997, the Flecktones became a quartet again, as they added saxophone player Jeff Coffin to the mix. Coffin would remain in the band from 1997 until 2008. In June 1997, the Flecktones opened for the Dave Matthews Band. In July the Flecktones toured Europe and sat in on the second set of a Phish show in Lyon, France. This marked the second and final time that the Flecktones played with Phish. In June 1998, the Flecktones released their sixth album, and fifth studio album, Left of Cool. It represented a switch from previous Flecktones albums, as the band, according to critic Terri Horak, "jettisoned their self-imposed rule to only record what could be duplicated on live instruments." In July 2000, the Flecktones released their seventh album, Outbound, another studio album. The Flecktones' philosophy with this album was to do something different from everything they had done before. What makes Outbound unique is the way in which the Flecktones recorded the album. The quartet recorded each track on the album, then invited guest musicians to overdub vocals or instrumentation. Outbound guests include Jon Anderson from Yes, Shawn Colvin, and John Medeski, of Medeski, Martin and Wood, to name a few. Live at the Quick, which was also released as a DVD, is the band's eighth album and second live album. For fans of live Flecktones, this album, like Live Art, successfully captured the sound and feel of the Flecktones in concert. In February 2006, the band released their tenth album, The Hidden Land. As with every Flecktones album, they needed to change something from their last album. For The Hidden Land, the Flecktones didn't want any guest musicians. "'The truth is, the last few records are not what we are,' Fleck said. 'Obviously, we loved playing with those musicians, but if you keep on doing it, you become a gathering point rather than a group with its own identity.'" For the Flecktones to keep moving forward, they felt their music had to get back to the roots of the quartet. Reunion In June 2012, following another summer tour, the Flecktones announced their hiatus as a band. In January 2016, the Flecktones announced a short reunion tour scheduled for June 2016, confirming an appearance at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival on June 16, 2016. In 2017, the band announced concerts for June–August 2017, and also confirmed a tour with Chick Corea Elektric Band in August 2017. Critical reception Thom Jurek of Allmusic.com called the Flecktones's music an "unclassifiable meld of jazz, progressive bluegrass, rock, classical, funk, and world music traditions," a style sometimes dubbed "blu-bop". Of the album Bela Fleck and the Flecktones critic Geoffrey Himes wrote, "Fleck's banjo-playing takes the quartet on wide tangents through the outer space of jazz improvisation and minimalist composition, but he always brings them back to the traditions of rural America." The quartet received attention for their musical innovations and invention, including praise from music critic Bill Kolhaase. However, he was critical of the band's lack of a drum kit, claiming that Wooten's "electronic beat seemed a bit muddy compared to the real thing". Cosmic Hippo was received favorably. Himes applauded their prodigious improvisatory ability. John Griffin of The Gazette also praised the group's ability to create such an individual style that "the whole of idea of style disappears." Mike Joyce, of The Washington Post was impressed by the Flecktones' ability to maintain a distinct voice. Joyce called a Flecktones show a "musical free-for-all, embracing the band's recorded material and venturing off into the great unknown." Jim Santella of the Buffalo News praised the band's mastery of styles and their ability to weave together complicated pieces. Santella even compared Fleck's playing to a "miniature Bach canon." Geoffrey Himes remarked that Left of Cool sounded too ordinary. In his negative review he wrote, "Unfortunately the Flecktones' first studio album in five years reveals that they've become a very ordinary band." Himes adds, "The four Flecktones are all marvelous musicians, and they come up with imaginative parts for the new album's 15 cuts. The overall concept, however has diminished into easy-to-digest pop-jazz, for which there is too much already." Hidden Land received mixed reviews. Critic Michael Endelman of Entertainment Weekly, wrote that the Flecktones sound "hasn't aged well." Dan Ouelette of Billboard found Hidden Land to be "by far their best album." Ouelette was particularly impressed by the quartet's range of repertoire in this album. Jingle All the Way was well received. Geoffrey Himes praised the band for being able to package the Flecktones' complex sound into an easily digestible holiday album without having to compromise. Jeff Kelman of Jazz Times writes favorably about Rocket Science and Levy's reunion with the Flecktones, "Rocket Science recaptures everything that made the Flecktones so fresh, so innovative, so important during its first five years." Kelman particularly praised the album's writing and the interactions between Levy and Fleck. AllMusic critic Thom Jurek also gave Rocket Science a rave review, "Rocket Science fires on all cylinders and comes off as a fresh and exciting reintroduction to a newly energized Flecktones." Awards and honors Discography Studio albums Béla Fleck and the Flecktones (1990) Flight of the Cosmic Hippo (1991) UFO Tofu (1992) Three Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1993) Left of Cool (1998) Outbound (2000) Little Worlds (2003) The Hidden Land (2006) Jingle All the Way (2008) Rocket Science (2011) Live albums Live Art (1996) Live at the Quick (2002) Compilation albums Greatest Hits of the 20th Century (1999) Band members Béla Fleck – banjos, synthesizers, guitar (1988–) Howard Levy – harmonicas, piano, keyboards, jaw harp (1988–1993, 2010–) Victor Wooten – bass guitars, double bass, cello (1988–) Roy Wooten ("Future Man") – drumitar, drums, percussion, electronic drums (1988–) Former Jeff Coffin – saxophones, flute, clarinet, synthesizers (1998–2010) Timeline References External links Category:Jazz fusion ensembles Category:American jazz ensembles Category:American bluegrass music groups Category:Jam bands Category:Musical groups from Nashville, Tennessee Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Musical groups established in 1988 Category:Progressive bluegrass music groups Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Rounder Records artists Category:Warner Records artists Category:Jazz musicians from Tennessee

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Béla Fleck and the Flecktones

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones is an American band that combines jazz and bluegrass music. The band's name is a play on 1960s rock band Dick Dale and the Del-Tones. The Flecktones formed in 1988 when Bela Fleck was invited to perform on the PBS TV series The Lonesome Pine Specials. The original members were Fleck on banjo, Victor Wooten on bass guitar, his brother Roy Wooten on Drumitar, and Howard Levy on harmonica and keyboards.

Recording

Their debut album, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones (Warner Bros, 1989), received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Album, as did their second album, Flight of the Cosmic Hippo (Warner Bros., 1991), which also received a nomination for Best Instrumental Composition for the song "Blu-Blop". Their second album contained the Flecktones's version of "The Star Spangled Banner". Their next album had another cartoon cover and the palindromic title UFO TOFU (Warner Bros., 1992). The song "Bonnie & Slyde" had Fleck playing banjo atypically with a slide, an idea suggested to him by slide guitarist Bonnie Raitt. UFO Tofu would be the last album the Flecktones recorded with their original lineup until Rocket Science in 2011. Howard Levy left the band in December 1992. While the departure of Levy was tough for the band, it was not unexpected. During their 1992 tour it became evident to the band that Levy was not happy with the rigors of touring and wanted to spend more time with his wife and children. The remaining trio, consisting of Fleck and the Wooten brothers, recorded their fourth album, Three Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. "'Once we started rehearsing, everything was fine,' said Fleck. 'We started finding ways to sound good, and it was real exciting.'" Without Levy, the Flecktones as usual spent most of 1993 on the road and released Three Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in September of that year. In July 1996 the Flecktones released their fifth album, and first live album, Live Art. Devoted fans who had been seeing the band for several years were clamoring for an album to capture the experience of live Flecktones, and this album fit the bill. The trio took home a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1997 for the track "Sinister Minister". CANNOTANSWER

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is an American band that combines jazz and bluegrass music. The Flecktones formed in 1988 when Béla Fleck was invited to perform on the PBS TV series The Lonesome Pine Specials. The original members were Fleck on banjo, Victor Wooten on bass guitar, his brother Roy Wooten on Drumitar, and Howard Levy on harmonica and keyboards. After Levy's departure in 1992 the group continued as a trio for several years until recruiting Jeff Coffin in 1997 on saxophones. Coffin quit the group in 2010, and Levy rejoined in 2011. History Formation Near the end of his time with the New Grass Revival band, Fleck was invited to play for the Lonesome Pine Special on PBS in 1988, and he gathered a group of musicians to assist him. He had met Howard Levy the year before at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Victor Wooten auditioned over the phone and volunteered his brother Roy as a potential member. After the PBS performance, Fleck decided to keep the group together, calling it Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. His compositions became more complex. The Flecktones merged bluegrass with jazz, presenting record store owners with the problem of selecting a genre under which to stock their whimsically titled albums, whose covers bore cartoons. The leader played electric banjo and was influenced by the Kentucky bluegrass of Earl Scruggs and "The Ballad of Jed Clampett". Victor Wooten broke into jazz bass solos. Roy Wooten called himself "Future Man" and played drumitar, an instrument of his own creation. Melodies were usually taken by Howard Levy. Their first video, "Sinister Minister", was in rotation at the networks VH-1, which played pop and adult contemporary music; BET, the Black Entertainment channel; and Country Music Television. They performed at jazz festivals with soul singer Stevie Wonder, blues guitarist Bonnie Raitt, and the Christian a cappella group Take 6. Followers of the Grateful Dead took note. Recording Their debut album, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones (Warner Bros, 1989), received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Album, as did their second album, Flight of the Cosmic Hippo (Warner Bros., 1991), which also received a nomination for Best Instrumental Composition for the song "Blu-Bop". Their second album contained the Flecktones's version of "The Star-Spangled Banner". Their next album had another cartoon cover and the palindromic title UFO TOFU (Warner Bros., 1992). The song "Bonnie & Slyde" had Fleck playing banjo atypically with a slide, an idea suggested to him by slide guitarist Bonnie Raitt. UFO Tofu would be the last album the Flecktones recorded with their original lineup until Rocket Science in 2011. Howard Levy left the band in December 1992. While the departure of Levy was tough for the band, it was not unexpected. During their 1992 tour it became evident to the band that Levy was not happy with the rigors of touring and wanted to spend more time with his wife and children. The remaining trio, consisting of Fleck and the Wooten brothers, recorded their fourth album, Three Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. "'Once we started rehearsing, everything was fine,' said Fleck. 'We started finding ways to sound good, and it was real exciting.'" Without Levy, the Flecktones as usual spent most of 1993 on the road and released Three Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in September of that year. Return to quartet In April 1997, the Flecktones became a quartet again, as they added saxophone player Jeff Coffin to the mix. Coffin would remain in the band from 1997 until 2008. In June 1997, the Flecktones opened for the Dave Matthews Band. In July the Flecktones toured Europe and sat in on the second set of a Phish show in Lyon, France. This marked the second and final time that the Flecktones played with Phish. In June 1998, the Flecktones released their sixth album, and fifth studio album, Left of Cool. It represented a switch from previous Flecktones albums, as the band, according to critic Terri Horak, "jettisoned their self-imposed rule to only record what could be duplicated on live instruments." In July 2000, the Flecktones released their seventh album, Outbound, another studio album. The Flecktones' philosophy with this album was to do something different from everything they had done before. What makes Outbound unique is the way in which the Flecktones recorded the album. The quartet recorded each track on the album, then invited guest musicians to overdub vocals or instrumentation. Outbound guests include Jon Anderson from Yes, Shawn Colvin, and John Medeski, of Medeski, Martin and Wood, to name a few. Live at the Quick, which was also released as a DVD, is the band's eighth album and second live album. For fans of live Flecktones, this album, like Live Art, successfully captured the sound and feel of the Flecktones in concert. In February 2006, the band released their tenth album, The Hidden Land. As with every Flecktones album, they needed to change something from their last album. For The Hidden Land, the Flecktones didn't want any guest musicians. "'The truth is, the last few records are not what we are,' Fleck said. 'Obviously, we loved playing with those musicians, but if you keep on doing it, you become a gathering point rather than a group with its own identity.'" For the Flecktones to keep moving forward, they felt their music had to get back to the roots of the quartet. Reunion In June 2012, following another summer tour, the Flecktones announced their hiatus as a band. In January 2016, the Flecktones announced a short reunion tour scheduled for June 2016, confirming an appearance at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival on June 16, 2016. In 2017, the band announced concerts for June–August 2017, and also confirmed a tour with Chick Corea Elektric Band in August 2017. Critical reception Thom Jurek of Allmusic.com called the Flecktones's music an "unclassifiable meld of jazz, progressive bluegrass, rock, classical, funk, and world music traditions," a style sometimes dubbed "blu-bop". Of the album Bela Fleck and the Flecktones critic Geoffrey Himes wrote, "Fleck's banjo-playing takes the quartet on wide tangents through the outer space of jazz improvisation and minimalist composition, but he always brings them back to the traditions of rural America." The quartet received attention for their musical innovations and invention, including praise from music critic Bill Kolhaase. However, he was critical of the band's lack of a drum kit, claiming that Wooten's "electronic beat seemed a bit muddy compared to the real thing". Cosmic Hippo was received favorably. Himes applauded their prodigious improvisatory ability. John Griffin of The Gazette also praised the group's ability to create such an individual style that "the whole of idea of style disappears." Mike Joyce, of The Washington Post was impressed by the Flecktones' ability to maintain a distinct voice. Joyce called a Flecktones show a "musical free-for-all, embracing the band's recorded material and venturing off into the great unknown." Jim Santella of the Buffalo News praised the band's mastery of styles and their ability to weave together complicated pieces. Santella even compared Fleck's playing to a "miniature Bach canon." Geoffrey Himes remarked that Left of Cool sounded too ordinary. In his negative review he wrote, "Unfortunately the Flecktones' first studio album in five years reveals that they've become a very ordinary band." Himes adds, "The four Flecktones are all marvelous musicians, and they come up with imaginative parts for the new album's 15 cuts. The overall concept, however has diminished into easy-to-digest pop-jazz, for which there is too much already." Hidden Land received mixed reviews. Critic Michael Endelman of Entertainment Weekly, wrote that the Flecktones sound "hasn't aged well." Dan Ouelette of Billboard found Hidden Land to be "by far their best album." Ouelette was particularly impressed by the quartet's range of repertoire in this album. Jingle All the Way was well received. Geoffrey Himes praised the band for being able to package the Flecktones' complex sound into an easily digestible holiday album without having to compromise. Jeff Kelman of Jazz Times writes favorably about Rocket Science and Levy's reunion with the Flecktones, "Rocket Science recaptures everything that made the Flecktones so fresh, so innovative, so important during its first five years." Kelman particularly praised the album's writing and the interactions between Levy and Fleck. AllMusic critic Thom Jurek also gave Rocket Science a rave review, "Rocket Science fires on all cylinders and comes off as a fresh and exciting reintroduction to a newly energized Flecktones." Awards and honors Discography Studio albums Béla Fleck and the Flecktones (1990) Flight of the Cosmic Hippo (1991) UFO Tofu (1992) Three Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1993) Left of Cool (1998) Outbound (2000) Little Worlds (2003) The Hidden Land (2006) Jingle All the Way (2008) Rocket Science (2011) Live albums Live Art (1996) Live at the Quick (2002) Compilation albums Greatest Hits of the 20th Century (1999) Band members Béla Fleck – banjos, synthesizers, guitar (1988–) Howard Levy – harmonicas, piano, keyboards, jaw harp (1988–1993, 2010–) Victor Wooten – bass guitars, double bass, cello (1988–) Roy Wooten ("Future Man") – drumitar, drums, percussion, electronic drums (1988–) Former Jeff Coffin – saxophones, flute, clarinet, synthesizers (1998–2010) Timeline References External links Category:Jazz fusion ensembles Category:American jazz ensembles Category:American bluegrass music groups Category:Jam bands Category:Musical groups from Nashville, Tennessee Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Musical groups established in 1988 Category:Progressive bluegrass music groups Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Rounder Records artists Category:Warner Records artists Category:Jazz musicians from Tennessee

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Terence McKenna

Terence Kemp McKenna (November 16, 1946 - April 3, 2000) was an American ethnobotanist, mystic, psychonaut, lecturer, author, and an advocate for the responsible use of naturally occurring psychedelic plants. He spoke and wrote about a variety of subjects, including psychedelic drugs, plant-based entheogens, shamanism, metaphysics, alchemy, language, philosophy, culture, technology, environmentalism, and the theoretical origins of human consciousness. He was called the "Timothy Leary of the '90s", "one of the leading authorities on the ontological foundations of shamanism", and the "intellectual voice of rave culture". McKenna formulated a concept about the nature of time based on fractal patterns he claimed to have discovered in the I Ching, which he called novelty theory, proposing this predicted the end of time in the year 2012.

Studying and traveling

In 1965, McKenna enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley and was accepted into the Tussman Experimental College. In 1967, while in college, he discovered and began studying shamanism through the study of Tibetan folk religion. That same year, which he called his "opium and kabbala phase" he traveled to Jerusalem, where he met Kathleen Harrison, who would later become his wife. In 1969, McKenna traveled to Nepal led by his interest in Tibetan painting and hallucinogenic shamanism. He sought out shaman of the Bon tradition, which predated Tibetan Buddhism, trying to learn more about the shamanic use of visionary plants. During his time there, he also studied the Tibetan language and worked as a hashish smuggler, until "one of his Bombay-to-Aspen shipments fell into the hands of U. S. Customs." He then wandered through southeast Asia viewing ruins, and spent time as a professional butterfly collector in Indonesia. After the partial completion of his studies, and his mother's death from cancer in 1971, McKenna, his brother Dennis, and three friends traveled to the Colombian Amazon in search of oo-koo-he, a plant preparation containing dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Instead of oo-koo-he they found fields full of gigantic Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms, which became the new focus of the expedition. In La Chorrera, at the urging of his brother, McKenna was the subject of a psychedelic experiment in which the brothers attempted to bond harmine (harmine is another psychedelic compound they used synergistically with the mushrooms) with their own neural DNA, through the use of a set specific vocal techniques. They hypothesised this would give them access to the collective memory of the human species, and would manifest the alchemists' Philosopher's Stone which they viewed as a "hyperdimensional union of spirit and matter". McKenna claimed the experiment put him in contact with "Logos": an informative, divine voice he believed was universal to visionary religious experience. The voice's reputed revelations and his brother's simultaneous peculiar psychedelic experience prompted him to explore the structure of an early form of the I Ching, which led to his "Novelty Theory". During their stay in the Amazon, McKenna also became romantically involved with his interpreter, Ev. In 1972, McKenna returned to U.C. Berkeley to finish his studies and in 1975, he graduated with a degree in ecology, shamanism, and conservation of natural resources. In the autumn of 1975, after parting with his girlfriend Ev earlier in the year, McKenna began a relationship with his future wife and the mother of his two children, Kathleen Harrison. Soon after graduating, McKenna and Dennis published a book inspired by their Amazon experiences, The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens and the I Ching. The brothers' experiences in the Amazon would later be the main focus of McKenna's book True Hallucinations, published in 1993. McKenna also began lecturing locally around Berkeley and started appearing on some underground radio stations. CANNOTANSWER

Terence Kemp McKenna (November 16, 1946 – April 3, 2000) was an American ethnobotanist and mystic who advocated the responsible use of naturally occurring psychedelic plants. He spoke and wrote about a variety of subjects, including psychedelic drugs, plant-based entheogens, shamanism, metaphysics, alchemy, language, philosophy, culture, technology, environmentalism, and the theoretical origins of human consciousness. He was called the "Timothy Leary of the '90s", "one of the leading authorities on the ontological foundations of shamanism", and the "intellectual voice of rave culture". McKenna formulated a concept about the nature of time based on fractal patterns he claimed to have discovered in the I Ching, which he called novelty theory, proposing that this predicted the end of time, and a transition of consciousness in the year 2012. His promotion of novelty theory and its connection to the Maya calendar is credited as one of the factors leading to the widespread beliefs about the 2012 phenomenon. Novelty theory is considered pseudoscience. Biography Early life Terence McKenna was born and raised in Paonia, Colorado, with Irish ancestry on his father's side of the family. McKenna developed a hobby of fossil-hunting in his youth and from this he acquired a deep scientific appreciation of nature. He also became interested in psychology at a young age, reading Carl Jung's book Psychology and Alchemy at the age of 14. This was the same age McKenna first became aware of magic mushrooms, when reading an essay titled "Seeking the Magic Mushroom" which appeared in the May 13, 1957 edition of LIFE magazine. At age 16 McKenna moved to Los Altos, California to live with family friends for a year. He finished high school in Lancaster, California. In 1963, he was introduced to the literary world of psychedelics through The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell by Aldous Huxley and certain issues of The Village Voice which published articles on psychedelics. McKenna said that one of his early psychedelic experiences with morning glory seeds showed him "that there was something there worth pursuing", and in interviews he claimed to have smoked cannabis daily since his teens. Studying and traveling In 1965, McKenna enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley and was accepted into the Tussman Experimental College. While in college in 1967 he began studying shamanism through the study of Tibetan folk religion. That same year, which he called his "opium and kabbala phase", he traveled to Jerusalem where he met Kathleen Harrison, an ethnobotanist who later became his wife. In 1969, McKenna traveled to Nepal led by his interest in Tibetan painting and hallucinogenic shamanism. He sought out shamans of the Tibetan Bon tradition, trying to learn more about the shamanic use of visionary plants. During his time there, he also studied the Tibetan language and worked as a hashish smuggler, until "one of his Bombay-to-Aspen shipments fell into the hands of U. S. Customs." He then wandered through southeast Asia viewing ruins, and spent time as a professional butterfly collector in Indonesia. After his mother's death from cancer in 1970, McKenna, his brother Dennis, and three friends traveled to the Colombian Amazon in search of oo-koo-hé, a plant preparation containing dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Instead of oo-koo-hé they found fields full of gigantic Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms, which became the new focus of the expedition. In La Chorrera, at the urging of his brother, McKenna was the subject of a psychedelic experiment in which the brothers attempted to "bond harmine DNA with their own neural DNA" (harmine is another psychedelic compound they used synergistically with the mushrooms), through the use of a set specific vocal techniques. They hypothesised this would give them access to the collective memory of the human species, and would manifest the alchemists' Philosopher's Stone which they viewed as a "hyperdimensional union of spirit and matter". McKenna claimed the experiment put him in contact with "Logos": an informative, divine voice he believed was universal to visionary religious experience. McKenna also often referred to the voice as "the mushroom", and "the teaching voice" amongst other names. The voice's reputed revelations and his brother's simultaneous peculiar psychedelic experience prompted him to explore the structure of an early form of the I Ching, which led to his "Novelty Theory". During their stay in the Amazon, McKenna also became romantically involved with his interpreter, Ev. In 1972, McKenna returned to U.C. Berkeley to finish his studies and in 1975, he graduated with a degree in ecology, shamanism, and conservation of natural resources. In the autumn of 1975, after parting with his girlfriend Ev earlier in the year, McKenna began a relationship with his future wife and the mother of his two children, Kathleen Harrison. Soon after graduating, McKenna and Dennis published a book inspired by their Amazon experiences, The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens and the I Ching. The brothers' experiences in the Amazon were the main focus of McKenna's book True Hallucinations, published in 1993. McKenna also began lecturing locally around Berkeley and started appearing on some underground radio stations. Psilocybin mushroom cultivation McKenna, along with his brother Dennis, developed a technique for cultivating psilocybin mushrooms using spores they brought to America from the Amazon. In 1976, the brothers published what they had learned in the book Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide, under the pseudonyms "O.T. Oss" and "O.N. Oeric". McKenna and his brother were the first to come up with a reliable method for cultivating psilocybin mushrooms at home. As ethnobiologist Jonathan Ott explains, "[the] authors adapted San Antonio's technique (for producing edible mushrooms by casing mycelial cultures on a rye grain substrate; San Antonio 1971) to the production of Psilocybe [Stropharia] cubensis. The new technique involved the use of ordinary kitchen implements, and for the first time the layperson was able to produce a potent entheogen in his [or her] own home, without access to sophisticated technology, equipment, or chemical supplies." When the 1986 revised edition was published, the Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide had sold over 100,000 copies. Mid- to later life Public speaking In the early 1980s, McKenna began to speak publicly on the topic of psychedelic drugs, becoming one of the pioneers of the psychedelic movement. His main focus was on the plant-based psychedelics such as psilocybin mushrooms (which were the catalyst for his career), ayahuasca, cannabis, and the plant derivative DMT. He conducted lecture tours and workshops promoting natural psychedelics as a way to explore universal mysteries, stimulate the imagination, and re-establish a harmonious relationship with nature. Though associated with the New Age and Human Potential Movements, McKenna himself had little patience for New Age sensibilities. He repeatedly stressed the importance and primacy of the "felt presence of direct experience", as opposed to dogma. In addition to psychedelic drugs, McKenna spoke on a wide array of subjects, including shamanism; metaphysics; alchemy; language; culture; self-empowerment; environmentalism, techno-paganism; artificial intelligence; evolution; extraterrestrials; science and scientism; the Web; and virtual reality. McKenna soon became a fixture of popular counterculture with Timothy Leary once introducing him as "one of the five or six most important people on the planet" and with comedian Bill Hicks' referencing him in his stand-up act and building an entire routine around his ideas. McKenna also became a popular personality in the psychedelic rave/dance scene of the early 1990s, with frequent spoken word performances at raves and contributions to psychedelic and goa trance albums by The Shamen, Spacetime Continuum, Alien Project, Capsula, Entheogenic, Zuvuya, Shpongle, and Shakti Twins. In 1994 he appeared as a speaker at the Starwood Festival, documented in the book Tripping by Charles Hayes. McKenna published several books in the early-to-mid-1990s including: The Archaic Revival; Food of the Gods; and True Hallucinations. Hundreds of hours of McKenna's public lectures were recorded either professionally or bootlegged and have been produced on cassette tape, CD and MP3. Segments of his talks have gone on to be sampled by many musicians and DJ's. McKenna was a colleague and close friend of chaos mathematician Ralph Abraham, and author and biologist Rupert Sheldrake. He conducted several public and many private debates with them from 1982 until his death. These debates were known as trialogues and some of the discussions were later published in the books: Trialogues at the Edge of the West and The Evolutionary Mind. Botanical Dimensions In 1985, McKenna founded Botanical Dimensions with his then-wife, Kathleen Harrison. Botanical Dimensions is a nonprofit ethnobotanical preserve on the Big Island of Hawaii, established to collect, protect, propagate, and understand plants of ethno-medical significance and their lore, and appreciate, study, and educate others about plants and mushrooms felt to be significant to cultural integrity and spiritual well-being. The botanical garden is a repository containing thousands of plants that have been used by indigenous people of the tropical regions, and includes a database of information related to their purported healing properties. McKenna was involved until 1992, when he retired from the project, following his and Kathleen's divorce earlier in the year. Kathleen still manages Botanical Dimensions as its president and projects director. After their divorce, McKenna moved to Hawaii permanently, where he built a modernist house and created a gene bank of rare plants near his home. Previously, he had split his time between Hawaii and Occidental, CA. Death McKenna was a longtime sufferer of migraines, but on 22 May 1999 he began to have unusually extreme and painful headaches. He then collapsed due to a seizure. McKenna was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, a highly aggressive form of brain cancer. For the next several months he underwent various treatments, including experimental gamma knife radiation treatment. According to Wired magazine, McKenna was worried that his tumor may have been caused by his psychedelic drug use, or his 35 years of daily cannabis smoking; however, his doctors assured him there was no causal relation. In late 1999, McKenna described his thoughts concerning his impending death to interviewer Erik Davis: McKenna died on April 3, 2000, at the age of 53. Library fire and insect collection On February 7, 2007, McKenna's library of over 3000 rare books and personal notes was destroyed in a fire at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. An index of McKenna's library was made by his brother Dennis. McKenna studied Lepidoptera and entomology in the 1960s, and as part of his studies he hunted for butterflies, primarily in Colombia and Indonesia, creating a large insect specimen collection. After McKenn's death, his daughter, the artist and photographer Klea McKenna, preserved his insect collection, turning it into a gallery installation, and then publishing it in a book titled The Butterfly Hunter, this featured photos of 122 insects119 butterflies/moths, and three beetles or beetle-like insectsfrom a set of over 2000 specimens McKenna collected between 1969 and 1972, as well as maps showing his collecting routes through the rainforests of Southeast Asia, and South America. McKenna's insect collection was consistent with his interest in Victorian-era explorers and naturalists, and his worldview based on close observation of nature. In the 1970s, when he was still collecting, he became quite squeamish and guilt-ridden about the necessity of killing butterflies in order to collect and classify them, according to McKenna's daughter, this led him to stop his entomological studies. Thought Psychedelics Terence McKenna advocated the exploration of altered states of mind via the ingestion of naturally occurring psychedelic substances; for example, and in particular, as facilitated by the ingestion of high doses of psychedelic mushrooms, ayahuasca, and DMT, which he believed was the apotheosis of the psychedelic experience. He was less enthralled with synthetic drugs, stating, "I think drugs should come from the natural world and be use-tested by shamanically orientated cultures ... one cannot predict the long-term effects of a drug produced in a laboratory." McKenna always stressed the responsible use of psychedelic plants, saying: "Experimenters should be very careful. One must build up to the experience. These are bizarre dimensions of extraordinary power and beauty. There is no set rule to avoid being overwhelmed, but move carefully, reflect a great deal, and always try to map experiences back onto the history of the race and the philosophical and religious accomplishments of the species. All the compounds are potentially dangerous, and all compounds, at sufficient doses or repeated over time, involve risks. The library is the first place to go when looking into taking a new compound." He also recommended, and often spoke of taking, what he called "heroic doses", which he defined as five grams of dried psilocybin mushrooms, taken alone, on an empty stomach, in silent darkness, and with eyes closed. He believed that when taken this way one could expect a profound visionary experience, believing it is only when "slain" by the power of the mushroom that the message becomes clear. Although McKenna avoided giving his allegiance to any one interpretation (part of his rejection of monotheism), he was open to the idea of psychedelics as being "trans-dimensional travel". He proposed that DMT sent one to a "parallel dimension" and that psychedelics literally enabled an individual to encounter "higher dimensional entities", or what could be ancestors, or spirits of the Earth, saying that if you can trust your own perceptions it appears that you are entering an "ecology of souls". McKenna also put forward the idea that psychedelics were "doorways into the Gaian mind", suggesting that "the planet has a kind of intelligence, it can actually open a channel of communication with an individual human being" and that the psychedelic plants were the facilitators of this communication. Machine elves McKenna spoke of hallucinations while on DMT in which he claims to have met intelligent entities he described as "self-transforming machine elves". Psilocybin panspermia speculation In a more radical version of biophysicist Francis Crick's hypothesis of directed panspermia, McKenna speculated on the idea that psilocybin mushrooms may be a species of high intelligence, which may have arrived on this planet as spores migrating through space and which are attempting to establish a symbiotic relationship with human beings. He postulated that "intelligence, not life, but intelligence may have come here [to Earth] in this spore-bearing life form". He said, "I think that theory will probably be vindicated. I think in a hundred years if people do biology they will think it quite silly that people once thought that spores could not be blown from one star system to another by cosmic radiation pressure," and also believed that "few people are in a position to judge its extraterrestrial potential, because few people in the orthodox sciences have ever experienced the full spectrum of psychedelic effects that are unleashed." Opposition to organized religion McKenna was opposed to Christianity and most forms of organized religion or guru-based forms of spiritual awakening, favouring shamanism, which he believed was the broadest spiritual paradigm available, stating that: What I think happened is that in the world of prehistory all religion was experiential, and it was based on the pursuit of ecstasy through plants. And at some time, very early, a group interposed itself between people and direct experience of the 'Other.' This created hierarchies, priesthoods, theological systems, castes, ritual, taboos. Shamanism, on the other hand, is an experiential science that deals with an area where we know nothing. It is important to remember that our epistemological tools have developed very unevenly in the West. We know a tremendous amount about what is going on in the heart of the atom, but we know absolutely nothing about the nature of the mind. Technological singularity During the final years of his life and career, McKenna became very engaged in the theoretical realm of technology. He was an early proponent of the technological singularity and in his last recorded public talk, Psychedelics in the age of intelligent machines, he outlined ties between psychedelics, computation technology, and humans. He also became enamored with the Internet, calling it "the birth of [the] global mind", believing it to be a place where psychedelic culture could flourish. Admired writers Either philosophically or religiously, he expressed admiration for Marshall McLuhan, Alfred North Whitehead, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Carl Jung, Plato, Gnostic Christianity, and Alchemy, while regarding the Greek philosopher Heraclitus as his favorite philosopher. McKenna also expressed admiration for the works of writers Aldous Huxley, James Joyce, whose book Finnegans Wake he called "the quintessential work of art, or at least work of literature of the 20th century," science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, who he described as an "incredible genius," fabulist Jorge Luis Borges, with whom McKenna shared the belief that "scattered through the ordinary world there are books and artifacts and perhaps people who are like doorways into impossible realms, of impossible and contradictory truth" and Vladimir Nabokov. McKenna once said that he would have become a Nabokov lecturer if he had never encountered psychedelics. "Stoned ape" theory of human evolution McKenna's hypothesis concerning the influence of psilocybin mushrooms on human evolution is known as "the 'stoned ape' theory." In his 1992 book Food of the Gods, McKenna proposed that the transformation from humans' early ancestors Homo erectus to the species Homo sapiens mainly involved the addition of the mushroom Psilocybe cubensis in the diet, an event that according to his theory took place about 100,000 BCE (when he believed humans diverged from the genus Homo). McKenna based his theory on the effects, or alleged effects, produced by the mushroom while citing studies by Roland Fischer et al. from the late 1960s to early 1970s. McKenna stated that, due to the desertification of the African continent at that time, human forerunners were forced from the shrinking tropical canopy into search of new food sources. He believed they would have been following large herds of wild cattle whose dung harbored the insects that, he proposed, were undoubtedly part of their new diet, and would have spotted and started eating Psilocybe cubensis, a dung-loving mushroom often found growing out of cowpats. McKenna's hypothesis was that low doses of psilocybin improve visual acuity, particularly edge detection, meaning that the presence of psilocybin in the diet of early pack hunting primates caused the individuals who were consuming psilocybin mushrooms to be better hunters than those who were not, resulting in an increased food supply and in turn a higher rate of reproductive success. Then at slightly higher doses, he contended, the mushroom acts to sexually arouse, leading to a higher level of attention, more energy in the organism, and potential erection in the males, rendering it even more evolutionarily beneficial, as it would result in more offspring. At even higher doses, McKenna proposed that the mushroom would have acted to "dissolve boundaries," promoting community bonding and group sexual activities. Consequently, there would be a mixing of genes, greater genetic diversity, and a communal sense of responsibility for the group offspring. At these higher doses, McKenna also argued that psilocybin would be triggering activity in the "language-forming region of the brain", manifesting as music and visions, thus catalyzing the emergence of language in early hominids by expanding "their arboreally evolved repertoire of troop signals." He also pointed out that psilocybin would dissolve the ego and "religious concerns would be at the forefront of the tribe's consciousness, simply because of the power and strangeness of the experience itself." According to McKenna, access to and ingestion of mushrooms was an evolutionary advantage to humans' omnivorous hunter-gatherer ancestors, also providing humanity's first religious impulse. He believed that psilocybin mushrooms were the "evolutionary catalyst" from which language, projective imagination, the arts, religion, philosophy, science, and all of human culture sprang. Criticism McKenna's "stoned ape" theory has not received attention from the scientific community and has been criticized for a relative lack of citation to any of the paleoanthropological evidence informing our understanding of human origins. His ideas regarding psilocybin and visual acuity have been criticized as misrepresentations of Fischer et al.'s findings, who published studies of visual perception parameters other than acuity. Criticism has also noted a separate study on psilocybin-induced transformation of visual space, wherein Fischer et al. stated that psilocybin "may not be conducive to the survival of the organism". There is a lack of scientific evidence that psilocybin increases sexual arousal, and even if it does, it would not necessarily entail an evolutionary advantage. Others have pointed to civilizations such as the Aztecs, who used psychedelic mushrooms (at least among the Priestly class), that didn't reflect McKenna's model of how psychedelic-using cultures would behave, for example, by carrying out human sacrifice. There are also examples of Amazonian tribes such as the Jivaro and the Yanomami who use ayahuasca ceremoniously and who are known to engage in violent behaviour. This, it has been argued, indicates the use of psychedelic plants does not necessarily suppress the ego and create harmonious societies. Archaic revival One of the main themes running through McKenna's work, and the title of his second book, was the idea that Western civilization was undergoing what he called an "archaic revival". His hypothesis was that Western society has become "sick" and is undergoing a "healing process": In the same way that the human body begins to produce antibodies when it feels itself to be sick, humanity as a collective whole (in the Jungian sense) was creating "strategies for overcoming the condition of disease" and trying to cure itself, by what he termed as "a reversion to archaic values." McKenna pointed to phenomena including surrealism, abstract expressionism, body piercing and tattooing, psychedelic drug use, sexual permissiveness, jazz, experimental dance, rave culture, rock and roll and catastrophe theory, amongst others, as his evidence that this process was underway. This idea is linked to McKenna's "stoned ape" theory of human evolution, with him viewing the "archaic revival" as an impulse to return to the symbiotic and blissful relationship he believed humanity once had with the psilocybin mushroom. In differentiating his idea from the "New Age", a term that he felt trivialized the significance of the next phase in human evolution, McKenna stated that: "The New Age is essentially humanistic psychology '80s-style, with the addition of neo-shamanism, channeling, crystal and herbal healing. The archaic revival is a much larger, more global phenomenon that assumes that we are recovering the social forms of the late neolithic, and reaches far back in the 20th century to Freud, to surrealism, to abstract expressionism, even to a phenomenon like National Socialism which is a negative force. But the stress on ritual, on organized activity, on race/ancestor-consciousness – these are themes that have been worked out throughout the entire 20th century, and the archaic revival is an expression of that." Novelty theory and Timewave Zero Novelty theory is a pseudoscientific idea that purports to predict the ebb and flow of novelty in the universe as an inherent quality of time, proposing that time is not a constant but has various qualities tending toward either "habit" or "novelty". Habit, in this context, can be thought of as entropic, repetitious, or conservative; and novelty as creative, disjunctive, or progressive phenomena. McKenna's idea was that the universe is an engine designed for the production and conservation of novelty and that as novelty increases, so does complexity. With each level of complexity achieved becoming the platform for a further ascent into complexity. The basis of the theory was conceived in the mid-1970s after McKenna's experiences with psilocybin mushrooms at La Chorrera in the Amazon led him to closely study the King Wen sequence of the I Ching. In Asian Taoist philosophy, opposing phenomena are represented by the yin and yang. Both are always present in everything, yet the amount of influence of each varies over time. The individual lines of the I Ching are made up of both Yin (broken lines) and Yang (solid lines). When examining the King Wen sequence of 64 hexagrams, McKenna noticed a pattern. He analysed the "degree of difference" between the hexagrams in each successive pair and claimed he found a statistical anomaly, which he believed suggested that the King Wen sequence was intentionally constructed, with the sequence of hexagrams ordered in a highly structured and artificial way, and that this pattern codified the nature of time's flow in the world. With the degrees of difference as numerical values, McKenna worked out a mathematical wave form based on the 384 lines of change that make up the 64 hexagrams. He was able to graph the data and this became the Novelty Time Wave. Peter J. Meyer (Peter Johann Gustav Meyer), in collaboration with McKenna, studied and developed novelty theory, working out a mathematical formula and developing the Timewave Zero software (the original version of which was completed by July 1987), enabling them to graph and explore its dynamics on a computer. The graph was fractal: It exhibited a pattern in which a given small section of the wave was found to be identical in form to a larger section of the wave. McKenna called this fractal modeling of time "temporal resonance", proposing it implied that larger intervals, occurring long ago, contained the same amount of information as shorter, more recent, intervals. He suggested the up-and-down oscillation of the wave shows an ongoing wavering between habit and novelty respectively. With each successive iteration trending, at an increasing level, towards infinite novelty. So according to novelty theory, the pattern of time itself is speeding up, with a requirement of the theory being that infinite novelty will be reached on a specific date. McKenna believed that events in history could be identified that would help him locate the time wave end date and attempted to find the best-fit of the graph to the data field of human history. The last harmonic of the wave has a duration of 67.29 years. Population growth, peak oil, and pollution statistics were some of the factors that pointed him to an early twenty-first century end date and when looking for a particularly novel event in human history as a signal that the final phase had begun McKenna picked the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. This adjusted his graph to reach zero in mid-November 2012. When he later discovered that the end of the 13th baktun in the Maya calendar had been correlated by Western Maya scholars as December 21, 2012, he adopted their end date instead. McKenna saw the universe, in relation to novelty theory, as having a teleological attractor at the end of time, which increases interconnectedness and would eventually reach a singularity of infinite complexity. He also frequently referred to this as "the transcendental object at the end of time." When describing this model of the universe he stated that: "The universe is not being pushed from behind. The universe is being pulled from the future toward a goal that is as inevitable as a marble reaching the bottom of a bowl when you release it up near the rim. If you do that, you know the marble will roll down the side of the bowl, down, down, down – until eventually it comes to rest at the lowest energy state, which is the bottom of the bowl. That's precisely my model of human history. I'm suggesting that the universe is pulled toward a complex attractor that exists ahead of us in time, and that our ever-accelerating speed through the phenomenal world of connectivity and novelty is based on the fact that we are now very, very close to the attractor." Therefore, according to McKenna's final interpretation of the data and positioning of the graph, on December 21, 2012, we would have been in the unique position in time where maximum novelty would be experienced. An event he described as a "concrescence", a "tightening 'gyre'" with everything flowing together. Speculating that "when the laws of physics are obviated, the universe disappears, and what is left is the tightly bound plenum, the monad, able to express itself for itself, rather than only able to cast a shadow into physis as its reflection...It will be the entry of our species into 'hyperspace', but it will appear to be the end of physical laws, accompanied by the release of the mind into the imagination." Novelty theory is considered to be pseudoscience. Among the criticisms are the use of numerology to derive dates of important events in world history, the arbitrary rather than calculated end date of the time wave and the apparent adjustment of the eschaton from November 2012 to December 2012 in order to coincide with the Maya calendar. Other purported dates do not fit the actual time frames: the date claimed for the emergence of Homo sapiens is inaccurate by 70,000 years, and the existence of the ancient Sumer and Egyptian civilisations contradict the date he gave for the beginning of "historical time". Some projected dates have been criticized for having seemingly arbitrary labels, such as the "height of the age of mammals" and McKenna's analysis of historical events has been criticised for having a eurocentric and cultural bias. The Watkins Objection The British mathematician Matthew Watkins of Exeter University conducted a mathematical analysis of the Time Wave, and claimed there were mathematical flaws in its construction. Critical reception Judy Corman, vice president of the Phoenix House of New York, attacked McKenna for popularizing "dangerous substances". In a 1993 letter to The New York Times, he wrote that: "surely the fact that Terence McKenna says that the psilocybin mushroom 'is the megaphone used by an alien, intergalactic Other to communicate with mankind' is enough for us to wonder if taking LSD has done something to his mental faculties." The same year, in his True Hallucinations review for The New York Times, Peter Conrad wrote: "I suffered hallucinatory agonies of my own while reading his shrilly ecstatic prose". Reviewing Food of the Gods, Richard Evans Schultes wrote in American Scientist that the book was "a masterpiece of research and writing" and that it "should be read by every specialist working in the multifarious fields involved with the use of psychoactive drugs." Concluding that, "[i]t is, without question, destined to play a major role in our future considerations of the role of the ancient use of psychoactive drugs, the historical shaping of our modern concerns about drugs and perhaps about man's desire for escape from reality with drugs." In 1994, Tom Hodgkinson wrote for The New Statesman and Society, that "to write him off as a crazy hippie is a rather lazy approach to a man not only full of fascinating ideas but also blessed with a sense of humor and self-parody". In a 1992 issue of Esquire Magazine, Mark Jacobson wrote of True Hallucinations that, "it would be hard to find a drug narrative more compellingly perched on a baroquely romantic limb than this passionate Tom-and-Huck-ride-great-mother-river-saga of brotherly bonding," adding "put simply, Terence is a hoot!" Wired called him a "charismatic talking head" who was "brainy, eloquent, and hilarious" and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead also said that he was "the only person who has made a serious effort to objectify the psychedelic experience." Bibliography Spoken word History Ends in Green: Gaia, Psychedelics and the Archaic Revival, 6 audiocassette set, Mystic Fire audio, 1993, (recorded at the Esalen Institute, 1989) TechnoPagans at the End of History (transcription of rap with Mark Pesce from 1998) Psychedelics in the Age of Intelligent Machines (1999) (DVD) HPX/SurrealStudio Conversations on the Edge of Magic (1994) (CD & Cassette) ACE Rap-Dancing into the Third Millennium (1994) (Cassette) (Re-issued on CD as The Quintessential Hallucinogen) ACE Packing For the Long Strange Trip (1994) (Audio Cassette) ACE Global Perspectives and Psychedelic Poetics (1994) (Cassette) Sound Horizons Audio-Video, Inc. The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge (1992) (Cassette) Sounds True The Psychedelic Society (DVD & Video Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis True Hallucinations Workshop (Audio/Video Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis The Vertigo at History's Edge: Who Are We? Where Have We Come From? Where Are We Going? (DVD & Video/Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Ethnobotany and Shamanism (DVD & Video/Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Shamanism, Symbiosis and Psychedelics Workshop (Audio/Video Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Shamanology (Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Shamanology of the Amazon (w/ Nicole Maxwell) (Audio/Video Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Beyond Psychology (1983) (Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Understanding & the Imagination in the Light of Nature Parts 1 & 2 (DVD & Video/Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Ethnobotany (a complete course given at The California Institute of Integral Studies) (Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Non-ordinary States of Reality Through Vision Plants (Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Mind & Time, Spirit & Matter: The Complete Weekend in Santa Fe (Audio/Video Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Forms and Mysteries: Morphogenetic Fields and Psychedelic Experiences (w/ Rupert Sheldrake) (DVD & Video/Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis UFO: The Inside Outsider (DVD & Video/Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis A Calendar for The Goddess (DVD & Video/Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis A Magical Journey: Including Hallucinogens and Culture, Time and The I Ching, and The Human Future (Video Cassette) TAP/Sound Photosynthesis Aliens and Archetypes (Video Cassette) TAP/Sound Photosynthesis Angels, Aliens and Archetypes 1987 Symposium: Shamanic Approaches to the UFO, and Fairmont Banquet Talk (DVD & Video/Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Botanical Dimensions (Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Conference on Botanical Intelligence (w/ Joan Halifax, Andy Weil, & Dennis McKenna) (Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Coping With Gaia's Midwife Crisis (Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Dreaming Awake at the End of Time (DVD & Video/Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Evolving Times (DVD, CD & Video/Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Food of the Gods (Audio/Video Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Food of the Gods 2: Drugs, Plants and Destiny (Video Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Hallucinogens in Shamanism & Anthropology at Bridge Psychedelic Conf.1991 (w/ Ralph Metzner, Marlene Dobkin De Rios, Allison Kennedy & Thomas Pinkson) (Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Finale – Bridge Psychedelic Conf.1991 (Audio/Video Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Man and Woman at the End of History (w/ Riane Eisler) (Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Plants, Consciousness, and Transformation (1995) (Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Metamorphosis (w/ Rupert Sheldrake & Ralph Abraham) (1995) (Video Cassette) Mystic Fire/Sound Photosynthesis Nature is the Center of the Mandala (Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Opening the Doors of Creativity (1990) (DVD & Video/Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Places I Have Been (CD & Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Plants, Visions and History Lecture (Audio/Video Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Psychedelics Before and After History (DVD & Video/Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Sacred Plants As Guides: New Dimensions of the Soul (at the Jung Society Clairemont, California) (DVD & Video/Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Seeking the Stone (Video Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Shamanism: Before and Beyond History – A Weekend at Ojai (w/ Ralph Metzner) (Audio/Video Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Shedding the Monkey (Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis State of the Stone '95 (Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis The Ethnobotany of Shamanism Introductory Lecture: The Philosophical Implications of Psychobotony: Past, Present and Future (at CIIS) (Audio/Video Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis The Ethnobotany of Shamanism Workshop: Psychedelics Before and After History (at CIIS) (Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis The Grammar of Ecstasy – the World Within the Word (Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis The Light at the End of History (Audio/Video Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis The State of the Stone Address: Having Archaic and Eating it Too (Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis The Taxonomy of Illusion (at UC Santa Cruz) (DVD & Video/Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis This World ...and Its Double (DVD & Video/Audio Cassette) Sound Photosynthesis Trialogues at the Edge of the Millennium (w/ Rupert Sheldrake & Ralph Abraham) (at UC Santa Cruz) (1998) (Video Cassette) Trialogue Press Discography Re : Evolution with The Shamen (1992) Dream Matrix Telemetry with Zuvuya (1993) Alien Dreamtime with Spacetime Continuum & Stephen Kent (2003) "Reclaim Your Mind" with Mark Pontius (2020) Filmography Experiment at Petaluma (1990) Prague Gnosis: Terence McKenna Dialogues (1992) The Hemp Revolution (1995) Terence McKenna: The Last Word (1999) Shamans of the Amazon (2001) Alien Dreamtime (2003) 2012: The Odyssey (2007) The Alchemical Dream: Rebirth of the Great Work (2008) Manifesting the Mind (2009) Cognition Factor (2009) DMT: The Spirit Molecule (2010) 2012: Time for Change (2010) The Terence McKenna OmniBus (2012) The Transcendental Object at the End of Time (2014) Terence McKenna's True Hallucinations (2016) See also Benny Shanon David E. Nichols Exopheromone Jeremy Narby Jonathan Ott Luis Eduardo Luna Omega Point Rick Strassman Notes References External links Botanical Dimensions Erowid's Terence McKenna Vault Psychedelic Salon, Over 100 podcasts of Terence McKenna lectures Tao of Terence , a 12-part series of essays on McKenna by Tao Lin at Vice Terence McKenna Bibliography , list of references to books, articles, audio, video, interviews and translations by and about Terence McKenna Terrence McKenna's True Hallucinations Documentary by Peter Bergmann The Transcendental Object At The End Of Time Documentary by Peter Bergmann Category:1946 births Category:2000 deaths Category:2012 phenomenon believers Category:20th-century alchemists Category:20th-century American writers Category:20th-century American historians Category:American alchemists Category:American book and manuscript collectors Category:American cannabis activists Category:American religious skeptics Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Antelope Valley High School alumni Category:Counterculture festivals activists Category:Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Category:Deaths from cancer in Hawaii Category:Ethnobotanists Category:20th-century mystics Category:People from Occidental, California Category:People from Paonia, Colorado Category:American psychedelic drug advocates Category:Psychedelic drug researchers Category:Public orators Category:Psychonautics researchers

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Ricky Martin

Enrique Martin Morales (born December 24, 1971), commonly known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, actor and author. Martin began his career at age 12 with the all-boy pop group Menudo. After five years with the group, he released several Spanish-language solo albums throughout the 1990s. He also acted on stage and on TV in Mexico, where he achieved modest stardom.

1999-2002: Crossover to English

After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999 in an attempt to cross over to the United States market. The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release, became the most successful album debut on the Billboard charts by a Hispanic artist. It contained material by writers and producers such as Desmond Child, Diane Warren, William Orbit, George Noriega and his longtime childhood friend Draco Rosa. The album also featured special guests: Madonna on the Spanish-English duet "Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazon)" and Meja on "Private Emotion". Two weeks after the album's release, Martin was featured on the cover of Time with the title "Latin Music Goes Pop!". Before the album's release, Janet Jackson collaborated with Ricky Martin for the Latin American version of "Ask for More", a promotional single and commercial released as part of an advertising campaign for soft drink company Pepsi. The first and most prominent single was "Livin' la Vida Loca", which reached number one in many countries around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is Ricky Martin's biggest hit. The video for "Livin 'La Vida Loca" was directed by Wayne Isham and starring model Nina Moric. It was followed by "She's All I Ever Had" which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Both tracks peaked at number one on the Hot Latin Songs. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is generally seen as the song that began the Latin pop explosion of 1999 and made the transition of other Latin artists (first Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias, then later Shakira) into the English-speaking market easier. Ricky Martin became one of the top-selling albums of 1999, and was certified 7x platinum in the United States, selling over 22 million copies worldwide. In October 1999, Martin embarked on a very successful year-long Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. After this success, a new English-language album, Sound Loaded, was released in November 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and was certified 2x platinum by the RIAA. "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" (duet with Christina Aguilera) peaked at number twelve and thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Both singles reached number one on the Hot Latin Songs. Sound Loaded has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish greatest hits album entitled La Historia, which went to number one for five weeks on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and debuted at number eighty-three on the Billboard 200. It also topped the chart in Sweden for three weeks. The album contained reworkings of two of his early songs "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida". In November 2001, an English-language greatest hits album, The Best of Ricky Martin was released outside North America. It contained two new remixes of "Amor". CANNOTANSWER

Enrique Ricky Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971) is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is best known for his musical versatility, with his discography incorporating a wide variety of many elements, such as Latin pop, pop, dance, reggaeton, salsa, and other genres. Dubbed the "King of Latin Pop", the "King of Latin Music", and the "Latin Pop God", he is regarded as one of the most influential artists in the world. Born in San Juan, Martin began appearing in television commercials at age nine and began his musical career at twelve, as a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. He began his solo career in 1991 while in Sony Music Mexico, gaining recognition in Latin America with the release of his first two studio albums, Ricky Martin (1991) and Me Amaras (1993), both of which were focused on ballads. Martin's third album, A Medio Vivir (1995), helped him rise to prominence in European countries. The chart-topping single "María", incorporated a mixture of Latin music genres and became his first international hit. His international success was further solidified with his fourth album, Vuelve (1998). The album, which earned Martin his first Grammy Award, spawned chart-topping songs "Vuelve" and "La Copa de la Vida". Martin performed the latter at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and is known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide. His first English album, Ricky Martin (1999) became his first US Billboard 200 number one. The lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Martin's success in the late 1990s is generally seen as the beginning of the "Latin explosion". He has been credited for propelling the Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition, paving the way for a large number of Latin artists to achieve global success. Martin has since established his status as a pop icon and a sex symbol, releasing several successful albums, including all-time Latin bestsellers Almas del Silencio (2003) and MTV Unplugged (2006), as well as Grammy Award winner A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015). He has also amassed many successful singles and chart-toppers, including "She Bangs", "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely", "Tal Vez", "Tu Recuerdo", "La Mordidita", "Vente Pa' Ca", and "Canción Bonita". As an actor, Martin gained popularity and stardom for his role in the hit soap opera General Hospital (1994–1996), while his portrayal of Antonio D'Amico in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018) marked the acting opportunity of his career, garnering him an Emmy nomination. He also starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita in 2012, which broke the theater's box-office sales record seven times. Martin is one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time, having sold over 70 million records worldwide. He has scored 11 Billboard Hot Latin Songs number-one songs, and won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, three Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards, a Guinness World Record, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time, the Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time, and the Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time by Billboard. His philanthropy and activism focus on LGBT rights and fighting against human trafficking; in 2004, he founded The Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's existence. Early life Enrique Martín Morales was born on December 24, 1971, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His mother, Doña Nereida Morales, is a former accountant; his father, Enrique Martín Negroni, is a former psychologist who previously worked as a regional supervisor for a Puerto Rican mental-health agency. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and although his mother had custody of Martin, he could also move freely between his father's house in the middle-class suburb of University Gardens in San Juan, and his paternal grandmother's house nearby. In an interview with People, he told the magazine that he "never had to make decisions" about who he loved more, and he was "always happy". Martin has two older maternal half-brothers, Fernando and Ángel Fernández, two younger paternal half-brothers, Eric and Daniel Martín, and a younger paternal half-sister, Vanessa Martín. Martin has Spanish heritage of Basque and Canarian descent. As he explained to ABC, the Martins traveled from Spain to Puerto Rico in 1779. He also has some Corsican origin through his paternal grandmother. Martin grew up Catholic. The people closest to him called him "Kiki" (a nickname that comes from Enrique). He began singing at age six, using wooden kitchen spoons as make-believe microphones; he often sang songs by Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, as well as English-language rock groups such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon. His mother's side of the family was musically inclined and his maternal grandfather was a poet. Martin later reflected on his time spent with his family as a child: "Every time I find myself in front of an audience, be it twenty people or one hundred thousand, once again I feel the energy that consumed me back at the family gatherings of my youth." He attended Colegio Sagrado Corazón, a bilingual Catholic grade school in University Gardens since fourth grade and was an "average" student there. When he was nine years old, he began appearing in television commercials for products such as soft drinks, toothpaste, and fast food restaurants, including Orange Crush and Burger King. In a year and a half, he starred in 11 commercials. Career 1983–1989: Menudo After achieving moderate fame in his country for his appearances in television commercials, Martin auditioned for membership in Menudo. Formed in Puerto Rico in 1977, Menudo members were usually replaced when they hit 16 in order to keep the band "full of fresh-faced members". Although the executives enjoyed his dancing and singing at his first two auditions, Martin was rejected because he was too short. By the third audition, his persistence impressed executives, and in 1984, 12-year-old Martin became a member. A month after joining Menudo, he made his debut performance with the group at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan. During this performance, he inadvertently disobeyed the choreography by walking around the stage, when it was planned that he would stay still, and was chastised by the band manager after the show: "The mistake was such a big deal that from that moment on, never again did I move when I wasn't supposed to move. That was the discipline of Menudo: You either did things the way you were told or you were not part of the group." Although Martin enjoyed traveling and performing onstage with Menudo, he found the band's busy schedule and strict management exhausting, and later reflected that the experience "cost" him his childhood. Despite this, Martin acknowledged his "opportunity to have so many amazing experiences with so many amazing people" during his time with the group. During his time with Menudo, he became a "key-member of the group" and a "fan-favorite", while the band released 11 albums, including the Grammy-nominated Evolución () (1984) and their highest-charting and longest-running album on the US Billboard 200, Menudo (1985). The former featured Martin's debut single, "Rayo de Luna" () and the latter included the hit single "Hold Me". "Hold Me" became the group's first and only entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 62. It was ranked among the "100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Billboard, the "75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and the "30 Best Boy Band Songs" by Complex. Besides the musical career, Martin appeared with other members of Menudo in the American romantic comedy/drama television series, The Love Boat (1985), and the Argentine soap opera, Por Siempre Amigos (1987). He also developed an interest in philanthropy when the group became UNICEF ambassadors, often working with impoverished children in third world countries. His experiences as an ambassador affected him greatly and inspired him to continue working with charities later in his life. Finally, Martin left the band in July 1989, at age 17, hoping to rest and evaluate his career path; he stayed a few extra months after his "age-mandated retirement" came around. He performed his final show with the group at the same venue where he had performed his first performance as a member. Referred to as the "Most Iconic Latino Pop Music Band", Menudo was ranked as one of the Biggest Boy Bands of All Time by Us Weekly in 2021. The group has sold around 20 million records worldwide, and has been acknowledged as the "Most Successful Latin Boy Band of All Time" by Billboard. Martin returned to Puerto Rico to "get a break from the pressures of the group, the promotional tours, and the constant stress of work", but although his parents' divorce had not affected him before, suddenly began to affect him; his parents "began fighting more than ever" and they were forcing him to "choose between the two people in the world" he loved most. As he understood they did this because they loved him and wanted the best for him, he "forgave all of the pain and anger they caused" him. He graduated from the high school, and 13 days after turning 18, he moved to New York City to celebrate his financial independence; since he was a minor during his time with Menudo, Martin was not allowed to access his own bank accounts. 1990–1994: Acting and first solo albums Martin was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1990, but before classes began, his friend invited him to Mexico City. He attended the musical comedy play, Mama Ama el Rock () there, and was offered to stay and replace one of the actors. He accepted the offer, dropped out the university and moved from New York to Mexico City to perform in the play. While he was performing onstage in Mama Ama el Rock, a producer in the audience took notice of Martin's acting and offered him a role in the Mexican telenovela Alcanzar una estrella () (1990). Martin also joined the cast for the second season of the show, titled Alcanzar una estrella II (1991). A film based on the TV series, titled Más que alcanzar una estrella () (1992), was also produced in which Martin starred, and earned him an El Heraldo Award for his role. A Sony Discos executive noticed Martin's acting in the soap operas and offered him his first solo music recording contract. Eager to record his first solo album and hustled by the executive, Martin signed the contract without reading its conditions and inadvertently signed a deal in which he would only be paid one cent for each album sold. Despite viewing the contract as unfair, Martin referred to the record as "the start of something phenomenal" for him. After working "around the clock" to finish filming Alcanzar una estrella II and recording music, he released his debut solo album, Ricky Martin, on November 26, 1991. The album peaked at number five on the US Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart and spent a total of 41 weeks on the list. It sold over 500,000 copies worldwide, was certified gold in several countries, and spawned his first solo hit singles, "Fuego Contra Fuego" (), "El Amor de Mi Vida" (), and "Dime Que Me Quieres" (). Both "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida" reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks. To promote the album, Martin embarked on a successful Latin American tour, breaking box office records, which the singer referred to as "an indescribable feeling, almost like coming home". After the success of Ricky Martin and its subsequent tour, Martin's record company met him with the Spanish musician Juan Carlos Calderón to work on his second studio album, Me Amaras () (1993). Although Martin felt "very grateful" for the opportunity to work with Calderón, he noted, "I always felt that that record was more his than mine." The album sold over one million copies worldwide and was certified triple-platinum in Chile. In 1994, Martin's agent encouraged him to move to Los Angeles to act in an American sitcom called Getting By. The show was canceled after two seasons, but soon afterward, Martin was given the role of Miguel Morez on the popular hit soap opera General Hospital; Morez, a bartender and singer, known for his long and flowing hair, was a Puerto Rican citizen hiding in the United States from his lover's criminal mastermind father and created a love triangle with his fiancé Lily Rivera and Brenda. Martin portrayed the role for two years and gained huge popularity and stardom, becoming "one of the most-talked about actors on the soap opera". Despite this, Martin felt he lacked chemistry with the rest of the General Hospital cast and observed that people treated him differently because of his Puerto Rican accent. At the time, it was relatively uncommon for Latin actors to appear on American television, and people suggested that he take accent reduction classes, which he refused. 1995–1997: Breakthrough with A Medio Vivir In 1995, Martin refocused on his music career, and began working on his third studio album, A Medio Vivir (). The album was released in September 1995, and became a huge success; it sold over three million copies worldwide. being certified gold in the United States, platinum in France, 4× platinum in Spain, as well as many other certifications in Latin American countries. It spawned several successful hits, including "Te Extraño, Te Olvido, Te Amo" (), "María", and "Volverás" (). On "María", which was released as the second single from the album, Martin allowed himself "to go into a very Latin, African sound". He created a mix of different Latin music genres instead of singing a romantic ballad, the style that he focused on it in his first two albums, while Latin pop music in general was mainly made up of it at the time. Although Martin was satisfied with the track and he describes it as a song that he is "extremely proud of", the first time he played it for a record label executive, the man said: "Are you crazy? You have ruined your career! I can't believe you are showing me this. You're finished — this is going to be your last album." Despite this, the track became Martin's breakthrough song and his first international hit. It topped the charts in 20 countries, and has sold over five million physical copies worldwide. As a result, the song was featured in the 1999 edition of The Guinness Book of Records as the biggest Latin hit. In Australia, "María" spent six weeks at number one, topped the country's year-end chart in 1998, and was certified platinum. The song also spent nine weeks at number one in France, and was certified diamond, selling over 1.4 million copies there. Additionally, the track reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, and became Martin's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. To promote A Medio Vivir, he embarked on the worldwide A Medio Vivir Tour, that lasted for more than two years, through which he performed 63 shows and visited Europe, Latin America and the United States. During an interview with The Miami Herald in 1996, Martin expressed an interest in performing on Broadway. In a few days, he received a phone call from producer Richard Jay-Alexander, and was offered the role of Marius Pontmercy in the play Les Misérables. After the conclusion of the A Medio Vivir Tour in Latin America, Martin returned to New York to appear in the play in an eleven-week run. He greatly enjoyed the experience, calling his time in the play an "honor" and "the role of [his] life". Martin continued to tour after the conclusion of the show's run, and noted that his audiences were growing in both size and enthusiasm. 1998–1999: Vuelve While the A Medio Vivir Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his fourth album Vuelve (). He called the experience of touring and recording at the same time "brutal and incredibly intense". As he was finishing the record in 1997, "María" caught the attention of FIFA. They contacted Martin and asked him to create a song as the 1998 FIFA World Cup anthem. He stated about the request: "I have to admit that the challenge made me a bit nervous, but the massive growth potential for my career was such that I decided to accept." Following his acceptance, musicians K.C. Porter, Robi Rosa, and Desmond Child joined him and they started working on a song titled "La Copa de la Vida" (English: "The Cup of Life"). Martin wrote about the recording: "La Copa de la Vida" was included on Vuelve, released February 12, 1998. The album became a huge success; it sold over eight million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling Spanish-language album in history, according to his label. Also, some sources have reported the album's sales as six million copies worldwide. It spent 26 weeks atop the US Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Canada, the album peaked at number three and was certified double platinum. Vuelve spawned big hits, including the title track, "La Copa de la Vida", "Perdido Sin Ti" (), and "La Bomba" (). "La Copa de la Vida" grew to be an international success, appearing on the charts in more than 60 countries, and reaching number one in 30 countries, Both "Vuelve" and "Perdido Sin Ti" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart; the former also reached number one in eight countries. On July 12, 1998, Martin performed "La Copa de la Vida" as the official anthem at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final in France, in front of more than a billion TV viewers around the world. To promote Vuelve, Martin embarked on the worldwide Vuelve Tour; he performed in Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South America, and the United States. Although Latin music was not important to the Recording Academy or the mainstream music industry at the time, Tommy Mottola, then-chief of Columbia Records, was certain about Martin's stardom and pushed hard to have him on the Grammy Awards ceremony. During an interview with Billboard, Mottola told the magazine about it: "There was tremendous resistance from the Grammys. They did not want an 'unknown' to perform, yet we he had already sold 10 million copies of Vuelve worldwide. To me, that was absolutely UNACCEPTABLE." Finally, on February 24, 1999, cavorting with a 15-piece band alongside and a large number of dancers and percussionists, Martin performed a bilingual version of "La Copa de La Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and met with acclaim from music critics. At the same night, Vuelve earned Martin his first Grammy award, for Best Latin Pop Performance. 1999–2000: Crossover to English In October 1998, CNN confirmed that Martin has been working on his first English language album, following the huge success of Vuelve. The album was titled Ricky Martin and was released on May 11, 1999, two weeks ahead of schedule, because of the huge interest in the disc, following Martin's performance at the Grammy Awards. Tim Devin, the general manager of Tower Records stated about Martin: "He's always been one of our strongest Latin artists, but interest in him has picked up considerably since that performance." Ricky Martin debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 661,000 copies, becoming the largest sales week by any album in 1999. It also broke the record as the largest first-week sales for any pop or Latin artist in history, as well as any Columbia Records artist during the SoundScan era. With this album, Martin became the first male Latin act in history to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was certified 7× platinum by RIAA, denoting shipments of over seven million copies in the US and breaking the record as the best-selling album by a Latin artist in the country. Only within three months, Ricky Martin became the best-selling album ever by a Latin artist. According to different sources, the album has sold over 15 million copies or even 17 million copies worldwide. It was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. The album's lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" () topped the charts in more than 20 countries and is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, and one of the best-selling singles of all time. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Martin's first number one single on the chart. Additionally, it broke several records on Billboard charts. It also spent eight consecutive weeks atop the Canada Top Singles chart and topped the country's year-end chart. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number one and stayed there for three weeks, making Martin the first Puerto Rican artist in history to hit number one. The track was ranked as the best '90s pop song by Elle, and was listed among the Best Latin Songs of All Time by Billboard. It was nominated for four categories at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Its Spanish version reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart, and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 1st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "She's All I Ever Had" was released as the second single from the album in June 1999. It peaked at numbers two and three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canada Top Singles charts, respectively. The Spanish version, "Bella" () topped the charts in five countries, as well as Billboards Hot Latin Tracks chart. To further promote Ricky Martin, he embarked on the worldwide Livin' la Vida Loca Tour, which was the highest-grossing tour of 2000 by a Latin artist in the US. 2000–2005: Sound Loaded, Almas del Silencio, and Life While the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded. The album was released on November 14, 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 318,000 copies. The album has sold over seven million copies or even eight million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified double platinum in the US. The album featured two hit singles, "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely". The former reached number one in seven countries, including Italy and Sweden, as well as the top five in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. It was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards. The Spanish-language version of "She Bangs" reached the summit of the Hot Latin Tracks chart and won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" was re-recorded along with American singer Christina Aguilera, peaking at number one in five countries, as well as the top five in Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, among others. It was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. The solo Spanish version, entitled "Sólo Quiero Amarte" topped the Hot Latin Tracks chart. Both "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" are certified silver in the UK. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish compilation album entitled La Historia (), which spent five weeks at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart, topped the charts in Argentina and Sweden, and was certified quadruple Latin platinum in the United States. Following the success of Ricky Martin and Sound Loaded, he initially planned to release the third English-language album as his seventh studio album, which was supposed to be his first complete work in the field of songwriting. Despite Sony Music Entertainment's original plan, he decided to release a Spanish-language album: "I woke up five months ago, and I said 'We're doing an album in Spanish.' Everyone went nuts. They said, 'You don't have time; you have to release an album in English because of timing issues with your career.' And that's fine. But I told them, 'In five months, you'll have a kick-ass album' [in Spanish]. Martin's seventh studio album, Almas del Silencio () was released in May 2003. It debuted atop the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart with first-week sales of 65,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, breaking the record as the largest first-week sales for a Spanish-language album in the US. The album also debuted at number 12 on Billboard 200, tying the 2002 album, Quizás () as the chart's highest Spanish-language debut. The album also debuted at number one in "at least 13 Latin American markets" and sold over two million copies worldwide. Almas del Silencio spawned three Hot Latin Tracks chart-topper hits: "Tal Vez" (), "Jaleo", and "Y Todo Queda en Nada" (). "Tal Vez" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart on the week of April 12, 2003, marking the first number one debut since February 1998, and becoming the sixth song overall in the chart's history to do so. It spent a total of 11 weeks at this position, surpassing "Livin' la Vida Loca" as Martin's longest number-one single on the chart, and was the longest-running number one of 2003. It also topped the charts in several Latin American markets. In October 2005, Martin released his third English album, Life. He commented on the album: "I was really in touch with my emotions. I think this album is very multi-layered, just like life is. It's about feeling anger. It's about feeling joy. It's about feeling uncertainty. It's about feeling. And all my emotions are part of this production". To promote Life, Martin embarked on the worldwide One Night Only with Ricky Martin tour. 2006–2012: MTV Unplugged, Música + Alma + Sexo, and Evita Although Martin's team and MTV had discussed an MTV Unplugged for years, but it became more serious after Martin's the One Night Only tour, which featured an acoustic segment. Finally, Martin taped his MTV Unplugged set in Miami in August 2006, performing both romantic ballads and up-tempo tropical dance songs. During the performance, he debuted three new tracks, including "Tu Recuerdo" (), which was released to radio stations as the lead single from his debut live album MTV Unplugged (2006). The album debuted at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart and sold over two million copies worldwide, marking his highest-certified album in Mexico. It won two Latin Grammy awards and was nominated for Album of the Year. "Tu Recuerdo" reached number one in five countries, as well as the Billboards Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts. The track was certified quadruple platinum in Mexico and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The artist then embarked on the Black and White Tour in 2007, including four sold-out shows at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico. The concerts in Puerto Rico were compiled into his second live album Ricky Martin... Live Black & White Tour (2007). Later that year, he released his first Italian song, "Non siamo soli" () as a duet with Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti. The song debuted at number one in Italy and spent eleven consecutive weeks atop the chart. In January 2011, Martin launched his ninth studio album, Música + Alma + Sexo (). The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the highest-charting primarily-Spanish language set since Dreaming of You (1995) by American singer Selena. It holds the record as the highest-charting Latin album of the 2010s, and represents the highest-ever chart debut on the Billboard 200 for a Sony Music Latin release. Música + Alma + Sexo also peaked at number one in Argentina and Venezuela, as well as Billboards Top Latin Albums. Its lead single, "Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tú" (English: "The Best Thing About Me Is You") reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video at the 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour in 2011. In February 2012, he appeared as Spanish teacher David Martinez on the twelfth episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, The Spanish Teacher. Martin starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita from March 2012 to January 2013. The show became a hit, breaking the theatre's box-office sales record after only six performances. Since then, it broke its own record six times and was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical at the 66th Tony Awards. The show's soundtrack album debuted at number one on Billboards cast album chart. 2013–2018: The Voice, A Quien Quiera Escuchar, and The Assassination of Gianni Versace Martin served as a coach on the second season of the Australian singing competition television series The Voice in 2013. In the same year, he released a compilation album, entitled Greatest Hits: Souvenir Edition, which reached number two in Australia, as well as a new single, entitled "Come with Me", which debuted at number three in the country. The artist then embarked on the Ricky Martin Live tour in Australia in October 2013. He continued serving as a coach on both the third and fourth seasons of The Voice Australia in 2014 and 2015, respectively. In 2014, Lars Brandle from Billboard stated in an article: "Through his high-profile slot on The Voice, Ricky's profile in Australia has never been as big as it is right now." On February 25, 2014, Wisin released a song titled "Adrenalina" () from his album El Regreso del Sobreviviente (), which featured Jennifer Lopez and Martin, and became the Univision's 2014 World Cup song. It received commercial success, peaking in the top-five of Bulgaria, Mexico, Spain, and Billboards Hot Latin Songs chart. Its accompanying music video has accumulated over 850 million views on YouTube. Later that year, Martin released his single "Vida" () for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The song reached the top five in Spain and on the US Hot Latin Songs chart. Also in 2014, he served as a coach on the fourth season of The Voice Mexico, and embarked on the Live in Mexico tour. In February 2015, Martin released his tenth studio album, A Quien Quiera Escuchar (). The album debuted at number one on Billboards Top Latin Albums chart and peaked at number one in Argentina. It won the award for Best Latin Pop Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and Album of the Year at the 1st Latin American Music Awards. The album spawned three Hot Latin Songs top-10 hits: "Adiós" (), "Disparo al Corazón" (), and "La Mordidita" (). "Disparo al Corazón" was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "La Mordidita" experienced huge commercial success, being certified 15× Latin platinum in the United States. Its accompanying music video has received over 1.2 billion views on YouTube. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the One World Tour from 2015 to 2017. He served as an executive producer and a judge on the American singing competition series La Banda (), which premiered in 2015 and 2016 on Univision. The first season was "looking for the next Latin boy band", while the second season was looking for a Latin girl band. The contestants would compete for a recording deal with Sony Music Latin and Syco Music. CNCO, known as the first boy band to make reggaeton, was the winner of the first season. Martin became their manager and produced the band's debut album, Primera Cita () (2016), along with Wisin; the album debuted at number one on Top Latin Albums and featured the hit single "Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)" (). CNCO opened many dates on One World Tour in 2016. In 2020, Leila Cobo from Billboard compared the group with Menudo, noting: "Not since Menudo had a Latin boy band melted our hearts or made us dance quite like CNCO". On September 23, 2016, Martin released a song called "Vente Pa' Ca" (), featuring Colombian singer Maluma. The song became one of the biggest Spanish-language songs of 2016, reaching number one in seven countries, as well as Billboards Latin Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, and Tropical Airplay charts. It also reached top five in Spain and on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs, being certified quadruple platinum in Spain and diamond in Mexico. The track was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The accompanying music video has received over 1.75 billion views on YouTube. Martin signed a concert residency, named All In, to perform at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas in 2017 and 2018. He portrayed fashion designer Gianni Versace's partner Antonio D'Amico in the FX true crime anthology television series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, marking "the acting opportunity of his career". The role garnered him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. Running from January to March 2018, The Assassination of Gianni Versace received generally favorable reviews and numerous awards and nominations, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Creative Arts Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In February 2018, Martin released a song titled "Fiebre" (), featuring Wisin & Yandel. The song was commercially successful in Latin America, reaching number one in Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uruguay. It also reached the summit of the Billboard Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts. 2019–present: Amici di Maria De Filippi, PausaPlay, and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Martin performed "Havana", "Pégate" (), and "Mi Gente" (), alongside Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Young Thug, and Arturo Sandoval, as the opening performance. Martin served as a coach on the eighteenth season of the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi () in 2019. In the same year, Maluma released a song called "No Se Me Quita" () from his album 11:11, which featured Martin. The song reached number one in Mexico and was certified quadruple platinum in the country. Martin hosted the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in November 2019, along with Roselyn Sánchez and Paz Vega. The artist started recording his eleventh studio album, initially titled Movimiento (), in the second half of 2019, inspired by the 2019 political protests in Puerto Rico. He embarked on the Movimiento Tour in 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent personal experiences, he decided to split the tour's associated album in two extended plays, Pausa () and Play; the former was released in May 2020, while the latter is set to release in May 2022. Pausa was nominated for Album of the Year and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The second single from the EP, "Tiburones" () reached number one in Argentina and Puerto Rico, and was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Martin starred as the voice of villainous miniature figure Don Juan Diego in the American Christmas musical fantasy film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. The film was released on Netflix on November 13, 2020, and received generally favorable reviews. In April 2021, Martin released his hit single "Canción Bonita" () with Colombian singer Carlos Vives, which experienced huge commercial success in Latin America, reaching number one in 12 countries. It was also nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Song at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Later that year, he embarked on his first co-headlining tour, the Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert alongside Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias. Martin released Play on July 13, 2022. The EP included singles "Otra Noche en L.A." and "A Veces Bien Y A Veces Mal"; the former reached number one in four countries. Artistry Influences As a child, Martin used to sing songs by Menudo and rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon, which were what his "older siblings were listening to at the time". While Martin and his brothers spent their time listening to classic rock, their mother would interrupt them to make them listen to Latin music. She brought him CDs of Fania All-Stars, Celia Cruz, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, and Gilberto Santa Rosa that slowly made him appreciate the richness of Puerto Rican culture. Also, she once took them to a Fania All-Stars concert, which Martin is "beyond grateful" for it. He expresses that thanks to her mother, those influences had a "profound effect" on his musical career. Martin has also cited Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Madonna for teaching him "the beauty of pop". He stated about Madonna: "I was very influenced by her and her music. I know every choreography of Madonna." Additionally, he mentions Carlos Santana, José Feliciano, Celia Cruz, and Gloria Estefan as the artists who paved the way for him, naming Feliciano as one of the people who inspired him when he was a teenager: "I was always fascinated with his music." In addition to the musical influences, Martin is inspired by David Bowie's "ambiguous sexuality". While growing up, he used to ask himself if he wanted to be like the openly gay singer Elton John or he just liked him, admiring his music, colors, and wigs. He has also cited Barbra Streisand as an entertainer he wants to be like: "I want to be an entertainer, not just a singer." Musical styles and themes Considered to be a versatile artist, Martin describes his music as Latin pop, saying: "When you say 'Latin pop', the spectrum is so broad, It's inevitable to not be influenced by everything that's happening in the industry, but always keeping your identity firm by knowing who you are." He has also described his music as fusion, while noting that he does not "ride the waves that are in fashion at the moment". Music critics have described his songs to be influenced by Latin pop, pop, dance, adult contemporary, ballad, reggaeton, Latin, African, Caribbean, rock, salsa, flamenco, mariachi, urban, tropical, samba, cumbia, bachata, merengue, dembow, rumba, banda, descarga, funk, bomba, plena, folk, batucada, ranchera, vallenato, reggae, dancehall, jíbaro, bolero, mambo, Europop, house, disco, EDM, dance-pop, electro, house, techno, dubstep, world music, Middle Eastern, Brazilian funk, folk-pop, burlesque, waltz, ambient, downtempo, fusion, crossover, bossa nova, alternative rock, pop rock, soft pop, soft rock, hardcore punk, heavy metal, R&B, religious, jazz, swing, blues, soul, big band, trap, hip-hop, country, acoustic, electronic, tropical, doo-wop, surf, tango, ska, and rock and roll. Martin sings in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, and French. About his lyrics, Martin has emphasized that although his music will always make the listener dance, it does not mean his lyrics "have to be meaningless" and he sings about love and heartbreak, as well as "things that are good for a society", such as "freedom, freedom of expression, and social justice". He has also declared that as a Latino, he is not afraid of sexuality and sings about sexuality and sensuality, bringing his culture with him onstage. Voice Martin possesses a dramatic tenor vocal range. Peter Gilstrap from Variety commented that his "powerful voice" is "capable of belt or lilt", while The Jerusalem Posts Noa Amouyal described his voice as "soulful" and "very powerful". In 1995, Enrique Lopetegui of the Los Angeles Times noted Martin's "improved vocal skills" on A Medio Vivir. Also from the Los Angeles Times, Ernesto Lechner later praised his vocal for being "charismatic enough to handle both ballads and up-tempo tunes". Similarly, Billboards Chuck Taylor expressed "She's All I Ever Had" boasts "a versatility that contrasts nicely" with Martin's previous single, "Livin' la Vida Loca", labeling his vocal on the former "tender and heartfelt". Steve Gerrard of the Montreal Rocks complimented "his vocal maturity" on A Quien Quiera Escuchar. Music videos and performances Billboard labeled Martin "a video icon", and ranked him as the 79th Greatest Music Video Artist of All Time in 2020, stating: "From the moment he sashayed up to the mic in 'Livin La Vida Loca' all dressed in black, and gave us that look, the Menudo alum became the most memorable and watchable drop-dead handsome guy in pop music." He has collaborated with various directors to produce his music videos, including Carlos Perez, Wayne Isham, Jessy Terrero, Simón Brand, Gustavo Garzón, Nigel Dick, Kacho Lopez, and Memo del Bosque. "Livin' la Vida Loca" was nominated for Video of the Year at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, making Martin the first Latin artist in history to receive a nomination in this category. It won a total of five awards at the ceremony, making it rank among the videos with most wins in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. The explicit sexual scenes of the music video for "She Bangs" were met with criticism from the audience; several American television stations cut the scenes when airing the video. According to the Daily Records John Dingwall, with the visual, Martin ditched his teen idol image by transforming to a more mature one. It was consequently banned in several Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic. Martin told MTV News that the video represented freedom rather than his sexuality. The video was awarded Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Best Clip of the Year — Latin at the 2001 Billboard Music Video Awards, and Video of the Year at the 13th Lo Nuestro Awards. Martin has been noticed for "dance moves of his own" and his "bon-bon shaking dance moves". Carol Sandoval from VIX named him the "best dancer on any stage worldwide", highlighting his hips movement and "successful turns". He was ranked as the ninth best male dancer by the Evening Standard and the tenth Male Singer Who Can Dance by WatchMojo, being the only Latin entertainer on both lists. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "an incredible dancer". Billboards Jessica Roiz labeled him "a true showman", noting his "many outfit changes", "various dance performances", and "different stage set for each song". Jon Pareles of The New York Times described him as "an all-around showman" and Varietys Peter Gilstrap called him "every inch the showman", both recognizing his vocal abilities, while the former also commented he is "a dancer as muscular and hard-working as anyone in his troupe", mentioning his "likable, good-hearted character" and "steadfast Puerto Rican pride". Music critics have mostly praised his concerts for the choreographies, video screens, visual effects, stage, Latin influences, and Martin's vocals, costume changes, energy, sensuality, dance moves, and gestures, while the quality of sounds and sound mixes have received mixed reviews. Billboards Marjua Estevez described Martin's performance of "La Copa de la Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards as "the most memorable Latin performance at a Grammy Awards show", and the publication ranked it as the 54th Greatest Award Show Performance of All Time on their 2017 list. The performance was additionally placed on a 2017 unranked list of "Top 20 Best Grammy Performances of All Time" by Gold Derby, and on a 2019 list of "The Most Unforgettable Grammys Performances of All Time" by InStyle. In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked it as the 15th Greatest Grammy Performance of All Time, naming it "easily the biggest star-making moment in Grammy history". Public image Martin became a teen idol with his debut as a member of Menudo, and a pop icon following global fame as a solo artist. Journalists have written about his humble personality and "beautiful soul". Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "one of the most acclaimed and admired creative artists ever". La República staff described him as "one of the most admired and desired singers", while authors of ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most respected Latin stars in the world", "one of the most prodigious voices in music in Spanish", and "one of the most beloved talents in the entertainment industry worldwide". Also from ¡Hola!, Cristina Noé named him "one of the most loved artists in the world", while a writer of Clarín named him "one of the most applauded Latin singers on the planet". Metro Puerto Rico stated that he "raised the name of Puerto Rico internationally". He was ranked as one of the top-10 "emerging personalities" of 2010 by Google Zeitgeist, and was the eighth most searched musician on Google in 2022. In 2014, Gay Star News referred to Martin as "the most famous Latin pop star in the world", while Variety described him as "Puerto Rico's arguably most famous son" in 2021. He is ranked as the most famous Latin music artist in the United States, according to YouGov surveys in 2023. During the 2000s, Martin was known for "guarding his private life" and being "uncomfortable discussing intimate aspects of his personal life"; he used to insist on asking public to focus on his music and "steered interviewers away from his personal life". However, he chose to live both his "professional and personal life", making his private life public since the early 2010s. In 2021, he went on the cover of People with the title "No More Secrets" and told the magazine that he is "a man with no secrets", stating that he is "more comfortable in his own skin than ever before". Martin is one of the most followed celebrities on social media, with accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. He stated about social media that he wishes he had "something as powerful as" them since his debut: "Obviously I like to have direct contact with the public, with the media. It's extremely important, but today, from my home, I can talk to millions of people and see their immediate reaction." He is noticed for his friendly interactions with his fans, who are called "Sexy Souls". Wax statues of Martin are on display at the Madame Tussauds wax museums in San Francisco, Sydney, and Orlando. The last one was moved from Las Vegas to Orlando for the opening of the museum in spring 2015. Fashion Martin is considered to be a sex symbol, and journalists describe him as "the Latin heartthrob". His fashion and style evolution, from "as '80s as you'd expect" during his time with Menudo to "a style groove, often opting for sharp, tailored suits with clean lines" since 2009, has been noticed by the media. Natalia Trejo from ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most stylish Latin men in the entertainment industry", highlighting his "baggy leather pants", "tailored suits", and "color-block blazers" that have marked "some of the noteworthy trends of each decade". The reviewer also commented that Martin is "an example of mixing business with casual" and has "always had a personal sense of style". JD Institute of Fashion Technology views Martin as a fashion icon, praising him for "pushing the fashion boundaries with every new look". In 1997, he went on the cover of People en Españols first edition of 25 Most Beautiful; he has since "been a constant presence" on their 25 or 50 Most Beautiful lists. Two years later, he was featured on the cover of both Rolling Stone and Time magazines. Martin is considered to be one of the sexiest men in the world, according to various publications. In 2012, he was voted the sexiest man alive on Broadway.com. The following year, VH1 ranked him as the 28th Sexiest Artist of All Time, stating: "Ricky looks like the model in the magazine ads you stare at in awe thinking, 'There's no way he's that perfect in person'." In 2014, Entertainment Tonight listed him among the Sexiest Men Alive, while Revista Estilo placed him on the list of "the 10 Sexiest Singers" in 2016. He was ranked at number 16 on the list of "the 50 Hottest Men of All Time" by Harper's Bazaar in 2018, being the only Latin man on their list. In 2019, TN described Martin as "the sexiest man in the world". He has been noted for looking younger than his age, with Billboards Chris Payne describing him as "ageless". The singer has attended several fashion shows, including the Giorgio Armani show at Milan Fashion Week in 2011, the Marc Jacobs show in 2013, the Berluti menswear spring-summer 2020 show at Paris Fashion Week, the Dior men's pre-fall 2020 show, and the Virgil Abloh Spring-Summer 2022 show held by Louis Vuitton. Personal life Sexual orientation and early relationships According to an interview with Rolling Stone in 1999, Martin experienced his first kiss at age thirteen and lost his virginity at fourteen in Argentina. In 1990, shortly after he had arrived in Mexico to star in Mamá Ama el Rock, he met a woman, who was the host of a television show. They began dating quickly and broke up a few months later. In 1992, he fell in love with Mexican singer Alejandra Guzmán, who was separated from her husband at the time. They began dating until Guzmán returned to her husband and pretended Martin was her assistant on a phone call, while she was sleeping with her husband. In an interview with Univision, Martin admitted that she broke his heart. In the same year, Martin was rumored to be in a relationship with Argentine tennis player Gabriela Sabatini. Sabatini's sister-in-law, Catherine Fulop, confirmed the rumor in 2020. During the time he was playing in General Hospital, he met a "very handsome" man at a radio station, "stopped fearing [his] sexuality", and began dating him. Martin's mother supported him when she discovered that he was in love with a man, saying: "I love you, my son, I'm so happy for you. Bring it on. I'm right behind you." However, after the relationship ended, Martin "locked [his] feelings even deeper inside" and began dating women again. He recalls: "I already felt it was hard to be a Latino in Hollywood; what could have been more difficult than being Latino and gay?" Martin began dating Mexican television host Rebecca de Alba in 1994; they were in an on-and-off relationship until 2005. De Alba later revealed that she became pregnant several times in her life, but lost all of the pregnancies, expressing that one of them was by Martin. Martin also had relationships with Lilly Melgar, Adriana Biega, Maital Saban, and Inés Misan during his breakup times with de Alba in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He declared that "there was chemistry with them" and he "wasn't fooling anyone". In August 2008, Martin became a father to twin boys named Matteo and Valentino, born via gestational surrogacy. He explained that he chose surrogacy to become a parent for being "intriguing and faster" than adoption, which was complicated and could take a long time. In March 2010, Martin publicly came out as gay via a message on his website, stating: "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am." Years later, he revealed that although his music was "heard all over the world" and he "could high five God" in 1999, he "wasn't living to the fullest" and was sad and depressed. He kept asking himself, "Am I gay? Am I bisexual? Am I confused? What am I?", explaining: "Sexuality is one complicated thing. It's not black and white. It's filled with colors. When I was dating women, I was in love with women. It felt right, it felt beautiful." In an interview with Vanity Fair, he declared: "There was love, passion. I do not regret anything, any of the relationships I lived, they taught me a lot, both men and women." Martin also told Fama!: "I know that I like both men and women, I'm against sexual labels, we are simply human beings with emotional and sexual needs. I like to enjoy sex in total freedom, so I'm open to having sex with a woman if I feel desire." Despite this, he expressed that he would not be interested in "an ongoing relationship with a woman", stating: "Men are my thing". In 2000, American broadcast journalist Barbara Walters asked Martin about his sexuality on national television: "You could stop these rumors. You could say, 'Yes I am gay or no I'm not.'" Martin, who answered with "I just don't feel like it" at the time, later revealed that her question had made him feel "violated", since he "was just not ready to come out" and was "very afraid"; he said that it resulted in "a little PTSD" that "still haunts him". Martin dated Puerto Rican economist Carlos González Abella from 2010 to 2014, as his first relationship with a man after coming out as gay. Marriage Syrian-Swedish painter Jwan Yosef shared a photo of himself and Martin on Instagram on March 30, 2016, with the caption: "Obviously we're starting a band." Soon it was rumored that Yosef was Martin's new boyfriend. Martin confirmed their relationship on April 18, 2016, and they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the amfAR Inspiration Gala. Martin later revealed that he met Yosef on Instagram and they "were talking for like six months without [him] hearing his voice". Subsequently, Martin went to London, where Yosef was living, and they met each other. On November 16, 2016, during an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, he announced that he has proposed to Yosef and they are engaged. In January 2018, Martin confirmed that he has secretly married Yosef: "I'm a husband, but we're doing a heavy party in a couple of months, I'll let you know." On December 31, 2018, they announced that they have welcomed their first daughter together, named Lucia Martin-Yosef. Martin later explained that Lucia was born on December 24, coinciding with his 47th birthday. In September 2019, while accepting an award at the 23rd annual Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National Dinner, he announced that they are expecting their fourth child. On October 29, 2019, he shared a photo of himself, Yosef, and their newborn son, named Renn Martin-Yosef, with the caption: "Our son Renn Martin-Yosef has been born." Beliefs and religion During an interview with People in 2002, Martin expressed that he believes in "love", "the power of healing", and "God", thanks to his parents. The name he chose for his son Matteo means "gift from God". According to his statements in a 2021 interview, he still believes in God. He was raised Catholic but he said is not "the person who would ever look down upon one religion". He expressed that he also admires and likes Buddhist philosophy, but does not subscribe to the religion, since if he does, he cannot "be of anything else"; he does not want to be limited in certain aspects and follow a religion's specific rules. He tries to remain "open to everything" and makes "a concerted effort to always find new teachings and new paths" everywhere he goes and in every situation he finds himself in. Martin believes that everyone can "decide what makes them happy" and although "everyone needs to accept the life they were given", it does not mean they "should not live it as fully as possible". Health and sports Martin began practicing yoga after a trip to Thailand in 1997. He also began practicing meditation following a trip to India. In 2021, he explained that he gets up, before his family, every morning at 5:30 and puts himself in a lotus position and oxygenates his body. He also expressed that he has a gym in his house, saying: "If I have space to see myself in the mirror and put on my products, then I also have to have space for my body." During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in 2017, Martin revealed that he "was diagnosed with high cholesterol" at age eighteen. Although he did not pay attention to the high cholesterol at the time, it made him decide to become a vegetarian since 2013 to reduce cholesterol, despite loving meat as "a Latin man". In 2020, he opened up that he suffered from anxiety for the first time in his life, following the COVID-19 lockdowns, stating that making music became his "medicine". Real estate In March 2001, Martin purchased a 7,082-square-foot house in Miami Beach for $6.4 million; he sold the unit for $10.6 million in 2005. In September 2004, he paid $11.9 million for an 11,000-square-foot Mediterranean-style villa in Los Angeles, which he sold in 2006 for $15 million. In May 2005, he purchased a 9,491-square-foot house in Miami Beach for $10 million; he sold the villa for $10.6 million in 2012. In 2007, he paid $16.2 million for a mansion in Golden Beach. He sold the property in 2012 for $12.8 million, incurring a loss. In the same year, he bought a 3,147-square-foot condominium in New York City for $5.9 million; he sold the condo for $7.1 million in 2017. In 2014, he rented a 900-square-metre mansion in Sydney, which became famous as "the Bronte Wave House" and was sold for $16 million in May 2015, marking one of the most expensive properties sold in the city that year. In December 2016, he purchased an 11,300-square-foot mansion in Beverly Hills. The estate, which is Martin's current house, has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms with outdoor seating areas scattered throughout 33,000 square feet. It is a "private getaway in the middle of the city", located up the street from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Martin also owns a property in Puerto Rico and a private 19.7-acre island in Brazil. He purchased the latter for $8 million in 2008. Legacy Martin has been regarded as the "King of Latin Pop" by various publications, such as the Grammy Awards, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Time, People, Vogue, The Independent, Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Tonight Canada, NBC News, and ABC News. Additionally, he has been referred to as the "King of Latin Music", the "Latin Pop God", the "Latin King of Pop", the "Latin American King of Pop", the "Latin King", the "Crossover Latin King", the "Puerto Rican Pop King", the "Salsa-Pop King", and the "King of World Cup". Martin is known as one of the most influential artists in the world. Billboard ranked him as one of the 30 Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time, while NBC News introduced him as an "influential Latin celebrity". In 2014, he won the award for the most influential international artist at the 18th China Music Awards. He was ranked among "25 musicians who broke barriers" by Stacker in 2019, while in 2020, Spin ranked him at number 27 on the list of "most influential artists of the past 35 years", as the only Latin artist on their list. In 2022, Show News named him "the most influential global artist in history". Martin's song "María (Pablo Flores Remix)", which was ranked among the "Greatest Latin Pop Song of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and "11 remixes of classic Latin hits" by Billboard, "launched the Latin and dance music crossover of the '90s", according to the latter. Olivier Pérou from Le Point commented that "some have even learned, thanks to him, to count to three in Spanish" following the popularity of the song. "La Copa de la Vida", which has been hailed as the Best World Cup Anthem of All-Time by multiple sources, became a "musical template" for World Cup anthems, and Martin's Latin and dance crossover style has been much copied in the anthems, as well as soccer chant "Ole! Ole! Ole!" in the lyrics, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As believed by Esquire, the song "inaugurated this musical subgenre" of Latin. In his review for Pitchfork, Corban Goble wrote that if World Cup anthems someday would be "given their own textbook", "La Copa de la Vida" would be "the standard-bearer for the whole genre". Martin is known as the pioneer in getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition. Following his performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys, and the success of "Livin' la Vida Loca" and Ricky Martin (1999), he opened the gates for many Latin artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Santana, and Enrique Iglesias who released their crossover albums and followed him onto the top of the charts. His performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys not only changed the course of his career, but also altered how people regard Latin music in America. It has been known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide, that effectively ushered in the "Latin explosion". Then-United Talent Agency head Rob Prinz described the rendition as "the single biggest game changing moment for any artist in the history of the Grammys". According to Billboard, it has been cited as the beginning of the "Latin Pop invasion", which powerfully affected the US mainstream. According to Entertainment Tonight, "Livin' la Vida Loca" paved the way for a large number of other Latin artists, and is "credited as the song that helped other Latin artists break through to English-speaking markets". According to The Independent, the single is "widely regarded as the song that began the first Latin pop explosion", while Peoples Jason Sheeler credited it as the song that "led the way for the late-'90s so-called 'Latin explosion' that dominated pop music into the new century: Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, and Jennifer Lopez". Angie Romero from Billboard wrote: "If you look up 'crossover' in the dictionary, there should be a photo of Ricky shaking his bon bon and/or 'Livin' la Vida Loca'." Jim Farber from Daily News noted that Ricky Martin "provides a textbook example of how to mix Latin beats with pop tunes and rock intonations". St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Kevin C. Johnson stated that Martin took "the music to places Jon Secada, Selena and Santana never could". He also mentioned that even "Gloria Estefan at her peak, failed to muster up the kind of hype and hoopla surrounding Martin". Celia San Miguel of Tidal Magazine stated that Martin "highlighted the public's thirst for a different kind of pop" in 1999, crediting "Martin and the paths he created" responsible for the Latin music and Spanish and Spanglish lyrics being "a commonplace phenomenon on English-language radio" in 2019. In her review for Grammy.com, Ana Monroy Yglesias said Martin led a "major music moment in 1999" with Ricky Martin, and along with him, "the first major boom of Spanish-language artists", such as Shakira and Lopez, came into the "U.S. pop landscape". The late 1990s Latin explosion also resulted in the launch of the Latin Recording Academy. Gabriel Abaroa Jr., the president and chief executive officer of the Latin Recording Academy, expressed that the plan of its launch was "immediately after the Ricky Martin success". Cuban American musician and producer Emilio Estefan added: "After the success with Ricky Martin, everybody opened their eyes and realized how important it was to bring diversity and multiethnic elements into [mainstream American] music." Many artists have cited Martin as an influence, declared themselves as his fan, or have admired respect and recognition for him as a musician including Abraham Mateo, Bad Bunny, Camila Cabello, Camilo, Carla Morrison, Christian Chávez, CNCO, Danna Paola, Enrique Iglesias, J Balvin, J-Hope, Jimin, Karol G, India Martínez, Luis Fonsi, Maite Perroni, Maluma, Neha Mahajan, Pedro Capó, Prince Royce, Rauw Alejandro, Reik, Romeo Santos, Rosalía, Sebastián Ligarde, Sebastián Yatra, Shakira, Tini, Vadhir Derbez, William Hung, Wisin, and Ximena Sariñana. Both Maluma and J Balvin have described Martin as a "teacher" and credited him as an artist who "opened the doors" for them, while Maluma has also expressed: "Ricky Martin is one of the artists I wanted to be growing up. He's my idol in the industry."Citations regarding J Balvin's statements about Martin: Spanish singer Rosalía also cited Martin as a "teacher". Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny talked about Martin's legacy during an episode of Behind the Music: "There's no doubt that he opened the door for an entire generation of Latin artists. I am doing great things today in the music industry thanks to those doors that he opened." He also mentioned that he is inspired by Martin's coming out as gay: "You don't have to be gay to be inspired by that action of honesty and freedom, of being yourself against the world despite everything you deserve. I look at it like a very inspiring moment for anybody. At least for me, it's very inspirational." Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta explained to The Guardian that "some Latin stars such as Maluma and Bad Bunny sing in their native language" and do not need to sing in English to get noticed, because they already had representatives like Shakira, Martin, and Jennifer Lopez, but since her country "hasn't had a major international pop star before", she uses "whatever language will get the market's attention". Portrayal in television In July 2019, SOMOS Productions, Endemol Shine Boomdog, and Piñolywood Studios announced the production of a biographical web television series about Menudo, titled Subete a Mi Moto. Consisting of 15 episodes of 60 minutes each, the series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on October 9, 2020, in Mexico, Latin America, and Spain. It was filmed in Mexico and Puerto Rico, and Martin was portrayed by actors Felipe Albors and Ethan Schwartz. The series premiered in the United States on February 14, 2021, on Estrella TV. On the review aggregation website Tomatazos, the first season has a positive score of 75%. The website's critical consensus summary states, "A good trip to the past that recalls a band that defined the youth of a certain public, but that doesn't ignore the darkest moments in the lives of its members." Other ventures Books On August 19, 2010, Martin announced that he had been working on his memoir, mentioning its title as Me and publish date as November 2, 2010. He expressed that writing the book was "one of the reasons" he decided to come out earlier that year. The book also had a Spanish edition title Yo (), which was published simultaneously by Celebra. He stated that writing his memoir allowed him "to explore the different paths and experiences" that have led him to be who he is, noting that it "was not easy but allowed for an incredible spiritual journey". Me spent several weeks at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. In 2019, ¡Hola! staff ranked the book among "12 Books by Celebrities to Inspire and Motivate You", while Book Riot placed it on an unranked list of the "Best Celebrity Books You Should Read This Year" in 2020. Martin's first children's book Santiago the Dreamer in Land Among the Stars was published by Celebra and illustrated by Patricia Castelao in November 2013 for ages between five and nine. Its Spanish-language edition, Santiago El Soñador en Entre Las Estrellas, was published simultaneously. Martin expressed that the book was inspired by his "personal life, with fantasy added to it", as well as "a lot of cartoons". Products and endorsements Martin endorsed the 2012 Viva Glam campaign with rapper Nicki Minaj, which raised $270 million for the Mac AIDS Fund. In October 2020, Martin announced that he would launch his company, Martin Music Lab in partnership with music engineers Jaycen Joshua and Michael Seaberg. The company is centered around a new audio technique called "Orbital Audio", that "creates a new type of immersive, headphone listening experience". Martin used the technique on his EP Pausa, while several artists including Bad Bunny, Residente, Myke Towers, and A$AP Rocky are going to work with the company. The latter plans to release his whole upcoming studio album, using "Orbital Audio". Martin is going to expand the technique "beyond the music industry and tap into the movies, sports and, most notably, the wellness and meditation space". In 2021, Martin partnered with skin care company Kumiko. The skincare line, created by Chilean cosmetologist Catalina Aguirre, is the first to combine "mesotherapy, matcha, and cutting-edge European technology into unique multi-action formulas that penetrate the dermis with powerful anti-aging properties and lifting benefits". Activism Philanthropy While on a trip to India in 2002, Martin witnessed three minor girls who were about to be sold into prostitution and rescued them. The following year, he became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and then met with activists and decided to fight against human trafficking, which is the second-most lucrative crime in the world. In 2004, Martin launched the Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's "existence through research and community initiatives, anchored in the defense of children and youth rights". In the same year, he appealed to the United Nations for international help to fight against sex tourism. In January 2005, following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Martin visited Thailand to assess the needs of the minor survivors who were "extremely vulnerable to traffickers". Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation signed an alliance in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to construct 224 homes for the tsunami-affected families. The project was completed in December 2006. In March 2006, the foundation collaborated with the International Organization for Migration in the Llama y Vive () campaign, which focuses on facilitating "the prevention of human trafficking and the protection of young people, victims of child trafficking and prosecution of traffickers". In January 2010, along with many celebrities, Martin operated the charity telethon Hope for Haiti Now to raise donations for the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation created the first program of community social action against child trafficking in Martin's native Puerto Rico, titled "Se Trata" (). In 2012, the foundation participated in the making of the Child Protection Model Law on the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. In 2016, Martin visited Syrian refugees in Lebanon and played with the children and talked to them in an informal refugee camp. Following the Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017, the Ricky Martin Foundation helped people and handed over homes that were rebuilt after the losses; Martin launched a viral campaign of selling a black T-shirt with the Puerto Rican flag stamped on it in order to raise the funds. The T-shirts were designed by Martin's twin boys Matteo and Valentino, while many celebrities including Will Smith, Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, and Maluma supported the campaign. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin created a campaign to help health care workers through the non-profit organization Project Hope. He expressed: "As you know, health care professionals are extremely vulnerable and professionals around the world don't have personal protection equipment they need to prevent them getting infected." In February 2021, Martin collaborated with Antonia Novello to launch mass vaccination events in Puerto Rico. Following the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Martin honored an effort called "Black Out Tuesday" and launched the hashtag #knowthestruggle, giving his social media to the voices of the community that are "looking for justice", to learn more about what is happening. For his humanitarian efforts and fighting against human trafficking, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the Peace Summit Award by the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, the TIP Report Hero Award by the United States Department of State, the Spirit of Hope Award by Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Award, the Award of Inspiration by amfAR Gala, the Leader of Change Award by the Foundation for Social Change, the Humanitarian Award by the Global Gift Foundation, the Humanitarian Award by the Hispanic Federation, the Corazón Latino Award by the iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, the International Humanitarian Award by the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Agent of Change Award by the International Peace Honors, the PODER Social Leadership Awards, and the Agent of Change Award by the Premios Juventud. Politics On January 20, 2001, during the first inauguration of George W. Bush, Martin performed "The Cup of Life" and danced with him. Martin's view of Bush changed over the Iraq War, as expressed in his declaration to BBC News that he will "always condemn war and those who promulgate it". He also stuck up his middle finger while singing the president's name in his 2003 song "Asignatura Pendiente" at a concert. At the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards, Martin expressed his disagreement with the Arizona SB 1070 bill, a proposed law that would have required police officers to request documents from individuals whom they suspected to be illegal immigrants. Martin campaigned for the 44th president of the United States Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and thanked him for an "outstanding presidency" in 2016, while calling him "an amazing leader". Also in 2016, he was an active ally to the Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton campaign, while condemning Donald Trump's hateful comments about immigrants. He also performed his hits during the "Hillary Clinton: She's With Us" concert at the Greek Theatre on June 6, 2016. Telegramgate, also known as Chatgate, was a political scandal involving Ricardo Rosselló, then Governor of Puerto Rico, which began on July 8, 2019, with the leak of hundreds of pages of a group chat on the messaging application Telegram between Rosselló and members of his cabinet. The messages were considered vulgar, misogynistic, and homophobic toward several individuals and groups, including Martin. Therefore, Martin, Bad Bunny, Residente and several other artists, and more than half a million Puerto Ricans led the call to take to the streets of Puerto Rico, demanding Rosselló's resignation. In September 2020, Martin, Luis Fonsi, and actress Eva Longoria attended a campaign event in Kissimmee, Florida to support the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for the 2020 United States presidential election. During an interview with Variety, Martin stated: "I've been supporting Biden forever, I think he is the only option we have and he is great and he has been in politics all his life. This is the moment. We all need to get together and be loud about the course of this nation." Following the election of Biden as 46th president of the United States, Martin said "Bye-bye" to Trump on social media, and shared a photo of himself along with Biden on Instagram. In May 2021, Martin demonstrated his support for the Ni una menos movement, condemning femicides and violence against women in Puerto Rico, while calling authorities to protect women. He further expressed that no woman should fear for her safety and urged authorities to take steps in order to prevent these acts. In the same month, he supported the 2021 Colombian protests. Later that year, the singer raised his voice in support of the 2021 Cuban protests against the Castro regime for the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, stating: "This is very important. Our brothers and sisters in Cuba need us to inform the world what they are experiencing today. Let's fill the networks before they remove the internet in the country. Humanitarian aid for Cuba NOW." LGBT advocacy As a gay man, Martin actively supports LGBT rights worldwide since his coming out in 2010. Even before coming out, he was noted by the mainstream media for being popular among gay men and having a large gay fan base. He also went on the cover of the American LGBT-interest magazine The Advocate in July 1999. Despite this, he admitted that he felt homosexuality was evil since he was raised as a Catholic and targeted his anger toward others, especially gay men: "I was very angry, very rebellious. I used to look at gay men and think, 'I'm not like that, I don't want to be like that, that's not me.' I was ashamed." He added that he "had internalized homophobia" back then. He is currently considered to be a gay icon, with PinkNews labeling him "a strong advocate of LGBT rights" who "expressed support for equal marriage" since coming out. As the first mainstream Latin music artist to come out, Martin's coming out was a game-changer for "Latin Pride". Billboards Lucas Villa stated: "With Martin's announcement, gay artists, who had long kept their sexual identities a secret, finally had a beacon of hope. If Martin could come out with his career unscathed, there was hope for other artists in Latin music to start doing the same." He added that since then, "a growing number of Latin artists have either come out after years in the spotlight, or many have simply started their careers by embracing their gay identities". In 2010, GLAAD then-president Jarrett Barrios expressed that Martin's coming out as gay leads "hundreds of millions of people" to have "a cultural connection with an artist, a celebrity and, perhaps most importantly, a father who happens to be gay", adding that "his decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in U.S., in Latin America and worldwide". In 2019, Human Rights Campaign then-president Alphonso David expressed that Martin "has used his international stage to advocate for LGBTQ people around the world" with his "unique voice and passionate activism". The following year, Suzy Exposito from Rolling Stone argued that with risking his career and coming out, Martin "set the scene for Bad Bunny to be free in many ways that, during his own breakthrough moment, he could not". Martin expressed support for same-sex marriage during an interview on Larry King Live in 2010. He has then delivered speeches about LGBT rights at the United Nations Homophobia Conference, the GLAAD Media Awards, and the Human Rights Campaign. He also raised his voice to support gay marriage in Puerto Rico before its legalization in 2015. In March 2016, Martin met with Chilean LGBT rights group Fundación Iguales to learn about the challenges LGBT citizens face there. AT the meeting, he said that he wants "equal marriage rights for Chile" and he wants his sons to grow up in a world where "there are no second-class citizens". Following the Colombia's highest court voting against an anti same-sex marriage proposal in April 2016, Martin tweeted: "Love and equality win, Colombia says YES to same-sex marriage." During an interview with Vulture, Martin talked about his role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace and how he wanted his portrayal to help "normalize open relationships". In June 2019, he published an open letter slamming a religious liberty bill, saying: "As a defender of human rights and a member of the LGBTT community, I am vehemently opposed to the proposed measure imposed upon us under the guise of religious freedom, that projects us to the world as a backwards country." Puerto Rico's then-governor backed down and withdrew his support of the bill following Martin's statement. In June 2020, Martin performed his song "Recuerdo" with Carla Morrison for a virtual event, Can't Cancel Pride: Helping LGBTQ+ People in Need, to raise visibility and funds for LGBTQ+ communities. He appeared at the virtual event in the following year as well. In February 2021, Martin was named national spokesperson for the onePULSE Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on managing "the design and construction of the permanent national memorial and museum dedicated to the Pulse nightclub tragedy". Later that year, he expressed that he wants to "normalize families like" his, in an interview with People. Several of Martin's music videos feature diversity in sexual orientations and same-sex couples, including "The Best Thing About Me Is You", "Disparo al Corazón", "Fiebre", and "Tiburones". For his activism and advocacy for LGBTQ community, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the GLAAD Vito Russo Award, the Gala Vanguard Award by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the International Icon Award by the British LGBT Awards, the National Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign, the Trailblazer Award by the LGBT Center Dinner, the Celebrity Activist of the Year by LGBTQ Nation, and the Legacy Award by Attitude Awards. Achievements Throughout his career, Martin has won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, three Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, a Billboard Music Video Award, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards (including the Excellence Award), and a Guinness World Record. As an actor, he was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2007, Martin was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. Martin is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time and the Greatest Hot Latin Songs Artists of All Time by Billboard, while his album Vuelve was placed at number five on Billboards Top 20 Latin Albums Of All Time in 2018. In 1998, his song, "Perdido Sin Ti" reached the top of the Latin Pop Airplay chart, displacing Martin's own "Vuelve", making him the first artist on the chart's history to replace himself. His song "Livin' la Vida Loca" became the first number-one song on Billboard Hot 100, which was made entirely in Pro Tools, and achieved the first number one hit for his label, Columbia. It also became the first song in history to top Billboards Adult Pop Airplay, Pop Airplay, and Rhythmic Airplay charts, holding its record as the only song to do so for 14 years. On May 15, 1999, it became the first single ever to rule four different Billboard charts and made Martin the first act to simultaneously scale a pop, Latin, and dance chart. Two weeks later, he became the first artist to simultaneously top the Billboard 200, Hot Latin Tracks, Hot Dance Music/Club Play, Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, Top 40 Tracks, and the Billboard Hot 100. His song "Tal Vez" (2003) marked the first number one debut on Billboard Hot Latin Songs in the 21st century. Martin is the first and only artist with Spanish-language entries on Billboard Hot 100 in three decades. In 2020, he became the first and only artist in history to enter the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart across five decades, including his work as part of Menudo. The following year, he became the first male Latin artist in history to have 4 songs from different decades to have over 100 million streams on Spotify. He owns the record as the artist with most top 20s on the US Latin Pop Airplay chart, with 51 songs, and is the runner-up of most top 10s. He is the fourth artist with the most number one songs in the history of the Hot Latin Songs chart. Additionally, he holds the record as the most Spanish-language entries on ARIA top 50 singles chart, with three. On October 11, 2007, then-mayor of Miami Beach, Florida David Dermer awarded him the key to the city of Miami Beach. Puerto Rico named August 31 the "International Ricky Martin Day" in 2008. The Government of Spain granted Spanish nationality to Martin in 2011, for being "recognized in different artistic facets". In 2018, in recognition of "his dedication to the island and people of Puerto Rico, his philanthropic work to eliminate human trafficking across the Caribbean, and his commitment to the arts", the singer received a proclamation naming June 7 the "Ricky Martin Day" in New York City. Throughout his career, Martin has sold over 70 million records making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. In 2022, La Nación estimated his net worth at US$130 million. Discography Ricky Martin (1991) Me Amaras (1993) A Medio Vivir (1995) Vuelve (1998) Ricky Martin (1999) Sound Loaded (2000) Almas del Silencio (2003) Life (2005) Música + Alma + Sexo (2011) A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015) Filmography Mas Que Alcanzar una estrella (1992) Hercules – Latin American dub (1997) Idle Hands (1999) Ricky Martin: One Night Only (1999) Minions – Latin American dub (2015) The Latin Explosion: A New America (2015) Ricky Martin: Behind the Vegas Residency (2017) Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) El cuartito (2021) Theatre Les Misérables (1996), Broadway – Marius Pontmercy Evita (2012), Broadway – Ché Tours and residenciesHeadlining tours Ricky Martin Tour (1992) Me Amaras Tour (1993–1994) A Medio Vivir Tour (1995–1997) Vuelve World Tour (1998) Livin' la Vida Loca Tour (1999–2000) One Night Only with Ricky Martin (2005–2006) Black and White Tour (2007) Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour (2011) Ricky Martin Live (2013–2014) Live in Mexico (2014) One World Tour (2015–2018) Ricky Martin en Concierto (2018-2019) Movimiento Tour (2020-2022) Sinfónico Tour (2022-2023)Co-headlining tours Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert (with Enrique Iglesias) (2021) The Trilogy Tour (with Enrique Iglesias & Pitbull) (2023)Residency' All In (2017–2018) See also Honorific nicknames in popular music List of artists who reached number one in the United States List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart List of Latin pop artists List of multilingual bands and artists List of Puerto Rican Grammy Award winners and nominees List of Puerto Ricans List of Urbano artists Notes References Book sources External links Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century Puerto Rican LGBT people Category:20th-century Puerto Rican male actors Category:20th-century Puerto Rican male singers Category:21st-century Puerto Rican LGBT people Category:21st-century Puerto Rican male actors Category:21st-century Puerto Rican male singers Category:Puerto Rican gay actors Category:Puerto Rican gay musicians Category:Puerto Rican gay writers Category:Gay singers Category:Gay songwriters Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Echo (music award) winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hispanic and Latino American male actors Category:Hispanic and Latino American musicians Category:Latin Grammy Award winners Category:Latin music songwriters Category:Latin pop singers Category:Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year honorees Category:Puerto Rican LGBT singers Category:Puerto Rican LGBT songwriters Category:LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people Category:LGBT people in Latin music Category:LGBT record producers Category:Male actors from San Juan, Puerto Rico Category:Menudo (band) members Category:MTV Europe Music Award winners Category:Naturalised citizens of Spain Category:Puerto Rican activists Category:Puerto Rican expatriates in Australia Category:Puerto Rican expatriates in Mexico Category:Puerto Rican expatriates in Spain Category:Puerto Rican male film actors Category:Puerto Rican male soap opera actors Category:Puerto Rican male television actors Category:Puerto Rican people of Basque descent Category:Puerto Rican people of Canarian descent Category:Puerto Rican people of Corsican descent Category:Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Category:Puerto Rican philanthropists Category:Puerto Rican pop singers Category:Puerto Rican record producers Category:Puerto Rican male singer-songwriters Category:Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Category:Sony Music Latin artists Category:Sony Music Spain artists Category:Spanish-language singers of the United States Category:UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors Category:World Music Awards winners Category:FIFA World Cup ceremonies performers

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Ricky Martin

Enrique Martin Morales (born December 24, 1971), commonly known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, actor and author. Martin began his career at age 12 with the all-boy pop group Menudo. After five years with the group, he released several Spanish-language solo albums throughout the 1990s. He also acted on stage and on TV in Mexico, where he achieved modest stardom.

1983-1990: Menudo

After achieving modest fame in Puerto Rico for his work in television commercials, Martin auditioned for membership in the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. Although the executives enjoyed his dancing and singing at his first two auditions, Martin was rejected because he was too short. By the third audition, his persistence impressed executives, and in 1984, 12-year-old Martin became a member. A month after joining Menudo, he made his debut performance with the group at the Luis A. Ferre Performing Arts Center in San Juan. During this performance, he inadvertently disobeyed the choreography by walking around the stage, when it was planned that he would stay still, and was chastised by the band manager after the show: "The mistake was such a big deal that from that moment on, never again did I move when I wasn't supposed to move...That was the discipline of Menudo: You either did things the way you were told or you were not part of the group." The song "Asignatura Pendiente" from Almas del Silencio (2003) was inspired by the first time Martin left Puerto Rico to tour with Menudo. Although Martin enjoyed traveling and performing onstage with Menudo, he found the band's busy schedule and strict management exhausting, and later reflected that the experience "cost" him his childhood. He considered leaving the group while on tour in Brazil, but ultimately decided to stay out of fear of media backlash and being sued for breach of contract. Martin also began struggling with his sexuality, noting the stark contrast between his status as a sex symbol and his own emotions. Despite this, Martin acknowledged his "opportunity to have so many amazing experiences with so many amazing people" during his time with the group. He developed an interest in philanthropy when the group became UNICEF ambassadors, often working with impoverished children in third world countries. His experiences as an ambassador affected him greatly and inspired him to continue working with charities later in life. By 1987, Menudo's record sales began to decline, and the group changed its image, adopting an edgier look and performing more rock-influenced songs. The band released the album Somos Los Hijos del Rock in Spanish, and to appeal to the Menudo's Filipino fanbase, the group released In Action, recording songs in both English and Tagalog. After recording 11 albums with the group, Martin left Menudo in July 1989, at age 17, hoping to rest and evaluate his career path. He performed his final show with the group at the same venue where he'd performed his first performance as a member. Martin returned to Puerto Rico to graduate from high school, and 13 days after turning 18, he moved to New York City to celebrate his financial independence; since he was a minor during his time as a member of Menudo, Martin was not allowed to access his own bank accounts. He was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, but months before classes began, Martin dropped out and moved to Mexico City to perform in the play Mama Ama el Rock (Mom Loves Rock). CANNOTANSWER

Enrique Ricky Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971) is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is best known for his musical versatility, with his discography incorporating a wide variety of many elements, such as Latin pop, pop, dance, reggaeton, salsa, and other genres. Dubbed the "King of Latin Pop", the "King of Latin Music", and the "Latin Pop God", he is regarded as one of the most influential artists in the world. Born in San Juan, Martin began appearing in television commercials at age nine and began his musical career at twelve, as a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. He began his solo career in 1991 while in Sony Music Mexico, gaining recognition in Latin America with the release of his first two studio albums, Ricky Martin (1991) and Me Amaras (1993), both of which were focused on ballads. Martin's third album, A Medio Vivir (1995), helped him rise to prominence in European countries. The chart-topping single "María", incorporated a mixture of Latin music genres and became his first international hit. His international success was further solidified with his fourth album, Vuelve (1998). The album, which earned Martin his first Grammy Award, spawned chart-topping songs "Vuelve" and "La Copa de la Vida". Martin performed the latter at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and is known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide. His first English album, Ricky Martin (1999) became his first US Billboard 200 number one. The lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Martin's success in the late 1990s is generally seen as the beginning of the "Latin explosion". He has been credited for propelling the Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition, paving the way for a large number of Latin artists to achieve global success. Martin has since established his status as a pop icon and a sex symbol, releasing several successful albums, including all-time Latin bestsellers Almas del Silencio (2003) and MTV Unplugged (2006), as well as Grammy Award winner A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015). He has also amassed many successful singles and chart-toppers, including "She Bangs", "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely", "Tal Vez", "Tu Recuerdo", "La Mordidita", "Vente Pa' Ca", and "Canción Bonita". As an actor, Martin gained popularity and stardom for his role in the hit soap opera General Hospital (1994–1996), while his portrayal of Antonio D'Amico in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018) marked the acting opportunity of his career, garnering him an Emmy nomination. He also starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita in 2012, which broke the theater's box-office sales record seven times. Martin is one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time, having sold over 70 million records worldwide. He has scored 11 Billboard Hot Latin Songs number-one songs, and won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, three Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards, a Guinness World Record, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time, the Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time, and the Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time by Billboard. His philanthropy and activism focus on LGBT rights and fighting against human trafficking; in 2004, he founded The Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's existence. Early life Enrique Martín Morales was born on December 24, 1971, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His mother, Doña Nereida Morales, is a former accountant; his father, Enrique Martín Negroni, is a former psychologist who previously worked as a regional supervisor for a Puerto Rican mental-health agency. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and although his mother had custody of Martin, he could also move freely between his father's house in the middle-class suburb of University Gardens in San Juan, and his paternal grandmother's house nearby. In an interview with People, he told the magazine that he "never had to make decisions" about who he loved more, and he was "always happy". Martin has two older maternal half-brothers, Fernando and Ángel Fernández, two younger paternal half-brothers, Eric and Daniel Martín, and a younger paternal half-sister, Vanessa Martín. Martin has Spanish heritage of Basque and Canarian descent. As he explained to ABC, the Martins traveled from Spain to Puerto Rico in 1779. He also has some Corsican origin through his paternal grandmother. Martin grew up Catholic. The people closest to him called him "Kiki" (a nickname that comes from Enrique). He began singing at age six, using wooden kitchen spoons as make-believe microphones; he often sang songs by Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, as well as English-language rock groups such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon. His mother's side of the family was musically inclined and his maternal grandfather was a poet. Martin later reflected on his time spent with his family as a child: "Every time I find myself in front of an audience, be it twenty people or one hundred thousand, once again I feel the energy that consumed me back at the family gatherings of my youth." He attended Colegio Sagrado Corazón, a bilingual Catholic grade school in University Gardens since fourth grade and was an "average" student there. When he was nine years old, he began appearing in television commercials for products such as soft drinks, toothpaste, and fast food restaurants, including Orange Crush and Burger King. In a year and a half, he starred in 11 commercials. Career 1983–1989: Menudo After achieving moderate fame in his country for his appearances in television commercials, Martin auditioned for membership in Menudo. Formed in Puerto Rico in 1977, Menudo members were usually replaced when they hit 16 in order to keep the band "full of fresh-faced members". Although the executives enjoyed his dancing and singing at his first two auditions, Martin was rejected because he was too short. By the third audition, his persistence impressed executives, and in 1984, 12-year-old Martin became a member. A month after joining Menudo, he made his debut performance with the group at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan. During this performance, he inadvertently disobeyed the choreography by walking around the stage, when it was planned that he would stay still, and was chastised by the band manager after the show: "The mistake was such a big deal that from that moment on, never again did I move when I wasn't supposed to move. That was the discipline of Menudo: You either did things the way you were told or you were not part of the group." Although Martin enjoyed traveling and performing onstage with Menudo, he found the band's busy schedule and strict management exhausting, and later reflected that the experience "cost" him his childhood. Despite this, Martin acknowledged his "opportunity to have so many amazing experiences with so many amazing people" during his time with the group. During his time with Menudo, he became a "key-member of the group" and a "fan-favorite", while the band released 11 albums, including the Grammy-nominated Evolución () (1984) and their highest-charting and longest-running album on the US Billboard 200, Menudo (1985). The former featured Martin's debut single, "Rayo de Luna" () and the latter included the hit single "Hold Me". "Hold Me" became the group's first and only entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 62. It was ranked among the "100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Billboard, the "75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and the "30 Best Boy Band Songs" by Complex. Besides the musical career, Martin appeared with other members of Menudo in the American romantic comedy/drama television series, The Love Boat (1985), and the Argentine soap opera, Por Siempre Amigos (1987). He also developed an interest in philanthropy when the group became UNICEF ambassadors, often working with impoverished children in third world countries. His experiences as an ambassador affected him greatly and inspired him to continue working with charities later in his life. Finally, Martin left the band in July 1989, at age 17, hoping to rest and evaluate his career path; he stayed a few extra months after his "age-mandated retirement" came around. He performed his final show with the group at the same venue where he had performed his first performance as a member. Referred to as the "Most Iconic Latino Pop Music Band", Menudo was ranked as one of the Biggest Boy Bands of All Time by Us Weekly in 2021. The group has sold around 20 million records worldwide, and has been acknowledged as the "Most Successful Latin Boy Band of All Time" by Billboard. Martin returned to Puerto Rico to "get a break from the pressures of the group, the promotional tours, and the constant stress of work", but although his parents' divorce had not affected him before, suddenly began to affect him; his parents "began fighting more than ever" and they were forcing him to "choose between the two people in the world" he loved most. As he understood they did this because they loved him and wanted the best for him, he "forgave all of the pain and anger they caused" him. He graduated from the high school, and 13 days after turning 18, he moved to New York City to celebrate his financial independence; since he was a minor during his time with Menudo, Martin was not allowed to access his own bank accounts. 1990–1994: Acting and first solo albums Martin was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1990, but before classes began, his friend invited him to Mexico City. He attended the musical comedy play, Mama Ama el Rock () there, and was offered to stay and replace one of the actors. He accepted the offer, dropped out the university and moved from New York to Mexico City to perform in the play. While he was performing onstage in Mama Ama el Rock, a producer in the audience took notice of Martin's acting and offered him a role in the Mexican telenovela Alcanzar una estrella () (1990). Martin also joined the cast for the second season of the show, titled Alcanzar una estrella II (1991). A film based on the TV series, titled Más que alcanzar una estrella () (1992), was also produced in which Martin starred, and earned him an El Heraldo Award for his role. A Sony Discos executive noticed Martin's acting in the soap operas and offered him his first solo music recording contract. Eager to record his first solo album and hustled by the executive, Martin signed the contract without reading its conditions and inadvertently signed a deal in which he would only be paid one cent for each album sold. Despite viewing the contract as unfair, Martin referred to the record as "the start of something phenomenal" for him. After working "around the clock" to finish filming Alcanzar una estrella II and recording music, he released his debut solo album, Ricky Martin, on November 26, 1991. The album peaked at number five on the US Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart and spent a total of 41 weeks on the list. It sold over 500,000 copies worldwide, was certified gold in several countries, and spawned his first solo hit singles, "Fuego Contra Fuego" (), "El Amor de Mi Vida" (), and "Dime Que Me Quieres" (). Both "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida" reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks. To promote the album, Martin embarked on a successful Latin American tour, breaking box office records, which the singer referred to as "an indescribable feeling, almost like coming home". After the success of Ricky Martin and its subsequent tour, Martin's record company met him with the Spanish musician Juan Carlos Calderón to work on his second studio album, Me Amaras () (1993). Although Martin felt "very grateful" for the opportunity to work with Calderón, he noted, "I always felt that that record was more his than mine." The album sold over one million copies worldwide and was certified triple-platinum in Chile. In 1994, Martin's agent encouraged him to move to Los Angeles to act in an American sitcom called Getting By. The show was canceled after two seasons, but soon afterward, Martin was given the role of Miguel Morez on the popular hit soap opera General Hospital; Morez, a bartender and singer, known for his long and flowing hair, was a Puerto Rican citizen hiding in the United States from his lover's criminal mastermind father and created a love triangle with his fiancé Lily Rivera and Brenda. Martin portrayed the role for two years and gained huge popularity and stardom, becoming "one of the most-talked about actors on the soap opera". Despite this, Martin felt he lacked chemistry with the rest of the General Hospital cast and observed that people treated him differently because of his Puerto Rican accent. At the time, it was relatively uncommon for Latin actors to appear on American television, and people suggested that he take accent reduction classes, which he refused. 1995–1997: Breakthrough with A Medio Vivir In 1995, Martin refocused on his music career, and began working on his third studio album, A Medio Vivir (). The album was released in September 1995, and became a huge success; it sold over three million copies worldwide. being certified gold in the United States, platinum in France, 4× platinum in Spain, as well as many other certifications in Latin American countries. It spawned several successful hits, including "Te Extraño, Te Olvido, Te Amo" (), "María", and "Volverás" (). On "María", which was released as the second single from the album, Martin allowed himself "to go into a very Latin, African sound". He created a mix of different Latin music genres instead of singing a romantic ballad, the style that he focused on it in his first two albums, while Latin pop music in general was mainly made up of it at the time. Although Martin was satisfied with the track and he describes it as a song that he is "extremely proud of", the first time he played it for a record label executive, the man said: "Are you crazy? You have ruined your career! I can't believe you are showing me this. You're finished — this is going to be your last album." Despite this, the track became Martin's breakthrough song and his first international hit. It topped the charts in 20 countries, and has sold over five million physical copies worldwide. As a result, the song was featured in the 1999 edition of The Guinness Book of Records as the biggest Latin hit. In Australia, "María" spent six weeks at number one, topped the country's year-end chart in 1998, and was certified platinum. The song also spent nine weeks at number one in France, and was certified diamond, selling over 1.4 million copies there. Additionally, the track reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, and became Martin's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. To promote A Medio Vivir, he embarked on the worldwide A Medio Vivir Tour, that lasted for more than two years, through which he performed 63 shows and visited Europe, Latin America and the United States. During an interview with The Miami Herald in 1996, Martin expressed an interest in performing on Broadway. In a few days, he received a phone call from producer Richard Jay-Alexander, and was offered the role of Marius Pontmercy in the play Les Misérables. After the conclusion of the A Medio Vivir Tour in Latin America, Martin returned to New York to appear in the play in an eleven-week run. He greatly enjoyed the experience, calling his time in the play an "honor" and "the role of [his] life". Martin continued to tour after the conclusion of the show's run, and noted that his audiences were growing in both size and enthusiasm. 1998–1999: Vuelve While the A Medio Vivir Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his fourth album Vuelve (). He called the experience of touring and recording at the same time "brutal and incredibly intense". As he was finishing the record in 1997, "María" caught the attention of FIFA. They contacted Martin and asked him to create a song as the 1998 FIFA World Cup anthem. He stated about the request: "I have to admit that the challenge made me a bit nervous, but the massive growth potential for my career was such that I decided to accept." Following his acceptance, musicians K.C. Porter, Robi Rosa, and Desmond Child joined him and they started working on a song titled "La Copa de la Vida" (English: "The Cup of Life"). Martin wrote about the recording: "La Copa de la Vida" was included on Vuelve, released February 12, 1998. The album became a huge success; it sold over eight million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling Spanish-language album in history, according to his label. Also, some sources have reported the album's sales as six million copies worldwide. It spent 26 weeks atop the US Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Canada, the album peaked at number three and was certified double platinum. Vuelve spawned big hits, including the title track, "La Copa de la Vida", "Perdido Sin Ti" (), and "La Bomba" (). "La Copa de la Vida" grew to be an international success, appearing on the charts in more than 60 countries, and reaching number one in 30 countries, Both "Vuelve" and "Perdido Sin Ti" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart; the former also reached number one in eight countries. On July 12, 1998, Martin performed "La Copa de la Vida" as the official anthem at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final in France, in front of more than a billion TV viewers around the world. To promote Vuelve, Martin embarked on the worldwide Vuelve Tour; he performed in Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South America, and the United States. Although Latin music was not important to the Recording Academy or the mainstream music industry at the time, Tommy Mottola, then-chief of Columbia Records, was certain about Martin's stardom and pushed hard to have him on the Grammy Awards ceremony. During an interview with Billboard, Mottola told the magazine about it: "There was tremendous resistance from the Grammys. They did not want an 'unknown' to perform, yet we he had already sold 10 million copies of Vuelve worldwide. To me, that was absolutely UNACCEPTABLE." Finally, on February 24, 1999, cavorting with a 15-piece band alongside and a large number of dancers and percussionists, Martin performed a bilingual version of "La Copa de La Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and met with acclaim from music critics. At the same night, Vuelve earned Martin his first Grammy award, for Best Latin Pop Performance. 1999–2000: Crossover to English In October 1998, CNN confirmed that Martin has been working on his first English language album, following the huge success of Vuelve. The album was titled Ricky Martin and was released on May 11, 1999, two weeks ahead of schedule, because of the huge interest in the disc, following Martin's performance at the Grammy Awards. Tim Devin, the general manager of Tower Records stated about Martin: "He's always been one of our strongest Latin artists, but interest in him has picked up considerably since that performance." Ricky Martin debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 661,000 copies, becoming the largest sales week by any album in 1999. It also broke the record as the largest first-week sales for any pop or Latin artist in history, as well as any Columbia Records artist during the SoundScan era. With this album, Martin became the first male Latin act in history to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was certified 7× platinum by RIAA, denoting shipments of over seven million copies in the US and breaking the record as the best-selling album by a Latin artist in the country. Only within three months, Ricky Martin became the best-selling album ever by a Latin artist. According to different sources, the album has sold over 15 million copies or even 17 million copies worldwide. It was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. The album's lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" () topped the charts in more than 20 countries and is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, and one of the best-selling singles of all time. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Martin's first number one single on the chart. Additionally, it broke several records on Billboard charts. It also spent eight consecutive weeks atop the Canada Top Singles chart and topped the country's year-end chart. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number one and stayed there for three weeks, making Martin the first Puerto Rican artist in history to hit number one. The track was ranked as the best '90s pop song by Elle, and was listed among the Best Latin Songs of All Time by Billboard. It was nominated for four categories at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Its Spanish version reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart, and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 1st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "She's All I Ever Had" was released as the second single from the album in June 1999. It peaked at numbers two and three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canada Top Singles charts, respectively. The Spanish version, "Bella" () topped the charts in five countries, as well as Billboards Hot Latin Tracks chart. To further promote Ricky Martin, he embarked on the worldwide Livin' la Vida Loca Tour, which was the highest-grossing tour of 2000 by a Latin artist in the US. 2000–2005: Sound Loaded, Almas del Silencio, and Life While the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded. The album was released on November 14, 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 318,000 copies. The album has sold over seven million copies or even eight million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified double platinum in the US. The album featured two hit singles, "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely". The former reached number one in seven countries, including Italy and Sweden, as well as the top five in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. It was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards. The Spanish-language version of "She Bangs" reached the summit of the Hot Latin Tracks chart and won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" was re-recorded along with American singer Christina Aguilera, peaking at number one in five countries, as well as the top five in Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, among others. It was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. The solo Spanish version, entitled "Sólo Quiero Amarte" topped the Hot Latin Tracks chart. Both "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" are certified silver in the UK. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish compilation album entitled La Historia (), which spent five weeks at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart, topped the charts in Argentina and Sweden, and was certified quadruple Latin platinum in the United States. Following the success of Ricky Martin and Sound Loaded, he initially planned to release the third English-language album as his seventh studio album, which was supposed to be his first complete work in the field of songwriting. Despite Sony Music Entertainment's original plan, he decided to release a Spanish-language album: "I woke up five months ago, and I said 'We're doing an album in Spanish.' Everyone went nuts. They said, 'You don't have time; you have to release an album in English because of timing issues with your career.' And that's fine. But I told them, 'In five months, you'll have a kick-ass album' [in Spanish]. Martin's seventh studio album, Almas del Silencio () was released in May 2003. It debuted atop the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart with first-week sales of 65,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, breaking the record as the largest first-week sales for a Spanish-language album in the US. The album also debuted at number 12 on Billboard 200, tying the 2002 album, Quizás () as the chart's highest Spanish-language debut. The album also debuted at number one in "at least 13 Latin American markets" and sold over two million copies worldwide. Almas del Silencio spawned three Hot Latin Tracks chart-topper hits: "Tal Vez" (), "Jaleo", and "Y Todo Queda en Nada" (). "Tal Vez" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart on the week of April 12, 2003, marking the first number one debut since February 1998, and becoming the sixth song overall in the chart's history to do so. It spent a total of 11 weeks at this position, surpassing "Livin' la Vida Loca" as Martin's longest number-one single on the chart, and was the longest-running number one of 2003. It also topped the charts in several Latin American markets. In October 2005, Martin released his third English album, Life. He commented on the album: "I was really in touch with my emotions. I think this album is very multi-layered, just like life is. It's about feeling anger. It's about feeling joy. It's about feeling uncertainty. It's about feeling. And all my emotions are part of this production". To promote Life, Martin embarked on the worldwide One Night Only with Ricky Martin tour. 2006–2012: MTV Unplugged, Música + Alma + Sexo, and Evita Although Martin's team and MTV had discussed an MTV Unplugged for years, but it became more serious after Martin's the One Night Only tour, which featured an acoustic segment. Finally, Martin taped his MTV Unplugged set in Miami in August 2006, performing both romantic ballads and up-tempo tropical dance songs. During the performance, he debuted three new tracks, including "Tu Recuerdo" (), which was released to radio stations as the lead single from his debut live album MTV Unplugged (2006). The album debuted at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart and sold over two million copies worldwide, marking his highest-certified album in Mexico. It won two Latin Grammy awards and was nominated for Album of the Year. "Tu Recuerdo" reached number one in five countries, as well as the Billboards Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts. The track was certified quadruple platinum in Mexico and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The artist then embarked on the Black and White Tour in 2007, including four sold-out shows at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico. The concerts in Puerto Rico were compiled into his second live album Ricky Martin... Live Black & White Tour (2007). Later that year, he released his first Italian song, "Non siamo soli" () as a duet with Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti. The song debuted at number one in Italy and spent eleven consecutive weeks atop the chart. In January 2011, Martin launched his ninth studio album, Música + Alma + Sexo (). The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the highest-charting primarily-Spanish language set since Dreaming of You (1995) by American singer Selena. It holds the record as the highest-charting Latin album of the 2010s, and represents the highest-ever chart debut on the Billboard 200 for a Sony Music Latin release. Música + Alma + Sexo also peaked at number one in Argentina and Venezuela, as well as Billboards Top Latin Albums. Its lead single, "Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tú" (English: "The Best Thing About Me Is You") reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video at the 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour in 2011. In February 2012, he appeared as Spanish teacher David Martinez on the twelfth episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, The Spanish Teacher. Martin starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita from March 2012 to January 2013. The show became a hit, breaking the theatre's box-office sales record after only six performances. Since then, it broke its own record six times and was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical at the 66th Tony Awards. The show's soundtrack album debuted at number one on Billboards cast album chart. 2013–2018: The Voice, A Quien Quiera Escuchar, and The Assassination of Gianni Versace Martin served as a coach on the second season of the Australian singing competition television series The Voice in 2013. In the same year, he released a compilation album, entitled Greatest Hits: Souvenir Edition, which reached number two in Australia, as well as a new single, entitled "Come with Me", which debuted at number three in the country. The artist then embarked on the Ricky Martin Live tour in Australia in October 2013. He continued serving as a coach on both the third and fourth seasons of The Voice Australia in 2014 and 2015, respectively. In 2014, Lars Brandle from Billboard stated in an article: "Through his high-profile slot on The Voice, Ricky's profile in Australia has never been as big as it is right now." On February 25, 2014, Wisin released a song titled "Adrenalina" () from his album El Regreso del Sobreviviente (), which featured Jennifer Lopez and Martin, and became the Univision's 2014 World Cup song. It received commercial success, peaking in the top-five of Bulgaria, Mexico, Spain, and Billboards Hot Latin Songs chart. Its accompanying music video has accumulated over 850 million views on YouTube. Later that year, Martin released his single "Vida" () for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The song reached the top five in Spain and on the US Hot Latin Songs chart. Also in 2014, he served as a coach on the fourth season of The Voice Mexico, and embarked on the Live in Mexico tour. In February 2015, Martin released his tenth studio album, A Quien Quiera Escuchar (). The album debuted at number one on Billboards Top Latin Albums chart and peaked at number one in Argentina. It won the award for Best Latin Pop Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and Album of the Year at the 1st Latin American Music Awards. The album spawned three Hot Latin Songs top-10 hits: "Adiós" (), "Disparo al Corazón" (), and "La Mordidita" (). "Disparo al Corazón" was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "La Mordidita" experienced huge commercial success, being certified 15× Latin platinum in the United States. Its accompanying music video has received over 1.2 billion views on YouTube. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the One World Tour from 2015 to 2017. He served as an executive producer and a judge on the American singing competition series La Banda (), which premiered in 2015 and 2016 on Univision. The first season was "looking for the next Latin boy band", while the second season was looking for a Latin girl band. The contestants would compete for a recording deal with Sony Music Latin and Syco Music. CNCO, known as the first boy band to make reggaeton, was the winner of the first season. Martin became their manager and produced the band's debut album, Primera Cita () (2016), along with Wisin; the album debuted at number one on Top Latin Albums and featured the hit single "Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)" (). CNCO opened many dates on One World Tour in 2016. In 2020, Leila Cobo from Billboard compared the group with Menudo, noting: "Not since Menudo had a Latin boy band melted our hearts or made us dance quite like CNCO". On September 23, 2016, Martin released a song called "Vente Pa' Ca" (), featuring Colombian singer Maluma. The song became one of the biggest Spanish-language songs of 2016, reaching number one in seven countries, as well as Billboards Latin Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, and Tropical Airplay charts. It also reached top five in Spain and on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs, being certified quadruple platinum in Spain and diamond in Mexico. The track was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The accompanying music video has received over 1.75 billion views on YouTube. Martin signed a concert residency, named All In, to perform at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas in 2017 and 2018. He portrayed fashion designer Gianni Versace's partner Antonio D'Amico in the FX true crime anthology television series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, marking "the acting opportunity of his career". The role garnered him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. Running from January to March 2018, The Assassination of Gianni Versace received generally favorable reviews and numerous awards and nominations, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Creative Arts Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In February 2018, Martin released a song titled "Fiebre" (), featuring Wisin & Yandel. The song was commercially successful in Latin America, reaching number one in Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uruguay. It also reached the summit of the Billboard Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts. 2019–present: Amici di Maria De Filippi, PausaPlay, and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Martin performed "Havana", "Pégate" (), and "Mi Gente" (), alongside Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Young Thug, and Arturo Sandoval, as the opening performance. Martin served as a coach on the eighteenth season of the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi () in 2019. In the same year, Maluma released a song called "No Se Me Quita" () from his album 11:11, which featured Martin. The song reached number one in Mexico and was certified quadruple platinum in the country. Martin hosted the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in November 2019, along with Roselyn Sánchez and Paz Vega. The artist started recording his eleventh studio album, initially titled Movimiento (), in the second half of 2019, inspired by the 2019 political protests in Puerto Rico. He embarked on the Movimiento Tour in 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent personal experiences, he decided to split the tour's associated album in two extended plays, Pausa () and Play; the former was released in May 2020, while the latter is set to release in May 2022. Pausa was nominated for Album of the Year and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The second single from the EP, "Tiburones" () reached number one in Argentina and Puerto Rico, and was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Martin starred as the voice of villainous miniature figure Don Juan Diego in the American Christmas musical fantasy film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. The film was released on Netflix on November 13, 2020, and received generally favorable reviews. In April 2021, Martin released his hit single "Canción Bonita" () with Colombian singer Carlos Vives, which experienced huge commercial success in Latin America, reaching number one in 12 countries. It was also nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Song at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Later that year, he embarked on his first co-headlining tour, the Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert alongside Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias. Martin released Play on July 13, 2022. The EP included singles "Otra Noche en L.A." and "A Veces Bien Y A Veces Mal"; the former reached number one in four countries. Artistry Influences As a child, Martin used to sing songs by Menudo and rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon, which were what his "older siblings were listening to at the time". While Martin and his brothers spent their time listening to classic rock, their mother would interrupt them to make them listen to Latin music. She brought him CDs of Fania All-Stars, Celia Cruz, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, and Gilberto Santa Rosa that slowly made him appreciate the richness of Puerto Rican culture. Also, she once took them to a Fania All-Stars concert, which Martin is "beyond grateful" for it. He expresses that thanks to her mother, those influences had a "profound effect" on his musical career. Martin has also cited Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Madonna for teaching him "the beauty of pop". He stated about Madonna: "I was very influenced by her and her music. I know every choreography of Madonna." Additionally, he mentions Carlos Santana, José Feliciano, Celia Cruz, and Gloria Estefan as the artists who paved the way for him, naming Feliciano as one of the people who inspired him when he was a teenager: "I was always fascinated with his music." In addition to the musical influences, Martin is inspired by David Bowie's "ambiguous sexuality". While growing up, he used to ask himself if he wanted to be like the openly gay singer Elton John or he just liked him, admiring his music, colors, and wigs. He has also cited Barbra Streisand as an entertainer he wants to be like: "I want to be an entertainer, not just a singer." Musical styles and themes Considered to be a versatile artist, Martin describes his music as Latin pop, saying: "When you say 'Latin pop', the spectrum is so broad, It's inevitable to not be influenced by everything that's happening in the industry, but always keeping your identity firm by knowing who you are." He has also described his music as fusion, while noting that he does not "ride the waves that are in fashion at the moment". Music critics have described his songs to be influenced by Latin pop, pop, dance, adult contemporary, ballad, reggaeton, Latin, African, Caribbean, rock, salsa, flamenco, mariachi, urban, tropical, samba, cumbia, bachata, merengue, dembow, rumba, banda, descarga, funk, bomba, plena, folk, batucada, ranchera, vallenato, reggae, dancehall, jíbaro, bolero, mambo, Europop, house, disco, EDM, dance-pop, electro, house, techno, dubstep, world music, Middle Eastern, Brazilian funk, folk-pop, burlesque, waltz, ambient, downtempo, fusion, crossover, bossa nova, alternative rock, pop rock, soft pop, soft rock, hardcore punk, heavy metal, R&B, religious, jazz, swing, blues, soul, big band, trap, hip-hop, country, acoustic, electronic, tropical, doo-wop, surf, tango, ska, and rock and roll. Martin sings in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, and French. About his lyrics, Martin has emphasized that although his music will always make the listener dance, it does not mean his lyrics "have to be meaningless" and he sings about love and heartbreak, as well as "things that are good for a society", such as "freedom, freedom of expression, and social justice". He has also declared that as a Latino, he is not afraid of sexuality and sings about sexuality and sensuality, bringing his culture with him onstage. Voice Martin possesses a dramatic tenor vocal range. Peter Gilstrap from Variety commented that his "powerful voice" is "capable of belt or lilt", while The Jerusalem Posts Noa Amouyal described his voice as "soulful" and "very powerful". In 1995, Enrique Lopetegui of the Los Angeles Times noted Martin's "improved vocal skills" on A Medio Vivir. Also from the Los Angeles Times, Ernesto Lechner later praised his vocal for being "charismatic enough to handle both ballads and up-tempo tunes". Similarly, Billboards Chuck Taylor expressed "She's All I Ever Had" boasts "a versatility that contrasts nicely" with Martin's previous single, "Livin' la Vida Loca", labeling his vocal on the former "tender and heartfelt". Steve Gerrard of the Montreal Rocks complimented "his vocal maturity" on A Quien Quiera Escuchar. Music videos and performances Billboard labeled Martin "a video icon", and ranked him as the 79th Greatest Music Video Artist of All Time in 2020, stating: "From the moment he sashayed up to the mic in 'Livin La Vida Loca' all dressed in black, and gave us that look, the Menudo alum became the most memorable and watchable drop-dead handsome guy in pop music." He has collaborated with various directors to produce his music videos, including Carlos Perez, Wayne Isham, Jessy Terrero, Simón Brand, Gustavo Garzón, Nigel Dick, Kacho Lopez, and Memo del Bosque. "Livin' la Vida Loca" was nominated for Video of the Year at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, making Martin the first Latin artist in history to receive a nomination in this category. It won a total of five awards at the ceremony, making it rank among the videos with most wins in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. The explicit sexual scenes of the music video for "She Bangs" were met with criticism from the audience; several American television stations cut the scenes when airing the video. According to the Daily Records John Dingwall, with the visual, Martin ditched his teen idol image by transforming to a more mature one. It was consequently banned in several Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic. Martin told MTV News that the video represented freedom rather than his sexuality. The video was awarded Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Best Clip of the Year — Latin at the 2001 Billboard Music Video Awards, and Video of the Year at the 13th Lo Nuestro Awards. Martin has been noticed for "dance moves of his own" and his "bon-bon shaking dance moves". Carol Sandoval from VIX named him the "best dancer on any stage worldwide", highlighting his hips movement and "successful turns". He was ranked as the ninth best male dancer by the Evening Standard and the tenth Male Singer Who Can Dance by WatchMojo, being the only Latin entertainer on both lists. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "an incredible dancer". Billboards Jessica Roiz labeled him "a true showman", noting his "many outfit changes", "various dance performances", and "different stage set for each song". Jon Pareles of The New York Times described him as "an all-around showman" and Varietys Peter Gilstrap called him "every inch the showman", both recognizing his vocal abilities, while the former also commented he is "a dancer as muscular and hard-working as anyone in his troupe", mentioning his "likable, good-hearted character" and "steadfast Puerto Rican pride". Music critics have mostly praised his concerts for the choreographies, video screens, visual effects, stage, Latin influences, and Martin's vocals, costume changes, energy, sensuality, dance moves, and gestures, while the quality of sounds and sound mixes have received mixed reviews. Billboards Marjua Estevez described Martin's performance of "La Copa de la Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards as "the most memorable Latin performance at a Grammy Awards show", and the publication ranked it as the 54th Greatest Award Show Performance of All Time on their 2017 list. The performance was additionally placed on a 2017 unranked list of "Top 20 Best Grammy Performances of All Time" by Gold Derby, and on a 2019 list of "The Most Unforgettable Grammys Performances of All Time" by InStyle. In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked it as the 15th Greatest Grammy Performance of All Time, naming it "easily the biggest star-making moment in Grammy history". Public image Martin became a teen idol with his debut as a member of Menudo, and a pop icon following global fame as a solo artist. Journalists have written about his humble personality and "beautiful soul". Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "one of the most acclaimed and admired creative artists ever". La República staff described him as "one of the most admired and desired singers", while authors of ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most respected Latin stars in the world", "one of the most prodigious voices in music in Spanish", and "one of the most beloved talents in the entertainment industry worldwide". Also from ¡Hola!, Cristina Noé named him "one of the most loved artists in the world", while a writer of Clarín named him "one of the most applauded Latin singers on the planet". Metro Puerto Rico stated that he "raised the name of Puerto Rico internationally". He was ranked as one of the top-10 "emerging personalities" of 2010 by Google Zeitgeist, and was the eighth most searched musician on Google in 2022. In 2014, Gay Star News referred to Martin as "the most famous Latin pop star in the world", while Variety described him as "Puerto Rico's arguably most famous son" in 2021. He is ranked as the most famous Latin music artist in the United States, according to YouGov surveys in 2023. During the 2000s, Martin was known for "guarding his private life" and being "uncomfortable discussing intimate aspects of his personal life"; he used to insist on asking public to focus on his music and "steered interviewers away from his personal life". However, he chose to live both his "professional and personal life", making his private life public since the early 2010s. In 2021, he went on the cover of People with the title "No More Secrets" and told the magazine that he is "a man with no secrets", stating that he is "more comfortable in his own skin than ever before". Martin is one of the most followed celebrities on social media, with accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. He stated about social media that he wishes he had "something as powerful as" them since his debut: "Obviously I like to have direct contact with the public, with the media. It's extremely important, but today, from my home, I can talk to millions of people and see their immediate reaction." He is noticed for his friendly interactions with his fans, who are called "Sexy Souls". Wax statues of Martin are on display at the Madame Tussauds wax museums in San Francisco, Sydney, and Orlando. The last one was moved from Las Vegas to Orlando for the opening of the museum in spring 2015. Fashion Martin is considered to be a sex symbol, and journalists describe him as "the Latin heartthrob". His fashion and style evolution, from "as '80s as you'd expect" during his time with Menudo to "a style groove, often opting for sharp, tailored suits with clean lines" since 2009, has been noticed by the media. Natalia Trejo from ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most stylish Latin men in the entertainment industry", highlighting his "baggy leather pants", "tailored suits", and "color-block blazers" that have marked "some of the noteworthy trends of each decade". The reviewer also commented that Martin is "an example of mixing business with casual" and has "always had a personal sense of style". JD Institute of Fashion Technology views Martin as a fashion icon, praising him for "pushing the fashion boundaries with every new look". In 1997, he went on the cover of People en Españols first edition of 25 Most Beautiful; he has since "been a constant presence" on their 25 or 50 Most Beautiful lists. Two years later, he was featured on the cover of both Rolling Stone and Time magazines. Martin is considered to be one of the sexiest men in the world, according to various publications. In 2012, he was voted the sexiest man alive on Broadway.com. The following year, VH1 ranked him as the 28th Sexiest Artist of All Time, stating: "Ricky looks like the model in the magazine ads you stare at in awe thinking, 'There's no way he's that perfect in person'." In 2014, Entertainment Tonight listed him among the Sexiest Men Alive, while Revista Estilo placed him on the list of "the 10 Sexiest Singers" in 2016. He was ranked at number 16 on the list of "the 50 Hottest Men of All Time" by Harper's Bazaar in 2018, being the only Latin man on their list. In 2019, TN described Martin as "the sexiest man in the world". He has been noted for looking younger than his age, with Billboards Chris Payne describing him as "ageless". The singer has attended several fashion shows, including the Giorgio Armani show at Milan Fashion Week in 2011, the Marc Jacobs show in 2013, the Berluti menswear spring-summer 2020 show at Paris Fashion Week, the Dior men's pre-fall 2020 show, and the Virgil Abloh Spring-Summer 2022 show held by Louis Vuitton. Personal life Sexual orientation and early relationships According to an interview with Rolling Stone in 1999, Martin experienced his first kiss at age thirteen and lost his virginity at fourteen in Argentina. In 1990, shortly after he had arrived in Mexico to star in Mamá Ama el Rock, he met a woman, who was the host of a television show. They began dating quickly and broke up a few months later. In 1992, he fell in love with Mexican singer Alejandra Guzmán, who was separated from her husband at the time. They began dating until Guzmán returned to her husband and pretended Martin was her assistant on a phone call, while she was sleeping with her husband. In an interview with Univision, Martin admitted that she broke his heart. In the same year, Martin was rumored to be in a relationship with Argentine tennis player Gabriela Sabatini. Sabatini's sister-in-law, Catherine Fulop, confirmed the rumor in 2020. During the time he was playing in General Hospital, he met a "very handsome" man at a radio station, "stopped fearing [his] sexuality", and began dating him. Martin's mother supported him when she discovered that he was in love with a man, saying: "I love you, my son, I'm so happy for you. Bring it on. I'm right behind you." However, after the relationship ended, Martin "locked [his] feelings even deeper inside" and began dating women again. He recalls: "I already felt it was hard to be a Latino in Hollywood; what could have been more difficult than being Latino and gay?" Martin began dating Mexican television host Rebecca de Alba in 1994; they were in an on-and-off relationship until 2005. De Alba later revealed that she became pregnant several times in her life, but lost all of the pregnancies, expressing that one of them was by Martin. Martin also had relationships with Lilly Melgar, Adriana Biega, Maital Saban, and Inés Misan during his breakup times with de Alba in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He declared that "there was chemistry with them" and he "wasn't fooling anyone". In August 2008, Martin became a father to twin boys named Matteo and Valentino, born via gestational surrogacy. He explained that he chose surrogacy to become a parent for being "intriguing and faster" than adoption, which was complicated and could take a long time. In March 2010, Martin publicly came out as gay via a message on his website, stating: "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am." Years later, he revealed that although his music was "heard all over the world" and he "could high five God" in 1999, he "wasn't living to the fullest" and was sad and depressed. He kept asking himself, "Am I gay? Am I bisexual? Am I confused? What am I?", explaining: "Sexuality is one complicated thing. It's not black and white. It's filled with colors. When I was dating women, I was in love with women. It felt right, it felt beautiful." In an interview with Vanity Fair, he declared: "There was love, passion. I do not regret anything, any of the relationships I lived, they taught me a lot, both men and women." Martin also told Fama!: "I know that I like both men and women, I'm against sexual labels, we are simply human beings with emotional and sexual needs. I like to enjoy sex in total freedom, so I'm open to having sex with a woman if I feel desire." Despite this, he expressed that he would not be interested in "an ongoing relationship with a woman", stating: "Men are my thing". In 2000, American broadcast journalist Barbara Walters asked Martin about his sexuality on national television: "You could stop these rumors. You could say, 'Yes I am gay or no I'm not.'" Martin, who answered with "I just don't feel like it" at the time, later revealed that her question had made him feel "violated", since he "was just not ready to come out" and was "very afraid"; he said that it resulted in "a little PTSD" that "still haunts him". Martin dated Puerto Rican economist Carlos González Abella from 2010 to 2014, as his first relationship with a man after coming out as gay. Marriage Syrian-Swedish painter Jwan Yosef shared a photo of himself and Martin on Instagram on March 30, 2016, with the caption: "Obviously we're starting a band." Soon it was rumored that Yosef was Martin's new boyfriend. Martin confirmed their relationship on April 18, 2016, and they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the amfAR Inspiration Gala. Martin later revealed that he met Yosef on Instagram and they "were talking for like six months without [him] hearing his voice". Subsequently, Martin went to London, where Yosef was living, and they met each other. On November 16, 2016, during an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, he announced that he has proposed to Yosef and they are engaged. In January 2018, Martin confirmed that he has secretly married Yosef: "I'm a husband, but we're doing a heavy party in a couple of months, I'll let you know." On December 31, 2018, they announced that they have welcomed their first daughter together, named Lucia Martin-Yosef. Martin later explained that Lucia was born on December 24, coinciding with his 47th birthday. In September 2019, while accepting an award at the 23rd annual Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National Dinner, he announced that they are expecting their fourth child. On October 29, 2019, he shared a photo of himself, Yosef, and their newborn son, named Renn Martin-Yosef, with the caption: "Our son Renn Martin-Yosef has been born." Beliefs and religion During an interview with People in 2002, Martin expressed that he believes in "love", "the power of healing", and "God", thanks to his parents. The name he chose for his son Matteo means "gift from God". According to his statements in a 2021 interview, he still believes in God. He was raised Catholic but he said is not "the person who would ever look down upon one religion". He expressed that he also admires and likes Buddhist philosophy, but does not subscribe to the religion, since if he does, he cannot "be of anything else"; he does not want to be limited in certain aspects and follow a religion's specific rules. He tries to remain "open to everything" and makes "a concerted effort to always find new teachings and new paths" everywhere he goes and in every situation he finds himself in. Martin believes that everyone can "decide what makes them happy" and although "everyone needs to accept the life they were given", it does not mean they "should not live it as fully as possible". Health and sports Martin began practicing yoga after a trip to Thailand in 1997. He also began practicing meditation following a trip to India. In 2021, he explained that he gets up, before his family, every morning at 5:30 and puts himself in a lotus position and oxygenates his body. He also expressed that he has a gym in his house, saying: "If I have space to see myself in the mirror and put on my products, then I also have to have space for my body." During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in 2017, Martin revealed that he "was diagnosed with high cholesterol" at age eighteen. Although he did not pay attention to the high cholesterol at the time, it made him decide to become a vegetarian since 2013 to reduce cholesterol, despite loving meat as "a Latin man". In 2020, he opened up that he suffered from anxiety for the first time in his life, following the COVID-19 lockdowns, stating that making music became his "medicine". Real estate In March 2001, Martin purchased a 7,082-square-foot house in Miami Beach for $6.4 million; he sold the unit for $10.6 million in 2005. In September 2004, he paid $11.9 million for an 11,000-square-foot Mediterranean-style villa in Los Angeles, which he sold in 2006 for $15 million. In May 2005, he purchased a 9,491-square-foot house in Miami Beach for $10 million; he sold the villa for $10.6 million in 2012. In 2007, he paid $16.2 million for a mansion in Golden Beach. He sold the property in 2012 for $12.8 million, incurring a loss. In the same year, he bought a 3,147-square-foot condominium in New York City for $5.9 million; he sold the condo for $7.1 million in 2017. In 2014, he rented a 900-square-metre mansion in Sydney, which became famous as "the Bronte Wave House" and was sold for $16 million in May 2015, marking one of the most expensive properties sold in the city that year. In December 2016, he purchased an 11,300-square-foot mansion in Beverly Hills. The estate, which is Martin's current house, has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms with outdoor seating areas scattered throughout 33,000 square feet. It is a "private getaway in the middle of the city", located up the street from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Martin also owns a property in Puerto Rico and a private 19.7-acre island in Brazil. He purchased the latter for $8 million in 2008. Legacy Martin has been regarded as the "King of Latin Pop" by various publications, such as the Grammy Awards, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Time, People, Vogue, The Independent, Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Tonight Canada, NBC News, and ABC News. Additionally, he has been referred to as the "King of Latin Music", the "Latin Pop God", the "Latin King of Pop", the "Latin American King of Pop", the "Latin King", the "Crossover Latin King", the "Puerto Rican Pop King", the "Salsa-Pop King", and the "King of World Cup". Martin is known as one of the most influential artists in the world. Billboard ranked him as one of the 30 Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time, while NBC News introduced him as an "influential Latin celebrity". In 2014, he won the award for the most influential international artist at the 18th China Music Awards. He was ranked among "25 musicians who broke barriers" by Stacker in 2019, while in 2020, Spin ranked him at number 27 on the list of "most influential artists of the past 35 years", as the only Latin artist on their list. In 2022, Show News named him "the most influential global artist in history". Martin's song "María (Pablo Flores Remix)", which was ranked among the "Greatest Latin Pop Song of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and "11 remixes of classic Latin hits" by Billboard, "launched the Latin and dance music crossover of the '90s", according to the latter. Olivier Pérou from Le Point commented that "some have even learned, thanks to him, to count to three in Spanish" following the popularity of the song. "La Copa de la Vida", which has been hailed as the Best World Cup Anthem of All-Time by multiple sources, became a "musical template" for World Cup anthems, and Martin's Latin and dance crossover style has been much copied in the anthems, as well as soccer chant "Ole! Ole! Ole!" in the lyrics, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As believed by Esquire, the song "inaugurated this musical subgenre" of Latin. In his review for Pitchfork, Corban Goble wrote that if World Cup anthems someday would be "given their own textbook", "La Copa de la Vida" would be "the standard-bearer for the whole genre". Martin is known as the pioneer in getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition. Following his performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys, and the success of "Livin' la Vida Loca" and Ricky Martin (1999), he opened the gates for many Latin artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Santana, and Enrique Iglesias who released their crossover albums and followed him onto the top of the charts. His performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys not only changed the course of his career, but also altered how people regard Latin music in America. It has been known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide, that effectively ushered in the "Latin explosion". Then-United Talent Agency head Rob Prinz described the rendition as "the single biggest game changing moment for any artist in the history of the Grammys". According to Billboard, it has been cited as the beginning of the "Latin Pop invasion", which powerfully affected the US mainstream. According to Entertainment Tonight, "Livin' la Vida Loca" paved the way for a large number of other Latin artists, and is "credited as the song that helped other Latin artists break through to English-speaking markets". According to The Independent, the single is "widely regarded as the song that began the first Latin pop explosion", while Peoples Jason Sheeler credited it as the song that "led the way for the late-'90s so-called 'Latin explosion' that dominated pop music into the new century: Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, and Jennifer Lopez". Angie Romero from Billboard wrote: "If you look up 'crossover' in the dictionary, there should be a photo of Ricky shaking his bon bon and/or 'Livin' la Vida Loca'." Jim Farber from Daily News noted that Ricky Martin "provides a textbook example of how to mix Latin beats with pop tunes and rock intonations". St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Kevin C. Johnson stated that Martin took "the music to places Jon Secada, Selena and Santana never could". He also mentioned that even "Gloria Estefan at her peak, failed to muster up the kind of hype and hoopla surrounding Martin". Celia San Miguel of Tidal Magazine stated that Martin "highlighted the public's thirst for a different kind of pop" in 1999, crediting "Martin and the paths he created" responsible for the Latin music and Spanish and Spanglish lyrics being "a commonplace phenomenon on English-language radio" in 2019. In her review for Grammy.com, Ana Monroy Yglesias said Martin led a "major music moment in 1999" with Ricky Martin, and along with him, "the first major boom of Spanish-language artists", such as Shakira and Lopez, came into the "U.S. pop landscape". The late 1990s Latin explosion also resulted in the launch of the Latin Recording Academy. Gabriel Abaroa Jr., the president and chief executive officer of the Latin Recording Academy, expressed that the plan of its launch was "immediately after the Ricky Martin success". Cuban American musician and producer Emilio Estefan added: "After the success with Ricky Martin, everybody opened their eyes and realized how important it was to bring diversity and multiethnic elements into [mainstream American] music." Many artists have cited Martin as an influence, declared themselves as his fan, or have admired respect and recognition for him as a musician including Abraham Mateo, Bad Bunny, Camila Cabello, Camilo, Carla Morrison, Christian Chávez, CNCO, Danna Paola, Enrique Iglesias, J Balvin, J-Hope, Jimin, Karol G, India Martínez, Luis Fonsi, Maite Perroni, Maluma, Neha Mahajan, Pedro Capó, Prince Royce, Rauw Alejandro, Reik, Romeo Santos, Rosalía, Sebastián Ligarde, Sebastián Yatra, Shakira, Tini, Vadhir Derbez, William Hung, Wisin, and Ximena Sariñana. Both Maluma and J Balvin have described Martin as a "teacher" and credited him as an artist who "opened the doors" for them, while Maluma has also expressed: "Ricky Martin is one of the artists I wanted to be growing up. He's my idol in the industry."Citations regarding J Balvin's statements about Martin: Spanish singer Rosalía also cited Martin as a "teacher". Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny talked about Martin's legacy during an episode of Behind the Music: "There's no doubt that he opened the door for an entire generation of Latin artists. I am doing great things today in the music industry thanks to those doors that he opened." He also mentioned that he is inspired by Martin's coming out as gay: "You don't have to be gay to be inspired by that action of honesty and freedom, of being yourself against the world despite everything you deserve. I look at it like a very inspiring moment for anybody. At least for me, it's very inspirational." Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta explained to The Guardian that "some Latin stars such as Maluma and Bad Bunny sing in their native language" and do not need to sing in English to get noticed, because they already had representatives like Shakira, Martin, and Jennifer Lopez, but since her country "hasn't had a major international pop star before", she uses "whatever language will get the market's attention". Portrayal in television In July 2019, SOMOS Productions, Endemol Shine Boomdog, and Piñolywood Studios announced the production of a biographical web television series about Menudo, titled Subete a Mi Moto. Consisting of 15 episodes of 60 minutes each, the series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on October 9, 2020, in Mexico, Latin America, and Spain. It was filmed in Mexico and Puerto Rico, and Martin was portrayed by actors Felipe Albors and Ethan Schwartz. The series premiered in the United States on February 14, 2021, on Estrella TV. On the review aggregation website Tomatazos, the first season has a positive score of 75%. The website's critical consensus summary states, "A good trip to the past that recalls a band that defined the youth of a certain public, but that doesn't ignore the darkest moments in the lives of its members." Other ventures Books On August 19, 2010, Martin announced that he had been working on his memoir, mentioning its title as Me and publish date as November 2, 2010. He expressed that writing the book was "one of the reasons" he decided to come out earlier that year. The book also had a Spanish edition title Yo (), which was published simultaneously by Celebra. He stated that writing his memoir allowed him "to explore the different paths and experiences" that have led him to be who he is, noting that it "was not easy but allowed for an incredible spiritual journey". Me spent several weeks at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. In 2019, ¡Hola! staff ranked the book among "12 Books by Celebrities to Inspire and Motivate You", while Book Riot placed it on an unranked list of the "Best Celebrity Books You Should Read This Year" in 2020. Martin's first children's book Santiago the Dreamer in Land Among the Stars was published by Celebra and illustrated by Patricia Castelao in November 2013 for ages between five and nine. Its Spanish-language edition, Santiago El Soñador en Entre Las Estrellas, was published simultaneously. Martin expressed that the book was inspired by his "personal life, with fantasy added to it", as well as "a lot of cartoons". Products and endorsements Martin endorsed the 2012 Viva Glam campaign with rapper Nicki Minaj, which raised $270 million for the Mac AIDS Fund. In October 2020, Martin announced that he would launch his company, Martin Music Lab in partnership with music engineers Jaycen Joshua and Michael Seaberg. The company is centered around a new audio technique called "Orbital Audio", that "creates a new type of immersive, headphone listening experience". Martin used the technique on his EP Pausa, while several artists including Bad Bunny, Residente, Myke Towers, and A$AP Rocky are going to work with the company. The latter plans to release his whole upcoming studio album, using "Orbital Audio". Martin is going to expand the technique "beyond the music industry and tap into the movies, sports and, most notably, the wellness and meditation space". In 2021, Martin partnered with skin care company Kumiko. The skincare line, created by Chilean cosmetologist Catalina Aguirre, is the first to combine "mesotherapy, matcha, and cutting-edge European technology into unique multi-action formulas that penetrate the dermis with powerful anti-aging properties and lifting benefits". Activism Philanthropy While on a trip to India in 2002, Martin witnessed three minor girls who were about to be sold into prostitution and rescued them. The following year, he became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and then met with activists and decided to fight against human trafficking, which is the second-most lucrative crime in the world. In 2004, Martin launched the Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's "existence through research and community initiatives, anchored in the defense of children and youth rights". In the same year, he appealed to the United Nations for international help to fight against sex tourism. In January 2005, following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Martin visited Thailand to assess the needs of the minor survivors who were "extremely vulnerable to traffickers". Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation signed an alliance in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to construct 224 homes for the tsunami-affected families. The project was completed in December 2006. In March 2006, the foundation collaborated with the International Organization for Migration in the Llama y Vive () campaign, which focuses on facilitating "the prevention of human trafficking and the protection of young people, victims of child trafficking and prosecution of traffickers". In January 2010, along with many celebrities, Martin operated the charity telethon Hope for Haiti Now to raise donations for the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation created the first program of community social action against child trafficking in Martin's native Puerto Rico, titled "Se Trata" (). In 2012, the foundation participated in the making of the Child Protection Model Law on the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. In 2016, Martin visited Syrian refugees in Lebanon and played with the children and talked to them in an informal refugee camp. Following the Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017, the Ricky Martin Foundation helped people and handed over homes that were rebuilt after the losses; Martin launched a viral campaign of selling a black T-shirt with the Puerto Rican flag stamped on it in order to raise the funds. The T-shirts were designed by Martin's twin boys Matteo and Valentino, while many celebrities including Will Smith, Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, and Maluma supported the campaign. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin created a campaign to help health care workers through the non-profit organization Project Hope. He expressed: "As you know, health care professionals are extremely vulnerable and professionals around the world don't have personal protection equipment they need to prevent them getting infected." In February 2021, Martin collaborated with Antonia Novello to launch mass vaccination events in Puerto Rico. Following the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Martin honored an effort called "Black Out Tuesday" and launched the hashtag #knowthestruggle, giving his social media to the voices of the community that are "looking for justice", to learn more about what is happening. For his humanitarian efforts and fighting against human trafficking, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the Peace Summit Award by the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, the TIP Report Hero Award by the United States Department of State, the Spirit of Hope Award by Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Award, the Award of Inspiration by amfAR Gala, the Leader of Change Award by the Foundation for Social Change, the Humanitarian Award by the Global Gift Foundation, the Humanitarian Award by the Hispanic Federation, the Corazón Latino Award by the iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, the International Humanitarian Award by the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Agent of Change Award by the International Peace Honors, the PODER Social Leadership Awards, and the Agent of Change Award by the Premios Juventud. Politics On January 20, 2001, during the first inauguration of George W. Bush, Martin performed "The Cup of Life" and danced with him. Martin's view of Bush changed over the Iraq War, as expressed in his declaration to BBC News that he will "always condemn war and those who promulgate it". He also stuck up his middle finger while singing the president's name in his 2003 song "Asignatura Pendiente" at a concert. At the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards, Martin expressed his disagreement with the Arizona SB 1070 bill, a proposed law that would have required police officers to request documents from individuals whom they suspected to be illegal immigrants. Martin campaigned for the 44th president of the United States Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and thanked him for an "outstanding presidency" in 2016, while calling him "an amazing leader". Also in 2016, he was an active ally to the Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton campaign, while condemning Donald Trump's hateful comments about immigrants. He also performed his hits during the "Hillary Clinton: She's With Us" concert at the Greek Theatre on June 6, 2016. Telegramgate, also known as Chatgate, was a political scandal involving Ricardo Rosselló, then Governor of Puerto Rico, which began on July 8, 2019, with the leak of hundreds of pages of a group chat on the messaging application Telegram between Rosselló and members of his cabinet. The messages were considered vulgar, misogynistic, and homophobic toward several individuals and groups, including Martin. Therefore, Martin, Bad Bunny, Residente and several other artists, and more than half a million Puerto Ricans led the call to take to the streets of Puerto Rico, demanding Rosselló's resignation. In September 2020, Martin, Luis Fonsi, and actress Eva Longoria attended a campaign event in Kissimmee, Florida to support the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for the 2020 United States presidential election. During an interview with Variety, Martin stated: "I've been supporting Biden forever, I think he is the only option we have and he is great and he has been in politics all his life. This is the moment. We all need to get together and be loud about the course of this nation." Following the election of Biden as 46th president of the United States, Martin said "Bye-bye" to Trump on social media, and shared a photo of himself along with Biden on Instagram. In May 2021, Martin demonstrated his support for the Ni una menos movement, condemning femicides and violence against women in Puerto Rico, while calling authorities to protect women. He further expressed that no woman should fear for her safety and urged authorities to take steps in order to prevent these acts. In the same month, he supported the 2021 Colombian protests. Later that year, the singer raised his voice in support of the 2021 Cuban protests against the Castro regime for the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, stating: "This is very important. Our brothers and sisters in Cuba need us to inform the world what they are experiencing today. Let's fill the networks before they remove the internet in the country. Humanitarian aid for Cuba NOW." LGBT advocacy As a gay man, Martin actively supports LGBT rights worldwide since his coming out in 2010. Even before coming out, he was noted by the mainstream media for being popular among gay men and having a large gay fan base. He also went on the cover of the American LGBT-interest magazine The Advocate in July 1999. Despite this, he admitted that he felt homosexuality was evil since he was raised as a Catholic and targeted his anger toward others, especially gay men: "I was very angry, very rebellious. I used to look at gay men and think, 'I'm not like that, I don't want to be like that, that's not me.' I was ashamed." He added that he "had internalized homophobia" back then. He is currently considered to be a gay icon, with PinkNews labeling him "a strong advocate of LGBT rights" who "expressed support for equal marriage" since coming out. As the first mainstream Latin music artist to come out, Martin's coming out was a game-changer for "Latin Pride". Billboards Lucas Villa stated: "With Martin's announcement, gay artists, who had long kept their sexual identities a secret, finally had a beacon of hope. If Martin could come out with his career unscathed, there was hope for other artists in Latin music to start doing the same." He added that since then, "a growing number of Latin artists have either come out after years in the spotlight, or many have simply started their careers by embracing their gay identities". In 2010, GLAAD then-president Jarrett Barrios expressed that Martin's coming out as gay leads "hundreds of millions of people" to have "a cultural connection with an artist, a celebrity and, perhaps most importantly, a father who happens to be gay", adding that "his decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in U.S., in Latin America and worldwide". In 2019, Human Rights Campaign then-president Alphonso David expressed that Martin "has used his international stage to advocate for LGBTQ people around the world" with his "unique voice and passionate activism". The following year, Suzy Exposito from Rolling Stone argued that with risking his career and coming out, Martin "set the scene for Bad Bunny to be free in many ways that, during his own breakthrough moment, he could not". Martin expressed support for same-sex marriage during an interview on Larry King Live in 2010. He has then delivered speeches about LGBT rights at the United Nations Homophobia Conference, the GLAAD Media Awards, and the Human Rights Campaign. He also raised his voice to support gay marriage in Puerto Rico before its legalization in 2015. In March 2016, Martin met with Chilean LGBT rights group Fundación Iguales to learn about the challenges LGBT citizens face there. AT the meeting, he said that he wants "equal marriage rights for Chile" and he wants his sons to grow up in a world where "there are no second-class citizens". Following the Colombia's highest court voting against an anti same-sex marriage proposal in April 2016, Martin tweeted: "Love and equality win, Colombia says YES to same-sex marriage." During an interview with Vulture, Martin talked about his role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace and how he wanted his portrayal to help "normalize open relationships". In June 2019, he published an open letter slamming a religious liberty bill, saying: "As a defender of human rights and a member of the LGBTT community, I am vehemently opposed to the proposed measure imposed upon us under the guise of religious freedom, that projects us to the world as a backwards country." Puerto Rico's then-governor backed down and withdrew his support of the bill following Martin's statement. In June 2020, Martin performed his song "Recuerdo" with Carla Morrison for a virtual event, Can't Cancel Pride: Helping LGBTQ+ People in Need, to raise visibility and funds for LGBTQ+ communities. He appeared at the virtual event in the following year as well. In February 2021, Martin was named national spokesperson for the onePULSE Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on managing "the design and construction of the permanent national memorial and museum dedicated to the Pulse nightclub tragedy". Later that year, he expressed that he wants to "normalize families like" his, in an interview with People. Several of Martin's music videos feature diversity in sexual orientations and same-sex couples, including "The Best Thing About Me Is You", "Disparo al Corazón", "Fiebre", and "Tiburones". For his activism and advocacy for LGBTQ community, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the GLAAD Vito Russo Award, the Gala Vanguard Award by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the International Icon Award by the British LGBT Awards, the National Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign, the Trailblazer Award by the LGBT Center Dinner, the Celebrity Activist of the Year by LGBTQ Nation, and the Legacy Award by Attitude Awards. Achievements Throughout his career, Martin has won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, three Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, a Billboard Music Video Award, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards (including the Excellence Award), and a Guinness World Record. As an actor, he was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2007, Martin was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. Martin is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time and the Greatest Hot Latin Songs Artists of All Time by Billboard, while his album Vuelve was placed at number five on Billboards Top 20 Latin Albums Of All Time in 2018. In 1998, his song, "Perdido Sin Ti" reached the top of the Latin Pop Airplay chart, displacing Martin's own "Vuelve", making him the first artist on the chart's history to replace himself. His song "Livin' la Vida Loca" became the first number-one song on Billboard Hot 100, which was made entirely in Pro Tools, and achieved the first number one hit for his label, Columbia. It also became the first song in history to top Billboards Adult Pop Airplay, Pop Airplay, and Rhythmic Airplay charts, holding its record as the only song to do so for 14 years. On May 15, 1999, it became the first single ever to rule four different Billboard charts and made Martin the first act to simultaneously scale a pop, Latin, and dance chart. Two weeks later, he became the first artist to simultaneously top the Billboard 200, Hot Latin Tracks, Hot Dance Music/Club Play, Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, Top 40 Tracks, and the Billboard Hot 100. His song "Tal Vez" (2003) marked the first number one debut on Billboard Hot Latin Songs in the 21st century. Martin is the first and only artist with Spanish-language entries on Billboard Hot 100 in three decades. In 2020, he became the first and only artist in history to enter the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart across five decades, including his work as part of Menudo. The following year, he became the first male Latin artist in history to have 4 songs from different decades to have over 100 million streams on Spotify. He owns the record as the artist with most top 20s on the US Latin Pop Airplay chart, with 51 songs, and is the runner-up of most top 10s. He is the fourth artist with the most number one songs in the history of the Hot Latin Songs chart. Additionally, he holds the record as the most Spanish-language entries on ARIA top 50 singles chart, with three. On October 11, 2007, then-mayor of Miami Beach, Florida David Dermer awarded him the key to the city of Miami Beach. Puerto Rico named August 31 the "International Ricky Martin Day" in 2008. The Government of Spain granted Spanish nationality to Martin in 2011, for being "recognized in different artistic facets". In 2018, in recognition of "his dedication to the island and people of Puerto Rico, his philanthropic work to eliminate human trafficking across the Caribbean, and his commitment to the arts", the singer received a proclamation naming June 7 the "Ricky Martin Day" in New York City. Throughout his career, Martin has sold over 70 million records making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. In 2022, La Nación estimated his net worth at US$130 million. Discography Ricky Martin (1991) Me Amaras (1993) A Medio Vivir (1995) Vuelve (1998) Ricky Martin (1999) Sound Loaded (2000) Almas del Silencio (2003) Life (2005) Música + Alma + Sexo (2011) A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015) Filmography Mas Que Alcanzar una estrella (1992) Hercules – Latin American dub (1997) Idle Hands (1999) Ricky Martin: One Night Only (1999) Minions – Latin American dub (2015) The Latin Explosion: A New America (2015) Ricky Martin: Behind the Vegas Residency (2017) Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) El cuartito (2021) Theatre Les Misérables (1996), Broadway – Marius Pontmercy Evita (2012), Broadway – Ché Tours and residenciesHeadlining tours Ricky Martin Tour (1992) Me Amaras Tour (1993–1994) A Medio Vivir Tour (1995–1997) Vuelve World Tour (1998) Livin' la Vida Loca Tour (1999–2000) One Night Only with Ricky Martin (2005–2006) Black and White Tour (2007) Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour (2011) Ricky Martin Live (2013–2014) Live in Mexico (2014) One World Tour (2015–2018) Ricky Martin en Concierto (2018-2019) Movimiento Tour (2020-2022) Sinfónico Tour (2022-2023)Co-headlining tours Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert (with Enrique Iglesias) (2021) The Trilogy Tour (with Enrique Iglesias & Pitbull) (2023)Residency' All In (2017–2018) See also Honorific nicknames in popular music List of artists who reached number one in the United States List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart List of Latin pop artists List of multilingual bands and artists List of Puerto Rican Grammy Award winners and nominees List of Puerto Ricans List of Urbano artists Notes References Book sources External links Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century Puerto Rican LGBT people Category:20th-century Puerto Rican male actors Category:20th-century Puerto Rican male singers Category:21st-century Puerto Rican LGBT people Category:21st-century Puerto Rican male actors Category:21st-century Puerto Rican male singers Category:Puerto Rican gay actors Category:Puerto Rican gay musicians Category:Puerto Rican gay writers Category:Gay singers Category:Gay songwriters Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Echo (music award) winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hispanic and Latino American male actors Category:Hispanic and Latino American musicians Category:Latin Grammy Award winners Category:Latin music songwriters Category:Latin pop singers Category:Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year honorees Category:Puerto Rican LGBT singers Category:Puerto Rican LGBT songwriters Category:LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people Category:LGBT people in Latin music Category:LGBT record producers Category:Male actors from San Juan, Puerto Rico Category:Menudo (band) members Category:MTV Europe Music Award winners Category:Naturalised citizens of Spain Category:Puerto Rican activists Category:Puerto Rican expatriates in Australia Category:Puerto Rican expatriates in Mexico Category:Puerto Rican expatriates in Spain Category:Puerto Rican male film actors Category:Puerto Rican male soap opera actors Category:Puerto Rican male television actors Category:Puerto Rican people of Basque descent Category:Puerto Rican people of Canarian descent Category:Puerto Rican people of Corsican descent Category:Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Category:Puerto Rican philanthropists Category:Puerto Rican pop singers Category:Puerto Rican record producers Category:Puerto Rican male singer-songwriters Category:Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Category:Sony Music Latin artists Category:Sony Music Spain artists Category:Spanish-language singers of the United States Category:UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors Category:World Music Awards winners Category:FIFA World Cup ceremonies performers

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Jenny from the Block

"Jenny from the Block" is a song recorded by American singer Jennifer Lopez, which features American rappers Jadakiss and Styles P; both members of The LOX. It was released by Epic Records on September 26, 2002, as the lead single from her third studio album This Is Me... Then (2002).

Music video

The song's accompanying music video was directed by Francis Lawrence. Its theme revolves around the media invading Lopez's life, particularly her relationship with then-boyfriend, Ben Affleck. The video was filmed entirely in Los Angeles, CA from October 18-20, 2002. It premiered on MTV's TRL on November 5, 2002, and on BET's 106 & Park on December 9, 2002. The video begins with surveillance camera footage of Lopez and Affleck in their apartment. Lopez is then shown dancing in the apartment to music on her Mp3 player, which is captured by the paparazzi. She is also seen performing the song (clothed in different outfits) amid bright lights on the streets of New York City with Jadakiss and Styles P. Separate scenes depict Lopez and Affleck on a yacht, sun baking, and swimming in the ocean. Footage of the couple having lunch at a restaurant and stopping at a gas station is also captured by the paparazzi. Lopez later visits a jewelry store, and sings "Loving You" in a recording studio. Finally, the couple are shown spending time together by a pool. Speaking of the video, Melissa Ng of The Spectator wrote: "Before celebrities become stars, they dream about gaining fame, fortune, and being in the spotlight [sic] Jennifer Lopez released a video for her single, Jenny From the Block. The video is basically about how she cannot find privacy with her fiance Ben Affleck. A lot of glamour is associated with fame and fortune; however, along with that glamour comes the loss of privacy." Speaking of the video, Justine Ashley Costanza of International Business Times wrote in 2012: "Back when Lopez was engaged to the wholesome actor, she decided it would be best to make a video about how hard their lives were. Poor J-Lo couldn't lounge on her yacht, be adored in a hot tub, or wear her $1 million engagement ring without someone taking her picture. It's not easy being overly wealthy superstars. The video's premise shows Lopez dealing with the perils of fame the only way she knows how...by taking off most of what she's wearing." CANNOTANSWER

"Jenny from the Block" is a song by American singer Jennifer Lopez, which features American rappers Jadakiss and Styles P, both members of The LOX. It was released by Epic Records on September 26, 2002, as the lead single from her third studio album, This Is Me... Then (2002). The song, first leaked online, was written by Lopez, Troy Oliver, Mr. Deyo, Samuel Barnes, and Jean Claude Olivier. Cory Rooney, Olivier, Barnes, and Oliver produced the song. Another version of the track features solely Lopez, which was part of the Brazilian edition of the album. "Jenny from the Block" is a R&B and old school hip hop song, which lyrically is about Lopez’s desire, despite her level of fame and fortune, to remain humble and true to her roots in The Bronx. The song was noted by critics for using a large amount of musical samples from songs such as 20th Century Steel Band's song "Heaven and Hell Is on Earth" (1975) and Boogie Down Productions' "South Bronx" (1987), and "Hi-Jack" by Enoch Light. While some critics praised the song and theme, others disregarded the lyrics as "silly" and "laughable". Despite this, the song became a commercial success, topping the charts in Canada, reaching number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and charting within the top ten of several major music markets. The song's music video also caused controversy. It featured Lopez and her boyfriend at the time, Ben Affleck, who later credited the video with nearly "ruining his career", in several raunchy scenes through the paparazzi's point of view. The song has been referenced in popular culture and since its release, Lopez has been referred to as "Jenny from the Block" in the media. Background and release This Is Me... Then was released in November 2002. However, "Jenny from the Block" featuring rappers Jadakiss and Styles P of The LOX was leaked by a pop station in Hartford, Connecticut, and later distributed to other stations owned by Infinity Broadcasting. In response, Lopez and Epic Records pushed forward the album's release date to September 26, the same day "Jenny from the Block" was officially sent to US radio. Unlike her previous studio albums: On the 6 (1999) and J.Lo (2001), Lopez had a more "hands-on" role on This Is Me... Then. The album also had more of an adult-R&B sound. Musically, majority of the songs on This Is Me... Then were lyrically "dedicated" to her relationship with then-fiancé, actor Ben Affleck. The Age newspaper said the album was a "declaration" of love for Affleck. During an interview, Lopez said "I wrote a lot of songs inspired, in a way, by what I was going through at the time that this album was being made, and he [Affleck] was definitely a big part of that." Several critics highlighted that the album showed how "smitten" she was, and that the content was borderline "annoying". During the production of the album, Affleck and Lopez were a prominent super couple in the media, and were dubbed "Bennifer". Lopez stated "We try to make the best of it I'm not saying there's not times that we wish [we] could just be going to the movies and come out and there's not a crowd there waiting. You just want to spend your Sunday afternoon not working, but at the same time we both love what we do. If that's something that's part of it, then that's fine. We feel the love and we're very happy about it." The overexposure from the media and public interest in their relationship resulted in less admiration for their work and negatively affected their careers, in particular affecting the video for "Jenny from the Block". Production and lyrics "Jenny from the Block" is an uptempo R&B and old school hip hop song. It was produced by Troy Oliver, written by Andre Deyo, remixed by Samuel Barnes, Jean-Claude Olivier, and contained samples by Enoch Light, Lawrence Parker, Scott Sterling and Michael Oliver. Trackmasters produced the song alongside Oliver and Cory Rooney. The song "intones her modest childhood roots", with Lopez singing in the chorus: "Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got / I'm still, I'm still Jenny from the Block / Used to have a little now I have a lot / No matter where I go, I know where I came from". She implores the listener not to be fooled by the types of rocks that she now possesses, because she is still Jennifer from the same block. She now owns many rocks and despite this, she still knows where she comes from. At the start of her career, J.Lo's first big break was as a backup dancer for New Kids on the Block. "Jenny from the Block" samples a number of songs. The opening line of the track, "Children grow and women producing, men go working, some go stealing, everyone's got to make a living", is derived from 20th Century Steel Band's 1975 song "Heaven and Hell Is on Earth". The constant flute loop through the song is an interpolation of Enoch Light's "Hi-Jack" (1975), while the bridge samples Boogie Down Productions' "South Bronx" (1987). Trackmasters allegedly incorporated the sample of The Beatnuts' song "Watch Out Now" from their album A Musical Massacre (1999), which also sampled "Hi-Jack", on the track. Believing Lopez and the song's producers had stolen their sample of "Hi-Jack" without consent, they subsequently insulted Lopez on the song "Confused Rappers", from their album Milk Me (2004). The group said: "Anybody familiar with our music who heard Jenny From The Block knew it was a Beatnuts beat. There's no getting around it. That's a straight-up bite. It's the same drums, the same flute, the same tempo... everything is our idea. If we never flipped that sample, there would be no Jenny From The Block." Critical response "Jenny from the Block" generated a polarized reception among music critics and pop music fans, with some applauding it as a "strong self statement" and homage to Lopez's roots, and others dismissing it as "silly". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine called the song "infectious", but noted that it is "more like a disease than a chunky casserole". Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly was favorable, writing: "Lopez insists that fame hasn't changed her, and seduced by the breezy pleasure of her new music, we're almost inclined to believe her". Arion Berger of Rolling Stone opined that the song "is worth listening to — its windup/wind-down chorus is as sly and curvy as Lopez". On a list of "17 of the Best Songs About NYC", Time magazine placed "Jenny from the Block" at number twelve. Complex magazine praised the inclusion of the "South Bronx" sample, writing: "After becoming a full-blown superstar whose entire life was different in every way, J. Lo was still trying to convince us she was "real" and still the same old girl from the block. What better way to connect to her roots musically than to put on for her hometown with the greatest Bronx anthem ever put to wax, BDP's "South Bronx"?" Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the song an unfavorable review, calling it "silly" and describing the lyrics as "laughable". James Poletti of Yahoo! Music was also negative, calling it "agonizing" and a "cynical appropriation of hip-hop culture". Writing for The Village Voice, Jon Caramanica was highly unfavorable of "Jenny from the Block", stating that "Jenny aims to fast-talk herself into authenticity". AOL Radio deemed it one of the "100 Worst Songs Ever" in 2010, remarking: "Yup, just your average girl, willing to risk a national TV gig over the size of her 'dressing-room compound.'" In a countdown of "50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs ... Ever", VH1 and Blender ranked "Jenny from the Block" at number thirty-three. Her Campus included the song on a list of "15 Songs We're Embarrassed to Still Know All the Lyrics To". In a television special titled The 100 Most Annoying Pop Songs...We Hate To Love, BBC ranked "Jenny from the Block" at number one-hundred. On a similar special for Channel 4 titled The 100 Worst Pop Records, the song was named the tenth worst song ever. Amy Sciarretto of PopCrush observed in 2012: "'Jenny From the Block' is quite a polarizing track ... Either you love the 'J. Lo' tune because it's boastful and oozes confidence or you hate it because it's cheesy and makes use of flutes." Chart performance On the US Billboard Hot 100, "Jenny from the Block" debuted at number 67 for the week of October 12, 2002. By its third week on the Hot 100, the song had propelled to the top twenty, reaching number 17. For the Billboard issue dated November 23, 2002, it entered the top ten of the Hot 100, jumping to number eight. It also reached the top ten of the Hot 100 Airplay chart, at number nine. The following week, the song continued climbing the Hot 100, moving to number six, while also reaching the top five of the Hot 100 Airplay chart. By December 14, it had peaked at three on the Hot 100, where it remained for three weeks, and also jumped to three on the Airplay chart. Three weeks later, on December 28, "Jenny from the Block" remained stalling at three on the Hot 100 and the Airplay chart. For three weeks it had been blocked from the top spot of both charts by Eminem's "Lose Yourself" and Missy Elliott's "Work It". It peaked at two on the US Mainstream Top 40 Pop Songs and 22 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In Australia, "Jenny from the Block" made its debut inside the top ten at number eight on December 1, 2002. On January 5, 2003, it moved to its peak of five, where it remained for two weeks, and spent a total of sixteen weeks on the chart. The song peaked atop the Billboard Canadian Hot 100, becoming her third number-one there following "If You Had My Love" (1999) and "Love Don't Cost a Thing" (2001). In Italy, it debuted at its peak of number four on December 21, and remained on the chart for sixteen weeks, all of which it remained in the top ten for; exiting on March 6, 2003. In New Zealand, it debuted at 49 on November 11, 2002; it peaked at number six on December 8 and spent a total of sixteen weeks on the chart. It was certified Gold by RIANZ for sales of 7,500 copies. It peaked at number two in Spain on December 24, 2002. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, becoming her ninth top-ten hit in Britain, as well as her fourth song to peak at three. In May 2023, the song was certified platinum for sales and streams exceeding 600,000 units. In Norway, the song debuted at number six and peaked at five. It has been certified platinum there for sales of 10,000 copies. Music video The song's accompanying music video was directed by Francis Lawrence. Its theme revolves around the media invading Lopez's life, particularly her relationship with then-boyfriend, Ben Affleck. The video was filmed entirely in Los Angeles, CA from October 18–20, 2002. It premiered on MTV's TRL on November 5, 2002, and on BET's 106 & Park on December 9, 2002. The video begins with surveillance camera footage of Lopez and Affleck in their apartment. Lopez is then shown dancing in the apartment to music on her Mp3 player, which is captured by the paparazzi. She is also seen performing the song (clothed in different outfits) amid bright lights on the streets of New York City with Jadakiss and Styles P. Separate scenes depict Lopez and Affleck on a yacht, sun tanning, and swimming in the ocean. Footage of the couple having lunch at a restaurant and stopping at a gas station is also captured by the paparazzi. Lopez later visits a jewelry store, and sings "Loving You" in a recording studio. Finally, the couple are shown spending time together by a pool. Speaking of the video, Melissa Ng of The Spectator wrote: "Before celebrities become stars, they dream about gaining fame, fortune, and being in the spotlight [sic] Jennifer Lopez released a video for her single, Jenny From the Block. The video is basically about how she cannot find privacy with her fiancé Ben Affleck. A lot of glamour is associated with fame and fortune; however, along with that glamour comes the loss of privacy." Justine Ashley Costanza of International Business Times wrote in 2012: "Back when Lopez was engaged to the wholesome actor, she decided it would be best to make a video about how hard their lives were. Poor J-Lo couldn't lounge on her yacht, be adored in a hot tub, or wear her $1 million engagement ring without someone taking her picture. It's not easy being overly wealthy superstars. The video's premise shows Lopez dealing with the perils of fame the only way she knows how ... by taking off most of what she's wearing." Live performances "Jenny from the Block" was performed at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards on August 20, 2018. The song was performed by Lopez during the Super Bowl LIV halftime show. Impact "Jenny from the Block" is considered one of Lopez's signature songs and most iconic single. The lyrical content of country artist Faith Hill's 2005 song "Mississippi Girl" was considered to be influenced by the song, with Rolling Stone describing it as "country music's version" of the single; Billboard called it "a countrified 'Jenny from the Block'". Other songs that were noted to have followed the theme of "Jenny from the Block" were Gwen Stefani's "Orange County Girl" and Fergie's "Glamorous". Mexican-American recording artist Becky G recorded a cover version of the song, entitled "Becky from the Block". The song's accompanying music video was shot in Inglewood, California. Lopez made a cameo appearance towards the end of the music video. The lyrics of this version are significantly different from the original. Entertainment Tonight described the version to have "give[n] Jenny's NY-based tune a West Coast slant". Australian rapper Iggy Azalea referenced the song in her verse from Lopez's 2014 song "Booty", stating: "The last time the world seen a booty this good, it was on Jenny from the block." In her 2018 single, "Dinero" featuring DJ Khaled, American rapper Cardi B ends her verse by referencing rapper's and Lopez's beginnings: "Two bad bitches that came from the Bronx, Cardi from the pole and Jenny from the block". Rapper Drake, who Lopez was believed to have been romantically involved with in the past, references her and the song in his 2018 single "In My Feelings", stating: "From the block like you Jenny/ I know you special, girl, 'cause I know too many." Ben Affleck's appearance in the song's music video became notorious, having been released at the peak of the couple's "frenzied" tabloid coverage. Paper magazine wrote: "Love makes people do crazy things, and that's our only explanation for this." Their relationship received widespread media coverage. They became engaged in November 2002, but their planned wedding on September 14, 2003, was postponed with four days' notice because of "excessive media attention". They broke up in January 2004. Lopez later described the split as her "first real heartbreak" and attributed it in part to Affleck's discomfort with the media scrutiny. During an interview in 2008, Affleck stated that he nearly "ruined" his career by starring in the clip, "If I have a big regret, it was doing the music video. But that happened years ago. I've moved on." He also stated: "It not only makes me look like a petulant fool (to blame Lopez), but it surely qualifies as ungentlemanly? For the record, did she hurt my career? No." In response, Latina magazine wrote: "Riiiigght. So it wasn't a string of bad movies starting with Reindeer Games in 2000 and a general lack of on-screen appeal that ruined your career, right Ben? It was a music video. What else can we blame on a music video? Global warming?" Following Lopez's marriage to Marc Anthony, she reportedly attempted to have the music video blocked from television networks such as VH1 and MTV. In the past decade since the song's release, Lopez has been nicknamed "Jenny from The Block" in the media, a name news reporters and journalists often use. At the 68th Golden Globe Awards in 2011, comedian Ricky Gervais referenced the song: "She's just Jenny from the block. If the block in question is that one on Rodeo Drive between Cartier and Prada." In October 2015, a video clip filmed in Afghanistan years ago surfaced online of two US Marines singing "Jenny from the Block" moments before being fired at by the Taliban. Track listings Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Certifications Release history Cover versions Becky G ("Becky from the Block") American singer Becky G released a cover version of the song with rewritten lyrics, titled "Becky from the Block" with Gomez rapping about her life before fame and what she wants to accomplish. Lopez appeared in Gomez's music video for the song. The song is Gomez's official debut single following three collaborations in 2012, including "Problem" featuring Will.i.am Track listing References External links Category:2002 singles Category:American hip hop songs Category:Canadian Singles Chart number-one singles Category:Number-one singles in Hungary Category:Number-one singles in Poland Category:Jadakiss songs Category:Jennifer Lopez songs Category:Music videos directed by Francis Lawrence Category:Sampling controversies Category:Songs written by Jennifer Lopez Category:Songs written by Troy Oliver Category:Songs written by Andre Deyo Category:Styles P songs Category:Songs written by Fernando Arbex Category:Songs written by Samuel Barnes (songwriter) Category:Song recordings produced by Cory Rooney Category:2002 songs Category:Songs written by Jean-Claude Olivier Category:Songs about musicians Category:Cultural depictions of musicians

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Ian Chappell

Ian Michael Chappell (born 26 September 1943) is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. He captained Australia between 1971 and 1975 before taking a central role in the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation. Born into a cricketing family--his grandfather and brother also captained Australia--Chappell made a hesitant start to international cricket playing as a right-hand middle-order batsman and spin bowler. He found his niche when promoted to bat at number three.

Promotion to number three

A string of big scores and a record number of catches during the 1968-69 season earned Chappell the Australian Cricketer of the Year award. Against the touring West Indies, Chappell hit 188 not out, 123, 117, 180 and 165 before the New Year. Two of these centuries came in the Test series, when Chappell's average for 548 runs was 68.50. Chappell was elevated to number three in the batting order and became a less-frequent bowler; he was also appointed vice-captain of the team. Following up with a successful tour of India in late 1969, Chappell demonstrated his fluency against spin bowling by compiling Test innings of 138 at Delhi and 99 at Kolkata. His ability against both fast and slow bowling earned high praise, including from his captain Bill Lawry. When the Australians arrived in South Africa in early 1970, following their victory over India, Lawry told the local media that Chappell was the best all-round batsman in the world. His appraisal looked misguided when Chappell managed just 92 runs (at 11.5 average), with a top score of 34, as Australia lost 0-4. On this tour, Chappell clashed with cricket administrators over pay and conditions for the first time. The South African authorities requested that an extra Test be added to the fixture and the Australian Board of Control consented. Incensed that the players were not consulted about the change, Chappell led a group of his teammates in a demand for more money to play the proposed game. Eventually the match was cancelled after Chappell and his supporters refused to back down. CANNOTANSWER

Ian Michael Chappell (born 26 September 1943) is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. He captained Australia between 1971 and 1975 before taking a central role in the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation. Born into a cricketing family—his grandfather and brother also captained Australia—Chappell made a hesitant start to international cricket playing as a right-hand middle-order batsman and spin bowler. He found his niche when promoted to bat at number three. Known as "Chappelli", he earned a reputation as one of the greatest captains the game has seen. Chappell's blunt verbal manner led to a series of confrontations with opposition players and cricket administrators; the issue of sledging first arose during his tenure as captain, and he was a driving force behind the professionalisation of Australian cricket in the 1970s. John Arlott called him "a cricketer of effect rather than the graces". An animated presence at the batting crease, he constantly adjusted his equipment and clothing, and restlessly tapped his bat on the ground as the bowler ran in. Basing his game on a sound defence learned during many hours of childhood lessons, Chappell employed the drive and square cut to full effect. He had an idiosyncratic method of playing back and across to a ball of full length and driving wide of mid-on, but his trademark shot was the hook, famously saying "three bouncers an over should be worth 12 runs to me". A specialist slip fielder, he was the fourth player to take one hundred Test catches. Since his retirement in 1980, he has pursued a high-profile career as a sports journalist and cricket commentator, predominantly with Channel Nine. He remains a key figure in Australian cricket: in 2006, Shane Warne called Chappell the biggest influence on his career. Chappell was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1986, the FICA Cricket Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2003. On 9 July 2009, Ian Chappell was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Family and early career The first of four sons (Ian, Greg, Trevor, Michel) born in Unley, near Adelaide, to Martin and Jeanne (née Richardson), Chappell was steeped in the game from an early age. His father was a noted Adelaide grade cricketer who put a bat in his hands as soon as he could walk, and his maternal grandfather was famous all-round sportsman Vic Richardson, who captained Australia at the end of a nineteen-Test career. Chappell was given weekly batting lessons from the age of five, as were younger brothers Greg and Trevor, who both also went on to play for Australia. Chappell grew up in the beachside suburb of Glenelg and attended the local St Leonard's Primary School where he played his first competitive match at the age of seven. He was later selected for the South Australian state schoolboys team. He then enrolled at Prince Alfred College, a private secondary school noted for producing many Test cricketers, including the Australian captains Joe Darling and Clem Hill. His other sporting pursuits included Australian football and baseball: Chappell's performances for South Australia in the Claxton Shield won him All-Australian selection in 1964 and 1966 as a catcher. He credits Vic Richardson, who had represented both SA and Australia in baseball during the 1920s, for his love of the sport. At the age of 18, his form in grade cricket for Glenelg led to his first-class debut for South Australia (SA) against Tasmania in early 1962. The aggressive style of Sobers and of South Australia captain Les Favell heavily influenced Chappell during his formative years in senior cricket. In 1962–63, Chappell made his initial first-class century against a New South Wales team led by Australian captain Richie Benaud, who was bemused by the young batsman's habit of gritting his teeth as he faced up; to Benaud, it looked as if he was grinning. Chappell spent the northern summer of 1963 as a professional in England's Lancashire League with Ramsbottom and played a single first-class match for Lancashire against Cambridge University. International career In 1963–64, Chappell batted at number three for SA for the first time, in a match against Queensland at Brisbane, and scored 205 not out. He was the youngest member of the SA team that won the Sheffield Shield that season. A century against Victoria early the following season resulted in Chappell's selection for a one-off Test against Pakistan at Melbourne in December 1964. He made 11 and took four catches, but was dropped until the Fourth Test in the 1965–66 Ashes series. Chappell supplemented his aggressive batting with brilliant fielding in the slips, and he showed promise as a leg-spinner. At this point, the selectors and captain Bob Simpson considered him an all-rounder: he batted at number seven and bowled 26 (eight-ball) overs for the match. Hesitant start He retained his place for the following Test and for the tour of South Africa in summer 1966–67. Playing in a side defeated 1–3, Chappell struggled to make an impression. His highest score in ten Test innings was 49, while his five wickets cost 59 runs each. On the advice of Simpson, he ceased playing the hook shot as it was often leading to his dismissal. In the first Test of 1967–68 against India, he failed twice batting in the middle order. Heading into the second Test at Melbourne, Chappell's place was in jeopardy, but he rode his luck to score 151 – his innings contained five chances that the Indians failed to take. However, in the remainder of the series, he managed only 46 runs in four innings, so his selection for the 1968 tour of England was based as much on potential as form. In England, Chappell rewarded the faith of the selectors by scoring the most first-class runs on the tour (1,261 runs, including 202 not out against Warwickshire), leading the Australian Test aggregates with 348 runs (at 43.50). His top score was 81 in the fourth Test at Leeds. Wisden lauded his play off the back foot and judged him the most difficult Australian batsman to dismiss. In a summer severely affected by rain, Australia drew the series and retained The Ashes. Promotion to number three A string of big scores and a record number of catches during the 1968–69 season earned Chappell the Australian Cricketer of the Year award. Against the touring West Indies, Chappell hit 188 not out, 123, 117, 180 and 165 before the New Year. Two of these centuries came in the Test series, when Chappell's average for 548 runs was 68.50. Chappell was elevated to number three in the batting order and became a less-frequent bowler; he was also appointed vice-captain of the team. Following up with a successful tour of India in late 1969, Chappell demonstrated his fluency against spin bowling by compiling Test innings of 138 at Delhi and 99 at Kolkata. His ability against both fast and slow bowling earned high praise, including from his captain Bill Lawry. When the Australians arrived in South Africa in early 1970, following their victory over India, Lawry told the local media that Chappell was the best all-round batsman in the world. His appraisal looked misguided when Chappell managed just 92 runs (at 11.5 average), with a top score of 34, as Australia lost 0–4. On this tour, Chappell clashed with cricket administrators over pay and conditions for the first time. The South African authorities requested that an extra Test be added to the fixture and the Australian Board of Control consented. Incensed that the players were not consulted about the change, Chappell led a group of his teammates in a demand for more money to play the proposed game. Eventually the match was cancelled after Chappell and his supporters refused to back down. Captaincy Chappell became South Australian captain when the long-serving Les Favell retired at the start of the 1970–1971 season. His younger brother Greg made his debut in the second Test of the summer against Ray Illingworth's England. Facing an English attack led by the hostile fast bowling of John Snow, Chappell scored a half-century in each of the first two Tests, but failed to capitalise on good starts while Greg Chappell scored 108 in his initial innings. Rain caused the abandonment of the third Test without a ball being bowled. Temporarily promoted to open the batting, Chappell failed in the fourth Test as Australia lost. In the fifth Test at Melbourne, he returned to number three and started nervously. Dropped on 0 and 14, Chappell found form and went on to post his maiden Ashes century (111 from 212 balls), which he followed with scores of 28 and 104 in the sixth Test. The washed-out Test resulted in a late change to the schedule and an unprecedented seventh Test was played at Sydney in February 1971. Trailing 0–1 in the series, Australia could retain The Ashes by winning this game. Australia's performances were hampered by playing slow, defensive cricket. In a radical attempt to breathe some aggression into the team, the selectors sacked captain Bill Lawry and appointed Chappell in his stead. Dismayed by the manner of Lawry's dismissal, Chappell responded with an attacking performance as captain, he won the toss, put England in and dismissed them for 184, and Australia led the first innings by 80 runs, but set 223 to win they folded for 160 and lost The Ashes after holding them for 12 years. Chappell gained some consolation at the end of a dramatic summer when he led SA to the Sheffield Shield, the team's first win for seven years. Chappell's battles against the short-pitched bowling of Snow during the season compelled him to reappraise his game. Following a conversation with Sir Donald Bradman, he decided to reinstate the hook shot and spent the winter months practising the stroke by hitting baseballs thrown by his brother Greg. Although he still regularly lost his wicket after playing the shot, Chappell felt that the psychological benefit of showing aggression to opposing bowlers offset the times that he was dismissed for a low score. A team in his own image Australia lost an unofficial Test series to a Rest of the World team led by Gary Sobers that toured in 1971–72 as a replacement for the politically unacceptable South Africans. Chappell was the outstanding batsman of the series, with four centuries included in his 634 runs, at an average of 79.25. He took the team to England in 1972 and was unlucky not to regain The Ashes in a rubber that ended 2–2. The series began disastrously for Chappell when he was out hooking from the first ball he faced in the opening Test at Manchester. He fell the same way in the second innings and Australia lost the match. However, the team regrouped and had the better of the remaining matches, apart from the fourth Test at Leeds, played on a controversial pitch that the Australians believed was "doctored" to suit the England team. Greg Chappell emerged as a prolific batsman during the series, batting one place below his brother in the order. The siblings shared several crucial partnerships, most notably 201 at the Oval in the last Test when they became the first brothers to score centuries in the same Test innings. Australia won the game, an effort that Chappell later cited as the turning point in the team's performances. In 1972–73, Australia had resounding victories against Pakistan (at home) and the West Indies (away). Chappell's leadership qualities stood out in a number of tight situations. He hit his highest Test score of 196 (from 243 balls) in the first Test against Pakistan at Adelaide. Pakistan "appeared probable winners of the last two Tests on the second last day of each game", yet Chappell's team managed to win on both occasions. On indifferent pitches in the Caribbean, Chappell was the highest-scoring batsman of the Test series with 542 runs (at 77.4 average). He hit 209 in a tour match against Barbados, two Test centuries and a "glorious" 97 on a poor pitch at Trinidad in the third Test, batting with an injured ankle. This set up a dramatic last day when the West Indies needed just 66 runs to win with six wickets in hand at lunch. The home team collapsed against an inspired Australian bowling attack supported by Chappell's aggressive field-placements. Chappell's team would be the last to leave the West Indies as winners for 22 years. The ugly Australians Australia played six Tests against New Zealand on both sides of the Tasman in 1973–74. Chappell led his team to a 2–0 victory in the three Tests played in Australia. During the third Test at Adelaide, he equalled the world record of six catches in a Test match by a fielder, which was beaten by his brother Greg the following season. In the drawn first Test at Wellington, the Chappells became the first brothers to each score a century in both innings of a Test match. The Australians lost to the Kiwis for the first time ever in the second Test at Christchurch, when Chappell was involved in a verbal confrontation with the leading New Zealand batsman, Glenn Turner. The Australians then played an ill-tempered tour match at Dunedin that didn't enhance the reputation of Chappell or his team, before winning the final Test at Auckland. On this tour, the behaviour of the team was questioned with some journalists labelling them "ugly Australians". In 1976, Chappell wrote about his attitude to the opposition: ... although we didn't deliberately set out to be a 'bunch of bastards' when we walked on to the field, I'd much prefer any team I captained to be described like that than as 'a nice bunch of blokes on the field.' As captain of Australia my philosophy was simple: between 11.00am and 6.00pm there was no time to be a nice guy. I believed that on the field players should concentrate on giving their best to the team, to themselves and to winning; in other words, playing hard and fairly within the rules. To my mind, doing all that left no time for being a nice guy. The increasing prevalence of verbal confrontation on the field (later known as sledging) concerned cricket administrators and became a regular topic for the media. Its instigation is sometimes attributed to Chappell. By his own admission, he was a frequent user of profanity who was often at "boiling point" on the field, but claims that the various incidents he was involved in were not a premeditated tactic. Rather, they were a case of him losing his temper with an opponent. The Ashes regained and the first World Cup The highlight of Chappell's career was Australia's 4–1 win over England in 1974–75 that reclaimed The Ashes. Strengthened by the new fast bowling partnership of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, the Australians played aggressive cricket and received criticism for the amount of short-pitched bowling they employed. Chappell scored 90 on an "unreliable" pitch on the first day of the opening Test at Brisbane. He finished the six Tests with 387 runs at 35.18 average, and took 11 catches in the slips. The Test matches attracted big crowds and record gate takings, enabling Chappell to negotiate a bonus for the players from the Australian Cricket Board (ACB). Although this more than doubled the players' pay, their remuneration amounted to only 4.5% of the revenue generated by the series. Within months, Chappell was back in England leading Australia in the inaugural World Cup. His dislike of the defensive nature of limited-over cricket led to the Australians placing a full slips cordon for the new ball and employing Test-match style tactics in the tournament. Despite the apparent unsuitability of this approach, Chappell guided the team to the final where they lost a memorable match to the West Indies. The workload of the captaincy was telling on Chappell and the four-Test Ashes series that followed the World Cup dampened his appetite for the game. After winning the only completed match of the series, the first Test at Birmingham, Australia's retention of the Ashes was anticlimactic: the third Test at Leeds was abandoned due to vandalism of the pitch during the night before the last day's play. In the last Test at the Oval, Chappell scored 192 from 367 balls to set up an apparent victory. However, England managed to bat for almost 15 hours to grind out a draw and Chappell announced his resignation from the captaincy on the final day of the match. In 30 Tests as captain, he scored 2,550 runs at an average of 50, with seven centuries. First retirement Remaining available for Test cricket, he played in the 1975–76 series against the West Indies under the captaincy of his brother Greg. Australia avenged their loss in the World Cup final by winning 5–1, claiming the unofficial title of best team in the world. During the season, Chappell incurred censure for his behaviour in a Sheffield Shield match and was warned not to continue wearing a pair of adidas boots with the three stripes clearly visible. This breached the prevailing protocol of cricketers wearing all white. His highest innings of the summer was 156 during Australia's only loss, at Perth in the second Test. Wisden nominated him as the most influential player of the series for his 449 runs at an average of 44.90. Throughout the course of the series, Chappell passed two significant milestones when he became the fourth Australian to make 5,000 runs in Test cricket and the first player to hold one hundred Test catches for Australia. The summer ended in controversy and triumph in the domestic competition. During a dispute with the SACA over team selection, he threatened a "strike" action by the SA team. After the matter was resolved, Chappell led the side to the Sheffield Shield title for the second time in his career and shared the inaugural Sheffield Shield player of the season award with his brother Greg. He retired from first-class cricket at the end of the season, aged only 32. World Series Cricket and aftermath In 1976, Chappell toured South Africa with Richie Benaud's International Wanderers team, released his autobiography Chappelli and was named as one of five Wisden Cricketers of the Year. He was hired to spend the summer of 1976–77 as a guest professional in the Melbourne district competition where he was paid more than he had been as Australian captain. During the season, he was involved in a famous altercation with a young English all-rounder who was in Victoria on a cricketing scholarship, Ian Botham. Both men have put forward vastly different versions as to what happened during the physical confrontation in a Melbourne pub. The animosity between them continues and Channel Nine used it as a marketing ploy when Botham temporarily partnered Chappell as a television commentator during the 1998–99 season. Botham again revived the feud in his 2007 autobiography with another version of the incident. Rebel skipper Throughout his career, Chappell found the ACB obdurate in his attempts to make a living from the game. In 1969 and 1970, they refused his applications to play professionally in England. As Australian captain, he made several unsuccessful representations at ACB meetings in an effort to secure a more realistic financial deal for the Australian players. In consultations with the then-president of the ACTU, Bob Hawke, he explored the possibility of unionising the players. Approached to lead an Australian team in World Series Cricket (WSC), a breakaway professional competition organised by Kerry Packer for Channel Nine, Chappell signed a three-year contract worth A$75,000 in 1976. His participation was, "fundamental to the credibility of the enterprise". Chappell devised the list of Australian players to be signed, and was involved in the organisation and marketing of WSC. His central role was the result of, "years of personal disaffection with cricket officialdom", in particular Don Bradman. Recently, Chappell wrote: While captaining Australia, I was approached on three separate occasions before WSC to play 'professional' cricket, and each time I advised the entrepreneurs to meet the appropriate cricket board because they controlled the grounds. On each occasion, the administrators sent the entrepreneurs packing and it quickly became clear they weren't interested in a better deal for the players. That's why I say the players didn't stab the ACB in the back. The administrators had numerous opportunities to reach a compromise but displayed little interest in the welfare of the players. It wasn't really surprising then that more than 50 players from around the world signed lucrative WSC contracts and a revolution was born. About half of the WSC players were from Australia and this high ratio can, in part, be attributed to Bradman's tight-fisted approach to the ACB's money. In WSC's debut season of 1977–78, Chappell hit the first Supertest century and finished fifth in overall averages. The prevalence of short-pitched fast bowling and a serious injury to Australian David Hookes led to the innovation of batting helmets; Chappell was one of the many batsmen to use one. Following their 1975–76 tour of Australia, the West Indies adopted a four-man fast bowling attack, while the World XI contained fast bowlers of the calibre of Imran Khan, Mike Procter, Garth Le Roux, Clive Rice and Sarfraz Nawaz. The constant diet of pace bowling undermined the confidence of some batsmen during WSC. Chappell's form fell away during the second season and he scored only 181 runs at 25.85 in four Supertests. During the last six days of the season, the WSC Australians lost the finals of both the limited-overs competition (to the West Indies XI) and the Supertest series (to the World XI), thus forfeiting the winner-takes-all prize money. After the latter match, Chappell vented his frustrations on World XI captain Tony Greig by refusing to shake his hand and criticising Greig's inconsequential contribution to his team's victory. The final act of the competition was a series between the WSC Australians and the WSC West Indies played in the Caribbean in the spring of 1979. After the Australians suffered a heavy defeat in the first Supertest at Jamaica, Chappell rallied his team to draw the five match series one-all. His best effort were scores of 61 and 86 at Barbados. Return to Tests Convinced to return to official cricket when WSC ended, Chappell resumed as captain of SA in 1979–80, a decision he later regretted. It was a season too far for the increasingly irascible Chappell. Reported by an umpire for swearing in a match against Tasmania, he received a three-week suspension. In his first match after the ban, he was again reported for his conduct in a game against the touring English team. Given a suspended ban by the ACB, he was then selected for Australia's last three Tests of the season. His Test career finished with scores of 75 and 26 not out at the MCG against England in February 1980. In his final first-class match, SA needed to beat Victoria to win the Sheffield Shield. Although Chappell scored 112, SA lost the match and the shield. Ironically, the umpires voted him the competition's player of the season for a second time. ODI record Chappell's aggressive approach suited limited-overs cricket: he scored his runs at a strike-rate of 77 runs per hundred balls. The timing of his career limited him to 16 ODI matches, but he appeared in a number of historic fixtures such as the first ODI (at the MCG in 1971), the first World Cup final (at Lord's in 1975) and the first day/night match (during WSC, at VFL Park in 1978). He passed fifty in half of his innings with a top score of 86 at Christchurch in 1973–74. In his final season of international cricket, he scored 63 not out (from 65 balls) against the West Indies at the SCG to win the player of the match award; five days later he hit an unbeaten 60 from 50 balls in his penultimate ODI appearance, against England. As captain, he recorded six wins and five losses from 11 matches. He is also credited to have hit the first ever six in an ODI match (which is in fact the first ODI match ever played). Captaincy statistics Legacy The title of the ABC's documentary The Chappell Era, broadcast in 2002, encapsulated Chappell's significance to Australian cricket. Subtitled Cricket in the '70s, it chronicled the rise of the Australian cricket team under Chappell, the fight for better pay for the players, and professionalisation of the game through WSC. During the program, Chappell reiterated his criticisms of cricket's administration at the time. In Wisden, Richie Benaud wrote, "Chappell will be remembered as much for his bid to improve the players' lot as he will for his run-getting and captaincy". During the WSC period, he founded a players' association with a loan provided by Kerry Packer. Despite Chappell's continued support for the organisation after his retirement, apathy and a lack of recognition from the ACB led to its demise in 1988. Revived in 1997 as the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA), it is now an important organisation within the structure of Australian cricket. In 2005, Chappell became a member of the ACA executive. Chappell was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1986, the FICA Cricket Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2003. Two new grandstands at the Adelaide Oval were named the Chappell Stands; at the dedication ceremony in 2003, the SACA president Ian McLachlan called the Chappells, "the most famous cricketing family in South Australia". In 2004, the Chappell family was again honoured with the creation of the Chappell–Hadlee Trophy, an annual series of ODI matches played between Australia and New Zealand. Chappell is the leading advocate for greater formal recognition of the first Australian sporting team to travel overseas, the Australian Aboriginal cricket team in England in 1868. Media career Following the path of his grandfather Vic Richardson, who was a radio commentator for many years, Chappell entered the media in 1973 by writing magazine articles and a column for The Age. He did television commentary for the 0–10 Network and the BBC before playing WSC. During the 1980s, Chappell spent eight years co-hosting with Mike Gibson, Wide World of Sports, an innovative magazine-style program broadcast by Channel Nine on Saturday afternoons and co-hosted a sister show, Sports Sunday, for five years. Early in his stint on the former program, he swore without realising that he was live to air. A similar incident occurred during a live telecast of the 1993 Ashes series. Channel Nine suspended him on both occasions. Chappell began working as a commentator for Channel Nine's cricket coverage in the 1980–81 season, a position he retains until the network lost the Australian home cricket rights to Channel 7 in April 2018. Chappell became a radio commentator for the Macquarie Sports Radio in 2018. He later moved to ABC Radio before retiring in August 2022. Leadership critiques Greg Chappell The greatest controversy of his first season was the Underarm Incident, which involved his two younger brothers in an ODI played between Australia and New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Chappell showed no fraternal bias and was vehement in his criticism of his brother Greg's tactic. He wrote in a newspaper column on the matter: "Fair dinkum, Greg, how much pride do you sacrifice to win $35,000?" Kim Hughes He supported the claims of Rod Marsh to the Australian captaincy over the incumbent, Kim Hughes, in the early 1980s. The constant campaign against Hughes destabilised his authority. Compounding the situation, the ACB compelled Hughes to be interviewed by Chappell on a regular basis. He also criticised Hughes's batting. "Hughes needs to score the runs when they are needed most. He is not doing this and his inconsistency is rubbing off on others... there is a not a lot of thought in his batting". On the morning of the second test against the West Indies in 1984–85, Chappell asked Hughes "Three months ago, you claimed Australia possessed no Test-worthy legspinner. So what is Bob Holland doing in the team?" Hughes resigned as captain after that match. Following Hughes' resignation, Australian cricket went into turmoil and Chappell received a share of the blame for the outcome. Allan Border & Bob Simpson Chappell had a direct influence on Hughes' successor, Allan Border. Early in his captaincy tenure, Border was struggling with the burdens of the position so the ACB appointed Bob Simpson as team coach to assist. There was animosity between Chappell and Simpson prior to this and Chappell continue to deride the need for a coach. Simpson responded by writing that the peer influence of older players helping younger players fell away during the era when the Chappell brothers led the team, and he was redressing the problem. Chappell believed that the Border-Simpson leadership was too defensive and that Simpson usurped too much of Border's control of the team; Border heeded Chappell's assessment and adopted a more aggressive on-field approach later in his career and became known as "Captain Grumpy" to his teammates. Mark Taylor, who captained the team after Border, moved to dilute Simpson's authority. Chappell remains a long-standing critic of the use of coaches by national teams. Steve Waugh Ian Chappell was often critical of Steve Waugh as captain, believing him to be a selfish player and unimaginative captain. When Waugh was appointed captain in 1999 Chappell said: I think he's been a selfish cricketer . . . I've always felt that the things you do as a player leading up to getting the captaincy do have an effect [on] how players perceive you. I've had the feeling that a selfish player when he becomes captain . . . gets a little less out of his players than someone who is not selfish. Chappell felt Shane Warne should have been picked as captain instead and his criticism of Waugh's captaincy did not abate during Waugh's stint in that role, despite his success. Waugh later wrote of Chappell: Ian Chappell ... always sweated on my blunders and reported them with an 'I told you so' mentality... To say Chappell's criticism irked me would be an understatement, though I knew that, like anyone, he was entitled to an opinion. I don't mind the fact he criticised me — in fact, I would much rather someone make a judgement than not, but I have always felt that a critic must be either constructive or base his comments on fact... It was something I had to live with, and when I realised he was never going to cut me much slack, I decided anything he said that was positive would be a bonus and the rest just cast aside. Chappell rated Ricky Ponting a better captain than Waugh. Player critiques Chappell has been a vocal critic of a number of Australian players, most recently Ed Cowan and George Bailey. Major League Baseball When the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks met in Major League Baseball's season opening series at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney on 22 and 23 March 2014, Chappell, who had represented South Australia as a catcher in the Claxton Shield before embarking on his successful cricket career, was a commentator for the broadcasts, carried on Australia's Channel Nine and in the United States by MLB Network. He worked with Matt Vasgersian and former Cy Young Award winner John Smoltz. Books and writings Chappell's first book was an account of the 1972 Ashes tour, Tigers Among the Lions, followed by a series of books of cricketing humour and anecdotes published in the early 1980s. The more analytical The Cutting Edge, an appraisal of modern cricket, appeared in 1992. Ashley Mallett's biography, Chappelli Speaks Out (published in the UK as Hitting Out – the Ian Chappell Story) was written in collaboration with Chappell and released in 2005. It caused controversy due to Chappell's assessment of Steve Waugh, who he described as "selfish" and as a captain, "ran out of ideas very quickly". Waugh responded by writing, "to say Chappell's criticism irked me would be an understatement." He categorised the criticisms as "personal" and noted that Chappell, "always sweated on my blunders and reported them with an 'I told you so' mentality". In 2006, Chappell released an anthology of his cricket writings entitled A Golden Age. He is a regular contributor for ESPNcricinfo. Personal life After leaving school, Chappell spent two years as a clerk in a sharebroker's office, which he left to play league cricket in England. He then worked as a promotions representative for Nestlé and, later, the cigarette manufacturer WD & HO Wills. After eight years with Wills, Chappell capitalised on his fame as Australian captain by forming his own company specialising in advertising, promotion and journalism, which has remained his profession. He is twice married, and has a daughter (Amanda) with his first wife Kay. Chappell now lives in Sydney with his second wife Barbara-Ann. In recent years, Chappell has been a high-profile activist for better treatment of asylum seekers by the Australian government, in particular its policy of mandatory detention. He supports Australia cutting ties with the United Kingdom and becoming a republic, being a founding member of the Australian Republican Movement. In July 2019, Chappell announced that he had been undergoing radiotherapy for skin cancer. References Books Brayshaw, Ian (1984): The Chappelli Era, ABC Books. Cashman, Richard et al. — editors (1996): The Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket, OUP. Chappell, Ian (1976): Chappell, Hutchinson Australia. Haigh, Gideon (1993): The Cricket War – the Inside Story of Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket, Text Publishing. Harte, Chris (1993): A History of Australian Cricket, André Deutsch. Mallett, Ashley (2005): Chappelli Speaks Out, Allen & Unwin. McGregor, Adrian (1985): Greg Chappell, Collins. Simpson, Bob (1996): The Reasons Why, HarperSports. Accessed on-line ABC Radio & TV transcripts The Age Australian Dictionary of Biography The Bulletin Lancashire Telegraph The Hindu The Sydney Morning Herald Wisden Cricketers' Almanack Cricinfo.com CricketArchive MCG.org Rediff.com Australian Cricketers' Association Cricket Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame Notes External links Ian Chappell interviewed on Enough Rope in 2006 (includes video) Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees Category:Australia One Day International cricketers Category:Australian republicans Category:Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Category:Australia Test cricketers Category:Australia Test cricket captains Category:Cricketers at the 1975 Cricket World Cup Category:Lancashire cricketers Category:Cricketers from Adelaide Category:People educated at Prince Alfred College Category:South Australia cricketers Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year Category:Australian cricket commentators Category:World Series Cricket players Category:Australian baseball players Ian Category:Australian cricketers Category:Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Category:Sportsmen from South Australia

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Ian Chappell

Ian Michael Chappell (born 26 September 1943) is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. He captained Australia between 1971 and 1975 before taking a central role in the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation. Born into a cricketing family--his grandfather and brother also captained Australia--Chappell made a hesitant start to international cricket playing as a right-hand middle-order batsman and spin bowler. He found his niche when promoted to bat at number three.

Family and early career

The first of three sons born in Adelaide,Unley to Martin and Jeanne (nee Richardson), Chappell was steeped in the game from an early age. His father was a noted Adelaide grade cricketer who put a bat in his hands as soon as he could walk, and his maternal grandfather was famous all-round sportsman Vic Richardson, who captained Australia at the end of a nineteen-Test career. Chappell was given weekly batting lessons from the age of five, as were younger brothers Greg and Trevor, who both also went on to play for Australia. Chappell grew up in the beachside suburb of Glenelg and attended the local St Leonard's Primary School where he played his first competitive match at the age of seven. He was later selected for the South Australian state schoolboys team. He then enrolled at Prince Alfred College, a private secondary school noted for producing many Test cricketers, including the Australian captains Joe Darling and Clem Hill. His other sporting pursuits included Australian football and baseball: Chappell's performances for South Australia in the Claxton Shield won him All-Australian selection in 1964 and 1966 as a catcher. He credits Vic Richardson, who had represented both SA and Australia in baseball during the 1920s, for his love of the sport. At the age of 18, his form in grade cricket for Glenelg led to his first-class debut for South Australia (SA) against Tasmania in early 1962. Chappell replaced West Indian Gary Sobers who was selected for a Test match in the Caribbean. The aggressive style of Sobers and South-Australia captain Les Favell heavily influenced Chappell during his formative years in senior cricket. In 1962-63, Chappell made his initial first-class century against a New South Wales team led by Australian captain Richie Benaud, who was bemused by the young batsman's habit of gritting his teeth as he faced up; to Benaud, it looked as if he was grinning. Chappell spent the northern summer of 1963 as a professional in England's Lancashire League with Ramsbottom and played a single first-class match for Lancashire against Cambridge University. CANNOTANSWER

Ian Michael Chappell (born 26 September 1943) is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. He captained Australia between 1971 and 1975 before taking a central role in the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation. Born into a cricketing family—his grandfather and brother also captained Australia—Chappell made a hesitant start to international cricket playing as a right-hand middle-order batsman and spin bowler. He found his niche when promoted to bat at number three. Known as "Chappelli", he earned a reputation as one of the greatest captains the game has seen. Chappell's blunt verbal manner led to a series of confrontations with opposition players and cricket administrators; the issue of sledging first arose during his tenure as captain, and he was a driving force behind the professionalisation of Australian cricket in the 1970s. John Arlott called him "a cricketer of effect rather than the graces". An animated presence at the batting crease, he constantly adjusted his equipment and clothing, and restlessly tapped his bat on the ground as the bowler ran in. Basing his game on a sound defence learned during many hours of childhood lessons, Chappell employed the drive and square cut to full effect. He had an idiosyncratic method of playing back and across to a ball of full length and driving wide of mid-on, but his trademark shot was the hook, famously saying "three bouncers an over should be worth 12 runs to me". A specialist slip fielder, he was the fourth player to take one hundred Test catches. Since his retirement in 1980, he has pursued a high-profile career as a sports journalist and cricket commentator, predominantly with Channel Nine. He remains a key figure in Australian cricket: in 2006, Shane Warne called Chappell the biggest influence on his career. Chappell was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1986, the FICA Cricket Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2003. On 9 July 2009, Ian Chappell was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Family and early career The first of four sons (Ian, Greg, Trevor, Michel) born in Unley, near Adelaide, to Martin and Jeanne (née Richardson), Chappell was steeped in the game from an early age. His father was a noted Adelaide grade cricketer who put a bat in his hands as soon as he could walk, and his maternal grandfather was famous all-round sportsman Vic Richardson, who captained Australia at the end of a nineteen-Test career. Chappell was given weekly batting lessons from the age of five, as were younger brothers Greg and Trevor, who both also went on to play for Australia. Chappell grew up in the beachside suburb of Glenelg and attended the local St Leonard's Primary School where he played his first competitive match at the age of seven. He was later selected for the South Australian state schoolboys team. He then enrolled at Prince Alfred College, a private secondary school noted for producing many Test cricketers, including the Australian captains Joe Darling and Clem Hill. His other sporting pursuits included Australian football and baseball: Chappell's performances for South Australia in the Claxton Shield won him All-Australian selection in 1964 and 1966 as a catcher. He credits Vic Richardson, who had represented both SA and Australia in baseball during the 1920s, for his love of the sport. At the age of 18, his form in grade cricket for Glenelg led to his first-class debut for South Australia (SA) against Tasmania in early 1962. The aggressive style of Sobers and of South Australia captain Les Favell heavily influenced Chappell during his formative years in senior cricket. In 1962–63, Chappell made his initial first-class century against a New South Wales team led by Australian captain Richie Benaud, who was bemused by the young batsman's habit of gritting his teeth as he faced up; to Benaud, it looked as if he was grinning. Chappell spent the northern summer of 1963 as a professional in England's Lancashire League with Ramsbottom and played a single first-class match for Lancashire against Cambridge University. International career In 1963–64, Chappell batted at number three for SA for the first time, in a match against Queensland at Brisbane, and scored 205 not out. He was the youngest member of the SA team that won the Sheffield Shield that season. A century against Victoria early the following season resulted in Chappell's selection for a one-off Test against Pakistan at Melbourne in December 1964. He made 11 and took four catches, but was dropped until the Fourth Test in the 1965–66 Ashes series. Chappell supplemented his aggressive batting with brilliant fielding in the slips, and he showed promise as a leg-spinner. At this point, the selectors and captain Bob Simpson considered him an all-rounder: he batted at number seven and bowled 26 (eight-ball) overs for the match. Hesitant start He retained his place for the following Test and for the tour of South Africa in summer 1966–67. Playing in a side defeated 1–3, Chappell struggled to make an impression. His highest score in ten Test innings was 49, while his five wickets cost 59 runs each. On the advice of Simpson, he ceased playing the hook shot as it was often leading to his dismissal. In the first Test of 1967–68 against India, he failed twice batting in the middle order. Heading into the second Test at Melbourne, Chappell's place was in jeopardy, but he rode his luck to score 151 – his innings contained five chances that the Indians failed to take. However, in the remainder of the series, he managed only 46 runs in four innings, so his selection for the 1968 tour of England was based as much on potential as form. In England, Chappell rewarded the faith of the selectors by scoring the most first-class runs on the tour (1,261 runs, including 202 not out against Warwickshire), leading the Australian Test aggregates with 348 runs (at 43.50). His top score was 81 in the fourth Test at Leeds. Wisden lauded his play off the back foot and judged him the most difficult Australian batsman to dismiss. In a summer severely affected by rain, Australia drew the series and retained The Ashes. Promotion to number three A string of big scores and a record number of catches during the 1968–69 season earned Chappell the Australian Cricketer of the Year award. Against the touring West Indies, Chappell hit 188 not out, 123, 117, 180 and 165 before the New Year. Two of these centuries came in the Test series, when Chappell's average for 548 runs was 68.50. Chappell was elevated to number three in the batting order and became a less-frequent bowler; he was also appointed vice-captain of the team. Following up with a successful tour of India in late 1969, Chappell demonstrated his fluency against spin bowling by compiling Test innings of 138 at Delhi and 99 at Kolkata. His ability against both fast and slow bowling earned high praise, including from his captain Bill Lawry. When the Australians arrived in South Africa in early 1970, following their victory over India, Lawry told the local media that Chappell was the best all-round batsman in the world. His appraisal looked misguided when Chappell managed just 92 runs (at 11.5 average), with a top score of 34, as Australia lost 0–4. On this tour, Chappell clashed with cricket administrators over pay and conditions for the first time. The South African authorities requested that an extra Test be added to the fixture and the Australian Board of Control consented. Incensed that the players were not consulted about the change, Chappell led a group of his teammates in a demand for more money to play the proposed game. Eventually the match was cancelled after Chappell and his supporters refused to back down. Captaincy Chappell became South Australian captain when the long-serving Les Favell retired at the start of the 1970–1971 season. His younger brother Greg made his debut in the second Test of the summer against Ray Illingworth's England. Facing an English attack led by the hostile fast bowling of John Snow, Chappell scored a half-century in each of the first two Tests, but failed to capitalise on good starts while Greg Chappell scored 108 in his initial innings. Rain caused the abandonment of the third Test without a ball being bowled. Temporarily promoted to open the batting, Chappell failed in the fourth Test as Australia lost. In the fifth Test at Melbourne, he returned to number three and started nervously. Dropped on 0 and 14, Chappell found form and went on to post his maiden Ashes century (111 from 212 balls), which he followed with scores of 28 and 104 in the sixth Test. The washed-out Test resulted in a late change to the schedule and an unprecedented seventh Test was played at Sydney in February 1971. Trailing 0–1 in the series, Australia could retain The Ashes by winning this game. Australia's performances were hampered by playing slow, defensive cricket. In a radical attempt to breathe some aggression into the team, the selectors sacked captain Bill Lawry and appointed Chappell in his stead. Dismayed by the manner of Lawry's dismissal, Chappell responded with an attacking performance as captain, he won the toss, put England in and dismissed them for 184, and Australia led the first innings by 80 runs, but set 223 to win they folded for 160 and lost The Ashes after holding them for 12 years. Chappell gained some consolation at the end of a dramatic summer when he led SA to the Sheffield Shield, the team's first win for seven years. Chappell's battles against the short-pitched bowling of Snow during the season compelled him to reappraise his game. Following a conversation with Sir Donald Bradman, he decided to reinstate the hook shot and spent the winter months practising the stroke by hitting baseballs thrown by his brother Greg. Although he still regularly lost his wicket after playing the shot, Chappell felt that the psychological benefit of showing aggression to opposing bowlers offset the times that he was dismissed for a low score. A team in his own image Australia lost an unofficial Test series to a Rest of the World team led by Gary Sobers that toured in 1971–72 as a replacement for the politically unacceptable South Africans. Chappell was the outstanding batsman of the series, with four centuries included in his 634 runs, at an average of 79.25. He took the team to England in 1972 and was unlucky not to regain The Ashes in a rubber that ended 2–2. The series began disastrously for Chappell when he was out hooking from the first ball he faced in the opening Test at Manchester. He fell the same way in the second innings and Australia lost the match. However, the team regrouped and had the better of the remaining matches, apart from the fourth Test at Leeds, played on a controversial pitch that the Australians believed was "doctored" to suit the England team. Greg Chappell emerged as a prolific batsman during the series, batting one place below his brother in the order. The siblings shared several crucial partnerships, most notably 201 at the Oval in the last Test when they became the first brothers to score centuries in the same Test innings. Australia won the game, an effort that Chappell later cited as the turning point in the team's performances. In 1972–73, Australia had resounding victories against Pakistan (at home) and the West Indies (away). Chappell's leadership qualities stood out in a number of tight situations. He hit his highest Test score of 196 (from 243 balls) in the first Test against Pakistan at Adelaide. Pakistan "appeared probable winners of the last two Tests on the second last day of each game", yet Chappell's team managed to win on both occasions. On indifferent pitches in the Caribbean, Chappell was the highest-scoring batsman of the Test series with 542 runs (at 77.4 average). He hit 209 in a tour match against Barbados, two Test centuries and a "glorious" 97 on a poor pitch at Trinidad in the third Test, batting with an injured ankle. This set up a dramatic last day when the West Indies needed just 66 runs to win with six wickets in hand at lunch. The home team collapsed against an inspired Australian bowling attack supported by Chappell's aggressive field-placements. Chappell's team would be the last to leave the West Indies as winners for 22 years. The ugly Australians Australia played six Tests against New Zealand on both sides of the Tasman in 1973–74. Chappell led his team to a 2–0 victory in the three Tests played in Australia. During the third Test at Adelaide, he equalled the world record of six catches in a Test match by a fielder, which was beaten by his brother Greg the following season. In the drawn first Test at Wellington, the Chappells became the first brothers to each score a century in both innings of a Test match. The Australians lost to the Kiwis for the first time ever in the second Test at Christchurch, when Chappell was involved in a verbal confrontation with the leading New Zealand batsman, Glenn Turner. The Australians then played an ill-tempered tour match at Dunedin that didn't enhance the reputation of Chappell or his team, before winning the final Test at Auckland. On this tour, the behaviour of the team was questioned with some journalists labelling them "ugly Australians". In 1976, Chappell wrote about his attitude to the opposition: ... although we didn't deliberately set out to be a 'bunch of bastards' when we walked on to the field, I'd much prefer any team I captained to be described like that than as 'a nice bunch of blokes on the field.' As captain of Australia my philosophy was simple: between 11.00am and 6.00pm there was no time to be a nice guy. I believed that on the field players should concentrate on giving their best to the team, to themselves and to winning; in other words, playing hard and fairly within the rules. To my mind, doing all that left no time for being a nice guy. The increasing prevalence of verbal confrontation on the field (later known as sledging) concerned cricket administrators and became a regular topic for the media. Its instigation is sometimes attributed to Chappell. By his own admission, he was a frequent user of profanity who was often at "boiling point" on the field, but claims that the various incidents he was involved in were not a premeditated tactic. Rather, they were a case of him losing his temper with an opponent. The Ashes regained and the first World Cup The highlight of Chappell's career was Australia's 4–1 win over England in 1974–75 that reclaimed The Ashes. Strengthened by the new fast bowling partnership of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, the Australians played aggressive cricket and received criticism for the amount of short-pitched bowling they employed. Chappell scored 90 on an "unreliable" pitch on the first day of the opening Test at Brisbane. He finished the six Tests with 387 runs at 35.18 average, and took 11 catches in the slips. The Test matches attracted big crowds and record gate takings, enabling Chappell to negotiate a bonus for the players from the Australian Cricket Board (ACB). Although this more than doubled the players' pay, their remuneration amounted to only 4.5% of the revenue generated by the series. Within months, Chappell was back in England leading Australia in the inaugural World Cup. His dislike of the defensive nature of limited-over cricket led to the Australians placing a full slips cordon for the new ball and employing Test-match style tactics in the tournament. Despite the apparent unsuitability of this approach, Chappell guided the team to the final where they lost a memorable match to the West Indies. The workload of the captaincy was telling on Chappell and the four-Test Ashes series that followed the World Cup dampened his appetite for the game. After winning the only completed match of the series, the first Test at Birmingham, Australia's retention of the Ashes was anticlimactic: the third Test at Leeds was abandoned due to vandalism of the pitch during the night before the last day's play. In the last Test at the Oval, Chappell scored 192 from 367 balls to set up an apparent victory. However, England managed to bat for almost 15 hours to grind out a draw and Chappell announced his resignation from the captaincy on the final day of the match. In 30 Tests as captain, he scored 2,550 runs at an average of 50, with seven centuries. First retirement Remaining available for Test cricket, he played in the 1975–76 series against the West Indies under the captaincy of his brother Greg. Australia avenged their loss in the World Cup final by winning 5–1, claiming the unofficial title of best team in the world. During the season, Chappell incurred censure for his behaviour in a Sheffield Shield match and was warned not to continue wearing a pair of adidas boots with the three stripes clearly visible. This breached the prevailing protocol of cricketers wearing all white. His highest innings of the summer was 156 during Australia's only loss, at Perth in the second Test. Wisden nominated him as the most influential player of the series for his 449 runs at an average of 44.90. Throughout the course of the series, Chappell passed two significant milestones when he became the fourth Australian to make 5,000 runs in Test cricket and the first player to hold one hundred Test catches for Australia. The summer ended in controversy and triumph in the domestic competition. During a dispute with the SACA over team selection, he threatened a "strike" action by the SA team. After the matter was resolved, Chappell led the side to the Sheffield Shield title for the second time in his career and shared the inaugural Sheffield Shield player of the season award with his brother Greg. He retired from first-class cricket at the end of the season, aged only 32. World Series Cricket and aftermath In 1976, Chappell toured South Africa with Richie Benaud's International Wanderers team, released his autobiography Chappelli and was named as one of five Wisden Cricketers of the Year. He was hired to spend the summer of 1976–77 as a guest professional in the Melbourne district competition where he was paid more than he had been as Australian captain. During the season, he was involved in a famous altercation with a young English all-rounder who was in Victoria on a cricketing scholarship, Ian Botham. Both men have put forward vastly different versions as to what happened during the physical confrontation in a Melbourne pub. The animosity between them continues and Channel Nine used it as a marketing ploy when Botham temporarily partnered Chappell as a television commentator during the 1998–99 season. Botham again revived the feud in his 2007 autobiography with another version of the incident. Rebel skipper Throughout his career, Chappell found the ACB obdurate in his attempts to make a living from the game. In 1969 and 1970, they refused his applications to play professionally in England. As Australian captain, he made several unsuccessful representations at ACB meetings in an effort to secure a more realistic financial deal for the Australian players. In consultations with the then-president of the ACTU, Bob Hawke, he explored the possibility of unionising the players. Approached to lead an Australian team in World Series Cricket (WSC), a breakaway professional competition organised by Kerry Packer for Channel Nine, Chappell signed a three-year contract worth A$75,000 in 1976. His participation was, "fundamental to the credibility of the enterprise". Chappell devised the list of Australian players to be signed, and was involved in the organisation and marketing of WSC. His central role was the result of, "years of personal disaffection with cricket officialdom", in particular Don Bradman. Recently, Chappell wrote: While captaining Australia, I was approached on three separate occasions before WSC to play 'professional' cricket, and each time I advised the entrepreneurs to meet the appropriate cricket board because they controlled the grounds. On each occasion, the administrators sent the entrepreneurs packing and it quickly became clear they weren't interested in a better deal for the players. That's why I say the players didn't stab the ACB in the back. The administrators had numerous opportunities to reach a compromise but displayed little interest in the welfare of the players. It wasn't really surprising then that more than 50 players from around the world signed lucrative WSC contracts and a revolution was born. About half of the WSC players were from Australia and this high ratio can, in part, be attributed to Bradman's tight-fisted approach to the ACB's money. In WSC's debut season of 1977–78, Chappell hit the first Supertest century and finished fifth in overall averages. The prevalence of short-pitched fast bowling and a serious injury to Australian David Hookes led to the innovation of batting helmets; Chappell was one of the many batsmen to use one. Following their 1975–76 tour of Australia, the West Indies adopted a four-man fast bowling attack, while the World XI contained fast bowlers of the calibre of Imran Khan, Mike Procter, Garth Le Roux, Clive Rice and Sarfraz Nawaz. The constant diet of pace bowling undermined the confidence of some batsmen during WSC. Chappell's form fell away during the second season and he scored only 181 runs at 25.85 in four Supertests. During the last six days of the season, the WSC Australians lost the finals of both the limited-overs competition (to the West Indies XI) and the Supertest series (to the World XI), thus forfeiting the winner-takes-all prize money. After the latter match, Chappell vented his frustrations on World XI captain Tony Greig by refusing to shake his hand and criticising Greig's inconsequential contribution to his team's victory. The final act of the competition was a series between the WSC Australians and the WSC West Indies played in the Caribbean in the spring of 1979. After the Australians suffered a heavy defeat in the first Supertest at Jamaica, Chappell rallied his team to draw the five match series one-all. His best effort were scores of 61 and 86 at Barbados. Return to Tests Convinced to return to official cricket when WSC ended, Chappell resumed as captain of SA in 1979–80, a decision he later regretted. It was a season too far for the increasingly irascible Chappell. Reported by an umpire for swearing in a match against Tasmania, he received a three-week suspension. In his first match after the ban, he was again reported for his conduct in a game against the touring English team. Given a suspended ban by the ACB, he was then selected for Australia's last three Tests of the season. His Test career finished with scores of 75 and 26 not out at the MCG against England in February 1980. In his final first-class match, SA needed to beat Victoria to win the Sheffield Shield. Although Chappell scored 112, SA lost the match and the shield. Ironically, the umpires voted him the competition's player of the season for a second time. ODI record Chappell's aggressive approach suited limited-overs cricket: he scored his runs at a strike-rate of 77 runs per hundred balls. The timing of his career limited him to 16 ODI matches, but he appeared in a number of historic fixtures such as the first ODI (at the MCG in 1971), the first World Cup final (at Lord's in 1975) and the first day/night match (during WSC, at VFL Park in 1978). He passed fifty in half of his innings with a top score of 86 at Christchurch in 1973–74. In his final season of international cricket, he scored 63 not out (from 65 balls) against the West Indies at the SCG to win the player of the match award; five days later he hit an unbeaten 60 from 50 balls in his penultimate ODI appearance, against England. As captain, he recorded six wins and five losses from 11 matches. He is also credited to have hit the first ever six in an ODI match (which is in fact the first ODI match ever played). Captaincy statistics Legacy The title of the ABC's documentary The Chappell Era, broadcast in 2002, encapsulated Chappell's significance to Australian cricket. Subtitled Cricket in the '70s, it chronicled the rise of the Australian cricket team under Chappell, the fight for better pay for the players, and professionalisation of the game through WSC. During the program, Chappell reiterated his criticisms of cricket's administration at the time. In Wisden, Richie Benaud wrote, "Chappell will be remembered as much for his bid to improve the players' lot as he will for his run-getting and captaincy". During the WSC period, he founded a players' association with a loan provided by Kerry Packer. Despite Chappell's continued support for the organisation after his retirement, apathy and a lack of recognition from the ACB led to its demise in 1988. Revived in 1997 as the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA), it is now an important organisation within the structure of Australian cricket. In 2005, Chappell became a member of the ACA executive. Chappell was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1986, the FICA Cricket Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2003. Two new grandstands at the Adelaide Oval were named the Chappell Stands; at the dedication ceremony in 2003, the SACA president Ian McLachlan called the Chappells, "the most famous cricketing family in South Australia". In 2004, the Chappell family was again honoured with the creation of the Chappell–Hadlee Trophy, an annual series of ODI matches played between Australia and New Zealand. Chappell is the leading advocate for greater formal recognition of the first Australian sporting team to travel overseas, the Australian Aboriginal cricket team in England in 1868. Media career Following the path of his grandfather Vic Richardson, who was a radio commentator for many years, Chappell entered the media in 1973 by writing magazine articles and a column for The Age. He did television commentary for the 0–10 Network and the BBC before playing WSC. During the 1980s, Chappell spent eight years co-hosting with Mike Gibson, Wide World of Sports, an innovative magazine-style program broadcast by Channel Nine on Saturday afternoons and co-hosted a sister show, Sports Sunday, for five years. Early in his stint on the former program, he swore without realising that he was live to air. A similar incident occurred during a live telecast of the 1993 Ashes series. Channel Nine suspended him on both occasions. Chappell began working as a commentator for Channel Nine's cricket coverage in the 1980–81 season, a position he retains until the network lost the Australian home cricket rights to Channel 7 in April 2018. Chappell became a radio commentator for the Macquarie Sports Radio in 2018. He later moved to ABC Radio before retiring in August 2022. Leadership critiques Greg Chappell The greatest controversy of his first season was the Underarm Incident, which involved his two younger brothers in an ODI played between Australia and New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Chappell showed no fraternal bias and was vehement in his criticism of his brother Greg's tactic. He wrote in a newspaper column on the matter: "Fair dinkum, Greg, how much pride do you sacrifice to win $35,000?" Kim Hughes He supported the claims of Rod Marsh to the Australian captaincy over the incumbent, Kim Hughes, in the early 1980s. The constant campaign against Hughes destabilised his authority. Compounding the situation, the ACB compelled Hughes to be interviewed by Chappell on a regular basis. He also criticised Hughes's batting. "Hughes needs to score the runs when they are needed most. He is not doing this and his inconsistency is rubbing off on others... there is a not a lot of thought in his batting". On the morning of the second test against the West Indies in 1984–85, Chappell asked Hughes "Three months ago, you claimed Australia possessed no Test-worthy legspinner. So what is Bob Holland doing in the team?" Hughes resigned as captain after that match. Following Hughes' resignation, Australian cricket went into turmoil and Chappell received a share of the blame for the outcome. Allan Border & Bob Simpson Chappell had a direct influence on Hughes' successor, Allan Border. Early in his captaincy tenure, Border was struggling with the burdens of the position so the ACB appointed Bob Simpson as team coach to assist. There was animosity between Chappell and Simpson prior to this and Chappell continue to deride the need for a coach. Simpson responded by writing that the peer influence of older players helping younger players fell away during the era when the Chappell brothers led the team, and he was redressing the problem. Chappell believed that the Border-Simpson leadership was too defensive and that Simpson usurped too much of Border's control of the team; Border heeded Chappell's assessment and adopted a more aggressive on-field approach later in his career and became known as "Captain Grumpy" to his teammates. Mark Taylor, who captained the team after Border, moved to dilute Simpson's authority. Chappell remains a long-standing critic of the use of coaches by national teams. Steve Waugh Ian Chappell was often critical of Steve Waugh as captain, believing him to be a selfish player and unimaginative captain. When Waugh was appointed captain in 1999 Chappell said: I think he's been a selfish cricketer . . . I've always felt that the things you do as a player leading up to getting the captaincy do have an effect [on] how players perceive you. I've had the feeling that a selfish player when he becomes captain . . . gets a little less out of his players than someone who is not selfish. Chappell felt Shane Warne should have been picked as captain instead and his criticism of Waugh's captaincy did not abate during Waugh's stint in that role, despite his success. Waugh later wrote of Chappell: Ian Chappell ... always sweated on my blunders and reported them with an 'I told you so' mentality... To say Chappell's criticism irked me would be an understatement, though I knew that, like anyone, he was entitled to an opinion. I don't mind the fact he criticised me — in fact, I would much rather someone make a judgement than not, but I have always felt that a critic must be either constructive or base his comments on fact... It was something I had to live with, and when I realised he was never going to cut me much slack, I decided anything he said that was positive would be a bonus and the rest just cast aside. Chappell rated Ricky Ponting a better captain than Waugh. Player critiques Chappell has been a vocal critic of a number of Australian players, most recently Ed Cowan and George Bailey. Major League Baseball When the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks met in Major League Baseball's season opening series at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney on 22 and 23 March 2014, Chappell, who had represented South Australia as a catcher in the Claxton Shield before embarking on his successful cricket career, was a commentator for the broadcasts, carried on Australia's Channel Nine and in the United States by MLB Network. He worked with Matt Vasgersian and former Cy Young Award winner John Smoltz. Books and writings Chappell's first book was an account of the 1972 Ashes tour, Tigers Among the Lions, followed by a series of books of cricketing humour and anecdotes published in the early 1980s. The more analytical The Cutting Edge, an appraisal of modern cricket, appeared in 1992. Ashley Mallett's biography, Chappelli Speaks Out (published in the UK as Hitting Out – the Ian Chappell Story) was written in collaboration with Chappell and released in 2005. It caused controversy due to Chappell's assessment of Steve Waugh, who he described as "selfish" and as a captain, "ran out of ideas very quickly". Waugh responded by writing, "to say Chappell's criticism irked me would be an understatement." He categorised the criticisms as "personal" and noted that Chappell, "always sweated on my blunders and reported them with an 'I told you so' mentality". In 2006, Chappell released an anthology of his cricket writings entitled A Golden Age. He is a regular contributor for ESPNcricinfo. Personal life After leaving school, Chappell spent two years as a clerk in a sharebroker's office, which he left to play league cricket in England. He then worked as a promotions representative for Nestlé and, later, the cigarette manufacturer WD & HO Wills. After eight years with Wills, Chappell capitalised on his fame as Australian captain by forming his own company specialising in advertising, promotion and journalism, which has remained his profession. He is twice married, and has a daughter (Amanda) with his first wife Kay. Chappell now lives in Sydney with his second wife Barbara-Ann. In recent years, Chappell has been a high-profile activist for better treatment of asylum seekers by the Australian government, in particular its policy of mandatory detention. He supports Australia cutting ties with the United Kingdom and becoming a republic, being a founding member of the Australian Republican Movement. In July 2019, Chappell announced that he had been undergoing radiotherapy for skin cancer. References Books Brayshaw, Ian (1984): The Chappelli Era, ABC Books. Cashman, Richard et al. — editors (1996): The Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket, OUP. Chappell, Ian (1976): Chappell, Hutchinson Australia. Haigh, Gideon (1993): The Cricket War – the Inside Story of Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket, Text Publishing. Harte, Chris (1993): A History of Australian Cricket, André Deutsch. Mallett, Ashley (2005): Chappelli Speaks Out, Allen & Unwin. McGregor, Adrian (1985): Greg Chappell, Collins. Simpson, Bob (1996): The Reasons Why, HarperSports. Accessed on-line ABC Radio & TV transcripts The Age Australian Dictionary of Biography The Bulletin Lancashire Telegraph The Hindu The Sydney Morning Herald Wisden Cricketers' Almanack Cricinfo.com CricketArchive MCG.org Rediff.com Australian Cricketers' Association Cricket Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame Notes External links Ian Chappell interviewed on Enough Rope in 2006 (includes video) Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees Category:Australia One Day International cricketers Category:Australian republicans Category:Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Category:Australia Test cricketers Category:Australia Test cricket captains Category:Cricketers at the 1975 Cricket World Cup Category:Lancashire cricketers Category:Cricketers from Adelaide Category:People educated at Prince Alfred College Category:South Australia cricketers Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year Category:Australian cricket commentators Category:World Series Cricket players Category:Australian baseball players Ian Category:Australian cricketers Category:Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Category:Sportsmen from South Australia

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Art of Noise

Art of Noise (also The Art of Noise) were an English avant-garde synth-pop group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn and music journalist Paul Morley. The group had international Top 20 hits with "Kiss" and the instrumental "Peter Gunn", which won a 1986 Grammy Award. The group's mostly instrumental compositions were novel melodic sound collages based on digital sampler technology, which was new at the time. Inspired by turn-of-the-20th-century revolutions in music, the Art of Noise were initially packaged as a faceless anti- or non-group, blurring the distinction between the art and its creators.

Interim (compilations, failed reformations and solo work)

Although Dudley and Jeczalik had already dissolved the group, in 1990 they assisted in the promotion of the lightly remixed compilation The Ambient Collection, which the China label released to cash in on the burgeoning ambient house scene. Jeczalik approved the remixes that appeared on The FON Mixes the following year. The rest of the decade saw China Records releasing further Art of Noise compilations: The Drum and Bass Collection, Art Works, and reissues of Best of without the ZTT-era tracks. Some of these featured new remixes by other artists. According to an interview with J.J. Jeczalik reported in the ZTT fanzine Outside World in 1991, Jeczalik, Dudley and Langan were inspired by the commercial success of The FON Mixes and had discussed reuniting the group as a trio again. In preparation to record a new album, Jeczalik and Langan travelled to Cuba to gather new source material. However, no new recordings were produced with the new line-up, and the Art of Noise remained defunct. Dudley became well known for composing numerous film and television scores during the 1990s. The most famous of these is probably The Full Monty, which won an Academy Award for Original Music Score. She also collaborated with Killing Joke's Jaz Coleman on the 1990 album Songs from the Victorious City (inspired by a trip the two made to Egypt) and produced two tracks for the 1993 Deborah Harry album Debravation ("Strike Me Pink", which she also co-wrote and played keyboards on) and "Mood Ring"). She has scored orchestrations for dozens of pop releases over the years, and both scored and produced the album Voice for her neighbour Alison Moyet. Cathy Dennis added lyrics to one of Dudley's compositions and recorded it as "Too Many Walls", which became a US Top 10 hit in 1991. In 1995-1997, Jeczalik and In No Sense? Nonsense! coengineer Bob Kraushaar produced a number of instrumentals oriented toward dance clubs under the name Art of Silence, issuing an album titled artofsilence.co.uk. Jeczalik also embarked on a new career in trading in futures contracts. The Art of Noise also received a full writing credit for The Prodigy's "Firestarter", which samples the female "hey, hey" voice from "Close to the Edit". The Prodigy also contributed the remix "Instruments of Darkness (All of Us are One People)" to the 1991 compilation The FON Mixes. Also, an edited version of "Close to the Edit" is featured on the monthly educational Amiga game, Ready Robot Club. The Art of Noise are also credited for the music to the ITV series The Krypton Factor. CANNOTANSWER

Art of Noise (also The Art of Noise) were an English avant-garde synth-pop group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with keyboardist/arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn, and music journalist Paul Morley. The group had international Top 20 hits with its interpretations of "Kiss", featuring Tom Jones, and the instrumental "Peter Gunn", which won a 1986 Grammy Award. The group's mostly instrumental compositions were novel melodic sound collages based on digital sampler technology, which was new at the time. Inspired by turn-of-the-20th-century revolutions in music, the Art of Noise were initially packaged as a faceless anti- or non-group, blurring the distinction between the art and its creators. The band is noted for innovative use of electronics and computers in pop music and particularly for innovative use of sampling. History Beginnings The technological impetus for the Art of Noise was the advent of the Fairlight CMI sampler. With the Fairlight, short digital sound recordings called samples could be played using a piano-like keyboard, while a computer processor altered such characteristics as pitch and timbre. Music producer Trevor Horn was among the early adopters of Fairlight. While some musicians were using samples as adornment in their works, Horn and his colleagues saw the potential to craft entire compositions with the sampler. In 1981, Horn's production team included programmer J. J. Jeczalik, engineer Gary Langan and keyboard player/string arranger Anne Dudley. The team produced ABC's 1982 debut album The Lexicon of Love, increasingly using the Fairlight to tweak live-based elements of performance but also to embellish the compositions with sound effects such as a cash register's bell on "Date Stamp" (Dudley also co-wrote a track on the album, which launched her scoring career). The team also worked on Malcolm McLaren's 1982 album Duck Rock and would go on to work with Frankie Goes to Hollywood on what would become the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome (realised predominantly on Fairlight). During January 1983, Horn's team were working on the Yes comeback album 90125 – Horn as producer, Langan as engineer, and Dudley and Jeczalik providing arrangements and keyboard programming. During the sessions, Jeczalik and Langan took a scrapped Alan White drum riff and sampled it into the Fairlight using the device's Page R sequencer (the first time an entire drum pattern had been sampled into the machine). Jeczalik and Langan then added non-musical sounds on top of it, before playing the track to Horn. This in turn resulted in the Red & Blue Mix of Yes's "Owner of a Lonely Heart" single, which showcased the prototype sound of The Art of Noise. Seeing further potential in the idea, Horn teamed Jeczalik and Langan with Dudley in February to develop the project and brought in one of his business partners, ex-NME journalist Paul Morley, as a provider of concepts, art direction and marketing ideas. Morley came up with the project name (taken from the essay "The Art of Noises" by noted futurist Luigi Russolo, and finalised at Jeczalik's request by dropping the final 's'). Much later, in a July 2002 article penned for The Guardian, Morley wrote "I loved the name Art of Noise so much that I forced my way into the group. If over the years people asked me what I did in the group, I replied that I named them, and it was such a great name, that was enough to justify my role. I was the Ringo Starr of Art of Noise. I made the tea. Oh, and I wrote the lyrics to one of the loveliest pieces of pop music ever, Moments in Love." Horn himself joined the new group as production advisor and provider of further ideas. This was the first time that he had been part of a group since parting company with his The Buggles' partner Geoff Downes (after they had been part of Yes). It would also be the first and last time that he would enjoy chart success as an artist since the new wave hit in 1979 with "Video Killed the Radio Star" (not counting writing credits on The Dollar Album). Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? (1983–1984) The debut Art of Noise EP, Into Battle with the Art of Noise, appeared in September 1983 on Horn's fledgling ZTT label. Many of the samples originally used on 90125 reappeared on the EP, which immediately scored a hit in the urban and alternative dance charts in the US with the highly percussive, cut-up instrumental track "Beat Box", a favourite among body-poppers. The first Art of Noise album, Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? was released in 1984. During this period, the group presented themselves as faceless (using masks, minimal personal appearances, or even absence from promotion to indicate that the Art of Noise was not a standard rock or pop band which promoted and mythologised its members as individuals). "Moments in Love", a ten-minute instrumental ode to sensuality that appeared on both Into Battle and Who's Afraid, was remixed and released as a single in 1985. The song was first released in the US in 1983, where it was a moderate hit on the US R&B singles chart. It was played at one of Madonna's weddings; sampled by Mýa in her hit single "It's All About Me," which featured Sisqó; used in the soundtrack of the movie Pumping Iron II: The Women; featured in the Indian movie Koi...Mil Gaya; name-dropped in the opening pages of Sister Souljah's 2011 novel Midnight and the Meaning of Love (as "Moments of Love"); interpolated in King Sun's song “Hey, Love”; used in a number of advertisements; and remixed, covered, and sampled by numerous other artists. It has also appeared in numerous chill out compilations and has become a staple of smooth jazz radio station playlists. "Moments in Love" has been remixed many times, with names such as "Moments in Bed" and "Moments in love 7" Master Rejected". Most "Moments in Love" remixes can be found in the box set And What Have You Done with My Body, God? An October 1984 feature in Smash Hits magazine indicated several of Morley and Horn's plans for the group's subsequent projects. These included a cover of "Video Killed the Radio Star", originally by The Buggles (Horn and Geoff Downes); Raiding the 20th Century, an album using sounds from throughout the 20th century as source material; the score for The Living End, a film written by Morley and directed by Godley & Creme; and the soundtrack for a ballet. "Close (to the Edit)" was issued in October that year. The single was Art of Noise's first major UK hit, reaching number eight in the UK Singles Chart in November 1984. Split of original line-up (1985) In 1985, Dudley, Jeczalik, and Langan made an acrimonious split from Morley and Horn as well as from the ZTT label. In a post-split interview for Melody Maker in October 1985, Jeczalik indicated that he and Morley did not get along and that he felt Morley's writing was pretentious. Jeczalik responded to a question about the level of Morley and Horn's involvement in Who's Afraid by saying, "It's difficult to tell. We say approximately 1.73 percent, but it could even be as high as two percent. You see, all that has happened is that Gary and I started something, it was taken away, and we have taken steps to get it back." In the same interview, Dudley indicated she felt parts of Who's Afraid were of dubious quality. Much later, Morley would comment "When Trevor and I left, (Jeczalik, Langan and Dudley) became a novelty group who had hits with Tom Jones." His disdain for the artistic direction of The Art of Noise once he was no longer involved with it was even more evident in other articles he penned, including the liner notes of the 1986 compilation album Daft (under the name Otto Flake) and a September 2002 article for The Observer. In Visible Silence (1986) After the split, Dudley, Jeczalik, and Langan moved to the UK-based China Records label, taking the Art of Noise name with them. Some of the band's original imagery and ethos was retained for their second album, In Visible Silence. This album spawned the Grammy Award-winning cover of the Peter Gunn theme, recorded with Duane Eddy, who had a hit with Peter Gunn in 1959. The Art of Noise collaboration reached number two on the Billboard dance charts. The Peter Gunn video featured comedian Rik Mayall in a parody of the private eye film genre. The piece would later be used as the theme music for the 2008 BBC TV series Bill Oddie's Wild Side. From the same album, the "Beat Box"-like single "Legs" (using the same drum sounds) was a mild underground hit in dance clubs. In 1986, the album track "Paranoimia" achieved some success when a remix of it was released as a single with overdubbed vocal samples provided by Matt Frewer as the supposedly computer-generated character Max Headroom. Frewer also appeared as Max Headroom in the music video for the track. Around 1986, Jeczalik and Dudley started appearing in photographs without masks, alienating some fans that had come to appreciate Morley's "art for art's sake" aesthetic. The upcoming soundtrack pieces continued The Art of Noise's evolution into a pop band and away from Morley's faceless "non-group." In No Sense? Nonsense!, Below the Waste, and the split (1987–1990) By 1987, the band's membership was down to just Jeczalik and Dudley. That year saw the release of their album In No Sense? Nonsense!  The album featured Jeczalik's most advanced rhythmic collages to date, plus lush string arrangements, pieces for boys' choir, and keyboard melodies from Dudley. It did not produce any hits, although their record label made efforts to push remixes of "Dragnet" into the dance clubs and the single reached No. 60 on the UK Singles Chart. In 1987, The Art of Noise provided the score for two movies, Hiding Out and Dragnet, and one particular movement was used in both films. Their brass-based connecting passage between sections from the original Dragnet television show's theme song was used as incidental music during a dramatic scene—an armed chase through the rafters of a gymnasium—near the end of Hiding Out. In 1988, a one-off collaboration with singer Tom Jones (a cover of Prince's "Kiss" – a staple in Jones' stage shows) renewed the public's interest in the Art of Noise and provided the group's biggest hit in the mainstream. The track appeared on several albums by Jones, and China Records included the song on the greatest hits compilation The Best of The Art of Noise, the first edition of which also contained tracks licensed from ZTT. The follow-up album, Below the Waste, failed to achieve much success upon its release in 1989. It did spawn the memorable single "Yebo!" (featuring the unique vocals of Zulu performers Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens). Both cassette and CD versions include two bonus tracks in the form of "Robinson Crusoe", and the "James Bond Theme". In 1990, Dudley and Jeczalik declared that the Art of Noise had officially disbanded. Interim (compilations, failed reformations and solo work) Although Dudley and Jeczalik had already dissolved the group, in 1990 they assisted in the promotion of the lightly remixed compilation The Ambient Collection, which the China label released to cash in on the burgeoning ambient house scene. Jeczalik approved the remixes that appeared on The FON Mixes the following year. The rest of the decade saw China Records releasing further Art of Noise compilations: The Drum and Bass Collection, Art Works, and reissues of Best of without the ZTT-era tracks. Some of these featured new remixes by other artists. According to an interview with J.J. Jeczalik reported in the ZTT fanzine Outside World in 1991, Jeczalik, Dudley and Langan were inspired by the commercial success of The FON Mixes and had discussed reuniting the group as a trio again. In preparation to record a new album, Jeczalik and Langan travelled to Cuba to gather new source material. However, no new recordings were produced with the new line-up, and the Art of Noise remained defunct. Dudley became well known for composing numerous film and television scores during the 1990s. The most famous of these is probably The Full Monty, which won an Academy Award for Original Music Score. She also collaborated with Killing Joke's Jaz Coleman on the 1990 album Songs from the Victorious City (inspired by a trip the two made to Egypt) and produced two tracks for the 1993 Deborah Harry album Debravation ("Strike Me Pink", which she also co-wrote and played keyboards on, and "Mood Ring"). She has scored orchestrations for dozens of pop releases over the years, and both scored and produced the album Voice for her neighbour Alison Moyet. Cathy Dennis added lyrics to one of Dudley's compositions and recorded it as "Too Many Walls", which became a US Top 10 hit in 1991. In 1995–1997, Jeczalik and In No Sense? Nonsense! coengineer Bob Kraushaar produced a number of instrumentals oriented toward dance clubs under the name Art of Silence, issuing an album titled artofsilence.co.uk. Jeczalik also embarked on a new career in trading in futures contracts. The Art of Noise also received a full writing credit for The Prodigy's "Firestarter", which samples the female "hey, hey" voice from "Close to the Edit". The Prodigy also contributed the remix "Instruments of Darkness (All of Us are One People)" to the 1991 compilation The FON Mixes. Also, an edited version of "Close to the Edit" is featured on the monthly educational Amiga game Ready Robot Club. The Art of Noise are also credited for the music to the ITV series The Krypton Factor. The reunion and The Seduction of Claude Debussy (1998–2000) In 1998, Horn, Morley, and Dudley began talking about the original intent of the project, its relevance in 20th-century music, and the impending turn of a new century. The group temporarily reformed, adding guitarist Lol Creme, but without J.J. Jeczalik and Gary Langan. Their engineering, programming and production tasks were carried out by dance act Way Out West. An album was recorded – Balance – Music for the Eye – but was never released, although several tracks from this project were included on the 2010 retrospective album Influence. and the whole album was released as part of At the End of the Century box set. Instead, a new single called "Dream On" – which featured remixed versions of the forthcoming album track "Dreaming in Colour" – was released to club DJs later in 1998, showcasing mixes by Way Out West. A second single, "Metaforce", featuring a rap by Rakim, preceded the 1999 release of the concept album The Seduction of Claude Debussy, a cohesive concept album depicting the life and works of Claude Debussy, on the ZTT label. This album later formed the basis of a 17-minute soundtrack for London's Millennium fireworks celebrations on the banks of the River Thames. The firework display was synchronised to an edit of "Seduction" which also featured a collage of samples from some of Britain's most famous pop and rock songs, plus classical composers. It was broadcast live on 95.8 Capital FM and BBC London 94.9. Trevor Horn worked on the project with Jill Sinclair, Bob Geldof, Capital Radio executive Clive Dickens and producer Ross Ford. After performing a handful of live shows in the UK and US, the band dissolved. A DVD (Into Vision) and CD (Reconstructed) were released in 2002 and 2003 respectively, featuring music recorded and filmed in Chicago, at the Coachella Festival (10 September 1999), at the Shepherd's Bush Empire (22 March 2000) and Fountain Studios, Wembley, London (1 June 2000). Later work A reunion of sorts occurred at a 30 November 2013 live performance by the BBC Concert Orchestra (with a live BBC radio broadcast) including Dudley's orchestral arrangement of the band's EP Into Battle and a new piece entitled "Rhythm of a Decade" by Dudley and narrated by Morley. In their programme notes, they explain "Rhythm of a Decade" was inspired by an unreleased Art of Noise piece: "Of the many Art of Noise albums that did not appear – even if they were recorded – was one that set out to represent various decades through the rhythms that appeared during that particular decade – charting the development of rhythmical patterns and the physical changes in drum sounds throughout the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s". On 25 May 2017 Art of Noise members Langan, Dudley and Jeczalik reunited as Reboot Art of Noise, performing at Liverpool Sound City as special support for The Human League during the festival's Pioneers of British Electronic Music. The three appeared again when they played highlights from their In Visible Silence album plus other career highlights as "Dudley, Jeczalik, Langan" at the British Library in London on 9 March 2018 as part of the library's "Season of Sound" celebrating 140 years of recorded sound. This performance included a recorded video intro and outro from Paul Morley. Re-releases In 2003, a 20th-anniversary edition of Into Battle was released the first time in CD form in Germany, including bonus tracks and a bonus DVD of their promo videos and a selected discography slideshow of album art. The CD substituted the original version of "Beat Box" with the later "Diversion One". In early 2004, the Karvavena label released an Art of Noise tribute album, The Abduction of The Art of Noise. This album contains covers of various tracks, including a new version of "Beat Box" performed by J.J. Jeczalik under his Art of Silence moniker. 2004 saw Dudley and Horn perform "Close (To the Edit)" together at a The Prince's Trust charity event. In 2006, Lol Creme and Trevor Horn formed Producers, a band made up of renowned record producers and musicians. Gary Langan is the band's audio engineer. 21 August 2006 saw ZTT release a 4-CD Art of Noise box set, titled And What Have You Done with My Body, God?, which consisted of tracks exclusively from the 1983–85 ZTT era, from the initial tentative demos created by Gary Langan and J.J. Jeczalik in the wake of the Yes 90125 sessions, to selections from the Ambassadors Theatre performances featuring Horn and Morley, recorded at concerts profiling ZTT acts—prior to which, Langan, Jeczalik, and Dudley had abandoned the label (and, for the time being, the band). The set featured over 40 unreleased remixes, demos, and works in progress, as well as the complete vinyl version of Into Battle... – sourced from the original masters – for the first time on CD. The project was conceived, researched and compiled by music journalist (and Art of Noise aficionado) Ian Peel, who also wrote the box set's accompanying 36-page book, which featured new interviews with all of the original members. In April 2011, Peel continued his archiving of classic and vaulted ZTT material, now named the Element Series, with a Deluxe Edition reissue of Into Battle with the Art of Noise. This was intended to be the first of a chronological remastering and repackaging of the Art of Noise's output, collating the original album or EP with extended and previously unavailable tracks. Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise?, considered the first 'true' AON album, was released as a Deluxe Edition on 19 September 2011. In May 2017, a two-disc deluxe edition of In Visible Silence was released. Included is the remastered album, along with several remixes and B-sides, taken from previous 12" singles and available on CD for the first time. Also included are outtakes and unreleased material from the group's time with China Records. Shortly thereafter, a similar deluxe edition of their next album, In No Sense? Nonsense! was released. Other work The Art of Noise wrote and recorded the theme music to the popular British game show The Krypton Factor, which was used from 1986 to 1993; the group also composed the short music pieces that introduced each of the six rounds. The group also composed and performed the opening theme for the third series of the chat show The Max Headroom Show. The track, titled "Happy Harry's High Club" (after a phrase spoken by Max Headroom on Paranoimia), is featured on In Visible Silence. Discography Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? (1984) In Visible Silence (1986) In No Sense? Nonsense! (1987) Below the Waste (1989) The Seduction of Claude Debussy (1999) DVD and video "The Art of Noise in: Visible Silence" (1986) – a concert filmed in the Hammersmith Odeon on 15 August 1986. The Art of Noise: "Into Vision" (2002) – four different concerts between 1999 and 2000 in Chicago; The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California; in Shepherd's Bush, London; and in Wembley, London. Band members See also List of number-one dance singles of 1984 (U.S.) List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart Musique concrète References External links Official website Official Facebook page Official Twitter profile Official Instagram page Category:English electronic music groups Category:English synth-pop groups Category:English dance music groups Category:English new wave musical groups Category:British synth-pop new wave groups Category:Musical groups from London Category:China Records artists Category:Chrysalis Records artists Category:Island Records artists Category:ZTT Records artists Category:Polydor Records artists Category:Universal Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Musical groups established in 1983 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2000

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Art of Noise

Art of Noise (also The Art of Noise) were an English avant-garde synth-pop group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn and music journalist Paul Morley. The group had international Top 20 hits with "Kiss" and the instrumental "Peter Gunn", which won a 1986 Grammy Award. The group's mostly instrumental compositions were novel melodic sound collages based on digital sampler technology, which was new at the time. Inspired by turn-of-the-20th-century revolutions in music, the Art of Noise were initially packaged as a faceless anti- or non-group, blurring the distinction between the art and its creators.

"In No Sense? Nonsense!", "Below The Waste", and The Split (1987-1990)

By 1987, the band's membership was down to just Jeczalik and Dudley. That year saw the release of their album In No Sense? Nonsense! The album featured Jeczalik's most advanced rhythmic collages to date, plus lush string arrangements, pieces for boys' choir, and keyboard melodies from Dudley. It did not produce any hits, although their record label made efforts to push remixes of "Dragnet" into the dance clubs and the single reached No. 60 on the UK charts. In 1987, The Art of Noise provided the score for two movies, Hiding Out and Dragnet, and one particular movement was used in both films. Their brass-based connecting passage between sections from the original Dragnet television show's theme song was used as incidental music during a dramatic scene--an armed chase through the rafters of a gymnasium--near the end of Hiding Out. In 1988, a one-off collaboration with singer Tom Jones (a cover of Prince's "Kiss"--a staple in Jones' stage shows) renewed the public's interest in the Art of Noise and provided the group's biggest hit in the mainstream. The track appeared on several albums by Jones, and China Records included the song on the greatest hits compilation The Best of The Art of Noise, the first edition of which also contained tracks licensed from ZTT. The follow-up album, Below the Waste, failed to achieve much success upon its release in 1989. While it did spawn the memorable single "Yebo!" (featuring the unique vocals of Zulu performers Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens). Both cassette and CD versions include two bonus tracks in the form of "Robinson Crusoe", and the "James Bond Theme". In 1990, Dudley and Jeczalik declared that the Art of Noise had officially disbanded. CANNOTANSWER

Art of Noise (also The Art of Noise) were an English avant-garde synth-pop group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with keyboardist/arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn, and music journalist Paul Morley. The group had international Top 20 hits with its interpretations of "Kiss", featuring Tom Jones, and the instrumental "Peter Gunn", which won a 1986 Grammy Award. The group's mostly instrumental compositions were novel melodic sound collages based on digital sampler technology, which was new at the time. Inspired by turn-of-the-20th-century revolutions in music, the Art of Noise were initially packaged as a faceless anti- or non-group, blurring the distinction between the art and its creators. The band is noted for innovative use of electronics and computers in pop music and particularly for innovative use of sampling. History Beginnings The technological impetus for the Art of Noise was the advent of the Fairlight CMI sampler. With the Fairlight, short digital sound recordings called samples could be played using a piano-like keyboard, while a computer processor altered such characteristics as pitch and timbre. Music producer Trevor Horn was among the early adopters of Fairlight. While some musicians were using samples as adornment in their works, Horn and his colleagues saw the potential to craft entire compositions with the sampler. In 1981, Horn's production team included programmer J. J. Jeczalik, engineer Gary Langan and keyboard player/string arranger Anne Dudley. The team produced ABC's 1982 debut album The Lexicon of Love, increasingly using the Fairlight to tweak live-based elements of performance but also to embellish the compositions with sound effects such as a cash register's bell on "Date Stamp" (Dudley also co-wrote a track on the album, which launched her scoring career). The team also worked on Malcolm McLaren's 1982 album Duck Rock and would go on to work with Frankie Goes to Hollywood on what would become the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome (realised predominantly on Fairlight). During January 1983, Horn's team were working on the Yes comeback album 90125 – Horn as producer, Langan as engineer, and Dudley and Jeczalik providing arrangements and keyboard programming. During the sessions, Jeczalik and Langan took a scrapped Alan White drum riff and sampled it into the Fairlight using the device's Page R sequencer (the first time an entire drum pattern had been sampled into the machine). Jeczalik and Langan then added non-musical sounds on top of it, before playing the track to Horn. This in turn resulted in the Red & Blue Mix of Yes's "Owner of a Lonely Heart" single, which showcased the prototype sound of The Art of Noise. Seeing further potential in the idea, Horn teamed Jeczalik and Langan with Dudley in February to develop the project and brought in one of his business partners, ex-NME journalist Paul Morley, as a provider of concepts, art direction and marketing ideas. Morley came up with the project name (taken from the essay "The Art of Noises" by noted futurist Luigi Russolo, and finalised at Jeczalik's request by dropping the final 's'). Much later, in a July 2002 article penned for The Guardian, Morley wrote "I loved the name Art of Noise so much that I forced my way into the group. If over the years people asked me what I did in the group, I replied that I named them, and it was such a great name, that was enough to justify my role. I was the Ringo Starr of Art of Noise. I made the tea. Oh, and I wrote the lyrics to one of the loveliest pieces of pop music ever, Moments in Love." Horn himself joined the new group as production advisor and provider of further ideas. This was the first time that he had been part of a group since parting company with his The Buggles' partner Geoff Downes (after they had been part of Yes). It would also be the first and last time that he would enjoy chart success as an artist since the new wave hit in 1979 with "Video Killed the Radio Star" (not counting writing credits on The Dollar Album). Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? (1983–1984) The debut Art of Noise EP, Into Battle with the Art of Noise, appeared in September 1983 on Horn's fledgling ZTT label. Many of the samples originally used on 90125 reappeared on the EP, which immediately scored a hit in the urban and alternative dance charts in the US with the highly percussive, cut-up instrumental track "Beat Box", a favourite among body-poppers. The first Art of Noise album, Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? was released in 1984. During this period, the group presented themselves as faceless (using masks, minimal personal appearances, or even absence from promotion to indicate that the Art of Noise was not a standard rock or pop band which promoted and mythologised its members as individuals). "Moments in Love", a ten-minute instrumental ode to sensuality that appeared on both Into Battle and Who's Afraid, was remixed and released as a single in 1985. The song was first released in the US in 1983, where it was a moderate hit on the US R&B singles chart. It was played at one of Madonna's weddings; sampled by Mýa in her hit single "It's All About Me," which featured Sisqó; used in the soundtrack of the movie Pumping Iron II: The Women; featured in the Indian movie Koi...Mil Gaya; name-dropped in the opening pages of Sister Souljah's 2011 novel Midnight and the Meaning of Love (as "Moments of Love"); interpolated in King Sun's song “Hey, Love”; used in a number of advertisements; and remixed, covered, and sampled by numerous other artists. It has also appeared in numerous chill out compilations and has become a staple of smooth jazz radio station playlists. "Moments in Love" has been remixed many times, with names such as "Moments in Bed" and "Moments in love 7" Master Rejected". Most "Moments in Love" remixes can be found in the box set And What Have You Done with My Body, God? An October 1984 feature in Smash Hits magazine indicated several of Morley and Horn's plans for the group's subsequent projects. These included a cover of "Video Killed the Radio Star", originally by The Buggles (Horn and Geoff Downes); Raiding the 20th Century, an album using sounds from throughout the 20th century as source material; the score for The Living End, a film written by Morley and directed by Godley & Creme; and the soundtrack for a ballet. "Close (to the Edit)" was issued in October that year. The single was Art of Noise's first major UK hit, reaching number eight in the UK Singles Chart in November 1984. Split of original line-up (1985) In 1985, Dudley, Jeczalik, and Langan made an acrimonious split from Morley and Horn as well as from the ZTT label. In a post-split interview for Melody Maker in October 1985, Jeczalik indicated that he and Morley did not get along and that he felt Morley's writing was pretentious. Jeczalik responded to a question about the level of Morley and Horn's involvement in Who's Afraid by saying, "It's difficult to tell. We say approximately 1.73 percent, but it could even be as high as two percent. You see, all that has happened is that Gary and I started something, it was taken away, and we have taken steps to get it back." In the same interview, Dudley indicated she felt parts of Who's Afraid were of dubious quality. Much later, Morley would comment "When Trevor and I left, (Jeczalik, Langan and Dudley) became a novelty group who had hits with Tom Jones." His disdain for the artistic direction of The Art of Noise once he was no longer involved with it was even more evident in other articles he penned, including the liner notes of the 1986 compilation album Daft (under the name Otto Flake) and a September 2002 article for The Observer. In Visible Silence (1986) After the split, Dudley, Jeczalik, and Langan moved to the UK-based China Records label, taking the Art of Noise name with them. Some of the band's original imagery and ethos was retained for their second album, In Visible Silence. This album spawned the Grammy Award-winning cover of the Peter Gunn theme, recorded with Duane Eddy, who had a hit with Peter Gunn in 1959. The Art of Noise collaboration reached number two on the Billboard dance charts. The Peter Gunn video featured comedian Rik Mayall in a parody of the private eye film genre. The piece would later be used as the theme music for the 2008 BBC TV series Bill Oddie's Wild Side. From the same album, the "Beat Box"-like single "Legs" (using the same drum sounds) was a mild underground hit in dance clubs. In 1986, the album track "Paranoimia" achieved some success when a remix of it was released as a single with overdubbed vocal samples provided by Matt Frewer as the supposedly computer-generated character Max Headroom. Frewer also appeared as Max Headroom in the music video for the track. Around 1986, Jeczalik and Dudley started appearing in photographs without masks, alienating some fans that had come to appreciate Morley's "art for art's sake" aesthetic. The upcoming soundtrack pieces continued The Art of Noise's evolution into a pop band and away from Morley's faceless "non-group." In No Sense? Nonsense!, Below the Waste, and the split (1987–1990) By 1987, the band's membership was down to just Jeczalik and Dudley. That year saw the release of their album In No Sense? Nonsense!  The album featured Jeczalik's most advanced rhythmic collages to date, plus lush string arrangements, pieces for boys' choir, and keyboard melodies from Dudley. It did not produce any hits, although their record label made efforts to push remixes of "Dragnet" into the dance clubs and the single reached No. 60 on the UK Singles Chart. In 1987, The Art of Noise provided the score for two movies, Hiding Out and Dragnet, and one particular movement was used in both films. Their brass-based connecting passage between sections from the original Dragnet television show's theme song was used as incidental music during a dramatic scene—an armed chase through the rafters of a gymnasium—near the end of Hiding Out. In 1988, a one-off collaboration with singer Tom Jones (a cover of Prince's "Kiss" – a staple in Jones' stage shows) renewed the public's interest in the Art of Noise and provided the group's biggest hit in the mainstream. The track appeared on several albums by Jones, and China Records included the song on the greatest hits compilation The Best of The Art of Noise, the first edition of which also contained tracks licensed from ZTT. The follow-up album, Below the Waste, failed to achieve much success upon its release in 1989. It did spawn the memorable single "Yebo!" (featuring the unique vocals of Zulu performers Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens). Both cassette and CD versions include two bonus tracks in the form of "Robinson Crusoe", and the "James Bond Theme". In 1990, Dudley and Jeczalik declared that the Art of Noise had officially disbanded. Interim (compilations, failed reformations and solo work) Although Dudley and Jeczalik had already dissolved the group, in 1990 they assisted in the promotion of the lightly remixed compilation The Ambient Collection, which the China label released to cash in on the burgeoning ambient house scene. Jeczalik approved the remixes that appeared on The FON Mixes the following year. The rest of the decade saw China Records releasing further Art of Noise compilations: The Drum and Bass Collection, Art Works, and reissues of Best of without the ZTT-era tracks. Some of these featured new remixes by other artists. According to an interview with J.J. Jeczalik reported in the ZTT fanzine Outside World in 1991, Jeczalik, Dudley and Langan were inspired by the commercial success of The FON Mixes and had discussed reuniting the group as a trio again. In preparation to record a new album, Jeczalik and Langan travelled to Cuba to gather new source material. However, no new recordings were produced with the new line-up, and the Art of Noise remained defunct. Dudley became well known for composing numerous film and television scores during the 1990s. The most famous of these is probably The Full Monty, which won an Academy Award for Original Music Score. She also collaborated with Killing Joke's Jaz Coleman on the 1990 album Songs from the Victorious City (inspired by a trip the two made to Egypt) and produced two tracks for the 1993 Deborah Harry album Debravation ("Strike Me Pink", which she also co-wrote and played keyboards on, and "Mood Ring"). She has scored orchestrations for dozens of pop releases over the years, and both scored and produced the album Voice for her neighbour Alison Moyet. Cathy Dennis added lyrics to one of Dudley's compositions and recorded it as "Too Many Walls", which became a US Top 10 hit in 1991. In 1995–1997, Jeczalik and In No Sense? Nonsense! coengineer Bob Kraushaar produced a number of instrumentals oriented toward dance clubs under the name Art of Silence, issuing an album titled artofsilence.co.uk. Jeczalik also embarked on a new career in trading in futures contracts. The Art of Noise also received a full writing credit for The Prodigy's "Firestarter", which samples the female "hey, hey" voice from "Close to the Edit". The Prodigy also contributed the remix "Instruments of Darkness (All of Us are One People)" to the 1991 compilation The FON Mixes. Also, an edited version of "Close to the Edit" is featured on the monthly educational Amiga game Ready Robot Club. The Art of Noise are also credited for the music to the ITV series The Krypton Factor. The reunion and The Seduction of Claude Debussy (1998–2000) In 1998, Horn, Morley, and Dudley began talking about the original intent of the project, its relevance in 20th-century music, and the impending turn of a new century. The group temporarily reformed, adding guitarist Lol Creme, but without J.J. Jeczalik and Gary Langan. Their engineering, programming and production tasks were carried out by dance act Way Out West. An album was recorded – Balance – Music for the Eye – but was never released, although several tracks from this project were included on the 2010 retrospective album Influence. and the whole album was released as part of At the End of the Century box set. Instead, a new single called "Dream On" – which featured remixed versions of the forthcoming album track "Dreaming in Colour" – was released to club DJs later in 1998, showcasing mixes by Way Out West. A second single, "Metaforce", featuring a rap by Rakim, preceded the 1999 release of the concept album The Seduction of Claude Debussy, a cohesive concept album depicting the life and works of Claude Debussy, on the ZTT label. This album later formed the basis of a 17-minute soundtrack for London's Millennium fireworks celebrations on the banks of the River Thames. The firework display was synchronised to an edit of "Seduction" which also featured a collage of samples from some of Britain's most famous pop and rock songs, plus classical composers. It was broadcast live on 95.8 Capital FM and BBC London 94.9. Trevor Horn worked on the project with Jill Sinclair, Bob Geldof, Capital Radio executive Clive Dickens and producer Ross Ford. After performing a handful of live shows in the UK and US, the band dissolved. A DVD (Into Vision) and CD (Reconstructed) were released in 2002 and 2003 respectively, featuring music recorded and filmed in Chicago, at the Coachella Festival (10 September 1999), at the Shepherd's Bush Empire (22 March 2000) and Fountain Studios, Wembley, London (1 June 2000). Later work A reunion of sorts occurred at a 30 November 2013 live performance by the BBC Concert Orchestra (with a live BBC radio broadcast) including Dudley's orchestral arrangement of the band's EP Into Battle and a new piece entitled "Rhythm of a Decade" by Dudley and narrated by Morley. In their programme notes, they explain "Rhythm of a Decade" was inspired by an unreleased Art of Noise piece: "Of the many Art of Noise albums that did not appear – even if they were recorded – was one that set out to represent various decades through the rhythms that appeared during that particular decade – charting the development of rhythmical patterns and the physical changes in drum sounds throughout the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s". On 25 May 2017 Art of Noise members Langan, Dudley and Jeczalik reunited as Reboot Art of Noise, performing at Liverpool Sound City as special support for The Human League during the festival's Pioneers of British Electronic Music. The three appeared again when they played highlights from their In Visible Silence album plus other career highlights as "Dudley, Jeczalik, Langan" at the British Library in London on 9 March 2018 as part of the library's "Season of Sound" celebrating 140 years of recorded sound. This performance included a recorded video intro and outro from Paul Morley. Re-releases In 2003, a 20th-anniversary edition of Into Battle was released the first time in CD form in Germany, including bonus tracks and a bonus DVD of their promo videos and a selected discography slideshow of album art. The CD substituted the original version of "Beat Box" with the later "Diversion One". In early 2004, the Karvavena label released an Art of Noise tribute album, The Abduction of The Art of Noise. This album contains covers of various tracks, including a new version of "Beat Box" performed by J.J. Jeczalik under his Art of Silence moniker. 2004 saw Dudley and Horn perform "Close (To the Edit)" together at a The Prince's Trust charity event. In 2006, Lol Creme and Trevor Horn formed Producers, a band made up of renowned record producers and musicians. Gary Langan is the band's audio engineer. 21 August 2006 saw ZTT release a 4-CD Art of Noise box set, titled And What Have You Done with My Body, God?, which consisted of tracks exclusively from the 1983–85 ZTT era, from the initial tentative demos created by Gary Langan and J.J. Jeczalik in the wake of the Yes 90125 sessions, to selections from the Ambassadors Theatre performances featuring Horn and Morley, recorded at concerts profiling ZTT acts—prior to which, Langan, Jeczalik, and Dudley had abandoned the label (and, for the time being, the band). The set featured over 40 unreleased remixes, demos, and works in progress, as well as the complete vinyl version of Into Battle... – sourced from the original masters – for the first time on CD. The project was conceived, researched and compiled by music journalist (and Art of Noise aficionado) Ian Peel, who also wrote the box set's accompanying 36-page book, which featured new interviews with all of the original members. In April 2011, Peel continued his archiving of classic and vaulted ZTT material, now named the Element Series, with a Deluxe Edition reissue of Into Battle with the Art of Noise. This was intended to be the first of a chronological remastering and repackaging of the Art of Noise's output, collating the original album or EP with extended and previously unavailable tracks. Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise?, considered the first 'true' AON album, was released as a Deluxe Edition on 19 September 2011. In May 2017, a two-disc deluxe edition of In Visible Silence was released. Included is the remastered album, along with several remixes and B-sides, taken from previous 12" singles and available on CD for the first time. Also included are outtakes and unreleased material from the group's time with China Records. Shortly thereafter, a similar deluxe edition of their next album, In No Sense? Nonsense! was released. Other work The Art of Noise wrote and recorded the theme music to the popular British game show The Krypton Factor, which was used from 1986 to 1993; the group also composed the short music pieces that introduced each of the six rounds. The group also composed and performed the opening theme for the third series of the chat show The Max Headroom Show. The track, titled "Happy Harry's High Club" (after a phrase spoken by Max Headroom on Paranoimia), is featured on In Visible Silence. Discography Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? (1984) In Visible Silence (1986) In No Sense? Nonsense! (1987) Below the Waste (1989) The Seduction of Claude Debussy (1999) DVD and video "The Art of Noise in: Visible Silence" (1986) – a concert filmed in the Hammersmith Odeon on 15 August 1986. The Art of Noise: "Into Vision" (2002) – four different concerts between 1999 and 2000 in Chicago; The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California; in Shepherd's Bush, London; and in Wembley, London. Band members See also List of number-one dance singles of 1984 (U.S.) List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart Musique concrète References External links Official website Official Facebook page Official Twitter profile Official Instagram page Category:English electronic music groups Category:English synth-pop groups Category:English dance music groups Category:English new wave musical groups Category:British synth-pop new wave groups Category:Musical groups from London Category:China Records artists Category:Chrysalis Records artists Category:Island Records artists Category:ZTT Records artists Category:Polydor Records artists Category:Universal Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Musical groups established in 1983 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2000

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Tom Cousineau

Thomas Michael Cousineau (born May 6, 1957) is an American former college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He played college football for Ohio State University, and twice earned All-American honors. He was the first overall pick of the 1979 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the CFL's Montreal Alouettes and the NFL's Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers. Cousineau is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, elected in the class of 2016.

Professional football career

Cousineau was drafted first overall in the 1979 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills, who acquired the pick as a part of a package of five draft picks from the San Francisco 49ers in a 1978 trade for O.J. Simpson. However, he never played a game for the Bills. He instead signed with the Canadian Football League Montreal Alouettes, who signed him for double the money originally offered by the Bills. Cousineau became a star for the Alouettes, becoming the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player in the 1979 season. He only played in four games in his third season because of an elbow injury while the Alouettes collapsed. In 1982, Cousineau wanted to return to the NFL, choosing to forego two optional years with the Alouettes. The Houston Oilers attempted to sign him, but the Bills (who still held Cousineau's NFL rights) matched the offer. Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell had long been interested in signing him. Cousineau was then traded from the Bills to the Cleveland Browns for a first-round draft choice (14th overall) in the 1983 NFL Draft, plus a second and a third draft choice in subsequent years. That first-round pick was used on future Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly. Cousineau signed a five-year contract for $2.5 million, the highest contract ever at the time by the Browns. In 1983, Cousineau was arrested in connection with minor collision with a police car on Saint Patrick's Day He was charged with drunk driving, improperly using traffic lanes, and not having his driver's license. He was subsequently found not guilty of the drunk driving charge, but guilty of the moving violation (the driver's license charge was dropped). During Cousineau's four seasons with the Browns, he led the team in tackles for three seasons. He was named a 2nd-team All-NFL by the NEA in 1983, and by the AP in 1984, but never made the Pro Bowl in his career. He was considered an overpaid disappointment in Cleveland, while Bills fans fondly remember the fact that the man who once snubbed them for the CFL was traded for Jim Kelly. Cousineau signed with the San Francisco 49ers as a free agent after the 1985 season where he played two years as a reserve before retiring in 1987. Cousineau finished his NFL career with ten interceptions and 6.5 career sacks. CANNOTANSWER

Thomas Michael Cousineau (born May 6, 1957) is an American former college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He played college football for Ohio State University, and twice earned All-American honors. He was the first overall pick of the 1979 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the CFL's Montreal Alouettes and the NFL's Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers. Cousineau is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, elected in the class of 2016. He is also a member of the Ohio State Varsity "O" Hall of Fame, inducted in 1995, and St. Edward High School Hall of Fame. Cousineau was the recipient of the Silver Anniversary Butkus Award in 2003. Early years Cousineau was born in Fairview Park, Ohio, to Carol and Tom Cousineau Sr, who was the head football and a wrestling coach at Lakewood (Ohio) High School. Consequently, his mother did not want him to play football under the shadow of his father. Thus, Cousineau played high school football for nearby St. Edward High School, which is several blocks away in Lakewood. He excelled and was one of the most highly recruited football players in the country in his senior year. He graduated in 1975. Cousineau was also an accomplished wrestler. In 1975, under legendary coach Howard Ferguson, he lost to future NFL player Bob Golic from cross-town all-boys school rival St. Joseph High School in the Ohio state wrestling tournament semifinals in the heavyweight weight class. The match has been called "one of the most memorable," Golic would go on to win the state title and Cousineau would finish in third place. Golic would go to be two-time All-American at heavyweight at Notre Dame. Cousineau and Golic would eventually become teammates in the NFL with the Browns. College football career Cousineau attended Ohio State University, where he played for legendary coach Woody Hayes' Ohio State Buckeyes football team from 1975 to 1978. During that span, Ohio State had an overall record of 36-10-2 and 28–4 in the Big Ten, were three-time Big Ten champs. The Buckeyes played four bowl games after each of the seasons he played: in the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Gator Bowl. They were a Top 5 team for 36 weeks over these four years and the No. 1 team in the nation for eight weeks in 1975, and ultimately finished fourth, sixth and 12th in the final Associated Press polls in 1975, 1976 and 1977, respectively. Cousineau majored in marketing. He was a consensus first-team All-American, breaking the school record with 211 tackles in a single season in 1978, an average of 17.5 a game. He also broke the school record for most tackles in a game with 29 against Penn State in 1978, and was the MVP of the 1977 Orange Bowl. Cousineau's last game for the Buckeyes was the infamous 1978 Gator Bowl against Clemson, during which Coach Hayes punched Clemson linebacker Charlie Bauman in the final minutes of the game. Hayes was fired the following day for the incident. Cousineau still holds many of Ohio State's tackling records. As of 2016, he holds six of the top 10 single-game tackling records, 29 single-game tackles (since tied by fellow College Football Hall of Famer Chris Spielman), most solo tackles in a single game, (16 against SMU in 1978). He also ranks second on both the all-time OSU tackle list with 569 (three behind Marcus Marek) and on the career solo tackles list with 259. He was named an All-American in 1977 and 1978. The Chicago Tribune named him the MVP of the Big Ten in 1978. He graduated from OSU in 1979. In 2016, he became the 25th Ohio State player, along with seven Buckeye coaches, to be named to the College Football Hall of Fame. Professional football career Cousineau was drafted first overall in the 1979 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills, who acquired the pick as a part of a package of five draft picks from the San Francisco 49ers in a 1978 trade for O. J. Simpson. However, he never played a game for the Bills. He instead signed with the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes, who signed him for double the money originally offered by the Bills. Cousineau became a star for the Alouettes, becoming the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player in the 1979 season. He only played in four games in his third season because of an elbow injury while the Alouettes collapsed. In 1982, Cousineau wanted to return to the NFL, choosing to forego two optional years with the Alouettes. The Houston Oilers attempted to sign him, but the Bills (who still held Cousineau's NFL rights) matched the offer. Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell had long been interested in signing him. Cousineau was then traded from the Bills to the Cleveland Browns for a first-round draft choice (14th overall) in the 1983 NFL Draft, plus a second and a third draft choice in subsequent years. That first-round pick was used on future Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly. Cousineau signed a five-year contract for $2.5 million, the highest contract ever at the time by the Browns. In 1983, Cousineau was arrested in connection with minor collision with a police car on Saint Patrick's Day He was charged with drunk driving, improperly using traffic lanes, and not having his driver's license. He was subsequently found not guilty of the drunk driving charge, but guilty of the moving violation (the driver's license charge was dropped). During Cousineau's four seasons with the Browns, he led the team in tackles for three seasons. In the 1983 season, he intercepted 4 passes and was named a 2nd-team All-NFL by the NEA. He was also named 2nd-team all NFL by the AP in 1984, but never made the Pro Bowl in his career. He was considered an overpaid disappointment in Cleveland, while Bills fans fondly remember the fact that the man who once snubbed them for the CFL was traded for Jim Kelly. Cousineau signed with the San Francisco 49ers as a free agent after the 1985 season where he played two years as a reserve before retiring in 1987. Cousineau finished his NFL career with ten interceptions and 6.5 career sacks. After retiring as a player St. Edward inducted Cousineau to the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. He married Lisa June 16, 1990, and has 2 daughters Kyle and Kacey. On February 8, 2006, Cousineau announced plans to run for a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives as a Republican in the Akron, Ohio area. He won the May primary but lost the November election to Democrat Brian Williams by a margin of 58% to 42%. On April 20, 2009, Cousineau joined the St. Vincent – St. Mary High School football coaching staff as a linebackers coach. Cousineau later went on to be the linebackers coach at St. Edward High School (Ohio) References External links Ohio State bio NFL bio Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:All-American college football players Category:American football linebackers Category:Canadian football linebackers Category:Cleveland Browns players Category:National Football League first-overall draft picks Category:Montreal Alouettes players Category:Ohio State Buckeyes football players Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:Players of American football from Akron, Ohio Category:Players of Canadian football from Cleveland Category:San Francisco 49ers players Category:St. Edward High School (Lakewood, Ohio) alumni Category:National Football League replacement players Category:Players of American football from Cleveland

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Tom Cousineau

Thomas Michael Cousineau (born May 6, 1957) is an American former college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He played college football for Ohio State University, and twice earned All-American honors. He was the first overall pick of the 1979 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the CFL's Montreal Alouettes and the NFL's Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers. Cousineau is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, elected in the class of 2016.

College football career

Cousineau attended Ohio State University, where he played for legendary coach Woody Hayes' Ohio State Buckeyes football team from 1975 to 1978. During that span, Ohio State had an overall record of 36-10-2 and 28-4 in the Big Ten, were three-time Big Ten champs. The Buckeyes played four bowl games after each of the seasons he played: in the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Gator Bowl. They were a Top 5 team for 36 weeks over these four years and the No. 1 team in the nation for eight weeks in 1975, and ultimately finished fourth, sixth and 12th in the final Associated Press polls in 1975, 1976 and 1977, respectively. Cousineau majored in marketing. It is rumored that he frequently ate Ken Boock's lunch while attending Ohio State. He was a consensus first-team All-American, breaking the school record with 211 tackles in a single season in 1978, an average of 17.5 a game. He also broke the school record for most tackles in a game with 29 against Penn State in 1978, and was the MVP of the 1977 Orange Bowl. Cousineau's last game for the Buckeyes was the infamous 1978 Gator Bowl against Clemson, during which Coach Hayes punched Clemson linebacker Charlie Bauman in the final minutes of the game. Hayes was fired the following day for the incident. Cousineau still holds many of Ohio State's tackling records. As of 2016, he holds six of the top 10 single-game tackling records, 29 single-game tackles (since tied by fellow College Football Hall of Famer Chris Spielman), most solo tackles in a single game, (16 against SMU in 1978). He also ranks second on both the all-time OSU tackle list with 569 (three behind Marcus Marek) and on the career solo tackles list with 259. He was named an All-American in 1977 and 1978. The Chicago Tribune named him the MVP of the Big Ten in 1978. He graduated from OSU in 1979. In 2016, he became the 25th Ohio State player, along with seven Buckeye coaches, to be named to the College Football Hall of Fame. CANNOTANSWER

Thomas Michael Cousineau (born May 6, 1957) is an American former college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He played college football for Ohio State University, and twice earned All-American honors. He was the first overall pick of the 1979 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the CFL's Montreal Alouettes and the NFL's Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers. Cousineau is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, elected in the class of 2016. He is also a member of the Ohio State Varsity "O" Hall of Fame, inducted in 1995, and St. Edward High School Hall of Fame. Cousineau was the recipient of the Silver Anniversary Butkus Award in 2003. Early years Cousineau was born in Fairview Park, Ohio, to Carol and Tom Cousineau Sr, who was the head football and a wrestling coach at Lakewood (Ohio) High School. Consequently, his mother did not want him to play football under the shadow of his father. Thus, Cousineau played high school football for nearby St. Edward High School, which is several blocks away in Lakewood. He excelled and was one of the most highly recruited football players in the country in his senior year. He graduated in 1975. Cousineau was also an accomplished wrestler. In 1975, under legendary coach Howard Ferguson, he lost to future NFL player Bob Golic from cross-town all-boys school rival St. Joseph High School in the Ohio state wrestling tournament semifinals in the heavyweight weight class. The match has been called "one of the most memorable," Golic would go on to win the state title and Cousineau would finish in third place. Golic would go to be two-time All-American at heavyweight at Notre Dame. Cousineau and Golic would eventually become teammates in the NFL with the Browns. College football career Cousineau attended Ohio State University, where he played for legendary coach Woody Hayes' Ohio State Buckeyes football team from 1975 to 1978. During that span, Ohio State had an overall record of 36-10-2 and 28–4 in the Big Ten, were three-time Big Ten champs. The Buckeyes played four bowl games after each of the seasons he played: in the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Gator Bowl. They were a Top 5 team for 36 weeks over these four years and the No. 1 team in the nation for eight weeks in 1975, and ultimately finished fourth, sixth and 12th in the final Associated Press polls in 1975, 1976 and 1977, respectively. Cousineau majored in marketing. He was a consensus first-team All-American, breaking the school record with 211 tackles in a single season in 1978, an average of 17.5 a game. He also broke the school record for most tackles in a game with 29 against Penn State in 1978, and was the MVP of the 1977 Orange Bowl. Cousineau's last game for the Buckeyes was the infamous 1978 Gator Bowl against Clemson, during which Coach Hayes punched Clemson linebacker Charlie Bauman in the final minutes of the game. Hayes was fired the following day for the incident. Cousineau still holds many of Ohio State's tackling records. As of 2016, he holds six of the top 10 single-game tackling records, 29 single-game tackles (since tied by fellow College Football Hall of Famer Chris Spielman), most solo tackles in a single game, (16 against SMU in 1978). He also ranks second on both the all-time OSU tackle list with 569 (three behind Marcus Marek) and on the career solo tackles list with 259. He was named an All-American in 1977 and 1978. The Chicago Tribune named him the MVP of the Big Ten in 1978. He graduated from OSU in 1979. In 2016, he became the 25th Ohio State player, along with seven Buckeye coaches, to be named to the College Football Hall of Fame. Professional football career Cousineau was drafted first overall in the 1979 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills, who acquired the pick as a part of a package of five draft picks from the San Francisco 49ers in a 1978 trade for O. J. Simpson. However, he never played a game for the Bills. He instead signed with the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes, who signed him for double the money originally offered by the Bills. Cousineau became a star for the Alouettes, becoming the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player in the 1979 season. He only played in four games in his third season because of an elbow injury while the Alouettes collapsed. In 1982, Cousineau wanted to return to the NFL, choosing to forego two optional years with the Alouettes. The Houston Oilers attempted to sign him, but the Bills (who still held Cousineau's NFL rights) matched the offer. Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell had long been interested in signing him. Cousineau was then traded from the Bills to the Cleveland Browns for a first-round draft choice (14th overall) in the 1983 NFL Draft, plus a second and a third draft choice in subsequent years. That first-round pick was used on future Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly. Cousineau signed a five-year contract for $2.5 million, the highest contract ever at the time by the Browns. In 1983, Cousineau was arrested in connection with minor collision with a police car on Saint Patrick's Day He was charged with drunk driving, improperly using traffic lanes, and not having his driver's license. He was subsequently found not guilty of the drunk driving charge, but guilty of the moving violation (the driver's license charge was dropped). During Cousineau's four seasons with the Browns, he led the team in tackles for three seasons. In the 1983 season, he intercepted 4 passes and was named a 2nd-team All-NFL by the NEA. He was also named 2nd-team all NFL by the AP in 1984, but never made the Pro Bowl in his career. He was considered an overpaid disappointment in Cleveland, while Bills fans fondly remember the fact that the man who once snubbed them for the CFL was traded for Jim Kelly. Cousineau signed with the San Francisco 49ers as a free agent after the 1985 season where he played two years as a reserve before retiring in 1987. Cousineau finished his NFL career with ten interceptions and 6.5 career sacks. After retiring as a player St. Edward inducted Cousineau to the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. He married Lisa June 16, 1990, and has 2 daughters Kyle and Kacey. On February 8, 2006, Cousineau announced plans to run for a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives as a Republican in the Akron, Ohio area. He won the May primary but lost the November election to Democrat Brian Williams by a margin of 58% to 42%. On April 20, 2009, Cousineau joined the St. Vincent – St. Mary High School football coaching staff as a linebackers coach. Cousineau later went on to be the linebackers coach at St. Edward High School (Ohio) References External links Ohio State bio NFL bio Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:All-American college football players Category:American football linebackers Category:Canadian football linebackers Category:Cleveland Browns players Category:National Football League first-overall draft picks Category:Montreal Alouettes players Category:Ohio State Buckeyes football players Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:Players of American football from Akron, Ohio Category:Players of Canadian football from Cleveland Category:San Francisco 49ers players Category:St. Edward High School (Lakewood, Ohio) alumni Category:National Football League replacement players Category:Players of American football from Cleveland

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Mickey Thompson

Marion Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928 - March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s. He achieved international fame in 1960 when he became the first American to break the 400 mph barrier, driving his Challenger 1 to a one-way top speed of 406.60 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats and surpassing John Cobb's one-way world record mark of 402 mph. Thompson then turned to racing, winning many track and dragster championships.

Indy years

In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2 litre capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction and accomplishment. Thompson's promotion skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then pioneering smaller profile (12 inch diameter) and wide racing tires (front 7 inches and rear 9 inches wide) and wheels. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis. Two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller II raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints amongst the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. 1962 Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it citing its poor handling. In 1963 Thompson traveled to England where, along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. Thompson brought three modified 12-inch tire cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-inch tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No.84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver but Eddie Johnson in car No.84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No.83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. CANNOTANSWER

Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s. He achieved international fame in 1960, when he became the first American to break the 400-mph barrier, driving his Challenger 1 to a one-way top speed of 406.60 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats and surpassing John Cobb's one-way world record mark of 402 mph. Thompson then turned to racing, winning many track and dragster championships. In the 1960s, he also entered cars at the Indianapolis 500. Later, he formed off-road racing sanctioning bodies SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG). In 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were gunned down at their home in Bradbury, California. The crime remained unsolved until 2007, when a former business partner was convicted of having orchestrated the murders. Early life On December 7, 1928 Thompson was born in Alhambra, California. Thompson's father was Captain Marion L. Thompson, a former police officer with Alhambra Police Department. Thompson's sister is Collene Thompson Campbell. Career In his early 20s, he worked as a pressman for the Los Angeles Times while pursuing a lifelong love of hot rodding. He later became involved in the new sport of drag racing. Tireless and innovative, he found success as a championship driver and instinctive automotive technician. Over the course of his career, Thompson set more speed and endurance records than any other man in automotive history. He is credited with designing and building the first slingshot dragster, in 1954, moving the seat behind the rear axle to improve traction when existing racing tires proved unable to handle the output of increasingly powerful custom engines. This car, the Panorama City Special, debuted at the first NHRA U.S. Nationals at the Great Bend Municipal Airport in Great Bend, Kansas, in 1955. The car ultimately ran a best speed of . A change so momentous would not happen again until Don Garlits introduced the rear-engined digger in 1971. Thompson also was noted for being the first manager of Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington, California, in 1955. Thompson collaborated with Fritz Voight on a 1958 twin-engined dragster. This car achieved a best speed of . It provided lessons later applied to Challenger I. Determined to set a new land speed record, Thompson achieved fame when he drove his four-engined Challenger 1 at better than in 1960 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, becoming the first American to break that barrier. Indy years 1962 In 1962, Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite-designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine, and it was in the rear unlike the front-engined, race-tuned, Offenhauser-powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, was young, smart, and hard working. Working 12- to 14-hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2-L capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction, and accomplishment. 1963 Thompson's promotional skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500, Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then-pioneering diameter wheels with smaller-profile racing tires, wide at the front and rear. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis - two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th, but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints among the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it, citing its poor handling. The recent ruling required 15-in wheels, but the chassis was designed around smaller wheels. Thompson commented: "The car wouldn't handle", adding, "There was too much body roll due to the high center of gravity." In 1963, Thompson traveled to England, where along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. 1964 Thompson brought three modified 12-inch-tired cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-in tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No. 84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver, but Eddie Johnson in car No. 84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No. 83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. 1965–1968 Thompson went back to Indy in 1965, but failed to qualify in an attempt with a front-engined roadster. He skipped 1966, but tried again in 1967 and 1968, again failing to qualify either year. The 1967 attempt used a unique all-wheel drive rear-engined design that steered both front and rear wheels, but Gary Congdon was unable to qualify any of the three cars. Post Indy In 1965, Thompson published Challenger: Mickey Thompson's own story of his life of Speed. In 1968 Danny Ongais and he took three Ford Mustang Mach 1 to the Bonneville salt flats for a feature in Hot Rod magazine, in the process setting 295 speed and endurance records over a series of 500-mile and 24-hour courses. Together with John Buttera and Pat Foster, developed a Ford Mustang Mach 1 Funny Car with a dragster-like chassis. Driven by Ongais, the car won the 1969 NHRA Spring Nationals at Dallas and the NHRA U.S. Nationals. In his long career, Thompson raced vehicles from stock cars to off-road, and engineered numerous competition engines. He went into the performance aftermarket business in the early 1960s and then, in 1963, he created "Mickey Thompson Performance Tires" that developed special tires for racing including for Indianapolis 500 competitors. Thompson founded SCORE International in 1973, a sanctioning body to oversee off-road racing across North America. With his wife Trudy he formed the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG), which ran an indoor motocross and off-road vehicle racing show and competition that brought the sport from the back-country to major metropolitan stadiums and arenas. Personal life Thompson's wife was Trudy Thompson. On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were murdered in Bradbury, California. Murder On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were killed by two hooded gunmen outside their home in Bradbury, California, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. On the morning of the murder, a pair of unknown assailants waited outside the Thompson home for the couple to leave for the day. Mickey opened the garage door for his wife to pull out in her vehicle, and as he headed for his own car, the gunmen attacked. He was shot and wounded, then dragged out into the driveway while one of the attackers went after Trudy as she backed out. Killing her, the gunman then came back up the driveway, where the other gunman was watching over Mickey and shot him fatally in the head. The attackers then made their escape on the bicycles they had ridden to the Thompson residence. Expensive jewelry and a large amount of cash were found on the Thompsons' bodies, eliminating robbery as a likely motive. An intense police investigation initially failed to uncover either the identity of the mystery gunmen, or a motive for the crime. Police were interested in Thompson's former business partner Michael Frank Goodwin who repeatedly refused to pay a more than $768,000 settlement he owed Thompson. Goodwin and his wife bought $275,000 worth of gold coins two months before the Thompsons were murdered and wired $400,000 to banks on the island Grand Turk and Caicos. Goodwin and his wife then left the country five months after the murder on their yacht and did not return for more than two years. The case remained unsolved until 2001, when Goodwin was charged in Orange County, California with the murders. Before a trial could be completed, it was ended on jurisdictional grounds by the California District Court of Appeal. On June 8, 2004, Goodwin was formally charged with the murders in Pasadena, in Los Angeles County. In October 2006, a Pasadena Superior Court judge ordered Goodwin to stand trial. During the trial, a long series of witnesses reported hearing Goodwin threaten to kill the Thompsons. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch. I’m going to kill that motherfucker. I’m going to take out Mickey. I’m too smart to get caught. I’ll have him wasted. He’ll never see a nickel. I’ll kill him first. Mickey doesn’t know who he is fucking with. He is fucking dead.” Although the prosecution did not establish a direct connection between the murderers and Goodwin, the circumstantial evidence was sufficient to convict him. On January 4, 2007, a jury found Goodwin guilty of two counts of murder in the death of Thompson and his wife. Goodwin was sentenced to two consecutive life-without-parole terms. A subsequent motion for a new trial was denied. In the 2015 California 2nd District Court of Appeal ruling, although no direct evidence connected Goodwin to the case, the array of circumstantial evidence was found to be "overwhelming". The two men who murdered the Thompsons have not been located. TV coverage, and its fictionalization through the television program CSI, were cited by the defense team during the murder trial as having created a "folklore" around the case, preventing a fair trial. Thompson, his wife, and his pets are interred in the Rose Hills Memorial Park, in Whittier, California. In popular culture CBS's To Tell The Truth. Appeared as a contestant in March 1962 NBC's Unsolved Mysteries Investigation Discovery's Murder Book. CBS television program 48 Hours Mystery April 28, 2007 CSI episode "Early Rollout" (2004) was based on this murder case. Awards Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America 1990 Inducted to International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Thompson was ranked No. 11 on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951–2000 Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2009. See also Semon Knudsen Stadium Super Trucks, a racing series inspired by Thompson's stadium off-road racing Danny Thompson, Thompson's son, also a race car driver References External links News release on documentary of the murder Trial Commentary M/T Tires Official Page Michael Goodwin profile on America's Most Wanted Murder On the Last Turn LA Weekly October 18, 2006 Lions the Greatest Drag Strip Part One at nhramuseum.org Additional sources Taylor, Thom. "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone" in Hot Rod, April 2017, pp. 30–43. Category:1928 births Category:1988 deaths Category:1988 murders in the United States Category:Bonneville 300 MPH Club members Category:Brighton Speed Trials people Category:Deaths by firearm in California Category:Dragster drivers Category:International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees Category:Land speed record people Category:Male murder victims Category:Off-road racing drivers Category:Sportspeople from Alhambra, California Category:People murdered in California Category:Racing drivers from California Category:Racing drivers from Los Angeles Category:World Sportscar Championship drivers Category:People from Bradbury, California Category:Burials at Rose Hills Memorial Park Category:Carrera Panamericana drivers

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Mickey Thompson

Marion Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928 - March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s. He achieved international fame in 1960 when he became the first American to break the 400 mph barrier, driving his Challenger 1 to a one-way top speed of 406.60 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats and surpassing John Cobb's one-way world record mark of 402 mph. Thompson then turned to racing, winning many track and dragster championships.

Early history

Thompson was born in Alhambra, California. In his early twenties, he worked as a pressman for the Los Angeles Times while pursuing a lifelong love of hot rodding. He later became involved in the new sport of drag racing. Tireless and innovative, he found success as a championship driver and instinctive automotive technician. Over the course of his career, Thompson set more speed and endurance records than any other man in automotive history. He is credited with designing and building the first slingshot dragster, in 1954, moving the seat behind the rear axle to improve traction when existing racing tires proved unable to handle the output of increasingly powerful custom engines. This car, the Panorama City Special, debuted at the first NHRA U.S. Nationals at the Great Bend Municipal Airport in Great Bend, Kansas in 1955. The car ultimately ran a best speed of 151.26 mph (243.43 km/h). A change so momentous would not happen again until Don Garlits introduced the rear-engined digger in 1971. Thompson also was noted for being the first manager of Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington, California, in 1955. Thompson collaborated with Fritz Voight on a 1958 twin-engined dragster. This car achieved a best speed of 294.117 mph (473.335 km/h). It provided lessons later applied to Challenger I. Determined to set a new land speed record, Thompson achieved fame when he drove his four-engined Challenger 1 at better than 400 mph (640 km/h) in 1960 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, becoming the first American to break that barrier. CANNOTANSWER

Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s. He achieved international fame in 1960, when he became the first American to break the 400-mph barrier, driving his Challenger 1 to a one-way top speed of 406.60 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats and surpassing John Cobb's one-way world record mark of 402 mph. Thompson then turned to racing, winning many track and dragster championships. In the 1960s, he also entered cars at the Indianapolis 500. Later, he formed off-road racing sanctioning bodies SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG). In 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were gunned down at their home in Bradbury, California. The crime remained unsolved until 2007, when a former business partner was convicted of having orchestrated the murders. Early life On December 7, 1928 Thompson was born in Alhambra, California. Thompson's father was Captain Marion L. Thompson, a former police officer with Alhambra Police Department. Thompson's sister is Collene Thompson Campbell. Career In his early 20s, he worked as a pressman for the Los Angeles Times while pursuing a lifelong love of hot rodding. He later became involved in the new sport of drag racing. Tireless and innovative, he found success as a championship driver and instinctive automotive technician. Over the course of his career, Thompson set more speed and endurance records than any other man in automotive history. He is credited with designing and building the first slingshot dragster, in 1954, moving the seat behind the rear axle to improve traction when existing racing tires proved unable to handle the output of increasingly powerful custom engines. This car, the Panorama City Special, debuted at the first NHRA U.S. Nationals at the Great Bend Municipal Airport in Great Bend, Kansas, in 1955. The car ultimately ran a best speed of . A change so momentous would not happen again until Don Garlits introduced the rear-engined digger in 1971. Thompson also was noted for being the first manager of Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington, California, in 1955. Thompson collaborated with Fritz Voight on a 1958 twin-engined dragster. This car achieved a best speed of . It provided lessons later applied to Challenger I. Determined to set a new land speed record, Thompson achieved fame when he drove his four-engined Challenger 1 at better than in 1960 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, becoming the first American to break that barrier. Indy years 1962 In 1962, Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite-designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine, and it was in the rear unlike the front-engined, race-tuned, Offenhauser-powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, was young, smart, and hard working. Working 12- to 14-hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2-L capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction, and accomplishment. 1963 Thompson's promotional skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500, Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then-pioneering diameter wheels with smaller-profile racing tires, wide at the front and rear. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis - two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th, but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints among the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it, citing its poor handling. The recent ruling required 15-in wheels, but the chassis was designed around smaller wheels. Thompson commented: "The car wouldn't handle", adding, "There was too much body roll due to the high center of gravity." In 1963, Thompson traveled to England, where along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. 1964 Thompson brought three modified 12-inch-tired cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-in tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No. 84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver, but Eddie Johnson in car No. 84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No. 83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. 1965–1968 Thompson went back to Indy in 1965, but failed to qualify in an attempt with a front-engined roadster. He skipped 1966, but tried again in 1967 and 1968, again failing to qualify either year. The 1967 attempt used a unique all-wheel drive rear-engined design that steered both front and rear wheels, but Gary Congdon was unable to qualify any of the three cars. Post Indy In 1965, Thompson published Challenger: Mickey Thompson's own story of his life of Speed. In 1968 Danny Ongais and he took three Ford Mustang Mach 1 to the Bonneville salt flats for a feature in Hot Rod magazine, in the process setting 295 speed and endurance records over a series of 500-mile and 24-hour courses. Together with John Buttera and Pat Foster, developed a Ford Mustang Mach 1 Funny Car with a dragster-like chassis. Driven by Ongais, the car won the 1969 NHRA Spring Nationals at Dallas and the NHRA U.S. Nationals. In his long career, Thompson raced vehicles from stock cars to off-road, and engineered numerous competition engines. He went into the performance aftermarket business in the early 1960s and then, in 1963, he created "Mickey Thompson Performance Tires" that developed special tires for racing including for Indianapolis 500 competitors. Thompson founded SCORE International in 1973, a sanctioning body to oversee off-road racing across North America. With his wife Trudy he formed the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG), which ran an indoor motocross and off-road vehicle racing show and competition that brought the sport from the back-country to major metropolitan stadiums and arenas. Personal life Thompson's wife was Trudy Thompson. On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were murdered in Bradbury, California. Murder On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were killed by two hooded gunmen outside their home in Bradbury, California, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. On the morning of the murder, a pair of unknown assailants waited outside the Thompson home for the couple to leave for the day. Mickey opened the garage door for his wife to pull out in her vehicle, and as he headed for his own car, the gunmen attacked. He was shot and wounded, then dragged out into the driveway while one of the attackers went after Trudy as she backed out. Killing her, the gunman then came back up the driveway, where the other gunman was watching over Mickey and shot him fatally in the head. The attackers then made their escape on the bicycles they had ridden to the Thompson residence. Expensive jewelry and a large amount of cash were found on the Thompsons' bodies, eliminating robbery as a likely motive. An intense police investigation initially failed to uncover either the identity of the mystery gunmen, or a motive for the crime. Police were interested in Thompson's former business partner Michael Frank Goodwin who repeatedly refused to pay a more than $768,000 settlement he owed Thompson. Goodwin and his wife bought $275,000 worth of gold coins two months before the Thompsons were murdered and wired $400,000 to banks on the island Grand Turk and Caicos. Goodwin and his wife then left the country five months after the murder on their yacht and did not return for more than two years. The case remained unsolved until 2001, when Goodwin was charged in Orange County, California with the murders. Before a trial could be completed, it was ended on jurisdictional grounds by the California District Court of Appeal. On June 8, 2004, Goodwin was formally charged with the murders in Pasadena, in Los Angeles County. In October 2006, a Pasadena Superior Court judge ordered Goodwin to stand trial. During the trial, a long series of witnesses reported hearing Goodwin threaten to kill the Thompsons. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch. I’m going to kill that motherfucker. I’m going to take out Mickey. I’m too smart to get caught. I’ll have him wasted. He’ll never see a nickel. I’ll kill him first. Mickey doesn’t know who he is fucking with. He is fucking dead.” Although the prosecution did not establish a direct connection between the murderers and Goodwin, the circumstantial evidence was sufficient to convict him. On January 4, 2007, a jury found Goodwin guilty of two counts of murder in the death of Thompson and his wife. Goodwin was sentenced to two consecutive life-without-parole terms. A subsequent motion for a new trial was denied. In the 2015 California 2nd District Court of Appeal ruling, although no direct evidence connected Goodwin to the case, the array of circumstantial evidence was found to be "overwhelming". The two men who murdered the Thompsons have not been located. TV coverage, and its fictionalization through the television program CSI, were cited by the defense team during the murder trial as having created a "folklore" around the case, preventing a fair trial. Thompson, his wife, and his pets are interred in the Rose Hills Memorial Park, in Whittier, California. In popular culture CBS's To Tell The Truth. Appeared as a contestant in March 1962 NBC's Unsolved Mysteries Investigation Discovery's Murder Book. CBS television program 48 Hours Mystery April 28, 2007 CSI episode "Early Rollout" (2004) was based on this murder case. Awards Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America 1990 Inducted to International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Thompson was ranked No. 11 on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951–2000 Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2009. See also Semon Knudsen Stadium Super Trucks, a racing series inspired by Thompson's stadium off-road racing Danny Thompson, Thompson's son, also a race car driver References External links News release on documentary of the murder Trial Commentary M/T Tires Official Page Michael Goodwin profile on America's Most Wanted Murder On the Last Turn LA Weekly October 18, 2006 Lions the Greatest Drag Strip Part One at nhramuseum.org Additional sources Taylor, Thom. "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone" in Hot Rod, April 2017, pp. 30–43. Category:1928 births Category:1988 deaths Category:1988 murders in the United States Category:Bonneville 300 MPH Club members Category:Brighton Speed Trials people Category:Deaths by firearm in California Category:Dragster drivers Category:International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees Category:Land speed record people Category:Male murder victims Category:Off-road racing drivers Category:Sportspeople from Alhambra, California Category:People murdered in California Category:Racing drivers from California Category:Racing drivers from Los Angeles Category:World Sportscar Championship drivers Category:People from Bradbury, California Category:Burials at Rose Hills Memorial Park Category:Carrera Panamericana drivers

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Bobby Jones (golfer)

Robert Tyre Jones Jr. (March 17, 1902 - December 18, 1971) was an American amateur golfer who was one of the most influential figures in the history of the sport; he was also a lawyer by profession. Jones founded and helped design the Augusta National Golf Club, and co-founded the Masters Tournament. The innovations that he introduced at the Masters have been copied by virtually every professional golf tournament in the world. Jones was the most successful amateur golfer ever to compete at a national and international level.

Early years

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Jones battled health issues as a young boy, and golf was prescribed to strengthen him. Encouraged by his father, "Colonel" Robert Purmedus Jones, an Atlanta lawyer, Jones loved golf from the start. He developed quickly into a child prodigy, who won his first children's tournament at the age of six at his home course at East Lake Golf Club. In 1916, Jones won his first major golf event when he claimed the inaugural Georgia Amateur Championship conducted by the Georgia State Golf Association at the Capital City Club, in Brookhaven, at age 14. His victory at this event put him in the national spotlight for the first time. The Georgia Amateur win caught the eye of the United States Golf Association which awarded Jones his first invitation to the U.S. Amateur at Merion near Philadelphia. Jones advanced to the quarterfinals in his first playing in the event. He was influenced by club professional Stewart Maiden, a native of Carnoustie, Scotland. Maiden was the professional at the Atlanta Athletic Club's East Lake Golf Club, who also trained Alexa Stirling, five years older than Jones but also a prodigy, at East Lake around the same time. Jones also received golf lessons from Willie Ogg when he was in his teenage years. Jones played frequently with his father, a skilled player himself. The younger Jones sometimes battled his own temper on the course, but later controlled his emotions as he became more experienced. Jones toured the U.S. during World War I from 1917-18, playing exhibition matches before large crowds, often with Alexa Stirling and Perry Adair, to generate income for war relief. Playing in front of such crowds in these matches helped him, as he moved into national competition a bit later on. Jones successfully represented the United States for the first time, in two winning international amateur team matches against Canada, in 1919 and 1920, earning three of a possible four points in foursomes and singles play. In 1919 he traveled to Hamilton Golf and Country Club, for his first serious competitive action outside the U.S., while in 1920, Engineers Country Club, in Roslyn, Long Island, hosted the matches. Still a teenager, he was by far the youngest player in the series. Jones also played in the 1919 Canadian Open while in Hamilton, Ontario, performing very well to place tied for second, but 16 shots behind winner J. Douglas Edgar. Edgar had immigrated from England in 1919 to take a club professional's job in Atlanta at Druid Hills Golf Club; Edgar mentored and played frequently with Jones from 1919 to 1921. Edgar was credited by Jones with helping develop his game significantly. Jones qualified for his first U.S. Open at age 18 in 1920, and was paired with the legendary Harry Vardon for the first two rounds. He won the Southern Amateur three times: 1917, 1920, and 1922. CANNOTANSWER

Robert Tyre Jones Jr. (March 17, 1902 – December 18, 1971) was an American amateur golfer who was one of the most influential figures in the history of the sport; he was also a lawyer by profession. Jones founded and helped design the Augusta National Golf Club, and co-founded the Masters Tournament. The innovations that he introduced at the Masters have been copied by virtually every professional golf tournament in the world. Jones was the most successful amateur golfer ever to compete at a national and international level. During his peak from 1923 to 1930, he dominated top-level amateur competition, and competed very successfully against the world's best professional golfers. Jones often beat stars such as Walter Hagen and Gene Sarazen, the era's top pros. Jones earned his living mainly as a lawyer, and competed in golf only as an amateur, primarily on a part-time basis, and chose to retire from competition at age 28, though he earned significant money from golf after that, as an instructor and equipment designer. Explaining his decision to retire, Jones said, "It [championship golf] is something like a cage. First you are expected to get into it and then you are expected to stay there. But of course, nobody can stay there." Jones is most famous for his unique "Grand Slam," consisting of his victory in all four major golf tournaments of his era (the open and amateur championships in both the U.S. & the U.K.) in a single calendar year (1930). In all Jones played in 31 majors, winning 13 and placing among the top ten finishers 27 times. After retiring from competitive golf in 1930, Jones founded and helped design the Augusta National Golf Club soon afterwards in 1933. He also co-founded the Masters Tournament, which has been annually staged by the club since 1934 (except for 1943–45, when it was canceled due to World War II). The Masters evolved into one of golf's four major championships. Jones came out of retirement in 1934 to play in the Masters on an exhibition basis through 1948. Jones played his last round of golf at East Lake Golf Club, his home course in Atlanta, on August 18, 1948. A picture commemorating the event now sits in the clubhouse at East Lake. Citing health reasons, he quit golf permanently thereafter. Bobby Jones was often confused with the prolific golf course designer, Robert Trent Jones, with whom he worked from time to time. "People always used to get them confused, so when they met, they decided each be called something different," Robert Trent Jones Jr. said. To help avoid confusion, the golfer was called "Bobby," and the golf course designer was called "Trent." Early life Jones was born on March 17, 1902, in Atlanta, Georgia. He battled health issues as a young boy, and golf was prescribed to strengthen him. Encouraged by his father, "Colonel" Robert Purmedus Jones, an Atlanta lawyer, Jones loved golf from the start. He developed quickly into a child prodigy who won his first children's tournament at the age of six at his home course at East Lake Golf Club. In 1916, Jones won his first major golf event when he claimed the inaugural Georgia Amateur Championship conducted by the Georgia State Golf Association at the Capital City Club, in Brookhaven, at age 14. His victory at this event put him in the national spotlight for the first time. The Georgia Amateur win caught the eye of the United States Golf Association which awarded Jones his first invitation to the U.S. Amateur at Merion near Philadelphia. Jones advanced to the quarterfinals in his first playing in the event. He was influenced by club professional Stewart Maiden, a native of Carnoustie, Scotland. Maiden was the professional at the Atlanta Athletic Club's East Lake Golf Club, who also trained Alexa Stirling, the three-time winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur, who was five years older than Jones but also a prodigy at East Lake. Jones also received golf lessons from Willie Ogg when he was in his teenage years. Jones played frequently with his father, a skilled golfer himself. The younger Jones sometimes battled his own temper on the course, but later controlled his emotions as he became more experienced. Jones toured the U.S. during World War I from 1917 to 1918, playing exhibition matches before large crowds, often with Alexa Stirling and Perry Adair, to generate income for war relief. Playing in front of such crowds in these matches helped him, as he moved into national competition a bit later on. Jones successfully represented the United States for the first time, in two winning international amateur team matches against Canada, in 1919 and 1920, earning three of a possible four points in foursomes and singles play. In 1919 he traveled to Hamilton Golf and Country Club, for his first serious competitive action outside the U.S., while in 1920, Engineers Country Club, in Roslyn, Long Island, hosted the matches. Still a teenager, he was by far the youngest player in the series. Jones also played in the 1919 Canadian Open while in Hamilton, Ontario, performing very well to place tied for second, but 16 shots behind winner J. Douglas Edgar. Edgar had immigrated from England in 1919 to take a club professional's job in Atlanta at Druid Hills Golf Club; Edgar mentored and played frequently with Jones from 1919 to 1921. Edgar was credited by Jones with helping develop his game significantly. Jones qualified for his first U.S. Open at age 18 in 1920, and was paired with the legendary Harry Vardon for the first two rounds. He won the Southern Amateur three times: 1917, 1920, and 1922. Jones earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1922 and played for the varsity golf team, lettering all four years. Jones was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, and the Georgia Phi chapter house at Georgia Tech is named in his honor. He then earned an A.B. in English Literature from Harvard College in 1924, where he was a member of the Owl Club. In 1926 he entered Emory University School of Law and became a member of Phi Delta Phi. After only three semesters he passed the Georgia bar exam and subsequently joined his father's law firm, Jones, Evins, Moore and Howell, (predecessor to Alston & Bird), in Atlanta, Georgia. Golf First majors As an adult, he hit his stride and won his first U.S. Open in 1923. From that win at New York's Inwood Country Club, through his 1930 victory in the U.S. Amateur, he won 13 major championships (as they were counted at the time) in 21 attempts. Jones was the first player to win "The Double", both the U.S. and British Open Championships in the same year (1926). He was the second (and last) to win the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in the same year (1930), first accomplished in 1916 by Chick Evans. 1930: Grand Slam Jones is the only player ever to have won the (pre-Masters) Grand Slam, or all four major championships, in the same calendar year (1930). Jones's path to the 1930 Grand Slam title was: The Amateur Championship, Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland (May 31, 1930) The Open Championship, Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, England (June 20, 1930) U.S. Open, Interlachen Country Club, Minnesota (July 12, 1930) U.S. Amateur, Merion Golf Club, Pennsylvania (September 27, 1930) Jones made a bet on himself achieving this feat with British bookmakers early in 1930, before the first tournament of the Slam, at odds of 50–1, and collected over $60,000 when he did it. Walker Cup Jones represented the United States in the Walker Cup five times, winning nine of his 10 matches, and the U.S. won the trophy all five times. He served as playing captain of the U.S. team in 1928 and 1930. He also won two other tournaments against professionals: the 1927 Southern Open and the 1930 Southeastern Open. Jones was a lifelong member of the Atlanta Athletic Club (at the club's original site, now the East Lake Golf Club), and the Capital City Club in Atlanta. Sportsmanship In the first round of the 1925 U.S. Open at the Worcester Country Club near Boston, his approach shot to the 11th hole's elevated green fell short into the deep rough of the embankment. As he took his stance to pitch onto the green, the head of his club brushed the grass and caused a slight movement of the ball. He took the shot, then informed his playing partner Walter Hagen and the USGA official covering their match that he was calling a penalty on himself. Hagen was unable to talk him out of it, and they continued play. After the round and before he signed his scorecard, officials argued with Jones but he insisted that he had violated Rule 18, moving a ball at rest after address, and took a 77 instead of the 76 he otherwise would have carded. Jones's self-imposed one-stroke penalty eventually cost him the win by a stroke in regulation, necessitating a playoff, which he then lost. Although praised by many sports writers for his gesture, Jones was reported to have said, "You might as well praise me for not robbing banks." A similar event occurred in the next U.S. Open, played at the Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. In the second round, after his opening round put him in second place, Jones was putting on the 15th green in the face of a strong wind. After grounding his putter during address to square up the club face, the ball rolled a half turn in the wind when Jones lifted the club head to place it behind the ball. Although no one else observed this movement of the ball either, again Jones called a penalty on himself, but this time Jones went on to win the tournament, the second of his four U.S. Open victories. St Andrews, Scotland Jones had a unique relationship with the town of St Andrews. On his first appearance on the Old Course in The Open Championship of 1921, he withdrew after 11 holes in the third round, when he failed to complete the hole (in effect disqualifying himself), and tore up his scorecard, although he finished the round and indeed played the fourth round as well. He firmly stated his dislike for The Old Course and the town reciprocated, saying in the press, "Master Bobby is just a boy, and an ordinary boy at that." Later, he came to love the Old Course and the town like few others. When he won the Open at the Old Course in 1927, he wowed the crowd by asking that the trophy remain with his friends at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club rather than return with him to Atlanta. He won the British Amateur over The Old Course in 1930, and scored a double eagle 2 on the fourth hole (then a par-5, now a par-4), by holing a very long shot from a fairway bunker. In 1958, he was named a Freeman of the City of St Andrews, becoming only the second American to be so honored, the other being Benjamin Franklin in 1759. As Jones departed Younger Hall with his honor, the assembly spontaneously serenaded him off to the traditional tune of Will Ye No Come Back Again? in a famously moving tribute. Today, a scholarship exchange bearing the Jones name exists between the University of St Andrews and Emory University, Queen's University, The University of Western Ontario and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. At Emory, four students are sent to St Andrews for an all-expenses-paid year of study and travel. In return, Emory accepts four students from St Andrews each year. The program, the Robert T. Jones Scholarship, is among the most unusual scholarships offered by any university. Turned professional In September 1930, a month and a half after his final U.S. Amateur victory, Jones turned professional. Though he did not intend to earn money from playing golf in pro tournaments, Jones intended to make money from instructional films and books. According to USGA rules, only professionals were allowed to make money from golf in any form. In addition, Jones worked with J Victor East, an Australian of A.G. Spalding & Co., to develop the first set of matched steel-shafted clubs; the clubs sold very well and into the 1970s were still considered among the best-designed sets ever made. Masters Tournament Jones played in the first dozen Masters, through 1948, but only in the first as a contender. By then, his health at age 46 had declined to the stage where this was no longer possible. With his health difficulties, being past his prime, and not competing elsewhere to stay in tournament form, he never truly contended at the Masters, although his scores were usually respectable. These were almost all ceremonial performances, since his main duty was as host of the event. His extraordinary popularity, efforts with the course design, and tournament organization boosted the profile of the Masters significantly. The tournament, jointly run by Jones and Clifford Roberts, made many important innovations that became the norm elsewhere, such as gallery ropes to control the flow of the large crowds, many scoreboards around the course, the use of red / green numbers on those scoreboards to denote under / over par scores, an international field of top players, high-caliber television coverage, and week-long admission passes for patrons, which became extremely hard to obtain. The tournament also sought and welcomed feedback from players, fans, and writers, leading to continual improvement over the years. The Masters gradually evolved to being one of the most respected tournaments in the world, one of the four major championships. Augusta National Golf Club Following his retirement from competitive golf in 1930, and even in the years leading up to that, Jones had become one of the most famous sports figures in the world, and was recognized virtually everywhere he went in public. While certainly appreciative of the enormous adulation and media coverage, this massive attention caused Jones to lose personal privacy in golf circles, and he wished to create a private golf club where he and his friends could play golf in peace and quiet. For several years, he searched for a property near Atlanta where he could develop his own golf club. His friend Clifford Roberts, a New York City investment dealer, knew of Jones's desire, became aware of a promising property for sale in Augusta, Georgia, where Jones's mother-in-law had grown up, and informed Jones about it. Jones first visited Fruitlands, an Augusta arboretum and indigo plantation since the Civil War era, in the spring of 1930, and he purchased it for $70,000 in 1931, with the plan to design a golf course on the site. Jones co-designed the Augusta National course with Alister MacKenzie; the new club opened in early 1933. He founded the Masters Tournament, first played at Augusta in March 1934. The new tournament, originally known as the Augusta National Invitational, was an immediate success, and attracted most of the world's top players right from its start. Jones came out of retirement to play, essentially on an exhibition basis, and his presence guaranteed enormous media attention, boosting the new tournament's fame. Later, in 1947, he founded Peachtree Golf Club in Atlanta and co-designed the course with Robert Trent Jones. Tournament wins (34) 1908 East Lake Children's Tournament 1911 Junior Championship Cup of the Atlanta Athletic Club 1915 Invitation Tournament at Roebuck Springs, Birmingham Country Club Invitation, Davis & Freeman Cup at East Lake, East Lake Club Championship, Druid Hills Club Championship 1916 Georgia Amateur, Birmingham Country Club Invitation, Cherokee Club Invitation, East Lake Invitational 1917 Southern Amateur 1919 Yates-Gode Tournament 1920 Davis & Freeman Cup at East Lake, Southern Amateur, Morris County Invitational 1922 Southern Amateur 1923 U.S. Open 1924 U.S. Amateur 1925 U.S. Amateur 1926 The Open Championship, U.S. Open 1927 Southern Open, The Open Championship, U.S. Amateur 1928 Warren K. Wood Memorial, U.S. Amateur 1929 U.S. Open 1930 Southeastern Open, Golf Illustrated Gold Vase, The Amateur Championship, The Open Championship, U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur Open and amateur-only majors shown in bold. Major championships Wins (13) The Opens (7) 1 Defeated Bobby Cruickshank in an 18-hole playoff: Jones 76 (+4), Cruickshank 78 (+6). 2 Defeated Al Espinosa in a 36-hole playoff: Jones 72–69=141 (−3), Espinosa 84–80=164 (+20). The Amateurs (6) National Amateur championships were counted as majors at the time. Jones' actual major total using the standard in place in his lifetime was 13. U.S. national team appearances: amateur Walker Cup: 1922 (winners), 1924 (winners), 1926 (winners), 1928 (winners, playing captain), 1930 (winners, playing captain) Results timeline The majors of Jones' time (those for which as an amateur he was eligible) were the U.S. and British Opens and Amateurs. Jones retired after his Grand Slam in 1930, playing only his own tournament, The Masters. As an amateur golfer, he was not eligible to compete in the PGA Championship. M = Medalist LA = Low amateur NT = No tournament WD = Withdrew R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which Jones lost in amateur match play "T" indicates a tie for a place Sources for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur, British Open, 1921 British Amateur, 1926 British Amateur, 1930 British Amateur, and The Masters. Summary Most consecutive cuts made – 21 (1916 U.S. Amateur – 1930 U.S. Amateur) Longest streak of top-10s – 14 (1921 U.S. Open – 1926 U.S. Amateur) Other records Jones's four titles in the U.S. Open remain tied for the most ever in that championship, along with Willie Anderson, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus. His four-second-place finishes in the U.S. Open place him second all-time with Sam Snead and Nicklaus. Phil Mickelson holds the dubious record with six (1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2013) second-place finishes. His five titles in the U.S. Amateur are a record. Jones was ranked as the fourth greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine in 2000. Nicklaus was first, Hogan second, and Snead third. Jones was ranked as the third greatest golfer of all time in a major survey published by Golf Magazine, September 2009. Nicklaus was ranked first, with Tiger Woods second, Hogan fourth, and Snead fifth. Films Jones appeared in a series of short instructional films produced by Warner Brothers in 1931 titled How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones (12 films) and in 1933 titled How to Break 90 (six films). The shorts were designed to be shown in theaters alongside feature films, whereby "would-be golfers of the country can have the Jones' instruction for the price of a theater ticket." Jones indicated at the time of the making of the 1931 series that the films would be "designed as instructive" but not "so complicated that a non-golfer can't understand them." The films were popular, and Jones gave up his amateur status while earning lucrative contract money for this venture. These films were put into storage and were unavailable for decades, but a surviving print was located sixty years later and put into video format for preservation by Ely Callaway, a distant cousin of Jones's. All 18 shorts were subsequently preserved and released in a DVD collection by Warner Archive on November 6, 2012. They also air occasionally on Turner Classic Movies, usually in the space between features. Actors and actresses, mostly under contract with Warner Brothers, but also from other studios, volunteered to appear in these 18 episodes. Some of the more well-known actors to appear in the instructional plots included James Cagney, Joe E. Brown, Edward G. Robinson, W.C. Fields, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Richard Barthelmess, Richard Arlen, Guy Kibbee, Warner Oland and Loretta Young. Various scenarios involving the actors were used to provide an opportunity for Jones to convey a lesson about a particular part of the game. The shorts were directed by the prolific George Marshall. Title list of the shorts How I Play Golf The Putter (April 26, 1931, Film Daily review) Chip Shots (April 26) The Niblick (May 31) The Mashie Niblick (June 5) Medium Irons (July 5) The Big Irons (July 12) The Spoon (July 19) The Brassie (August 1) The Driver (August 30) Trouble Shots (September 13) Practice Shots (September 27) A Round of Golf (September 4) How To Break 90 The Grip (April 17, 1933) Position and Backswing (May 15) Hip Action (May 20) Down Swing (The Downswing) (May 29) Impact (July 15) Fine Points (August 5) Jones was the subject of the quasi-biographical 2004 feature film Bobby Jones: A Stroke of Genius in which he was portrayed by Jim Caviezel. The Jones legend was also used to create a supporting character in The Legend of Bagger Vance in 2000, portrayed by Joel Gretsch, and the event where he called his own penalty is used for the fictional protagonist, Rannulph Junuh. Books Jones authored several books on golf including Down the Fairway with Oscar Bane "O.B." Keeler (1927), The Rights and Wrongs of Golf (1933), Golf Is My Game (1959), Bobby Jones on Golf (1966), and Bobby Jones on the Basic Golf Swing (1968) with illustrator Anthony Ravielli. The 300-copy limited edition of Down the Fairway is considered one of the rarest and most sought-after golf books by collectors. To keep this book readily available to golfers, Herbert Warren Wind included a reproduction of Down the Fairway in his Classics of Golf Library. Jones has been the subject of several books, most notably The Bobby Jones Story and A Boy's Life of Bobby Jones, both by O.B. Keeler. Other notable texts are The Life and Times of Bobby Jones: Portrait of a Gentleman by Sidney L. Matthew, The Greatest Player Who Never Lived by J. Michael Veron, and Triumphant Journey: The Saga of Bobby Jones and the Grand Slam of Golf by Richard Miller. Published in 2006, The Grand Slam by Mark Frost has received much note as being evocative of Jones's life and times. Honors Jones was on the cover of Time magazine on August 31, 1925. In 1930, he received the first James E. Sullivan Award, awarded annually by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. In 1981, the U.S. Postal Service issued an 18-cent stamp commemorating Jones. Jones is considered one of the five giants of the 1920s American sports scene, along with baseball's Babe Ruth, boxing's Jack Dempsey, football's Red Grange, and tennis player Bill Tilden. He is the only sports figure to receive two ticker-tape parades in New York City, the first in 1926 and the second in 1930. Jones is memorialized with a statue in Augusta, Georgia, at the Golf Gardens The Bobby Jones Expressway, also known as Interstate 520, is named after him. The Georgia Phi chapter house at Georgia Tech is named in his honor. Jones was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. A special room is dedicated to Jones's life and accomplishments at the United States Golf Association Museum and Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History in Far Hills, New Jersey. The USGA's sportsmanship award is named the Bob Jones Award in his honor. In 1966, the governing board and membership of Augusta National passed a resolution naming Jones President in Perpetuity. He was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1964. Personal Jones married Mary Rice Malone in 1924, whom he met in 1919 while a freshman at Georgia Tech. They had three children: Clara Malone, Robert Tyre III (1926–1973), and Mary Ellen (b. 1931). When he retired from golf at age 28, he concentrated on his Atlanta law practice. During World War II, Jones served as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps. His superiors wanted him to play exhibition golf in the United States, but Jones was insistent on serving overseas. In 1943 he was promoted to major and trained as an intelligence officer, serving in England with the 84th Fighter Wing, which was part of the Ninth Air Force. While in England, he made the acquaintance of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Landing in Normandy on June 7, 1944, Jones spent two months with a front line division as a prisoner of war interrogator, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. During the war, Jones permitted the U.S. Army to graze cattle on the grounds at Augusta National. In 1948, Jones was diagnosed with syringomyelia, a fluid-filled cavity in the spinal cord that causes crippling pain, then paralysis; he was eventually restricted to a wheelchair. He died in Atlanta on December 18, 1971, three days after converting to Catholicism. Jones was baptized on his deathbed by Monsignor John D. Stapleton, rector of the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta, and attended by the Jones family was buried in Atlanta's historic Oakland Cemetery. His widow Mary died less than four years later in 1975 at age 72, following the death of their son, Robert T. Jones III, of a heart attack in 1973 at age 47. Founded in 2013, Jones Global Sports designs, develops, and sells apparel, accessories and golf equipment. The company has an exclusive, worldwide license agreement with the family of Bobby Jones (known as Jonesheirs, Inc.) for the use of the Bobby Jones name. In 2019 the family of Bobby Jones partnered with the Chiari & Syringomyelia Foundation to form the Bobby Jones Chiari & Syringomyelia Foundation (Bobby Jones CSF), a nonprofit which works to raise awareness of Chiari Malformation and syringomyelia and to search for a cure. The Bobby Jones Classic golf tournament is an annual fundraiser that supports research and education efforts. See also Bobby Jones Open Career Grand Slam champions List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins List of men's major championships winning golfers List of ticker-tape parades in New York City References External links bobbyjones.com Bobby Jones Receives Freedom Of St. Andrews (1958) (archive film from the National Library of Scotland: Scottish Screen Archive) Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University: Bobby Jones collection, 1920–2002 Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University: Bobby Jones collection and research files, 1862–2015 Jones with Grand Slam Trophies Bobby Jones Chiari & Syringomyelia Foundation Bobby Jones Classic Category:1902 births Category:1971 deaths Category:People from Atlanta Category:Marist School (Georgia) alumni Category:Harvard College alumni Category:Georgia Tech alumni Category:Emory University School of Law alumni Category:American male golfers Category:Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's golfers Category:Amateur golfers Category:Winners of men's major golf championships Category:Men's Career Grand Slam champion golfers Category:World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Category:Golf course architects Category:Golf writers and broadcasters Category:American instructional writers Category:Golfers from Atlanta Category:Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Category:20th-century American lawyers Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Category:United States Army Air Forces officers Category:James E. Sullivan Award recipients Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Neurological disease deaths in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Burials at Oakland Cemetery (Atlanta) Category:Sigma Alpha Epsilon members

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Bobby Jones (golfer)

Robert Tyre Jones Jr. (March 17, 1902 - December 18, 1971) was an American amateur golfer who was one of the most influential figures in the history of the sport; he was also a lawyer by profession. Jones founded and helped design the Augusta National Golf Club, and co-founded the Masters Tournament. The innovations that he introduced at the Masters have been copied by virtually every professional golf tournament in the world. Jones was the most successful amateur golfer ever to compete at a national and international level.

Sportsmanship

Jones was not only a consummately skilled golfer but exemplified the principles of sportsmanship and fair play. In the first round of the 1925 U.S. Open at the Worcester Country Club near Boston, his approach shot to the 11th hole's elevated green fell short into the deep rough of the embankment. As he took his stance to pitch onto the green, the head of his club brushed the grass and caused a slight movement of the ball. He took the shot, then informed his playing partner Walter Hagen and the USGA official covering their match that he was calling a penalty on himself. Hagen was unable to talk him out of it, and they continued play. After the round and before he signed his scorecard, officials argued with Jones but he insisted that he had violated Rule 18, moving a ball at rest after address, and took a 77 instead of the 76 he otherwise would have carded. Jones' self-imposed one-stroke penalty eventually cost him the win by a stroke in regulation, necessitating a playoff, which he then lost. Although praised by many sports writers for his gesture, Jones was reported to have said, "You might as well praise me for not robbing banks." A similar event occurred in the next U.S. Open, played at the Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. In the second round, after his opening round put him in second place, Jones was putting on the 15th green in the face of a strong wind. After grounding his putter during address to square up the club face, the ball rolled a half turn in the wind when Jones lifted the club head to place it behind the ball. Although no one else observed this movement of the ball either, again Jones called a penalty on himself, but this time Jones went on to win the tournament, the second of his four U.S. Open victories. The USGA's sportsmanship award is named the Bob Jones Award in his honor. CANNOTANSWER

Robert Tyre Jones Jr. (March 17, 1902 – December 18, 1971) was an American amateur golfer who was one of the most influential figures in the history of the sport; he was also a lawyer by profession. Jones founded and helped design the Augusta National Golf Club, and co-founded the Masters Tournament. The innovations that he introduced at the Masters have been copied by virtually every professional golf tournament in the world. Jones was the most successful amateur golfer ever to compete at a national and international level. During his peak from 1923 to 1930, he dominated top-level amateur competition, and competed very successfully against the world's best professional golfers. Jones often beat stars such as Walter Hagen and Gene Sarazen, the era's top pros. Jones earned his living mainly as a lawyer, and competed in golf only as an amateur, primarily on a part-time basis, and chose to retire from competition at age 28, though he earned significant money from golf after that, as an instructor and equipment designer. Explaining his decision to retire, Jones said, "It [championship golf] is something like a cage. First you are expected to get into it and then you are expected to stay there. But of course, nobody can stay there." Jones is most famous for his unique "Grand Slam," consisting of his victory in all four major golf tournaments of his era (the open and amateur championships in both the U.S. & the U.K.) in a single calendar year (1930). In all Jones played in 31 majors, winning 13 and placing among the top ten finishers 27 times. After retiring from competitive golf in 1930, Jones founded and helped design the Augusta National Golf Club soon afterwards in 1933. He also co-founded the Masters Tournament, which has been annually staged by the club since 1934 (except for 1943–45, when it was canceled due to World War II). The Masters evolved into one of golf's four major championships. Jones came out of retirement in 1934 to play in the Masters on an exhibition basis through 1948. Jones played his last round of golf at East Lake Golf Club, his home course in Atlanta, on August 18, 1948. A picture commemorating the event now sits in the clubhouse at East Lake. Citing health reasons, he quit golf permanently thereafter. Bobby Jones was often confused with the prolific golf course designer, Robert Trent Jones, with whom he worked from time to time. "People always used to get them confused, so when they met, they decided each be called something different," Robert Trent Jones Jr. said. To help avoid confusion, the golfer was called "Bobby," and the golf course designer was called "Trent." Early life Jones was born on March 17, 1902, in Atlanta, Georgia. He battled health issues as a young boy, and golf was prescribed to strengthen him. Encouraged by his father, "Colonel" Robert Purmedus Jones, an Atlanta lawyer, Jones loved golf from the start. He developed quickly into a child prodigy who won his first children's tournament at the age of six at his home course at East Lake Golf Club. In 1916, Jones won his first major golf event when he claimed the inaugural Georgia Amateur Championship conducted by the Georgia State Golf Association at the Capital City Club, in Brookhaven, at age 14. His victory at this event put him in the national spotlight for the first time. The Georgia Amateur win caught the eye of the United States Golf Association which awarded Jones his first invitation to the U.S. Amateur at Merion near Philadelphia. Jones advanced to the quarterfinals in his first playing in the event. He was influenced by club professional Stewart Maiden, a native of Carnoustie, Scotland. Maiden was the professional at the Atlanta Athletic Club's East Lake Golf Club, who also trained Alexa Stirling, the three-time winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur, who was five years older than Jones but also a prodigy at East Lake. Jones also received golf lessons from Willie Ogg when he was in his teenage years. Jones played frequently with his father, a skilled golfer himself. The younger Jones sometimes battled his own temper on the course, but later controlled his emotions as he became more experienced. Jones toured the U.S. during World War I from 1917 to 1918, playing exhibition matches before large crowds, often with Alexa Stirling and Perry Adair, to generate income for war relief. Playing in front of such crowds in these matches helped him, as he moved into national competition a bit later on. Jones successfully represented the United States for the first time, in two winning international amateur team matches against Canada, in 1919 and 1920, earning three of a possible four points in foursomes and singles play. In 1919 he traveled to Hamilton Golf and Country Club, for his first serious competitive action outside the U.S., while in 1920, Engineers Country Club, in Roslyn, Long Island, hosted the matches. Still a teenager, he was by far the youngest player in the series. Jones also played in the 1919 Canadian Open while in Hamilton, Ontario, performing very well to place tied for second, but 16 shots behind winner J. Douglas Edgar. Edgar had immigrated from England in 1919 to take a club professional's job in Atlanta at Druid Hills Golf Club; Edgar mentored and played frequently with Jones from 1919 to 1921. Edgar was credited by Jones with helping develop his game significantly. Jones qualified for his first U.S. Open at age 18 in 1920, and was paired with the legendary Harry Vardon for the first two rounds. He won the Southern Amateur three times: 1917, 1920, and 1922. Jones earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1922 and played for the varsity golf team, lettering all four years. Jones was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, and the Georgia Phi chapter house at Georgia Tech is named in his honor. He then earned an A.B. in English Literature from Harvard College in 1924, where he was a member of the Owl Club. In 1926 he entered Emory University School of Law and became a member of Phi Delta Phi. After only three semesters he passed the Georgia bar exam and subsequently joined his father's law firm, Jones, Evins, Moore and Howell, (predecessor to Alston & Bird), in Atlanta, Georgia. Golf First majors As an adult, he hit his stride and won his first U.S. Open in 1923. From that win at New York's Inwood Country Club, through his 1930 victory in the U.S. Amateur, he won 13 major championships (as they were counted at the time) in 21 attempts. Jones was the first player to win "The Double", both the U.S. and British Open Championships in the same year (1926). He was the second (and last) to win the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in the same year (1930), first accomplished in 1916 by Chick Evans. 1930: Grand Slam Jones is the only player ever to have won the (pre-Masters) Grand Slam, or all four major championships, in the same calendar year (1930). Jones's path to the 1930 Grand Slam title was: The Amateur Championship, Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland (May 31, 1930) The Open Championship, Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, England (June 20, 1930) U.S. Open, Interlachen Country Club, Minnesota (July 12, 1930) U.S. Amateur, Merion Golf Club, Pennsylvania (September 27, 1930) Jones made a bet on himself achieving this feat with British bookmakers early in 1930, before the first tournament of the Slam, at odds of 50–1, and collected over $60,000 when he did it. Walker Cup Jones represented the United States in the Walker Cup five times, winning nine of his 10 matches, and the U.S. won the trophy all five times. He served as playing captain of the U.S. team in 1928 and 1930. He also won two other tournaments against professionals: the 1927 Southern Open and the 1930 Southeastern Open. Jones was a lifelong member of the Atlanta Athletic Club (at the club's original site, now the East Lake Golf Club), and the Capital City Club in Atlanta. Sportsmanship In the first round of the 1925 U.S. Open at the Worcester Country Club near Boston, his approach shot to the 11th hole's elevated green fell short into the deep rough of the embankment. As he took his stance to pitch onto the green, the head of his club brushed the grass and caused a slight movement of the ball. He took the shot, then informed his playing partner Walter Hagen and the USGA official covering their match that he was calling a penalty on himself. Hagen was unable to talk him out of it, and they continued play. After the round and before he signed his scorecard, officials argued with Jones but he insisted that he had violated Rule 18, moving a ball at rest after address, and took a 77 instead of the 76 he otherwise would have carded. Jones's self-imposed one-stroke penalty eventually cost him the win by a stroke in regulation, necessitating a playoff, which he then lost. Although praised by many sports writers for his gesture, Jones was reported to have said, "You might as well praise me for not robbing banks." A similar event occurred in the next U.S. Open, played at the Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. In the second round, after his opening round put him in second place, Jones was putting on the 15th green in the face of a strong wind. After grounding his putter during address to square up the club face, the ball rolled a half turn in the wind when Jones lifted the club head to place it behind the ball. Although no one else observed this movement of the ball either, again Jones called a penalty on himself, but this time Jones went on to win the tournament, the second of his four U.S. Open victories. St Andrews, Scotland Jones had a unique relationship with the town of St Andrews. On his first appearance on the Old Course in The Open Championship of 1921, he withdrew after 11 holes in the third round, when he failed to complete the hole (in effect disqualifying himself), and tore up his scorecard, although he finished the round and indeed played the fourth round as well. He firmly stated his dislike for The Old Course and the town reciprocated, saying in the press, "Master Bobby is just a boy, and an ordinary boy at that." Later, he came to love the Old Course and the town like few others. When he won the Open at the Old Course in 1927, he wowed the crowd by asking that the trophy remain with his friends at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club rather than return with him to Atlanta. He won the British Amateur over The Old Course in 1930, and scored a double eagle 2 on the fourth hole (then a par-5, now a par-4), by holing a very long shot from a fairway bunker. In 1958, he was named a Freeman of the City of St Andrews, becoming only the second American to be so honored, the other being Benjamin Franklin in 1759. As Jones departed Younger Hall with his honor, the assembly spontaneously serenaded him off to the traditional tune of Will Ye No Come Back Again? in a famously moving tribute. Today, a scholarship exchange bearing the Jones name exists between the University of St Andrews and Emory University, Queen's University, The University of Western Ontario and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. At Emory, four students are sent to St Andrews for an all-expenses-paid year of study and travel. In return, Emory accepts four students from St Andrews each year. The program, the Robert T. Jones Scholarship, is among the most unusual scholarships offered by any university. Turned professional In September 1930, a month and a half after his final U.S. Amateur victory, Jones turned professional. Though he did not intend to earn money from playing golf in pro tournaments, Jones intended to make money from instructional films and books. According to USGA rules, only professionals were allowed to make money from golf in any form. In addition, Jones worked with J Victor East, an Australian of A.G. Spalding & Co., to develop the first set of matched steel-shafted clubs; the clubs sold very well and into the 1970s were still considered among the best-designed sets ever made. Masters Tournament Jones played in the first dozen Masters, through 1948, but only in the first as a contender. By then, his health at age 46 had declined to the stage where this was no longer possible. With his health difficulties, being past his prime, and not competing elsewhere to stay in tournament form, he never truly contended at the Masters, although his scores were usually respectable. These were almost all ceremonial performances, since his main duty was as host of the event. His extraordinary popularity, efforts with the course design, and tournament organization boosted the profile of the Masters significantly. The tournament, jointly run by Jones and Clifford Roberts, made many important innovations that became the norm elsewhere, such as gallery ropes to control the flow of the large crowds, many scoreboards around the course, the use of red / green numbers on those scoreboards to denote under / over par scores, an international field of top players, high-caliber television coverage, and week-long admission passes for patrons, which became extremely hard to obtain. The tournament also sought and welcomed feedback from players, fans, and writers, leading to continual improvement over the years. The Masters gradually evolved to being one of the most respected tournaments in the world, one of the four major championships. Augusta National Golf Club Following his retirement from competitive golf in 1930, and even in the years leading up to that, Jones had become one of the most famous sports figures in the world, and was recognized virtually everywhere he went in public. While certainly appreciative of the enormous adulation and media coverage, this massive attention caused Jones to lose personal privacy in golf circles, and he wished to create a private golf club where he and his friends could play golf in peace and quiet. For several years, he searched for a property near Atlanta where he could develop his own golf club. His friend Clifford Roberts, a New York City investment dealer, knew of Jones's desire, became aware of a promising property for sale in Augusta, Georgia, where Jones's mother-in-law had grown up, and informed Jones about it. Jones first visited Fruitlands, an Augusta arboretum and indigo plantation since the Civil War era, in the spring of 1930, and he purchased it for $70,000 in 1931, with the plan to design a golf course on the site. Jones co-designed the Augusta National course with Alister MacKenzie; the new club opened in early 1933. He founded the Masters Tournament, first played at Augusta in March 1934. The new tournament, originally known as the Augusta National Invitational, was an immediate success, and attracted most of the world's top players right from its start. Jones came out of retirement to play, essentially on an exhibition basis, and his presence guaranteed enormous media attention, boosting the new tournament's fame. Later, in 1947, he founded Peachtree Golf Club in Atlanta and co-designed the course with Robert Trent Jones. Tournament wins (34) 1908 East Lake Children's Tournament 1911 Junior Championship Cup of the Atlanta Athletic Club 1915 Invitation Tournament at Roebuck Springs, Birmingham Country Club Invitation, Davis & Freeman Cup at East Lake, East Lake Club Championship, Druid Hills Club Championship 1916 Georgia Amateur, Birmingham Country Club Invitation, Cherokee Club Invitation, East Lake Invitational 1917 Southern Amateur 1919 Yates-Gode Tournament 1920 Davis & Freeman Cup at East Lake, Southern Amateur, Morris County Invitational 1922 Southern Amateur 1923 U.S. Open 1924 U.S. Amateur 1925 U.S. Amateur 1926 The Open Championship, U.S. Open 1927 Southern Open, The Open Championship, U.S. Amateur 1928 Warren K. Wood Memorial, U.S. Amateur 1929 U.S. Open 1930 Southeastern Open, Golf Illustrated Gold Vase, The Amateur Championship, The Open Championship, U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur Open and amateur-only majors shown in bold. Major championships Wins (13) The Opens (7) 1 Defeated Bobby Cruickshank in an 18-hole playoff: Jones 76 (+4), Cruickshank 78 (+6). 2 Defeated Al Espinosa in a 36-hole playoff: Jones 72–69=141 (−3), Espinosa 84–80=164 (+20). The Amateurs (6) National Amateur championships were counted as majors at the time. Jones' actual major total using the standard in place in his lifetime was 13. U.S. national team appearances: amateur Walker Cup: 1922 (winners), 1924 (winners), 1926 (winners), 1928 (winners, playing captain), 1930 (winners, playing captain) Results timeline The majors of Jones' time (those for which as an amateur he was eligible) were the U.S. and British Opens and Amateurs. Jones retired after his Grand Slam in 1930, playing only his own tournament, The Masters. As an amateur golfer, he was not eligible to compete in the PGA Championship. M = Medalist LA = Low amateur NT = No tournament WD = Withdrew R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which Jones lost in amateur match play "T" indicates a tie for a place Sources for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur, British Open, 1921 British Amateur, 1926 British Amateur, 1930 British Amateur, and The Masters. Summary Most consecutive cuts made – 21 (1916 U.S. Amateur – 1930 U.S. Amateur) Longest streak of top-10s – 14 (1921 U.S. Open – 1926 U.S. Amateur) Other records Jones's four titles in the U.S. Open remain tied for the most ever in that championship, along with Willie Anderson, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus. His four-second-place finishes in the U.S. Open place him second all-time with Sam Snead and Nicklaus. Phil Mickelson holds the dubious record with six (1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2013) second-place finishes. His five titles in the U.S. Amateur are a record. Jones was ranked as the fourth greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine in 2000. Nicklaus was first, Hogan second, and Snead third. Jones was ranked as the third greatest golfer of all time in a major survey published by Golf Magazine, September 2009. Nicklaus was ranked first, with Tiger Woods second, Hogan fourth, and Snead fifth. Films Jones appeared in a series of short instructional films produced by Warner Brothers in 1931 titled How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones (12 films) and in 1933 titled How to Break 90 (six films). The shorts were designed to be shown in theaters alongside feature films, whereby "would-be golfers of the country can have the Jones' instruction for the price of a theater ticket." Jones indicated at the time of the making of the 1931 series that the films would be "designed as instructive" but not "so complicated that a non-golfer can't understand them." The films were popular, and Jones gave up his amateur status while earning lucrative contract money for this venture. These films were put into storage and were unavailable for decades, but a surviving print was located sixty years later and put into video format for preservation by Ely Callaway, a distant cousin of Jones's. All 18 shorts were subsequently preserved and released in a DVD collection by Warner Archive on November 6, 2012. They also air occasionally on Turner Classic Movies, usually in the space between features. Actors and actresses, mostly under contract with Warner Brothers, but also from other studios, volunteered to appear in these 18 episodes. Some of the more well-known actors to appear in the instructional plots included James Cagney, Joe E. Brown, Edward G. Robinson, W.C. Fields, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Richard Barthelmess, Richard Arlen, Guy Kibbee, Warner Oland and Loretta Young. Various scenarios involving the actors were used to provide an opportunity for Jones to convey a lesson about a particular part of the game. The shorts were directed by the prolific George Marshall. Title list of the shorts How I Play Golf The Putter (April 26, 1931, Film Daily review) Chip Shots (April 26) The Niblick (May 31) The Mashie Niblick (June 5) Medium Irons (July 5) The Big Irons (July 12) The Spoon (July 19) The Brassie (August 1) The Driver (August 30) Trouble Shots (September 13) Practice Shots (September 27) A Round of Golf (September 4) How To Break 90 The Grip (April 17, 1933) Position and Backswing (May 15) Hip Action (May 20) Down Swing (The Downswing) (May 29) Impact (July 15) Fine Points (August 5) Jones was the subject of the quasi-biographical 2004 feature film Bobby Jones: A Stroke of Genius in which he was portrayed by Jim Caviezel. The Jones legend was also used to create a supporting character in The Legend of Bagger Vance in 2000, portrayed by Joel Gretsch, and the event where he called his own penalty is used for the fictional protagonist, Rannulph Junuh. Books Jones authored several books on golf including Down the Fairway with Oscar Bane "O.B." Keeler (1927), The Rights and Wrongs of Golf (1933), Golf Is My Game (1959), Bobby Jones on Golf (1966), and Bobby Jones on the Basic Golf Swing (1968) with illustrator Anthony Ravielli. The 300-copy limited edition of Down the Fairway is considered one of the rarest and most sought-after golf books by collectors. To keep this book readily available to golfers, Herbert Warren Wind included a reproduction of Down the Fairway in his Classics of Golf Library. Jones has been the subject of several books, most notably The Bobby Jones Story and A Boy's Life of Bobby Jones, both by O.B. Keeler. Other notable texts are The Life and Times of Bobby Jones: Portrait of a Gentleman by Sidney L. Matthew, The Greatest Player Who Never Lived by J. Michael Veron, and Triumphant Journey: The Saga of Bobby Jones and the Grand Slam of Golf by Richard Miller. Published in 2006, The Grand Slam by Mark Frost has received much note as being evocative of Jones's life and times. Honors Jones was on the cover of Time magazine on August 31, 1925. In 1930, he received the first James E. Sullivan Award, awarded annually by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. In 1981, the U.S. Postal Service issued an 18-cent stamp commemorating Jones. Jones is considered one of the five giants of the 1920s American sports scene, along with baseball's Babe Ruth, boxing's Jack Dempsey, football's Red Grange, and tennis player Bill Tilden. He is the only sports figure to receive two ticker-tape parades in New York City, the first in 1926 and the second in 1930. Jones is memorialized with a statue in Augusta, Georgia, at the Golf Gardens The Bobby Jones Expressway, also known as Interstate 520, is named after him. The Georgia Phi chapter house at Georgia Tech is named in his honor. Jones was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. A special room is dedicated to Jones's life and accomplishments at the United States Golf Association Museum and Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History in Far Hills, New Jersey. The USGA's sportsmanship award is named the Bob Jones Award in his honor. In 1966, the governing board and membership of Augusta National passed a resolution naming Jones President in Perpetuity. He was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1964. Personal Jones married Mary Rice Malone in 1924, whom he met in 1919 while a freshman at Georgia Tech. They had three children: Clara Malone, Robert Tyre III (1926–1973), and Mary Ellen (b. 1931). When he retired from golf at age 28, he concentrated on his Atlanta law practice. During World War II, Jones served as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps. His superiors wanted him to play exhibition golf in the United States, but Jones was insistent on serving overseas. In 1943 he was promoted to major and trained as an intelligence officer, serving in England with the 84th Fighter Wing, which was part of the Ninth Air Force. While in England, he made the acquaintance of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Landing in Normandy on June 7, 1944, Jones spent two months with a front line division as a prisoner of war interrogator, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. During the war, Jones permitted the U.S. Army to graze cattle on the grounds at Augusta National. In 1948, Jones was diagnosed with syringomyelia, a fluid-filled cavity in the spinal cord that causes crippling pain, then paralysis; he was eventually restricted to a wheelchair. He died in Atlanta on December 18, 1971, three days after converting to Catholicism. Jones was baptized on his deathbed by Monsignor John D. Stapleton, rector of the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta, and attended by the Jones family was buried in Atlanta's historic Oakland Cemetery. His widow Mary died less than four years later in 1975 at age 72, following the death of their son, Robert T. Jones III, of a heart attack in 1973 at age 47. Founded in 2013, Jones Global Sports designs, develops, and sells apparel, accessories and golf equipment. The company has an exclusive, worldwide license agreement with the family of Bobby Jones (known as Jonesheirs, Inc.) for the use of the Bobby Jones name. In 2019 the family of Bobby Jones partnered with the Chiari & Syringomyelia Foundation to form the Bobby Jones Chiari & Syringomyelia Foundation (Bobby Jones CSF), a nonprofit which works to raise awareness of Chiari Malformation and syringomyelia and to search for a cure. The Bobby Jones Classic golf tournament is an annual fundraiser that supports research and education efforts. See also Bobby Jones Open Career Grand Slam champions List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins List of men's major championships winning golfers List of ticker-tape parades in New York City References External links bobbyjones.com Bobby Jones Receives Freedom Of St. Andrews (1958) (archive film from the National Library of Scotland: Scottish Screen Archive) Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University: Bobby Jones collection, 1920–2002 Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University: Bobby Jones collection and research files, 1862–2015 Jones with Grand Slam Trophies Bobby Jones Chiari & Syringomyelia Foundation Bobby Jones Classic Category:1902 births Category:1971 deaths Category:People from Atlanta Category:Marist School (Georgia) alumni Category:Harvard College alumni Category:Georgia Tech alumni Category:Emory University School of Law alumni Category:American male golfers Category:Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's golfers Category:Amateur golfers Category:Winners of men's major golf championships Category:Men's Career Grand Slam champion golfers Category:World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Category:Golf course architects Category:Golf writers and broadcasters Category:American instructional writers Category:Golfers from Atlanta Category:Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Category:20th-century American lawyers Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Category:United States Army Air Forces officers Category:James E. Sullivan Award recipients Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Neurological disease deaths in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Burials at Oakland Cemetery (Atlanta) Category:Sigma Alpha Epsilon members

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Bring Me the Horizon

Bring Me the Horizon, often known by the acronym BMTH, are a British rock band from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Formed in 2004, the group now consists of vocalist Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardist Jordan Fish. They are signed to RCA Records globally and Columbia Records exclusively in the United States. The style of their early work, including their debut album Count Your Blessings, has been described primarily as deathcore, but they started to adopt a more eclectic style of metalcore on later albums.

Style and influences

Among Bring Me the Horizon's earliest influences were bands like At the Gates, Carcass, Pantera, Metallica, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die, Norma Jean, Skycamefalling and Poison the Well; and genres death metal, grindcore, and emo have been cited by AllMusic writer Steward Mason. However, as their sound developed, the band started to take influences from progressive rock, post-rock, dubstep and electronica. The band's musical style has been described mainly as metalcore and - though they have since moved on from the genre - their early material was considered deathcore. Across their career the band has also been said to play within the genres post-hardcore, hardcore punk, technical metal, heavy metal, and emo. Bring Me the Horizon have attempted to grow and change with each album, believing they should be different. Raziq Rauf, writing for Drowned In Sound, described Count Your Blessings as possessing "Norma Jean-style thunderous riffs mixed with some dastardly sludgy doom moments and more breakdowns than your dad's old Nissan Sunny." Metal Hammer described Suicide Season as a "creative, critical and commercial success" for the band as they started to adopt a more eclectic style, with its "crushingly heavy party deathcore". Leading up to its release Oliver Sykes described it as "100% different to Count Your Blessings" and noted the album sounds "more rock than metal". As time went by, Bring Me the Horizon began rejecting their debut album Count Your Blessings and considered Suicide Season as their "Year Zero[...] [their] wipe-the-slate-clean time". Bring Me the Horizon then moved even further away from deathcore with their third album There Is a Hell, which incorporated electronica, classical music and pop music into their metalcore style. This required more ambitious production feats, such as using a full choir, a synthesised orchestra and glitched out vocals and breakdowns that were also toned down, favouring quiet atmospheric passages in song breaks. For the writing of Sempiternal, the band pooled far broader influences such as post-rock acts like This Will Destroy You and Explosions In The Sky and from pop music. Bring Me the Horizon has experimented with its music in recent years, mixing pop with metal music, leading the band to be labeled a "pop metal" act. With the release of That's the Spirit, their sound shifted towards alternative metal and alternative rock, also incorporated other genres such as pop rock and nu metal, while completely abandoning the metalcore sound of their earlier albums. CANNOTANSWER

Bring Me the Horizon (often abbreviated as BMTH) are a British rock band, formed in Sheffield in 2004. The group currently consists of lead vocalist Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardist Jordan Fish. They are signed to RCA Records globally and Columbia Records exclusively in the United States. The band released their debut album Count Your Blessings in 2006. Upon release, the album's deathcore sound polarised listeners, and was largely met with critical disdain. The band began to break away from this sound with their second album Suicide Season (2008), which was considered a creative, critical and commercial turning point for the band. Bring Me the Horizon released their third album, There Is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let's Keep It a Secret., in 2010, propelling them to greater international fame, whilst incorporating influences from classical music, electronica and pop. Their major label debut, Sempiternal, (2013) achieved Gold certification in Australia (35,000) and Silver in the United Kingdom (60,000). That's the Spirit (2015) debuted at number two in the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. Their sixth studio album Amo (2019) became their first UK chart-topper. The same year, the band also released Music to Listen To... (2019). Post Human: Survival Horror followed in 2020, the first in a planned series of four projects under the Post Human name. The band have also released two extended plays and two live albums. They have received four Kerrang! Awards, including two for Best British Band and one for Best Live Band, and have been nominated for two Grammy Awards. The band has sold over 4 million records worldwide, and have topped the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart with songs such as "Throne", "Drown, "Mantra" and "Parasite Eve". The style of their early work, including their debut album Count Your Blessings, has been described primarily as deathcore, but over the course of several albums, the band has shifted its style and moved in a more melodically-oriented direction by combining their approach to metalcore with elements of electronica, pop and hip hop. History Formation and early releases (2002–2006) Bring Me the Horizon's founding members came from diverse musical backgrounds within metal and rock. Matt Nicholls and Oliver Sykes had a common interest in American metalcore such as Norma Jean and Skycamefalling, and used to attend local hardcore punk shows. They later met Lee Malia, who spoke with them about thrash metal and melodic death metal bands like Metallica and At the Gates; Malia had also been part of a Metallica tribute band before meeting the pair. Bring Me the Horizon officially formed in March 2004, when the members were aged 15 to 17. Curtis Ward, who also lived in the Rotherham area, joined Sykes, Malia and Nicholls on drums. Bassist Matt Kean, who was in other local bands, completed the line-up. Their name is paraphrased from a line of dialogue spoken by Captain Jack Sparrow in the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, where Sparrow says: "Now, bring me that horizon." In the months following their formation, Bring Me the Horizon created a demo album titled Bedroom Sessions. They followed this by releasing their first EP, This Is What the Edge of Your Seat Was Made For, in September 2004 through local UK label Thirty Days of Night Records. Bring Me the Horizon were the label's first signing. It was recorded at Pristine Studios in Nottingham over the course of two weekends, with drums and bass guitar laid down over the first weekend, and guitars and vocals completed a week later. UK label Visible Noise noticed the band after the release of their EP, and signed them for a four-album deal, in addition to re-releasing the EP in January 2005. The re-release gained the band significant attention, eventually peaking at No. 41 on the UK album charts. The band was later awarded Best British Newcomer at the 2006 Kerrang! Awards ceremony. The band's first tour was supporting The Red Chord across the United Kingdom. As with other early tours, they were able to get this slot by tricking venue promoters. Kean and Oliver's mother Carol Sykes were the de facto managers of the band at this time, a role they continued to occupy until 2008. For The Red Chord support, Kean emailed promoters and pretended they were opening on all the dates, when they were supposed to play only at their local show. This led them to being booked for the whole tour. In another case, Sykes created an e-mail account in the name of Johnny Truant vocalist Oliver Mitchell, which he used to contact a promoter requesting Bring Me the Horizon on their tour. Alcohol consumption fuelled their live performances in their early history when the band would get so drunk they vomited on stage and damaged their equipment. Count Your Blessings (2006–2007) The band released their debut album Count Your Blessings in October 2006 in the United Kingdom and in August 2007 in the United States. They rented a house in the country to write songs, but easily became distracted. They then recorded the album in inner-city Birmingham, a process which was infamous for their excessive and dangerous drinking. During this period drummer Nicholls summarised it saying "we were out every night, just being regular 18-year-olds". Critics panned the album adding to the strongly polarised responses the band were already seeing from the public. They supported Count Your Blessings by going on a lengthy headline tour of the UK in November, and immediately followed this joining Lostprophets and The Blackout on a UK tour through late November and December 2006. In January 2007, Bring Me the Horizon were able to set their sights beyond the UK, when they replaced Bury Your Dead on Killswitch Engage's European headline tour. The slot became available after Bury Your Dead were forced to withdraw by the departure from the band of their vocalist, Mat Bruso. Bring Me the Horizon's presence on the tour was poorly received by fans of Killswitch Engage, with concert attendees regularly throwing bottles at the band before they even started playing their set. Suicide Season and Ward's departure (2008–2009) Bring Me the Horizon recorded their second studio album, Suicide Season, in Sweden with producer Fredrik Nordström. He was unimpressed with their first album and was initially absent from the recording sessions unless he needed to be there. Nordström later heard the new sound they were experimenting with during a recording session and became very involved in the record. It was promoted virally in the weeks before its release with the promotional tag line "September is Suicide Season." To promote Suicide Season the band embarked on their first headline tour of the United States, as well as appearing at the 2008 Warped Tour. In May 2008, Bring Me the Horizon was the main supporting band on I Killed the Prom Queen's farewell Australian tour with The Ghost Inside and The Red Shore. Suicide Season was released on 18 September 2008 in the United States on Epitaph and on 29 September in Europe through Visible Noise. In 2009, Bring Me the Horizon attended the 2009 Kerrang! Tour alongside Black Tide, Dir En Grey, In Case of Fire and Mindless Self Indulgence. They also joined Thursday, Cancer Bats, Four Year Strong and Pierce the Veil on the North American leg of the 2009 Taste of Chaos tour from February to April after the tour's organizer Kevin Lyman offered them the slot. The band were initially hesitant to join this tour, but were convinced after Lyman offered them a bus and $500 of fuel for the tour. During the Taste of Chaos tour in March of that year, guitarist Curtis Ward left the band. His relationship with the band had deteriorated as his stage performances were poor. He was abusive to audiences during the Taste of Chaos tour, and had contributed little to the writing of Suicide Season. Another reason for his departure was the worsening tinnitus in his one functioning ear. Ward was born deaf in one ear and admitted playing in the band worsened the ringing in his other ear to such a degree that he was unable to sleep at night. Ward offered to perform the rest of the tour dates, which the band rejected and instead asked their guitar technician, Dean Rowbotham, to substitute for him for the remaining performances. Lee Malia noted that Ward's departure helped improve everyone's mood as he had been very negative. Within a week of the tour finishing, Sykes began talking to Jona Weinhofen, at the time the guitarist of Bleeding Through. The band knew of him from his work with his former band I Killed the Prom Queen, and he was asked to join them. Ward has since worked on the TV show Top Gear, and has occasionally performed on stage with Bring Me The Horizon, playing "Pray For Plagues", most notably at Wembley Arena in 2015. In 2016, it was announced that Ward had joined the band Counting Days. In November 2009, Bring Me the Horizon released a remixed version of Suicide Season, titled Suicide Season: Cut Up! Musicians and producers featured on the album include: Ben Weinman, Skrillex, L'Amour La Morgue, Utah Saints and Shawn Crahan. Musically, the album incorporates many genres including: electronica, drum and bass, hip-hop and dubstep. The dubstep style of the record has been acknowledged in tracks by Tek-One and Skrillex while the hip-hop elements are found in Travis McCoy's remix of "Chelsea Smile". There Is a Hell... (2010–2011) The band's third album, and first with their new rhythm guitarist Jona Weinhofen, titled There Is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let's Keep It a Secret., was released on 4 October 2010 and debuted at number 17 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, number 13 on the UK Album Chart, and number one on the Australian Albums Chart, the UK Rock Chart and the UK Indie Chart. Despite reaching number one in Australia, the album's sales were the lowest for a number one album in the history of the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) charts. Matt Nicholls describes the lyrical themes of There Is a Hell... as being "repercussions of everything we were singing about on our last CD [Suicide Season]," calling the music and lyrics a lot moodier and darker. Five singles were released from the album including: "It Never Ends", "Anthem", "Blessed with a Curse", "Visions", and "Alligator Blood", with music videos produced for each of the songs. The band embarked on a headline tour in intimate venues across the United Kingdom with support from Cancer Bats and Tek-One. In December 2010, Bring Me the Horizon joined Bullet for My Valentine as the main support band, alongside Atreyu, on a short five-date arena tour around the United Kingdom. To cope with high demand, Live Nation released extra standing tickets for all dates. In April 2011, Bring Me the Horizon embarked on a European tour, starting in the United Kingdom. They toured with Parkway Drive and Architects as main support bands, with The Devil Wears Prada as the opening support for the UK and dubstep group Tek-One. The tour, however, was not without its hindrances. On 28 April, Nicholls broke his arm whilst playing football with members of Bring Me the Horizon, Parkway Drive and Architects. Instead of cancelling the tour, Architects' drummer Dan Searle filled in as drummer, but this meant that Bring Me the Horizon's setlist was halved in length. The tour was extended with a North American leg from 13 August to 4 October, retaining Parkway Drive and Architects and adding Deez Nuts to the line up. On 23 August they released the fourth music video and single, "Visions", and on 31 October the music video for the song "Alligator Blood" was released. In December 2011, Machine Head completed an arena tour across Europe with Bring Me the Horizon as the main support band along with DevilDriver and Darkest Hour. Oliver Sykes said these would be the last European dates before they began writing and the recording their fourth album. 2011 ended with an announcement by the band on 29 December of a new extended play titled The Chill Out Sessions, a collaborative effort with British DJ Draper. Draper first released an "officially sanctioned" remix of the song "Blessed with a Curse" in May 2011. The EP was originally supposed to be released in time for New Year's Day, and made available for download and purchase though Bring Me the Horizon's website, but the EP's release was cancelled due to the band's "current management and label situation". Sempiternal and Weinhofen's departure (2012–2014) After an intense touring schedule, Bring Me the Horizon finally completed their third album's promotion at the end of 2011. They returned to the UK for an extended break and eventually starting work on their next album. Much like their previous two albums, they wrote their fourth album in seclusion and isolation to stay focused. This time, they retreated to a house in the Lake District. In July, the band started to publish images of themselves recording at a 'Top Secret Studio Location,' and revealed they were working with producer Terry Date for the recording and production of the album. On 30 July, the band announced they had left their label and signed with RCA, who would release their fourth album in 2013. The band played only three shows in all of 2012: Warped Tour 2012 on 10 November at the Alexandra Palace in London, which they headlined, (and was initially believed to be their only show), the BBC Radio 1's Radio 1 Rocks show on 22 October, where they played a six-song set supporting Bullet for My Valentine, and at a warm-up show for Warped Tour in Sheffield on 9 November. In late October it was announced that the fourth album would be called Sempiternal with a tentative release in early 2013. On 22 November the band released the Draper collaborative album The Chill Out Sessions free of charge. On 4 January 2013, Bring Me the Horizon released the first single from Sempiternal, "Shadow Moses". It was first played by radio presenter Daniel P. Carter on BBC's Radio 1. Due to popular demand, Epitaph released the music video for the song a week earlier than planned. In January, the band also saw a change in their line up. This began early in the month when Jordan Fish, Worship keyboardist and session musician for the band during the writing of Sempiternal, was announced as a full member. Then later in the month, Jona Weinhofen left the band for undisclosed reasons. Despite the band denying speculation that Fish replaced Weinhofen, reviewers said that replacing a guitarist with a keyboardist better fit their style. The band was confirmed for several festival appearances in February. They played the Australian Soundwave festival, performing at all five dates in: Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, and then at RAMFest in South Africa with Rise Against in March, Rock Am Ring and Rock im Park festivals in Germany in June, and from June until August they played Warped Tour 2013 in the U.S. and Canada. To coincide with 29 April release of Sempiternal the band made their first headline tour of the United Kingdom in 18 months with Crossfaith and Empress AD. In support of Sempiternal, the band toured Australia with Of Mice & Men and Crossfaith, and played a British tour with Pierce The Veil and Sights & Sounds. They then completed the American Dream Tour in North America, supported by Of Mice & Men, Issues, letlive. and Northlane. The band was announced as the main supporter for American band A Day to Remember on their "Parks & Devastation Tour" across America throughout September and October, along with support acts Motionless in White and Chiodos. The band performed at Wembley Arena in London on 5 December with support acts Young Guns, Issues and Sleepwave, which was recorded and released as a live album/DVD. Later in 2014, the band released two new tracks titled "Drown" on 21 October, as a stand-alone single, and "Don't Look Down" on 29 October, as part of the re-score of Drive. That's the Spirit (2015–2017) In late June, the band began to promote pictures of an umbrella symbol being used as a tattoo, and on stickers, and posters across England, the United States, Australia, and Europe; it was later used for a promotional cover for the band's first single. The band released a short video in early July where the words "that's the spirit" could be heard in reverse. On 13 July 2015, the promotional single "Happy Song" was released on the band's Vevo page, and on 21 July 2015, Sykes revealed the album's name was That's the Spirit. The band released the single and music video for "Throne" on 23 July 2015, and another promotional track from the album, titled "True Friends", was released on 24 August 2015. The album was released on 11 September 2015 to critical acclaim. It has led to several music videos including "Drown", "Throne", "True Friends", "Follow You", "Avalanche", and "Oh No". The band embarked on a U.S. tour in October 2015 with support from metalcore band Issues and rock band PVRIS. The band also toured Europe in November 2015, and embarked on a second U.S. tour in April and May 2016. This was followed by an Australian tour in September 2016, and a second European tour in November 2016. On 22 April 2016, the band performed a live concert with an orchestra conducted by Simon Dobson at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The concert marked the first time the band had performed with a live orchestra. It was recorded, and the live album, Live at the Royal Albert Hall, was released on 2 December 2016 through the crowdfunding platform PledgeMusic on CD, DVD, and vinyl, with all proceeds donated to Teenage Cancer Trust. Following the show, Fish hinted at the possibility of doing a full tour with an orchestra, saying: "It seems almost a bit of a shame to go to all this effort for months and months for just one night." Amo (2018–2019) In August 2018, cryptic posters appeared in major cities throughout the world with the message "do you wanna start a cult with me?". The posters were attributed by major media outlets to the band only by their use of the hexagram logo previously used by the band. During this time the band themselves have not acknowledged their involvement with the campaign publicly. Each poster provided a unique phone number and a website address. The website provided a brief message titled "An Invitation To Salvation" and shows the date of 21 August 2018. The phone lines placed fans on hold with lengthy, varied audio messages that changed frequently. Some of these messages reportedly end with a distorted audio clip of what was assumed to be new music from the band. On 21 August, the band released the lead single "Mantra". The following day the band announced their album Amo, released on 11 January 2019, along with a set of tour dates called the First Love World Tour. On 21 October, the band released their second single "Wonderful Life" featuring Dani Filth, along with the tracklist for Amo. That same day, the band announced that the album has been delayed and is now set for 25 January 2019. On 1 December, it was reported that during a show at Ally Pally a fan died in the mosh pit and was escorted by paramedics and security. A day later, it was confirmed by the band with a statement: "Words cannot express how horrified we are feeling this evening after hearing about the death of a young man at our show last night. Our hearts and deepest condolences go out to his family and loved ones at this terrible time. We will comment further in due course." On 3 January 2019, the band released their third single "Medicine" and its corresponding music video. On 22 January, three days before the album release, the band released the fourth single "Mother Tongue". On 24 January, the band released the fifth single "Nihilist Blues" featuring Grimes. On 26 July, the band released the sixth single "Sugar Honey Ice & Tea" alongside an accompanying music video. On 21 October, the band released the seventh single "In the Dark" alongside an accompanying music video featuring Forest Whitaker. On 6 November, the band released the song "Ludens", which is part of Death Stranding: Timefall, along with the news that the band are planning on never releasing an album again and instead want to release EPs. On 27 December, the band released Music to Listen to~Dance to~Blaze to~Pray to~Feed to~Sleep to~Talk to~Grind to~Trip to~Breathe to~Help to~Hurt to~Scroll to~Roll to~Love to~Hate to~Learn Too~Plot to~Play to~Be to~Feel to~Breed to~Sweat to~Dream to~Hide to~Live to~Die to~Go To without any prior announcement. Post Human: Survival Horror (2020–present) On 20 March 2020, the band shared that they were in a home studio, writing and recording material for their eighth record, which is expected to be an EP, with part of it being co-produced by Mick Gordon. On 25 June, the band released the single "Parasite Eve" alongside an accompanying music video. On the same day, the band also announced a project that they have been working on titled Post Human, which they said to be four EPs released throughout the next year which when combined would make an album. On 2 September, the band released with English singer Yungblud a collaborative single titled "Obey" and its corresponding music video. On 14 October, the band officially announced through social media that Post Human: Survival Horror would be released on 30 October 2020. On 22 October, a week before the release date, the fourth single "Teardrops" was released alongside an accompanying music video. In December 2020, Fish said that the band had been writing "on and off" and would be focusing on their next release in early 2021. He also updated the group's release plan, saying that they "planned to do four EPs in a year, but [Post Human: Survival Horror] was almost an album, so I think the spacing will be a bit longer than intended, just because they're probably going to turn out bigger than intended." Upon being released on physical formats on 22 January 2021, Post Human: Survival Horror would chart again and reach a new peak to gift Bring Me the Horizon their second UK number one on the UK Albums Chart. Two years after Amo would be the first to reach this feat. The band collaborated with singer Olivia O'Brien on a track titled "No More Friends". The song is from O'Brien's Episodes: Season 1' EP which was released on 11 June 2021. On 2 September 2021, the band announced the release of an upcoming single, "Die4U", which was released on 16 September. On 8 December, the band was announced as the Saturday co-headliner alongside Arctic Monkeys at the 2022 iteration of the Reading and Leeds Festival, headlining the bill for the first time ever. Speaking to NME about the announcement, Sykes expressed his thoughts about headlining Reading and Leeds, as well as what to expect from their headline set: In February 2022, it was reported that the band were set to contribute to the soundtrack and provide the main theme for Gran Turismo 7. On 4 February, the band released their rendition of "Moon Over the Castle" as a single ahead of schedule due to the song being leaked early. At the 42nd Brit Awards, the band were brought out as a surprise act to perform "Bad Habits" alongside Ed Sheeran. The studio version of "Bad Habits" featuring the band followed on 17 February. On 16 March, the band were featured on the fourth single "Maybe" from Machine Gun Kelly's Mainstream Sellout. It would become the first song by the band to reach the Billboard Hot 100, debuting at #91 and later peaked at #68. On 26 March, the band teased a collaborative single with Australian rapper Masked Wolf on their social media platforms titled "Fallout", slated for release on 1 April 2022. On 21 April, the band were featured on Norwegian singer Sigrid's single "Bad Life" from her album How to Let Go. During Bring Me the Horizon's Malta event on 26 May, the band showcased their latest single "Strangers" for the first time at their DJ set. On 22 June, the band later officially announced the single to be released on 6 July. The single was then released alongside an accompanying music video. Bring Me the Horizon are set to headline the Australian music festival, Good Things in December. On 4 May 2023, the band released the single, "Lost". Artistry Style and influences Among Bring Me the Horizon's earliest influences were bands like At the Gates, Carcass, Pantera, Metallica, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die, Norma Jean, Skycamefalling and Poison the Well; and genres death metal, grindcore, and emo have been cited by AllMusic writer Steward Mason. However, as their sound developed, the band started to take influences from progressive rock, post-rock, dubstep and electronica. The band's musical style has been described mainly as metalcore and – though they have since moved on from the genre – their early material was considered deathcore. Across their career the band has also been said to play within the genres alternative metal, alternative rock, pop rock, electronic rock, hard rock, heavy metal, post-hardcore, pop metal, pop, nu metal, electropop, hip hop, EDM, arena rock, melodic metalcore, electronicore, electronica, screamo, hardcore punk, technical metal, and emo. Bring Me the Horizon have attempted to grow and change with each album, believing they should be different. Raziq Rauf, writing for Drowned in Sound, described Count Your Blessings as possessing "Norma Jean-style thunderous riffs mixed with some dastardly sludgy doom moments and more breakdowns than your dad's old Nissan Sunny." Metal Hammer described Suicide Season as a "creative, critical and commercial success" for the band as they started to adopt a more eclectic style, with its "crushingly heavy party deathcore". Leading up to its release, Oliver Sykes described it as "100% different to Count Your Blessings" and noted the album sounds "more rock than metal". As time went by, Bring Me the Horizon began rejecting their debut album Count Your Blessings and considered Suicide Season as their "Year Zero[...] [their] wipe-the-slate-clean time". Bring Me the Horizon then moved even further away from deathcore with their third album There Is a Hell..., which incorporated electronica, classical music and pop music into their metalcore style. This required more ambitious production feats, such as using a full choir, a synthesised orchestra and glitched out vocals and breakdowns that were also toned down, favouring quiet atmospheric passages in song breaks. For the writing of Sempiternal, the band pooled far broader influences such as post-rock acts like This Will Destroy You and Explosions in the Sky and from pop music. Bring Me the Horizon has experimented with its music in recent years, mixing pop with metal music, leading the band to be labelled a pop metal act. With the release of That's the Spirit, their sound shifted towards electronic rock, alternative metal and alternative rock, also incorporated other genres such as pop rock and nu metal, while completely abandoning the metalcore sound of their earlier albums. Songwriting and recording process In all the band's album notes, all of Bring Me the Horizon's lyrics are said to be written by lead vocalist Oliver Sykes while all five members—as a band—were credited with writing the music. With the exception of Count Your Blessings, the band has always written in a secluded location to avoid being distracted. Oliver Sykes' lyrics have a strong feeling of catharsis for him. He mainly draws from personal experience and has described the band's live performances as therapeutic. In 2006, when asked about the lyrics of Count Your Blessings, as they had been criticised for their content solely fixated on heartbreak and other themes that were called "shallow and meaningless", he responded "My life's never been that bad so I've not got that much to talk about." Band members have described how the debut album was written in inner-city areas of Birmingham while being pressured to write and record songs to the deadlines given. This resulted in the band being unimpressed with the final product. However, for the writing process of Suicide Season, the band realised that they much preferred picking areas with less human contact in order to focus on the music; they wrote their second album in the Swedish countryside. During the writing of Suicide Season, former and founding rhythm guitarist Curtis Ward wrote only two riffs of his rhythm parts of the album, mostly relying on Lee Malia to write all of the guitar sections of the album. Lee Malia has stated that the typical writing process involves Oliver Sykes writing the main structure of the songs, followed by Malia writing the main riff. From this they would collaborate with each other to structure their work better and then later include the rest of the band in writing the rest of the song. The writing dynamic of Sempiternal, typically featured Sykes, Malia and newly introduced member Jordan Fish. Malia felt that with Fish's influence on the record he was pushed to create more inspired guitar riffs. As they all took a break before writing their fourth album, they felt less of a need for an isolated writing environment. Image and legacy During the band's early years, they were praised for their business acumen for selling mail-order merchandise and not relying on sales at live shows. Bring Me the Horizon's image has been characterised by the dominating personality of singer and front-man Oliver Sykes, and he has often been seen as the band's "Poster boy", bearing the brunt of the band's controversial reputation. In their early years, Bring Me the Horizon's image was infamously characterised by its members fashion sense and use of skinny-fit jeans, T-shirts with death metal band logos on the front and coloured hair/straightened hair. The band's image fit into what was called scene fashion. The effect of their fashion aesthetics showed people, in show promoter Iain Scott's perspective, that "you don't have to look like a diabolical metalhead to be into metal or play in a metal band". However, their fashion conscious appearance earned them a "style over substance" label. Many controversies that occurred in their early years greatly affected public perceptions of the band, particularly an incident in 2007 at Nottingham's Rock City venue, when a female fan claimed that Oliver Sykes had urinated on her. The charges were dropped due to a lack of evidence from CCTV footage in the area. There were several documented examples of violence against the band during their live shows, including Sykes being pepper sprayed on stage; and people getting onstage to assault the band. Despite the controversy over their image, various journalists have credited the band as being one of the most forward-thinking heavy bands in the UK. In 2012, just four years after the release of Suicide Season, the album was inducted into Rock Sound's Hall of Fame, credited as a significant influence on the works of Asking Alexandria, The Ghost Inside and While She Sleeps. It was credited as an influence on metalcore contemporaries Architects on Hollow Crown with their incorporation of keyboards and programming, and The Devil Wears Prada's Dead Throne for its more experimental and opinion-dividing sound. In an interview with Kerrang!, guitarist Lee Malia remarked that the band wanted to go a bit more experimental, saying: "I always think we have been a year ahead of bands who are kind of just seeing what's cool and then copying it." The band caused further controversy in February 2016 when Oliver Sykes trashed Coldplay's table at the 2016 NME Awards during a live performance of Bring Me the Horizon's track "Happy Song". Although some people thought the table trashing was because of a prior feud between the two bands relating to similar album artwork, Sykes later stated that the act was not an act of "dirty protest", and suggested that it was "pure coincidence" that Coldplay were sitting at the table he trampled. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin admitted that he had never even heard of Bring Me the Horizon before the incident and he laughed it off, stating that "it was great, very 'rock and roll'". Band members Current Oliver Sykes – lead vocals ; keyboards, programming Matt Kean – bass Lee Malia – lead guitar ; rhythm guitar Matt Nicholls – drums Jordan Fish – keyboards, programming, drum pads, percussion, backing vocals Current touring musicians John Jones – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Former Curtis Ward – rhythm guitar Jona Weinhofen – rhythm guitar, backing vocals ; keyboards, programming Former touring musicians Dean Rowbotham – rhythm guitar Robin Urbino – rhythm guitar Tim Hillier-Brook – rhythm guitar Brendan MacDonald – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Timeline Discography Count Your Blessings (2006) Suicide Season (2008) There Is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let's Keep It a Secret. (2010) Sempiternal (2013) That's the Spirit (2015) Amo (2019) Awards and nominations Grammy Awards ! |- | 2019 || "Mantra" || Best Rock Song || | |- | 2020 || Amo || Best Rock Album || | BRIT Awards ! |- | 2020 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best Group || | |- NME Awards! |- | rowspan="2"| 2017 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best Live Band || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Music Moment of the Year || | |- | 2020 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best Band in the World || | |- | rowspan="2"| 2022 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best Band in the World || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Best Live Act || | Kerrang! Awards! |- | 2006 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Newcomer || | |- | 2008 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Band || | |- | 2009 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Band || | |- | rowspan="3"| 2011 || "Blessed with a Curse" || Best Single || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Band || | |- | There Is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let's Keep It a Secret. || Best Album || | |- | 2012 || "Alligator Blood" || Best Video || | |- | rowspan="4"| 2013 || "Shadow Moses" || Best Single || | |- | "Shadow Moses" || Best Video || | |- | Sempiternal || Best Album || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Band || | |- | rowspan="2"| 2014 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best Live Band || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Band || | |- | rowspan="2"| 2015 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Band || | |- | "Drown" || Best Single || | |- | 2016 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Band || | |- | rowspan="2"| 2019 || Amo || Best Album || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Act || | AIM Independent Music Awards! |- | rowspan="3"| 2011 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best Live Act || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Hardest Working Band or Artist || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Independent Breakthrough of Year || | Alternative Press ! |- | rowspan="2"| 2014 || Sempiternal || Best Album || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Best International Band || | |- | 2015 || "Drown" || Best Music Video || | |- UK Music Video Awards ! |- | 2016 | "True Friends" | Best Rock/Indie Video – UK | | Heavy Music Awards ! |- | 2017 | Bring Me the Horizon | Best UK Band | | |- | rowspan="2"| 2019 | Bring Me the Horizon | Best UK Band | | |- | Bring Me the Horizon | Best Live Band | | |- | rowspan="4"| 2020 | Bring Me the Horizon | Best UK Band | | |- | Amo | Best Album | | |- | Amo | Best Album Artwork | | |- | "In the Dark" | Best Video | | |- | rowspan="2"| 2021 | Post Human: Survival Horror | Best Album | | |- | Bring Me the Horizon | Best UK Band | | |- | rowspan="4"| 2022 | "Die4U" | Best Single | | |- | Bring Me the Horizon | Best Live Band | | |- | Bring Me the Horizon | Best UK Band | | |- | "Die4U" | Best Video | | Readers polls In a 2009 Rock Sound readers' poll, Bring Me the Horizon achieved both Best British Band and Worst British Band. In 2011 The Guardian ran a poll for "Who should win the Mercury prize?" and used 50 albums, Bring Me the Horizon's third album There Is a Hell... won with 37%. In a 2013 Sirius XM published poll, Bring Me the Horizon won Best Song Discovery for "Go to Hell, for Heaven's Sake" with the Octane radio station. In a 2013 Alternative Press readers poll, Bring Me the Horizon was nominated for four categories: Best Vocalist (Oliver Sykes; position 3), Best Keyboardist (Jordan Fish; position 1), Single Of The Year ("Shadow Moses"; position 2) and "Best Album Art" (Sempiternal; position 2). In 2021, Kerrang! readers voted "Die4U" as the best song and music video of the year. Bring Me the Horizon was also voted as the best band and best live band of the year. They were also voted as the second-best cover story of the year by Kerrang Magazine. Notes References Bibliography External links Category:2004 establishments in England Category:British alternative metal musical groups Category:Columbia Records artists Category:English alternative rock groups Category:English deathcore musical groups Category:English metalcore musical groups Category:English pop rock music groups Category:Kerrang! Awards winners Category:Musical groups from Sheffield Category:Musical groups established in 2004 Category:Musical quintets Category:RCA Records artists Category:Let Them Eat Vinyl artists

C_50898b4862fb42f5b989ea579db6fb46_0

Bring Me the Horizon

Bring Me the Horizon, often known by the acronym BMTH, are a British rock band from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Formed in 2004, the group now consists of vocalist Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardist Jordan Fish. They are signed to RCA Records globally and Columbia Records exclusively in the United States. The style of their early work, including their debut album Count Your Blessings, has been described primarily as deathcore, but they started to adopt a more eclectic style of metalcore on later albums.

Image and legacy

During the band's early years, they were praised for their business acumen for selling mail-order merchandise and not relying on sales at live shows. Bring Me the Horizon's image has been characterised by the dominating personality of singer and front-man Oliver Sykes, and he has often been seen as the band's "Poster boy", bearing the brunt of the band's controversial reputation. In their early years, Bring Me the Horizon's image was infamously characterised by its members fashion sense and use of skinny-fit jeans, T-shirts with death metal band logos on the front and colored hair/straightened hair. The band's image fit into what was called scene fashion. The effect of their fashion aesthetics showed people, in show promoter Iain Scott's perspective, that "you don't have to look like a diabolical metalhead to be into metal or play in a metal band". However, their fashion conscious appearance earned them a "style over substance" label. Many controversies that occurred in their early years greatly affected public perceptions of the band, particularly an incident in 2007 at Nottingham's Rock City venue, when a female fan claimed that Oliver Sykes had urinated on her. The charges were dropped due to a lack of evidence from CCTV footage in the area. There were several documented examples of violence against the band during their live shows, including Sykes being pepper sprayed on stage; and people getting on stage to assault the band. Their third album (2010's There Is a Hell...) was seen as a significant turning point in altering public perception of the band. Despite the controversy over their image, various journalists have credited the band as being one of the most forward thinking heavy bands in the UK. In 2012, just four years after the release of Suicide Season, the album was inducted into Rocksound's Hall Of Fame, credited as a significant influence on the works of Asking Alexandria, The Ghost Inside and While She Sleeps. It was credited as an influence on metalcore contemporaries Architects on Hollow Crown with their incorporation of keyboards and programming, and The Devil Wears Prada's Dead Throne for its more experimental and opinion-dividing sound. The band caused further controversy in February 2016 when Oliver Sykes trashed Coldplay's table at the 2016 NME Awards during a live performance of Bring Me the Horizon's track "Happy Song". Although some people thought the table trashing was because of a prior feud between the two bands relating to similar album artwork, Sykes later stated that the act was not an act of "dirty protest", and suggested that it was "pure coincidence" that Coldplay were sitting at the table he trampled. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin allegedly laughed off the incident, stating that "it was great, very rock and roll". CANNOTANSWER

Bring Me the Horizon (often abbreviated as BMTH) are a British rock band, formed in Sheffield in 2004. The group currently consists of lead vocalist Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardist Jordan Fish. They are signed to RCA Records globally and Columbia Records exclusively in the United States. The band released their debut album Count Your Blessings in 2006. Upon release, the album's deathcore sound polarised listeners, and was largely met with critical disdain. The band began to break away from this sound with their second album Suicide Season (2008), which was considered a creative, critical and commercial turning point for the band. Bring Me the Horizon released their third album, There Is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let's Keep It a Secret., in 2010, propelling them to greater international fame, whilst incorporating influences from classical music, electronica and pop. Their major label debut, Sempiternal, (2013) achieved Gold certification in Australia (35,000) and Silver in the United Kingdom (60,000). That's the Spirit (2015) debuted at number two in the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. Their sixth studio album Amo (2019) became their first UK chart-topper. The same year, the band also released Music to Listen To... (2019). Post Human: Survival Horror followed in 2020, the first in a planned series of four projects under the Post Human name. The band have also released two extended plays and two live albums. They have received four Kerrang! Awards, including two for Best British Band and one for Best Live Band, and have been nominated for two Grammy Awards. The band has sold over 4 million records worldwide, and have topped the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart with songs such as "Throne", "Drown, "Mantra" and "Parasite Eve". The style of their early work, including their debut album Count Your Blessings, has been described primarily as deathcore, but over the course of several albums, the band has shifted its style and moved in a more melodically-oriented direction by combining their approach to metalcore with elements of electronica, pop and hip hop. History Formation and early releases (2002–2006) Bring Me the Horizon's founding members came from diverse musical backgrounds within metal and rock. Matt Nicholls and Oliver Sykes had a common interest in American metalcore such as Norma Jean and Skycamefalling, and used to attend local hardcore punk shows. They later met Lee Malia, who spoke with them about thrash metal and melodic death metal bands like Metallica and At the Gates; Malia had also been part of a Metallica tribute band before meeting the pair. Bring Me the Horizon officially formed in March 2004, when the members were aged 15 to 17. Curtis Ward, who also lived in the Rotherham area, joined Sykes, Malia and Nicholls on drums. Bassist Matt Kean, who was in other local bands, completed the line-up. Their name is paraphrased from a line of dialogue spoken by Captain Jack Sparrow in the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, where Sparrow says: "Now, bring me that horizon." In the months following their formation, Bring Me the Horizon created a demo album titled Bedroom Sessions. They followed this by releasing their first EP, This Is What the Edge of Your Seat Was Made For, in September 2004 through local UK label Thirty Days of Night Records. Bring Me the Horizon were the label's first signing. It was recorded at Pristine Studios in Nottingham over the course of two weekends, with drums and bass guitar laid down over the first weekend, and guitars and vocals completed a week later. UK label Visible Noise noticed the band after the release of their EP, and signed them for a four-album deal, in addition to re-releasing the EP in January 2005. The re-release gained the band significant attention, eventually peaking at No. 41 on the UK album charts. The band was later awarded Best British Newcomer at the 2006 Kerrang! Awards ceremony. The band's first tour was supporting The Red Chord across the United Kingdom. As with other early tours, they were able to get this slot by tricking venue promoters. Kean and Oliver's mother Carol Sykes were the de facto managers of the band at this time, a role they continued to occupy until 2008. For The Red Chord support, Kean emailed promoters and pretended they were opening on all the dates, when they were supposed to play only at their local show. This led them to being booked for the whole tour. In another case, Sykes created an e-mail account in the name of Johnny Truant vocalist Oliver Mitchell, which he used to contact a promoter requesting Bring Me the Horizon on their tour. Alcohol consumption fuelled their live performances in their early history when the band would get so drunk they vomited on stage and damaged their equipment. Count Your Blessings (2006–2007) The band released their debut album Count Your Blessings in October 2006 in the United Kingdom and in August 2007 in the United States. They rented a house in the country to write songs, but easily became distracted. They then recorded the album in inner-city Birmingham, a process which was infamous for their excessive and dangerous drinking. During this period drummer Nicholls summarised it saying "we were out every night, just being regular 18-year-olds". Critics panned the album adding to the strongly polarised responses the band were already seeing from the public. They supported Count Your Blessings by going on a lengthy headline tour of the UK in November, and immediately followed this joining Lostprophets and The Blackout on a UK tour through late November and December 2006. In January 2007, Bring Me the Horizon were able to set their sights beyond the UK, when they replaced Bury Your Dead on Killswitch Engage's European headline tour. The slot became available after Bury Your Dead were forced to withdraw by the departure from the band of their vocalist, Mat Bruso. Bring Me the Horizon's presence on the tour was poorly received by fans of Killswitch Engage, with concert attendees regularly throwing bottles at the band before they even started playing their set. Suicide Season and Ward's departure (2008–2009) Bring Me the Horizon recorded their second studio album, Suicide Season, in Sweden with producer Fredrik Nordström. He was unimpressed with their first album and was initially absent from the recording sessions unless he needed to be there. Nordström later heard the new sound they were experimenting with during a recording session and became very involved in the record. It was promoted virally in the weeks before its release with the promotional tag line "September is Suicide Season." To promote Suicide Season the band embarked on their first headline tour of the United States, as well as appearing at the 2008 Warped Tour. In May 2008, Bring Me the Horizon was the main supporting band on I Killed the Prom Queen's farewell Australian tour with The Ghost Inside and The Red Shore. Suicide Season was released on 18 September 2008 in the United States on Epitaph and on 29 September in Europe through Visible Noise. In 2009, Bring Me the Horizon attended the 2009 Kerrang! Tour alongside Black Tide, Dir En Grey, In Case of Fire and Mindless Self Indulgence. They also joined Thursday, Cancer Bats, Four Year Strong and Pierce the Veil on the North American leg of the 2009 Taste of Chaos tour from February to April after the tour's organizer Kevin Lyman offered them the slot. The band were initially hesitant to join this tour, but were convinced after Lyman offered them a bus and $500 of fuel for the tour. During the Taste of Chaos tour in March of that year, guitarist Curtis Ward left the band. His relationship with the band had deteriorated as his stage performances were poor. He was abusive to audiences during the Taste of Chaos tour, and had contributed little to the writing of Suicide Season. Another reason for his departure was the worsening tinnitus in his one functioning ear. Ward was born deaf in one ear and admitted playing in the band worsened the ringing in his other ear to such a degree that he was unable to sleep at night. Ward offered to perform the rest of the tour dates, which the band rejected and instead asked their guitar technician, Dean Rowbotham, to substitute for him for the remaining performances. Lee Malia noted that Ward's departure helped improve everyone's mood as he had been very negative. Within a week of the tour finishing, Sykes began talking to Jona Weinhofen, at the time the guitarist of Bleeding Through. The band knew of him from his work with his former band I Killed the Prom Queen, and he was asked to join them. Ward has since worked on the TV show Top Gear, and has occasionally performed on stage with Bring Me The Horizon, playing "Pray For Plagues", most notably at Wembley Arena in 2015. In 2016, it was announced that Ward had joined the band Counting Days. In November 2009, Bring Me the Horizon released a remixed version of Suicide Season, titled Suicide Season: Cut Up! Musicians and producers featured on the album include: Ben Weinman, Skrillex, L'Amour La Morgue, Utah Saints and Shawn Crahan. Musically, the album incorporates many genres including: electronica, drum and bass, hip-hop and dubstep. The dubstep style of the record has been acknowledged in tracks by Tek-One and Skrillex while the hip-hop elements are found in Travis McCoy's remix of "Chelsea Smile". There Is a Hell... (2010–2011) The band's third album, and first with their new rhythm guitarist Jona Weinhofen, titled There Is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let's Keep It a Secret., was released on 4 October 2010 and debuted at number 17 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, number 13 on the UK Album Chart, and number one on the Australian Albums Chart, the UK Rock Chart and the UK Indie Chart. Despite reaching number one in Australia, the album's sales were the lowest for a number one album in the history of the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) charts. Matt Nicholls describes the lyrical themes of There Is a Hell... as being "repercussions of everything we were singing about on our last CD [Suicide Season]," calling the music and lyrics a lot moodier and darker. Five singles were released from the album including: "It Never Ends", "Anthem", "Blessed with a Curse", "Visions", and "Alligator Blood", with music videos produced for each of the songs. The band embarked on a headline tour in intimate venues across the United Kingdom with support from Cancer Bats and Tek-One. In December 2010, Bring Me the Horizon joined Bullet for My Valentine as the main support band, alongside Atreyu, on a short five-date arena tour around the United Kingdom. To cope with high demand, Live Nation released extra standing tickets for all dates. In April 2011, Bring Me the Horizon embarked on a European tour, starting in the United Kingdom. They toured with Parkway Drive and Architects as main support bands, with The Devil Wears Prada as the opening support for the UK and dubstep group Tek-One. The tour, however, was not without its hindrances. On 28 April, Nicholls broke his arm whilst playing football with members of Bring Me the Horizon, Parkway Drive and Architects. Instead of cancelling the tour, Architects' drummer Dan Searle filled in as drummer, but this meant that Bring Me the Horizon's setlist was halved in length. The tour was extended with a North American leg from 13 August to 4 October, retaining Parkway Drive and Architects and adding Deez Nuts to the line up. On 23 August they released the fourth music video and single, "Visions", and on 31 October the music video for the song "Alligator Blood" was released. In December 2011, Machine Head completed an arena tour across Europe with Bring Me the Horizon as the main support band along with DevilDriver and Darkest Hour. Oliver Sykes said these would be the last European dates before they began writing and the recording their fourth album. 2011 ended with an announcement by the band on 29 December of a new extended play titled The Chill Out Sessions, a collaborative effort with British DJ Draper. Draper first released an "officially sanctioned" remix of the song "Blessed with a Curse" in May 2011. The EP was originally supposed to be released in time for New Year's Day, and made available for download and purchase though Bring Me the Horizon's website, but the EP's release was cancelled due to the band's "current management and label situation". Sempiternal and Weinhofen's departure (2012–2014) After an intense touring schedule, Bring Me the Horizon finally completed their third album's promotion at the end of 2011. They returned to the UK for an extended break and eventually starting work on their next album. Much like their previous two albums, they wrote their fourth album in seclusion and isolation to stay focused. This time, they retreated to a house in the Lake District. In July, the band started to publish images of themselves recording at a 'Top Secret Studio Location,' and revealed they were working with producer Terry Date for the recording and production of the album. On 30 July, the band announced they had left their label and signed with RCA, who would release their fourth album in 2013. The band played only three shows in all of 2012: Warped Tour 2012 on 10 November at the Alexandra Palace in London, which they headlined, (and was initially believed to be their only show), the BBC Radio 1's Radio 1 Rocks show on 22 October, where they played a six-song set supporting Bullet for My Valentine, and at a warm-up show for Warped Tour in Sheffield on 9 November. In late October it was announced that the fourth album would be called Sempiternal with a tentative release in early 2013. On 22 November the band released the Draper collaborative album The Chill Out Sessions free of charge. On 4 January 2013, Bring Me the Horizon released the first single from Sempiternal, "Shadow Moses". It was first played by radio presenter Daniel P. Carter on BBC's Radio 1. Due to popular demand, Epitaph released the music video for the song a week earlier than planned. In January, the band also saw a change in their line up. This began early in the month when Jordan Fish, Worship keyboardist and session musician for the band during the writing of Sempiternal, was announced as a full member. Then later in the month, Jona Weinhofen left the band for undisclosed reasons. Despite the band denying speculation that Fish replaced Weinhofen, reviewers said that replacing a guitarist with a keyboardist better fit their style. The band was confirmed for several festival appearances in February. They played the Australian Soundwave festival, performing at all five dates in: Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, and then at RAMFest in South Africa with Rise Against in March, Rock Am Ring and Rock im Park festivals in Germany in June, and from June until August they played Warped Tour 2013 in the U.S. and Canada. To coincide with 29 April release of Sempiternal the band made their first headline tour of the United Kingdom in 18 months with Crossfaith and Empress AD. In support of Sempiternal, the band toured Australia with Of Mice & Men and Crossfaith, and played a British tour with Pierce The Veil and Sights & Sounds. They then completed the American Dream Tour in North America, supported by Of Mice & Men, Issues, letlive. and Northlane. The band was announced as the main supporter for American band A Day to Remember on their "Parks & Devastation Tour" across America throughout September and October, along with support acts Motionless in White and Chiodos. The band performed at Wembley Arena in London on 5 December with support acts Young Guns, Issues and Sleepwave, which was recorded and released as a live album/DVD. Later in 2014, the band released two new tracks titled "Drown" on 21 October, as a stand-alone single, and "Don't Look Down" on 29 October, as part of the re-score of Drive. That's the Spirit (2015–2017) In late June, the band began to promote pictures of an umbrella symbol being used as a tattoo, and on stickers, and posters across England, the United States, Australia, and Europe; it was later used for a promotional cover for the band's first single. The band released a short video in early July where the words "that's the spirit" could be heard in reverse. On 13 July 2015, the promotional single "Happy Song" was released on the band's Vevo page, and on 21 July 2015, Sykes revealed the album's name was That's the Spirit. The band released the single and music video for "Throne" on 23 July 2015, and another promotional track from the album, titled "True Friends", was released on 24 August 2015. The album was released on 11 September 2015 to critical acclaim. It has led to several music videos including "Drown", "Throne", "True Friends", "Follow You", "Avalanche", and "Oh No". The band embarked on a U.S. tour in October 2015 with support from metalcore band Issues and rock band PVRIS. The band also toured Europe in November 2015, and embarked on a second U.S. tour in April and May 2016. This was followed by an Australian tour in September 2016, and a second European tour in November 2016. On 22 April 2016, the band performed a live concert with an orchestra conducted by Simon Dobson at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The concert marked the first time the band had performed with a live orchestra. It was recorded, and the live album, Live at the Royal Albert Hall, was released on 2 December 2016 through the crowdfunding platform PledgeMusic on CD, DVD, and vinyl, with all proceeds donated to Teenage Cancer Trust. Following the show, Fish hinted at the possibility of doing a full tour with an orchestra, saying: "It seems almost a bit of a shame to go to all this effort for months and months for just one night." Amo (2018–2019) In August 2018, cryptic posters appeared in major cities throughout the world with the message "do you wanna start a cult with me?". The posters were attributed by major media outlets to the band only by their use of the hexagram logo previously used by the band. During this time the band themselves have not acknowledged their involvement with the campaign publicly. Each poster provided a unique phone number and a website address. The website provided a brief message titled "An Invitation To Salvation" and shows the date of 21 August 2018. The phone lines placed fans on hold with lengthy, varied audio messages that changed frequently. Some of these messages reportedly end with a distorted audio clip of what was assumed to be new music from the band. On 21 August, the band released the lead single "Mantra". The following day the band announced their album Amo, released on 11 January 2019, along with a set of tour dates called the First Love World Tour. On 21 October, the band released their second single "Wonderful Life" featuring Dani Filth, along with the tracklist for Amo. That same day, the band announced that the album has been delayed and is now set for 25 January 2019. On 1 December, it was reported that during a show at Ally Pally a fan died in the mosh pit and was escorted by paramedics and security. A day later, it was confirmed by the band with a statement: "Words cannot express how horrified we are feeling this evening after hearing about the death of a young man at our show last night. Our hearts and deepest condolences go out to his family and loved ones at this terrible time. We will comment further in due course." On 3 January 2019, the band released their third single "Medicine" and its corresponding music video. On 22 January, three days before the album release, the band released the fourth single "Mother Tongue". On 24 January, the band released the fifth single "Nihilist Blues" featuring Grimes. On 26 July, the band released the sixth single "Sugar Honey Ice & Tea" alongside an accompanying music video. On 21 October, the band released the seventh single "In the Dark" alongside an accompanying music video featuring Forest Whitaker. On 6 November, the band released the song "Ludens", which is part of Death Stranding: Timefall, along with the news that the band are planning on never releasing an album again and instead want to release EPs. On 27 December, the band released Music to Listen to~Dance to~Blaze to~Pray to~Feed to~Sleep to~Talk to~Grind to~Trip to~Breathe to~Help to~Hurt to~Scroll to~Roll to~Love to~Hate to~Learn Too~Plot to~Play to~Be to~Feel to~Breed to~Sweat to~Dream to~Hide to~Live to~Die to~Go To without any prior announcement. Post Human: Survival Horror (2020–present) On 20 March 2020, the band shared that they were in a home studio, writing and recording material for their eighth record, which is expected to be an EP, with part of it being co-produced by Mick Gordon. On 25 June, the band released the single "Parasite Eve" alongside an accompanying music video. On the same day, the band also announced a project that they have been working on titled Post Human, which they said to be four EPs released throughout the next year which when combined would make an album. On 2 September, the band released with English singer Yungblud a collaborative single titled "Obey" and its corresponding music video. On 14 October, the band officially announced through social media that Post Human: Survival Horror would be released on 30 October 2020. On 22 October, a week before the release date, the fourth single "Teardrops" was released alongside an accompanying music video. In December 2020, Fish said that the band had been writing "on and off" and would be focusing on their next release in early 2021. He also updated the group's release plan, saying that they "planned to do four EPs in a year, but [Post Human: Survival Horror] was almost an album, so I think the spacing will be a bit longer than intended, just because they're probably going to turn out bigger than intended." Upon being released on physical formats on 22 January 2021, Post Human: Survival Horror would chart again and reach a new peak to gift Bring Me the Horizon their second UK number one on the UK Albums Chart. Two years after Amo would be the first to reach this feat. The band collaborated with singer Olivia O'Brien on a track titled "No More Friends". The song is from O'Brien's Episodes: Season 1' EP which was released on 11 June 2021. On 2 September 2021, the band announced the release of an upcoming single, "Die4U", which was released on 16 September. On 8 December, the band was announced as the Saturday co-headliner alongside Arctic Monkeys at the 2022 iteration of the Reading and Leeds Festival, headlining the bill for the first time ever. Speaking to NME about the announcement, Sykes expressed his thoughts about headlining Reading and Leeds, as well as what to expect from their headline set: In February 2022, it was reported that the band were set to contribute to the soundtrack and provide the main theme for Gran Turismo 7. On 4 February, the band released their rendition of "Moon Over the Castle" as a single ahead of schedule due to the song being leaked early. At the 42nd Brit Awards, the band were brought out as a surprise act to perform "Bad Habits" alongside Ed Sheeran. The studio version of "Bad Habits" featuring the band followed on 17 February. On 16 March, the band were featured on the fourth single "Maybe" from Machine Gun Kelly's Mainstream Sellout. It would become the first song by the band to reach the Billboard Hot 100, debuting at #91 and later peaked at #68. On 26 March, the band teased a collaborative single with Australian rapper Masked Wolf on their social media platforms titled "Fallout", slated for release on 1 April 2022. On 21 April, the band were featured on Norwegian singer Sigrid's single "Bad Life" from her album How to Let Go. During Bring Me the Horizon's Malta event on 26 May, the band showcased their latest single "Strangers" for the first time at their DJ set. On 22 June, the band later officially announced the single to be released on 6 July. The single was then released alongside an accompanying music video. Bring Me the Horizon are set to headline the Australian music festival, Good Things in December. On 4 May 2023, the band released the single, "Lost". Artistry Style and influences Among Bring Me the Horizon's earliest influences were bands like At the Gates, Carcass, Pantera, Metallica, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die, Norma Jean, Skycamefalling and Poison the Well; and genres death metal, grindcore, and emo have been cited by AllMusic writer Steward Mason. However, as their sound developed, the band started to take influences from progressive rock, post-rock, dubstep and electronica. The band's musical style has been described mainly as metalcore and – though they have since moved on from the genre – their early material was considered deathcore. Across their career the band has also been said to play within the genres alternative metal, alternative rock, pop rock, electronic rock, hard rock, heavy metal, post-hardcore, pop metal, pop, nu metal, electropop, hip hop, EDM, arena rock, melodic metalcore, electronicore, electronica, screamo, hardcore punk, technical metal, and emo. Bring Me the Horizon have attempted to grow and change with each album, believing they should be different. Raziq Rauf, writing for Drowned in Sound, described Count Your Blessings as possessing "Norma Jean-style thunderous riffs mixed with some dastardly sludgy doom moments and more breakdowns than your dad's old Nissan Sunny." Metal Hammer described Suicide Season as a "creative, critical and commercial success" for the band as they started to adopt a more eclectic style, with its "crushingly heavy party deathcore". Leading up to its release, Oliver Sykes described it as "100% different to Count Your Blessings" and noted the album sounds "more rock than metal". As time went by, Bring Me the Horizon began rejecting their debut album Count Your Blessings and considered Suicide Season as their "Year Zero[...] [their] wipe-the-slate-clean time". Bring Me the Horizon then moved even further away from deathcore with their third album There Is a Hell..., which incorporated electronica, classical music and pop music into their metalcore style. This required more ambitious production feats, such as using a full choir, a synthesised orchestra and glitched out vocals and breakdowns that were also toned down, favouring quiet atmospheric passages in song breaks. For the writing of Sempiternal, the band pooled far broader influences such as post-rock acts like This Will Destroy You and Explosions in the Sky and from pop music. Bring Me the Horizon has experimented with its music in recent years, mixing pop with metal music, leading the band to be labelled a pop metal act. With the release of That's the Spirit, their sound shifted towards electronic rock, alternative metal and alternative rock, also incorporated other genres such as pop rock and nu metal, while completely abandoning the metalcore sound of their earlier albums. Songwriting and recording process In all the band's album notes, all of Bring Me the Horizon's lyrics are said to be written by lead vocalist Oliver Sykes while all five members—as a band—were credited with writing the music. With the exception of Count Your Blessings, the band has always written in a secluded location to avoid being distracted. Oliver Sykes' lyrics have a strong feeling of catharsis for him. He mainly draws from personal experience and has described the band's live performances as therapeutic. In 2006, when asked about the lyrics of Count Your Blessings, as they had been criticised for their content solely fixated on heartbreak and other themes that were called "shallow and meaningless", he responded "My life's never been that bad so I've not got that much to talk about." Band members have described how the debut album was written in inner-city areas of Birmingham while being pressured to write and record songs to the deadlines given. This resulted in the band being unimpressed with the final product. However, for the writing process of Suicide Season, the band realised that they much preferred picking areas with less human contact in order to focus on the music; they wrote their second album in the Swedish countryside. During the writing of Suicide Season, former and founding rhythm guitarist Curtis Ward wrote only two riffs of his rhythm parts of the album, mostly relying on Lee Malia to write all of the guitar sections of the album. Lee Malia has stated that the typical writing process involves Oliver Sykes writing the main structure of the songs, followed by Malia writing the main riff. From this they would collaborate with each other to structure their work better and then later include the rest of the band in writing the rest of the song. The writing dynamic of Sempiternal, typically featured Sykes, Malia and newly introduced member Jordan Fish. Malia felt that with Fish's influence on the record he was pushed to create more inspired guitar riffs. As they all took a break before writing their fourth album, they felt less of a need for an isolated writing environment. Image and legacy During the band's early years, they were praised for their business acumen for selling mail-order merchandise and not relying on sales at live shows. Bring Me the Horizon's image has been characterised by the dominating personality of singer and front-man Oliver Sykes, and he has often been seen as the band's "Poster boy", bearing the brunt of the band's controversial reputation. In their early years, Bring Me the Horizon's image was infamously characterised by its members fashion sense and use of skinny-fit jeans, T-shirts with death metal band logos on the front and coloured hair/straightened hair. The band's image fit into what was called scene fashion. The effect of their fashion aesthetics showed people, in show promoter Iain Scott's perspective, that "you don't have to look like a diabolical metalhead to be into metal or play in a metal band". However, their fashion conscious appearance earned them a "style over substance" label. Many controversies that occurred in their early years greatly affected public perceptions of the band, particularly an incident in 2007 at Nottingham's Rock City venue, when a female fan claimed that Oliver Sykes had urinated on her. The charges were dropped due to a lack of evidence from CCTV footage in the area. There were several documented examples of violence against the band during their live shows, including Sykes being pepper sprayed on stage; and people getting onstage to assault the band. Despite the controversy over their image, various journalists have credited the band as being one of the most forward-thinking heavy bands in the UK. In 2012, just four years after the release of Suicide Season, the album was inducted into Rock Sound's Hall of Fame, credited as a significant influence on the works of Asking Alexandria, The Ghost Inside and While She Sleeps. It was credited as an influence on metalcore contemporaries Architects on Hollow Crown with their incorporation of keyboards and programming, and The Devil Wears Prada's Dead Throne for its more experimental and opinion-dividing sound. In an interview with Kerrang!, guitarist Lee Malia remarked that the band wanted to go a bit more experimental, saying: "I always think we have been a year ahead of bands who are kind of just seeing what's cool and then copying it." The band caused further controversy in February 2016 when Oliver Sykes trashed Coldplay's table at the 2016 NME Awards during a live performance of Bring Me the Horizon's track "Happy Song". Although some people thought the table trashing was because of a prior feud between the two bands relating to similar album artwork, Sykes later stated that the act was not an act of "dirty protest", and suggested that it was "pure coincidence" that Coldplay were sitting at the table he trampled. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin admitted that he had never even heard of Bring Me the Horizon before the incident and he laughed it off, stating that "it was great, very 'rock and roll'". Band members Current Oliver Sykes – lead vocals ; keyboards, programming Matt Kean – bass Lee Malia – lead guitar ; rhythm guitar Matt Nicholls – drums Jordan Fish – keyboards, programming, drum pads, percussion, backing vocals Current touring musicians John Jones – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Former Curtis Ward – rhythm guitar Jona Weinhofen – rhythm guitar, backing vocals ; keyboards, programming Former touring musicians Dean Rowbotham – rhythm guitar Robin Urbino – rhythm guitar Tim Hillier-Brook – rhythm guitar Brendan MacDonald – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Timeline Discography Count Your Blessings (2006) Suicide Season (2008) There Is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let's Keep It a Secret. (2010) Sempiternal (2013) That's the Spirit (2015) Amo (2019) Awards and nominations Grammy Awards ! |- | 2019 || "Mantra" || Best Rock Song || | |- | 2020 || Amo || Best Rock Album || | BRIT Awards ! |- | 2020 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best Group || | |- NME Awards! |- | rowspan="2"| 2017 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best Live Band || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Music Moment of the Year || | |- | 2020 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best Band in the World || | |- | rowspan="2"| 2022 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best Band in the World || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Best Live Act || | Kerrang! Awards! |- | 2006 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Newcomer || | |- | 2008 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Band || | |- | 2009 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Band || | |- | rowspan="3"| 2011 || "Blessed with a Curse" || Best Single || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Band || | |- | There Is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let's Keep It a Secret. || Best Album || | |- | 2012 || "Alligator Blood" || Best Video || | |- | rowspan="4"| 2013 || "Shadow Moses" || Best Single || | |- | "Shadow Moses" || Best Video || | |- | Sempiternal || Best Album || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Band || | |- | rowspan="2"| 2014 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best Live Band || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Band || | |- | rowspan="2"| 2015 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Band || | |- | "Drown" || Best Single || | |- | 2016 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Band || | |- | rowspan="2"| 2019 || Amo || Best Album || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Best British Act || | AIM Independent Music Awards! |- | rowspan="3"| 2011 || Bring Me the Horizon || Best Live Act || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Hardest Working Band or Artist || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Independent Breakthrough of Year || | Alternative Press ! |- | rowspan="2"| 2014 || Sempiternal || Best Album || | |- | Bring Me the Horizon || Best International Band || | |- | 2015 || "Drown" || Best Music Video || | |- UK Music Video Awards ! |- | 2016 | "True Friends" | Best Rock/Indie Video – UK | | Heavy Music Awards ! |- | 2017 | Bring Me the Horizon | Best UK Band | | |- | rowspan="2"| 2019 | Bring Me the Horizon | Best UK Band | | |- | Bring Me the Horizon | Best Live Band | | |- | rowspan="4"| 2020 | Bring Me the Horizon | Best UK Band | | |- | Amo | Best Album | | |- | Amo | Best Album Artwork | | |- | "In the Dark" | Best Video | | |- | rowspan="2"| 2021 | Post Human: Survival Horror | Best Album | | |- | Bring Me the Horizon | Best UK Band | | |- | rowspan="4"| 2022 | "Die4U" | Best Single | | |- | Bring Me the Horizon | Best Live Band | | |- | Bring Me the Horizon | Best UK Band | | |- | "Die4U" | Best Video | | Readers polls In a 2009 Rock Sound readers' poll, Bring Me the Horizon achieved both Best British Band and Worst British Band. In 2011 The Guardian ran a poll for "Who should win the Mercury prize?" and used 50 albums, Bring Me the Horizon's third album There Is a Hell... won with 37%. In a 2013 Sirius XM published poll, Bring Me the Horizon won Best Song Discovery for "Go to Hell, for Heaven's Sake" with the Octane radio station. In a 2013 Alternative Press readers poll, Bring Me the Horizon was nominated for four categories: Best Vocalist (Oliver Sykes; position 3), Best Keyboardist (Jordan Fish; position 1), Single Of The Year ("Shadow Moses"; position 2) and "Best Album Art" (Sempiternal; position 2). In 2021, Kerrang! readers voted "Die4U" as the best song and music video of the year. Bring Me the Horizon was also voted as the best band and best live band of the year. They were also voted as the second-best cover story of the year by Kerrang Magazine. Notes References Bibliography External links Category:2004 establishments in England Category:British alternative metal musical groups Category:Columbia Records artists Category:English alternative rock groups Category:English deathcore musical groups Category:English metalcore musical groups Category:English pop rock music groups Category:Kerrang! Awards winners Category:Musical groups from Sheffield Category:Musical groups established in 2004 Category:Musical quintets Category:RCA Records artists Category:Let Them Eat Vinyl artists

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Michelle Pfeiffer

Pfeiffer was born in Santa Ana, California, the second of four children of Richard Pfeiffer, an air-conditioning contractor, and Donna (nee Taverna), a housewife. She has one elder brother, Rick (born 1955), and two younger sisters, Dedee Pfeiffer (born 1964), a television and film actress, and Lori Pfeiffer (born 1965). Her parents were both originally from North Dakota. Her paternal grandfather was of German ancestry and her paternal grandmother was of English, Welsh, French, Irish, and Dutch descent, while her maternal grandfather was of Swiss-German descent and her maternal grandmother of Swedish ancestry.

1994-1999: Period of successes and failures

Pfeiffer's subsequent career choices have met with varying degrees of success. After The Age of Innocence, she played the role of Laura Alden opposite Jack Nicholson in Wolf (1994), a horror film that garnered a mixed critical reception. The New York Times wrote: "Ms. Pfeiffer's role is underwritten, but her performance is expert enough to make even diffidence compelling". The movie grossed US$65 million (equivalent to $107.3 million) at the domestic box office and US$131 million worldwide (equivalent to $216.3 million). Her next role was that of high school teacher and former US Marine LouAnne Johnson in the surprise box office hit Dangerous Minds (1995), which was co-produced under Pfeiffer's film production company Via Rosa Productions. She appeared as her character in the music video for the soundtrack's lead single, "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio (featuring L.V.), which was used by the producer Jerry Bruckheimer for television advertising. A 60-second version was aired on music channels, while a 30-second cut was aired in the rest of the networks. The song won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance, and the video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video. In 1996, she turned down the Golden Globe Award-winning role of Eva Peron in the biopic Evita, which went to Madonna. Pfeiffer then portrayed Sally Atwater in the romantic drama Up Close & Personal (1996) opposite Robert Redford. The film's screenplay, co-written by husband and wife team John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion, was intended to be a biographical account of the career of news anchor Jessica Savitch, but the final version had almost nothing to do with Savitch's life, leading Dunne to write an expose of his eight-year battle with the Hollywood producers, Monster: Living Off the Big Screen. She took the role of Gillian Lewis in To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday (1996), which was adapted by her husband David Kelley from Michael Brady's play of the same name. Pfeiffer and her producing partner Guinzburg were on a winning streak of producing three back to back films next under their Via Rosa Productions header that included, One Fine Day (1996), A Thousand Acres (1997) and The Deep End of the Ocean (1998). She served as an executive producer and starred as the divorced single mother architect Melanie Parker in the romantic comedy One Fine Day (1996) opposite George Clooney, Subsequent performances included Rose Cook Lewis in the film adaptation of Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Thousand Acres (1997) with Jessica Lange and Jennifer Jason Leigh; Beth Cappadora in The Deep End of the Ocean (1998) about a married couple who found their son who was kidnapped nine years ago; Titania the Queen of the Fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) with Kevin Kline, Rupert Everett and Stanley Tucci; and Katie Jordan in Rob Reiner's comedy-drama The Story of Us (1999) opposite Bruce Willis. CANNOTANSWER

Michelle Marie Pfeiffer ( ; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress. A prolific performer whose screen career spans over four decades, she became one of Hollywood's most bankable stars during the 1980s and 1990s, as well as one of the era's most popular sex symbols. The recipient of various accolades, she has received a Golden Globe Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2007, she was awarded a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Pfeiffer briefly studied court stenography before pursuing acting. Beginning her career with minor television and film appearances, she attained her first leading role in the critically and commercially unsuccessful Grease 2 (1982). Disillusioned with being typecast in nondescript roles as attractive women, she actively sought more challenging material, earning her breakout role in 1983 as Elvira Hancock in Scarface. She achieved further success with roles in The Witches of Eastwick (1987) and Married to the Mob (1988), for which she was nominated for her first of six consecutive Golden Globe Awards. Her performances in Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) earned her two consecutive Academy Award nominations, for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress respectively, winning a Golden Globe Award for the latter. Establishing herself as one of the highest-paid actresses of the 1990s, Pfeiffer starred in The Russia House (1990) and Frankie and Johnny (1991). In 1992, she played Catwoman in Batman Returns and received her third Academy Award nomination for Love Field, which she followed with performances in The Age of Innocence (1993) and Wolf (1994). She also produced several of her own star vehicles under her company Via Rosa Productions, including Dangerous Minds (1995) and One Fine Day (1996). Opting to prioritize her family, she acted sporadically throughout the 2000s, appearing in What Lies Beneath (2000), White Oleander (2002), Hairspray (2007), and Stardust (2007). Following another hiatus during the early 2010s, Pfeiffer returned to prominence in 2017 with performances in Where is Kyra?, Mother!, and Murder on the Orient Express, and received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for playing Ruth Madoff in The Wizard of Lies. In 2020, she received her eighth Golden Globe Award nomination for French Exit (2020). Pfeiffer has played Janet van Dyne in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2018, beginning with Ant-Man and the Wasp. Early life Michelle Marie Pfeiffer was born on April 29, 1958, in Santa Ana, California, the second of four children of Donna Jean (née Taverna; 1932–2018), a housewife, and Richard Pfeiffer (1933–1998), an air-conditioning contractor. She has an older brother, Rick (born 1955), and two younger sisters, Dedee (born 1964), an actress, and Lori (born 1965). Her parents were both originally from North Dakota. Her paternal grandfather was of German ancestry and her paternal grandmother was of English, Welsh, French, Irish, and Dutch descent, while her maternal grandfather was of Swiss-German-Italian descent and her maternal grandmother of Swedish ancestry. The family moved to Midway City, another Orange County community around seven miles (11 km) away, where Pfeiffer spent her early years. Pfeiffer attended Fountain Valley High School, graduating in 1976. She worked as a check-out girl at Vons supermarket, and attended Golden West College where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority. After a short stint training to be a court stenographer, she decided upon an acting career. She won the Miss Orange County beauty pageant in 1978, and participated in the Miss California contest the same year, finishing in sixth place. Following her participation in these pageants, she acquired an acting agent and began to audition for television and films. Career Late 1970s & 1980s Pfeiffer made her acting debut in 1978, in a one-episode appearance of Fantasy Island. Other roles on television series followed, including Delta House, CHiPs, Enos and B.A.D. Cats, as well as in the made-for-CBS film The Solitary Man (1979). Pfeiffer transitioned to film with the comedy The Hollywood Knights (1980), with Tony Danza, appearing as high school sweethearts. She subsequently played supporting roles in Falling in Love Again (1980) with Susannah York and Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981), none of which met with much critical or box office success. She appeared in a television commercial for Lux soap, and took acting lessons at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, before appearing in three 1981 television movies – Callie and Son, with Lindsay Wagner, The Children Nobody Wanted and Splendor in the Grass. Pfeiffer obtained her first major film role as the female lead in Grease 2 (1982), the sequel to the smash-hit musical film Grease (1978). With only a few television roles and small film appearances, the 23-year-old Pfeiffer was an unknown actress when she attended the casting call audition for the role, but according to director Patricia Birch, she won the part because she "has a quirky quality you don't expect". The film was a critical and commercial failure, but The New York Times remarked: "[A]lthough she is a relative screen newcomer, Miss Pfeiffer manages to look much more insouciant and comfortable than anyone else in the cast." Despite escaping the critical mauling, her agent later admitted that her association with the film meant that "she couldn't get any jobs. Nobody wanted to hire her." On her early screen roles, she asserted: "I needed to learn how to act ... in the meantime, I was playing bimbos and cashing in on my looks." Director Brian De Palma, having seen Grease 2, refused to audition Pfeiffer for Scarface (1983), but relented at the insistence of Martin Bregman, the film's producer. She was cast as cocaine-addicted trophy wife Elvira Hancock. The film was considered excessively violent by most critics, but became a commercial hit and gained a large cult following in subsequent years. Pfeiffer received positive reviews for her supporting turn; Richard Corliss of Time Magazine wrote, "most of the large cast is fine: Michelle Pfeiffer is better ..." while Dominick Dunne, in an article for Vanity Fair titled "Blonde Ambition", wrote, "[s]he is on the verge of stardom. In the parlance of the industry, she is hot." Following Scarface, she played Diana in John Landis' comedy Into the Night (1985), with Jeff Goldblum; Isabeau d'Anjou in Richard Donner's fantasy film Ladyhawke (1985), with Rutger Hauer and Matthew Broderick; Faith Healy in Alan Alda's Sweet Liberty (1986), with Michael Caine; and Brenda Landers in a segment of the 1950s sci-fi parody Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), all of which, despite achieving only modest commercial success, helped to establish her as an actress. She finally scored a major box-office hit as Sukie Ridgemont in the 1987 adaptation of John Updike's novel The Witches of Eastwick, with Jack Nicholson, Cher, and Susan Sarandon. The film received positive reviews and grossed over $63.7 million domestically, equivalent to $ million in dollars, becoming one of her earliest critical and commercial successes. Praising their comedic timing, Roger Ebert wrote that Pfeiffer and her female co-stars each "have a delicious good time with their roles", while the Los Angeles Times film critic Sheila Benson said Pfeiffer makes her character "a warm, irresistible character." Pfeiffer was cast against type, as a murdered gangster's widow, in Jonathan Demme's mafia comedy Married to the Mob (1988), with Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell and Mercedes Ruehl. For the role of Angela de Marco, she donned a curly brunette wig and a Brooklyn accent, and received her first Golden Globe Award nomination as Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, beginning a six-year streak of consecutive Best Actress nominations at the Golden Globes. Pfeiffer then appeared as chic restaurateuse Jo Ann Vallenari in Tequila Sunrise (1988) with Mel Gibson and Kurt Russell, but experienced creative and personal differences with director Robert Towne, who later described her as the "most difficult" actress he has ever worked with. At Demme's personal recommendation, Pfeiffer joined the cast of Stephen Frears's Dangerous Liaisons (1988), with Glenn Close and John Malkovich, playing Madame Marie de Tourvel, the virtuous victim of seduction. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post saw Pfeiffer's role as "the least obvious and the most difficult. Nothing is harder to play than virtue, and Pfeiffer is smart enough not to try. Instead, she embodies it. Her porcelain-skinned beauty, in this regard, is a great asset, and the way it's used makes it seem an aspect of her spirituality." She won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Pfeiffer then accepted the role of Susie Diamond, a hard-edged former call girl turned lounge singer, in The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), which also starred Jeff Bridges and Beau Bridges as the eponymous Baker Boys. She underwent intense voice training for the role for four months, and performed all of her character's vocals. The film was a modest success, grossing $18.4 million in the US (equivalent to $ million in dollars ). Her portrayal of Susie, however, drew unanimous acclaim from critics. Critic Roger Ebert compared her to Rita Hayworth in Gilda and to Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot, adding that the film was "one of the movies they will use as a document, years from now, when they begin to trace the steps by which Pfeiffer became a great star". During the 1989–1990 awards season, Pfeiffer won as Best Actress at the Golden Globes, the National Board of Review, the National Society of Film Critics, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the Chicago Film Critics Association. Pfeiffer's performance as Susie is considered to be the most critically acclaimed of her career. The scene in which her character seductively performs "Makin' Whoopee" atop a grand piano is considered to be a memorable scene in modern cinema. 1990s In 1990, Pfeiffer formed her own film production company, Via Rosa Productions, with business partner Kate Guinzburg, whom she had met on the set of Sweet Liberty (1986). The company was under a picture deal with Touchstone Pictures, a film label of The Walt Disney Studios. That year, Pfeiffer began earning $1 million per film, and took on the part of the Soviet book editor Katya Orlova in the film adaptation of John le Carré's The Russia House, with Sean Connery, a role that required her to adopt a Russian accent. For her efforts, she was rewarded with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. Pfeiffer then landed the role of damaged waitress Frankie in Garry Marshall's Frankie and Johnny (1991), a film adaptation of Terrence McNally's Broadway play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, which reunited her with her Scarface co-star, Al Pacino. The casting was seen as controversial by many, as Pfeiffer was considered far too beautiful to play an "ordinary" waitress; Kathy Bates, the original Frankie on Broadway, also expressed disappointment over the producers' choice. Pfeiffer herself stated that she took the role because it "wasn't what people would expect of [her]". Pfeiffer was once again nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama for her performance. Pfeiffer took on the role of Selina Kyle–Catwoman in Tim Burton's superhero film Batman Returns (1992), opposite Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito, after Annette Bening dropped out because of her pregnancy. For the role, she trained in martial arts and kickboxing. Pfeiffer received unanimous critical acclaim for her portrayal, which is often referred to as the greatest performance of Catwoman of all time by critics and fans. Premiere retrospectively stated: "Arguably the outstanding villain of the Tim Burton era, Michelle Pfeiffer's deadly kitten with a whip brought sex to the normally neutered franchise. Her stitched-together, black patent leather costume, based on a sketch of Burton's, remains the character's most iconic look. And Michelle Pfeiffer overcomes Batman Returns heavy-handed feminist dialogue to deliver a growling, fierce performance." Batman Returns was a big box office success, grossing over US$267 million worldwide. The first film her company produced was the independent drama Love Field, which was released in 1992. Reviewers embraced the film and The New York Times felt that Pfeiffer was "again demonstrating that she is as subtle and surprising as she is beautiful". For her portrayal of an eccentric Dallas, Texas housewife, she earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe for Best Actress – Drama and won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival. In Martin Scorsese's period drama The Age of Innocence (1993), a film adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1920 novel, Pfeiffer starred with Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder, portraying a Countess in upper-class New York City in the 1870s. For her role, she received the Elvira Notari Prize at the Venice Film Festival, and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture. That year, she was awarded the Women in Film Los Angeles' Crystal Award. Following the formation of her producing company, Via Rosa Productions, Pfeiffer saw a professional expansion as a producer. While she continued to act steadily throughout the decade, she and her producing partner Guinzburg experienced a winning streak of producing back to back films next under their header. She starred with Jack Nicholson in the 1994 horror film Wolf, portraying the sardonic and willful interest of a writer who becomes a wolf-man at night after being bitten by a creature. The film was released to a mixed critical reception; The New York Times wrote: "Ms. Pfeiffer's role is underwritten, but her performance is expert enough to make even diffidence compelling." Wolf was a commercial success, grossing US$65 million (equivalent to $ million in ) at the domestic box office and US$131 million worldwide (equivalent to $ million). Pfeiffer's next role was that of high school teacher and former United States Marine LouAnne Johnson in the drama Dangerous Minds (1995), co-produced by her company. She appeared as her character in the music video for the soundtrack's lead single, "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio, featuring L.V.; the song won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance, and the video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video. While Dangerous Minds received negative reviews, it was a box office success, grossing US$179.5 million around the globe. In 1996, Pfeiffer portrayed Sally Atwater in the romantic drama Up Close & Personal, with Robert Redford, took on the titular role in the drama To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, which was adapted by her husband David Kelley from Michael Brady's play of the same name, and served as an executive producer and starred as the divorced single mother architect Melanie Parker in the romantic comedy One Fine Day, with George Clooney. Subsequent performances included Rose Cook Lewis in the film adaptation of Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Thousand Acres (1997) with Jessica Lange and Jennifer Jason Leigh; Beth Cappadora in The Deep End of the Ocean (1998) about a married couple who found their son who was kidnapped nine years ago; Titania the Queen of the Fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) with Kevin Kline, Rupert Everett and Stanley Tucci; and Katie Jordan in Rob Reiner's comedy drama The Story of Us (1999) with Bruce Willis. Pfeiffer voiced Tzipporah, a spirited shepherdess who becomes the wife of Moses (Val Kilmer), in the animated biblical drama film The Prince of Egypt (1998). She starred alongside an all-star voice cast that included Ralph Fiennes, Sandra Bullock and Patrick Stewart. A Thousand Acres and The Deep End of the Ocean were also produced by Via Rosa Productions. 2000s Pfeiffer chose to begin the process of dissolving her film production company, Via Rosa Productions, in 1999, and moved into semi-retirement in order to spend more quality time with her children and family, meaning that she would continue to star in films sporadically into the 2000s and beyond. Pfeiffer handed her producing partner Guinzburg one final film to produce under the Via Rosa Productions header. The film was called Original Sin (2001). It was originally intended to star Pfeiffer, who later changed her mind as she was looking to work less for a while. The film was produced by her company, but instead starred Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas. In What Lies Beneath (2000), a Hitchcockian thriller directed by Robert Zemeckis, Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford starred as a well-to-do couple who experience a strange haunting that uncovers secrets about their past. While critical response towards the film was mixed, it opened atop at the box office, and went on to gross US$291 million worldwide. She then accepted the role of Rita Harrison, a highly strung lawyer helping a father with a developmental disability, in the drama I Am Sam (2001), with Sean Penn. Despite grossing $97.8 million worldwide, the film was unfavourably reviewed by critics; Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote: "Pfeiffer, apparently stymied by the bland clichés that prop up her screechy role, delivers her flattest, phoniest performance ever." Meanwhile, SF Gate observed: "In one scene, she breaks down in tears as she unburdens herself to him about her miserable life. It's hard not to cringe, watching this emotionally ready actress fling herself headlong into false material." Pfeiffer took on the role of a murderous artist, named Ingrid Magnussen, in the drama White Oleander (2002), with Alison Lohman (in her film début), Renée Zellweger and Robin Wright. The film was a critical and commercial success in its arthouse release. Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that "Ms. Pfeiffer, giving the most complex screen performance of her career, makes her Olympian seductress at once irresistible and diabolical." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times described her as "incandescent", bringing "power and unshakable will to her role as mother-master manipulator" in a "riveting, impeccable performance". She earned Best Supporting Actress Awards from the San Diego Film Critics Society and the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. In 2003, Pfeiffer lent her voice for the character of goddess of chaos Eris in Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, an animated film featuring Brad Pitt as the voice of Sinbad the Sailor. She had struggles with finding the character's villainies. Initially the character was "too sexual", then she lacked fun. After the third rewrite, Pfeiffer called producer Jeffrey Katzenberg and told him "You know, you really can fire me," but he assured her that this was just part of the process. Following the release of the film, she took a four-year hiatus from acting, during which she remained largely out of the public eye to devote time to her husband and children. During this time, she turned down the role of the White Witch in the fantasy film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005), which went to Tilda Swinton. Pfeiffer returned to cinemas in 2007 with villainous roles in two summer blockbusters, Hairspray and Stardust, which was hailed as a successful comeback by the media. In the former, a film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, she starred alongside John Travolta, Christopher Walken and Queen Latifah as Velma Von Tussle, the racist manager of a television station. Although a fan of Pfeiffer's work in the musicals Grease 2 and The Fabulous Baker Boys, director Adam Shankman cast Pfeiffer largely based on her performance in Batman Returns, claiming she was his first and only choice for Velma. Although she had fun with the part, Pfeiffer described Velma as the most difficult role she had played at the time, because of her character's racism; but she was drawn to the film's important message of anti-bigotry, accepting that "in order to do a movie about racism, somebody has got to be the racist". Released to widely positive reviews, Hairspray grossed $202.5 million worldwide. Pfeiffer's performance was also critically acclaimed, with film critic David Edelstein of NPR calling her "sublime". The cast of Hairspray was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Motion Picture, and won the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast, the Hollywood Film Festival Award for Ensemble of the Year, and the Palm Springs International Film Festival Award for Ensemble Cast. In the fantasy adventure Stardust, Pfeiffer plays Lamia, an ancient witch who hunts a fallen star (Claire Danes) in search of eternal youth. The film received mostly positive reviews but performed moderately at the box office, earning $135.5 million globally. The New York Times film critic Stephen Holden described Pfeiffer as "as deliciously evil a witch as the movies have ever invented", writing that she "goes for broke with the relish of a star who figures she has nothing to lose." Pfeiffer starred in Amy Heckerling's romantic comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007), with Paul Rudd and Saoirse Ronan, portraying Rosie, a 40-year-old divorced mother working as a scriptwriter and producer for a television show who falls in love with a much younger man (Rudd). Her reported salary was US$1 million, with an advance on 15 percent of the gross. However, the film was only distributed on home video markets domestically. Reviews for I Could Never Be Your Woman were moderately positive, with critic James Berardinelli finding Pfeiffer and Rudd to "have adequate chemistry to pull off the romance," in what he described as an "enjoyable romantic comedy that has enough going for it to make it worth a recommendation." Pfeiffer starred in Personal Effects, with Ashton Kutcher, playing two grieving people coping with the pain and frustration of their loss whose bond spawns an unlikely romance. The drama premiered at Iowa City's Englert Theatre in December 2008. Her next film, an adaptation of Colette's Chéri, reunited her with the director (Stephen Frears) and screenwriter (Christopher Hampton) of Dangerous Liaisons (1988). Pfeiffer played the role of aging retired courtesan Léa de Lonval, with Rupert Friend in the title role, with Kathy Bates as his mother. Chéri premiered at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival, where it received a nomination for the Golden Bear award. The Times of London reviewed the film favorably, describing Hampton's screenplay as a "steady flow of dry quips and acerbic one-liners" and Pfeiffer's performance as "magnetic and subtle, her worldly nonchalance a mask for vulnerability and heartache". Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that it was "fascinating to observe how Pfeiffer controls her face and voice during times of painful hurt". Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times praised the "wordless scenes that catch Léa unawares, with the camera alone seeing the despair and regret that she hides from the world. It's the kind of refined, delicate acting Pfeiffer does so well, and it's a further reminder of how much we've missed her since she's been away." 2010s Following a two-year sabbatical from acting, Pfeiffer made part of a large ensemble cast in Garry Marshall's romantic comedy New Year's Eve (2011), her second collaboration with Marshall after Frankie and Johnny. The film, also starring Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Sofía Vergara, among many others, saw her take on the supporting role of Ingrid Withers, an overwhelmed secretary befriending a deliveryman (Efron). While the film was panned by critics, it made US$142 million worldwide. In 2012, she appeared with Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks in the drama People Like Us, as the mother of a struggling New York City corporate trader (Pine). Rolling Stone found her to be "luminous" in the film, and The New York Times, positively pointing out Pfeiffer and Banks, noted that their performances "partly compensate for the holes in a story whose timing is hard to swallow". People Like Us debuted to US$4.26 million, described as "meager" by Box Office Mojo, and only made US$12 million in North America. Pfieffer reunited with Tim Burton, her Batman Returns director, in Dark Shadows (2012), based on the gothic television soap opera of the same name. In the film, co-starring Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Helena Bonham Carter and Chloë Grace Moretz, she played Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, the matriarch of the Collins family. Critical response towards the film was mixed, but writers acclaimed the actors' performances—most notably Depp and Pfeiffer's. IGN found her to be "commanding" in her role and felt that the main characters were "played by one of Burton's best ensemble casts yet". While Dark Shadows grossed a modest US$79.7 million in North America, it ultimately made US$245.5 million globally. In Luc Besson's mob-comedy The Family (2013), co-starring Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones, Dianna Agron and John D'Leo, she played the "tough mother" in a Mafia family wanting to change their lives under the witness protection program. Although reviews for the film were mixed, THV11 said on the cast's portrayals: "The core actors of The Family were really solid, and the whole film comes together to make a solid movie." Meanwhile, The Huffington Post felt that "De Niro, Pfieffer and Jones all brought 100% to their roles." The film grossed US$78.4 million worldwide. Pfeiffer stated that her lack of acting throughout the 2000s was due to several reasons, including family matters and her approach to choosing roles. She stated she was intending to "work a lot" once her children left for college, mentioning that she felt her best performance was "still in her", saying how that's what she felt kept her her going. The slew of screen work that would follow in 2017 would prompt the media to dub her career resurgence a "Pfeiffer-sance". In the independent drama Where Is Kyra?, she starred as a sensitive and fragile woman who loses her mother and "faces a crisis in which she must find a means for survival, all the while hiding her struggles from her new lover". The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2017, and received a limited release on April 6, 2018, to critical acclaim; Her role as Kyra was dubbed the "performance of her life" by Village Voice'''s Bilge Ebiri, and "the performance of her career", by Rolling Stone. Pfeiffer landed the role of Ruth Madoff for the HBO Films drama The Wizard of Lies, based on the book of the same name. The film, directed by Barry Levinson, reunites her with actor Robert De Niro, who played her husband, disgraced financier Bernard Madoff. The Wizard of Lies premiered on HBO on May 20, 2017, garnering favorable reviews from critics and an audience of 1.5 million viewers, HBO's largest premiere viewership for a film in four years. Tolucan Times remarked that Pfeiffer "steals the show as Madoff's wife, Ruth, and is a remarkable lookalike", while Los Angeles Times asserted: "As Ruth, Pfeiffer convincingly portrays a pampered woman left with utterly nothing —she's lost her homes, status and, most important, her relationship with her sons." She received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Movie, in addition to a Golden Globe Award nomination. In Darren Aronofsky's psychological horror film Mother! (2017), Pfeiffer portrayed one of the mysterious guests who interrupt the tranquil life of a couple, played by Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem. Although Mother! divided critics and audiences, reviewers praised Pfeiffer unanimously, some of whom found her performance worthy of an Oscar nomination. Vulture remarked: "Out of the main actors, it's Pfeiffer who is able to root the character in meaning — she bracingly marries the exploration of Biblical creation, mythological overtones, and hellish domestic commentary. There's a gravity to Pfeiffer's performance that allows her to succeed where the other main actors fail, save for brief spurts — she straddles the boundaries between embodying a symbol and granting the character enough interiority to feel like a flesh and blood woman, too." Pfeiffer played a widowed socialite in Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express (2017), the fourth screen adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1934 novel of the same name. Featuring an ensemble cast, the mystery film follows world-renowned detective Hercule Poirot (Branagh) attempting to solve a murder, while stranded with several suspects on the Orient Express. She also recorded the original song "Never Forget" for the film's soundtrack. Although some critics found its large cast underused, Pfeiffer's performance was praised, with Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times saying she delivered the film's best performance. The New Yorkers Anthony Lane found that only Pfeiffer appears to be enjoying their material, while Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle credited the film with reminding audiences that she is one of the industry's best actresses. Murder on the Orient Express received mixed reviews but ultimately grossed US$351.7 million worldwide. Pfeiffer debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Janet van Dyne, the original Wasp, in the Ant-Man (2015) sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018). Variety's Owen Gleiberman described her performance as "lovely" and "wistful", while Josh Spiegel of /Film believed the film suffers from a lack of the actress. In 2019, Pfeiffer briefly reprised the role in Avengers: Endgame, and starred alongside Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning in the dark fantasy sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, playing the villainous Queen Ingrith. Despite the film earning mixed reviews, The Plain Dealer's Laura DeMarco felt that both Jolie and Pfeiffer "clearly relish their roles." 2020s Pfeiffer headlined the dark comedy French Exit (2020), based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Patrick deWitt, directed by Azazel Jacobs. In the film, which co-stars Lucas Hedges and Tracy Letts, Pfeiffer played a widow who moves to Paris, France, with her son (Hedges) and cat, who happens to be her reincarnated husband (Letts). The film premiered at the New York Film Festival, to a positive reception. Peter Debruge of Variety remarked that she gave a performance "for which she'll be remembered." Pfeiffer received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for her performance. Pfeiffer portrays Betty Ford in the anthology drama television series The First Lady, which premiered on Showtime in April 2022. The series received mixed reviews and was cancelled after one season. Pfeiffer is attached to star alongside Annette Bening in the psychological thriller, Turn of Mind, set to be directed by Gideon Raff. She is set to reprise her role as Janet van Dyne in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). In 2022, she was cast in Wild Four O'Clocks, penned and directed by Peter Craig, and produced by Marc Platt and Adam Siegel. Acting style and reception Pfeiffer has never received formal acting training, expressing that she sometimes feels fraudulent as an actor due to her lack of conventional schooling. Instead, she credits director Milton Katselas with teaching her to differentiate between how an actor and their character would behave during the same scene. Vulture.com's Angelica Jade Bastién said Pfeiffer's skill dispels any argument that untrained actors are less capable than their trained peers. In 1992, Rolling Stone Gerri Hirshey described Pfeiffer as a character actress comfortable wearing unflattering costumes, while film critics have described her as "a character actress in a screen siren's body". Bastién reviewed her as "a character actress reluctantly placed in Hollywood’s lineage of blonde bombshells". Journalist James Kaplan reported that some critics believe Pfeiffer has sold herself short by choosing character roles that emphasize her talent over her beauty. Drawn towards "imperfect" women, Pfeiffer claims she rarely accepts glamorous roles because she finds few of them compelling. She also prefers dramatic over comedic roles, describing the latter as more challenging. Often commended for masking her true emotions when in character, Pfeiffer frequently uses this trait advantageously in period films, a trademark genre of hers. She has described acting as a "sadomasochistic" profession due to how "brutal" she finds the process at times. During the 1980s, Pfeiffer typically played smart, funny, and independent women, before pursuing a wider range of roles during the 1990s. According to Rachel Syme of The New Yorker, such characters were often ditzy, wily, high-femme, high-maintenance, and scrappy. Early in her career, Pfeifer typically played working class women whom she found more relatable, aside from the occasional upper class character. Film critic Peter Bradshaw reflected that "She blazed a trail as gangsters’ molls and slinky lounge acts" before returning from hiatus to play witches, comic turns, and grand dames. In a 2021 profile, Lynn Hirschberg of W said Pfeiffer's finest performances involve a conflicted "woman at war with herself", finding that she "has a way of pitting her characters' wit and self-awareness against their flaws and trauma". Adam Platt of New Woman and journalist Bilge Ebiri agreed that Pfeiffer often plays women who are emotionally detached from their surroundings. Backstage contributor Manuel Betancourt observed parallels between Pfeiffer's roles and her own determination to subvert expectations, with the actress confirming that she reviews new scripts for parallels between a character's emotions and her own. Town & Country senior editor Adam Rathe finds Pfeiffer dissimilar to most of her characters, but the actress explained that she prepares for any role by discovering relatable aspects about the character, regardless of "how removed it is from your own personality". Known to be highly selective about her roles, IndieWire contributor Kate Erbland believes Pfeiffer chooses unconventional ones to avoid being typecast, a practice film critic Michael Sragow defended. Filmmakers and co-stars agree that Pfeiffer is extremely committed to her work, having developed a reputation for competence and preparedness. In addition to refusing to watch her own work, Pfeiffer does not retain scripts, reviews, news articles, or magazine covers about her career. Pfeiffer is widely regarded as one of the greatest actresses of her generation, a designation novelist Steve Erickson claims she had already achieved by her thirties. Despite observing that her body of work lacks the prestige of some of her contemporaries, Bastién believes Pfeiffer's filmography to be the most fascinating among her peers, explaining that "No modern actress better evokes the rich tension between understanding the currency that comes with being a great beauty and the distaste with being seen at all". In 2009, Maclean's film critic Brian D. Johnson argued that Pfeiffer had yet to demonstrate her true acting range, believing she could potentially be as respected as Meryl Streep if allowed the same opportunities, while the San Francisco Chronicle's Mick LaSalle remarked that Pfeiffer's humility sometimes causes viewers to overlook her as one of the industry's best actresses. Pfeiffer is particularly renowned for her versatility, having accumulated a diverse repertoire spanning period, romance, fantasy, musical, comedy, and drama films. By 2016, Salon's Charles Taylor declared that no actor of the previous decade had rivaled the actress in terms of versatility, while Adreon Patterson of CinemaBlend dubbed Pfeiffer Hollywood's most versatile actress in 2021. Summarizing her career as eclectic, Erbland believes she has rarely repeated acting choices, with the actress confirming she had always aspired to play the widest possible range of characters, even when her options were limited. One of the most successful and highest-paid actresses of 1980s and 1990s, Pfeiffer typically earned $9–$10 million per film during the latter decade. LaSalle felt she was more deserving of her high salary than other Hollywood actors. According to UPI, Pfeiffer was one of the few actresses whose salary corresponded with their box office appeal as of 1996. Apart from The Witches of Eastwick, few of the actress' films during the 1980s had been major box office successes, an observation Pfeiffer feared disclosing to film studios. In 1995, The New York Times journalist Bernard Weinraub said Pfeiffer belongs to a group of actresses who are respected yet "not considered a big box- office draw". However, her performances consistently garnered acclaim, despite mediocre ticket sales and some films critics found forgettable. By 1999, Variety named Pfeiffer "the female movie star most likely to improve a film's box-office appeal". Film critic Robyn Karney wrote that among the several blonde, attractive actresses who debuted during the 1980s, "Pfeiffer seemed the most precisely cut from the cloth of a long Hollywood tradition", likening her to Carole Lombard. However, Karney felt the declining quality of her films towards the end of the century was a sobering reminder that "the great female movie star of the Golden Age is no more". Pfeiffer feels critics have not entirely understood her acting decisions, which Rathe attributes to the "wildcard image" she has maintained throughout her career, and explained she is sometimes surprised by their reviews, whether positive or negative. Despite her reputation as one of the industry's most prolific and acclaimed performers, Pfeiffer has yet to receive top-billing in a blockbuster film. In 2020, the Kenosha News voted Pfeiffer America's 26th favorite actress, although she has also been named one of Hollywood's most underrated actresses when compared to her contemporaries, with The Hollywood Reporter stating she "is too seldom ranked among the best of her generation".The Boston Globes Mark Shanahan believes Pfeiffer is sometimes overlooked as one of Hollywood's greatest leading actresses due to her perceived on-screen effortlessness. Matthew Jacobs of HuffPost Canada hailed her as "one of the great comedic actors of our time, though she is rarely recognized as such". The author identified subtlety as one of her strengths, explaining, her "magnetism never overwhelms the movies she's in. Even when she is the most talented person on-screen". Describing her as "one of the industry's greatest stars during its pre-millennial twilight", ABC Online's Luke Goodsell declared Pfeiffer's comparatively sparse workload "Among the many depressing phenomena of 21st-century Hollywood". She was awarded a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007. Public image Pfeiffer has long been described as one of the world's most beautiful and talented actresses, a designation The Daily Telegraphs Mick Brown considers to be both a defining characteristic and curse. After being typecast in early roles largely based on her appearance, Pfeiffer initially struggled to convince directors to take her seriously as an actor because they doubted she was more than simply attractive, which she combated by actively seeking challenging roles in which physical beauty was not an essential characteristic. Journalists Candice Russell of the Sun-Sentinel and Rachel Syme of The New Yorker observed that, early in her career, critics regularly undermined Pfeiffer's work by focusing on her appearance over her acting. The Daily Beasts Elizabeth Kaye recognized Pfeiffer as a rare talent who demonstrates it is indeed possible to be both physically attractive and a serious performer, believing the actress achieves this by combining "the sensibility of a modern woman" with "the glamour of a '30s icon". Both Karen Krizanovich of The Daily Telegraph and Town & Countrys Adam Rathe agree that the same critics who were initially enchanted by her appearance remain captivated by Pfeiffer's performances, intelligence, and humor. According to The Spokesman-Review critic Dan Webster, the actress is known as much for her on-screen glamor as she is for her acting talent. The actress has received significant media attention for her appearance, which Turner Classic Movies described as"as an example of exceptional Hollywood beauty". Celebrity photographers Nigel Parry and Patrick McMullen cite Pfeiffer among the most beautiful women they have photographed. In 2020, Vogue Paris listed Pfeiffer as one of the 21 most beautiful American actresses of all-time. As one of the most famous sex symbols of the 1980s and 1990s, her beauty and fashion choices attracted immense media scrutiny throughout both decades. Ranking her among history's most beautiful actresses, Glamour named Pfeiffer "the most perfect face on the silver screen". The same magazine recognized the actress as one of the greatest fashion icons of the 1980s, calling her the decade's "go-to girl" and "one of our all-time favorite movie goddesses". Similarly, Harper's Bazaar crowned Pfeiffer the fourth most glamorous "beauty icon" of the decade, while Complex ranked her the 49th "hottest woman of the '80s". Men's Health ranked Pfeiffer 45th and 67th on their all-time hottest women and sex symbol rankings, respectively. According to Alice Cary of British Vogue, several costumes worn by the actress "have become hallmarks of popular culture". In 1990, Pfeiffer appeared on the inaugural cover of People magazine's annual "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" issue. She was again pictured on the cover in 1999, making her the first celebrity to appear on the cover of the issue twice, and the only celebrity to grace the cover twice during the 1990s. She has been featured in the "Most Beautiful" issue a record-breaking six times throughout the decade (from 1990 to 1993, and in 1996 and 1999). In 2004, the magazine named her one of the most beautiful women of all-time. AllMovie biographer Rebecca Flint Marx wrote that Pfeiffer possesses "a rare beauty that has inspired countless platitudes and an almost-permanent place on People's Fifty Most Beautiful list". Pfeiffer has been famously self-deprecating about her appearance. At least two of her films, Stardust (2007) and Chéri (2009), explore beautiful, youth-obsessed women struggling to accept aging, themes with which Pfeiffer personally identified. According to several plastic surgeons, she possesses some of the most requested celebrity features among clients. In 2001, plastic surgeon Stephen R. Marquardt declared Pfeiffer the most beautiful face in Hollywood. Nicknamed the "golden ratio", Marquardt claims Pfeiffer's face adheres to a mathematical formula in which he determined a person's ideal mouth is 1.618 times as wide as their nose. Several media publications have commented on Pfeiffer's perceived ability to physically age slowly. Famous for being fiercely private like the characters she plays, Matthew Jacobs of HuffPost crowned Pfeiffer Hollywood's prime example of "a movie star who doesn't walk around feeling like a movie star", which benefits her ability to play authentic characters without allowing her fame to affect her talent. Pfeiffer is notorious for disliking press interviews, referring to herself as "the worst interviewee that ever was", and maintaining that it is not an actor's responsibility to promote a film project.The Baltimore Sun film critic Michael Sragow observed that the actress can at times appear "flustered or elusive" during interviews. Vikram Murthi of The Nation believes Pfeiffer's aversion to publicity "has lent her an air of gravitas, of someone who directs a spotlight rather than chases after it." Media commentators noted that Pfeiffer had unexpectedly become a "pop-music muse" in 2014; her name is mentioned in two of the year's most popular songs: "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, and "Riptide" by Vance Joy. Joy was particularly inspired by Pfeiffer's transformation from Selina Kyle into Catwoman in Batman Returns, whereas Ronson cited The Fabulous Baker Boys as his favorite Pfeiffer film. Australian cricketers speak of "getting a Michelle" when they take five wickets in an innings. In cricketing parlance, this is referred to as a "five for", a near-homophone for "Pfeiffer", which resulted in the nickname "Michelle". Other ventures Product and endorsements In 2005, Pfeiffer served as the face of Giorgio Armani's spring campaign; the designer has often dressed her for public appearances. In 2019, she launched a collection of fine fragrances called Henry Rose. It is the first fine fragrance line to be both Cradle to Cradle Certified and EWG Verified. On December 7, 2022 she promoted the line on The Tonight Show. It was even featured as one of the smells in the game called "Sniff Cup Flip Cup" she played against Jimmy Fallon. Philanthropy Having been a smoker for ten years, and having a niece who suffered from leukemia for ten years, Pfeiffer decided to support the American Cancer Society. She also supports the Humane Society. In 2016, she attended the Healthy Child Healthy World's L.A. Gala for people who lead organizations for children's environmental health. In December that year, Pfeiffer, who is a vegan, joined the board of directors for Environmental Working Group, an advocacy group based in Washington. D.C. Personal life Soon after coming to Hollywood at age 20, Pfeiffer was taken in by a seemingly friendly couple who ran a metaphysics and vegetarian cult. They helped her to cease drinking, smoking and doing drugs. Over time, they took control of her entire life. Much of her money went to the group. "I was brainwashed," she said, "I gave them an enormous amount of money." At an acting class taught by Milton Katselas in Los Angeles, she met fellow budding actor Peter Horton, and they began dating. They married in Santa Monica in 1981, and it was on their honeymoon that she discovered she had won the lead role in Grease 2. Horton directed Pfeiffer in a 1985 ABC TV special, One Too Many, where she played the high school girlfriend of an alcoholic student (Val Kilmer); and in 1987, the real-life couple played an on-screen couple in the 'Hospital' segment of John Landis's comedy skit compilation Amazon Women on the Moon. In 1988, Pfeiffer had an affair with John Malkovich, her co-star in Dangerous Liaisons, who at the time was married to Glenne Headly. Pfeiffer and Horton decided to separate in 1988, and were divorced two years later. Horton later blamed the split on their devotion to their work rather than their marriage. Pfeiffer then had a three-year relationship with actor/producer Fisher Stevens, whom Pfeiffer met when she was starring in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of Twelfth Night, where Stevens played Sir Andrew Aguecheek. In 1993, Pfeiffer married television writer and producer David E. Kelley. She made a brief uncredited cameo appearance in one episode of Kelley's television series Picket Fences and played the title character in To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, for which Kelley wrote the screenplay. She had entered into private adoption proceedings before she met Kelley, and in March 1993 adopted a newborn daughter, Claudia Rose, who was christened on Pfeiffer's and Kelley's wedding day. In 1994, Pfeiffer gave birth to a son, John Henry Kelley II, named for his grandfather and Pfeiffer's father-in-law, United States Hockey Hall of Fame coach John Henry "Jack" Kelley. Acting credits and accolades According to review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Pfeiffer's most acclaimed films include The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Hairspray (2007), Married to the Mob (1988), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), The Age of Innocence (1993), Batman Returns (1992), Scarface (1983), and Where Is Kyra? (2017). Pfeiffer has received three Academy Award nominations: Best Supporting Actress for Dangerous Liaisons (1988); and Best Actress for The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) and Love Field (1992). She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama for The Fabulous Baker Boys, and has been nominated seven more times for her performances in Married to the Mob (1988), The Russia House (1990), Frankie and Johnny (1991), Love Field, The Age of Innocence (1993), The Wizard of Lies (2017), and French Exit (2020). For Dangerous Liaisons, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She also received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for The Wizard of Lies''. References External links Category:1958 births Category:20th-century American actresses Category:21st-century American actresses Category:21st-century American women Category:Actresses from California Category:Actresses from Santa Ana, California Category:American beauty pageant winners Category:American environmentalists Category:American women environmentalists Category:American women singers Category:American film actresses Category:American Shakespearean actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:American television actresses Category:American voice actresses Category:Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Award winners Category:Golden West College alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Woodside, California Category:People from Midway City, California Category:Silver Bear for Best Actress winners Category:Best Actress Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners

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Michelle Pfeiffer

Pfeiffer was born in Santa Ana, California, the second of four children of Richard Pfeiffer, an air-conditioning contractor, and Donna (nee Taverna), a housewife. She has one elder brother, Rick (born 1955), and two younger sisters, Dedee Pfeiffer (born 1964), a television and film actress, and Lori Pfeiffer (born 1965). Her parents were both originally from North Dakota. Her paternal grandfather was of German ancestry and her paternal grandmother was of English, Welsh, French, Irish, and Dutch descent, while her maternal grandfather was of Swiss-German descent and her maternal grandmother of Swedish ancestry.

2000-2006: Hiatus

Pfeiffer chose to begin the process of dissolving her film production company, Via Rosa Productions, in 1999, and move into semi-retirement in order to spend more quality time with her children and family, meaning that she would continue to star in films sporadically into the 2000s and beyond. Pfeiffer handed her producing partner Guinzburg one final film to produce under the Via Rosa Productions header. The film was called Original Sin (2001). It was originally intended to star Pfeiffer, who later changed her mind as she was looking to work less for a while. The film was produced by her company, but instead starred Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas. In the Hitchcockian thriller What Lies Beneath (2000), Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford starred as a well-to-do couple who experience a strange haunting that uncovers secrets about their past. While critical response towards the film was mixed, it opened atop at the box office in July 2000, and went on to gross US$291 million worldwide. She then accepted the role of Rita Harrison, a highly strung lawyer helping a father with a developmental disability, in the drama I Am Sam (2001), opposite Sean Penn. Despite grossing $97.8 million worldwide, the movie received unfavorable reviews; Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote: "Pfeiffer, apparently stymied by the bland cliches that prop up her screechy role, delivers her flattest, phoniest performance ever". Meanwhile, SF Gate observed: "In one scene, she breaks down in tears as she unburdens herself to him about her miserable life. It's hard not to cringe, watching this emotionally ready actress fling herself headlong into false material". Pfeiffer took on the role of a murderous artist named Ingrid Magnussen in the drama White Oleander (2002), alongside Alison Lohman (in her film debut), Renee Zellweger and Robin Wright. The film was an arthouse success and Pfeiffer garnered a substantial amount of critical praise; Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that "Ms. Pfeiffer, giving the most complex screen performance of her career, makes her Olympian seductress at once irresistible and diabolical". Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times described her as "incandescent," bringing "power and unshakable will to her role as mother-master manipulator" in a "riveting, impeccable performance". She earned Best Supporting Actress Awards from the San Diego Film Critics Society and the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. Pfeiffer lent her voice for the character of goddess of chaos Eris in Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003), an animated film featuring Brad Pitt as the voice of Sinbad the Sailor. She had struggles with finding the character's villainies. Initially the character was "too sexual," then she lacked fun. After the third rewrite, Pfeiffer called producer Jeffrey Katzenberg and told him "You know, you really can fire me", but he assured her that this was just part of the process. Following the release of the film, she took a four-year hiatus from acting, during which she remained largely out of the public eye to devote time to her husband and children. At the time, she turned down the role of the White Witch in the fantasy film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005), which went to Tilda Swinton. CANNOTANSWER

Michelle Marie Pfeiffer ( ; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress. A prolific performer whose screen career spans over four decades, she became one of Hollywood's most bankable stars during the 1980s and 1990s, as well as one of the era's most popular sex symbols. The recipient of various accolades, she has received a Golden Globe Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2007, she was awarded a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Pfeiffer briefly studied court stenography before pursuing acting. Beginning her career with minor television and film appearances, she attained her first leading role in the critically and commercially unsuccessful Grease 2 (1982). Disillusioned with being typecast in nondescript roles as attractive women, she actively sought more challenging material, earning her breakout role in 1983 as Elvira Hancock in Scarface. She achieved further success with roles in The Witches of Eastwick (1987) and Married to the Mob (1988), for which she was nominated for her first of six consecutive Golden Globe Awards. Her performances in Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) earned her two consecutive Academy Award nominations, for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress respectively, winning a Golden Globe Award for the latter. Establishing herself as one of the highest-paid actresses of the 1990s, Pfeiffer starred in The Russia House (1990) and Frankie and Johnny (1991). In 1992, she played Catwoman in Batman Returns and received her third Academy Award nomination for Love Field, which she followed with performances in The Age of Innocence (1993) and Wolf (1994). She also produced several of her own star vehicles under her company Via Rosa Productions, including Dangerous Minds (1995) and One Fine Day (1996). Opting to prioritize her family, she acted sporadically throughout the 2000s, appearing in What Lies Beneath (2000), White Oleander (2002), Hairspray (2007), and Stardust (2007). Following another hiatus during the early 2010s, Pfeiffer returned to prominence in 2017 with performances in Where is Kyra?, Mother!, and Murder on the Orient Express, and received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for playing Ruth Madoff in The Wizard of Lies. In 2020, she received her eighth Golden Globe Award nomination for French Exit (2020). Pfeiffer has played Janet van Dyne in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2018, beginning with Ant-Man and the Wasp. Early life Michelle Marie Pfeiffer was born on April 29, 1958, in Santa Ana, California, the second of four children of Donna Jean (née Taverna; 1932–2018), a housewife, and Richard Pfeiffer (1933–1998), an air-conditioning contractor. She has an older brother, Rick (born 1955), and two younger sisters, Dedee (born 1964), an actress, and Lori (born 1965). Her parents were both originally from North Dakota. Her paternal grandfather was of German ancestry and her paternal grandmother was of English, Welsh, French, Irish, and Dutch descent, while her maternal grandfather was of Swiss-German-Italian descent and her maternal grandmother of Swedish ancestry. The family moved to Midway City, another Orange County community around seven miles (11 km) away, where Pfeiffer spent her early years. Pfeiffer attended Fountain Valley High School, graduating in 1976. She worked as a check-out girl at Vons supermarket, and attended Golden West College where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority. After a short stint training to be a court stenographer, she decided upon an acting career. She won the Miss Orange County beauty pageant in 1978, and participated in the Miss California contest the same year, finishing in sixth place. Following her participation in these pageants, she acquired an acting agent and began to audition for television and films. Career Late 1970s & 1980s Pfeiffer made her acting debut in 1978, in a one-episode appearance of Fantasy Island. Other roles on television series followed, including Delta House, CHiPs, Enos and B.A.D. Cats, as well as in the made-for-CBS film The Solitary Man (1979). Pfeiffer transitioned to film with the comedy The Hollywood Knights (1980), with Tony Danza, appearing as high school sweethearts. She subsequently played supporting roles in Falling in Love Again (1980) with Susannah York and Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981), none of which met with much critical or box office success. She appeared in a television commercial for Lux soap, and took acting lessons at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, before appearing in three 1981 television movies – Callie and Son, with Lindsay Wagner, The Children Nobody Wanted and Splendor in the Grass. Pfeiffer obtained her first major film role as the female lead in Grease 2 (1982), the sequel to the smash-hit musical film Grease (1978). With only a few television roles and small film appearances, the 23-year-old Pfeiffer was an unknown actress when she attended the casting call audition for the role, but according to director Patricia Birch, she won the part because she "has a quirky quality you don't expect". The film was a critical and commercial failure, but The New York Times remarked: "[A]lthough she is a relative screen newcomer, Miss Pfeiffer manages to look much more insouciant and comfortable than anyone else in the cast." Despite escaping the critical mauling, her agent later admitted that her association with the film meant that "she couldn't get any jobs. Nobody wanted to hire her." On her early screen roles, she asserted: "I needed to learn how to act ... in the meantime, I was playing bimbos and cashing in on my looks." Director Brian De Palma, having seen Grease 2, refused to audition Pfeiffer for Scarface (1983), but relented at the insistence of Martin Bregman, the film's producer. She was cast as cocaine-addicted trophy wife Elvira Hancock. The film was considered excessively violent by most critics, but became a commercial hit and gained a large cult following in subsequent years. Pfeiffer received positive reviews for her supporting turn; Richard Corliss of Time Magazine wrote, "most of the large cast is fine: Michelle Pfeiffer is better ..." while Dominick Dunne, in an article for Vanity Fair titled "Blonde Ambition", wrote, "[s]he is on the verge of stardom. In the parlance of the industry, she is hot." Following Scarface, she played Diana in John Landis' comedy Into the Night (1985), with Jeff Goldblum; Isabeau d'Anjou in Richard Donner's fantasy film Ladyhawke (1985), with Rutger Hauer and Matthew Broderick; Faith Healy in Alan Alda's Sweet Liberty (1986), with Michael Caine; and Brenda Landers in a segment of the 1950s sci-fi parody Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), all of which, despite achieving only modest commercial success, helped to establish her as an actress. She finally scored a major box-office hit as Sukie Ridgemont in the 1987 adaptation of John Updike's novel The Witches of Eastwick, with Jack Nicholson, Cher, and Susan Sarandon. The film received positive reviews and grossed over $63.7 million domestically, equivalent to $ million in dollars, becoming one of her earliest critical and commercial successes. Praising their comedic timing, Roger Ebert wrote that Pfeiffer and her female co-stars each "have a delicious good time with their roles", while the Los Angeles Times film critic Sheila Benson said Pfeiffer makes her character "a warm, irresistible character." Pfeiffer was cast against type, as a murdered gangster's widow, in Jonathan Demme's mafia comedy Married to the Mob (1988), with Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell and Mercedes Ruehl. For the role of Angela de Marco, she donned a curly brunette wig and a Brooklyn accent, and received her first Golden Globe Award nomination as Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, beginning a six-year streak of consecutive Best Actress nominations at the Golden Globes. Pfeiffer then appeared as chic restaurateuse Jo Ann Vallenari in Tequila Sunrise (1988) with Mel Gibson and Kurt Russell, but experienced creative and personal differences with director Robert Towne, who later described her as the "most difficult" actress he has ever worked with. At Demme's personal recommendation, Pfeiffer joined the cast of Stephen Frears's Dangerous Liaisons (1988), with Glenn Close and John Malkovich, playing Madame Marie de Tourvel, the virtuous victim of seduction. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post saw Pfeiffer's role as "the least obvious and the most difficult. Nothing is harder to play than virtue, and Pfeiffer is smart enough not to try. Instead, she embodies it. Her porcelain-skinned beauty, in this regard, is a great asset, and the way it's used makes it seem an aspect of her spirituality." She won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Pfeiffer then accepted the role of Susie Diamond, a hard-edged former call girl turned lounge singer, in The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), which also starred Jeff Bridges and Beau Bridges as the eponymous Baker Boys. She underwent intense voice training for the role for four months, and performed all of her character's vocals. The film was a modest success, grossing $18.4 million in the US (equivalent to $ million in dollars ). Her portrayal of Susie, however, drew unanimous acclaim from critics. Critic Roger Ebert compared her to Rita Hayworth in Gilda and to Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot, adding that the film was "one of the movies they will use as a document, years from now, when they begin to trace the steps by which Pfeiffer became a great star". During the 1989–1990 awards season, Pfeiffer won as Best Actress at the Golden Globes, the National Board of Review, the National Society of Film Critics, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the Chicago Film Critics Association. Pfeiffer's performance as Susie is considered to be the most critically acclaimed of her career. The scene in which her character seductively performs "Makin' Whoopee" atop a grand piano is considered to be a memorable scene in modern cinema. 1990s In 1990, Pfeiffer formed her own film production company, Via Rosa Productions, with business partner Kate Guinzburg, whom she had met on the set of Sweet Liberty (1986). The company was under a picture deal with Touchstone Pictures, a film label of The Walt Disney Studios. That year, Pfeiffer began earning $1 million per film, and took on the part of the Soviet book editor Katya Orlova in the film adaptation of John le Carré's The Russia House, with Sean Connery, a role that required her to adopt a Russian accent. For her efforts, she was rewarded with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. Pfeiffer then landed the role of damaged waitress Frankie in Garry Marshall's Frankie and Johnny (1991), a film adaptation of Terrence McNally's Broadway play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, which reunited her with her Scarface co-star, Al Pacino. The casting was seen as controversial by many, as Pfeiffer was considered far too beautiful to play an "ordinary" waitress; Kathy Bates, the original Frankie on Broadway, also expressed disappointment over the producers' choice. Pfeiffer herself stated that she took the role because it "wasn't what people would expect of [her]". Pfeiffer was once again nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama for her performance. Pfeiffer took on the role of Selina Kyle–Catwoman in Tim Burton's superhero film Batman Returns (1992), opposite Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito, after Annette Bening dropped out because of her pregnancy. For the role, she trained in martial arts and kickboxing. Pfeiffer received unanimous critical acclaim for her portrayal, which is often referred to as the greatest performance of Catwoman of all time by critics and fans. Premiere retrospectively stated: "Arguably the outstanding villain of the Tim Burton era, Michelle Pfeiffer's deadly kitten with a whip brought sex to the normally neutered franchise. Her stitched-together, black patent leather costume, based on a sketch of Burton's, remains the character's most iconic look. And Michelle Pfeiffer overcomes Batman Returns heavy-handed feminist dialogue to deliver a growling, fierce performance." Batman Returns was a big box office success, grossing over US$267 million worldwide. The first film her company produced was the independent drama Love Field, which was released in 1992. Reviewers embraced the film and The New York Times felt that Pfeiffer was "again demonstrating that she is as subtle and surprising as she is beautiful". For her portrayal of an eccentric Dallas, Texas housewife, she earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe for Best Actress – Drama and won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival. In Martin Scorsese's period drama The Age of Innocence (1993), a film adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1920 novel, Pfeiffer starred with Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder, portraying a Countess in upper-class New York City in the 1870s. For her role, she received the Elvira Notari Prize at the Venice Film Festival, and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture. That year, she was awarded the Women in Film Los Angeles' Crystal Award. Following the formation of her producing company, Via Rosa Productions, Pfeiffer saw a professional expansion as a producer. While she continued to act steadily throughout the decade, she and her producing partner Guinzburg experienced a winning streak of producing back to back films next under their header. She starred with Jack Nicholson in the 1994 horror film Wolf, portraying the sardonic and willful interest of a writer who becomes a wolf-man at night after being bitten by a creature. The film was released to a mixed critical reception; The New York Times wrote: "Ms. Pfeiffer's role is underwritten, but her performance is expert enough to make even diffidence compelling." Wolf was a commercial success, grossing US$65 million (equivalent to $ million in ) at the domestic box office and US$131 million worldwide (equivalent to $ million). Pfeiffer's next role was that of high school teacher and former United States Marine LouAnne Johnson in the drama Dangerous Minds (1995), co-produced by her company. She appeared as her character in the music video for the soundtrack's lead single, "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio, featuring L.V.; the song won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance, and the video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video. While Dangerous Minds received negative reviews, it was a box office success, grossing US$179.5 million around the globe. In 1996, Pfeiffer portrayed Sally Atwater in the romantic drama Up Close & Personal, with Robert Redford, took on the titular role in the drama To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, which was adapted by her husband David Kelley from Michael Brady's play of the same name, and served as an executive producer and starred as the divorced single mother architect Melanie Parker in the romantic comedy One Fine Day, with George Clooney. Subsequent performances included Rose Cook Lewis in the film adaptation of Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Thousand Acres (1997) with Jessica Lange and Jennifer Jason Leigh; Beth Cappadora in The Deep End of the Ocean (1998) about a married couple who found their son who was kidnapped nine years ago; Titania the Queen of the Fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) with Kevin Kline, Rupert Everett and Stanley Tucci; and Katie Jordan in Rob Reiner's comedy drama The Story of Us (1999) with Bruce Willis. Pfeiffer voiced Tzipporah, a spirited shepherdess who becomes the wife of Moses (Val Kilmer), in the animated biblical drama film The Prince of Egypt (1998). She starred alongside an all-star voice cast that included Ralph Fiennes, Sandra Bullock and Patrick Stewart. A Thousand Acres and The Deep End of the Ocean were also produced by Via Rosa Productions. 2000s Pfeiffer chose to begin the process of dissolving her film production company, Via Rosa Productions, in 1999, and moved into semi-retirement in order to spend more quality time with her children and family, meaning that she would continue to star in films sporadically into the 2000s and beyond. Pfeiffer handed her producing partner Guinzburg one final film to produce under the Via Rosa Productions header. The film was called Original Sin (2001). It was originally intended to star Pfeiffer, who later changed her mind as she was looking to work less for a while. The film was produced by her company, but instead starred Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas. In What Lies Beneath (2000), a Hitchcockian thriller directed by Robert Zemeckis, Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford starred as a well-to-do couple who experience a strange haunting that uncovers secrets about their past. While critical response towards the film was mixed, it opened atop at the box office, and went on to gross US$291 million worldwide. She then accepted the role of Rita Harrison, a highly strung lawyer helping a father with a developmental disability, in the drama I Am Sam (2001), with Sean Penn. Despite grossing $97.8 million worldwide, the film was unfavourably reviewed by critics; Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote: "Pfeiffer, apparently stymied by the bland clichés that prop up her screechy role, delivers her flattest, phoniest performance ever." Meanwhile, SF Gate observed: "In one scene, she breaks down in tears as she unburdens herself to him about her miserable life. It's hard not to cringe, watching this emotionally ready actress fling herself headlong into false material." Pfeiffer took on the role of a murderous artist, named Ingrid Magnussen, in the drama White Oleander (2002), with Alison Lohman (in her film début), Renée Zellweger and Robin Wright. The film was a critical and commercial success in its arthouse release. Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that "Ms. Pfeiffer, giving the most complex screen performance of her career, makes her Olympian seductress at once irresistible and diabolical." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times described her as "incandescent", bringing "power and unshakable will to her role as mother-master manipulator" in a "riveting, impeccable performance". She earned Best Supporting Actress Awards from the San Diego Film Critics Society and the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. In 2003, Pfeiffer lent her voice for the character of goddess of chaos Eris in Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, an animated film featuring Brad Pitt as the voice of Sinbad the Sailor. She had struggles with finding the character's villainies. Initially the character was "too sexual", then she lacked fun. After the third rewrite, Pfeiffer called producer Jeffrey Katzenberg and told him "You know, you really can fire me," but he assured her that this was just part of the process. Following the release of the film, she took a four-year hiatus from acting, during which she remained largely out of the public eye to devote time to her husband and children. During this time, she turned down the role of the White Witch in the fantasy film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005), which went to Tilda Swinton. Pfeiffer returned to cinemas in 2007 with villainous roles in two summer blockbusters, Hairspray and Stardust, which was hailed as a successful comeback by the media. In the former, a film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, she starred alongside John Travolta, Christopher Walken and Queen Latifah as Velma Von Tussle, the racist manager of a television station. Although a fan of Pfeiffer's work in the musicals Grease 2 and The Fabulous Baker Boys, director Adam Shankman cast Pfeiffer largely based on her performance in Batman Returns, claiming she was his first and only choice for Velma. Although she had fun with the part, Pfeiffer described Velma as the most difficult role she had played at the time, because of her character's racism; but she was drawn to the film's important message of anti-bigotry, accepting that "in order to do a movie about racism, somebody has got to be the racist". Released to widely positive reviews, Hairspray grossed $202.5 million worldwide. Pfeiffer's performance was also critically acclaimed, with film critic David Edelstein of NPR calling her "sublime". The cast of Hairspray was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Motion Picture, and won the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast, the Hollywood Film Festival Award for Ensemble of the Year, and the Palm Springs International Film Festival Award for Ensemble Cast. In the fantasy adventure Stardust, Pfeiffer plays Lamia, an ancient witch who hunts a fallen star (Claire Danes) in search of eternal youth. The film received mostly positive reviews but performed moderately at the box office, earning $135.5 million globally. The New York Times film critic Stephen Holden described Pfeiffer as "as deliciously evil a witch as the movies have ever invented", writing that she "goes for broke with the relish of a star who figures she has nothing to lose." Pfeiffer starred in Amy Heckerling's romantic comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007), with Paul Rudd and Saoirse Ronan, portraying Rosie, a 40-year-old divorced mother working as a scriptwriter and producer for a television show who falls in love with a much younger man (Rudd). Her reported salary was US$1 million, with an advance on 15 percent of the gross. However, the film was only distributed on home video markets domestically. Reviews for I Could Never Be Your Woman were moderately positive, with critic James Berardinelli finding Pfeiffer and Rudd to "have adequate chemistry to pull off the romance," in what he described as an "enjoyable romantic comedy that has enough going for it to make it worth a recommendation." Pfeiffer starred in Personal Effects, with Ashton Kutcher, playing two grieving people coping with the pain and frustration of their loss whose bond spawns an unlikely romance. The drama premiered at Iowa City's Englert Theatre in December 2008. Her next film, an adaptation of Colette's Chéri, reunited her with the director (Stephen Frears) and screenwriter (Christopher Hampton) of Dangerous Liaisons (1988). Pfeiffer played the role of aging retired courtesan Léa de Lonval, with Rupert Friend in the title role, with Kathy Bates as his mother. Chéri premiered at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival, where it received a nomination for the Golden Bear award. The Times of London reviewed the film favorably, describing Hampton's screenplay as a "steady flow of dry quips and acerbic one-liners" and Pfeiffer's performance as "magnetic and subtle, her worldly nonchalance a mask for vulnerability and heartache". Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that it was "fascinating to observe how Pfeiffer controls her face and voice during times of painful hurt". Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times praised the "wordless scenes that catch Léa unawares, with the camera alone seeing the despair and regret that she hides from the world. It's the kind of refined, delicate acting Pfeiffer does so well, and it's a further reminder of how much we've missed her since she's been away." 2010s Following a two-year sabbatical from acting, Pfeiffer made part of a large ensemble cast in Garry Marshall's romantic comedy New Year's Eve (2011), her second collaboration with Marshall after Frankie and Johnny. The film, also starring Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Sofía Vergara, among many others, saw her take on the supporting role of Ingrid Withers, an overwhelmed secretary befriending a deliveryman (Efron). While the film was panned by critics, it made US$142 million worldwide. In 2012, she appeared with Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks in the drama People Like Us, as the mother of a struggling New York City corporate trader (Pine). Rolling Stone found her to be "luminous" in the film, and The New York Times, positively pointing out Pfeiffer and Banks, noted that their performances "partly compensate for the holes in a story whose timing is hard to swallow". People Like Us debuted to US$4.26 million, described as "meager" by Box Office Mojo, and only made US$12 million in North America. Pfieffer reunited with Tim Burton, her Batman Returns director, in Dark Shadows (2012), based on the gothic television soap opera of the same name. In the film, co-starring Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Helena Bonham Carter and Chloë Grace Moretz, she played Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, the matriarch of the Collins family. Critical response towards the film was mixed, but writers acclaimed the actors' performances—most notably Depp and Pfeiffer's. IGN found her to be "commanding" in her role and felt that the main characters were "played by one of Burton's best ensemble casts yet". While Dark Shadows grossed a modest US$79.7 million in North America, it ultimately made US$245.5 million globally. In Luc Besson's mob-comedy The Family (2013), co-starring Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones, Dianna Agron and John D'Leo, she played the "tough mother" in a Mafia family wanting to change their lives under the witness protection program. Although reviews for the film were mixed, THV11 said on the cast's portrayals: "The core actors of The Family were really solid, and the whole film comes together to make a solid movie." Meanwhile, The Huffington Post felt that "De Niro, Pfieffer and Jones all brought 100% to their roles." The film grossed US$78.4 million worldwide. Pfeiffer stated that her lack of acting throughout the 2000s was due to several reasons, including family matters and her approach to choosing roles. She stated she was intending to "work a lot" once her children left for college, mentioning that she felt her best performance was "still in her", saying how that's what she felt kept her her going. The slew of screen work that would follow in 2017 would prompt the media to dub her career resurgence a "Pfeiffer-sance". In the independent drama Where Is Kyra?, she starred as a sensitive and fragile woman who loses her mother and "faces a crisis in which she must find a means for survival, all the while hiding her struggles from her new lover". The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2017, and received a limited release on April 6, 2018, to critical acclaim; Her role as Kyra was dubbed the "performance of her life" by Village Voice'''s Bilge Ebiri, and "the performance of her career", by Rolling Stone. Pfeiffer landed the role of Ruth Madoff for the HBO Films drama The Wizard of Lies, based on the book of the same name. The film, directed by Barry Levinson, reunites her with actor Robert De Niro, who played her husband, disgraced financier Bernard Madoff. The Wizard of Lies premiered on HBO on May 20, 2017, garnering favorable reviews from critics and an audience of 1.5 million viewers, HBO's largest premiere viewership for a film in four years. Tolucan Times remarked that Pfeiffer "steals the show as Madoff's wife, Ruth, and is a remarkable lookalike", while Los Angeles Times asserted: "As Ruth, Pfeiffer convincingly portrays a pampered woman left with utterly nothing —she's lost her homes, status and, most important, her relationship with her sons." She received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Movie, in addition to a Golden Globe Award nomination. In Darren Aronofsky's psychological horror film Mother! (2017), Pfeiffer portrayed one of the mysterious guests who interrupt the tranquil life of a couple, played by Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem. Although Mother! divided critics and audiences, reviewers praised Pfeiffer unanimously, some of whom found her performance worthy of an Oscar nomination. Vulture remarked: "Out of the main actors, it's Pfeiffer who is able to root the character in meaning — she bracingly marries the exploration of Biblical creation, mythological overtones, and hellish domestic commentary. There's a gravity to Pfeiffer's performance that allows her to succeed where the other main actors fail, save for brief spurts — she straddles the boundaries between embodying a symbol and granting the character enough interiority to feel like a flesh and blood woman, too." Pfeiffer played a widowed socialite in Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express (2017), the fourth screen adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1934 novel of the same name. Featuring an ensemble cast, the mystery film follows world-renowned detective Hercule Poirot (Branagh) attempting to solve a murder, while stranded with several suspects on the Orient Express. She also recorded the original song "Never Forget" for the film's soundtrack. Although some critics found its large cast underused, Pfeiffer's performance was praised, with Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times saying she delivered the film's best performance. The New Yorkers Anthony Lane found that only Pfeiffer appears to be enjoying their material, while Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle credited the film with reminding audiences that she is one of the industry's best actresses. Murder on the Orient Express received mixed reviews but ultimately grossed US$351.7 million worldwide. Pfeiffer debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Janet van Dyne, the original Wasp, in the Ant-Man (2015) sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018). Variety's Owen Gleiberman described her performance as "lovely" and "wistful", while Josh Spiegel of /Film believed the film suffers from a lack of the actress. In 2019, Pfeiffer briefly reprised the role in Avengers: Endgame, and starred alongside Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning in the dark fantasy sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, playing the villainous Queen Ingrith. Despite the film earning mixed reviews, The Plain Dealer's Laura DeMarco felt that both Jolie and Pfeiffer "clearly relish their roles." 2020s Pfeiffer headlined the dark comedy French Exit (2020), based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Patrick deWitt, directed by Azazel Jacobs. In the film, which co-stars Lucas Hedges and Tracy Letts, Pfeiffer played a widow who moves to Paris, France, with her son (Hedges) and cat, who happens to be her reincarnated husband (Letts). The film premiered at the New York Film Festival, to a positive reception. Peter Debruge of Variety remarked that she gave a performance "for which she'll be remembered." Pfeiffer received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for her performance. Pfeiffer portrays Betty Ford in the anthology drama television series The First Lady, which premiered on Showtime in April 2022. The series received mixed reviews and was cancelled after one season. Pfeiffer is attached to star alongside Annette Bening in the psychological thriller, Turn of Mind, set to be directed by Gideon Raff. She is set to reprise her role as Janet van Dyne in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). In 2022, she was cast in Wild Four O'Clocks, penned and directed by Peter Craig, and produced by Marc Platt and Adam Siegel. Acting style and reception Pfeiffer has never received formal acting training, expressing that she sometimes feels fraudulent as an actor due to her lack of conventional schooling. Instead, she credits director Milton Katselas with teaching her to differentiate between how an actor and their character would behave during the same scene. Vulture.com's Angelica Jade Bastién said Pfeiffer's skill dispels any argument that untrained actors are less capable than their trained peers. In 1992, Rolling Stone Gerri Hirshey described Pfeiffer as a character actress comfortable wearing unflattering costumes, while film critics have described her as "a character actress in a screen siren's body". Bastién reviewed her as "a character actress reluctantly placed in Hollywood’s lineage of blonde bombshells". Journalist James Kaplan reported that some critics believe Pfeiffer has sold herself short by choosing character roles that emphasize her talent over her beauty. Drawn towards "imperfect" women, Pfeiffer claims she rarely accepts glamorous roles because she finds few of them compelling. She also prefers dramatic over comedic roles, describing the latter as more challenging. Often commended for masking her true emotions when in character, Pfeiffer frequently uses this trait advantageously in period films, a trademark genre of hers. She has described acting as a "sadomasochistic" profession due to how "brutal" she finds the process at times. During the 1980s, Pfeiffer typically played smart, funny, and independent women, before pursuing a wider range of roles during the 1990s. According to Rachel Syme of The New Yorker, such characters were often ditzy, wily, high-femme, high-maintenance, and scrappy. Early in her career, Pfeifer typically played working class women whom she found more relatable, aside from the occasional upper class character. Film critic Peter Bradshaw reflected that "She blazed a trail as gangsters’ molls and slinky lounge acts" before returning from hiatus to play witches, comic turns, and grand dames. In a 2021 profile, Lynn Hirschberg of W said Pfeiffer's finest performances involve a conflicted "woman at war with herself", finding that she "has a way of pitting her characters' wit and self-awareness against their flaws and trauma". Adam Platt of New Woman and journalist Bilge Ebiri agreed that Pfeiffer often plays women who are emotionally detached from their surroundings. Backstage contributor Manuel Betancourt observed parallels between Pfeiffer's roles and her own determination to subvert expectations, with the actress confirming that she reviews new scripts for parallels between a character's emotions and her own. Town & Country senior editor Adam Rathe finds Pfeiffer dissimilar to most of her characters, but the actress explained that she prepares for any role by discovering relatable aspects about the character, regardless of "how removed it is from your own personality". Known to be highly selective about her roles, IndieWire contributor Kate Erbland believes Pfeiffer chooses unconventional ones to avoid being typecast, a practice film critic Michael Sragow defended. Filmmakers and co-stars agree that Pfeiffer is extremely committed to her work, having developed a reputation for competence and preparedness. In addition to refusing to watch her own work, Pfeiffer does not retain scripts, reviews, news articles, or magazine covers about her career. Pfeiffer is widely regarded as one of the greatest actresses of her generation, a designation novelist Steve Erickson claims she had already achieved by her thirties. Despite observing that her body of work lacks the prestige of some of her contemporaries, Bastién believes Pfeiffer's filmography to be the most fascinating among her peers, explaining that "No modern actress better evokes the rich tension between understanding the currency that comes with being a great beauty and the distaste with being seen at all". In 2009, Maclean's film critic Brian D. Johnson argued that Pfeiffer had yet to demonstrate her true acting range, believing she could potentially be as respected as Meryl Streep if allowed the same opportunities, while the San Francisco Chronicle's Mick LaSalle remarked that Pfeiffer's humility sometimes causes viewers to overlook her as one of the industry's best actresses. Pfeiffer is particularly renowned for her versatility, having accumulated a diverse repertoire spanning period, romance, fantasy, musical, comedy, and drama films. By 2016, Salon's Charles Taylor declared that no actor of the previous decade had rivaled the actress in terms of versatility, while Adreon Patterson of CinemaBlend dubbed Pfeiffer Hollywood's most versatile actress in 2021. Summarizing her career as eclectic, Erbland believes she has rarely repeated acting choices, with the actress confirming she had always aspired to play the widest possible range of characters, even when her options were limited. One of the most successful and highest-paid actresses of 1980s and 1990s, Pfeiffer typically earned $9–$10 million per film during the latter decade. LaSalle felt she was more deserving of her high salary than other Hollywood actors. According to UPI, Pfeiffer was one of the few actresses whose salary corresponded with their box office appeal as of 1996. Apart from The Witches of Eastwick, few of the actress' films during the 1980s had been major box office successes, an observation Pfeiffer feared disclosing to film studios. In 1995, The New York Times journalist Bernard Weinraub said Pfeiffer belongs to a group of actresses who are respected yet "not considered a big box- office draw". However, her performances consistently garnered acclaim, despite mediocre ticket sales and some films critics found forgettable. By 1999, Variety named Pfeiffer "the female movie star most likely to improve a film's box-office appeal". Film critic Robyn Karney wrote that among the several blonde, attractive actresses who debuted during the 1980s, "Pfeiffer seemed the most precisely cut from the cloth of a long Hollywood tradition", likening her to Carole Lombard. However, Karney felt the declining quality of her films towards the end of the century was a sobering reminder that "the great female movie star of the Golden Age is no more". Pfeiffer feels critics have not entirely understood her acting decisions, which Rathe attributes to the "wildcard image" she has maintained throughout her career, and explained she is sometimes surprised by their reviews, whether positive or negative. Despite her reputation as one of the industry's most prolific and acclaimed performers, Pfeiffer has yet to receive top-billing in a blockbuster film. In 2020, the Kenosha News voted Pfeiffer America's 26th favorite actress, although she has also been named one of Hollywood's most underrated actresses when compared to her contemporaries, with The Hollywood Reporter stating she "is too seldom ranked among the best of her generation".The Boston Globes Mark Shanahan believes Pfeiffer is sometimes overlooked as one of Hollywood's greatest leading actresses due to her perceived on-screen effortlessness. Matthew Jacobs of HuffPost Canada hailed her as "one of the great comedic actors of our time, though she is rarely recognized as such". The author identified subtlety as one of her strengths, explaining, her "magnetism never overwhelms the movies she's in. Even when she is the most talented person on-screen". Describing her as "one of the industry's greatest stars during its pre-millennial twilight", ABC Online's Luke Goodsell declared Pfeiffer's comparatively sparse workload "Among the many depressing phenomena of 21st-century Hollywood". She was awarded a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007. Public image Pfeiffer has long been described as one of the world's most beautiful and talented actresses, a designation The Daily Telegraphs Mick Brown considers to be both a defining characteristic and curse. After being typecast in early roles largely based on her appearance, Pfeiffer initially struggled to convince directors to take her seriously as an actor because they doubted she was more than simply attractive, which she combated by actively seeking challenging roles in which physical beauty was not an essential characteristic. Journalists Candice Russell of the Sun-Sentinel and Rachel Syme of The New Yorker observed that, early in her career, critics regularly undermined Pfeiffer's work by focusing on her appearance over her acting. The Daily Beasts Elizabeth Kaye recognized Pfeiffer as a rare talent who demonstrates it is indeed possible to be both physically attractive and a serious performer, believing the actress achieves this by combining "the sensibility of a modern woman" with "the glamour of a '30s icon". Both Karen Krizanovich of The Daily Telegraph and Town & Countrys Adam Rathe agree that the same critics who were initially enchanted by her appearance remain captivated by Pfeiffer's performances, intelligence, and humor. According to The Spokesman-Review critic Dan Webster, the actress is known as much for her on-screen glamor as she is for her acting talent. The actress has received significant media attention for her appearance, which Turner Classic Movies described as"as an example of exceptional Hollywood beauty". Celebrity photographers Nigel Parry and Patrick McMullen cite Pfeiffer among the most beautiful women they have photographed. In 2020, Vogue Paris listed Pfeiffer as one of the 21 most beautiful American actresses of all-time. As one of the most famous sex symbols of the 1980s and 1990s, her beauty and fashion choices attracted immense media scrutiny throughout both decades. Ranking her among history's most beautiful actresses, Glamour named Pfeiffer "the most perfect face on the silver screen". The same magazine recognized the actress as one of the greatest fashion icons of the 1980s, calling her the decade's "go-to girl" and "one of our all-time favorite movie goddesses". Similarly, Harper's Bazaar crowned Pfeiffer the fourth most glamorous "beauty icon" of the decade, while Complex ranked her the 49th "hottest woman of the '80s". Men's Health ranked Pfeiffer 45th and 67th on their all-time hottest women and sex symbol rankings, respectively. According to Alice Cary of British Vogue, several costumes worn by the actress "have become hallmarks of popular culture". In 1990, Pfeiffer appeared on the inaugural cover of People magazine's annual "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" issue. She was again pictured on the cover in 1999, making her the first celebrity to appear on the cover of the issue twice, and the only celebrity to grace the cover twice during the 1990s. She has been featured in the "Most Beautiful" issue a record-breaking six times throughout the decade (from 1990 to 1993, and in 1996 and 1999). In 2004, the magazine named her one of the most beautiful women of all-time. AllMovie biographer Rebecca Flint Marx wrote that Pfeiffer possesses "a rare beauty that has inspired countless platitudes and an almost-permanent place on People's Fifty Most Beautiful list". Pfeiffer has been famously self-deprecating about her appearance. At least two of her films, Stardust (2007) and Chéri (2009), explore beautiful, youth-obsessed women struggling to accept aging, themes with which Pfeiffer personally identified. According to several plastic surgeons, she possesses some of the most requested celebrity features among clients. In 2001, plastic surgeon Stephen R. Marquardt declared Pfeiffer the most beautiful face in Hollywood. Nicknamed the "golden ratio", Marquardt claims Pfeiffer's face adheres to a mathematical formula in which he determined a person's ideal mouth is 1.618 times as wide as their nose. Several media publications have commented on Pfeiffer's perceived ability to physically age slowly. Famous for being fiercely private like the characters she plays, Matthew Jacobs of HuffPost crowned Pfeiffer Hollywood's prime example of "a movie star who doesn't walk around feeling like a movie star", which benefits her ability to play authentic characters without allowing her fame to affect her talent. Pfeiffer is notorious for disliking press interviews, referring to herself as "the worst interviewee that ever was", and maintaining that it is not an actor's responsibility to promote a film project.The Baltimore Sun film critic Michael Sragow observed that the actress can at times appear "flustered or elusive" during interviews. Vikram Murthi of The Nation believes Pfeiffer's aversion to publicity "has lent her an air of gravitas, of someone who directs a spotlight rather than chases after it." Media commentators noted that Pfeiffer had unexpectedly become a "pop-music muse" in 2014; her name is mentioned in two of the year's most popular songs: "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, and "Riptide" by Vance Joy. Joy was particularly inspired by Pfeiffer's transformation from Selina Kyle into Catwoman in Batman Returns, whereas Ronson cited The Fabulous Baker Boys as his favorite Pfeiffer film. Australian cricketers speak of "getting a Michelle" when they take five wickets in an innings. In cricketing parlance, this is referred to as a "five for", a near-homophone for "Pfeiffer", which resulted in the nickname "Michelle". Other ventures Product and endorsements In 2005, Pfeiffer served as the face of Giorgio Armani's spring campaign; the designer has often dressed her for public appearances. In 2019, she launched a collection of fine fragrances called Henry Rose. It is the first fine fragrance line to be both Cradle to Cradle Certified and EWG Verified. On December 7, 2022 she promoted the line on The Tonight Show. It was even featured as one of the smells in the game called "Sniff Cup Flip Cup" she played against Jimmy Fallon. Philanthropy Having been a smoker for ten years, and having a niece who suffered from leukemia for ten years, Pfeiffer decided to support the American Cancer Society. She also supports the Humane Society. In 2016, she attended the Healthy Child Healthy World's L.A. Gala for people who lead organizations for children's environmental health. In December that year, Pfeiffer, who is a vegan, joined the board of directors for Environmental Working Group, an advocacy group based in Washington. D.C. Personal life Soon after coming to Hollywood at age 20, Pfeiffer was taken in by a seemingly friendly couple who ran a metaphysics and vegetarian cult. They helped her to cease drinking, smoking and doing drugs. Over time, they took control of her entire life. Much of her money went to the group. "I was brainwashed," she said, "I gave them an enormous amount of money." At an acting class taught by Milton Katselas in Los Angeles, she met fellow budding actor Peter Horton, and they began dating. They married in Santa Monica in 1981, and it was on their honeymoon that she discovered she had won the lead role in Grease 2. Horton directed Pfeiffer in a 1985 ABC TV special, One Too Many, where she played the high school girlfriend of an alcoholic student (Val Kilmer); and in 1987, the real-life couple played an on-screen couple in the 'Hospital' segment of John Landis's comedy skit compilation Amazon Women on the Moon. In 1988, Pfeiffer had an affair with John Malkovich, her co-star in Dangerous Liaisons, who at the time was married to Glenne Headly. Pfeiffer and Horton decided to separate in 1988, and were divorced two years later. Horton later blamed the split on their devotion to their work rather than their marriage. Pfeiffer then had a three-year relationship with actor/producer Fisher Stevens, whom Pfeiffer met when she was starring in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of Twelfth Night, where Stevens played Sir Andrew Aguecheek. In 1993, Pfeiffer married television writer and producer David E. Kelley. She made a brief uncredited cameo appearance in one episode of Kelley's television series Picket Fences and played the title character in To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, for which Kelley wrote the screenplay. She had entered into private adoption proceedings before she met Kelley, and in March 1993 adopted a newborn daughter, Claudia Rose, who was christened on Pfeiffer's and Kelley's wedding day. In 1994, Pfeiffer gave birth to a son, John Henry Kelley II, named for his grandfather and Pfeiffer's father-in-law, United States Hockey Hall of Fame coach John Henry "Jack" Kelley. Acting credits and accolades According to review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Pfeiffer's most acclaimed films include The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Hairspray (2007), Married to the Mob (1988), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), The Age of Innocence (1993), Batman Returns (1992), Scarface (1983), and Where Is Kyra? (2017). Pfeiffer has received three Academy Award nominations: Best Supporting Actress for Dangerous Liaisons (1988); and Best Actress for The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) and Love Field (1992). She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama for The Fabulous Baker Boys, and has been nominated seven more times for her performances in Married to the Mob (1988), The Russia House (1990), Frankie and Johnny (1991), Love Field, The Age of Innocence (1993), The Wizard of Lies (2017), and French Exit (2020). For Dangerous Liaisons, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She also received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for The Wizard of Lies''. References External links Category:1958 births Category:20th-century American actresses Category:21st-century American actresses Category:21st-century American women Category:Actresses from California Category:Actresses from Santa Ana, California Category:American beauty pageant winners Category:American environmentalists Category:American women environmentalists Category:American women singers Category:American film actresses Category:American Shakespearean actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:American television actresses Category:American voice actresses Category:Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Award winners Category:Golden West College alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Woodside, California Category:People from Midway City, California Category:Silver Bear for Best Actress winners Category:Best Actress Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners

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The Jay Leno Show

The Jay Leno Show is an American talk show created by and starring Jay Leno. Premiering on NBC on September 14, 2009, the program aired on weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT through February 9, 2010. The program was modeled upon the format of a late night talk show--specifically, Jay Leno's incarnation of The Tonight Show, opening with a comedic monologue, followed by interviews with celebrity guests and other comedy segments. Sketches from The Tonight Show (including Headlines and Jaywalking) were carried over to The Jay Leno Show, along with new sketches.

Industry impact

NBC became the first large United States network to broadcast the same show every weekday during prime time since ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? marathons in 1999 and only the second since DuMont aired Captain Video and His Video Rangers from 1949 to 1955. More recently, the upstart MyNetwork TV had attempted, upon its launch in 2006, to air the same telenovelas every night of the week, a programming strategy that proved to be very unsuccessful. NBC's executives called the decision "a transformational moment in the history of broadcasting" and "in effect, launching five shows." An industry observer said that Leno, "in all my years, is the biggest risk a network has ever taken." According to former NBC president Fred Silverman, "If the Leno Show works, it will be the most significant thing to happen in broadcast television in the last decade." Although NBC had not developed a new hit show at 10 pm in years, industry executives criticized the network for abandoning a history of airing quality dramas at that hour such as Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, and ER, which made NBC "the gold standard for sophisticated programming . . . the No. 1 network for affluent and well-educated young viewers" during the 1980s and 1990s. In addition, critics predicted that the decision would hurt NBC by undermining a reputation built on successful scripted shows. Other networks believed NBC's decision created an opportunity, and planned their 2009-2010 schedules accordingly. For example, the show competed with The Mentalist, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, and Numb3rs, four of television's most popular series, on CBS (the first of those four series was moved to 10:00 PM to directly compete with Leno's show, and significantly improved the ratings for that timeslot compared to its predecessor). Leno was also not easily sold overseas. The January 29, 2010 issue of Entertainment Weekly listed the show at the top of a list of the 50 Biggest Bombs in television history. The comment made by the network executives about "launching five shows" was ultimately transformed into the joke that its removal was like "cancelling five shows". TV Guide similarly listed the show as the biggest blunder in television history in its November 1, 2010 edition. CANNOTANSWER

The Jay Leno Show is a talk show created and hosted by Jay Leno. Premiering on NBC on September 14, 2009, the program aired on weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT through February 9, 2010. The program was modeled upon the format of a late night talk show—specifically, Jay Leno's incarnation of The Tonight Show, opening with a comedic monologue, followed by interviews with celebrity guests and other comedy segments. Sketches from The Tonight Show (including Headlines and Jaywalking) were carried over to The Jay Leno Show, along with new sketches. The program was the result of a compromise by NBC Universal's then-CEO Jeff Zucker to keep Jay Leno with the company following his retirement from The Tonight Show and replacement with Conan O'Brien. The Jay Leno Show was also intended to provide NBC with an alternative to the high-cost scripted dramas aired by competing networks in its time slot; the network believed that the lower cost of production, in combination with product placement deals, meant that the program did not necessarily have to be highly viewed in order to turn a profit. NBC hoped to attract Leno's existing fans, as well as a larger primetime audience than that of his late-night program. The Jay Leno Show was met with mixed reception from critics, who felt that the series had little differentiation from Leno's Tonight Show. Others were critical of NBC's decision to give up an hour of its weeknight lineup to Leno, due to the network's past success with dramas airing in the time slot, while one NBC affiliate (WHDH in Boston owned by Sunbeam Television, now independent) notably planned not to air the show at all, although this decision was retracted due to complaints by the network. Although viewership of The Jay Leno Show was initially on par with NBC's projections, by November, the program's ratings began to fall significantly. NBC's affiliates complained that the declining viewership of The Jay Leno Show also had a ripple effect on the viewership of their late local newscasts. In an effort to address the concerns, NBC announced in January 2010 that it would, following the 2010 Winter Olympics, shorten The Jay Leno Show to a half-hour, and move it to 11:35 p.m—the timeslot that had been occupied by The Tonight Show for nearly 60 years, and bump Tonight to 12:05 a.m. The decision resulted in a major public conflict between the network and Conan O'Brien, who asserted that the move would damage the highly respected Tonight Show franchise, and that he would not participate in the program if it were moved to 12:05. Despite much support for O'Brien from both the public and media professionals alike, NBC maintained its plan to move Leno to 11:35. On January 21, 2010, NBC reached a $45 million settlement with O'Brien in order to end his contract. The Jay Leno Show ended on February 9, 2010, after being on the air for only four months, with Entertainment Weekly calling the program television's "Biggest Bomb of All Time." Leno resumed his duties as host of The Tonight Show on March 1, 2010, for his second and final stint that lasted until his February 2014 succession by Jimmy Fallon. History NBC announced in 2004 that Jay Leno would leave The Tonight Show in 2009, with Conan O'Brien as his replacement. Leno—who wanted to avoid a repeat of the acrimonious transition when he inherited Tonight from Johnny Carson—said at the announcement, "You can do these things until they carry you out on a stretcher, or you can get out when you’re still doing good." He began to regret his decision to retire in 2007, and several networks and studios including ABC, Fox, Sony, and Tribune expressed interest in his services after leaving Tonight. Jeff Zucker, then-President and CEO of NBCUniversal, sought to keep Leno from defecting to a competitor. Leno rejected several NBC offers for broadcast network daytime slots or subscription TV slots, a series of recurring specials, and a half-hour show at 8 pm five nights a week featuring Leno's Tonight monologue. The network had in 1981 considered moving The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to 10 pm; Zucker, who in 2007 offered Oprah Winfrey an hour five nights a week at 8 pm, now offered Leno an hour five nights a week at 10 pm. Leno was announced on December 9, 2008. At least one station, then-affiliate WHDH-TV in Boston, Massachusetts, stated that it would not carry the program, claiming that Leno would be detrimental to the station's 11 pm news and that it would instead launch a local news program in the time slot. NBC said that such plans would amount to a flagrant violation of the network contract—a claim which WHDH disputed—and said that it would immediately remove its programming from WHDH if the station followed through with the plan. WHDH backed down on April 13, 2009, and announced that it would air Leno instead of the proposed program. Though Leno was the first to move the entire five-day-a-week late night talk show to prime time, he was not the first Tonight alumnus to move from late night to a prime time talk show. Steve Allen hosted Tonight Starring Steve Allen from 1954 to 1957; while still hosting that show, he began hosting the prime-time The Steve Allen Show in 1956 on NBC, and the latter show would run until 1960. Jack Paar, who hosted Tonight from 1957 to 1962, next hosted a weekly talk show known as The Jack Paar Program that ran until 1965, also on NBC. In January 2010, several news outlets reported that The Jay Leno Show would be shortened to 30 minutes and begin airing weeknights at 11:35 pm ET, with Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Fallon's shows following it beginning at 12:05 am. The scheduling change would have been implemented on February 28 after the 2010 Winter Olympics (which preempted much of NBC's primetime and late-night lineup). Leno himself commented on the rumors during his January 7 monologue, joking that NBC stands for "Never Believe your Contract." According to Broadcasting & Cable, "most [NBC affiliates] are hopeful Jay—and Conan—sticks with NBC, and most, if not all, desperately want to see a change in terms of the lead-in they're getting to their lucrative late news; the affiliates "remain fiercely loyal to Leno and were quick to say the rookie program's struggles don't reflect the funnyman's work ethic or comedic chops. 'This isn't about Jay's popularity,' says WJAR Providence VP/General Manager Lisa Churchville. 'This is about having that kind of show at 10 p.m.'" NBC announced plans to move Leno to 11:35 pm and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien to 12:05 am. O'Brien refused to participate in the move and, on January 21, 2010, reached an agreement with NBC allowing him to leave the network. Lenos final episode aired on February 9, 2010 and Leno returned to Tonight as host on March 1, 2010. Content The Jay Leno Show aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT (9:00 p.m. CT/MT) from Studio 11 of the NBC Studios in Burbank, California with the following format: After brief opening credits, a monologue of eight to 12 minutes. One celebrity guest, two at the most. The "car-themed" set adjusted to allow guests to get off the couch and participate in antics. Musical segments appeared only twice a week, in the middle of the show, and sometimes featured multiple acts performing together. Comedy segments were reserved for the last 15 minutes of the show, the only portion of the show where Leno sometimes used a desk. Toward the end of the four-month run certain comedy segments such as "Headlines" were moved up to airing right after Jay's monologue, as opposed to being reserved for the end of the show. They include: "Headlines" and "Jaywalking", both from Tonight. The "advertiser-friendly 'Green Car Challenge'". Two to three times each week, celebrities drove an electric Ford Focus and tried to set records on a 1,100-foot dedicated outdoor track. The segment was based on the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment on the British automotive series Top Gear, which Leno had previously appeared on. "Ten at Ten", "in which celebs and other newsmakers . . . answer a rapid-fire series of ten 'ridiculous, celebrity-based questions.' The ten at ten guest would not be in the studio, but would instead appear via satellite from some other location. When the off-site location was in the Central or Mountain Time Zones, the skit would be changed to 9 at 9 (since these time zones have all programming one hour earlier in their local time than the coastal time zones), which was the same except there would only be nine questions." Comic "correspondents" such as D. L. Hughley, Dan Finnerty, Mikey Day, Rachael Harris, and Jim Norton did pretaped segments. One planned segment, "Stories Not Good Enough for the NBC Nightly News" (which would have featured then-NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams), was dropped from the show before it made it to air. In addition to reserving comedy segments for the end, the network aired no commercials after the show and "urged local affiliates to do the same" so local news could start immediately, retaining as many Leno viewers as possible. Recurring segments "Headlines" (Monday): Humorous print items sent in by viewers. These real-life headlines are usually headlines with typographical errors, or unintentionally inappropriate items. The segment usually starts out with a fake, humorous headline during the introduction for the segment. "Jaywalking": A pre-taped segment, "Jaywalking" is a play on the host's name and the illegal practice of jaywalking. Leno asks people questions about current news and other topics in public areas around Los Angeles (usually Hollywood Boulevard, Melrose Avenue or Universal Studios). Most responses are outrageously incorrect; for example, one person believed that Abraham Lincoln was the first president, and another could not identify a picture of Hillary Clinton. Sometimes the questions are of the "What color is the White House?" level, such as asking in what country the Panama Canal is located. Up to 15 people are interviewed in an hour or less for each segment, with about nine interviews used on the air. A similar format was used for the game show Street Smarts. JMZ: A parody of TMZ, a segment in which they report on fake celebrity news with such guest stars as Chuck Liddell. Ten@Ten: Jay interviews a celebrity via satellite by asking them 10 questions. Some editions have only used 9 questions, calling it the "Nine@Nine" as a reference to the central or mountain time zone. Green Car Challenge: A segment in which celebrities go in a car and try to be the fastest in a track with obstacles. Tim Allen had the best record time; Rush Limbaugh had the record worst time (though he did so on purpose), and Leno never tried. Photo Booth: A pre-taped segment in which someone goes in a Photo Booth and something is amiss. Stuff We Found on eBay: Leno brought up some of the oddest stuff that he and members of the studio audience had supposedly found while searching on eBay. Ross the Intern: Ross Mathews, an intern for the show, is sent to participate in special events. As part of a running gag, Leno started introducing Ross as his illegitimate son. First show Jerry Seinfeld was the celebrity guest on the debut episode. Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye West performed "Run This Town", in which all three are featured. West sat down for a previously unplanned interview with Leno, discussing West's outburst at the MTV Video Music Awards the previous night. Dan Finnerty was the comic correspondent for the night, and the end of the show featured Headlines. Reviews for the first show ranged from neutral to negative, with most critics stating that the show was, despite the changes, still very similar to Tonight. Metacritic scores it at 48 out of 100 based on 23 TV critic reviews, and viewers scoring it at a 4.0 out of 10. Media Life described the show as "underwhelming" and felt that Leno "failed to rise to the occasion." The Buffalo News called the show "a mess." The Associated Press noted that "it's not a good sign when the Bud Light commercial is funnier than the comedy show it interrupts," and that "at least Rosie Live took some chances." Jonah Krakow of IGN gave it a 5.5/10 saying that "show felt like they just picked from where they left off three months ago, and I'm not sure that's a good thing". Final show The final Jay Leno Show aired on February 9, 2010. The guests were Ashton Kutcher, Gabourey Sidibe and Bob Costas, with unannounced visits from Donald Trump and Kurt Warner. Following the monologue, there was a brief clip reel of highlights from the show's short tenure; otherwise, little mention was made about the fact that it was the final episode of the program. The last moments of the show featured the program's "10 at 10" segment, with its celebrity guest being Bob Costas. When Leno asked Costas how it felt to be the show's final guest, the sportscaster replied, "Kind of like being involved in the last game of a Clippers season, isn't it?" Directly following the interview with Costas, Leno thanked him, told the audience to stay tuned for their local news, and then abruptly went off-air. Many media outlets criticized Leno's apparent lack of ceremony for the end of his program.New York Times article: "Without Fanfare, Leno’s Prime-Time Show Ends ". Variety reported that the lack of fanfare was intentional, as NBC was attempting to rehab the reputation of Leno and The Tonight Show and did not desire to bring any further attention to Leno's transition back to Tonight. The Associated Press noted that the last few weeks of the program, including the final episode, were pervaded by "bad vibes." The Boston Globe wrote that Leno said farewell to his short-lived show "with all the momentousness of a guy taking out the trash." The episode received negative reviews from Entertainment Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal. By comparison, O'Brien's final Tonight Show was treated as a finale, with guests making reference to the show ending and guest Neil Young taking an ironic tone by performing "Long May You Run". Impact Financial Leno had a contract for five years for the show. NBC reportedly had an option to cancel after two years, but had committed to at least one or two years regardless of ratings, although later chose to end the show after less than five months. He could have earned up to $30 million each year depending on ratings for Leno, compared to a $20 million annual salary during his last years at Tonight. NBC expected to benefit by offering an inexpensive comedic alternative to the procedurals ("100% more comedy and 98% fewer murders!") and other one-hour dramas that typically air at 10 pm, and by offering new episodes 46 weeks each year versus 22.Itzkoff, Dave. "NBC’s ‘Jay Leno Show’ Promises 98 Percent Fewer Murders " The New York Times, 2009-05-04. While Leno was not necessarily expected to be competitive with the higher-rated scripted shows on ABC and CBS in its time slot, its projected cost of production was far lower and thus it was expected to be profitable to the network, and product integration intended to make the show "as DVR-proof as you can be on television in this era". Each airing of Leno cost about $350,000 to $400,000 versus up to $3 million for an hour-long drama, saving NBC $13 million each week without the network needing the show to beat its competitors. Those costs include the services of 22 writers, whom Leno called the "top 5% of the highest-paid . . . in the Guild." McDonald's became the first buying advertiser for the program, tying in their "Million Dollar Roll" nightly in October 2009 promoting that year's version of McDonald's Monopoly. Ratings Leno did not expect his show to beat competing first-run episodes, but to do better than reruns, in part because topical jokes benefit from the "immediacy" of the time slot versus 11:30 pm. A television analyst predicted that Leno would finish in "a safe third place" every night. NBC research before the show's debut indicated that fans of Leno would watch Leno two to three times a week. NBC saw a 1.5 rating for the show in the 18–49 demographic as "viable" and a 1.8 as a "home run". NBC told Leno that at a 1.5 rating, NBC makes $300 million a year. Tonight at 11:30 pm earned about a 1.3 to 1.5; the television audience at 10 pm is 40% larger than at 11:30 pm, and the network hoped Leno'''s audience would also grow. Industry observers have cited a range of ratings, from 1.7 to 2,"Sternberg calls the fall: 'FlashForward,' 'Community' hit; 'Rivers,' 'Forgotten' miss " The Hollywood Reporter, 2009-08-14. as being necessary for the show to succeed at 10 pm. By comparison, 2.5 is generally necessary for a 10 pm drama to succeed; those that earned a 1.7 or less during the 2008–2009 season were generally cancelled. NBC's prime-time dramas averaged about 2 during 2008–2009. The first episode of The Jay Leno Show earned "fast national" estimates of 17.7 million viewers, an 11 Nielsen rating (5.1 among persons 18–49) and an 18 share, significantly above both his Tonight finale and the debut of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien in all categories. By the second week and competing against season premieres, the audience fell to six million viewers, still on par with or exceeding NBC projections. As of November 1, 2009, The Jay Leno Show has averaged a 1.98 in the adults 18–49 ratings and 6.594 million viewers. During the week before Christmas, the ratings dropped to 1.4 during the week. Prior to the controversy regarding the move of the Jay Leno Show to 11:35 p.m., viewership bottomed out at 4.799 million viewers, although there was a slight bump as word of the controversy broke. Though the show itself had been meeting the network's projections, it was severely detrimental to the ratings of the late local news on NBC affiliates. As originally feared by WHDH in Boston, several stations across the country saw what was known as the "Leno Effect", where the lower audience for Leno (as compared to NBC's scripted prime time offerings) translated directly into a domino effect of severe audience drops for late local news (on the order of 25–30%) and completely stunted NBC's past successful schedule hammocking strategies, effects that NBC had underestimated. Dispute over timeslot In early January 2010, multiple media outlets reported that, following the 2010 Winter Olympics, The Jay Leno Show would be shortened to 30 minutes and begin airing weeknights at 11:35 pm ET, with Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Fallon's shows following it beginning at 12:05 am on March 1, 2010. On January 10, NBC Universal Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin confirmed that The Jay Leno Show would indeed move to 11:35. Leno immediately accepted the return to 11:35 p.m., calling the move "all business." He had made it known in the press in November 2009 that he wished to return to his old timeslot; behind the scenes, Leno had privately indicated that he did not believe the 10:00 experiment would work. On the other hand, O'Brien's contract stipulated that the network could move the show back to 12:05 a.m. without penalty, a loophole put in primarily to accommodate sports preemptions, the network's traditional nightly Wimbledon tournament highlights show, and specials such as New Year's Eve with Carson Daly. O'Brien did not seriously respond for several days after the announcement, then drafted a press release explaining why he felt it was unfair to him, his staff, Fallon, and the legacy of The Tonight Show to move the show past midnight. He concluded by saying that he "cannot participate in what I honestly believe is [The Tonight Shows] destruction."Huffington Post article: "Conan O'Brien Statement: I Will Not Follow Jay At 12:05 ". O'Brien received an outpouring of celebrity and viewer support for rejecting the move, while Leno received heavy criticism.Huffington Post article: "Patton Oswalt: Jay Leno Is Like Nixon, I Don't Like Him ". On January 21, O'Brien signed a $45 million deal allowing him to leave the network, and aired his final episode of Tonight on January 22; Leno returned as host of Tonight on March 1. Settlement On January 19, 2010, multiple media outlets reported that O'Brien and NBC were close to signing a deal between $30 and $40 million for the host to walk away from the network.New York Post article: "NBC near deal to allow Conan to leave network ". One apparent sticking point in the negotiations was the amount his staff and crew were to be paid for leaving the program.Chicago Sun Times article: "Conan negotiations stuck on staff, Triumph ". Reports also said that the contract could prohibit O'Brien from badmouthing NBC in any way, and that he may be able to return to television as early as September 2010. On January 21, after two weeks of negotiations, it was announced that Conan O'Brien had signed a $45 million deal to leave NBC. The Wall Street Journal reports that O'Brien will receive about $32 million, with his staff receiving around $12 million. The contract contains a clause prohibiting O'Brien from making negative remarks about NBC for a certain amount of time; it does not, however, contain the previously rumored "mitigation clause," in which NBC would be able to keep some of the severance pay after O'Brien finds a new program. It also stipulates that he could have returned to television as early as September 1, 2010. The network confirmed that Leno would officially resume as host of The Tonight Show on March 1. TMZ reported that NBC would rerun episodes from O'Brien's time as host until the network began airing the Olympics on February 12. O'Brien later reached a deal with cable network TBS to premiere a new late-night talk show, Conan. Industry impact NBC became the first large United States network to broadcast the same show every weekday during prime time since ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? marathons in 1999 and only the second since DuMont aired Captain Video and His Video Rangers from 1949 to 1955. More recently, the upstart MyNetwork TV had attempted, upon its launch in 2006, to air the same telenovelas every night of the week, a programming strategy that proved to be very unsuccessful. NBC's executives called the decision "a transformational moment in the history of broadcasting" and "in effect, launching five shows." An industry observer said that Leno, "in all my years, is the biggest risk a network has ever taken." According to former NBC president Fred Silverman, "If the Leno Show works, it will be the most significant thing to happen in broadcast television in the last decade." Although NBC had not developed a new hit show at 10 pm in years, industry executives criticized the network for abandoning a history of airing quality dramas at that hour such as Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, and ER, which made NBC "the gold standard for sophisticated programming . . . the No. 1 network for affluent and well-educated young viewers" during the 1980s and 1990s. In addition, critics predicted that the decision would hurt NBC by undermining a reputation built on successful scripted shows. Other networks believed NBC's decision created an opportunity, and planned their 2009–2010 schedules accordingly. For example, the show competed with The Mentalist, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, and Numb3rs, four of television's most popular series, on CBS (the first of those four series was moved to 10:00 PM to directly compete with Leno's show, and significantly improved the ratings for that timeslot compared to its predecessor). Leno was also not easily sold overseas. The January 29, 2010 issue of Entertainment Weekly listed the show at the top of a list of the 50 Biggest Bombs in television history. The comment made by the network executives about "launching five shows" was ultimately transformed into the joke that its removal was like "cancelling five shows." TV Guide similarly listed the show as the biggest blunder in television history in its November 1, 2010 edition. Boycott by competing networks Rival networks ABC and CBS had discouraged "their stars" from appearing on The Jay Leno Show in its primetime slot. Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine) was the first CBS actor to appear on the show, on September 29, 2009; on that episode, she said "there was a little pressure, because as you know you are now on prime time", but that "Obviously, I committed to doing your show and we’re friends". This boycott did not affect The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien nor was it industry-wide. Other TV networks, like Fox, The CW, and HBO, were more encouraging. Hugh Laurie from the Fox TV show House was a guest on the September 25, 2009, telecast. House is produced by Universal Media Studios, a sister company to NBC through NBC Universal, and Fox does not offer any network programming in the 10 p.m. time slots, instead allowing most of its affiliates to go to local news. In a Broadcasting & Cable interview published in early November 2009, Leno mentioned the boycott again, saying "I'm flattered; like ABC and CBS...none of their stars can appear on the show. What are you so afraid of if we're doing so terrible? It's all part of the game." Labor union impact John Wells, the president of the Writers Guild of America, West, and executive producer of prominent NBC shows ER and The West Wing, said, "I wish NBC and Jay Leno well; personally, he's a very nice guy, but I hope he falls flat on his face and we get five dramas back." Website dispute In 2004, Guadalupe Zambrano, a Texas real estate agent, registered the domain name thejaylenoshow.com to redirect to his real estate business. After the Leno announcement, Leno accused Zambrano of cybersquatting. Zambrano contended that he had owned the domain for five years, well before the announcement, thus precluding recovery. The UDRP proceedings ruled in favor of Leno, however, stating that Zambrano profited from the value of the Jay Leno trademark in bad faith. International broadcasting In Australia, The Comedy Channel on Pay TV aired the show on a same-day turn around Weeknights at 7.30pm AEST. Free-to-air channel 7Two also aired the program at 6.00pm usually on a 30-hour delay. It moved to middays on January 18, 2010 but ran until September 24, 2010 when 7TWO changed the format to a Best-of British oriented channel following the launch of sister HD channel 7mate. In Canada, Citytv simulcast Leno with NBC during the 2009–2010 season, requesting simultaneous substitution where applicable. In Portugal, SIC Mulher aired the show Monday and Tuesday at 00.30am. In Israel, yes stars Comedy aired the show Sundays-Thursdays at 8.00pm. In Finland, The Jay Leno Show aired on MTV3 MAX on weeknights; because of subtitling, the episodes were shown three days after their US broadcast. In Sweden, The Jay Leno Show aired on Kanal 9 on weeknights. Episodes were broadcast one week after their original US airing. Westwood One provided audio of the monologue as a short-form feature, under the title Last Night on The Jay Leno Show, to radio stations in the United States and Canada, replacing the discontinued Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' feature. See also List of television shows considered the worst References External links Category:2000s American late-night television series Category:2010s American late-night television series Category:2000s American sketch comedy television series Category:2010s American sketch comedy television series Category:2000s American variety television series Category:2010s American variety television series Category:2009 American television series debuts Category:2010 American television series endings Category:American television talk shows Category:Burbank, California Category:NBC original programming Category:Jay Leno Category:English-language television shows Category:Television shows filmed in California

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The Jay Leno Show

The Jay Leno Show is an American talk show created by and starring Jay Leno. Premiering on NBC on September 14, 2009, the program aired on weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT through February 9, 2010. The program was modeled upon the format of a late night talk show--specifically, Jay Leno's incarnation of The Tonight Show, opening with a comedic monologue, followed by interviews with celebrity guests and other comedy segments. Sketches from The Tonight Show (including Headlines and Jaywalking) were carried over to The Jay Leno Show, along with new sketches.

Dispute over timeslot

In early January 2010, multiple media outlets reported that, following the 2010 Winter Olympics, The Jay Leno Show would be shortened to 30 minutes and begin airing weeknights at 11:35 pm ET, with Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Fallon's shows following it beginning at 12:05 am on March 1, 2010. On January 10, NBC Universal Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin confirmed that The Jay Leno Show would indeed move to 11:35. Leno immediately accepted the return to 11:35 p.m., calling the move "all business." He had made it known in the press in November 2009 that he wished to return to his old timeslot; behind the scenes, Leno had privately indicated that he did not believe the 10:00 experiment would work. On the other hand, O'Brien's contract stipulated that the network could move the show back to 12:05 a.m. without penalty, a loophole put in primarily to accommodate sports preemptions, the network's traditional nightly Wimbledon tournament highlights show, and specials such as New Year's Eve with Carson Daly. O'Brien did not seriously respond for several days after the announcement, then drafted a press release explaining why he felt it was unfair to him, his staff, Fallon, and the legacy of The Tonight Show to move the show past midnight. He concluded by saying that he "cannot participate in what I honestly believe is [The Tonight Show's] destruction." O'Brien received an outpouring of celebrity and viewer support for rejecting the move, while Leno received heavy criticism. On January 21, O'Brien signed a $45 million deal allowing him to leave the network, and aired his final episode of Tonight on January 22; Leno returned as host of Tonight on March 1. CANNOTANSWER

The Jay Leno Show is a talk show created and hosted by Jay Leno. Premiering on NBC on September 14, 2009, the program aired on weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT through February 9, 2010. The program was modeled upon the format of a late night talk show—specifically, Jay Leno's incarnation of The Tonight Show, opening with a comedic monologue, followed by interviews with celebrity guests and other comedy segments. Sketches from The Tonight Show (including Headlines and Jaywalking) were carried over to The Jay Leno Show, along with new sketches. The program was the result of a compromise by NBC Universal's then-CEO Jeff Zucker to keep Jay Leno with the company following his retirement from The Tonight Show and replacement with Conan O'Brien. The Jay Leno Show was also intended to provide NBC with an alternative to the high-cost scripted dramas aired by competing networks in its time slot; the network believed that the lower cost of production, in combination with product placement deals, meant that the program did not necessarily have to be highly viewed in order to turn a profit. NBC hoped to attract Leno's existing fans, as well as a larger primetime audience than that of his late-night program. The Jay Leno Show was met with mixed reception from critics, who felt that the series had little differentiation from Leno's Tonight Show. Others were critical of NBC's decision to give up an hour of its weeknight lineup to Leno, due to the network's past success with dramas airing in the time slot, while one NBC affiliate (WHDH in Boston owned by Sunbeam Television, now independent) notably planned not to air the show at all, although this decision was retracted due to complaints by the network. Although viewership of The Jay Leno Show was initially on par with NBC's projections, by November, the program's ratings began to fall significantly. NBC's affiliates complained that the declining viewership of The Jay Leno Show also had a ripple effect on the viewership of their late local newscasts. In an effort to address the concerns, NBC announced in January 2010 that it would, following the 2010 Winter Olympics, shorten The Jay Leno Show to a half-hour, and move it to 11:35 p.m—the timeslot that had been occupied by The Tonight Show for nearly 60 years, and bump Tonight to 12:05 a.m. The decision resulted in a major public conflict between the network and Conan O'Brien, who asserted that the move would damage the highly respected Tonight Show franchise, and that he would not participate in the program if it were moved to 12:05. Despite much support for O'Brien from both the public and media professionals alike, NBC maintained its plan to move Leno to 11:35. On January 21, 2010, NBC reached a $45 million settlement with O'Brien in order to end his contract. The Jay Leno Show ended on February 9, 2010, after being on the air for only four months, with Entertainment Weekly calling the program television's "Biggest Bomb of All Time." Leno resumed his duties as host of The Tonight Show on March 1, 2010, for his second and final stint that lasted until his February 2014 succession by Jimmy Fallon. History NBC announced in 2004 that Jay Leno would leave The Tonight Show in 2009, with Conan O'Brien as his replacement. Leno—who wanted to avoid a repeat of the acrimonious transition when he inherited Tonight from Johnny Carson—said at the announcement, "You can do these things until they carry you out on a stretcher, or you can get out when you’re still doing good." He began to regret his decision to retire in 2007, and several networks and studios including ABC, Fox, Sony, and Tribune expressed interest in his services after leaving Tonight. Jeff Zucker, then-President and CEO of NBCUniversal, sought to keep Leno from defecting to a competitor. Leno rejected several NBC offers for broadcast network daytime slots or subscription TV slots, a series of recurring specials, and a half-hour show at 8 pm five nights a week featuring Leno's Tonight monologue. The network had in 1981 considered moving The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to 10 pm; Zucker, who in 2007 offered Oprah Winfrey an hour five nights a week at 8 pm, now offered Leno an hour five nights a week at 10 pm. Leno was announced on December 9, 2008. At least one station, then-affiliate WHDH-TV in Boston, Massachusetts, stated that it would not carry the program, claiming that Leno would be detrimental to the station's 11 pm news and that it would instead launch a local news program in the time slot. NBC said that such plans would amount to a flagrant violation of the network contract—a claim which WHDH disputed—and said that it would immediately remove its programming from WHDH if the station followed through with the plan. WHDH backed down on April 13, 2009, and announced that it would air Leno instead of the proposed program. Though Leno was the first to move the entire five-day-a-week late night talk show to prime time, he was not the first Tonight alumnus to move from late night to a prime time talk show. Steve Allen hosted Tonight Starring Steve Allen from 1954 to 1957; while still hosting that show, he began hosting the prime-time The Steve Allen Show in 1956 on NBC, and the latter show would run until 1960. Jack Paar, who hosted Tonight from 1957 to 1962, next hosted a weekly talk show known as The Jack Paar Program that ran until 1965, also on NBC. In January 2010, several news outlets reported that The Jay Leno Show would be shortened to 30 minutes and begin airing weeknights at 11:35 pm ET, with Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Fallon's shows following it beginning at 12:05 am. The scheduling change would have been implemented on February 28 after the 2010 Winter Olympics (which preempted much of NBC's primetime and late-night lineup). Leno himself commented on the rumors during his January 7 monologue, joking that NBC stands for "Never Believe your Contract." According to Broadcasting & Cable, "most [NBC affiliates] are hopeful Jay—and Conan—sticks with NBC, and most, if not all, desperately want to see a change in terms of the lead-in they're getting to their lucrative late news; the affiliates "remain fiercely loyal to Leno and were quick to say the rookie program's struggles don't reflect the funnyman's work ethic or comedic chops. 'This isn't about Jay's popularity,' says WJAR Providence VP/General Manager Lisa Churchville. 'This is about having that kind of show at 10 p.m.'" NBC announced plans to move Leno to 11:35 pm and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien to 12:05 am. O'Brien refused to participate in the move and, on January 21, 2010, reached an agreement with NBC allowing him to leave the network. Lenos final episode aired on February 9, 2010 and Leno returned to Tonight as host on March 1, 2010. Content The Jay Leno Show aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT (9:00 p.m. CT/MT) from Studio 11 of the NBC Studios in Burbank, California with the following format: After brief opening credits, a monologue of eight to 12 minutes. One celebrity guest, two at the most. The "car-themed" set adjusted to allow guests to get off the couch and participate in antics. Musical segments appeared only twice a week, in the middle of the show, and sometimes featured multiple acts performing together. Comedy segments were reserved for the last 15 minutes of the show, the only portion of the show where Leno sometimes used a desk. Toward the end of the four-month run certain comedy segments such as "Headlines" were moved up to airing right after Jay's monologue, as opposed to being reserved for the end of the show. They include: "Headlines" and "Jaywalking", both from Tonight. The "advertiser-friendly 'Green Car Challenge'". Two to three times each week, celebrities drove an electric Ford Focus and tried to set records on a 1,100-foot dedicated outdoor track. The segment was based on the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment on the British automotive series Top Gear, which Leno had previously appeared on. "Ten at Ten", "in which celebs and other newsmakers . . . answer a rapid-fire series of ten 'ridiculous, celebrity-based questions.' The ten at ten guest would not be in the studio, but would instead appear via satellite from some other location. When the off-site location was in the Central or Mountain Time Zones, the skit would be changed to 9 at 9 (since these time zones have all programming one hour earlier in their local time than the coastal time zones), which was the same except there would only be nine questions." Comic "correspondents" such as D. L. Hughley, Dan Finnerty, Mikey Day, Rachael Harris, and Jim Norton did pretaped segments. One planned segment, "Stories Not Good Enough for the NBC Nightly News" (which would have featured then-NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams), was dropped from the show before it made it to air. In addition to reserving comedy segments for the end, the network aired no commercials after the show and "urged local affiliates to do the same" so local news could start immediately, retaining as many Leno viewers as possible. Recurring segments "Headlines" (Monday): Humorous print items sent in by viewers. These real-life headlines are usually headlines with typographical errors, or unintentionally inappropriate items. The segment usually starts out with a fake, humorous headline during the introduction for the segment. "Jaywalking": A pre-taped segment, "Jaywalking" is a play on the host's name and the illegal practice of jaywalking. Leno asks people questions about current news and other topics in public areas around Los Angeles (usually Hollywood Boulevard, Melrose Avenue or Universal Studios). Most responses are outrageously incorrect; for example, one person believed that Abraham Lincoln was the first president, and another could not identify a picture of Hillary Clinton. Sometimes the questions are of the "What color is the White House?" level, such as asking in what country the Panama Canal is located. Up to 15 people are interviewed in an hour or less for each segment, with about nine interviews used on the air. A similar format was used for the game show Street Smarts. JMZ: A parody of TMZ, a segment in which they report on fake celebrity news with such guest stars as Chuck Liddell. Ten@Ten: Jay interviews a celebrity via satellite by asking them 10 questions. Some editions have only used 9 questions, calling it the "Nine@Nine" as a reference to the central or mountain time zone. Green Car Challenge: A segment in which celebrities go in a car and try to be the fastest in a track with obstacles. Tim Allen had the best record time; Rush Limbaugh had the record worst time (though he did so on purpose), and Leno never tried. Photo Booth: A pre-taped segment in which someone goes in a Photo Booth and something is amiss. Stuff We Found on eBay: Leno brought up some of the oddest stuff that he and members of the studio audience had supposedly found while searching on eBay. Ross the Intern: Ross Mathews, an intern for the show, is sent to participate in special events. As part of a running gag, Leno started introducing Ross as his illegitimate son. First show Jerry Seinfeld was the celebrity guest on the debut episode. Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye West performed "Run This Town", in which all three are featured. West sat down for a previously unplanned interview with Leno, discussing West's outburst at the MTV Video Music Awards the previous night. Dan Finnerty was the comic correspondent for the night, and the end of the show featured Headlines. Reviews for the first show ranged from neutral to negative, with most critics stating that the show was, despite the changes, still very similar to Tonight. Metacritic scores it at 48 out of 100 based on 23 TV critic reviews, and viewers scoring it at a 4.0 out of 10. Media Life described the show as "underwhelming" and felt that Leno "failed to rise to the occasion." The Buffalo News called the show "a mess." The Associated Press noted that "it's not a good sign when the Bud Light commercial is funnier than the comedy show it interrupts," and that "at least Rosie Live took some chances." Jonah Krakow of IGN gave it a 5.5/10 saying that "show felt like they just picked from where they left off three months ago, and I'm not sure that's a good thing". Final show The final Jay Leno Show aired on February 9, 2010. The guests were Ashton Kutcher, Gabourey Sidibe and Bob Costas, with unannounced visits from Donald Trump and Kurt Warner. Following the monologue, there was a brief clip reel of highlights from the show's short tenure; otherwise, little mention was made about the fact that it was the final episode of the program. The last moments of the show featured the program's "10 at 10" segment, with its celebrity guest being Bob Costas. When Leno asked Costas how it felt to be the show's final guest, the sportscaster replied, "Kind of like being involved in the last game of a Clippers season, isn't it?" Directly following the interview with Costas, Leno thanked him, told the audience to stay tuned for their local news, and then abruptly went off-air. Many media outlets criticized Leno's apparent lack of ceremony for the end of his program.New York Times article: "Without Fanfare, Leno’s Prime-Time Show Ends ". Variety reported that the lack of fanfare was intentional, as NBC was attempting to rehab the reputation of Leno and The Tonight Show and did not desire to bring any further attention to Leno's transition back to Tonight. The Associated Press noted that the last few weeks of the program, including the final episode, were pervaded by "bad vibes." The Boston Globe wrote that Leno said farewell to his short-lived show "with all the momentousness of a guy taking out the trash." The episode received negative reviews from Entertainment Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal. By comparison, O'Brien's final Tonight Show was treated as a finale, with guests making reference to the show ending and guest Neil Young taking an ironic tone by performing "Long May You Run". Impact Financial Leno had a contract for five years for the show. NBC reportedly had an option to cancel after two years, but had committed to at least one or two years regardless of ratings, although later chose to end the show after less than five months. He could have earned up to $30 million each year depending on ratings for Leno, compared to a $20 million annual salary during his last years at Tonight. NBC expected to benefit by offering an inexpensive comedic alternative to the procedurals ("100% more comedy and 98% fewer murders!") and other one-hour dramas that typically air at 10 pm, and by offering new episodes 46 weeks each year versus 22.Itzkoff, Dave. "NBC’s ‘Jay Leno Show’ Promises 98 Percent Fewer Murders " The New York Times, 2009-05-04. While Leno was not necessarily expected to be competitive with the higher-rated scripted shows on ABC and CBS in its time slot, its projected cost of production was far lower and thus it was expected to be profitable to the network, and product integration intended to make the show "as DVR-proof as you can be on television in this era". Each airing of Leno cost about $350,000 to $400,000 versus up to $3 million for an hour-long drama, saving NBC $13 million each week without the network needing the show to beat its competitors. Those costs include the services of 22 writers, whom Leno called the "top 5% of the highest-paid . . . in the Guild." McDonald's became the first buying advertiser for the program, tying in their "Million Dollar Roll" nightly in October 2009 promoting that year's version of McDonald's Monopoly. Ratings Leno did not expect his show to beat competing first-run episodes, but to do better than reruns, in part because topical jokes benefit from the "immediacy" of the time slot versus 11:30 pm. A television analyst predicted that Leno would finish in "a safe third place" every night. NBC research before the show's debut indicated that fans of Leno would watch Leno two to three times a week. NBC saw a 1.5 rating for the show in the 18–49 demographic as "viable" and a 1.8 as a "home run". NBC told Leno that at a 1.5 rating, NBC makes $300 million a year. Tonight at 11:30 pm earned about a 1.3 to 1.5; the television audience at 10 pm is 40% larger than at 11:30 pm, and the network hoped Leno'''s audience would also grow. Industry observers have cited a range of ratings, from 1.7 to 2,"Sternberg calls the fall: 'FlashForward,' 'Community' hit; 'Rivers,' 'Forgotten' miss " The Hollywood Reporter, 2009-08-14. as being necessary for the show to succeed at 10 pm. By comparison, 2.5 is generally necessary for a 10 pm drama to succeed; those that earned a 1.7 or less during the 2008–2009 season were generally cancelled. NBC's prime-time dramas averaged about 2 during 2008–2009. The first episode of The Jay Leno Show earned "fast national" estimates of 17.7 million viewers, an 11 Nielsen rating (5.1 among persons 18–49) and an 18 share, significantly above both his Tonight finale and the debut of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien in all categories. By the second week and competing against season premieres, the audience fell to six million viewers, still on par with or exceeding NBC projections. As of November 1, 2009, The Jay Leno Show has averaged a 1.98 in the adults 18–49 ratings and 6.594 million viewers. During the week before Christmas, the ratings dropped to 1.4 during the week. Prior to the controversy regarding the move of the Jay Leno Show to 11:35 p.m., viewership bottomed out at 4.799 million viewers, although there was a slight bump as word of the controversy broke. Though the show itself had been meeting the network's projections, it was severely detrimental to the ratings of the late local news on NBC affiliates. As originally feared by WHDH in Boston, several stations across the country saw what was known as the "Leno Effect", where the lower audience for Leno (as compared to NBC's scripted prime time offerings) translated directly into a domino effect of severe audience drops for late local news (on the order of 25–30%) and completely stunted NBC's past successful schedule hammocking strategies, effects that NBC had underestimated. Dispute over timeslot In early January 2010, multiple media outlets reported that, following the 2010 Winter Olympics, The Jay Leno Show would be shortened to 30 minutes and begin airing weeknights at 11:35 pm ET, with Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Fallon's shows following it beginning at 12:05 am on March 1, 2010. On January 10, NBC Universal Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin confirmed that The Jay Leno Show would indeed move to 11:35. Leno immediately accepted the return to 11:35 p.m., calling the move "all business." He had made it known in the press in November 2009 that he wished to return to his old timeslot; behind the scenes, Leno had privately indicated that he did not believe the 10:00 experiment would work. On the other hand, O'Brien's contract stipulated that the network could move the show back to 12:05 a.m. without penalty, a loophole put in primarily to accommodate sports preemptions, the network's traditional nightly Wimbledon tournament highlights show, and specials such as New Year's Eve with Carson Daly. O'Brien did not seriously respond for several days after the announcement, then drafted a press release explaining why he felt it was unfair to him, his staff, Fallon, and the legacy of The Tonight Show to move the show past midnight. He concluded by saying that he "cannot participate in what I honestly believe is [The Tonight Shows] destruction."Huffington Post article: "Conan O'Brien Statement: I Will Not Follow Jay At 12:05 ". O'Brien received an outpouring of celebrity and viewer support for rejecting the move, while Leno received heavy criticism.Huffington Post article: "Patton Oswalt: Jay Leno Is Like Nixon, I Don't Like Him ". On January 21, O'Brien signed a $45 million deal allowing him to leave the network, and aired his final episode of Tonight on January 22; Leno returned as host of Tonight on March 1. Settlement On January 19, 2010, multiple media outlets reported that O'Brien and NBC were close to signing a deal between $30 and $40 million for the host to walk away from the network.New York Post article: "NBC near deal to allow Conan to leave network ". One apparent sticking point in the negotiations was the amount his staff and crew were to be paid for leaving the program.Chicago Sun Times article: "Conan negotiations stuck on staff, Triumph ". Reports also said that the contract could prohibit O'Brien from badmouthing NBC in any way, and that he may be able to return to television as early as September 2010. On January 21, after two weeks of negotiations, it was announced that Conan O'Brien had signed a $45 million deal to leave NBC. The Wall Street Journal reports that O'Brien will receive about $32 million, with his staff receiving around $12 million. The contract contains a clause prohibiting O'Brien from making negative remarks about NBC for a certain amount of time; it does not, however, contain the previously rumored "mitigation clause," in which NBC would be able to keep some of the severance pay after O'Brien finds a new program. It also stipulates that he could have returned to television as early as September 1, 2010. The network confirmed that Leno would officially resume as host of The Tonight Show on March 1. TMZ reported that NBC would rerun episodes from O'Brien's time as host until the network began airing the Olympics on February 12. O'Brien later reached a deal with cable network TBS to premiere a new late-night talk show, Conan. Industry impact NBC became the first large United States network to broadcast the same show every weekday during prime time since ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? marathons in 1999 and only the second since DuMont aired Captain Video and His Video Rangers from 1949 to 1955. More recently, the upstart MyNetwork TV had attempted, upon its launch in 2006, to air the same telenovelas every night of the week, a programming strategy that proved to be very unsuccessful. NBC's executives called the decision "a transformational moment in the history of broadcasting" and "in effect, launching five shows." An industry observer said that Leno, "in all my years, is the biggest risk a network has ever taken." According to former NBC president Fred Silverman, "If the Leno Show works, it will be the most significant thing to happen in broadcast television in the last decade." Although NBC had not developed a new hit show at 10 pm in years, industry executives criticized the network for abandoning a history of airing quality dramas at that hour such as Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, and ER, which made NBC "the gold standard for sophisticated programming . . . the No. 1 network for affluent and well-educated young viewers" during the 1980s and 1990s. In addition, critics predicted that the decision would hurt NBC by undermining a reputation built on successful scripted shows. Other networks believed NBC's decision created an opportunity, and planned their 2009–2010 schedules accordingly. For example, the show competed with The Mentalist, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, and Numb3rs, four of television's most popular series, on CBS (the first of those four series was moved to 10:00 PM to directly compete with Leno's show, and significantly improved the ratings for that timeslot compared to its predecessor). Leno was also not easily sold overseas. The January 29, 2010 issue of Entertainment Weekly listed the show at the top of a list of the 50 Biggest Bombs in television history. The comment made by the network executives about "launching five shows" was ultimately transformed into the joke that its removal was like "cancelling five shows." TV Guide similarly listed the show as the biggest blunder in television history in its November 1, 2010 edition. Boycott by competing networks Rival networks ABC and CBS had discouraged "their stars" from appearing on The Jay Leno Show in its primetime slot. Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine) was the first CBS actor to appear on the show, on September 29, 2009; on that episode, she said "there was a little pressure, because as you know you are now on prime time", but that "Obviously, I committed to doing your show and we’re friends". This boycott did not affect The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien nor was it industry-wide. Other TV networks, like Fox, The CW, and HBO, were more encouraging. Hugh Laurie from the Fox TV show House was a guest on the September 25, 2009, telecast. House is produced by Universal Media Studios, a sister company to NBC through NBC Universal, and Fox does not offer any network programming in the 10 p.m. time slots, instead allowing most of its affiliates to go to local news. In a Broadcasting & Cable interview published in early November 2009, Leno mentioned the boycott again, saying "I'm flattered; like ABC and CBS...none of their stars can appear on the show. What are you so afraid of if we're doing so terrible? It's all part of the game." Labor union impact John Wells, the president of the Writers Guild of America, West, and executive producer of prominent NBC shows ER and The West Wing, said, "I wish NBC and Jay Leno well; personally, he's a very nice guy, but I hope he falls flat on his face and we get five dramas back." Website dispute In 2004, Guadalupe Zambrano, a Texas real estate agent, registered the domain name thejaylenoshow.com to redirect to his real estate business. After the Leno announcement, Leno accused Zambrano of cybersquatting. Zambrano contended that he had owned the domain for five years, well before the announcement, thus precluding recovery. The UDRP proceedings ruled in favor of Leno, however, stating that Zambrano profited from the value of the Jay Leno trademark in bad faith. International broadcasting In Australia, The Comedy Channel on Pay TV aired the show on a same-day turn around Weeknights at 7.30pm AEST. Free-to-air channel 7Two also aired the program at 6.00pm usually on a 30-hour delay. It moved to middays on January 18, 2010 but ran until September 24, 2010 when 7TWO changed the format to a Best-of British oriented channel following the launch of sister HD channel 7mate. In Canada, Citytv simulcast Leno with NBC during the 2009–2010 season, requesting simultaneous substitution where applicable. In Portugal, SIC Mulher aired the show Monday and Tuesday at 00.30am. In Israel, yes stars Comedy aired the show Sundays-Thursdays at 8.00pm. In Finland, The Jay Leno Show aired on MTV3 MAX on weeknights; because of subtitling, the episodes were shown three days after their US broadcast. In Sweden, The Jay Leno Show aired on Kanal 9 on weeknights. Episodes were broadcast one week after their original US airing. Westwood One provided audio of the monologue as a short-form feature, under the title Last Night on The Jay Leno Show, to radio stations in the United States and Canada, replacing the discontinued Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' feature. See also List of television shows considered the worst References External links Category:2000s American late-night television series Category:2010s American late-night television series Category:2000s American sketch comedy television series Category:2010s American sketch comedy television series Category:2000s American variety television series Category:2010s American variety television series Category:2009 American television series debuts Category:2010 American television series endings Category:American television talk shows Category:Burbank, California Category:NBC original programming Category:Jay Leno Category:English-language television shows Category:Television shows filmed in California

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L. K. Advani

Lal Krishna Advani (born 8 November 1927) known as L. K. Advani is an Indian politician who served as the 7th Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004 under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Advani also served as Minister of Home Affairs in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government from 1998 to 2004. He is one of the co-founder and senior leader of Bharatiya Janata Party. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the 10th Lok Sabha and 14th Lok Sabha.

Prime Minister candidacy

In an interview with a news channel in December 2006, Advani stated that as the Leader of the Opposition in a parliamentary democracy, he considered himself the Prime Ministerial candidate for the general elections, ending on 16 May 2009. Some of his colleagues were not supportive of his candidacy. A major factor in favour of Advani was that he had always been the most powerful leader in the BJP with the exception of Vajpayee, who endorsed Advani's candidacy. On 2 May 2007, BJP President Rajnath Singh stated that: "After Atal there is only Advani. Advani is the natural choice. It is he who should be PM". On 10 December 2007, the Parliamentary Board of BJP formally announced that L. K. Advani would be its prime ministerial candidate for the general elections due in 2009. However, Indian National Congress and its allies won the 2009 general elections, allowing incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to continue in office. Following the defeat in the elections, L. K. Advani paved the way for Sushma Swaraj to become the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. Advani unexpectedly resigned from all his posts in the BJP on 10 June 2013 following the appointment of Narendra Modi as the head of the electoral campaign of BJP for the 2014 elections on 9 June 2013. He rued that the BJP was no longer the "same idealistic party" created by Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, Deendayal Upadhyaya, Nanaji Deshmukh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The BJP senior committee rejected his resignation on 10 June 2013. Ultimately, Advani withdrew his resignation on 11 June 2013 after Rajnath Singh (BJP President) assured Advani that his concerns about the functioning of the Party would be properly addressed. CANNOTANSWER

Lal Krishna Advani (born 8 November 1927) is an Indian politician who served as the 7th Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004. Advani is one of the co-founders and a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is a long time member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a volunteer organisation. He also served as Minister of Home Affairs in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government from 1998 to 2004. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the 10th Lok Sabha and 14th Lok Sabha and also the longest serving person of this post. He was the Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP in 2009. Advani began his political career as a volunteer of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a volunteer organisation. He, along with Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is credited for rise of BJP from 2 seats in 1984 to 182 seats in 1998. In 2015 he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour. He has held numerous positions in his career. Early and personal life L. K. Advani was born in Karachi, Sindh, British India in a Sindhi Hindu family of businessmen to parents Kishanchand D. Advani and Gyani Devi. He completed his early schooling from Saint Patrick's High School, Karachi, Sindh and then enrolled in Government College Hyderabad, Sindh. His family migrated to India during Partition and settled down in Bombay, where he graduated in Law from the Government Law College of the Bombay University, where he became friends with Deewan Parmanand Gangwani, and considered him, Ram Jethmalani and A.K Brohi the best lawyers produced by Government Law College. L. K. Advani married Kamla Advani in February 1965. He has a son, Jayant, and a daughter, Pratibha. Pratibha Advani produces TV serial shows, and also supports her father in his political activities. His wife died on 6 April 2016 due to old age. Despite no longer being an MP, Advani lives in an official bungalow in Delhi due to security considerations, as of June 2019. Political career Early career Advani joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1941 as a 14-year-old boy. He became a pracharak (full-time worker) of the Karachi branch and developed several shakhas there. After Partition, Advani was sent as a pracharak to Matsya-Alwar in Rajasthan, which had witnessed communal violence following Partition. He worked in Alwar, Bharatpur, Kota, Bundi and Jhalawar districts until 1952. Bharatiya Jana Sangh Advani became a member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, also known simply as the Jana Sangh, a political party founded in 1951 by Syama Prasad Mookerjee in collaboration with the RSS. He was appointed as the secretary to S. S. Bhandari, then General Secretary of the Jana Sangh in Rajasthan. In 1957, he was moved to Delhi to look after the Parliamentary affairs. He soon became the general secretary and, later, President of the Delhi unit of the Jana Sangh. During 1966 to 1967 he served as the leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in the Interim Delhi Metropolitan Council. After the 1967 elections, he was elected as the Chairman of the First Delhi Metropolitan Council and served till 1970. He also assisted K. R. Malkani in editing the RSS weekly Organiser, and became a member of the national executive in 1966. He became a member of the Rajya Sabha from Delhi for the six-year tenure from 1970. After serving various positions in the Jana Sangh, he became its President in 1973 at the Kanpur session of the party working committee meeting. His first act as president of the BJS was to expel founder member and veteran leader Balraj Madhok from primary membership of the party for supposedly violating the party directives and acting against the interests of the party. He was a Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat from 1976 to 1982. After the Indira Gandhi's Emergency, the Jana Sangh and many other opposition parties merged into the Janata Party. Advani and colleague Atal Bihari Vajpayee fought the Lok Sabha Elections of 1977 as members of the Janata Party. Janata Party to Bharatiya Janata Party The Janata Party was formed by political leaders and activists of various political parties who had been united in opposing the state of Emergency imposed in 1975 by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. After elections were called in 1977, the Janata Party was formed from the union of the Congress (O), the Swatantra Party, the Socialist Party of India, the Jana Sangh and the Lok Dal. Jagjivan Ram split from the Indian National Congress, bringing a small faction known as the Congress for Democracy with him, and joined the Janata alliance. The widespread unpopularity of Emergency rule gave the Janata Party and its allies a landslide victory in the election. Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister of India, Advani became the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Vajpayee became the Foreign Minister. The erstwhile members of the Jana Sangh quit the Janata Party and formed the new Bharatiya Janata Party. Advani became a prominent leader of the newly founded BJP and represented the party in the Rajya Sabha (upper house of the Indian Parliament) from Madhya Pradesh for two terms beginning in 1982. The rise of the BJP Atal Bihari Vajpayee was appointed the first president of the new party. Ramachandra Guha writes that despite the factional wars within the Janata government, its period in power had seen a rise in support for the RSS, marked by a wave of communal violence in the early 1980s. Despite this, the BJP under Vajpayee initially took a more moderate approach to Hindutva, to gain a wider appeal. This strategy was unsuccessful, as the BJP won only two Lok Sabha seats in the elections of 1984. A few months prior to the election, Indira Gandhi was assassinated, creating a sympathy wave for the Congress that also contributed to the BJP's low tally, as the Congress won a record number of seats. This failure led to a shift in the party's stance; Advani was appointed party president, and the BJP returned to the hardline Hindutva of its predecessor. Under Advani, the BJP became the political face of the Ayodhya dispute over the Ram Janmabhoomi. In the early 1980s, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had begun a movement for the construction of a temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Rama at the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. The agitation was on the basis of the belief that the site was the birthplace of Rama, and that a temple once stood there that had been demolished by the Mughal emperor Babur when he constructed the Babri mosque. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has supported the claim that a Hindu structure once stood at the site, without commenting on a possible demolition. The BJP threw its support behind this campaign, and made it a part of their election manifesto, which provided rich dividends in the general elections of 1989. Despite the Congress winning a plurality in the election, it declined to form a government, and so the National Front government of VP Singh was sworn in. The support of the BJP, with its tally of 86 seats, was crucial to the new government. Advani embarked on a "Rath Yatra", or chariot journey, to mobilise karsevaks, or volunteers, to converge upon the Babri Masjid to offer prayers. This Rath Yatra, undertaken in an air-conditioned van decorated to look like a chariot, began from Somnath in Gujarat and covered a large portion of Northern India until it was stopped by the Chief Minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, on the grounds that it was leading to communal violence. In the 1991 general elections, the BJP won the second largest number of seats, after the Congress. While on the Yatra, Advani carried symbols of the Hindu religion and made multiple speeches regarding the "Hindu society's alleged failure to protect its shrines from desecration by Muslim conquerors". In 1992, two years after Advani ended his yatra, despite assurances given by the Kalyan Singh-led BJP Government to the Supreme Court, the Babri Masjid was demolished by communal forces, with alleged complicity of the Kalyan Singh government. IPS Officer Anju Gupta reported that Advani delivered a provocative speech prior to the Masjid's demolition. Advani was among the accused in the Babri Masjid case. On 30 September 2020, the CBI's special court acquitted Advani and released him from all charges. The CBI judge while acquitting Advani mentioned that the demolition was not pre-planned and that the accused were "trying to stop the mob and not incite them". 1996 General Elections After the 1996 general elections, the BJP became the single largest party and was consequently invited by the President to form the Government. However, Advani himself did not contest the 1996 elections from any constituency over allegations of involvement in the Hawala scandal. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was sworn in as Prime Minister in May 1996. However, the Government did not last long and Vajpayee resigned after thirteen days. Second term (1998–99) After two years in the political wilderness, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), came to power with Vajpayee returning as Prime Minister in March 1998, when elections were called after India saw two unstable Governments headed by H. D. Deve Gowda and I. K. Gujral respectively. After the fall of two United Front government between 1996 and 1998 (H. D. Deve Gowda and I. K. Gujral), the Lok Sabha, (lower house) of India's Parliament was dissolved and new elections were held. Now, a coalition of political parties signed up with BJP to form the Nationwide Democratic Alliance (NDA), headed by A. B. Vajpayee. The NDA won a majority of seats in parliament. However, the govt survived only 13 several months until mid-1999 when All Indian Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) under J. Jayalalitha withdrew its assistance to the government. With the NDA no longer having a majority, the Parliament was again dissolved and new elections were organised. Vajpayee remained the Prime Minister until elections were organised. Deputy Prime minister Advani assumed the office of Home Minister and was later elevated to the position of Deputy Prime Minister. As Union Minister, Advani had a tough time with India facing a string of internal disturbances in the form of rebel attacks allegedly supported by Pakistan. The NDA government lasted for its full term of five years till 2004, the first non-Congress government to do so. Advani was charged in a scandal where he allegedly received payments through hawala brokers. He and others were later discharged by the Supreme Court of India, because there was no additional evidence that could be used to charge them. According to the judicial inquiry by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) they could not find any substantive evidence; the Supreme Court ruling stated that no statement even mentioned Advani's name and that evidence against him was limited to the mention of his name on a few loose sheets of paper. However, the failure of this prosecution by the CBI was widely criticised. While some believe the CBI probe catapulted his rise through the BJP on his newfound "moral authority", others have claimed the inquiry was a political stunt. As elections approached in 2004, Advani was supremely confident and conducted an aggressive campaign. The BJP suffered a defeat in the general elections held in 2004, and was forced to sit in the opposition. Another coalition, the United Progressive Alliance led by the resurgent Congress came to power, with Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister. Vajpayee retired from active politics after the 2004 defeat, putting Advani to the forefront of the BJP. Advani became Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2009. During this period, Advani had to deal with rebellion from within the party. His two close associates, Uma Bharati, and Madan Lal Khurana, and longtime rival Murali Manohar Joshi publicly spoke out against him. In June 2005, he drew much criticism when he, while on a visit to the Jinnah Mausoleum at Karachi – his town of birth, endorsed Mohammad Ali Jinnah and described him a "secular" leader. This did not sit well with the RSS either and Advani was forced to relinquish his post as BJP president. However, he withdrew the resignation a few days later. The relationship between Advani and the RSS reached a low point when the latter's chief K. S. Sudarshan opined in April 2005 that both Advani and Vajpayee give way to new leaders. At the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the BJP in Mumbai in December 2005, Advani stepped down as party president and Rajnath Singh, a relatively junior politician from the state of Uttar Pradesh was elected in his place. In March 2006, following a bomb blast at a Hindu shrine at Varanasi, Advani undertook a "Bharat Suraksha Yatra" (Sojourn for National Security), to highlight the alleged failure of the ruling United Progressive Alliance in combating terrorism. Prime Minister candidacy In an interview with a news channel in December 2006, Advani stated that as the Leader of the Opposition in a parliamentary democracy, he considered himself the Prime Ministerial candidate for the general elections, ending on 16 May 2009. Some of his colleagues were not supportive of his candidacy. A major factor in favour of Advani was that he had always been the most powerful leader in the BJP with the exception of Vajpayee, who endorsed Advani's candidacy. On 2 May 2007, BJP President Rajnath Singh stated that: "After Atal there is only Advani. Advani is the natural choice. It is he who should be PM". On 10 December 2007, the Parliamentary Board of BJP formally announced that L. K. Advani would be its prime ministerial candidate for the general elections due in 2009. However, Indian National Congress and its allies won the 2009 general elections, allowing incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to continue in office. Following the defeat in the elections, L. K. Advani paved the way for Sushma Swaraj to become the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. However later he was elected Working Chairman of the National Democratic Alliance in 2010. Marg Darshak Mandal In 2014, Advani joined the Marg Darshak Mandal (vision committee) of the BJP along with Murli Manohar Joshi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Rath Yatras In a bid to boost the popularity of the BJP and unify the Hindutva ideology, Advani organised 6 long distance rath yatras or processions across the country, starting in 1987. Ram Rath Yatra: Advani started his first Rath Yatra from Somnath, Gujarat on 25 September 1990 to finally reach Ayodhya on 30 October 1990. The yatra has been linked to the Mandir-Masjid dispute centred around Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site at Ayodhya. The BJP and Advani, however, focused the yatra on the secularism–communalism debate. The yatra was stopped in Bihar by Lalu Prasad Yadav, then Chief Minister of Bihar and was arrested on the orders of Vishwanath Pratap Singh, then Prime Minister of India. Janadesh Yatra: Four Yatras named Janadesh Yatra started on 11 September 1993 from four corners of country. Advani led this yatra from Mysore. Travelling through 14 States and two Union Territories, the yatris congregated at Bhopal on 25 September in a massive rally. The purpose of Janadesh Yatrawas to seek the people's mandate against the two Bills, the Constitution 80th Amendment Bill and the Representation of People (Amendment) Bill. Swarna Jayanti Rath Yatra: The Swarna Jayanti Rath Yatra by Mr. Advani travelled across India between May and July 1997. According to Mr.Advani, the yatra was conducted in celebration of 50 years of Indian Independence and also to project the BJP as a party committed to good governance. Bharat Uday Yatra: The Bharat Uday Yatra took place in the run-up to the 2004 Lok Sabha Elections. Bharat Suraksha Yatra: The BJP launched a nationwide mass political campaign in the form of the Bharat Suraksha Yatra from 6 April to 10 May 2006. It consisted of two yatras – one led by Advani, Leader of the Opposition (Lok Sabha), from Dwaraka in Gujarat to Delhi; and the other led by Rajnath Singh, then the President of the BJP, from Jagannath Puri in Orissa to Delhi. The yatra was focused on left wing terrorism, minority politics, corruption, protection of democracy and price rise. Jan Chetna Yatra: The Jan Chetna Yatra was launched on 11 October 2011 from Sitab Diara, Bihar. The BJP states the purpose of Jan Chetna Yatra is to mobilise public opinion against corruption of the UPA government and put BJP agenda of good governance and clean politics before the people of India. Writings My Country My Life is an autobiographical book by L. K. Advani. The book was released on 19 March 2008 by Abdul Kalam, the eleventh President of India. The book has 1,040 pages and narrates autobiographical accounts and events in the life of Advani. The book became a best seller in the non-fiction category. The book includes mentions of events in Indian politics and India's history from 1900 till 2007. As I See It: LK Advani's Blog Posts (2011). . My Country My Life (2008). . New Approaches to Security and Development (2003). (Paperback) . A Prisoner's Scrap-Book (2002). (Hardcover) . Nazarband Loktantra (2016).(Hardcover) . Drishtikon (2016).(Hardcover) Rashtra Sarvopari. (2014).(Hardcover) Opinions In 2005, while visiting Pakistan, he praised Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his speech of 11 August 1947 for promoting a secular state. Positions 1967–70: Chairman, Metropolitan Council, Delhi 1970–72: President, Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Delhi 1970–89: Member, Rajya Sabha (four terms) 1973–77: President, Jana Sangh 1977: General-Secretary, Janata Party 1977–79: Union Cabinet Minister, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting 1977–79: Leader of the House, Rajya Sabha 1980–86: General Secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 1980-86: Leader, BJP, Rajya Sabha 1986–91: President, BJP 1989: Elected to 9th Lok Sabha (1st term as Lok Sabha member), New Delhi constituency 1989–91: Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha 1991: Elected to 10th Lok Sabha (2nd term), from Gandhinagar 1991–93: Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha 1993–98: President, Bharatiya Janata Party Did not contest 1996 election, and did not join the 13-day Vajpayee govt as hawala case was pending against him. 1998: Elected to 12th Lok Sabha (3rd term) 1998–99: Union Cabinet Minister, Home Affairs 1999: Elected to 13th Lok Sabha (4th term) 1999–2004: Union Cabinet Minister, Home Affairs 2002–2004: Deputy Prime Minister of India (he held the role of Prime Minister at that time) 2004: Elected to 14th Lok Sabha (5th term) 2009: Elected to 15th Lok Sabha (6th term) 2014: Elected to 16th Lok Sabha (7th term) See also Electoral history of L. K. Advani Ayodhya dispute Hawala scandal References Further reading Atmaram Kulkarni. The Advent of Advani: An Authentic Critical Biography (1995). (Hardcover) . Sudheendra Kulkarni. Swarna Jayanti Rath Yatra: The story of Lal Krishna Advani's patriotic pilgrimage (1997). ASIN: B0000CPBO7. Pentagon Press. Lal Krishna Advani: Today's Patel (2002). (Paperback) . Gulab Vazirani: Lal Advani, the Man and his Mission (1991) G. Katyal, K. Bhushan. Lal Krishna Advani: Deputy Prime Minister. (Hardcover) ASIN: B001G6MAZA Pentagon Press. Lala Krishna Advani (2007). (Paperback) . External links Official site Profile at Lok Sabha, Parliament of India Profile on website of BJP Profile at BBC News Official Blog of Lal Krishna Advani |- Category:1927 births Category:Living people Category:Indian Deputy Prime Ministers Category:Presidents of Bharatiya Janata Party Category:Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians Category:Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Gujarat Category:Leaders of the Opposition (India) Category:Ministers of Internal Affairs of India Category:Ministers for Information and Broadcasting of India Category:Coal Ministers of India Category:India MPs 1989–1991 Category:India MPs 1991–1996 Category:India MPs 1998–1999 Category:India MPs 1999–2004 Category:India MPs 2004–2009 Category:India MPs 2009–2014 Category:India MPs 2014–2019 Category:Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Category:Lok Sabha members from Delhi Category:Rajya Sabha members from Delhi Category:Rajya Sabha members from Gujarat Category:Rajya Sabha members from Madhya Pradesh Category:Indians imprisoned during the Emergency (India) Category:St. Patrick's High School, Karachi alumni Category:University of Mumbai alumni Category:Indian Hindus Category:Sindhi people Category:Politicians from Karachi Category:21st-century Indian biographers Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs Category:Indian autobiographers Category:Sindhi politicians Category:Rajya Sabha members from the Bharatiya Janata Party Category:People charged with crimes Category:People charged with corruption

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L. K. Advani

Lal Krishna Advani (born 8 November 1927) known as L. K. Advani is an Indian politician who served as the 7th Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004 under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Advani also served as Minister of Home Affairs in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government from 1998 to 2004. He is one of the co-founder and senior leader of Bharatiya Janata Party. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the 10th Lok Sabha and 14th Lok Sabha.

The rise of the BJP

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was appointed the first president of the new party. Historian Ramachandra Guha writes that despite the factional wars within the Janata government, its period in power had seen a rise in support for the RSS, marked by a wave of communal violence in the early 1980s. Despite this, the BJP under Vajpayee initially took a more moderate approach to Hindutva, to gain a wider appeal. This strategy was unsuccessful, as the BJP won only two Lok Sabha seats in the elections of 1984. A few months prior to the election, Indira Gandhi was assassinated, creating a sympathy wave for the Congress that also contributed to the BJP's low tally, as the Congress won a record number of seats. This failure led to a shift in the party's stance; Advani was appointed party president, and the BJP returned to the hardline Hindutva of its predecessor. Under Advani, the BJP became the political face of the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign. In the early 1980s, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had begun a movement for the construction of a temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Rama at the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. The agitation was on the basis of the belief that the site was the birthplace of Rama, and that a temple once stood there that had been demolished by the Mughal emperor Babur when he constructed the Babri mosque. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has supported the claim that a Hindu structure once stood at the site, without commenting on a possible demolition. The BJP threw its support behind this campaign, and made it a part of their election manifesto, which provided rich dividends in the general elections of 1989. Despite the Congress winning a plurality in the election, it declined to form a government, and so the National Front government of VP Singh was sworn in. The support of the BJP, with its tally of 86 seats, was crucial to the new government. Advani embarked on a "Rath Yatra," or chariot journey, to mobilise karsevaks, or volunteers, to converge upon the Babri Masjid to offer prayers. This Rath Yatra, undertaken in an air-conditioned van decorated to look like a chariot, began from Somnath in Gujarat and covered a large portion of Northern India until it was stopped by the Chief Minister of Bihar, Laloo Prasad Yadav, on the grounds that it was leading to communal violence. In the 1991 general elections, the BJP won the second largest number of seats, after the Congress. In 1992, two years after Advani ended his yatra, despite assurances given by the Kalyan Singh led BJP Government to the Supreme Court, the Babri Masjid was demolished by the communal forces alleged complicity of the Kalyan Singh government. Advani is one of the main accused in the Babri Masjid case. CANNOTANSWER

Lal Krishna Advani (born 8 November 1927) is an Indian politician who served as the 7th Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004. Advani is one of the co-founders and a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is a long time member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a volunteer organisation. He also served as Minister of Home Affairs in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government from 1998 to 2004. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the 10th Lok Sabha and 14th Lok Sabha and also the longest serving person of this post. He was the Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP in 2009. Advani began his political career as a volunteer of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a volunteer organisation. He, along with Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is credited for rise of BJP from 2 seats in 1984 to 182 seats in 1998. In 2015 he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour. He has held numerous positions in his career. Early and personal life L. K. Advani was born in Karachi, Sindh, British India in a Sindhi Hindu family of businessmen to parents Kishanchand D. Advani and Gyani Devi. He completed his early schooling from Saint Patrick's High School, Karachi, Sindh and then enrolled in Government College Hyderabad, Sindh. His family migrated to India during Partition and settled down in Bombay, where he graduated in Law from the Government Law College of the Bombay University, where he became friends with Deewan Parmanand Gangwani, and considered him, Ram Jethmalani and A.K Brohi the best lawyers produced by Government Law College. L. K. Advani married Kamla Advani in February 1965. He has a son, Jayant, and a daughter, Pratibha. Pratibha Advani produces TV serial shows, and also supports her father in his political activities. His wife died on 6 April 2016 due to old age. Despite no longer being an MP, Advani lives in an official bungalow in Delhi due to security considerations, as of June 2019. Political career Early career Advani joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1941 as a 14-year-old boy. He became a pracharak (full-time worker) of the Karachi branch and developed several shakhas there. After Partition, Advani was sent as a pracharak to Matsya-Alwar in Rajasthan, which had witnessed communal violence following Partition. He worked in Alwar, Bharatpur, Kota, Bundi and Jhalawar districts until 1952. Bharatiya Jana Sangh Advani became a member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, also known simply as the Jana Sangh, a political party founded in 1951 by Syama Prasad Mookerjee in collaboration with the RSS. He was appointed as the secretary to S. S. Bhandari, then General Secretary of the Jana Sangh in Rajasthan. In 1957, he was moved to Delhi to look after the Parliamentary affairs. He soon became the general secretary and, later, President of the Delhi unit of the Jana Sangh. During 1966 to 1967 he served as the leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in the Interim Delhi Metropolitan Council. After the 1967 elections, he was elected as the Chairman of the First Delhi Metropolitan Council and served till 1970. He also assisted K. R. Malkani in editing the RSS weekly Organiser, and became a member of the national executive in 1966. He became a member of the Rajya Sabha from Delhi for the six-year tenure from 1970. After serving various positions in the Jana Sangh, he became its President in 1973 at the Kanpur session of the party working committee meeting. His first act as president of the BJS was to expel founder member and veteran leader Balraj Madhok from primary membership of the party for supposedly violating the party directives and acting against the interests of the party. He was a Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat from 1976 to 1982. After the Indira Gandhi's Emergency, the Jana Sangh and many other opposition parties merged into the Janata Party. Advani and colleague Atal Bihari Vajpayee fought the Lok Sabha Elections of 1977 as members of the Janata Party. Janata Party to Bharatiya Janata Party The Janata Party was formed by political leaders and activists of various political parties who had been united in opposing the state of Emergency imposed in 1975 by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. After elections were called in 1977, the Janata Party was formed from the union of the Congress (O), the Swatantra Party, the Socialist Party of India, the Jana Sangh and the Lok Dal. Jagjivan Ram split from the Indian National Congress, bringing a small faction known as the Congress for Democracy with him, and joined the Janata alliance. The widespread unpopularity of Emergency rule gave the Janata Party and its allies a landslide victory in the election. Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister of India, Advani became the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Vajpayee became the Foreign Minister. The erstwhile members of the Jana Sangh quit the Janata Party and formed the new Bharatiya Janata Party. Advani became a prominent leader of the newly founded BJP and represented the party in the Rajya Sabha (upper house of the Indian Parliament) from Madhya Pradesh for two terms beginning in 1982. The rise of the BJP Atal Bihari Vajpayee was appointed the first president of the new party. Ramachandra Guha writes that despite the factional wars within the Janata government, its period in power had seen a rise in support for the RSS, marked by a wave of communal violence in the early 1980s. Despite this, the BJP under Vajpayee initially took a more moderate approach to Hindutva, to gain a wider appeal. This strategy was unsuccessful, as the BJP won only two Lok Sabha seats in the elections of 1984. A few months prior to the election, Indira Gandhi was assassinated, creating a sympathy wave for the Congress that also contributed to the BJP's low tally, as the Congress won a record number of seats. This failure led to a shift in the party's stance; Advani was appointed party president, and the BJP returned to the hardline Hindutva of its predecessor. Under Advani, the BJP became the political face of the Ayodhya dispute over the Ram Janmabhoomi. In the early 1980s, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had begun a movement for the construction of a temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Rama at the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. The agitation was on the basis of the belief that the site was the birthplace of Rama, and that a temple once stood there that had been demolished by the Mughal emperor Babur when he constructed the Babri mosque. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has supported the claim that a Hindu structure once stood at the site, without commenting on a possible demolition. The BJP threw its support behind this campaign, and made it a part of their election manifesto, which provided rich dividends in the general elections of 1989. Despite the Congress winning a plurality in the election, it declined to form a government, and so the National Front government of VP Singh was sworn in. The support of the BJP, with its tally of 86 seats, was crucial to the new government. Advani embarked on a "Rath Yatra", or chariot journey, to mobilise karsevaks, or volunteers, to converge upon the Babri Masjid to offer prayers. This Rath Yatra, undertaken in an air-conditioned van decorated to look like a chariot, began from Somnath in Gujarat and covered a large portion of Northern India until it was stopped by the Chief Minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, on the grounds that it was leading to communal violence. In the 1991 general elections, the BJP won the second largest number of seats, after the Congress. While on the Yatra, Advani carried symbols of the Hindu religion and made multiple speeches regarding the "Hindu society's alleged failure to protect its shrines from desecration by Muslim conquerors". In 1992, two years after Advani ended his yatra, despite assurances given by the Kalyan Singh-led BJP Government to the Supreme Court, the Babri Masjid was demolished by communal forces, with alleged complicity of the Kalyan Singh government. IPS Officer Anju Gupta reported that Advani delivered a provocative speech prior to the Masjid's demolition. Advani was among the accused in the Babri Masjid case. On 30 September 2020, the CBI's special court acquitted Advani and released him from all charges. The CBI judge while acquitting Advani mentioned that the demolition was not pre-planned and that the accused were "trying to stop the mob and not incite them". 1996 General Elections After the 1996 general elections, the BJP became the single largest party and was consequently invited by the President to form the Government. However, Advani himself did not contest the 1996 elections from any constituency over allegations of involvement in the Hawala scandal. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was sworn in as Prime Minister in May 1996. However, the Government did not last long and Vajpayee resigned after thirteen days. Second term (1998–99) After two years in the political wilderness, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), came to power with Vajpayee returning as Prime Minister in March 1998, when elections were called after India saw two unstable Governments headed by H. D. Deve Gowda and I. K. Gujral respectively. After the fall of two United Front government between 1996 and 1998 (H. D. Deve Gowda and I. K. Gujral), the Lok Sabha, (lower house) of India's Parliament was dissolved and new elections were held. Now, a coalition of political parties signed up with BJP to form the Nationwide Democratic Alliance (NDA), headed by A. B. Vajpayee. The NDA won a majority of seats in parliament. However, the govt survived only 13 several months until mid-1999 when All Indian Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) under J. Jayalalitha withdrew its assistance to the government. With the NDA no longer having a majority, the Parliament was again dissolved and new elections were organised. Vajpayee remained the Prime Minister until elections were organised. Deputy Prime minister Advani assumed the office of Home Minister and was later elevated to the position of Deputy Prime Minister. As Union Minister, Advani had a tough time with India facing a string of internal disturbances in the form of rebel attacks allegedly supported by Pakistan. The NDA government lasted for its full term of five years till 2004, the first non-Congress government to do so. Advani was charged in a scandal where he allegedly received payments through hawala brokers. He and others were later discharged by the Supreme Court of India, because there was no additional evidence that could be used to charge them. According to the judicial inquiry by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) they could not find any substantive evidence; the Supreme Court ruling stated that no statement even mentioned Advani's name and that evidence against him was limited to the mention of his name on a few loose sheets of paper. However, the failure of this prosecution by the CBI was widely criticised. While some believe the CBI probe catapulted his rise through the BJP on his newfound "moral authority", others have claimed the inquiry was a political stunt. As elections approached in 2004, Advani was supremely confident and conducted an aggressive campaign. The BJP suffered a defeat in the general elections held in 2004, and was forced to sit in the opposition. Another coalition, the United Progressive Alliance led by the resurgent Congress came to power, with Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister. Vajpayee retired from active politics after the 2004 defeat, putting Advani to the forefront of the BJP. Advani became Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2009. During this period, Advani had to deal with rebellion from within the party. His two close associates, Uma Bharati, and Madan Lal Khurana, and longtime rival Murali Manohar Joshi publicly spoke out against him. In June 2005, he drew much criticism when he, while on a visit to the Jinnah Mausoleum at Karachi – his town of birth, endorsed Mohammad Ali Jinnah and described him a "secular" leader. This did not sit well with the RSS either and Advani was forced to relinquish his post as BJP president. However, he withdrew the resignation a few days later. The relationship between Advani and the RSS reached a low point when the latter's chief K. S. Sudarshan opined in April 2005 that both Advani and Vajpayee give way to new leaders. At the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the BJP in Mumbai in December 2005, Advani stepped down as party president and Rajnath Singh, a relatively junior politician from the state of Uttar Pradesh was elected in his place. In March 2006, following a bomb blast at a Hindu shrine at Varanasi, Advani undertook a "Bharat Suraksha Yatra" (Sojourn for National Security), to highlight the alleged failure of the ruling United Progressive Alliance in combating terrorism. Prime Minister candidacy In an interview with a news channel in December 2006, Advani stated that as the Leader of the Opposition in a parliamentary democracy, he considered himself the Prime Ministerial candidate for the general elections, ending on 16 May 2009. Some of his colleagues were not supportive of his candidacy. A major factor in favour of Advani was that he had always been the most powerful leader in the BJP with the exception of Vajpayee, who endorsed Advani's candidacy. On 2 May 2007, BJP President Rajnath Singh stated that: "After Atal there is only Advani. Advani is the natural choice. It is he who should be PM". On 10 December 2007, the Parliamentary Board of BJP formally announced that L. K. Advani would be its prime ministerial candidate for the general elections due in 2009. However, Indian National Congress and its allies won the 2009 general elections, allowing incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to continue in office. Following the defeat in the elections, L. K. Advani paved the way for Sushma Swaraj to become the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. However later he was elected Working Chairman of the National Democratic Alliance in 2010. Marg Darshak Mandal In 2014, Advani joined the Marg Darshak Mandal (vision committee) of the BJP along with Murli Manohar Joshi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Rath Yatras In a bid to boost the popularity of the BJP and unify the Hindutva ideology, Advani organised 6 long distance rath yatras or processions across the country, starting in 1987. Ram Rath Yatra: Advani started his first Rath Yatra from Somnath, Gujarat on 25 September 1990 to finally reach Ayodhya on 30 October 1990. The yatra has been linked to the Mandir-Masjid dispute centred around Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site at Ayodhya. The BJP and Advani, however, focused the yatra on the secularism–communalism debate. The yatra was stopped in Bihar by Lalu Prasad Yadav, then Chief Minister of Bihar and was arrested on the orders of Vishwanath Pratap Singh, then Prime Minister of India. Janadesh Yatra: Four Yatras named Janadesh Yatra started on 11 September 1993 from four corners of country. Advani led this yatra from Mysore. Travelling through 14 States and two Union Territories, the yatris congregated at Bhopal on 25 September in a massive rally. The purpose of Janadesh Yatrawas to seek the people's mandate against the two Bills, the Constitution 80th Amendment Bill and the Representation of People (Amendment) Bill. Swarna Jayanti Rath Yatra: The Swarna Jayanti Rath Yatra by Mr. Advani travelled across India between May and July 1997. According to Mr.Advani, the yatra was conducted in celebration of 50 years of Indian Independence and also to project the BJP as a party committed to good governance. Bharat Uday Yatra: The Bharat Uday Yatra took place in the run-up to the 2004 Lok Sabha Elections. Bharat Suraksha Yatra: The BJP launched a nationwide mass political campaign in the form of the Bharat Suraksha Yatra from 6 April to 10 May 2006. It consisted of two yatras – one led by Advani, Leader of the Opposition (Lok Sabha), from Dwaraka in Gujarat to Delhi; and the other led by Rajnath Singh, then the President of the BJP, from Jagannath Puri in Orissa to Delhi. The yatra was focused on left wing terrorism, minority politics, corruption, protection of democracy and price rise. Jan Chetna Yatra: The Jan Chetna Yatra was launched on 11 October 2011 from Sitab Diara, Bihar. The BJP states the purpose of Jan Chetna Yatra is to mobilise public opinion against corruption of the UPA government and put BJP agenda of good governance and clean politics before the people of India. Writings My Country My Life is an autobiographical book by L. K. Advani. The book was released on 19 March 2008 by Abdul Kalam, the eleventh President of India. The book has 1,040 pages and narrates autobiographical accounts and events in the life of Advani. The book became a best seller in the non-fiction category. The book includes mentions of events in Indian politics and India's history from 1900 till 2007. As I See It: LK Advani's Blog Posts (2011). . My Country My Life (2008). . New Approaches to Security and Development (2003). (Paperback) . A Prisoner's Scrap-Book (2002). (Hardcover) . Nazarband Loktantra (2016).(Hardcover) . Drishtikon (2016).(Hardcover) Rashtra Sarvopari. (2014).(Hardcover) Opinions In 2005, while visiting Pakistan, he praised Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his speech of 11 August 1947 for promoting a secular state. Positions 1967–70: Chairman, Metropolitan Council, Delhi 1970–72: President, Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Delhi 1970–89: Member, Rajya Sabha (four terms) 1973–77: President, Jana Sangh 1977: General-Secretary, Janata Party 1977–79: Union Cabinet Minister, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting 1977–79: Leader of the House, Rajya Sabha 1980–86: General Secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 1980-86: Leader, BJP, Rajya Sabha 1986–91: President, BJP 1989: Elected to 9th Lok Sabha (1st term as Lok Sabha member), New Delhi constituency 1989–91: Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha 1991: Elected to 10th Lok Sabha (2nd term), from Gandhinagar 1991–93: Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha 1993–98: President, Bharatiya Janata Party Did not contest 1996 election, and did not join the 13-day Vajpayee govt as hawala case was pending against him. 1998: Elected to 12th Lok Sabha (3rd term) 1998–99: Union Cabinet Minister, Home Affairs 1999: Elected to 13th Lok Sabha (4th term) 1999–2004: Union Cabinet Minister, Home Affairs 2002–2004: Deputy Prime Minister of India (he held the role of Prime Minister at that time) 2004: Elected to 14th Lok Sabha (5th term) 2009: Elected to 15th Lok Sabha (6th term) 2014: Elected to 16th Lok Sabha (7th term) See also Electoral history of L. K. Advani Ayodhya dispute Hawala scandal References Further reading Atmaram Kulkarni. The Advent of Advani: An Authentic Critical Biography (1995). (Hardcover) . Sudheendra Kulkarni. Swarna Jayanti Rath Yatra: The story of Lal Krishna Advani's patriotic pilgrimage (1997). ASIN: B0000CPBO7. Pentagon Press. Lal Krishna Advani: Today's Patel (2002). (Paperback) . Gulab Vazirani: Lal Advani, the Man and his Mission (1991) G. Katyal, K. Bhushan. Lal Krishna Advani: Deputy Prime Minister. (Hardcover) ASIN: B001G6MAZA Pentagon Press. Lala Krishna Advani (2007). (Paperback) . External links Official site Profile at Lok Sabha, Parliament of India Profile on website of BJP Profile at BBC News Official Blog of Lal Krishna Advani |- Category:1927 births Category:Living people Category:Indian Deputy Prime Ministers Category:Presidents of Bharatiya Janata Party Category:Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians Category:Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Gujarat Category:Leaders of the Opposition (India) Category:Ministers of Internal Affairs of India Category:Ministers for Information and Broadcasting of India Category:Coal Ministers of India Category:India MPs 1989–1991 Category:India MPs 1991–1996 Category:India MPs 1998–1999 Category:India MPs 1999–2004 Category:India MPs 2004–2009 Category:India MPs 2009–2014 Category:India MPs 2014–2019 Category:Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Category:Lok Sabha members from Delhi Category:Rajya Sabha members from Delhi Category:Rajya Sabha members from Gujarat Category:Rajya Sabha members from Madhya Pradesh Category:Indians imprisoned during the Emergency (India) Category:St. Patrick's High School, Karachi alumni Category:University of Mumbai alumni Category:Indian Hindus Category:Sindhi people Category:Politicians from Karachi Category:21st-century Indian biographers Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs Category:Indian autobiographers Category:Sindhi politicians Category:Rajya Sabha members from the Bharatiya Janata Party Category:People charged with crimes Category:People charged with corruption

C_ebe4a28291804388905e0804a0ce7886_0

Brahmabandhav Upadhyay

Brahmabandhab Upadhyay was born as Bhavani Charan Bandyopadhyay in a Kulin Brahmin family. The term Kulin indicates to a cult in barhmanical Hindu society of early era when a person was allowed to marry any number of wives. His grand father was known to have married fifty six wives. His father, Debi Charan Bandyopadhyay was a police officer of the British regime.

Patriotic activities

When he was in the high school, Bhavani Charan became inclined towards the Indian nationalist movement for freedom, and during his college education, he plunged into the freedom movement. His biographer, Julius Lipner, says that Brahmabandhab "made a significant contribution to the shaping of the new India whose identity began to emerge from the first half of the nineteenth century". He was contemporary to and friend of the poet Rabindranath Tagore and Vivekananda. According to Lipner, "Vivekananda lit the sacrificial flame or revolution, Brahmabandhab in fuelling it, safeguarded and fanned the sacrifice." Brahmabandhab Upadhyay acted as editor of Sandhya, till the last day of his life. After the movement of partition of Bengal in 1905, there was a boost in nationalist ideologies and several publications took active and fierce role in propagating them, including Sandhya. In March 1907, Sandhya elaborated its motto as, "If death comes in the striving, the death will be converted to immortality." In May 1907, Sandhya reported, "People are soundly thrashing a feringhi whenever they are coming across one. And here whenever a feringhi is seen the boys throw a brickbat at him. And thrashing of European soldiers are continuing..." Further it added, "Listen and you will hear the Mother's trumpet are sounding. Mother's son do not tarry, but to get ready; go about from village to village and prepare the Indians for death." In September 1907 Sandhya wrote, "God gives opportunities to all nations to to [sic] free themselves from their stupor and strength to make the necessary beginning." Bramhabandhab wrote in Sandhya on 26 October 1907, a day before his death, "I will not got to the jail of the feringhi to work as a prisoner.. I had never been at any one's beck and call. I obeyed none. At the fag end of my old age they will send me to jail for law's sake, and I will work for nothing. Impossible! I won't go to jail, I have been called." CANNOTANSWER

Brahmabandhav Upadhyay (born Bhavani Charan Bandyopadhyay) (; 11 February 1861 – 27 October 1907) was an Indian Bengali theologian, journalist and freedom fighter. He was closely attached with Keshub Chandra Sen, classmate of Swami Vivekananda and close acquaintance of Rabindranath Tagore. Early life Brahmabandhab Upadhyay was born as Bhavani Charan Bandyopadhyay in a Kulin Brahmin family. His father, Debi Charan Bandyopadhyay was a police officer of the British regime. Debicharan had three sons. The eldest was Hari Charan, who became a doctor in Calcutta, the second was Parbati Charan who practiced as a pleader, and the third was Bhavani Charan. He was born in village Khannyan in Hooghly district of undivided Bengal (presently in West Bengal). Bhavani Charan lost his mother Radha Kumari when he was only one year of age and was raised by one of his grand mothers. Bhavani Charan received his education in institutions such as Scottish Mission School, Hooghly Collegiate School, Metropolitan Institution (now Vidyasagar College), and the General Assembly's Institution (now Scottish Church College in Calcutta. In the General Assembly's Institution, during 1880s, he was in the same class with Narendranath Dutta, who, at a later date, became Swami Vivekananda. He was a friend of Rabindranath Tagore. Varied religious orientations Born a Brahmin Bhavani Charan was hailed from a religious Hindu Brahmin family. At 13 he had undergone the Upanayana ceremony, the investiture of the sacred thread necessary to mark the coming of age of a Brahmin boy. Adoption of Brahmoism While he was in the college, he was inclined to Brahmoism, under the influence of Keshub Chandra Sen and Debendranath Tagore, the father of Rabindranath Tagore. In 1881 he adopted Brahmoism and became a preacher. He went to Hyderabad town of the province of Sindh (presently in Pakistan) as a school teacher of a Brahmo school. Deeply Christian When Keshub Chandra Sen died in the year 1884, Bhavani Charan came back and slowly got inclined to Christianity. On February 1891, he was baptized a Christian by the Reverend Heaton of Bishop's college, an Anglican clergyman, and six months later, conditionally, in the Catholic Church of Karachi. It was a remarkable journey in his life exploring the theological beliefs and ideologies which did not end there being converted to Catholicism, though, during this phase, he was successful in attracting a large number of educated Bengali Hindu youth to be converted to Christianity. In 1894, Bhavani Charan adopted this name, Brahmabandhab Upadhyay, declaring himself as a Christian Sanyasi (Monk). Latinized form of the Greek name Θεοφιλος (Theophilos), taken from Bhabani Charan's baptised name Theophilus, which meant "friend of god", derived from θεος (theos) "god" and φιλος (philos) "friend". "Upadhyay" is close to mean a Teacher. In January 1894, Brahmabandhav started editing "Sophia", an apologetical journal, in Karachi. At one time, he shifted his base to Jabalpur in Central Province (now Madhya Pradesh). There he established Kanthalik Math, a hermitage for the converts. He also initiated the Concord Club and initiated a religious journal titled "Concord." When he shifted his base to Calcutta in 1900, Brahmabandhab lived in a rented house at Beadon Street, Calcutta. Within a short distance was Bethune Row, where he had established his office to run his weekly magazine "Sophia". He published a series of articles through which he defended the Catholic Church and its manifestations. Brahmabandhab claimed himself to be called a Hindu Catholic, and wore saffron clothes, walked barefoot and used to wear an ebony cross around his neck. In 1898 he argued in an article titled "Are we Hindus?", "By birth, we are Hindu and shall remain Hindu till death. .. We are Hindus so far as our physical and mental constitution is concerned, but in regard to our immortal souls we are Catholic. We are Hindu Catholic." Brahmabandhab envisioned an indigenous church in India embracing the fundamental manifestation of Indian living. He is identified as one of the first Christians propagating Sannyasi lifestyle in Ashram. Brahmabandhab toured England and Europe during 1902-3. The Archbishop of Calcutta gave him a recommendation: "By means of this statement we declare Brahmabandhav (Theophilus) Upadhyay, a Calcutta Brahmin, to be a Catholic of sound morals, burning with zeal for the conversion of his compatriots." Remaining a Hindu In course of time, Brahmabandhab's attachment to Hinduism became evident. In August 1907, two months before his untimely death, he declared to undergo prayashchittya (expression of reparation in Hindu custom) through a public ceremony for the purpose of readmission into the Hindu society (Samaj), completing a full circle in his religious voyage throughout his life. Social activities While Bramhabandhab was in Brahmosamaj, he initiated a boys' school in Sindh in the year 1888. He also taught for some time in Union Academy, which was established 1887 as the "Bengalee Boys High School" founded in Shimla under the chairmanship of Sir Nripendra Nath Sircar. He brought out a monthly journal titled The Twentieth Century in association with Nagendranath Gupta (1861-1940). Brahmabandhab and his disciple Animananda started a school in Kolkata in 1901. The aim of the school was to teach and propagate the Vedic and Vedantic ideas of life along with modern education among the elite class of the society. Rabindranath Tagore was very much attracted to this idea of reviving the old Indian ideal of paedagogy and offered them to shift their school to Santiniketan in his father's estate. This way Tagore's school at Shantiniketan was conceived, which later became known and famous as Viswa Bharati. There were three teachers, namely Reba Chand, Jagadananda Roy, and Shibdhan Vidyarnab, apart from Rabindranath and Brahmabandhab, and there were five students, namely, Rathindranath Tagore, Gourgobinda Gupta, Premkumar Gupta, Ashok Kumar Gupta and Sudhir Chandra Nun. This collaboration could not continue for long and in 1902 Brahmabandhab and Animananda left Shantiniketan. From 1902 to 1903 Brahmabandhab toured Europe. He lectured at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and preached Vedantism. When he came back, he saw Bengal as a hot seat of political activities, and he too fervently plunged into the political doldrums. He was gradually coming to the conclusion that before India could become Catholic, she must be politically free. His journal "Sofia" soon became the strongest critique of the British imperialism. Patriotic activities When he was in high school, Bhavani Charan became inclined toward the Indian nationalist movement for freedom, and during his college education, he plunged into the freedom movement. His biographer, Julius Lipner, says that Brahmabandhab "made a significant contribution to the shaping of the new India whose identity began to emerge from the first half of the nineteenth century". He was contemporary to and friend of the poet Rabindranath Tagore and Vivekananda. According to Lipner, "Vivekananda lit the sacrificial flame or revolution, Brahmabandhab in fuelling it, safeguarded and fanned the sacrifice." Brahmabandhab Upadhyay acted as editor of Sandhya, till the last day of his life. After the movement of partition of Bengal in 1905, there was a boost in nationalist ideologies and several publications took active and fierce role in propagating them, including Sandhya. In March 1907, Sandhya elaborated its motto, "If death comes in the striving, the death will be converted to immortality." In May 1907, Sandhya reported, "People are soundly thrashing a feringhi whenever they are coming across one. And here whenever a feringhi is seen the boys throw a brickbat at him. And thrashing of European soldiers are continuing..." Further it added, "Listen and you will hear the Mother's trumpet are sounding. Mother's son do not tarry, but to get ready; go about from village to village and prepare the Indians for death." In September 1907 Sandhya wrote, "God gives opportunities to all nations to free themselves from their stupor and strength to make the necessary beginning." Bramhabandhab wrote in Sandhya on 26 October 1907, a day before his death, "I will not got to the jail of the feringhi to work as a prisoner.. I had never been at any one's beck and call. I obeyed none. At the fag end of my old age they will send me to jail for law's sake, and I will work for nothing. Impossible! I won't go to jail, I have been called." Arrest, trial and death On 10 September 1907, Bramhabandhab was arrested and prosecuted on a charge of sedition. His articles were found to be inflammatory. Bramhabandhab refused to defend himself in the court, and on 23 September 1907 a statement was submitted through his counsel to the court, Barrister Chittaranjan Das: During the trial, Brahmabandhab reported pain in his abdomen and was admitted to the Campbell Hospital of Calcutta. He had undergone a hernia operation but could not overcome his sufferings and succumbed to death on 27 October 1907 under a precarious situation at the age of 46 only. A detailed account of the last moments of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay and the funeral procession to the cremation ground can be found in Animananda, The Blade (p. 173-178): Primary bibliography (Writings) Hundreds of articles in Bengali and English in short-lived journals and magazines of Bengal such as Sophia, Jote, Sandhya, The Twentieth Century, Swaraj, etc. The Writings of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay (ed. by J.Lipner and G.Gispert-Sauch), 2 vols., Bangalore, 1991 and 2001. Secondary bibliography De Smet, Richard. "Upadhyay's Interpretation of Sankara." Understanding Sankara: Essays by Richard De Smet. Ed. Ivo Coelho. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2013. 454-462. Nayak, Biren Kumar. "The Christology of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay in an Advaitic Framework." Asia Journal of Theology 22/1 (April 2008) 107-125. Lipner, Julius. "A Case-Study in 'Hindu Catholicism': Brahmabandhav Upadhyay (1861-1907)." Zeitschrift fur Missionswissenschaft und Religionswissenschaft 72 (1988) 33-54. [Amaladass and Young 374.] Pulikkan, Jiby. "Brahmabandhab Upadhyay: An Indian Christian for All Times and Seasons." Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection 71/10 (2007) 777-786. "Editorial: Swami Brahmabandhab Upadhyay." Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection 71/10 (2007) 721-724. Gispert-Sauch, G. "Note: Four Little Poems by Brahmabandhab Upadhyay." Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection 71/9 (2007) 689-695. Gispert-Sauch, G. "Note: Brahmabandhab Upadhyay on Notovitch." Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection 71 (2007) 624-625. Lipner, Julius J. "Brahmabandhab Upadhyay (1861-1907) and his Significance for our Times." Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection 71/3 (2007) 165-184. Fernando, Leonard. "Brahmabandhab Upadhyay and Sind Catholic Community." Studies on the History of the Church in India: Festschrift for Dr Joseph Thekkedathu, SDB. Ed. Joy Kaipan. Bangalore: Kristu Jyoti Publications, 2011. 184-202. Raj, Felix. "Brahmabandhab Upadhyay (1861-1907): A Prophet for All Seasons." Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection 82 (2018) 888-892. Bagal, Jogescandra. Brahmabandhab Upadhyay. Calcutta: Bangiya Sahitya Parisat, 1964. Debsarma, Bolai. Brahmabandhab Upadhyay. Calcutta: Prabartak Publishers, 1961. Guha, Manoranjan. Brahmabandhav Upadhyay. Siksa Niketan, Bardhaman, 1976. Lavaranne, C. "Swami Brahmabandhab Upadhyay (1861–1907): Theologie chretienne et pensee du Vedanta." Ph.D. diss. Universite de Provence, 1992. Mukhopadhyay, Uma. India's Fight for Freedom or the Swadeshi Movement (1905–06). Calcutta, 1958. Painadath, Sebastian and Jacob Parappally, eds. A Hindu-Catholic: Brahmabandhab Upadhyay's Significance for Indian Christian Theology. Bangalore: Asia Trading Corporation, 2008. Joseph, P. V. An Indian Trinitarian Theology of "Missio Dei": Insights from St. Augustine and Brahmabandhab Upadhyay." Eugene, Oregon, 2019. Spendlove, Gregory Blake. A Critical Study of the Life and Thought of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay. Deerfield: Trinity International University, 2005. Tennent, Timothy C. Building Christianity on Indian Foundations: The Legacy of Brahmabāndhav Upādhyāy. Delhi: ISPCK, 2000. References External links Vidyajyoti College of Theology Category:1861 births Category:1907 deaths Category:Vidyasagar College alumni Category:Scottish Church College alumni Category:Hooghly Mohsin College alumni Category:Bengali writers Category:Indian Christian theologians Category:Indian Roman Catholics

C_ebe4a28291804388905e0804a0ce7886_1

Brahmabandhav Upadhyay

Brahmabandhab Upadhyay was born as Bhavani Charan Bandyopadhyay in a Kulin Brahmin family. The term Kulin indicates to a cult in barhmanical Hindu society of early era when a person was allowed to marry any number of wives. His grand father was known to have married fifty six wives. His father, Debi Charan Bandyopadhyay was a police officer of the British regime.

Social activities

While Bramhabandhab was in Brahmosamaj, he initiated a boys' school in Sindh in the year 1888. He also taught for some time in Union Academy, which was established 1887 as the "Bengalee Boys High School" founded in Shimla under the chairmanship of Sir Nripendra Nath Sircar. He brought out a monthly journal titled The Twentieth Century in association with Nagendranath Gupta (1861-1940). Brahmabandhab and his disciple Animananda started a school in Kolkata in 1901 . Aim of the school was to teach and propagate the Vedic and Vedantic ideas of life along with modern education among the elite class of the society. Rabindranath tagore was very much attracted to this idea of reviving the old Indian ideal of paedagogy, and offered them to shift their school to Santiniketan in his father's estate. This way Tagore's school at Shantiniketan was conceived, which later became known and famous as Viswa Varati. There were three teachers, namely Reba Chand, Jagadananda Roy and Shibdhan Vidyarnab, apart from Rabindranath and Brahmabandhab, and there were five students, namely, Rathindranath Tagore, Gourgobinda Gupta, Premkumar Gupta, Ashok Kumar Gupta and Sudhir Chandra Nun. This collaboration could not continue for long and in 1902 Brahmabandhab and Animananda left Shantiniketan. During 1902 to 1903 Brahmabandhab toured Europe. He lectured in Oxford and Chembridge Universities and preached Vedantism. When he came back, he saw Bengal as a hot seat of political activities, and he too fervently plunged into the political doldrums. he was gradually coming to the conclusion that before India could become Catholic, she must be politically free. His journal "Sofia" soon became the strongest critique of the British imperialism. CANNOTANSWER

Brahmabandhav Upadhyay (born Bhavani Charan Bandyopadhyay) (; 11 February 1861 – 27 October 1907) was an Indian Bengali theologian, journalist and freedom fighter. He was closely attached with Keshub Chandra Sen, classmate of Swami Vivekananda and close acquaintance of Rabindranath Tagore. Early life Brahmabandhab Upadhyay was born as Bhavani Charan Bandyopadhyay in a Kulin Brahmin family. His father, Debi Charan Bandyopadhyay was a police officer of the British regime. Debicharan had three sons. The eldest was Hari Charan, who became a doctor in Calcutta, the second was Parbati Charan who practiced as a pleader, and the third was Bhavani Charan. He was born in village Khannyan in Hooghly district of undivided Bengal (presently in West Bengal). Bhavani Charan lost his mother Radha Kumari when he was only one year of age and was raised by one of his grand mothers. Bhavani Charan received his education in institutions such as Scottish Mission School, Hooghly Collegiate School, Metropolitan Institution (now Vidyasagar College), and the General Assembly's Institution (now Scottish Church College in Calcutta. In the General Assembly's Institution, during 1880s, he was in the same class with Narendranath Dutta, who, at a later date, became Swami Vivekananda. He was a friend of Rabindranath Tagore. Varied religious orientations Born a Brahmin Bhavani Charan was hailed from a religious Hindu Brahmin family. At 13 he had undergone the Upanayana ceremony, the investiture of the sacred thread necessary to mark the coming of age of a Brahmin boy. Adoption of Brahmoism While he was in the college, he was inclined to Brahmoism, under the influence of Keshub Chandra Sen and Debendranath Tagore, the father of Rabindranath Tagore. In 1881 he adopted Brahmoism and became a preacher. He went to Hyderabad town of the province of Sindh (presently in Pakistan) as a school teacher of a Brahmo school. Deeply Christian When Keshub Chandra Sen died in the year 1884, Bhavani Charan came back and slowly got inclined to Christianity. On February 1891, he was baptized a Christian by the Reverend Heaton of Bishop's college, an Anglican clergyman, and six months later, conditionally, in the Catholic Church of Karachi. It was a remarkable journey in his life exploring the theological beliefs and ideologies which did not end there being converted to Catholicism, though, during this phase, he was successful in attracting a large number of educated Bengali Hindu youth to be converted to Christianity. In 1894, Bhavani Charan adopted this name, Brahmabandhab Upadhyay, declaring himself as a Christian Sanyasi (Monk). Latinized form of the Greek name Θεοφιλος (Theophilos), taken from Bhabani Charan's baptised name Theophilus, which meant "friend of god", derived from θεος (theos) "god" and φιλος (philos) "friend". "Upadhyay" is close to mean a Teacher. In January 1894, Brahmabandhav started editing "Sophia", an apologetical journal, in Karachi. At one time, he shifted his base to Jabalpur in Central Province (now Madhya Pradesh). There he established Kanthalik Math, a hermitage for the converts. He also initiated the Concord Club and initiated a religious journal titled "Concord." When he shifted his base to Calcutta in 1900, Brahmabandhab lived in a rented house at Beadon Street, Calcutta. Within a short distance was Bethune Row, where he had established his office to run his weekly magazine "Sophia". He published a series of articles through which he defended the Catholic Church and its manifestations. Brahmabandhab claimed himself to be called a Hindu Catholic, and wore saffron clothes, walked barefoot and used to wear an ebony cross around his neck. In 1898 he argued in an article titled "Are we Hindus?", "By birth, we are Hindu and shall remain Hindu till death. .. We are Hindus so far as our physical and mental constitution is concerned, but in regard to our immortal souls we are Catholic. We are Hindu Catholic." Brahmabandhab envisioned an indigenous church in India embracing the fundamental manifestation of Indian living. He is identified as one of the first Christians propagating Sannyasi lifestyle in Ashram. Brahmabandhab toured England and Europe during 1902-3. The Archbishop of Calcutta gave him a recommendation: "By means of this statement we declare Brahmabandhav (Theophilus) Upadhyay, a Calcutta Brahmin, to be a Catholic of sound morals, burning with zeal for the conversion of his compatriots." Remaining a Hindu In course of time, Brahmabandhab's attachment to Hinduism became evident. In August 1907, two months before his untimely death, he declared to undergo prayashchittya (expression of reparation in Hindu custom) through a public ceremony for the purpose of readmission into the Hindu society (Samaj), completing a full circle in his religious voyage throughout his life. Social activities While Bramhabandhab was in Brahmosamaj, he initiated a boys' school in Sindh in the year 1888. He also taught for some time in Union Academy, which was established 1887 as the "Bengalee Boys High School" founded in Shimla under the chairmanship of Sir Nripendra Nath Sircar. He brought out a monthly journal titled The Twentieth Century in association with Nagendranath Gupta (1861-1940). Brahmabandhab and his disciple Animananda started a school in Kolkata in 1901. The aim of the school was to teach and propagate the Vedic and Vedantic ideas of life along with modern education among the elite class of the society. Rabindranath Tagore was very much attracted to this idea of reviving the old Indian ideal of paedagogy and offered them to shift their school to Santiniketan in his father's estate. This way Tagore's school at Shantiniketan was conceived, which later became known and famous as Viswa Bharati. There were three teachers, namely Reba Chand, Jagadananda Roy, and Shibdhan Vidyarnab, apart from Rabindranath and Brahmabandhab, and there were five students, namely, Rathindranath Tagore, Gourgobinda Gupta, Premkumar Gupta, Ashok Kumar Gupta and Sudhir Chandra Nun. This collaboration could not continue for long and in 1902 Brahmabandhab and Animananda left Shantiniketan. From 1902 to 1903 Brahmabandhab toured Europe. He lectured at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and preached Vedantism. When he came back, he saw Bengal as a hot seat of political activities, and he too fervently plunged into the political doldrums. He was gradually coming to the conclusion that before India could become Catholic, she must be politically free. His journal "Sofia" soon became the strongest critique of the British imperialism. Patriotic activities When he was in high school, Bhavani Charan became inclined toward the Indian nationalist movement for freedom, and during his college education, he plunged into the freedom movement. His biographer, Julius Lipner, says that Brahmabandhab "made a significant contribution to the shaping of the new India whose identity began to emerge from the first half of the nineteenth century". He was contemporary to and friend of the poet Rabindranath Tagore and Vivekananda. According to Lipner, "Vivekananda lit the sacrificial flame or revolution, Brahmabandhab in fuelling it, safeguarded and fanned the sacrifice." Brahmabandhab Upadhyay acted as editor of Sandhya, till the last day of his life. After the movement of partition of Bengal in 1905, there was a boost in nationalist ideologies and several publications took active and fierce role in propagating them, including Sandhya. In March 1907, Sandhya elaborated its motto, "If death comes in the striving, the death will be converted to immortality." In May 1907, Sandhya reported, "People are soundly thrashing a feringhi whenever they are coming across one. And here whenever a feringhi is seen the boys throw a brickbat at him. And thrashing of European soldiers are continuing..." Further it added, "Listen and you will hear the Mother's trumpet are sounding. Mother's son do not tarry, but to get ready; go about from village to village and prepare the Indians for death." In September 1907 Sandhya wrote, "God gives opportunities to all nations to free themselves from their stupor and strength to make the necessary beginning." Bramhabandhab wrote in Sandhya on 26 October 1907, a day before his death, "I will not got to the jail of the feringhi to work as a prisoner.. I had never been at any one's beck and call. I obeyed none. At the fag end of my old age they will send me to jail for law's sake, and I will work for nothing. Impossible! I won't go to jail, I have been called." Arrest, trial and death On 10 September 1907, Bramhabandhab was arrested and prosecuted on a charge of sedition. His articles were found to be inflammatory. Bramhabandhab refused to defend himself in the court, and on 23 September 1907 a statement was submitted through his counsel to the court, Barrister Chittaranjan Das: During the trial, Brahmabandhab reported pain in his abdomen and was admitted to the Campbell Hospital of Calcutta. He had undergone a hernia operation but could not overcome his sufferings and succumbed to death on 27 October 1907 under a precarious situation at the age of 46 only. A detailed account of the last moments of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay and the funeral procession to the cremation ground can be found in Animananda, The Blade (p. 173-178): Primary bibliography (Writings) Hundreds of articles in Bengali and English in short-lived journals and magazines of Bengal such as Sophia, Jote, Sandhya, The Twentieth Century, Swaraj, etc. The Writings of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay (ed. by J.Lipner and G.Gispert-Sauch), 2 vols., Bangalore, 1991 and 2001. Secondary bibliography De Smet, Richard. "Upadhyay's Interpretation of Sankara." Understanding Sankara: Essays by Richard De Smet. Ed. Ivo Coelho. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2013. 454-462. Nayak, Biren Kumar. "The Christology of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay in an Advaitic Framework." Asia Journal of Theology 22/1 (April 2008) 107-125. Lipner, Julius. "A Case-Study in 'Hindu Catholicism': Brahmabandhav Upadhyay (1861-1907)." Zeitschrift fur Missionswissenschaft und Religionswissenschaft 72 (1988) 33-54. [Amaladass and Young 374.] Pulikkan, Jiby. "Brahmabandhab Upadhyay: An Indian Christian for All Times and Seasons." Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection 71/10 (2007) 777-786. "Editorial: Swami Brahmabandhab Upadhyay." Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection 71/10 (2007) 721-724. Gispert-Sauch, G. "Note: Four Little Poems by Brahmabandhab Upadhyay." Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection 71/9 (2007) 689-695. Gispert-Sauch, G. "Note: Brahmabandhab Upadhyay on Notovitch." Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection 71 (2007) 624-625. Lipner, Julius J. "Brahmabandhab Upadhyay (1861-1907) and his Significance for our Times." Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection 71/3 (2007) 165-184. Fernando, Leonard. "Brahmabandhab Upadhyay and Sind Catholic Community." Studies on the History of the Church in India: Festschrift for Dr Joseph Thekkedathu, SDB. Ed. Joy Kaipan. Bangalore: Kristu Jyoti Publications, 2011. 184-202. Raj, Felix. "Brahmabandhab Upadhyay (1861-1907): A Prophet for All Seasons." Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection 82 (2018) 888-892. Bagal, Jogescandra. Brahmabandhab Upadhyay. Calcutta: Bangiya Sahitya Parisat, 1964. Debsarma, Bolai. Brahmabandhab Upadhyay. Calcutta: Prabartak Publishers, 1961. Guha, Manoranjan. Brahmabandhav Upadhyay. Siksa Niketan, Bardhaman, 1976. Lavaranne, C. "Swami Brahmabandhab Upadhyay (1861–1907): Theologie chretienne et pensee du Vedanta." Ph.D. diss. Universite de Provence, 1992. Mukhopadhyay, Uma. India's Fight for Freedom or the Swadeshi Movement (1905–06). Calcutta, 1958. Painadath, Sebastian and Jacob Parappally, eds. A Hindu-Catholic: Brahmabandhab Upadhyay's Significance for Indian Christian Theology. Bangalore: Asia Trading Corporation, 2008. Joseph, P. V. An Indian Trinitarian Theology of "Missio Dei": Insights from St. Augustine and Brahmabandhab Upadhyay." Eugene, Oregon, 2019. Spendlove, Gregory Blake. A Critical Study of the Life and Thought of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay. Deerfield: Trinity International University, 2005. Tennent, Timothy C. Building Christianity on Indian Foundations: The Legacy of Brahmabāndhav Upādhyāy. Delhi: ISPCK, 2000. References External links Vidyajyoti College of Theology Category:1861 births Category:1907 deaths Category:Vidyasagar College alumni Category:Scottish Church College alumni Category:Hooghly Mohsin College alumni Category:Bengali writers Category:Indian Christian theologians Category:Indian Roman Catholics

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Gabriel Batistuta

Gabriel Omar Batistuta (Spanish pronunciation: [ga'brjel o'mar batis'tuta]; born 1 February 1969), nicknamed Batigol [bati'gol] as well as El Angel Gabriel [el ,aNGxel ga'brjel] (Spanish for Angel Gabriel), is a retired Argentine professional footballer. After beginning his career in Argentina in 1988, where he won titles playing for Newell's Old Boys, River Plate, and subsequently Boca Juniors, the prolific striker played most of his club football with Fiorentina in Italy; he is the twelfth-highest scorer of all-time in the Italian Serie A, with 184 goals in 318 matches. When his club Fiorentina was relegated to Serie B in 1993, Batistuta stayed with the club and helped it return to the top-flight league a year later.

International career

In 1991, Batistuta was selected to play for Argentina in the Copa America held in Chile, where he finished the tournament as top scorer with six goals as Argentina romped to victory. The following year, he won the FIFA Confederations Cup with Argentina, finishing as the tournament's top-scorer. In 1993, Batistuta played in his second Copa America, this time held in Ecuador, which Argentina won with Batistuta scoring both goals in a 2-1 win over Mexico in the final. The 1994 World Cup, held in the United States, was a disappointment. After a promising start Argentina were beaten by Romania in the last 16. The morale of the team was seriously affected by Diego Maradona's doping suspension. Despite the disappointing Argentine exit, Batistuta scored four goals in as many games, including a hat-trick in their opening game against Greece. During the qualification matches for the 1998 World Cup (with former River Plate manager Daniel Passarella) Batistuta was left out of the majority of the games after falling out with the coach over team rules. The two eventually put the dispute aside and Batistuta was recalled for the tournament. In the game against Jamaica, he recorded the second hat-trick of his World Cup career, becoming the fourth player to achieve this (the others were Sandor Kocsis, Just Fontaine, and Gerd Muller) and the first to score a hat-trick in two World Cups. Argentina were knocked out of the World Cup by the Netherlands courtesy of a last minute Dennis Bergkamp winner after the two sides had held out for a 1-1 draw for almost the entire match. After a good series of performances by Argentina in the qualification matches for the 2002 World Cup, hopes were high that the South Americans - now managed by Marcelo Bielsa - could win the trophy, and Batistuta announced that he planned to quit the national team at the end of the tournament, which Argentina aimed to win. But Argentina's "group of death" saw the team fall at the first hurdle, only managing a victory against Nigeria (Batistuta scored the match's only goal). They later fell to England 1-0 and managed a mere 1-1 tie against Sweden. This meant that the team was knocked out in the opening round for the first time since 1962. CANNOTANSWER

Gabriel Omar Batistuta (; born 1 February 1969) is an Argentine former professional footballer. During his playing career, Batistuta was nicknamed Batigol () as well as El Ángel Gabriel (; Spanish for Angel Gabriel). Regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time, noted in particular for powerful strikes from volleys or from distance while on the run, in 1999, Batistuta placed third for the FIFA World Player of the Year award. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. After beginning his career in Argentina in 1988 with Newell's Old Boys, followed by River Plate and Boca Juniors where he won titles, the prolific striker played most of his club football with Serie A club Fiorentina in Italy; he is their all-time top scorer in Serie A with 151 goals. When Fiorentina was relegated to Serie B in 1993, Batistuta stayed with the club and helped them return to the top-flight league a year later. He became an icon in Florence; the Fiorentina fans erected a life-size bronze statue of him in 1996, in recognition of his performances for the club. Despite winning the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana with the club in 1996, he never won the Serie A title with Fiorentina, but when he moved to Roma in 2000 for €36 million – the highest fee ever paid for a player over the age of 30 until Cristiano Ronaldo moved from Real Madrid to Juventus in 2018 – he won the 2000–01 Serie A title. After a brief loan spell with Inter Milan in 2003, he played his last two seasons in Qatar with Al-Arabi before he retired in 2005. At international level, Batistuta was Argentina's all-time leading goalscorer with 56 goals in 78 official matches, a record he held until 21 June 2016, when he was surpassed by Lionel Messi. He participated in three FIFA World Cups, scoring 10 goals, making him Argentina's second top scorer in the competition after Messi, and the joint tenth-highest World Cup goalscorer of all time. Batistuta is the only player in football history to score two hat-tricks in different World Cups. With the Argentina national team he won two consecutive Copa América titles (1991 and 1993), the 1993 CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, and the 1992 FIFA Confederations Cup. Early and personal life Batistuta was born on 1 February 1969 to slaughterhouse worker Omar Batistuta and school secretary Gloria Zilli, in the town of Avellaneda, , but grew up in the nearby city of Reconquista. He has three older sisters, Elisa, Alejandra, and Gabriela. Batistuta is a Roman Catholic. At the age of 16, he met Irina Fernández, his future wife, at her quinceañera, a rite of passage on her 15th birthday. On 28 December 1990, they were married at Saint Roque Church. The couple moved to Florence, Italy, in 1991, and a year later their first son, Thiago, was born. Thanks to good performances in the Italian championship and with the Argentina national team, Batistuta gained fame and respect. He filmed several commercials and was invited onto numerous TV shows, but in spite of this, Batistuta always remained a low-profile family man. In 1997, Batistuta's second son, Lucas, was born, and a third son, Joaquín, followed in 1999. He now has a fourth son Shamel. In 2000, Batistuta and his family moved to Rome, where he played for Roma. Two years after Shamel was born, Batistuta was loaned to Inter. In 2003, after 12 years in Italy, the family moved to Qatar where Batistuta had accepted a lucrative celebrity playing contract with a local team, Al-Arabi, ending his career there in 2005. He moved back to Argentina in 2007. Despite having completed his coaching badges in Argentina, he currently has no involvement with football, instead (primarily as he has difficulty walking) he prefers to play polo and golf, he was quoted saying 'I don't like football, it's only my job'. In later interviews with FIFA he expanded, “I lived and breathed football”, adding, “when I was playing football I never enjoyed it that much, I was never happy ... if I scored two goals, I wanted a third, I always wanted more. Now it's all over I can look back with satisfaction, but I never felt that way when I was playing.” In 2006 he expressed an interest in coaching Australia's national team and Argentina's team. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup he worked as a commentator for Televisa Deportes. Batistuta currently runs his own construction company in Argentina. He also worked as technical secretary in the professional football club Colón, joining the club's staff in January 2012, and leaving at the end of the 2012–13 season. Speaking in a television interview in Argentina in 2014, Batistuta said the pain suffered in his ankles after retiring in 2005 became so intense that he "urinated in bed with the toilet only a few steps away. I couldn't move." He visited a doctor he knew asking his legs be amputated, but the doctor turned down his request. Although he later underwent surgery to relieve the pressure on his cartilage and tendons, and his condition improved slightly, in a 2017 interview he stated that he still had difficulty walking and faced mobility issues as a result of the stresses and injuries he faced throughout his football career due to overexerting himself. He has however still been able to take part in charity football games, and in 2014 he scored twice – one a trademark finish with a powerful 35 yard strike into the roof of the net – in a game in Italy. Batistuta currently lives in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. Club career Early career As a child, Batistuta preferred other sports to football. Because of his height he played basketball, but after Argentina's victory in the 1978 FIFA World Cup, in which he was particularly impressed by the skills of Mario Kempes, he devoted himself to football. After playing with friends on the streets and in the small Grupo Alegria club, Batistuta joined the local Platense junior team. While with Platense he was selected for the Reconquista team that won the provincial championship following victory over Newell's Old Boys. Batistuta's two goals drew the attention of the opposition team’s coach Marcelo Bielsa, and he signed a professional contract with Newell’s in 1988. Newell's Old Boys At Newell's Old Boys under Bielsa, who would later become Batistuta's national coach with the Argentina national team, things did not come easily for him during his first year with the club. He was away from home, his family, and his girlfriend Irina, sleeping in a room at the stadium, and had a weight problem that slowed his progress. At the end of that year, Batistuta was loaned to a smaller team, Deportivo Italiano, with whom he participated in the Carnevale Cup in Italy, ending as top scorer with three goals. Under the guidance of Bielsa, whom Batistuta described in his autobiography as the most important coach he has ever had, and “the one who taught me how to train on rainy days, he taught me everything”, he was physically transformed, fed encouragement, and was set on the path into the player he was to become. River Plate In mid-1989, Batistuta made the leap to one of Argentina's biggest clubs, River Plate, where he scored 17 goals and River Plate won Argentine Primera División 1990. However, he was drawn out of the team by the new manager Daniel Passarella in the mid-season, apparently with no specific reason. According to Batistuta, they never had a dispute. Passarella declared at that time "when Batistuta finds a team that be able to play to him he will be lethal" and highlighted his professionalism. Boca Juniors In 1990, Batistuta joined River Plate's arch rivals, Boca Juniors. He initially found it hard to find his best form, in part not playing in his position. However, at the beginning of 1991, Óscar Tabárez became Boca Juniors' new manager and he gave Batistuta the support and put him into his best place in the field, the centre of attack, rather than as an outside forward. Batistuta finished the season as the league's top scorer as Boca Juniors won the championship. Fiorentina While playing for Argentina in the 1991 Copa América, the vice-president of Fiorentina was impressed by Batistuta's skills and signed him. He had a fine start in Serie A, scoring 13 goals in his debut season. However, the following season, in 1992–93, Fiorentina lost in the relegation battle and were demoted to Serie B, despite Batistuta's 16 league goals. The club returned to Serie A after one season in Serie B, with the contribution of 16 goals from Batistuta and the management of Claudio Ranieri, as Fiorentina captured the 1993–94 Serie B title. At Fiorentina, Batistuta found his best form. He was the top scorer of the 1994–95 Serie A season with 26 goals, and he broke Ezio Pascutti's 32-year-old record by scoring in all of the first 11 matches of the season. In the 1995–96 season, Batistuta, alongside Rui Costa and Francesco Baiano, helped the club to go on a 15-match unbeaten run, as they eventually ended the season with a fourth-place league finish. Fiorentina also won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana over A.C. Milan; in the two-legged Coppa Italia final against Atalanta, Batistuta scored a goal in each fixture as Fiorentina won 3–0 on aggregate. The next season was less successful, as Fiorentina finished in a disappointing ninth place in the league, although the team managed to reach the semi-finals of the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, losing out to eventual champions Barcelona, despite scoring a goal in a 1–1 away draw in the first leg. Scoring over 20 league goals in each of the next three seasons – made all the more impressive given Serie A was the strongest league in the world and the hardest to score in with the best defences – as well as spectacular powerful strikes against Arsenal and Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League, Batistuta came third for FIFA World Player of the Year in 1999. Batistuta and Ronaldo were the two best strikers in Serie A, with their duels the most anticipated in Italy. After his failure to win the Italian championship with Fiorentina, Batistuta started considering a transfer to a bigger team. In an effort to keep Batistuta, Fiorentina hired Giovanni Trapattoni as coach and promised to do everything to win the Scudetto. After an excellent start to the season, Batistuta suffered an injury that kept him out of action for more than a month. Losing momentum, Fiorentina lost the lead and finished the season in third place, although the result enabled them to participate in the Champions League the following season. In addition to the fans erecting a life-size bronze statue of him in Florence, Batistuta was inducted into the club’s hall of fame in 2014. An emotional Batistuta told the audience at the ceremony: “From the moment I arrived at Fiorentina I wanted a place in the history of the club – and now I can say I have succeeded.” Roma Batistuta stayed at Fiorentina for the 1999–2000 season, tempted by the chance of winning both the Scudetto and the Champions League. After a promising start in both competitions, the team only reached seventh in the league and were eliminated in the second round group phase of the European tournament. The following season, he was transferred to Roma in a deal worth 70 billion lire (€36.2 million) and signed a three-year contract, which earned 14.8 billion Italian lire (€7.6 million) per year before tax. The fee paid for Batistuta became the highest fee ever paid for a player over the age of 30. The record was broken in 2017 when Leonardo Bonucci was signed by A.C. Milan on a five-year contract for a €42 million fee. During the 2000–01 season, Batistuta finally garnered a Serie A winners' medal, scoring 20 league goals, as Roma clinched the Scudetto for the first time since 1983, including a goal in the 3–1 title-deciding victory over Parma on 17 June 2001 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. On 26 November 2000 Batistuta scored an 83rd-minute winner with a right-foot volley from 30 yards in a league game against Fiorentina in Rome – visibly upset having done so he refused to celebrate with his Roma teammates. Before the match he ran over to the 3,000 Fiorentina fans and saluted them, and did the same at full time, receiving adoration in return, before he left the stadium in tears. Sean Ingle, match reporter for The Guardian, wrote, “Batistuta breaks Florentine hearts, and his own.” The following season with Roma, he changed his shirt number from 18 to 20 in reference to the number of goals he had scored during the Scudetto winning campaign. He also wore his age on the back of his Roma shirt in 2002, number 33. Loan to Inter Milan Now aged 34, Batistuta failed to find form with Roma and was loaned out to Inter Milan, scoring two goals in twelve matches, although he did provide assists for Christian Vieri. Batistuta sought a move to England to play with Fulham, but the deal never transpired. Al-Arabi He departed Italy for Qatar in 2003, joining Al-Arabi on a free transfer in a deal worth $8 million. Batistuta ended the season by netting 25 goals, thus surpassing the record for most goals scored, which was previously held by Qatari legend Mansour Muftah. Batistuta announced his retirement in 2005. International career In 1991, Batistuta was selected to play for Argentina in the Copa América held in Chile, where he finished the tournament as top scorer with six goals as Argentina romped to victory. The following year, he won the FIFA Confederations Cup with Argentina, finishing as the tournament's top-scorer. In 1993, Batistuta played in his second Copa América, this time held in Ecuador, which Argentina won with Batistuta scoring both goals in a 2–1 win over Mexico in the final. The 1994 World Cup, held in the United States, was a disappointment. After a promising start Argentina were beaten by Romania in the last 16. The morale of the team was seriously affected by Diego Maradona's doping suspension. Despite the disappointing Argentine exit, Batistuta scored four goals in as many games, including a hat-trick in their opening game against Greece. During the qualification matches for the 1998 World Cup (with former River Plate manager Daniel Passarella) Batistuta was left out of the majority of the games after falling out with the coach over team rules. The two eventually put the dispute aside and Batistuta was recalled for the tournament. In the game against Jamaica, he recorded the second hat-trick of his World Cup career, becoming the fourth player to achieve this (the others were Sándor Kocsis, Just Fontaine, and Gerd Müller) and the first to score a hat-trick in two World Cups. Argentina were knocked out of the World Cup by the Netherlands courtesy of a last-minute Dennis Bergkamp winner after the two sides had been locked at 1–1 for more than 70 minutes. After a good series of performances by Argentina in the qualification matches for the 2002 World Cup, hopes were high that the South Americans – now managed by Marcelo Bielsa – could win the trophy, and Batistuta announced that he planned to quit the national team at the end of the tournament, which Argentina aimed to win. But Argentina's "group of death" saw the team fall at the first hurdle, only managing a victory against Nigeria (Batistuta scored the match's only goal). They later fell to England 1–0 and managed a mere 1–1 tie against Sweden. This meant that the team was knocked out in the opening round for the first time since 1962. With 54 goals from 77 games, Batistuta was the record goalscorer for Argentina, a record he held until it was surpassed by Lionel Messi in 2016. Batistuta admitted he was a little annoyed at losing the record, stating, “You go around the world and people say, 'he's the top scorer for the Argentina national team’, before he then added, “But the advantage I have is that I'm second to an extraterrestrial." Style of play A quick, hard-working, and powerful player, with an eye for goal and a good all-round game, Batistuta is considered one of the most complete, feared and prolific striker of his generation. As a striker, he was primarily known for his technique, offensive movement off the ball, strength in the air, and powerful, clinical finishing ability with both feet from anywhere on the pitch, despite being naturally right-footed. Batistuta also possessed an excellent positional sense, as well as an ability to anticipate defenders in the area, score acrobatic goals from volleys or bicycle kicks, and strike the ball first time from tight angles while on the run. He was also highly regarded due to his accurate heading and powerful free-kick taking abilities; although he was a competent penalty taker, his conversion rate from the spot throughout his career was less reliable. In addition to his skill and goalscoring abilities, Batistuta frequently stood out on the pitch throughout his career due to his leadership and fair-play. Diego Maradona stated that Batistuta is the best striker he has ever seen play the game. Batistuta’s goal celebration – both arms upturned with his fists clenched – features in his statue placed next to those of Maradona and Messi in an emblematic square in the Recoleta district of Buenos Aires. Batistuta also often celebrated a goal by pretending he was firing a machine gun. Batistuta suffered several injuries throughout his career, which often limited his playing time and fitness, in particular in his later career, which would eventually force him to retire. Filmography Career statistics Club International Honours River Plate Argentine Primera División: 1989–90 Boca Juniors Torneo Clausura: 1991 Fiorentina Serie B: 1993–94 Coppa Italia: 1995–96 Supercoppa Italiana: 1996 Roma Serie A: 2000–01 Supercoppa Italiana: 2001 Argentina Copa América: 1991, 1993 Kirin Cup: 1992 FIFA Confederations Cup: 1992 CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions: 1993 Individual Copa América Golden Boot: 1991, 1995 FIFA Confederations Cup top scorer: 1992 Serie A top scorer: 1994–95 Coppa Italia Top Scorer: 1995–96 FIFA XI: 1997, 1998 FIFA World Cup Silver Shoe: 1998 Argentine Player of the Year: 1998 ESM Team of the Year: 1998–1999 Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year: 1999 FIFA World Player of the Year: Bronze Award 1999 Ballon d'Or: 1998 (6th place), 1999 (4th place), 2000 (7th place) FIFA 100 Qatari League top Scorer: 2003–04 Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2013 ACF Fiorentina Hall of Fame: 2014 A.S. Roma Hall of Fame: 2015 AFA Team of All Time (published 2015) Fiorentina All-time XI Fiorentina All-time top scorer in Serie A See also List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals Notes References Further reading External links International statistics at rsssf Midfield Dynamo's 10 Heroes of the Copa América Batistuta listed in the top 10 Gabriel Batistuta – Photo profile Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:People from Reconquista, Santa Fe Category:Footballers from Santa Fe Province Category:Argentine people of Basque descent Category:Argentine sportspeople of Italian descent Category:Argentine Roman Catholics Category:Argentine footballers Category:Men's association football forwards Category:Newell's Old Boys footballers Category:Boca Juniors footballers Category:Club Atlético River Plate footballers Category:ACF Fiorentina players Category:A.S. Roma players Category:Inter Milan players Category:Al-Arabi SC (Qatar) players Category:Argentine Primera División players Category:Serie A players Category:Serie B players Category:Qatar Stars League players Category:Argentina men's international footballers Category:1991 Copa América players Category:1992 King Fahd Cup players Category:1993 Copa América players Category:1994 FIFA World Cup players Category:1995 King Fahd Cup players Category:1995 Copa América players Category:1998 FIFA World Cup players Category:2002 FIFA World Cup players Category:Copa América-winning players Category:FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players Category:FIFA 100 Category:Argentine expatriate footballers Category:Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Category:Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Category:Expatriate footballers in Italy Category:Expatriate footballers in Qatar Category:Argentine male actors

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Gabriel Batistuta

Gabriel Omar Batistuta (Spanish pronunciation: [ga'brjel o'mar batis'tuta]; born 1 February 1969), nicknamed Batigol [bati'gol] as well as El Angel Gabriel [el ,aNGxel ga'brjel] (Spanish for Angel Gabriel), is a retired Argentine professional footballer. After beginning his career in Argentina in 1988, where he won titles playing for Newell's Old Boys, River Plate, and subsequently Boca Juniors, the prolific striker played most of his club football with Fiorentina in Italy; he is the twelfth-highest scorer of all-time in the Italian Serie A, with 184 goals in 318 matches. When his club Fiorentina was relegated to Serie B in 1993, Batistuta stayed with the club and helped it return to the top-flight league a year later.

Fiorentina

While playing for Argentina in the 1991 Copa America, the vice-president of Fiorentina was impressed by Batistuta's skills and signed him. He had a fine start in Serie A, scoring 13 goals in his debut season. However, the following season, in 1992-93, Fiorentina lost in the relegation battle and were demoted to Serie B, despite Batistuta's 16 league goals. The club returned to Serie A after one season in Serie B, with the contribution of 16 goals from Batistuta and the management of Claudio Ranieri, as Fiorentina captured the 1993-94 Serie B title. At Fiorentina, Batistuta found his best form. He was the top scorer of the 1994-95 Serie A season with 26 goals, and he broke Ezio Pascutti's 30-year-old record by scoring in all of the first 11 matches of the season. In the 1995-96 season, Batistuta, alongside Manuel Rui Costa and Francesco Baiano, helped the club to go on a 15-match unbeaten run, as they eventually ended the season with a fourth-place league finish. Fiorentina also won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana over Milan; in the two-legged Coppa Italia final against Atalanta, Batistuta scored a goal in each fixture as Fiorentina won 3-0 on aggregate. The next season was less successful, as Fiorentina finished in a disappointing ninth place in the league, although the team managed to reach the semi-finals of the 1996-97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, losing out to eventual champions Barcelona, despite scoring a goal in a 1-1 away draw in the first leg. After his failure to win the Italian championship with Fiorentina, Batistuta started considering a transfer to a bigger team. In an effort to keep Batistuta, Fiorentina hired Giovanni Trapattoni as coach and promised to do everything to win the Scudetto. After an excellent start to the season, Batistuta suffered an injury that kept him out of action for more than a month. Losing momentum, Fiorentina lost the lead and finished the season in third place, although the result enabled them to participate in the Champions League the following season. CANNOTANSWER

Gabriel Omar Batistuta (; born 1 February 1969) is an Argentine former professional footballer. During his playing career, Batistuta was nicknamed Batigol () as well as El Ángel Gabriel (; Spanish for Angel Gabriel). Regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time, noted in particular for powerful strikes from volleys or from distance while on the run, in 1999, Batistuta placed third for the FIFA World Player of the Year award. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. After beginning his career in Argentina in 1988 with Newell's Old Boys, followed by River Plate and Boca Juniors where he won titles, the prolific striker played most of his club football with Serie A club Fiorentina in Italy; he is their all-time top scorer in Serie A with 151 goals. When Fiorentina was relegated to Serie B in 1993, Batistuta stayed with the club and helped them return to the top-flight league a year later. He became an icon in Florence; the Fiorentina fans erected a life-size bronze statue of him in 1996, in recognition of his performances for the club. Despite winning the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana with the club in 1996, he never won the Serie A title with Fiorentina, but when he moved to Roma in 2000 for €36 million – the highest fee ever paid for a player over the age of 30 until Cristiano Ronaldo moved from Real Madrid to Juventus in 2018 – he won the 2000–01 Serie A title. After a brief loan spell with Inter Milan in 2003, he played his last two seasons in Qatar with Al-Arabi before he retired in 2005. At international level, Batistuta was Argentina's all-time leading goalscorer with 56 goals in 78 official matches, a record he held until 21 June 2016, when he was surpassed by Lionel Messi. He participated in three FIFA World Cups, scoring 10 goals, making him Argentina's second top scorer in the competition after Messi, and the joint tenth-highest World Cup goalscorer of all time. Batistuta is the only player in football history to score two hat-tricks in different World Cups. With the Argentina national team he won two consecutive Copa América titles (1991 and 1993), the 1993 CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, and the 1992 FIFA Confederations Cup. Early and personal life Batistuta was born on 1 February 1969 to slaughterhouse worker Omar Batistuta and school secretary Gloria Zilli, in the town of Avellaneda, , but grew up in the nearby city of Reconquista. He has three older sisters, Elisa, Alejandra, and Gabriela. Batistuta is a Roman Catholic. At the age of 16, he met Irina Fernández, his future wife, at her quinceañera, a rite of passage on her 15th birthday. On 28 December 1990, they were married at Saint Roque Church. The couple moved to Florence, Italy, in 1991, and a year later their first son, Thiago, was born. Thanks to good performances in the Italian championship and with the Argentina national team, Batistuta gained fame and respect. He filmed several commercials and was invited onto numerous TV shows, but in spite of this, Batistuta always remained a low-profile family man. In 1997, Batistuta's second son, Lucas, was born, and a third son, Joaquín, followed in 1999. He now has a fourth son Shamel. In 2000, Batistuta and his family moved to Rome, where he played for Roma. Two years after Shamel was born, Batistuta was loaned to Inter. In 2003, after 12 years in Italy, the family moved to Qatar where Batistuta had accepted a lucrative celebrity playing contract with a local team, Al-Arabi, ending his career there in 2005. He moved back to Argentina in 2007. Despite having completed his coaching badges in Argentina, he currently has no involvement with football, instead (primarily as he has difficulty walking) he prefers to play polo and golf, he was quoted saying 'I don't like football, it's only my job'. In later interviews with FIFA he expanded, “I lived and breathed football”, adding, “when I was playing football I never enjoyed it that much, I was never happy ... if I scored two goals, I wanted a third, I always wanted more. Now it's all over I can look back with satisfaction, but I never felt that way when I was playing.” In 2006 he expressed an interest in coaching Australia's national team and Argentina's team. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup he worked as a commentator for Televisa Deportes. Batistuta currently runs his own construction company in Argentina. He also worked as technical secretary in the professional football club Colón, joining the club's staff in January 2012, and leaving at the end of the 2012–13 season. Speaking in a television interview in Argentina in 2014, Batistuta said the pain suffered in his ankles after retiring in 2005 became so intense that he "urinated in bed with the toilet only a few steps away. I couldn't move." He visited a doctor he knew asking his legs be amputated, but the doctor turned down his request. Although he later underwent surgery to relieve the pressure on his cartilage and tendons, and his condition improved slightly, in a 2017 interview he stated that he still had difficulty walking and faced mobility issues as a result of the stresses and injuries he faced throughout his football career due to overexerting himself. He has however still been able to take part in charity football games, and in 2014 he scored twice – one a trademark finish with a powerful 35 yard strike into the roof of the net – in a game in Italy. Batistuta currently lives in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. Club career Early career As a child, Batistuta preferred other sports to football. Because of his height he played basketball, but after Argentina's victory in the 1978 FIFA World Cup, in which he was particularly impressed by the skills of Mario Kempes, he devoted himself to football. After playing with friends on the streets and in the small Grupo Alegria club, Batistuta joined the local Platense junior team. While with Platense he was selected for the Reconquista team that won the provincial championship following victory over Newell's Old Boys. Batistuta's two goals drew the attention of the opposition team’s coach Marcelo Bielsa, and he signed a professional contract with Newell’s in 1988. Newell's Old Boys At Newell's Old Boys under Bielsa, who would later become Batistuta's national coach with the Argentina national team, things did not come easily for him during his first year with the club. He was away from home, his family, and his girlfriend Irina, sleeping in a room at the stadium, and had a weight problem that slowed his progress. At the end of that year, Batistuta was loaned to a smaller team, Deportivo Italiano, with whom he participated in the Carnevale Cup in Italy, ending as top scorer with three goals. Under the guidance of Bielsa, whom Batistuta described in his autobiography as the most important coach he has ever had, and “the one who taught me how to train on rainy days, he taught me everything”, he was physically transformed, fed encouragement, and was set on the path into the player he was to become. River Plate In mid-1989, Batistuta made the leap to one of Argentina's biggest clubs, River Plate, where he scored 17 goals and River Plate won Argentine Primera División 1990. However, he was drawn out of the team by the new manager Daniel Passarella in the mid-season, apparently with no specific reason. According to Batistuta, they never had a dispute. Passarella declared at that time "when Batistuta finds a team that be able to play to him he will be lethal" and highlighted his professionalism. Boca Juniors In 1990, Batistuta joined River Plate's arch rivals, Boca Juniors. He initially found it hard to find his best form, in part not playing in his position. However, at the beginning of 1991, Óscar Tabárez became Boca Juniors' new manager and he gave Batistuta the support and put him into his best place in the field, the centre of attack, rather than as an outside forward. Batistuta finished the season as the league's top scorer as Boca Juniors won the championship. Fiorentina While playing for Argentina in the 1991 Copa América, the vice-president of Fiorentina was impressed by Batistuta's skills and signed him. He had a fine start in Serie A, scoring 13 goals in his debut season. However, the following season, in 1992–93, Fiorentina lost in the relegation battle and were demoted to Serie B, despite Batistuta's 16 league goals. The club returned to Serie A after one season in Serie B, with the contribution of 16 goals from Batistuta and the management of Claudio Ranieri, as Fiorentina captured the 1993–94 Serie B title. At Fiorentina, Batistuta found his best form. He was the top scorer of the 1994–95 Serie A season with 26 goals, and he broke Ezio Pascutti's 32-year-old record by scoring in all of the first 11 matches of the season. In the 1995–96 season, Batistuta, alongside Rui Costa and Francesco Baiano, helped the club to go on a 15-match unbeaten run, as they eventually ended the season with a fourth-place league finish. Fiorentina also won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana over A.C. Milan; in the two-legged Coppa Italia final against Atalanta, Batistuta scored a goal in each fixture as Fiorentina won 3–0 on aggregate. The next season was less successful, as Fiorentina finished in a disappointing ninth place in the league, although the team managed to reach the semi-finals of the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, losing out to eventual champions Barcelona, despite scoring a goal in a 1–1 away draw in the first leg. Scoring over 20 league goals in each of the next three seasons – made all the more impressive given Serie A was the strongest league in the world and the hardest to score in with the best defences – as well as spectacular powerful strikes against Arsenal and Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League, Batistuta came third for FIFA World Player of the Year in 1999. Batistuta and Ronaldo were the two best strikers in Serie A, with their duels the most anticipated in Italy. After his failure to win the Italian championship with Fiorentina, Batistuta started considering a transfer to a bigger team. In an effort to keep Batistuta, Fiorentina hired Giovanni Trapattoni as coach and promised to do everything to win the Scudetto. After an excellent start to the season, Batistuta suffered an injury that kept him out of action for more than a month. Losing momentum, Fiorentina lost the lead and finished the season in third place, although the result enabled them to participate in the Champions League the following season. In addition to the fans erecting a life-size bronze statue of him in Florence, Batistuta was inducted into the club’s hall of fame in 2014. An emotional Batistuta told the audience at the ceremony: “From the moment I arrived at Fiorentina I wanted a place in the history of the club – and now I can say I have succeeded.” Roma Batistuta stayed at Fiorentina for the 1999–2000 season, tempted by the chance of winning both the Scudetto and the Champions League. After a promising start in both competitions, the team only reached seventh in the league and were eliminated in the second round group phase of the European tournament. The following season, he was transferred to Roma in a deal worth 70 billion lire (€36.2 million) and signed a three-year contract, which earned 14.8 billion Italian lire (€7.6 million) per year before tax. The fee paid for Batistuta became the highest fee ever paid for a player over the age of 30. The record was broken in 2017 when Leonardo Bonucci was signed by A.C. Milan on a five-year contract for a €42 million fee. During the 2000–01 season, Batistuta finally garnered a Serie A winners' medal, scoring 20 league goals, as Roma clinched the Scudetto for the first time since 1983, including a goal in the 3–1 title-deciding victory over Parma on 17 June 2001 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. On 26 November 2000 Batistuta scored an 83rd-minute winner with a right-foot volley from 30 yards in a league game against Fiorentina in Rome – visibly upset having done so he refused to celebrate with his Roma teammates. Before the match he ran over to the 3,000 Fiorentina fans and saluted them, and did the same at full time, receiving adoration in return, before he left the stadium in tears. Sean Ingle, match reporter for The Guardian, wrote, “Batistuta breaks Florentine hearts, and his own.” The following season with Roma, he changed his shirt number from 18 to 20 in reference to the number of goals he had scored during the Scudetto winning campaign. He also wore his age on the back of his Roma shirt in 2002, number 33. Loan to Inter Milan Now aged 34, Batistuta failed to find form with Roma and was loaned out to Inter Milan, scoring two goals in twelve matches, although he did provide assists for Christian Vieri. Batistuta sought a move to England to play with Fulham, but the deal never transpired. Al-Arabi He departed Italy for Qatar in 2003, joining Al-Arabi on a free transfer in a deal worth $8 million. Batistuta ended the season by netting 25 goals, thus surpassing the record for most goals scored, which was previously held by Qatari legend Mansour Muftah. Batistuta announced his retirement in 2005. International career In 1991, Batistuta was selected to play for Argentina in the Copa América held in Chile, where he finished the tournament as top scorer with six goals as Argentina romped to victory. The following year, he won the FIFA Confederations Cup with Argentina, finishing as the tournament's top-scorer. In 1993, Batistuta played in his second Copa América, this time held in Ecuador, which Argentina won with Batistuta scoring both goals in a 2–1 win over Mexico in the final. The 1994 World Cup, held in the United States, was a disappointment. After a promising start Argentina were beaten by Romania in the last 16. The morale of the team was seriously affected by Diego Maradona's doping suspension. Despite the disappointing Argentine exit, Batistuta scored four goals in as many games, including a hat-trick in their opening game against Greece. During the qualification matches for the 1998 World Cup (with former River Plate manager Daniel Passarella) Batistuta was left out of the majority of the games after falling out with the coach over team rules. The two eventually put the dispute aside and Batistuta was recalled for the tournament. In the game against Jamaica, he recorded the second hat-trick of his World Cup career, becoming the fourth player to achieve this (the others were Sándor Kocsis, Just Fontaine, and Gerd Müller) and the first to score a hat-trick in two World Cups. Argentina were knocked out of the World Cup by the Netherlands courtesy of a last-minute Dennis Bergkamp winner after the two sides had been locked at 1–1 for more than 70 minutes. After a good series of performances by Argentina in the qualification matches for the 2002 World Cup, hopes were high that the South Americans – now managed by Marcelo Bielsa – could win the trophy, and Batistuta announced that he planned to quit the national team at the end of the tournament, which Argentina aimed to win. But Argentina's "group of death" saw the team fall at the first hurdle, only managing a victory against Nigeria (Batistuta scored the match's only goal). They later fell to England 1–0 and managed a mere 1–1 tie against Sweden. This meant that the team was knocked out in the opening round for the first time since 1962. With 54 goals from 77 games, Batistuta was the record goalscorer for Argentina, a record he held until it was surpassed by Lionel Messi in 2016. Batistuta admitted he was a little annoyed at losing the record, stating, “You go around the world and people say, 'he's the top scorer for the Argentina national team’, before he then added, “But the advantage I have is that I'm second to an extraterrestrial." Style of play A quick, hard-working, and powerful player, with an eye for goal and a good all-round game, Batistuta is considered one of the most complete, feared and prolific striker of his generation. As a striker, he was primarily known for his technique, offensive movement off the ball, strength in the air, and powerful, clinical finishing ability with both feet from anywhere on the pitch, despite being naturally right-footed. Batistuta also possessed an excellent positional sense, as well as an ability to anticipate defenders in the area, score acrobatic goals from volleys or bicycle kicks, and strike the ball first time from tight angles while on the run. He was also highly regarded due to his accurate heading and powerful free-kick taking abilities; although he was a competent penalty taker, his conversion rate from the spot throughout his career was less reliable. In addition to his skill and goalscoring abilities, Batistuta frequently stood out on the pitch throughout his career due to his leadership and fair-play. Diego Maradona stated that Batistuta is the best striker he has ever seen play the game. Batistuta’s goal celebration – both arms upturned with his fists clenched – features in his statue placed next to those of Maradona and Messi in an emblematic square in the Recoleta district of Buenos Aires. Batistuta also often celebrated a goal by pretending he was firing a machine gun. Batistuta suffered several injuries throughout his career, which often limited his playing time and fitness, in particular in his later career, which would eventually force him to retire. Filmography Career statistics Club International Honours River Plate Argentine Primera División: 1989–90 Boca Juniors Torneo Clausura: 1991 Fiorentina Serie B: 1993–94 Coppa Italia: 1995–96 Supercoppa Italiana: 1996 Roma Serie A: 2000–01 Supercoppa Italiana: 2001 Argentina Copa América: 1991, 1993 Kirin Cup: 1992 FIFA Confederations Cup: 1992 CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions: 1993 Individual Copa América Golden Boot: 1991, 1995 FIFA Confederations Cup top scorer: 1992 Serie A top scorer: 1994–95 Coppa Italia Top Scorer: 1995–96 FIFA XI: 1997, 1998 FIFA World Cup Silver Shoe: 1998 Argentine Player of the Year: 1998 ESM Team of the Year: 1998–1999 Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year: 1999 FIFA World Player of the Year: Bronze Award 1999 Ballon d'Or: 1998 (6th place), 1999 (4th place), 2000 (7th place) FIFA 100 Qatari League top Scorer: 2003–04 Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2013 ACF Fiorentina Hall of Fame: 2014 A.S. Roma Hall of Fame: 2015 AFA Team of All Time (published 2015) Fiorentina All-time XI Fiorentina All-time top scorer in Serie A See also List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals Notes References Further reading External links International statistics at rsssf Midfield Dynamo's 10 Heroes of the Copa América Batistuta listed in the top 10 Gabriel Batistuta – Photo profile Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:People from Reconquista, Santa Fe Category:Footballers from Santa Fe Province Category:Argentine people of Basque descent Category:Argentine sportspeople of Italian descent Category:Argentine Roman Catholics Category:Argentine footballers Category:Men's association football forwards Category:Newell's Old Boys footballers Category:Boca Juniors footballers Category:Club Atlético River Plate footballers Category:ACF Fiorentina players Category:A.S. Roma players Category:Inter Milan players Category:Al-Arabi SC (Qatar) players Category:Argentine Primera División players Category:Serie A players Category:Serie B players Category:Qatar Stars League players Category:Argentina men's international footballers Category:1991 Copa América players Category:1992 King Fahd Cup players Category:1993 Copa América players Category:1994 FIFA World Cup players Category:1995 King Fahd Cup players Category:1995 Copa América players Category:1998 FIFA World Cup players Category:2002 FIFA World Cup players Category:Copa América-winning players Category:FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players Category:FIFA 100 Category:Argentine expatriate footballers Category:Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Category:Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Category:Expatriate footballers in Italy Category:Expatriate footballers in Qatar Category:Argentine male actors

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Greg Gutfeld

Gutfeld was born in San Mateo, California, the son of Jacqueline Bernice "Jackie" (nee Cauhape) and Alfred Jack Gutfeld. His father was of German Jewish-Catholic and Irish descent, while his mother was of Irish, French, and Mexican ancestry. He attended Junipero Serra High School and the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1987 with a B.A. in English.

Apology to Canadians

In a five-minute segment broadcast on Tuesday, March 17, 2009, Gutfeld and his panel discussed Canadian Lieutenant General Andrew Leslie's statement that the Canadian Armed Forces may require a one-year "synchronized break" once Canada's mission in Afghanistan ends in 2011. "Meaning, the Canadian military wants to take a breather to do some yoga, paint landscapes, run on the beach in gorgeous white Capri pants," Gutfeld said. "I didn't even know they were in the war", comedian panelist Doug Benson added, then continued, "I thought that's where you go if you don't want to fight. Go chill in Canada." Gutfeld also said: "Isn't this the perfect time to invade this ridiculous country? They have no army!" The segment drew wide attention and outrage in Canada after being posted on YouTube following the reported deaths of four Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan three days earlier. Canada, at the time, had been in command of the NATO mission in the Kandahar Province, the birthplace and former capital of the Taliban, for the preceding three years. Along with the Helmand Province, the two provinces were "home to some of the fiercest opposition to coalition forces" and reported to "have the highest casualty rates per province." Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay called on Fox to apologize for the satirical comments, describing the remarks as "despicable, hurtful and ignorant." Gutfeld in response maintained the show is satirical and irreverent but offered the following apology: "The March 17 episode of Red Eye included a segment discussing Canada's plan for a 'synchronized break,' which was in no way an attempt to make light of troop efforts. However, I realize that my words may have been misunderstood. It was not my intent to disrespect the brave men, women and families of the Canadian military, and for that I apologize." CANNOTANSWER

Gregory John Gutfeld (born September 12, 1964) is an American television host, libertarian political commentator, comedian, and author. He is the host of the late-night comedy talk show Gutfeld!, and hosted a Saturday night edition of Gutfeld! called The Greg Gutfeld Show from May 2015 until March 2021, when it was announced the show would transition to weeknights. Gutfeld is also one of five co-hosts and panelists on the political talk show The Five. Both of his shows air on the Fox News Channel. From 2007 to 2015, Gutfeld hosted the 3AM series Red Eye, a late-night talk show that also aired on the Fox News Channel. Early life and education Gutfeld was born in San Mateo, California, the son of Jacqueline Bernice "Jackie" (née Cauhape) and Alfred Jack Gutfeld. Raised Catholic, he attended the all-boys Roman Catholic Junípero Serra High School and the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in English. In a 2009 interview, Gutfeld explained that he started to experience a change in his political thinking while he was attending college: Career After college, Gutfeld interned at The American Spectator, as an assistant to conservative writer R. Emmett Tyrrell. He then worked as a staff writer at Prevention magazine and as an editor for various Rodale Press magazines. In 1995, he became a staff writer at Men's Health. He was promoted to editor-in-chief of Men's Health in 1999. A year later, he was replaced by David Zinczenko. Gutfeld then became editor-in-chief of Stuff, then owned by Dennis Publishing. During his tenure, circulation increased from 750,000 to 1.2 million. In 2003, Gutfeld hired several dwarfs to attend a conference of the Magazine Publishers of America on the topic of "buzz", with instructions to be as loud and annoying as possible. The stunt generated publicity but led to Gutfeld being fired soon afterward; he then became head of "brain development" at Dennis Publishing. He edited the company's Maxim magazine in the U.K. from 2004 to 2006. Gutfeld's contract expired without renewal after losses in readership under his tenure. Gutfeld was one of the first posting contributors to The Huffington Post, from its launch in 2005 until October 2008. Frequent targets of his commentaries included Huffington Post colleagues Deepak Chopra, Cenk Uygur, and Arianna Huffington. Beginning on February 5, 2007, Gutfeld served as host of the late-night talk show Red Eye on the Fox News Channel. The hour-long show initially aired at 2:00 A.M. ET Monday through Saturday mornings and at 11:00 P.M. on Saturday evenings. However, beginning in October 2007, the show began airing at 3:00 A.M. Monday through Saturday mornings while retaining its 11:00 P.M timeslot on Saturday evenings. From 2007 to 2013, Bill Schulz served as Gutfeld's sidekick, and Andy Levy served as the show's ombudsman. Schulz had been Gutfeld's colleague at Stuff magazine, and Levy was a fellow blogger at The Huffington Post. On July 11, 2011, Gutfeld became a co-host and panelist on the Fox News political talk show The Five, which airs weekdays at 5:00 P.M. ET. Gutfeld left Red Eye in February 2015, with Tom Shillue succeeding him as host of the program. On May 31, 2015, Gutfeld began hosting a new weekly late-night talk show on Fox News called The Greg Gutfeld Show; which aired at 10:00 P.M. ET on Saturdays. In February 2021, it was announced that, beginning in the second quarter, the show would move to weeknights at 11:00 P.M. ET. On March 10, 2021, it was announced that the new weeknight show would be called Gutfeld! and premiere on April 5. In August 2021, Gutfeld! overtook The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in the nightly ratings, becoming the highest-rated late-night talk show in the United States. It averaged 2.12 million nightly viewers, more than The Late Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!. By the end of 2021, the combined viewership for Gutfeld! and The Five averaged over five million viewers. Gutfeld has appeared as a guest on Coffee with Scott Adams and The Adam Carolla Show. Recognition In late 2021, Gutfeld was named the 12th-most influential person in American media by the Mediaite website. Controversies Apology to Canadians During a Red Eye segment that aired on March 17, 2009, Gutfeld and his panel discussed Canadian Lieutenant General Andrew Leslie's statement that the Canadian Armed Forces may require a one-year "synchronized break" once Canada's mission in Afghanistan ended in 2011: "Meaning, the Canadian military wants to take a breather to do some yoga, paint landscapes, run on the beach in gorgeous white Capri pants." The comedian panelist Doug Benson added: "I didn't even know they were in the war.... I thought that's where you go if you don't want to fight. Go chill in Canada." Gutfeld also said: "Isn't this the perfect time to invade this ridiculous country? They have no army!" The segment was posted to YouTube three days after the reported deaths of four Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, prompting widespread outrage. Canada had then been in command of the NATO mission in Kandahar Province, the birthplace and former capital of the Taliban, for three years. Along with Helmand Province, it was "home to some of the fiercest opposition to coalition forces" and reported to "have the highest casualty rates per province." Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay called on Fox to apologize for the satirical comments and described the remarks as "despicable, hurtful and ignorant." Gutfeld, while maintaining that the show is satirical and irreverent, offered the following apology: "The March 17 episode of Red Eye included a segment discussing Canada's plan for a 'synchronized break,' which was in no way an attempt to make light of troop efforts. However, I realize that my words may have been misunderstood. It was not my intent to disrespect the brave men, women, and families of the Canadian military, and for that, I apologize." Russia's invasion of Ukraine After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Gutfeld said that the media were emotionally manipulating viewers with footage from the conflict "...because that makes a profit for news companies." Gutfeld was rebuked by Fox News foreign affairs correspondent Benjamin Hall who was on the ground in Kyiv: "This is not the media trying to drum up some emotional response. This is absolutely what’s happening." A few days later, Hall was seriously injured, while Pierre Zakrzewski (who also works for Fox) and a Ukrainian journalist were killed, in a surprise attack on the journalists by Russian forces. Gutfeld's mother-in-law, the mother of Elena Gutfeld, was also evacuated from Ukraine due to the efforts of Fox News colleagues Steve Brannigan and Lucas Tomlinson. Personal life Gutfeld thought he voted by mail in the 2016 presidential election, but The Washington Post could find no evidence in voting records. Gutfeld thinks it was possible that he missed the official deadline. , Gutfeld resides in New York City with his Russian wife, Elena Moussa. He met the photo editor in London, where he lived for three years. Gutfeld was raised Roman Catholic and served as an altar boy. He describes himself as an "agnostic atheist". A fan of hard rock and heavy metal music, Gutfeld has spoken on-air about being a fan of many bands, including Power Trip. Gutfeld paid tribute to Power Trip's singer Riley Gale after his death in 2020. Members of the heavy band GWAR have appeared several times on his show. Gutfeld is also a self-described libertarian. Books See also New Yorkers in journalism References Sources External links Official website Gutfeld! at Fox News Channel Greg Gutfeld archives at The Huffington Post Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld at Fox News Channel The Daily Gut (blog site) Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century American comedians Category:20th-century American journalists Category:20th-century American male writers Category:21st-century American comedians Category:21st-century American journalists Category:21st-century American male writers Category:American agnostics Category:American atheists Category:American bloggers Category:American humorists Category:American libertarians Category:American magazine editors Category:American male bloggers Category:American male comedians Category:American male journalists Category:American male writers Category:American political commentators Category:American political writers Category:American television journalists Category:Former Roman Catholics Category:Fox News people Category:HuffPost writers and columnists Category:Junípero Serra High School (San Mateo, California) alumni Category:Men's Health (magazine) Category:People from San Mateo, California Category:The American Spectator people Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni Category:Writers from California Category:Writers from New York City

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Greg Gutfeld

Gutfeld was born in San Mateo, California, the son of Jacqueline Bernice "Jackie" (nee Cauhape) and Alfred Jack Gutfeld. His father was of German Jewish-Catholic and Irish descent, while his mother was of Irish, French, and Mexican ancestry. He attended Junipero Serra High School and the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1987 with a B.A. in English.

Career

After college he had an internship at The American Spectator, as an assistant to conservative writer R. Emmett Tyrrell. He then worked as a staff writer at Prevention magazine and in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, as an editor at various Rodale Press magazines. In 1995 he became a staff writer at Men's Health. He was promoted to editor in chief of Men's Health in 1999. A year later, he was replaced by David Zinczenko. Gutfeld then became editor in chief of Stuff, increasing circulation from 750,000 to 1.2 million during his tenure. In 2003 he hired several dwarfs to attend a conference of the "Magazine Publishers of America" on the topic of "buzz", with instructions to be as loud and annoying as possible. The stunt generated publicity but led to Gutfeld's being fired soon afterward; he was then made head of "brain development" at Dennis Publishing. He edited Maxim magazine in the UK from 2004 to 2006. Gutfeld's contract expired without renewal after losses in readership under his tenure. Gutfeld was one of the first posting contributors to The Huffington Post from its launch in 2005 until October 2008; frequent targets of his sarcasm included his colleagues Deepak Chopra, Cenk Uygur, Arianna Huffington, and Huffington Post bloggers. Many of his Huffington Post commentaries/blogs are available on its website. Gutfeld has his own blog site, The Daily Gut. Beginning on February 5, 2007, Gutfeld hosted the hour-long Fox News Channel late-night program, Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld. From 2007 to 2013, Bill Schulz served as Gutfeld's "sidekick" and Andy Levy as the show's ombudsman. Schulz was Gutfeld's colleague at Stuff magazine and Levy was a fellow blogger at The Huffington Post. On July 11, 2011, Gutfeld became a co-host/panelist on the Fox News political opinion discussion program The Five. The program airs weekdays at 5 p.m. ET. Gutfeld left Red Eye in February 2015, to host a new weekend show on Fox News. He was replaced on Red Eye by Tom Shillue. In May 2015, it was announced that Gutfeld would be getting his own late-night show called The Greg Gutfeld Show, which debuted on May 31, at 10 p.m. ET. CANNOTANSWER

Gregory John Gutfeld (born September 12, 1964) is an American television host, libertarian political commentator, comedian, and author. He is the host of the late-night comedy talk show Gutfeld!, and hosted a Saturday night edition of Gutfeld! called The Greg Gutfeld Show from May 2015 until March 2021, when it was announced the show would transition to weeknights. Gutfeld is also one of five co-hosts and panelists on the political talk show The Five. Both of his shows air on the Fox News Channel. From 2007 to 2015, Gutfeld hosted the 3AM series Red Eye, a late-night talk show that also aired on the Fox News Channel. Early life and education Gutfeld was born in San Mateo, California, the son of Jacqueline Bernice "Jackie" (née Cauhape) and Alfred Jack Gutfeld. Raised Catholic, he attended the all-boys Roman Catholic Junípero Serra High School and the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in English. In a 2009 interview, Gutfeld explained that he started to experience a change in his political thinking while he was attending college: Career After college, Gutfeld interned at The American Spectator, as an assistant to conservative writer R. Emmett Tyrrell. He then worked as a staff writer at Prevention magazine and as an editor for various Rodale Press magazines. In 1995, he became a staff writer at Men's Health. He was promoted to editor-in-chief of Men's Health in 1999. A year later, he was replaced by David Zinczenko. Gutfeld then became editor-in-chief of Stuff, then owned by Dennis Publishing. During his tenure, circulation increased from 750,000 to 1.2 million. In 2003, Gutfeld hired several dwarfs to attend a conference of the Magazine Publishers of America on the topic of "buzz", with instructions to be as loud and annoying as possible. The stunt generated publicity but led to Gutfeld being fired soon afterward; he then became head of "brain development" at Dennis Publishing. He edited the company's Maxim magazine in the U.K. from 2004 to 2006. Gutfeld's contract expired without renewal after losses in readership under his tenure. Gutfeld was one of the first posting contributors to The Huffington Post, from its launch in 2005 until October 2008. Frequent targets of his commentaries included Huffington Post colleagues Deepak Chopra, Cenk Uygur, and Arianna Huffington. Beginning on February 5, 2007, Gutfeld served as host of the late-night talk show Red Eye on the Fox News Channel. The hour-long show initially aired at 2:00 A.M. ET Monday through Saturday mornings and at 11:00 P.M. on Saturday evenings. However, beginning in October 2007, the show began airing at 3:00 A.M. Monday through Saturday mornings while retaining its 11:00 P.M timeslot on Saturday evenings. From 2007 to 2013, Bill Schulz served as Gutfeld's sidekick, and Andy Levy served as the show's ombudsman. Schulz had been Gutfeld's colleague at Stuff magazine, and Levy was a fellow blogger at The Huffington Post. On July 11, 2011, Gutfeld became a co-host and panelist on the Fox News political talk show The Five, which airs weekdays at 5:00 P.M. ET. Gutfeld left Red Eye in February 2015, with Tom Shillue succeeding him as host of the program. On May 31, 2015, Gutfeld began hosting a new weekly late-night talk show on Fox News called The Greg Gutfeld Show; which aired at 10:00 P.M. ET on Saturdays. In February 2021, it was announced that, beginning in the second quarter, the show would move to weeknights at 11:00 P.M. ET. On March 10, 2021, it was announced that the new weeknight show would be called Gutfeld! and premiere on April 5. In August 2021, Gutfeld! overtook The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in the nightly ratings, becoming the highest-rated late-night talk show in the United States. It averaged 2.12 million nightly viewers, more than The Late Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!. By the end of 2021, the combined viewership for Gutfeld! and The Five averaged over five million viewers. Gutfeld has appeared as a guest on Coffee with Scott Adams and The Adam Carolla Show. Recognition In late 2021, Gutfeld was named the 12th-most influential person in American media by the Mediaite website. Controversies Apology to Canadians During a Red Eye segment that aired on March 17, 2009, Gutfeld and his panel discussed Canadian Lieutenant General Andrew Leslie's statement that the Canadian Armed Forces may require a one-year "synchronized break" once Canada's mission in Afghanistan ended in 2011: "Meaning, the Canadian military wants to take a breather to do some yoga, paint landscapes, run on the beach in gorgeous white Capri pants." The comedian panelist Doug Benson added: "I didn't even know they were in the war.... I thought that's where you go if you don't want to fight. Go chill in Canada." Gutfeld also said: "Isn't this the perfect time to invade this ridiculous country? They have no army!" The segment was posted to YouTube three days after the reported deaths of four Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, prompting widespread outrage. Canada had then been in command of the NATO mission in Kandahar Province, the birthplace and former capital of the Taliban, for three years. Along with Helmand Province, it was "home to some of the fiercest opposition to coalition forces" and reported to "have the highest casualty rates per province." Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay called on Fox to apologize for the satirical comments and described the remarks as "despicable, hurtful and ignorant." Gutfeld, while maintaining that the show is satirical and irreverent, offered the following apology: "The March 17 episode of Red Eye included a segment discussing Canada's plan for a 'synchronized break,' which was in no way an attempt to make light of troop efforts. However, I realize that my words may have been misunderstood. It was not my intent to disrespect the brave men, women, and families of the Canadian military, and for that, I apologize." Russia's invasion of Ukraine After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Gutfeld said that the media were emotionally manipulating viewers with footage from the conflict "...because that makes a profit for news companies." Gutfeld was rebuked by Fox News foreign affairs correspondent Benjamin Hall who was on the ground in Kyiv: "This is not the media trying to drum up some emotional response. This is absolutely what’s happening." A few days later, Hall was seriously injured, while Pierre Zakrzewski (who also works for Fox) and a Ukrainian journalist were killed, in a surprise attack on the journalists by Russian forces. Gutfeld's mother-in-law, the mother of Elena Gutfeld, was also evacuated from Ukraine due to the efforts of Fox News colleagues Steve Brannigan and Lucas Tomlinson. Personal life Gutfeld thought he voted by mail in the 2016 presidential election, but The Washington Post could find no evidence in voting records. Gutfeld thinks it was possible that he missed the official deadline. , Gutfeld resides in New York City with his Russian wife, Elena Moussa. He met the photo editor in London, where he lived for three years. Gutfeld was raised Roman Catholic and served as an altar boy. He describes himself as an "agnostic atheist". A fan of hard rock and heavy metal music, Gutfeld has spoken on-air about being a fan of many bands, including Power Trip. Gutfeld paid tribute to Power Trip's singer Riley Gale after his death in 2020. Members of the heavy band GWAR have appeared several times on his show. Gutfeld is also a self-described libertarian. Books See also New Yorkers in journalism References Sources External links Official website Gutfeld! at Fox News Channel Greg Gutfeld archives at The Huffington Post Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld at Fox News Channel The Daily Gut (blog site) Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century American comedians Category:20th-century American journalists Category:20th-century American male writers Category:21st-century American comedians Category:21st-century American journalists Category:21st-century American male writers Category:American agnostics Category:American atheists Category:American bloggers Category:American humorists Category:American libertarians Category:American magazine editors Category:American male bloggers Category:American male comedians Category:American male journalists Category:American male writers Category:American political commentators Category:American political writers Category:American television journalists Category:Former Roman Catholics Category:Fox News people Category:HuffPost writers and columnists Category:Junípero Serra High School (San Mateo, California) alumni Category:Men's Health (magazine) Category:People from San Mateo, California Category:The American Spectator people Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni Category:Writers from California Category:Writers from New York City

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Duke Ellington

Ellington was born on April 29, 1899, to James Edward Ellington and Daisy (Kennedy) Ellington in Washington, D.C. Both his parents were pianists. Daisy primarily played parlor songs and James preferred operatic arias.

Early career

When his drummer Sonny Greer was invited to join the Wilber Sweatman Orchestra in New York City, Ellington made the fateful decision to leave behind his successful career in Washington, D.C., and move to Harlem, ultimately becoming part of the Harlem Renaissance. New dance crazes such as the Charleston emerged in Harlem, as well as African-American musical theater, including Eubie Blake's Shuffle Along. After the young musicians left the Sweatman Orchestra to strike out on their own, they found an emerging jazz scene that was highly competitive and hard to crack. They hustled pool by day and played whatever gigs they could find. The young band met stride pianist Willie "The Lion" Smith, who introduced them to the scene and gave them some money. They played at rent-house parties for income. After a few months, the young musicians returned to Washington, D.C., feeling discouraged. In June 1923, a gig in Atlantic City, New Jersey, led to a play date at the prestigious Exclusive Club in Harlem. This was followed in September 1923 by a move to the Hollywood Club - 49th and Broadway - and a four-year engagement, which gave Ellington a solid artistic base. He was known to play the bugle at the end of each performance. The group was initially called Elmer Snowden and his Black Sox Orchestra and had seven members, including trumpeter James "Bubber" Miley. They renamed themselves The Washingtonians. Snowden left the group in early 1924 and Ellington took over as bandleader. After a fire, the club was re-opened as the Club Kentucky (often referred to as the Kentucky Club). Ellington made eight records in 1924, receiving composing credit on three including "Choo Choo". In 1925, Ellington contributed four songs to Chocolate Kiddies starring Lottie Gee and Adelaide Hall, an all-African-American revue which introduced European audiences to African-American styles and performers. Duke Ellington and his Kentucky Club Orchestra grew to a group of ten players; they developed their own sound by displaying the non-traditional expression of Ellington's arrangements, the street rhythms of Harlem, and the exotic-sounding trombone growls and wah-wahs, high-squealing trumpets, and sultry saxophone blues licks of the band members. For a short time soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet played with them, imparting his propulsive swing and superior musicianship to the young band members. CANNOTANSWER

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington wrote or collaborated on more than one thousand compositions; his extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy, and many of his pieces have become standards. He also recorded songs written by his bandsmen, such as Juan Tizol's "Caravan", which brought a Spanish tinge to big band jazz. At the end of the 1930s, Ellington began a nearly thirty-year collaboration with composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn, whom he called his writing and arranging companion. With Strayhorn, he composed multiple extended compositions, or suites, as well as many short pieces. For a few years at the beginning of Strayhorn's involvement, Ellington's orchestra featured bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster and reached a creative peak. Some years later following a low-profile period (Hodges temporarily left), an appearance by Ellington and his orchestra at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1956 led to a major revival and regular world tours. Ellington recorded for most American record companies of his era, performed in and scored several films, and composed a handful of stage musicals. Although a pivotal figure in the history of jazz, in the opinion of Gunther Schuller and Barry Kernfeld, "the most significant composer of the genre", Ellington himself embraced the phrase "beyond category", considering it a liberating principle, and referring to his music as part of the more general category of American Music. Ellington was known for his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, as well as for his eloquence and charisma. He was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize Special Award for music in 1999. Early life and education Ellington was born on April 29, 1899, to James Edward Ellington and Daisy (née Kennedy) Ellington in Washington, D.C. Both his parents were pianists. Daisy primarily played parlor songs, and James preferred operatic arias. They lived with Daisy's parents at 2129 Ida Place (now Ward Place) NW, in D.C.'s West End neighborhood. Duke's father was born in Lincolnton, North Carolina, on April 15, 1879, and moved to D.C. in 1886 with his parents. Daisy Kennedy was born in Washington, D.C., on January 4, 1879, the daughter of two former American slaves. James Ellington made blueprints for the United States Navy. When Ellington was a child, his family showed racial pride and support in their home, as did many other families. African Americans in D.C. worked to protect their children from the era's Jim Crow laws. At age seven, Ellington began taking piano lessons from Marietta Clinkscales. Daisy surrounded her son with dignified women to reinforce his manners and teach him elegance. His childhood friends noticed that his casual, offhand manner and dapper dress gave him the bearing of a young nobleman, so they began calling him "Duke". Ellington credited his friend Edgar McEntee for the nickname: "I think he felt that in order for me to be eligible for his constant companionship, I should have a title. So he called me Duke." Though Ellington took piano lessons, he was more interested in baseball. "President [Theodore] Roosevelt would come on his horse sometimes, and "stop and watch us play", he recalled. Ellington went to Armstrong Technical High School in Washington, D.C. His first job was selling peanuts at Washington Senators baseball games. Ellington started sneaking into Frank Holiday's Poolroom at age fourteen. Hearing the music of the poolroom pianists ignited Ellington's love for the instrument, and he began to take his piano studies seriously. Among the many piano players he listened to were Doc Perry, Lester Dishman, Louis Brown, Turner Layton, Gertie Wells, Clarence Bowser, Sticky Mack, Blind Johnny, Cliff Jackson, Claude Hopkins, Phil Wurd, Caroline Thornton, Luckey Roberts, Eubie Blake, Joe Rochester, and Harvey Brooks. In the summer of 1914, while working as a soda jerk at the Poodle Dog Café, Ellington wrote his first composition, "Soda Fountain Rag" (also known as the "Poodle Dog Rag"). He created the piece by ear, as he had not yet learned to read and write music. "I would play the 'Soda Fountain Rag' as a one-step, two-step, waltz, tango, and fox trot", Ellington recalled. "Listeners never knew it was the same piece. I was established as having my own repertoire." In his autobiography, Music is my Mistress (1973), Ellington wrote that he missed more lessons than he attended, feeling at the time that piano was not his talent. Ellington continued listening to, watching, and imitating ragtime pianists, not only in Washington, D.C. but also in Philadelphia and Atlantic City, where he vacationed with his mother during the summer. He would sometimes hear strange music played by those who could not afford much sheet music, so for variations, they played the sheets upside down. Henry Lee Grant, a Dunbar High School music teacher, gave him private lessons in harmony. With the additional guidance of Washington pianist and band leader Oliver "Doc" Perry, Ellington learned to read sheet music, project a professional style, and improve his technique. Ellington was also inspired by his first encounters with stride pianists James P. Johnson and Luckey Roberts. Later in New York, he took advice from Will Marion Cook, Fats Waller, and Sidney Bechet. He started to play gigs in cafés and clubs in and around Washington, D.C. His attachment to music was so strong that in 1916 he turned down an art scholarship to the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Three months before graduating, he dropped out of Armstrong Manual Training School, where he was studying commercial art. Career Early career Working as a freelance sign painter from 1917, Ellington began assembling groups to play for dances. In 1919, he met drummer Sonny Greer from New Jersey, who encouraged Ellington's ambition to become a professional musician. Ellington built his music business through his day job. When a customer asked him to make a sign for a dance or party, he would ask if they had musical entertainment; if not, Ellington would offer to play for the occasion. He also had a messenger job with the U.S. Navy and State departments, where he made a wide range of contacts. Ellington moved out of his parent's home and bought his own as he became a successful pianist. At first, he played in other ensembles, and in late 1917 formed his first group, "The Duke's Serenaders" ("Colored Syncopators", his telephone directory advertising proclaimed). He was also the group's booking agent. His first play date was at the True Reformer's Hall, where he took home 75 cents. Ellington played throughout the D.C. area and into Virginia for private society balls and embassy parties. The band included childhood friend Otto Hardwick, who began playing the string bass, then moved to C-melody sax and finally settled on alto saxophone; Arthur Whetsel on trumpet; Elmer Snowden on banjo; and Sonny Greer on drums. The band thrived, performing for both African American and white audiences, rare in the segregated society of the day. When his drummer Sonny Greer was invited to join the Wilber Sweatman Orchestra in New York City, Ellington left his successful career in D.C. and moved to Harlem, ultimately becoming part of the Harlem Renaissance. New dance crazes such as the Charleston emerged in Harlem, as well as African American musical theater, including Eubie Blake's and Noble Sissle's (the latter of whom was his neighbor) Shuffle Along. After the young musicians left the Sweatman Orchestra to strike out on their own, they found an emerging jazz scene that was highly competitive with difficult inroad. They hustled pool by day and played whatever gigs they could find. The young band met stride pianist Willie "The Lion" Smith, who introduced them to the scene and gave them some money. They played at rent-house parties for income. After a few months, the young musicians returned to Washington, D.C., feeling discouraged. In June 1923, they played a gig in Atlantic City, New Jersey and another at the prestigious Exclusive Club in Harlem. This was followed in September 1923 by a move to the Hollywood Club (at 49th and Broadway) and a four-year engagement, which gave Ellington a solid artistic base. He was known to play the bugle at the end of each performance. The group was initially called Elmer Snowden and his Black Sox Orchestra and had seven members, including trumpeter James "Bubber" Miley. They renamed themselves The Washingtonians. Snowden left the group in early 1924, and Ellington took over as bandleader. After a fire, the club was re-opened as the Club Kentucky (often referred to as the Kentucky Club). Ellington then made eight records in 1924, receiving composing credit on three including "Choo Choo". In 1925, Ellington contributed four songs to Chocolate Kiddies starring Lottie Gee and Adelaide Hall, an all-African American revue which introduced European audiences to African American styles and performers. Duke Ellington and his Kentucky Club Orchestra grew to a group of ten players; they developed their own sound via the non-traditional expression of Ellington's arrangements, the street rhythms of Harlem, and the exotic-sounding trombone growls and wah-wahs, high-squealing trumpets, and saxophone blues licks of the band members. For a short time, soprano saxophonist and clarinetist Sidney Bechet played with them, reportedly becoming the dominant personality in the group, with Sonny Greer saying Bechet "fitted out the band like a glove". His presence resulted in friction with Miley and trombonist Charlie Irvis, whose styles differed from Bechet's New Orleans-influenced playing. It was mainly Bechet's unreliability—he was absent for three days in succession—which made his association with Ellington short-lived. Cotton Club engagement In October 1926, Ellington made an agreement with agent-publisher Irving Mills, giving Mills a 45% interest in Ellington's future. Mills had an eye for new talent and published compositions by Hoagy Carmichael, Dorothy Fields, and Harold Arlen early in their careers. After recording a handful of acoustic sides during 1924–26, Ellington's signing with Mills allowed him to record prolifically. However, sometimes he recorded different versions of the same tune. Mills regularly took a co-composer credit. From the beginning of their relationship, Mills arranged recording sessions on nearly every label including Brunswick, Victor, Columbia, OKeh, Pathé (and its subsidiary, Perfect), the ARC/Plaza group of labels (Oriole, Domino, Jewel, Banner) and their dime-store labels (Cameo, Lincoln, Romeo), Hit of the Week, and Columbia's cheaper labels (Harmony, Diva, Velvet Tone, Clarion) labels which gave Ellington popular recognition. On OKeh, his records were usually issued as The Harlem Footwarmers. In contrast, the Brunswicks were usually issued as The Jungle Band. Whoopee Makers and the Ten BlackBerries were other pseudonyms. In September 1927, King Oliver turned down a regular booking for his group as the house band at Harlem's Cotton Club; the offer passed to Ellington after Jimmy McHugh suggested him and Mills arranged an audition. Ellington had to increase from a six to eleven-piece group to meet the requirements of the Cotton Club's management for the audition, and the engagement finally began on December 4. With a weekly radio broadcast, the Cotton Club's exclusively white and wealthy clientele poured in nightly to see them. At the Cotton Club, Ellington's group performed all the music for the revues, which mixed comedy, dance numbers, vaudeville, burlesque, music, and illicit alcohol. The musical numbers were composed by Jimmy McHugh and the lyrics by Dorothy Fields (later Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler), with some Ellington originals mixed in. (Here, he moved in with a dancer, his second wife Mildred Dixon). Weekly radio broadcasts from the club gave Ellington national exposure. At the same time, Ellington also recorded Fields-JMcHugh and Fats Waller–Andy Razaf songs. Although trumpeter Bubber Miley was a member of the orchestra for only a short period, he had a major influence on Ellington's sound. As an early exponent of growl trumpet, Miley changed the sweet dance band sound of the group to one that was hotter, which contemporaries termed Jungle Style, which can be seen in his feature chorus in East St. Louis Toodle-Oo (1926). In October 1927, Ellington and his Orchestra recorded several compositions with Adelaide Hall. One side in particular, "Creole Love Call", became a worldwide sensation and gave both Ellington and Hall their first hit record. Miley had composed most of "Creole Love Call" and "Black and Tan Fantasy". An alcoholic, Miley had to leave the band before they gained wider fame. He died in 1932 at the age of 29, but he was an important influence on Cootie Williams, who replaced him. In 1929, the Cotton Club Orchestra appeared on stage for several months in Florenz Ziegfeld's Show Girl, along with vaudeville stars Jimmy Durante, Eddie Foy, Jr., Ruby Keeler, and with music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Gus Kahn. Will Vodery, Ziegfeld's musical supervisor, recommended Ellington for the show. According to John Edward Hasse's Beyond Category: The Life and Genius of Duke Ellington, "Perhaps during the run of Show Girl, Ellington received what he later termed 'valuable lessons in orchestration from Will Vody." In his 1946 biography, Duke Ellington, Barry Ulanov wrote: Ellington's film work began with Black and Tan (1929), a 19-minute all-African American RKO short in which he played the hero "Duke". He also appeared in the Amos 'n' Andy film Check and Double Check released in 1930, which features the orchestra playing "Old Man Blues" in an extended ballroom scene. That year, Ellington and his Orchestra connected with a whole different audience in a concert with Maurice Chevalier and they also performed at the Roseland Ballroom, "America's foremost ballroom". Australian-born composer Percy Grainger was an early admirer and supporter. He wrote, "The three greatest composers who ever lived are Bach, Delius and Duke Ellington. Unfortunately, Bach is dead, Delius is very ill but we are happy to have with us today The Duke". Ellington's first period at the Cotton Club concluded in 1931. Early 1930s Ellington led the orchestra by conducting from the keyboard using piano cues and visual gestures; very rarely did he conduct using a baton. By 1932 his orchestra consisted of six brass instruments, four reeds, and a rhythm section of four players. As the leader, Ellington was not a strict disciplinarian; he maintained control of his orchestra with a combination of charm, humor, flattery, and astute psychology. A complex, private person, he revealed his feelings to only his closest intimates. He effectively used his public persona to deflect attention away from himself. Ellington signed exclusively to Brunswick in 1932 and stayed with them through to late 1936 (albeit with a short-lived 1933–34 switch to Victor when Irving Mills temporarily moved his acts from Brunswick). As the Depression worsened, the recording industry was in crisis, dropping over 90% of its artists by 1933. Ivie Anderson was hired as the Ellington Orchestra's featured vocalist in 1931. She is the vocalist on "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" (1932) among other recordings. Sonny Greer had been providing occasional vocals and continued to do in a cross-talk feature with Anderson. Radio exposure helped maintain Ellington's public profile as his orchestra began to tour. The other 78s of this era include: "Mood Indigo" (1930), "Sophisticated Lady" (1933), "Solitude" (1934), and "In a Sentimental Mood" (1935). While Ellington's United States audience remained mainly African American in this period, the orchestra had a significant following overseas. They traveled to England and Scotland in 1933, as well as France (three concerts at the Salle Pleyel in Paris) and the Netherlands before returning to New York. On June 12, 1933, the Duke Ellington Orchestra gave its British debut at the London Palladium; Ellington received an ovation when he walked on stage. They were one of 13 acts on the bill and were restricted to eight short numbers; the booking lasted until June 24. The British visit saw Ellington win praise from members of the serious music community, including composer Constant Lambert, which gave a boost to Ellington's interest in composing longer works. His longer pieces had already begun to appear. Ellington had composed and recorded "Creole Rhapsody" as early as 1931 (issued as both sides of a 12" record for Victor and both sides of a 10" record for Brunswick). A tribute to his mother, "Reminiscing in Tempo", took four 10" 78rpm record sides to record in 1935 after her death in that year. Symphony in Black (also 1935), a short film, featured his extended piece 'A Rhapsody of Negro Life'. It introduced Billie Holiday, and won the Academy Award for Best Musical Short Subject. Ellington and his Orchestra also appeared in the features Murder at the Vanities and Belle of the Nineties (both 1934). For agent Mills, the attention was a publicity triumph, as Ellington was now internationally known. On the band's tour through the segregated South in 1934, they avoided some of the traveling difficulties of African Americans by touring in private railcars. These provided accessible accommodations, dining, and storage for equipment while avoiding the indignities of segregated facilities. However, the competition intensified as swing bands like Benny Goodman's began to receive widespread attention. Swing dancing became a youth phenomenon, particularly with white college audiences, and danceability drove record sales and bookings. Jukeboxes proliferated nationwide, spreading the gospel of swing. Ellington's band could certainly swing, but their strengths were mood, nuance, and richness of composition, hence his statement "jazz is music, the swing is business". Later 1930s From 1936, Ellington began to make recordings with smaller groups (sextets, octets, and nonets) drawn from his then-15-man orchestra. He composed pieces intended to feature a specific instrumentalist, such as "Jeep's Blues" for Johnny Hodges, "Yearning for Love" for Lawrence Brown, "Trumpet in Spades" for Rex Stewart, "Echoes of Harlem" for Cootie Williams and "Clarinet Lament" for Barney Bigard. In 1937, Ellington returned to the Cotton Club, which had relocated to the mid-town Theater District. In the summer of that year, his father died, and due to many expenses, Ellington's finances were tight. However, his situation improved in the following years. After leaving agent Irving Mills, he signed on with the William Morris Agency. Mills, though, continued to record Ellington. After only a year, his Master and Variety labels (the small groups had recorded for the latter) collapsed in late 1937. Mills placed Ellington back on Brunswick and those small group units on Vocalion through to 1940. Well-known sides continued to be recorded, "Caravan" in 1937, and "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" the following year. Billy Strayhorn, originally hired as a lyricist, began his association with Ellington in 1939. Nicknamed "Swee' Pea" for his mild manner, Strayhorn soon became a vital member of the Ellington organization. Ellington showed great fondness for Strayhorn and never failed to speak glowingly of the man and their collaborative working relationship, "my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brain waves in his head, and his in mine". Strayhorn, with his training in classical music, not only contributed his original lyrics and music but also arranged and polished many of Ellington's works, becoming a second Ellington or "Duke's doppelgänger". It was not uncommon for Strayhorn to fill in for Duke, whether in conducting or rehearsing the band, playing the piano, on stage, and in the recording studio. The decade ended with a very successful European tour in 1939 just as World War II loomed in Europe. Ellington in the early to mid-1940s Two musicians who joined Ellington at this time created a sensation in their own right, Jimmy Blanton and Ben Webster. Blanton was effectively hired on the spot in late October 1939, before Ellington was aware of his name, when he dropped in on a gig of Fate Marable in St Louis. The short-lived Blanton transformed the use of double bass in jazz, allowing it to function as a solo/melodic instrument rather than a rhythm instrument alone.Terminal illness forced him to leave by late 1941 after around two years. Ben Webster's principal tenure with Ellington spanned 1939 to 1943. An ambition of his, he told his previous employer, Teddy Wilson, then leading a big band, that Ellington was the only rival he would leave Wilson for. He was the orchestra's first regular tenor saxophonist and increased the size of the sax section to five for the first time. Much influenced by Johnny Hodges, he often credited Hodges with showing him "how to play my horn". The two men sat next to each other in the orchestra. Trumpeter Ray Nance joined, replacing Cootie Williams who had defected to Benny Goodman. Additionally, Nance added violin to the instrumental colors Ellington had at his disposal. Recordings exist of Nance's first concert date on November 7, 1940, at Fargo, North Dakota. Privately made by Jack Towers and Dick Burris, these recordings were first legitimately issued in 1978 as Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live; they are among the earliest of innumerable live performances which survive. Nance was an occasional vocalist as well, although Herb Jeffries was the main male vocalist in this era (until 1943) while Al Hibbler (who replaced Jeffries in 1943) continued until 1951. Ivie Anderson left in 1942 for health reasons after 11 years, the longest term of any of Ellington's vocalists. Once more recording for Victor (from 1940), with the small groups being issued on their Bluebird label, three-minute masterpieces on 78 rpm record sides continued to flow from Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Ellington's son Mercer Ellington, and members of the orchestra. "Cotton Tail", "Main Stem", "Harlem Air Shaft", "Jack the Bear", and dozens of others date from this period. Strayhorn's "Take the "A" Train", a hit in 1941, became the band's theme, replacing "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo". Ellington and his associates wrote for an orchestra of distinctive voices displaying tremendous creativity. The commercial recordings from this era were re-issued in the 3-CD collection, Never No Lament, in 2003. Ellington's long-term aim, though, was to extend the jazz form from that three-minute limit, of which he was an acknowledged master. While he had composed and recorded some extended pieces before, such works now became a regular feature of Ellington's output. In this, he was helped by Strayhorn, who had enjoyed a more thorough training in the forms associated with classical music than Ellington. The first of these, Black, Brown, and Beige (1943), was dedicated to telling the story of African Americans and the place of slavery and the church in their history. Black, Brown and Beige debuted at Carnegie Hall on January 23, 1943, beginning an annual series of Ellington concerts at the venue over the next four years. While some jazz musicians had played at Carnegie Hall before, none had performed anything as elaborate as Ellington's work. Unfortunately, starting a regular pattern, Ellington's longer works were generally not well received. A partial exception was Jump for Joy, a full-length musical based on themes of African American identity, which debuted on July 10, 1941, at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles. Hollywood actors John Garfield and Mickey Rooney invested in the production, and Charlie Chaplin and Orson Welles offered to direct. At one performance, Garfield insisted that Herb Jeffries, who was light-skinned, should wear makeup. Ellington objected in the interval and compared Jeffries to Al Jolson. The change was reverted. The singer later commented that the audience must have thought he was an entirely different character in the second half of the show. Although it had sold-out performances and received positive reviews, it ran for only 122 performances until September 29, 1941, with a brief revival in November of that year. Its subject matter did not make it appealing to Broadway; Ellington had unfulfilled plans to take it there. Despite this disappointment, a Broadway production of Ellington's Beggar's Holiday, his sole book musical, premiered on December 23, 1946, under the direction of Nicholas Ray. The settlement of the first recording ban of 1942–44, leading to an increase in royalties paid to musicians, had a severe effect on the financial viability of the big bands, including Ellington's Orchestra. His income as a songwriter ultimately subsidized it. Although he always spent lavishly and drew a respectable income from the orchestra's operations, the band's income often just covered expenses. However, in 1943 Ellington asked Webster to leave; the saxophonist's personality made his colleagues anxious and the saxophonist was regularly in conflict with the leader. Early post-war years Musicians enlisting in the military and travel restrictions made touring difficult for the big bands, and dancing became subject to a new tax, which continued for many years, affecting the choices of club owners. By the time World War II ended, the focus of popular music was shifting towards singing crooners such as Frank Sinatra and Jo Stafford. As the cost of hiring big bands had increased, club owners now found smaller jazz groups more cost-effective. Some of Ellington's new works, such as the wordless vocal feature "Transblucency" (1946) with Kay Davis, were not going to have a similar reach as the newly emerging stars. Ellington continued on his own course through these tectonic shifts. While Count Basie was forced to disband his whole ensemble and work as an octet for a time, Ellington was able to tour most of Western Europe between April 6 and June 30, 1950, with the orchestra playing 74 dates over 77 days. During the tour, according to Sonny Greer, Ellington did not perform the newer works. However, Ellington's extended composition, Harlem (1950), was in the process of being completed at this time. Ellington later presented its score to music-loving President Harry Truman. Also during his time in Europe, Ellington would compose the music for a stage production by Orson Welles. Titled Time Runs in Paris and An Evening With Orson Welles in Frankfurt, the variety show also featured a newly discovered Eartha Kitt, who performed Ellington's original song "Hungry Little Trouble" as Helen of Troy. In 1951, Ellington suffered a significant loss of personnel: Sonny Greer, Lawrence Brown, and, most importantly, Johnny Hodges left to pursue other ventures. However, only Greer was a permanent departee. Drummer Louie Bellson replaced Greer, and his "Skin Deep" was a hit for Ellington. Tenor player Paul Gonsalves had joined in December 1950 after periods with Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie and stayed for the rest of his life, while Clark Terry joined in November 1951. André Previn said in 1952: "You know, Stan Kenton can stand in front of a thousand fiddles and a thousand brass and make a dramatic gesture and every studio arranger can nod his head and say, Oh, yes, that's done like this. But Duke merely lifts his finger, three horns make a sound, and I don't know what it is!" However, by 1955, after three years of recording for Capitol, Ellington lacked a regular recording affiliation. Career revival Ellington's appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival on July 7, 1956, returned him to wider prominence. The feature "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" comprised two tunes that had been in the band's book since 1937. Ellington, who had abruptly ended the band's scheduled set because of the late arrival of four key players, called the two tunes as the time was approaching midnight. Announcing that the two pieces would be separated by an interlude played by tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves, Ellington proceeded to lead the band through the two pieces, with Gonsalves' 27-chorus marathon solo whipping the crowd into a frenzy, leading the Maestro to play way beyond the curfew time despite urgent pleas from festival organizer George Wein to bring the program to an end. The concert made international headlines, and led to one of only five Time magazine cover stories dedicated to a jazz musician, and resulted in an album produced by George Avakian that would become the best-selling LP of Ellington's career. Much of the music on the LP was, in effect, simulated, with only about 40% actually from the concert itself. According to Avakian, Ellington was dissatisfied with aspects of the performance and felt the musicians had been under-rehearsed. The band assembled the next day to re-record several numbers with the addition of the faked sound of a crowd, none of which was disclosed to purchasers of the album. Not until 1999 was the concert recording properly released for the first time. The revived attention brought about by the Newport appearance should not have surprised anyone, Johnny Hodges had returned the previous year, and Ellington's collaboration with Strayhorn was renewed around the same time, under terms more amenable to the younger man. The original Ellington at Newport album was the first release in a new recording contract with Columbia Records which yielded several years of recording stability, mainly under producer Irving Townsend, who coaxed both commercial and artistic productions from Ellington. In 1957, CBS (Columbia Records' parent corporation) aired a live television production of A Drum Is a Woman, an allegorical suite which received mixed reviews. Festival appearances at the new Monterey Jazz Festival and elsewhere provided venues for live exposure, and a European tour in 1958 was well received. Such Sweet Thunder (1957), based on Shakespeare's plays and characters, and The Queen's Suite (1958), dedicated to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, were products of the renewed impetus which the Newport appearance helped to create. However, the latter work was not commercially issued at the time. The late 1950s also saw Ella Fitzgerald record her Duke Ellington Songbook (Verve) with Ellington and his orchestra—a recognition that Ellington's songs had now become part of the cultural canon known as the 'Great American Songbook'. Around this time Ellington and Strayhorn began to work on film scoring. The first of these was Anatomy of a Murder (1959), a courtroom drama directed by Otto Preminger and featuring James Stewart, in which Ellington appeared fronting a roadhouse combo. Film historians have recognized the score "as a landmark—the first significant Hollywood film music by African Americans comprising non-diegetic music, that is, music whose source is not visible or implied by action in the film, like an on-screen band." The score avoided the cultural stereotypes which previously characterized jazz scores and rejected a strict adherence to visuals in ways that presaged the New Wave cinema of the '60s". Ellington and Strayhorn, always looking for new musical territory, produced suites for John Steinbeck's novel Sweet Thursday, Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite and Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt. Anatomy of a Murder was followed by Paris Blues (1961), which featured Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier as jazz musicians. For this work, Ellington was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Score. In the early 1960s, Ellington embraced recording with artists who had been friendly rivals in the past or were younger musicians who focused on later styles. The Ellington and Count Basie orchestras recorded together with the album First Time! The Count Meets the Duke (1961). During a period when Ellington was between recording contracts, he made records with Louis Armstrong (Roulette), Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane (both for Impulse) and participated in a session with Charles Mingus and Max Roach which produced the Money Jungle (United Artists) album. He signed to Frank Sinatra's new Reprise label, but the association with the label was short-lived. Musicians who had previously worked with Ellington returned to the Orchestra as members: Lawrence Brown in 1960 and Cootie Williams in 1962. The writing and playing of music is a matter of intent... You can't just throw a paintbrush against the wall and call whatever happens art. My music fits the tonal personality of the player. I think too strongly in terms of altering my music to fit the performer to be impressed by accidental music. You can't take doodling seriously. He was now performing worldwide and spent a significant part of each year on overseas tours. As a consequence, he formed new working relationships with artists from around the world, including the Swedish vocalist Alice Babs, and the South African musicians Dollar Brand and Sathima Bea Benjamin (A Morning in Paris, 1963/1997). Ellington wrote an original score for director Michael Langham's production of Shakespeare's Timon of Athens at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada, which opened on July 29, 1963. Langham has used it for several subsequent productions, including a much later adaptation by Stanley Silverman which expands the score with some of Ellington's best-known works. Last years Ellington was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1965. However, no prize was ultimately awarded that year. Then 66 years old, he joked: "Fate is being kind to me. Fate doesn't want me to be famous too young." In 1999, he was posthumously awarded a special Pulitzer Prize "commemorating the centennial year of his birth, in recognition of his musical genius, which evoked aesthetically the principles of democracy through the medium of jazz and thus made an indelible contribution to art and culture." In September 1965, he premiered the first of his Sacred Concerts. He created a jazz Christian liturgy. Although the work received mixed reviews, Ellington was proud of the composition and performed it dozens of times. This concert was followed by two others of the same type in 1968 and 1973, known as the Second and Third Sacred Concerts. Many saw the Sacred Music suites as an attempt to reinforce commercial support for organized religion. However, Ellington simply said it was "the most important thing I've done". The Steinway piano upon which the Sacred Concerts were composed is part of the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Like Haydn and Mozart, Ellington conducted his orchestra from the piano—he always played the keyboard parts when the Sacred Concerts were performed. Duke turned 65 in the spring of 1964 but showed no signs of slowing down as he continued to make recordings of significant works such as The Far East Suite (1966), New Orleans Suite (1970), The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse (1971) and the Latin American Suite (1972), much of it inspired by his world tours. It was during this time that he recorded his only album with Frank Sinatra, entitled Francis A. & Edward K. (1967). In 1972-1974 Ellington worked on his only opera, Queenie Pie, together with Maurice Peress. Ellington got an idea to wrote an opera about a black beautician in 1930s, but did not finish it. Among the last shows Ellington and his orchestra performed were one on March 21, 1973, at Purdue University's Hall of Music, two on March 22, 1973, at the Sturges-Young Auditorium in Sturgis, Michigan and the Eastbourne Performance on December 1, 1973, later issued on LP. Ellington performed what is considered his final full concert in a ballroom at Northern Illinois University on March 20, 1974. Since 1980, that ballroom has been dedicated as the "Duke Ellington Ballroom". Personal life Ellington married his high school sweetheart, Edna Thompson (d. 1967), on July 2, 1918, when he was 19. The next spring, on March 11, 1919, Edna gave birth to their only son, Mercer Kennedy Ellington. Ellington was joined in New York City by his wife and son in the late 1920s, but the couple soon permanently separated. According to her obituary in Jet magazine, she was "homesick for Washington" and returned. In 1929, Ellington became the companion of Mildred Dixon, who traveled with him, managed Tempo Music, inspired songs, such as "Sophisticated Lady", at the peak of his career, and raised his son. In 1938, he left his family (his son was 19) and moved in with Beatrice "Evie" Ellis, a Cotton Club employee. Their relationship, though stormy, continued after Ellington met and formed a relationship with Fernanda de Castro Monte in the early 1960s. Ellington supported both women for the rest of his life. Ellington's sister Ruth (1915–2004) later ran Tempo Music, his music publishing company. Ruth's second husband was the bass-baritone McHenry Boatwright, whom she met when he sang at her brother's funeral. As an adult, son Mercer Ellington (d. 1996) played trumpet and piano, led his own band, and worked as his father's business manager. Ellington was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha and was a Freemason associated with Prince Hall Freemasonry. Death Ellington died on May 24, 1974, of complications from lung cancer and pneumonia, a few weeks after his 75th birthday. At his funeral, attended by over 12,000 people at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Ella Fitzgerald summed up the occasion: "It's a very sad day. A genius has passed." He was interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery, the Bronx, New York City. Legacy Memorialized Numerous memorials have been dedicated to Duke Ellington in cities from New York and Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles. In Ellington's birthplace, Washington, D.C., the Duke Ellington School of the Arts educates talented students who are considering careers in the arts by providing art instruction and academic programs to prepare students for post-secondary education and professional careers. In 1974, the District renamed the Calvert Street Bridge, originally built in 1935, as the Duke Ellington Bridge. Another school is P.S. 004 Duke Ellington in New York. In 1989, a bronze plaque was attached to the newly named Duke Ellington Building at 2121 Ward Place NW. In 2012, the new owner of the building commissioned a mural by Aniekan Udofia that appears above the lettering "Duke Ellington". In 2010 the triangular park, across the street from Duke Ellington's birth site, at the intersection of New Hampshire and M Streets NW, was named the Duke Ellington Park. Ellington's residence at 2728 Sherman Avenue NW, during the years 1919–1922, is marked by a bronze plaque. On February 24, 2009, the United States Mint issued a coin with Duke Ellington on it, making him the first African American to appear by himself on a circulating U.S. coin. Ellington appears on the reverse (tails) side of the District of Columbia quarter. The coin is part of the U.S. Mint's program honoring the District and the U.S. territories and celebrates Ellington's birthplace in the District of Columbia. Ellington is depicted on the quarter seated at a piano, sheet music in hand, along with the inscription "Justice for All", which is the District's motto. In 1986, a United States commemorative stamp was issued featuring Ellington's likeness. Ellington lived out his final years in Manhattan, in a townhouse at 333 Riverside Drive near West 106th Street. His sister Ruth, who managed his publishing company, also lived there, and his son Mercer lived next door. After his death, West 106th Street was officially renamed Duke Ellington Boulevard. A large memorial to Ellington, created by sculptor Robert Graham, was dedicated in 1997 in New York's Central Park, near Fifth Avenue and 110th Street, an intersection named Duke Ellington Circle. A statue of Ellington at a piano is featured at the entrance to UCLA's Schoenberg Hall. According to UCLA magazine: The Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival is a nationally renowned annual competition for prestigious high school bands. Started in 1996 at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the festival is named after Ellington because of the significant focus that the festival places on his works. Tributes After Duke died, his son Mercer took over leadership of the orchestra, continuing until he died in 1996. Like the Count Basie Orchestra, this "ghost band" continued to release albums for many years. Digital Duke, credited to The Duke Ellington Orchestra, won the 1988 Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. Mercer Ellington had been handling all administrative aspects of his father's business for several decades. Mercer's children continue a connection with their grandfather's work. Gunther Schuller wrote in 1989: Ellington composed incessantly to the very last days of his life. Music was indeed his mistress; it was his total life and his commitment to it was incomparable and unalterable. In jazz he was a giant among giants. And in twentieth century music, he may yet one day be recognized as one of the half-dozen greatest masters of our time. Martin Williams said: "Duke Ellington lived long enough to hear himself named among our best composers. And since his death in 1974, it has become not at all uncommon to see him named, along with Charles Ives, as the greatest composer we have produced, regardless of category." In the opinion of Bob Blumenthal of The Boston Globe in 1999: "[i]n the century since his birth, there has been no greater composer, American or otherwise, than Edward Kennedy Ellington." In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Duke Ellington on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans. His compositions have been revisited by artists and musicians worldwide as sources of inspiration and a bedrock of their performing careers: Dave Brubeck dedicated "The Duke" (1954) to Ellington and it became a standard covered by others, including Miles Davis on his Miles Ahead, 1957. The album The Real Ambassadors has a vocal version of this piece, "You Swing Baby (The Duke)", with lyrics by Iola Brubeck, Dave Brubeck's wife. It is performed as a duet between Louis Armstrong and Carmen McRae. It is also dedicated to Duke Ellington. Miles Davis created his half-hour dirge "He Loved Him Madly" (on Get Up with It) as a tribute to Ellington one month after his death. Charles Mingus, who had been fired by Ellington decades earlier, wrote the elegy "Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love" in 1974, a few months after Ellington's death. Stevie Wonder wrote the song "Sir Duke" as a tribute to Ellington, which appeared on his album Songs in the Key of Life released in 1976. There are hundreds of albums dedicated to the music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn by artists famous and obscure. Sophisticated Ladies, an award-winning 1981 musical revue, incorporated many tunes from Ellington's repertoire. A second Broadway musical interpolating Ellington's music, Play On!, debuted in 1997. Discography Awards and honors 1960, Hollywood Walk of Fame, contribution to recording industry 1964, Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Milton College 1966, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. 1969, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the US 1971, an Honorary PhD from the Berklee College of Music 1973, the Legion of Honour by France, its highest civilian honor. 1999, posthumous Special Pulitzer Prize for his lifetime contributions to music and culture Grammy Awards Ellington earned 14 Grammy awards from 1959 to 2000 (three of which were posthumous) and a total of 25 nominations Grammy Hall of Fame Recordings of Duke Ellington were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings at least 25 years old that have qualitative or historical significance. Honors and inductions See also List of people with synesthesia References Bibliography . Covers all of Duke's travels and films from the 1929 short film Black and Tan onwards. Further reading . Especially pp. 318–357. . Esp. pp. 46–157. External links Duke Ellington in Grove Music Online (by subscription) Duke Ellington Oral History collection at Oral History of American Music Duke Ellington Legacy Big Band & Duke Ellington Legacy Band – official website of the family organization Duke Ellington Legacy Art Pilkington collection relating to Duke Ellington, 1919–1974 at the Library of Congress Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn: Jazz Composers – April–June 2009 exhibition at NMAH Duke Ellington: 20th International Conference, London, May 2008 FBI file on Edward Kennedy Duke Ellington Duke Ellington recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. His life is retold in the radio drama "Echos of Harlem ", a presentation from Destination Freedom Category:1899 births Category:1974 deaths Category:20th-century American composers Category:20th-century American conductors (music) Category:20th-century American male musicians Category:20th-century jazz composers Category:African-American conductors (music) Category:African-American film score composers Category:African-American jazz composers Category:African-American jazz musicians Category:African-American jazz pianists Category:African-American male composers Category:American autobiographers Category:American film score composers Category:American jazz bandleaders Category:American jazz composers Category:American jazz pianists Category:American male conductors (music) Category:American male film score composers Category:American male jazz composers Category:American male jazz musicians Category:American male jazz pianists Category:American Prince Hall Freemasons Category:Articles containing video clips Category:Bethlehem Records artists Category:Big band bandleaders Category:Big band pianists Category:Black Lion Records artists Category:Broadway composers and lyricists Category:Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Composers from New York City Category:Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) Category:Decca Records artists Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Category:Gennett Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Harlem Renaissance Category:Jazz musicians from New York (state) Category:Music & Arts artists Category:Musicians from New York City Category:Musicians from Washington, D.C. 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Duke Ellington

Ellington was born on April 29, 1899, to James Edward Ellington and Daisy (Kennedy) Ellington in Washington, D.C. Both his parents were pianists. Daisy primarily played parlor songs and James preferred operatic arias.

The later 1930s

From 1936, Ellington began to make recordings with smaller groups (sextets, octets, and nonets) drawn from his then-15-man orchestra and he composed pieces intended to feature a specific instrumentalist, as with "Jeep's Blues" for Johnny Hodges, "Yearning for Love" for Lawrence Brown, "Trumpet in Spades" for Rex Stewart, "Echoes of Harlem" for Cootie Williams and "Clarinet Lament" for Barney Bigard. In 1937, Ellington returned to the Cotton Club which had relocated to the mid-town Theater District. In the summer of that year, his father died, and due to many expenses, Ellington's finances were tight, although his situation improved the following year. After leaving agent Irving Mills, he signed on with the William Morris Agency. Mills though continued to record Ellington. After only a year, his Master and Variety labels, the small groups had recorded for the latter, collapsed in late 1937, Mills placed Ellington back on Brunswick and those small group units on Vocalion through to 1940. Well known sides continued to be recorded, "Caravan" in 1937, and "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" the following year. Billy Strayhorn, originally hired as a lyricist, began his association with Ellington in 1939. Nicknamed "Swee' Pea" for his mild manner, Strayhorn soon became a vital member of the Ellington organization. Ellington showed great fondness for Strayhorn and never failed to speak glowingly of the man and their collaborative working relationship, "my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brain waves in his head, and his in mine". Strayhorn, with his training in classical music, not only contributed his original lyrics and music, but also arranged and polished many of Ellington's works, becoming a second Ellington or "Duke's doppelganger". It was not uncommon for Strayhorn to fill in for Duke, whether in conducting or rehearsing the band, playing the piano, on stage, and in the recording studio. The 1930s ended with a very successful European tour just as World War II loomed in Europe. CANNOTANSWER

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington wrote or collaborated on more than one thousand compositions; his extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy, and many of his pieces have become standards. He also recorded songs written by his bandsmen, such as Juan Tizol's "Caravan", which brought a Spanish tinge to big band jazz. At the end of the 1930s, Ellington began a nearly thirty-year collaboration with composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn, whom he called his writing and arranging companion. With Strayhorn, he composed multiple extended compositions, or suites, as well as many short pieces. For a few years at the beginning of Strayhorn's involvement, Ellington's orchestra featured bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster and reached a creative peak. Some years later following a low-profile period (Hodges temporarily left), an appearance by Ellington and his orchestra at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1956 led to a major revival and regular world tours. Ellington recorded for most American record companies of his era, performed in and scored several films, and composed a handful of stage musicals. Although a pivotal figure in the history of jazz, in the opinion of Gunther Schuller and Barry Kernfeld, "the most significant composer of the genre", Ellington himself embraced the phrase "beyond category", considering it a liberating principle, and referring to his music as part of the more general category of American Music. Ellington was known for his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, as well as for his eloquence and charisma. He was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize Special Award for music in 1999. Early life and education Ellington was born on April 29, 1899, to James Edward Ellington and Daisy (née Kennedy) Ellington in Washington, D.C. Both his parents were pianists. Daisy primarily played parlor songs, and James preferred operatic arias. They lived with Daisy's parents at 2129 Ida Place (now Ward Place) NW, in D.C.'s West End neighborhood. Duke's father was born in Lincolnton, North Carolina, on April 15, 1879, and moved to D.C. in 1886 with his parents. Daisy Kennedy was born in Washington, D.C., on January 4, 1879, the daughter of two former American slaves. James Ellington made blueprints for the United States Navy. When Ellington was a child, his family showed racial pride and support in their home, as did many other families. African Americans in D.C. worked to protect their children from the era's Jim Crow laws. At age seven, Ellington began taking piano lessons from Marietta Clinkscales. Daisy surrounded her son with dignified women to reinforce his manners and teach him elegance. His childhood friends noticed that his casual, offhand manner and dapper dress gave him the bearing of a young nobleman, so they began calling him "Duke". Ellington credited his friend Edgar McEntee for the nickname: "I think he felt that in order for me to be eligible for his constant companionship, I should have a title. So he called me Duke." Though Ellington took piano lessons, he was more interested in baseball. "President [Theodore] Roosevelt would come on his horse sometimes, and "stop and watch us play", he recalled. Ellington went to Armstrong Technical High School in Washington, D.C. His first job was selling peanuts at Washington Senators baseball games. Ellington started sneaking into Frank Holiday's Poolroom at age fourteen. Hearing the music of the poolroom pianists ignited Ellington's love for the instrument, and he began to take his piano studies seriously. Among the many piano players he listened to were Doc Perry, Lester Dishman, Louis Brown, Turner Layton, Gertie Wells, Clarence Bowser, Sticky Mack, Blind Johnny, Cliff Jackson, Claude Hopkins, Phil Wurd, Caroline Thornton, Luckey Roberts, Eubie Blake, Joe Rochester, and Harvey Brooks. In the summer of 1914, while working as a soda jerk at the Poodle Dog Café, Ellington wrote his first composition, "Soda Fountain Rag" (also known as the "Poodle Dog Rag"). He created the piece by ear, as he had not yet learned to read and write music. "I would play the 'Soda Fountain Rag' as a one-step, two-step, waltz, tango, and fox trot", Ellington recalled. "Listeners never knew it was the same piece. I was established as having my own repertoire." In his autobiography, Music is my Mistress (1973), Ellington wrote that he missed more lessons than he attended, feeling at the time that piano was not his talent. Ellington continued listening to, watching, and imitating ragtime pianists, not only in Washington, D.C. but also in Philadelphia and Atlantic City, where he vacationed with his mother during the summer. He would sometimes hear strange music played by those who could not afford much sheet music, so for variations, they played the sheets upside down. Henry Lee Grant, a Dunbar High School music teacher, gave him private lessons in harmony. With the additional guidance of Washington pianist and band leader Oliver "Doc" Perry, Ellington learned to read sheet music, project a professional style, and improve his technique. Ellington was also inspired by his first encounters with stride pianists James P. Johnson and Luckey Roberts. Later in New York, he took advice from Will Marion Cook, Fats Waller, and Sidney Bechet. He started to play gigs in cafés and clubs in and around Washington, D.C. His attachment to music was so strong that in 1916 he turned down an art scholarship to the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Three months before graduating, he dropped out of Armstrong Manual Training School, where he was studying commercial art. Career Early career Working as a freelance sign painter from 1917, Ellington began assembling groups to play for dances. In 1919, he met drummer Sonny Greer from New Jersey, who encouraged Ellington's ambition to become a professional musician. Ellington built his music business through his day job. When a customer asked him to make a sign for a dance or party, he would ask if they had musical entertainment; if not, Ellington would offer to play for the occasion. He also had a messenger job with the U.S. Navy and State departments, where he made a wide range of contacts. Ellington moved out of his parent's home and bought his own as he became a successful pianist. At first, he played in other ensembles, and in late 1917 formed his first group, "The Duke's Serenaders" ("Colored Syncopators", his telephone directory advertising proclaimed). He was also the group's booking agent. His first play date was at the True Reformer's Hall, where he took home 75 cents. Ellington played throughout the D.C. area and into Virginia for private society balls and embassy parties. The band included childhood friend Otto Hardwick, who began playing the string bass, then moved to C-melody sax and finally settled on alto saxophone; Arthur Whetsel on trumpet; Elmer Snowden on banjo; and Sonny Greer on drums. The band thrived, performing for both African American and white audiences, rare in the segregated society of the day. When his drummer Sonny Greer was invited to join the Wilber Sweatman Orchestra in New York City, Ellington left his successful career in D.C. and moved to Harlem, ultimately becoming part of the Harlem Renaissance. New dance crazes such as the Charleston emerged in Harlem, as well as African American musical theater, including Eubie Blake's and Noble Sissle's (the latter of whom was his neighbor) Shuffle Along. After the young musicians left the Sweatman Orchestra to strike out on their own, they found an emerging jazz scene that was highly competitive with difficult inroad. They hustled pool by day and played whatever gigs they could find. The young band met stride pianist Willie "The Lion" Smith, who introduced them to the scene and gave them some money. They played at rent-house parties for income. After a few months, the young musicians returned to Washington, D.C., feeling discouraged. In June 1923, they played a gig in Atlantic City, New Jersey and another at the prestigious Exclusive Club in Harlem. This was followed in September 1923 by a move to the Hollywood Club (at 49th and Broadway) and a four-year engagement, which gave Ellington a solid artistic base. He was known to play the bugle at the end of each performance. The group was initially called Elmer Snowden and his Black Sox Orchestra and had seven members, including trumpeter James "Bubber" Miley. They renamed themselves The Washingtonians. Snowden left the group in early 1924, and Ellington took over as bandleader. After a fire, the club was re-opened as the Club Kentucky (often referred to as the Kentucky Club). Ellington then made eight records in 1924, receiving composing credit on three including "Choo Choo". In 1925, Ellington contributed four songs to Chocolate Kiddies starring Lottie Gee and Adelaide Hall, an all-African American revue which introduced European audiences to African American styles and performers. Duke Ellington and his Kentucky Club Orchestra grew to a group of ten players; they developed their own sound via the non-traditional expression of Ellington's arrangements, the street rhythms of Harlem, and the exotic-sounding trombone growls and wah-wahs, high-squealing trumpets, and saxophone blues licks of the band members. For a short time, soprano saxophonist and clarinetist Sidney Bechet played with them, reportedly becoming the dominant personality in the group, with Sonny Greer saying Bechet "fitted out the band like a glove". His presence resulted in friction with Miley and trombonist Charlie Irvis, whose styles differed from Bechet's New Orleans-influenced playing. It was mainly Bechet's unreliability—he was absent for three days in succession—which made his association with Ellington short-lived. Cotton Club engagement In October 1926, Ellington made an agreement with agent-publisher Irving Mills, giving Mills a 45% interest in Ellington's future. Mills had an eye for new talent and published compositions by Hoagy Carmichael, Dorothy Fields, and Harold Arlen early in their careers. After recording a handful of acoustic sides during 1924–26, Ellington's signing with Mills allowed him to record prolifically. However, sometimes he recorded different versions of the same tune. Mills regularly took a co-composer credit. From the beginning of their relationship, Mills arranged recording sessions on nearly every label including Brunswick, Victor, Columbia, OKeh, Pathé (and its subsidiary, Perfect), the ARC/Plaza group of labels (Oriole, Domino, Jewel, Banner) and their dime-store labels (Cameo, Lincoln, Romeo), Hit of the Week, and Columbia's cheaper labels (Harmony, Diva, Velvet Tone, Clarion) labels which gave Ellington popular recognition. On OKeh, his records were usually issued as The Harlem Footwarmers. In contrast, the Brunswicks were usually issued as The Jungle Band. Whoopee Makers and the Ten BlackBerries were other pseudonyms. In September 1927, King Oliver turned down a regular booking for his group as the house band at Harlem's Cotton Club; the offer passed to Ellington after Jimmy McHugh suggested him and Mills arranged an audition. Ellington had to increase from a six to eleven-piece group to meet the requirements of the Cotton Club's management for the audition, and the engagement finally began on December 4. With a weekly radio broadcast, the Cotton Club's exclusively white and wealthy clientele poured in nightly to see them. At the Cotton Club, Ellington's group performed all the music for the revues, which mixed comedy, dance numbers, vaudeville, burlesque, music, and illicit alcohol. The musical numbers were composed by Jimmy McHugh and the lyrics by Dorothy Fields (later Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler), with some Ellington originals mixed in. (Here, he moved in with a dancer, his second wife Mildred Dixon). Weekly radio broadcasts from the club gave Ellington national exposure. At the same time, Ellington also recorded Fields-JMcHugh and Fats Waller–Andy Razaf songs. Although trumpeter Bubber Miley was a member of the orchestra for only a short period, he had a major influence on Ellington's sound. As an early exponent of growl trumpet, Miley changed the sweet dance band sound of the group to one that was hotter, which contemporaries termed Jungle Style, which can be seen in his feature chorus in East St. Louis Toodle-Oo (1926). In October 1927, Ellington and his Orchestra recorded several compositions with Adelaide Hall. One side in particular, "Creole Love Call", became a worldwide sensation and gave both Ellington and Hall their first hit record. Miley had composed most of "Creole Love Call" and "Black and Tan Fantasy". An alcoholic, Miley had to leave the band before they gained wider fame. He died in 1932 at the age of 29, but he was an important influence on Cootie Williams, who replaced him. In 1929, the Cotton Club Orchestra appeared on stage for several months in Florenz Ziegfeld's Show Girl, along with vaudeville stars Jimmy Durante, Eddie Foy, Jr., Ruby Keeler, and with music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Gus Kahn. Will Vodery, Ziegfeld's musical supervisor, recommended Ellington for the show. According to John Edward Hasse's Beyond Category: The Life and Genius of Duke Ellington, "Perhaps during the run of Show Girl, Ellington received what he later termed 'valuable lessons in orchestration from Will Vody." In his 1946 biography, Duke Ellington, Barry Ulanov wrote: Ellington's film work began with Black and Tan (1929), a 19-minute all-African American RKO short in which he played the hero "Duke". He also appeared in the Amos 'n' Andy film Check and Double Check released in 1930, which features the orchestra playing "Old Man Blues" in an extended ballroom scene. That year, Ellington and his Orchestra connected with a whole different audience in a concert with Maurice Chevalier and they also performed at the Roseland Ballroom, "America's foremost ballroom". Australian-born composer Percy Grainger was an early admirer and supporter. He wrote, "The three greatest composers who ever lived are Bach, Delius and Duke Ellington. Unfortunately, Bach is dead, Delius is very ill but we are happy to have with us today The Duke". Ellington's first period at the Cotton Club concluded in 1931. Early 1930s Ellington led the orchestra by conducting from the keyboard using piano cues and visual gestures; very rarely did he conduct using a baton. By 1932 his orchestra consisted of six brass instruments, four reeds, and a rhythm section of four players. As the leader, Ellington was not a strict disciplinarian; he maintained control of his orchestra with a combination of charm, humor, flattery, and astute psychology. A complex, private person, he revealed his feelings to only his closest intimates. He effectively used his public persona to deflect attention away from himself. Ellington signed exclusively to Brunswick in 1932 and stayed with them through to late 1936 (albeit with a short-lived 1933–34 switch to Victor when Irving Mills temporarily moved his acts from Brunswick). As the Depression worsened, the recording industry was in crisis, dropping over 90% of its artists by 1933. Ivie Anderson was hired as the Ellington Orchestra's featured vocalist in 1931. She is the vocalist on "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" (1932) among other recordings. Sonny Greer had been providing occasional vocals and continued to do in a cross-talk feature with Anderson. Radio exposure helped maintain Ellington's public profile as his orchestra began to tour. The other 78s of this era include: "Mood Indigo" (1930), "Sophisticated Lady" (1933), "Solitude" (1934), and "In a Sentimental Mood" (1935). While Ellington's United States audience remained mainly African American in this period, the orchestra had a significant following overseas. They traveled to England and Scotland in 1933, as well as France (three concerts at the Salle Pleyel in Paris) and the Netherlands before returning to New York. On June 12, 1933, the Duke Ellington Orchestra gave its British debut at the London Palladium; Ellington received an ovation when he walked on stage. They were one of 13 acts on the bill and were restricted to eight short numbers; the booking lasted until June 24. The British visit saw Ellington win praise from members of the serious music community, including composer Constant Lambert, which gave a boost to Ellington's interest in composing longer works. His longer pieces had already begun to appear. Ellington had composed and recorded "Creole Rhapsody" as early as 1931 (issued as both sides of a 12" record for Victor and both sides of a 10" record for Brunswick). A tribute to his mother, "Reminiscing in Tempo", took four 10" 78rpm record sides to record in 1935 after her death in that year. Symphony in Black (also 1935), a short film, featured his extended piece 'A Rhapsody of Negro Life'. It introduced Billie Holiday, and won the Academy Award for Best Musical Short Subject. Ellington and his Orchestra also appeared in the features Murder at the Vanities and Belle of the Nineties (both 1934). For agent Mills, the attention was a publicity triumph, as Ellington was now internationally known. On the band's tour through the segregated South in 1934, they avoided some of the traveling difficulties of African Americans by touring in private railcars. These provided accessible accommodations, dining, and storage for equipment while avoiding the indignities of segregated facilities. However, the competition intensified as swing bands like Benny Goodman's began to receive widespread attention. Swing dancing became a youth phenomenon, particularly with white college audiences, and danceability drove record sales and bookings. Jukeboxes proliferated nationwide, spreading the gospel of swing. Ellington's band could certainly swing, but their strengths were mood, nuance, and richness of composition, hence his statement "jazz is music, the swing is business". Later 1930s From 1936, Ellington began to make recordings with smaller groups (sextets, octets, and nonets) drawn from his then-15-man orchestra. He composed pieces intended to feature a specific instrumentalist, such as "Jeep's Blues" for Johnny Hodges, "Yearning for Love" for Lawrence Brown, "Trumpet in Spades" for Rex Stewart, "Echoes of Harlem" for Cootie Williams and "Clarinet Lament" for Barney Bigard. In 1937, Ellington returned to the Cotton Club, which had relocated to the mid-town Theater District. In the summer of that year, his father died, and due to many expenses, Ellington's finances were tight. However, his situation improved in the following years. After leaving agent Irving Mills, he signed on with the William Morris Agency. Mills, though, continued to record Ellington. After only a year, his Master and Variety labels (the small groups had recorded for the latter) collapsed in late 1937. Mills placed Ellington back on Brunswick and those small group units on Vocalion through to 1940. Well-known sides continued to be recorded, "Caravan" in 1937, and "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" the following year. Billy Strayhorn, originally hired as a lyricist, began his association with Ellington in 1939. Nicknamed "Swee' Pea" for his mild manner, Strayhorn soon became a vital member of the Ellington organization. Ellington showed great fondness for Strayhorn and never failed to speak glowingly of the man and their collaborative working relationship, "my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brain waves in his head, and his in mine". Strayhorn, with his training in classical music, not only contributed his original lyrics and music but also arranged and polished many of Ellington's works, becoming a second Ellington or "Duke's doppelgänger". It was not uncommon for Strayhorn to fill in for Duke, whether in conducting or rehearsing the band, playing the piano, on stage, and in the recording studio. The decade ended with a very successful European tour in 1939 just as World War II loomed in Europe. Ellington in the early to mid-1940s Two musicians who joined Ellington at this time created a sensation in their own right, Jimmy Blanton and Ben Webster. Blanton was effectively hired on the spot in late October 1939, before Ellington was aware of his name, when he dropped in on a gig of Fate Marable in St Louis. The short-lived Blanton transformed the use of double bass in jazz, allowing it to function as a solo/melodic instrument rather than a rhythm instrument alone.Terminal illness forced him to leave by late 1941 after around two years. Ben Webster's principal tenure with Ellington spanned 1939 to 1943. An ambition of his, he told his previous employer, Teddy Wilson, then leading a big band, that Ellington was the only rival he would leave Wilson for. He was the orchestra's first regular tenor saxophonist and increased the size of the sax section to five for the first time. Much influenced by Johnny Hodges, he often credited Hodges with showing him "how to play my horn". The two men sat next to each other in the orchestra. Trumpeter Ray Nance joined, replacing Cootie Williams who had defected to Benny Goodman. Additionally, Nance added violin to the instrumental colors Ellington had at his disposal. Recordings exist of Nance's first concert date on November 7, 1940, at Fargo, North Dakota. Privately made by Jack Towers and Dick Burris, these recordings were first legitimately issued in 1978 as Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live; they are among the earliest of innumerable live performances which survive. Nance was an occasional vocalist as well, although Herb Jeffries was the main male vocalist in this era (until 1943) while Al Hibbler (who replaced Jeffries in 1943) continued until 1951. Ivie Anderson left in 1942 for health reasons after 11 years, the longest term of any of Ellington's vocalists. Once more recording for Victor (from 1940), with the small groups being issued on their Bluebird label, three-minute masterpieces on 78 rpm record sides continued to flow from Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Ellington's son Mercer Ellington, and members of the orchestra. "Cotton Tail", "Main Stem", "Harlem Air Shaft", "Jack the Bear", and dozens of others date from this period. Strayhorn's "Take the "A" Train", a hit in 1941, became the band's theme, replacing "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo". Ellington and his associates wrote for an orchestra of distinctive voices displaying tremendous creativity. The commercial recordings from this era were re-issued in the 3-CD collection, Never No Lament, in 2003. Ellington's long-term aim, though, was to extend the jazz form from that three-minute limit, of which he was an acknowledged master. While he had composed and recorded some extended pieces before, such works now became a regular feature of Ellington's output. In this, he was helped by Strayhorn, who had enjoyed a more thorough training in the forms associated with classical music than Ellington. The first of these, Black, Brown, and Beige (1943), was dedicated to telling the story of African Americans and the place of slavery and the church in their history. Black, Brown and Beige debuted at Carnegie Hall on January 23, 1943, beginning an annual series of Ellington concerts at the venue over the next four years. While some jazz musicians had played at Carnegie Hall before, none had performed anything as elaborate as Ellington's work. Unfortunately, starting a regular pattern, Ellington's longer works were generally not well received. A partial exception was Jump for Joy, a full-length musical based on themes of African American identity, which debuted on July 10, 1941, at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles. Hollywood actors John Garfield and Mickey Rooney invested in the production, and Charlie Chaplin and Orson Welles offered to direct. At one performance, Garfield insisted that Herb Jeffries, who was light-skinned, should wear makeup. Ellington objected in the interval and compared Jeffries to Al Jolson. The change was reverted. The singer later commented that the audience must have thought he was an entirely different character in the second half of the show. Although it had sold-out performances and received positive reviews, it ran for only 122 performances until September 29, 1941, with a brief revival in November of that year. Its subject matter did not make it appealing to Broadway; Ellington had unfulfilled plans to take it there. Despite this disappointment, a Broadway production of Ellington's Beggar's Holiday, his sole book musical, premiered on December 23, 1946, under the direction of Nicholas Ray. The settlement of the first recording ban of 1942–44, leading to an increase in royalties paid to musicians, had a severe effect on the financial viability of the big bands, including Ellington's Orchestra. His income as a songwriter ultimately subsidized it. Although he always spent lavishly and drew a respectable income from the orchestra's operations, the band's income often just covered expenses. However, in 1943 Ellington asked Webster to leave; the saxophonist's personality made his colleagues anxious and the saxophonist was regularly in conflict with the leader. Early post-war years Musicians enlisting in the military and travel restrictions made touring difficult for the big bands, and dancing became subject to a new tax, which continued for many years, affecting the choices of club owners. By the time World War II ended, the focus of popular music was shifting towards singing crooners such as Frank Sinatra and Jo Stafford. As the cost of hiring big bands had increased, club owners now found smaller jazz groups more cost-effective. Some of Ellington's new works, such as the wordless vocal feature "Transblucency" (1946) with Kay Davis, were not going to have a similar reach as the newly emerging stars. Ellington continued on his own course through these tectonic shifts. While Count Basie was forced to disband his whole ensemble and work as an octet for a time, Ellington was able to tour most of Western Europe between April 6 and June 30, 1950, with the orchestra playing 74 dates over 77 days. During the tour, according to Sonny Greer, Ellington did not perform the newer works. However, Ellington's extended composition, Harlem (1950), was in the process of being completed at this time. Ellington later presented its score to music-loving President Harry Truman. Also during his time in Europe, Ellington would compose the music for a stage production by Orson Welles. Titled Time Runs in Paris and An Evening With Orson Welles in Frankfurt, the variety show also featured a newly discovered Eartha Kitt, who performed Ellington's original song "Hungry Little Trouble" as Helen of Troy. In 1951, Ellington suffered a significant loss of personnel: Sonny Greer, Lawrence Brown, and, most importantly, Johnny Hodges left to pursue other ventures. However, only Greer was a permanent departee. Drummer Louie Bellson replaced Greer, and his "Skin Deep" was a hit for Ellington. Tenor player Paul Gonsalves had joined in December 1950 after periods with Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie and stayed for the rest of his life, while Clark Terry joined in November 1951. André Previn said in 1952: "You know, Stan Kenton can stand in front of a thousand fiddles and a thousand brass and make a dramatic gesture and every studio arranger can nod his head and say, Oh, yes, that's done like this. But Duke merely lifts his finger, three horns make a sound, and I don't know what it is!" However, by 1955, after three years of recording for Capitol, Ellington lacked a regular recording affiliation. Career revival Ellington's appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival on July 7, 1956, returned him to wider prominence. The feature "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" comprised two tunes that had been in the band's book since 1937. Ellington, who had abruptly ended the band's scheduled set because of the late arrival of four key players, called the two tunes as the time was approaching midnight. Announcing that the two pieces would be separated by an interlude played by tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves, Ellington proceeded to lead the band through the two pieces, with Gonsalves' 27-chorus marathon solo whipping the crowd into a frenzy, leading the Maestro to play way beyond the curfew time despite urgent pleas from festival organizer George Wein to bring the program to an end. The concert made international headlines, and led to one of only five Time magazine cover stories dedicated to a jazz musician, and resulted in an album produced by George Avakian that would become the best-selling LP of Ellington's career. Much of the music on the LP was, in effect, simulated, with only about 40% actually from the concert itself. According to Avakian, Ellington was dissatisfied with aspects of the performance and felt the musicians had been under-rehearsed. The band assembled the next day to re-record several numbers with the addition of the faked sound of a crowd, none of which was disclosed to purchasers of the album. Not until 1999 was the concert recording properly released for the first time. The revived attention brought about by the Newport appearance should not have surprised anyone, Johnny Hodges had returned the previous year, and Ellington's collaboration with Strayhorn was renewed around the same time, under terms more amenable to the younger man. The original Ellington at Newport album was the first release in a new recording contract with Columbia Records which yielded several years of recording stability, mainly under producer Irving Townsend, who coaxed both commercial and artistic productions from Ellington. In 1957, CBS (Columbia Records' parent corporation) aired a live television production of A Drum Is a Woman, an allegorical suite which received mixed reviews. Festival appearances at the new Monterey Jazz Festival and elsewhere provided venues for live exposure, and a European tour in 1958 was well received. Such Sweet Thunder (1957), based on Shakespeare's plays and characters, and The Queen's Suite (1958), dedicated to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, were products of the renewed impetus which the Newport appearance helped to create. However, the latter work was not commercially issued at the time. The late 1950s also saw Ella Fitzgerald record her Duke Ellington Songbook (Verve) with Ellington and his orchestra—a recognition that Ellington's songs had now become part of the cultural canon known as the 'Great American Songbook'. Around this time Ellington and Strayhorn began to work on film scoring. The first of these was Anatomy of a Murder (1959), a courtroom drama directed by Otto Preminger and featuring James Stewart, in which Ellington appeared fronting a roadhouse combo. Film historians have recognized the score "as a landmark—the first significant Hollywood film music by African Americans comprising non-diegetic music, that is, music whose source is not visible or implied by action in the film, like an on-screen band." The score avoided the cultural stereotypes which previously characterized jazz scores and rejected a strict adherence to visuals in ways that presaged the New Wave cinema of the '60s". Ellington and Strayhorn, always looking for new musical territory, produced suites for John Steinbeck's novel Sweet Thursday, Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite and Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt. Anatomy of a Murder was followed by Paris Blues (1961), which featured Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier as jazz musicians. For this work, Ellington was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Score. In the early 1960s, Ellington embraced recording with artists who had been friendly rivals in the past or were younger musicians who focused on later styles. The Ellington and Count Basie orchestras recorded together with the album First Time! The Count Meets the Duke (1961). During a period when Ellington was between recording contracts, he made records with Louis Armstrong (Roulette), Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane (both for Impulse) and participated in a session with Charles Mingus and Max Roach which produced the Money Jungle (United Artists) album. He signed to Frank Sinatra's new Reprise label, but the association with the label was short-lived. Musicians who had previously worked with Ellington returned to the Orchestra as members: Lawrence Brown in 1960 and Cootie Williams in 1962. The writing and playing of music is a matter of intent... You can't just throw a paintbrush against the wall and call whatever happens art. My music fits the tonal personality of the player. I think too strongly in terms of altering my music to fit the performer to be impressed by accidental music. You can't take doodling seriously. He was now performing worldwide and spent a significant part of each year on overseas tours. As a consequence, he formed new working relationships with artists from around the world, including the Swedish vocalist Alice Babs, and the South African musicians Dollar Brand and Sathima Bea Benjamin (A Morning in Paris, 1963/1997). Ellington wrote an original score for director Michael Langham's production of Shakespeare's Timon of Athens at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada, which opened on July 29, 1963. Langham has used it for several subsequent productions, including a much later adaptation by Stanley Silverman which expands the score with some of Ellington's best-known works. Last years Ellington was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1965. However, no prize was ultimately awarded that year. Then 66 years old, he joked: "Fate is being kind to me. Fate doesn't want me to be famous too young." In 1999, he was posthumously awarded a special Pulitzer Prize "commemorating the centennial year of his birth, in recognition of his musical genius, which evoked aesthetically the principles of democracy through the medium of jazz and thus made an indelible contribution to art and culture." In September 1965, he premiered the first of his Sacred Concerts. He created a jazz Christian liturgy. Although the work received mixed reviews, Ellington was proud of the composition and performed it dozens of times. This concert was followed by two others of the same type in 1968 and 1973, known as the Second and Third Sacred Concerts. Many saw the Sacred Music suites as an attempt to reinforce commercial support for organized religion. However, Ellington simply said it was "the most important thing I've done". The Steinway piano upon which the Sacred Concerts were composed is part of the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Like Haydn and Mozart, Ellington conducted his orchestra from the piano—he always played the keyboard parts when the Sacred Concerts were performed. Duke turned 65 in the spring of 1964 but showed no signs of slowing down as he continued to make recordings of significant works such as The Far East Suite (1966), New Orleans Suite (1970), The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse (1971) and the Latin American Suite (1972), much of it inspired by his world tours. It was during this time that he recorded his only album with Frank Sinatra, entitled Francis A. & Edward K. (1967). In 1972-1974 Ellington worked on his only opera, Queenie Pie, together with Maurice Peress. Ellington got an idea to wrote an opera about a black beautician in 1930s, but did not finish it. Among the last shows Ellington and his orchestra performed were one on March 21, 1973, at Purdue University's Hall of Music, two on March 22, 1973, at the Sturges-Young Auditorium in Sturgis, Michigan and the Eastbourne Performance on December 1, 1973, later issued on LP. Ellington performed what is considered his final full concert in a ballroom at Northern Illinois University on March 20, 1974. Since 1980, that ballroom has been dedicated as the "Duke Ellington Ballroom". Personal life Ellington married his high school sweetheart, Edna Thompson (d. 1967), on July 2, 1918, when he was 19. The next spring, on March 11, 1919, Edna gave birth to their only son, Mercer Kennedy Ellington. Ellington was joined in New York City by his wife and son in the late 1920s, but the couple soon permanently separated. According to her obituary in Jet magazine, she was "homesick for Washington" and returned. In 1929, Ellington became the companion of Mildred Dixon, who traveled with him, managed Tempo Music, inspired songs, such as "Sophisticated Lady", at the peak of his career, and raised his son. In 1938, he left his family (his son was 19) and moved in with Beatrice "Evie" Ellis, a Cotton Club employee. Their relationship, though stormy, continued after Ellington met and formed a relationship with Fernanda de Castro Monte in the early 1960s. Ellington supported both women for the rest of his life. Ellington's sister Ruth (1915–2004) later ran Tempo Music, his music publishing company. Ruth's second husband was the bass-baritone McHenry Boatwright, whom she met when he sang at her brother's funeral. As an adult, son Mercer Ellington (d. 1996) played trumpet and piano, led his own band, and worked as his father's business manager. Ellington was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha and was a Freemason associated with Prince Hall Freemasonry. Death Ellington died on May 24, 1974, of complications from lung cancer and pneumonia, a few weeks after his 75th birthday. At his funeral, attended by over 12,000 people at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Ella Fitzgerald summed up the occasion: "It's a very sad day. A genius has passed." He was interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery, the Bronx, New York City. Legacy Memorialized Numerous memorials have been dedicated to Duke Ellington in cities from New York and Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles. In Ellington's birthplace, Washington, D.C., the Duke Ellington School of the Arts educates talented students who are considering careers in the arts by providing art instruction and academic programs to prepare students for post-secondary education and professional careers. In 1974, the District renamed the Calvert Street Bridge, originally built in 1935, as the Duke Ellington Bridge. Another school is P.S. 004 Duke Ellington in New York. In 1989, a bronze plaque was attached to the newly named Duke Ellington Building at 2121 Ward Place NW. In 2012, the new owner of the building commissioned a mural by Aniekan Udofia that appears above the lettering "Duke Ellington". In 2010 the triangular park, across the street from Duke Ellington's birth site, at the intersection of New Hampshire and M Streets NW, was named the Duke Ellington Park. Ellington's residence at 2728 Sherman Avenue NW, during the years 1919–1922, is marked by a bronze plaque. On February 24, 2009, the United States Mint issued a coin with Duke Ellington on it, making him the first African American to appear by himself on a circulating U.S. coin. Ellington appears on the reverse (tails) side of the District of Columbia quarter. The coin is part of the U.S. Mint's program honoring the District and the U.S. territories and celebrates Ellington's birthplace in the District of Columbia. Ellington is depicted on the quarter seated at a piano, sheet music in hand, along with the inscription "Justice for All", which is the District's motto. In 1986, a United States commemorative stamp was issued featuring Ellington's likeness. Ellington lived out his final years in Manhattan, in a townhouse at 333 Riverside Drive near West 106th Street. His sister Ruth, who managed his publishing company, also lived there, and his son Mercer lived next door. After his death, West 106th Street was officially renamed Duke Ellington Boulevard. A large memorial to Ellington, created by sculptor Robert Graham, was dedicated in 1997 in New York's Central Park, near Fifth Avenue and 110th Street, an intersection named Duke Ellington Circle. A statue of Ellington at a piano is featured at the entrance to UCLA's Schoenberg Hall. According to UCLA magazine: The Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival is a nationally renowned annual competition for prestigious high school bands. Started in 1996 at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the festival is named after Ellington because of the significant focus that the festival places on his works. Tributes After Duke died, his son Mercer took over leadership of the orchestra, continuing until he died in 1996. Like the Count Basie Orchestra, this "ghost band" continued to release albums for many years. Digital Duke, credited to The Duke Ellington Orchestra, won the 1988 Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. Mercer Ellington had been handling all administrative aspects of his father's business for several decades. Mercer's children continue a connection with their grandfather's work. Gunther Schuller wrote in 1989: Ellington composed incessantly to the very last days of his life. Music was indeed his mistress; it was his total life and his commitment to it was incomparable and unalterable. In jazz he was a giant among giants. And in twentieth century music, he may yet one day be recognized as one of the half-dozen greatest masters of our time. Martin Williams said: "Duke Ellington lived long enough to hear himself named among our best composers. And since his death in 1974, it has become not at all uncommon to see him named, along with Charles Ives, as the greatest composer we have produced, regardless of category." In the opinion of Bob Blumenthal of The Boston Globe in 1999: "[i]n the century since his birth, there has been no greater composer, American or otherwise, than Edward Kennedy Ellington." In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Duke Ellington on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans. His compositions have been revisited by artists and musicians worldwide as sources of inspiration and a bedrock of their performing careers: Dave Brubeck dedicated "The Duke" (1954) to Ellington and it became a standard covered by others, including Miles Davis on his Miles Ahead, 1957. The album The Real Ambassadors has a vocal version of this piece, "You Swing Baby (The Duke)", with lyrics by Iola Brubeck, Dave Brubeck's wife. It is performed as a duet between Louis Armstrong and Carmen McRae. It is also dedicated to Duke Ellington. Miles Davis created his half-hour dirge "He Loved Him Madly" (on Get Up with It) as a tribute to Ellington one month after his death. Charles Mingus, who had been fired by Ellington decades earlier, wrote the elegy "Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love" in 1974, a few months after Ellington's death. Stevie Wonder wrote the song "Sir Duke" as a tribute to Ellington, which appeared on his album Songs in the Key of Life released in 1976. There are hundreds of albums dedicated to the music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn by artists famous and obscure. Sophisticated Ladies, an award-winning 1981 musical revue, incorporated many tunes from Ellington's repertoire. A second Broadway musical interpolating Ellington's music, Play On!, debuted in 1997. Discography Awards and honors 1960, Hollywood Walk of Fame, contribution to recording industry 1964, Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Milton College 1966, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. 1969, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the US 1971, an Honorary PhD from the Berklee College of Music 1973, the Legion of Honour by France, its highest civilian honor. 1999, posthumous Special Pulitzer Prize for his lifetime contributions to music and culture Grammy Awards Ellington earned 14 Grammy awards from 1959 to 2000 (three of which were posthumous) and a total of 25 nominations Grammy Hall of Fame Recordings of Duke Ellington were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings at least 25 years old that have qualitative or historical significance. Honors and inductions See also List of people with synesthesia References Bibliography . Covers all of Duke's travels and films from the 1929 short film Black and Tan onwards. Further reading . Especially pp. 318–357. . Esp. pp. 46–157. External links Duke Ellington in Grove Music Online (by subscription) Duke Ellington Oral History collection at Oral History of American Music Duke Ellington Legacy Big Band & Duke Ellington Legacy Band – official website of the family organization Duke Ellington Legacy Art Pilkington collection relating to Duke Ellington, 1919–1974 at the Library of Congress Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn: Jazz Composers – April–June 2009 exhibition at NMAH Duke Ellington: 20th International Conference, London, May 2008 FBI file on Edward Kennedy Duke Ellington Duke Ellington recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. His life is retold in the radio drama "Echos of Harlem ", a presentation from Destination Freedom Category:1899 births Category:1974 deaths Category:20th-century American composers Category:20th-century American conductors (music) Category:20th-century American male musicians Category:20th-century jazz composers Category:African-American conductors (music) Category:African-American film score composers Category:African-American jazz composers Category:African-American jazz musicians Category:African-American jazz pianists Category:African-American male composers Category:American autobiographers Category:American film score composers Category:American jazz bandleaders Category:American jazz composers Category:American jazz pianists Category:American male conductors (music) Category:American male film score composers Category:American male jazz composers Category:American male jazz musicians Category:American male jazz pianists Category:American Prince Hall Freemasons Category:Articles containing video clips Category:Bethlehem Records artists Category:Big band bandleaders Category:Big band pianists Category:Black Lion Records artists Category:Broadway composers and lyricists Category:Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Composers from New York City Category:Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) Category:Decca Records artists Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Category:Gennett Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Harlem Renaissance Category:Jazz musicians from New York (state) Category:Music & Arts artists Category:Musicians from New York City Category:Musicians from Washington, D.C. Category:Musicraft Records artists Category:Orchestral jazz musicians Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:Pulitzer Prize winners Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Recipients of the Legion of Honour Category:Red Baron Records artists Category:Spingarn Medal winners Category:Swing bandleaders Category:Swing composers Category:Swing pianists

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Ken Strong

Elmer Kenneth Strong (April 21, 1906 - October 5, 1979) was an American football halfback and fullback who also played minor league baseball. Considered one of the greatest all-around players in the early decades of the game, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1957 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 and was named to the NFL 1930s All-Decade Team. A native of West Haven, Connecticut, Strong played college baseball and football for the NYU Violets. In football, he led the country in scoring with 162 points in 1928, gained over 3,000 yards from scrimmage, and was a consensus first-team selection on the 1928 College Football All-America Team.

Staten Island Stapletons

Unable to reach terms with the New York Giants, Strong signed instead with the Staten Island Stapletons. He played for the Stapletons for four years from 1929 to 1932. While statistics are not available for the 1929 NFL season, Strong was regarded as one of the best backs in the NFL. He started all 10 games at halfback for the 1929 Stapletons. In his first NFL game, he threw a long forward pass to set up the Stapleton's first touchdown and scored all of the team's 12 points on two short touchdown runs. He also had a 70-yard run in a scoreless tie with the Orange Tornadoes on November 3, 1929. Two days later, Strong had a 50-yard touchdown run against the Providence Steam Roller. At the end of the 1929 season, Strong was selected by Collyer's Eye and the Green Bay Press-Gazette as a second-team All-Pro. In 1930, Strong appeared in all 12 games for the Stapletons and scored 53 points on two rushing touchdowns, five receiving touchdowns, one field goal, and eight extra points. His point total ranked third in the NFL in 1930, trailing only Jack McBride (56 points) and Verne Lewellen (54 points). On September 28, 1930, he caught two touchdown passes, threw a 40-yard pass that set up a third touchdown, and kicked three extra points in a 21-0 victory over the Frankford Yellow Jackets. In December 1930, he led the Stapletons to a 16-7 victory over the New York Giants for the pro football championship of New York City; Strong accounted for all 16 Stapleton points, running 98 yards for a touchdown, passing for a second touchdown, and kicking a field goal and an extra point. He was selected as a first-team player on the 1930 All-Pro Team by Collyer's Eye and the Green Bay Press-Gazette. In 1931, Strong appeared in all 11 games for the Stapletons and scored 53 points on six rushing touchdowns, one punt return for a touchdown, two field goals, and five extra points. His 53 points ranked fourth in the NFL, trailing only Johnny Blood (84 points), Ernie Nevers (66 points), and Dutch Clark (60 points). On November 22, 1931, Strong scored all 16 points in a 16-7 victory over Cleveland; he had two rushing touchdowns, including a 50-yard run and kicked a field goal and an extra point. At the end of the 1931 season, Strong was selected as an All-Pro for the second year in a row, receiving first-team honors from the United Press (UP) and Collyer's Eye. Strong's output dropped off in 1932 as he moved to the fullback position. He appeared in 11 games and ranked sixth in the NFL with 375 rushing yards, but scored only 15 points on two touchdowns and three extra points. At the end of the 1932 season, the Stapletons team folded. CANNOTANSWER

Elmer Kenneth Strong (April 21, 1906 – October 5, 1979) was an American professional football player who was a halfback and fullback. He also played minor league baseball. Considered one of the greatest all-around players in the early decades of the game, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1957 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 and was named to the NFL 1930s All-Decade Team. A native of West Haven, Connecticut, Strong played college baseball and football for the NYU Violets. In football, he led the country in scoring with 162 points in 1928, gained over 3,000 yards from scrimmage, and was a consensus first-team selection on the 1928 College Football All-America Team. Strong played professional football in the National Football League (NFL) for the Staten Island Stapletons (1929–1932) and New York Giants (1933–1935, 1939, 1944–1947), and in the second American Football League for the New York Yankees (1936–1937). He led the NFL in scoring in 1934 and was selected as a first-team All-Pro in 1930, 1931, 1933, and 1934. He also played minor league baseball from 1929 to 1931, but his baseball career was cut short by a wrist injury. Early years Strong was born in the Savin Rock section of West Haven, Connecticut, in 1906. His father Elmer F. Strong was a Connecticut native who worked as an egg and dairy inspector. Strong attended West Haven High School where he was a star baseball and football player. New York University Strong next attended New York University (NYU) where he played baseball and football. In baseball, he was NYU's center fielder for three years and drew attention for his fielding and power hitting. He played summer baseball for the Hyannis town team of Barnstable, Massachusetts in the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was part of a "parade of sluggers" that powered the Hyannis lineup. As a halfback for the 1928 NYU Violets football team, he led the country in scoring with 162 points, tallied some 3,000 total yards from scrimmage, and was a consensus pick on the 1928 College Football All-America Team. Strong gained widespread fame when he led NYU to a 27–13 upset victory over undefeated Carnegie Tech. He threw two long touchdown passes, rushed for two touchdowns, and kicked three extra points, leading Grantland Rice to write: This attack was led by a runaway buffalo, using the speed of a deer, and his name was Ken Strong. He ran all over a big, powerful team, smashed its line, ran its ends, kicked 50 and 55 yards, threw passes and tackled all over the lot. Today he was George Gipp, Red Grange and Chris Cagle rolled into one human form and there was nothing Carnegie Tech had that could stop his march. Carnegie Tech coach Walter Steffen said of Strong's performance: "This is the first time in my career that one man was good enough to run over and completely wreck an exceptionally good team. I can tell you he is better than Heston or Thorpe." Professional sports Football Strong played 16 seasons of professional football from 1929 to 1940 and 1944 to 1947. He earned a reputation as a triple-threat man and a versatile athlete who played on offense and defense and in the kicking game. The Pro Football Hall of Fame's biography of Strong states: "Strong could do everything – run, block, pass, catch passes, punt, placekick, and play defense with the very best." Staten Island Stapletons Unable to reach terms with the New York Giants, Strong signed instead with the Staten Island Stapletons. He played for the Stapletons for four years from 1929 to 1932. While statistics are not available for the 1929 NFL season, Strong was regarded as one of the best backs in the NFL. He started all 10 games at halfback for the 1929 Stapletons. In his first NFL game, he threw a long forward pass to set up the Stapleton's first touchdown and scored all of the team's 12 points on two short touchdown runs. He also had a 70-yard run in a scoreless tie with the Orange Tornadoes on November 3, 1929. Two days later, Strong had a 50-yard touchdown run against the Providence Steam Roller. At the end of the 1929 season, Strong was selected by Collyer's Eye and the Green Bay Press-Gazette as a second-team All-Pro. In 1930, Strong appeared in all 12 games for the Stapletons and scored 53 points on two rushing touchdowns, five receiving touchdowns, one field goal, and eight extra points. His point total ranked third in the NFL in 1930, trailing only Jack McBride (56 points) and Verne Lewellen (54 points). On September 28, 1930, he caught two touchdown passes, threw a 40-yard pass that set up a third touchdown, and kicked three extra points in a 21–0 victory over the Frankford Yellow Jackets. In December 1930, he led the Stapletons to a 16–7 victory over the New York Giants for the pro football championship of New York City; Strong accounted for all 16 Stapleton points, running 98 yards for a touchdown, passing for a second touchdown, and kicking a field goal and an extra point. He was selected as a first-team player on the 1930 All-Pro Team by Collyer's Eye and the Green Bay Press-Gazette. In 1931, Strong appeared in all 11 games for the Stapletons and scored 53 points on six rushing touchdowns, one punt return for a touchdown, two field goals, and five extra points. His 53 points ranked fourth in the NFL, trailing only Johnny Blood (84 points), Ernie Nevers (66 points), and Dutch Clark (60 points). On November 22, 1931, Strong scored all 16 points in a 16–7 victory over Cleveland; he had two rushing touchdowns, including a 50-yard run and kicked a field goal and an extra point. At the end of the 1931 season, Strong was selected as an All-Pro for the second year in a row, receiving first-team honors from the United Press (UP) and Collyer's Eye. Strong's output dropped off in 1932 as he moved to the fullback position. He appeared in 11 games and ranked sixth in the NFL with 375 rushing yards, but scored only 15 points on two touchdowns and three extra points. At the end of the 1932 season, the Stapletons team folded. New York Giants In 1933, Strong signed with the New York Giants. The 1932 Giants had compiled a 4–6–2 record, but the 1933 Giants, with Strong at fullback and Harry Newman at quarterback, improved to 11–3 and advanced to the 1933 NFL Championship Game. Strong led the NFL with 64 points in 1933; his points were scored on three rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns, a touchdown on an interception return, five field goals, and 13 extra points. On November 26, 1933, he became the first known player in NFL history to score on a fair catch kick. The 30-yard kick was made at the Polo Grounds in a win against the Green Bay Packers. After the 1933 season, Strong received first-team All-Pro honors from the United Press, Collyer's Eye, and the Green Bay Press-Gazette. In 1934, Strong again played in every game for the Giants as a fullback. He rushed for 431 yards and scored 56 points (six rushing touchdowns, four field goals, and eight extra points) in the regular season. His greatest fame derives from his role in the Giants' comeback victory over the Chicago Bears in the 1934 NFL Championship Game; Strong scored 17 points for the Giants on a 38-yard field goal, two fourth-quarter touchdowns on runs of 42 and 8 yards, and two extra points. Strong received first-team All-Pro honors in 1934 from the NFL and others. In 1935, Strong helped lead the Giants to their third consecutive NFL Championship Game. In a 10–7 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers, he was only able to play a few minutes due to injury, but he still managed to score all of the Giants' points on a 24-yard touchdown run and a 24-yard field goal. Slowed by injury in 1935, he was described as "a celebrated invalid" who "hobbled" from the bench to kick a field goal for the Giants in a 3–0 victory over the Bears on November 17. In the 1935 NFL Championship Game, a 26–7 loss to the Detroit Lions, Strong scored all of the Giants' points on a long touchdown catch and run and the extra point. New York Yankees In August 1936, Strong signed with the New York Yankees of the newly formed second American Football League. Strong's departure from the NFL was the new league's first raid on the NFL. Strong later recalled that Giants owner Jack Mara wanted Strong to accept a pay cut from $6,000 to $3,200; the Yankees agreed to pay him $5,000. During the 1936 season, Strong earned a reputation as "the best blocker in the game." He also: kicked a field goal and two extra points in a 17–6 victory over Brooklyn on October 14; scored a touchdown and kicked the extra point in a 7–6 victory over Pittsburgh on October 21; and kicked three field goals in a 15–7 win over Cleveland on November 23. Strong returned to the Yankees in 1937. However, he left the team after three games to assist Mal Stevens in coaching the NYU Violets football team. Jersey City Giants In 1938, Strong was a player and head coach for the Jersey City Giants, the New York Giants' farm team in the American Association. He was barred from playing in the NFL because of his decision to jump to the American Football League in 1936. Tim Mara, owner of the Giants, reportedly negotiated a deal with Strong to play for Jersey City in exchange for which Mara would seek Strong's reinstatement in 1939. He kicked 13 field goals, scored 51 points, and was named to the all-league team. He led the Giants to a 7–1 record and the league championship, scoring 10 points in Jersey City's championship game victory over the Union City Rams. Return to the New York Giants Strong returned to the New York Giants in 1939. He appeared in nine games and scored 19 points on four field goals and seven extra points. Strong is also believed to be the second player (after Mose Kelsch) to have devoted an entire season to placekicking; his 1939 season with the Giants had him playing very little outside of kicks. In the summer of 1940, Strong became ill with stomach ulcers, underwent emergency surgery, and was hospitalized for four weeks. He said that he intended to return to playing when his health permitted. He played for the Jersey City Giants while recuperating in the fall of 1940, led Jersey City to another league championship, then announced his retirement as a player in November 1940. He came out of retirement in 1942 to play for the Long Island Clippers, scoring 12 points in four games. In 1944, with talent in the NFL depleted by wartime military service, Strong returned for a third stint with the New York Giants. He appeared in all 10 games for the 1944 Giants, including six as a starter. In his first three games with the Giants in 1944, Strong at age 38 accounted for 22 of the team's 48 points. He helped lead the team to the 1944 NFL Championship Game, scoring 41 points on six field goals and 23 extra points. After the war ended, Strong remained with the Giants for another three years as the team's place-kicker and remained one of the league's leading scorers with 41 points in 1945, 44 points in 1946, and 30 points in 1947. His 32 extra points in 1946 ranked second in the league. In April 1948, at age 41, Strong announced his retirement as a player. Overview and honors In 12 seasons in the NFL, Strong received first-team All-Pro honors four times (1930, 1931, 1933, and 1934) and scored 520 career points (including 36 points in the post-season) on 38 touchdowns, 39 field goals, and 175 extra points. In October 1937, Red Cagle, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, rated Strong at the greatest all-around football player. Cagle said: "Strong ... can do everything. He's a great punter, place kicker, pass thrower, and how he could carry his 198 pounds! I played with and against Strong, and he always stood out. He is tops when the chips are down ... Ken is also a brilliant blocker, so I guess that makes him the class." Walter Steffen, also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, said: "I'll tell you he is easily the greatest football player I ever saw – and I've been around over twenty-five years ... I can tell you honestly that since 1905 I've never seen a football player in his class for all-around stuff." In 1939, Grantland Rice rated Strong and Jim Thorpe as the greatest players in football history. In Strong's favor, Rice cited Strong's "unusual speed", the "driving force in his legs", and his stamina. Harry Grayson wrote: "An amazing runner, blocker, passer, kicker, and defensive man, Strong was, in the opinion of many who saw him, the greatest football player of them all." Grayson later called Strong "a runaway buffalo with the speed of an antelope." Strong received numerous honors for his football career, including the following: In 1950, he was one of the 25 charter inductees into the Helms Athletic Foundation's Professional Football Hall of Fame. In 1957, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. In 1967, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Prior to 1968, Strong's jersey number (No. 50) was retired by the New York Giants. He was among the first four Giants (along with Mel Hein, Y. A. Tittle and Al Blozis) to be so honored. In 1969, he was named to the NFL 1930s All-Decade Team. In 1971, he was inducted into the NYU Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2010, he was one of the 22 players included in the New York Giants Ring of Honor at MetLife Stadium. Baseball Strong also played professional baseball for several years. He was signed by the New York Yankees before graduating from NYU and spent the summer of 1929 with the New Haven Profs of the Eastern League. He was an outfielder for New Haven, appearing in 104 games and compiling a .283 batting average with 21 home runs and 43 extra-base hits. Strong began the 1930 season with New Haven. In mid-May, he joined the Hazleton Mountaineers of the New York–Pennsylvania League, appearing in 117 games and compiling a .373 batting average with 41 home runs (a league record), and 88 extra-base hits. On June 8 in a game at home vs. Wilkes-Barre, Strong played left field and hit four home runs. In 1931, Strong moved up to AA ball with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League. He appeared in 118 games with Toronto and compiled a .340 batting average with 53 extra-base hits. In January 1932, the Detroit Tigers purchased rights to Strong. He was considered a tremendous major league prospect, but a wrist injury sustained late in the 1931 season when he ran into the outfield fence proved to be a fracture. Strong underwent surgery, but the Detroit surgeon removed the wrong bone. Strong never recovered the full use of his right wrist. In July 1933, Strong won a $75,000 jury verdict in a lawsuit against the surgeon who removed the wrong bone. The verdict was later reversed on appeal. Family, later years, and honors In December 1929, Strong married Amelie Hunneman, a New York actress known by the stage name Rella Harrison. The marriage was "stormy", short-lived, and ended in divorce. In December 1931, Strong married Mabel Anderson of Long Island. Strong and his second wife remained married for nearly 48 years and had a son, Kenneth Robert Strong, born in approximately 1932. After retiring from football, Strong lived with his wife and son in Bayside, Queens, and worked as a liquor salesman. From 1962 to 1965, he was an assistant coach for the New York Giants, working with the team's kickers. Strong had a history of heart problems and died of a heart attack in 1979 at age 73. Television On February 19, 1957 Strong made an appearance on the game show To Tell the Truth. He was contestant number 3 claiming to be Tommy Loughran, a former boxer. See also List of NCAA major college football yearly scoring leaders References External links Category:1906 births Category:1979 deaths Category:American football halfbacks Category:New York Giants players Category:New York Giants coaches Category:New York Yankees (1936 AFL) players Category:NYU Violets football players Category:NYU Violets football coaches Category:Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Category:Cape Cod Baseball League players (pre-modern era) Category:Staten Island Stapletons players Category:Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Category:All-American college football players Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:National Football League players with retired numbers Category:Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from West Haven, Connecticut Category:American football fullbacks Category:American football placekickers Category:Players of American football from Connecticut

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Ken Strong

Elmer Kenneth Strong (April 21, 1906 - October 5, 1979) was an American football halfback and fullback who also played minor league baseball. Considered one of the greatest all-around players in the early decades of the game, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1957 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 and was named to the NFL 1930s All-Decade Team. A native of West Haven, Connecticut, Strong played college baseball and football for the NYU Violets. In football, he led the country in scoring with 162 points in 1928, gained over 3,000 yards from scrimmage, and was a consensus first-team selection on the 1928 College Football All-America Team.

New York Giants

In 1933, Strong signed with the New York Giants. The 1932 Giants had compiled a 4-6-2 record, but the 1933 Giants, with Strong at fullback and Harry Newman at quarterback, improved to 11-3 and advanced to the 1933 NFL Championship Game. Strong led the NFL with 64 points in 1933; his points were scored on three rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns, a touchdown on an interception return, five field goals, and 13 extra points. On November 26, 1933, he became the first known player in NFL history to score on a fair catch kick. The 30-yard kick was made at the Polo Grounds in a win against the Green Bay Packers. After the 1933 season, Strong received first-team All-Pro honors from the United Press, Collyer's Eye, and the Green Bay Press-Gazette. In 1934, Strong again played in every game for the Giants as a fullback. He rushed for 431 yards and scored 56 points (six rushing touchdowns, four field goals, and eight extra points) in the regular season. His greatest fame derives from his role in the Giants' comeback victory over the Chicago Bears in the 1934 NFL Championship Game; Strong scored 17 points for the Giants on a 38-yard field goal, two fourth-quarter touchdowns on runs of 42 and 8 yards, and two extra points. Strong received first-team All-Pro honors in 1934 from the NFL and others. In 1935, Strong helped lead the Giants to their third consecutive NFL Championship Game. In a 10-7 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers, he was only able to play a few minutes due to injury, but he still managed to score all of the Giants' points on a 24-yard touchdown run and a 24-yard field goal. Slowed by injury in 1935, he was described as "a celebrated invalid" who "hobbled" from the bench to kick a field goal for the Giants in a 3-0 victory over the Bears on November 17. In the 1935 NFL Championship Game, a 26-7 loss to the Detroit Lions, Strong scored all of the Giants' points on a long touchdown catch and run and the extra point. CANNOTANSWER

Elmer Kenneth Strong (April 21, 1906 – October 5, 1979) was an American professional football player who was a halfback and fullback. He also played minor league baseball. Considered one of the greatest all-around players in the early decades of the game, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1957 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 and was named to the NFL 1930s All-Decade Team. A native of West Haven, Connecticut, Strong played college baseball and football for the NYU Violets. In football, he led the country in scoring with 162 points in 1928, gained over 3,000 yards from scrimmage, and was a consensus first-team selection on the 1928 College Football All-America Team. Strong played professional football in the National Football League (NFL) for the Staten Island Stapletons (1929–1932) and New York Giants (1933–1935, 1939, 1944–1947), and in the second American Football League for the New York Yankees (1936–1937). He led the NFL in scoring in 1934 and was selected as a first-team All-Pro in 1930, 1931, 1933, and 1934. He also played minor league baseball from 1929 to 1931, but his baseball career was cut short by a wrist injury. Early years Strong was born in the Savin Rock section of West Haven, Connecticut, in 1906. His father Elmer F. Strong was a Connecticut native who worked as an egg and dairy inspector. Strong attended West Haven High School where he was a star baseball and football player. New York University Strong next attended New York University (NYU) where he played baseball and football. In baseball, he was NYU's center fielder for three years and drew attention for his fielding and power hitting. He played summer baseball for the Hyannis town team of Barnstable, Massachusetts in the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was part of a "parade of sluggers" that powered the Hyannis lineup. As a halfback for the 1928 NYU Violets football team, he led the country in scoring with 162 points, tallied some 3,000 total yards from scrimmage, and was a consensus pick on the 1928 College Football All-America Team. Strong gained widespread fame when he led NYU to a 27–13 upset victory over undefeated Carnegie Tech. He threw two long touchdown passes, rushed for two touchdowns, and kicked three extra points, leading Grantland Rice to write: This attack was led by a runaway buffalo, using the speed of a deer, and his name was Ken Strong. He ran all over a big, powerful team, smashed its line, ran its ends, kicked 50 and 55 yards, threw passes and tackled all over the lot. Today he was George Gipp, Red Grange and Chris Cagle rolled into one human form and there was nothing Carnegie Tech had that could stop his march. Carnegie Tech coach Walter Steffen said of Strong's performance: "This is the first time in my career that one man was good enough to run over and completely wreck an exceptionally good team. I can tell you he is better than Heston or Thorpe." Professional sports Football Strong played 16 seasons of professional football from 1929 to 1940 and 1944 to 1947. He earned a reputation as a triple-threat man and a versatile athlete who played on offense and defense and in the kicking game. The Pro Football Hall of Fame's biography of Strong states: "Strong could do everything – run, block, pass, catch passes, punt, placekick, and play defense with the very best." Staten Island Stapletons Unable to reach terms with the New York Giants, Strong signed instead with the Staten Island Stapletons. He played for the Stapletons for four years from 1929 to 1932. While statistics are not available for the 1929 NFL season, Strong was regarded as one of the best backs in the NFL. He started all 10 games at halfback for the 1929 Stapletons. In his first NFL game, he threw a long forward pass to set up the Stapleton's first touchdown and scored all of the team's 12 points on two short touchdown runs. He also had a 70-yard run in a scoreless tie with the Orange Tornadoes on November 3, 1929. Two days later, Strong had a 50-yard touchdown run against the Providence Steam Roller. At the end of the 1929 season, Strong was selected by Collyer's Eye and the Green Bay Press-Gazette as a second-team All-Pro. In 1930, Strong appeared in all 12 games for the Stapletons and scored 53 points on two rushing touchdowns, five receiving touchdowns, one field goal, and eight extra points. His point total ranked third in the NFL in 1930, trailing only Jack McBride (56 points) and Verne Lewellen (54 points). On September 28, 1930, he caught two touchdown passes, threw a 40-yard pass that set up a third touchdown, and kicked three extra points in a 21–0 victory over the Frankford Yellow Jackets. In December 1930, he led the Stapletons to a 16–7 victory over the New York Giants for the pro football championship of New York City; Strong accounted for all 16 Stapleton points, running 98 yards for a touchdown, passing for a second touchdown, and kicking a field goal and an extra point. He was selected as a first-team player on the 1930 All-Pro Team by Collyer's Eye and the Green Bay Press-Gazette. In 1931, Strong appeared in all 11 games for the Stapletons and scored 53 points on six rushing touchdowns, one punt return for a touchdown, two field goals, and five extra points. His 53 points ranked fourth in the NFL, trailing only Johnny Blood (84 points), Ernie Nevers (66 points), and Dutch Clark (60 points). On November 22, 1931, Strong scored all 16 points in a 16–7 victory over Cleveland; he had two rushing touchdowns, including a 50-yard run and kicked a field goal and an extra point. At the end of the 1931 season, Strong was selected as an All-Pro for the second year in a row, receiving first-team honors from the United Press (UP) and Collyer's Eye. Strong's output dropped off in 1932 as he moved to the fullback position. He appeared in 11 games and ranked sixth in the NFL with 375 rushing yards, but scored only 15 points on two touchdowns and three extra points. At the end of the 1932 season, the Stapletons team folded. New York Giants In 1933, Strong signed with the New York Giants. The 1932 Giants had compiled a 4–6–2 record, but the 1933 Giants, with Strong at fullback and Harry Newman at quarterback, improved to 11–3 and advanced to the 1933 NFL Championship Game. Strong led the NFL with 64 points in 1933; his points were scored on three rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns, a touchdown on an interception return, five field goals, and 13 extra points. On November 26, 1933, he became the first known player in NFL history to score on a fair catch kick. The 30-yard kick was made at the Polo Grounds in a win against the Green Bay Packers. After the 1933 season, Strong received first-team All-Pro honors from the United Press, Collyer's Eye, and the Green Bay Press-Gazette. In 1934, Strong again played in every game for the Giants as a fullback. He rushed for 431 yards and scored 56 points (six rushing touchdowns, four field goals, and eight extra points) in the regular season. His greatest fame derives from his role in the Giants' comeback victory over the Chicago Bears in the 1934 NFL Championship Game; Strong scored 17 points for the Giants on a 38-yard field goal, two fourth-quarter touchdowns on runs of 42 and 8 yards, and two extra points. Strong received first-team All-Pro honors in 1934 from the NFL and others. In 1935, Strong helped lead the Giants to their third consecutive NFL Championship Game. In a 10–7 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers, he was only able to play a few minutes due to injury, but he still managed to score all of the Giants' points on a 24-yard touchdown run and a 24-yard field goal. Slowed by injury in 1935, he was described as "a celebrated invalid" who "hobbled" from the bench to kick a field goal for the Giants in a 3–0 victory over the Bears on November 17. In the 1935 NFL Championship Game, a 26–7 loss to the Detroit Lions, Strong scored all of the Giants' points on a long touchdown catch and run and the extra point. New York Yankees In August 1936, Strong signed with the New York Yankees of the newly formed second American Football League. Strong's departure from the NFL was the new league's first raid on the NFL. Strong later recalled that Giants owner Jack Mara wanted Strong to accept a pay cut from $6,000 to $3,200; the Yankees agreed to pay him $5,000. During the 1936 season, Strong earned a reputation as "the best blocker in the game." He also: kicked a field goal and two extra points in a 17–6 victory over Brooklyn on October 14; scored a touchdown and kicked the extra point in a 7–6 victory over Pittsburgh on October 21; and kicked three field goals in a 15–7 win over Cleveland on November 23. Strong returned to the Yankees in 1937. However, he left the team after three games to assist Mal Stevens in coaching the NYU Violets football team. Jersey City Giants In 1938, Strong was a player and head coach for the Jersey City Giants, the New York Giants' farm team in the American Association. He was barred from playing in the NFL because of his decision to jump to the American Football League in 1936. Tim Mara, owner of the Giants, reportedly negotiated a deal with Strong to play for Jersey City in exchange for which Mara would seek Strong's reinstatement in 1939. He kicked 13 field goals, scored 51 points, and was named to the all-league team. He led the Giants to a 7–1 record and the league championship, scoring 10 points in Jersey City's championship game victory over the Union City Rams. Return to the New York Giants Strong returned to the New York Giants in 1939. He appeared in nine games and scored 19 points on four field goals and seven extra points. Strong is also believed to be the second player (after Mose Kelsch) to have devoted an entire season to placekicking; his 1939 season with the Giants had him playing very little outside of kicks. In the summer of 1940, Strong became ill with stomach ulcers, underwent emergency surgery, and was hospitalized for four weeks. He said that he intended to return to playing when his health permitted. He played for the Jersey City Giants while recuperating in the fall of 1940, led Jersey City to another league championship, then announced his retirement as a player in November 1940. He came out of retirement in 1942 to play for the Long Island Clippers, scoring 12 points in four games. In 1944, with talent in the NFL depleted by wartime military service, Strong returned for a third stint with the New York Giants. He appeared in all 10 games for the 1944 Giants, including six as a starter. In his first three games with the Giants in 1944, Strong at age 38 accounted for 22 of the team's 48 points. He helped lead the team to the 1944 NFL Championship Game, scoring 41 points on six field goals and 23 extra points. After the war ended, Strong remained with the Giants for another three years as the team's place-kicker and remained one of the league's leading scorers with 41 points in 1945, 44 points in 1946, and 30 points in 1947. His 32 extra points in 1946 ranked second in the league. In April 1948, at age 41, Strong announced his retirement as a player. Overview and honors In 12 seasons in the NFL, Strong received first-team All-Pro honors four times (1930, 1931, 1933, and 1934) and scored 520 career points (including 36 points in the post-season) on 38 touchdowns, 39 field goals, and 175 extra points. In October 1937, Red Cagle, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, rated Strong at the greatest all-around football player. Cagle said: "Strong ... can do everything. He's a great punter, place kicker, pass thrower, and how he could carry his 198 pounds! I played with and against Strong, and he always stood out. He is tops when the chips are down ... Ken is also a brilliant blocker, so I guess that makes him the class." Walter Steffen, also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, said: "I'll tell you he is easily the greatest football player I ever saw – and I've been around over twenty-five years ... I can tell you honestly that since 1905 I've never seen a football player in his class for all-around stuff." In 1939, Grantland Rice rated Strong and Jim Thorpe as the greatest players in football history. In Strong's favor, Rice cited Strong's "unusual speed", the "driving force in his legs", and his stamina. Harry Grayson wrote: "An amazing runner, blocker, passer, kicker, and defensive man, Strong was, in the opinion of many who saw him, the greatest football player of them all." Grayson later called Strong "a runaway buffalo with the speed of an antelope." Strong received numerous honors for his football career, including the following: In 1950, he was one of the 25 charter inductees into the Helms Athletic Foundation's Professional Football Hall of Fame. In 1957, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. In 1967, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Prior to 1968, Strong's jersey number (No. 50) was retired by the New York Giants. He was among the first four Giants (along with Mel Hein, Y. A. Tittle and Al Blozis) to be so honored. In 1969, he was named to the NFL 1930s All-Decade Team. In 1971, he was inducted into the NYU Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2010, he was one of the 22 players included in the New York Giants Ring of Honor at MetLife Stadium. Baseball Strong also played professional baseball for several years. He was signed by the New York Yankees before graduating from NYU and spent the summer of 1929 with the New Haven Profs of the Eastern League. He was an outfielder for New Haven, appearing in 104 games and compiling a .283 batting average with 21 home runs and 43 extra-base hits. Strong began the 1930 season with New Haven. In mid-May, he joined the Hazleton Mountaineers of the New York–Pennsylvania League, appearing in 117 games and compiling a .373 batting average with 41 home runs (a league record), and 88 extra-base hits. On June 8 in a game at home vs. Wilkes-Barre, Strong played left field and hit four home runs. In 1931, Strong moved up to AA ball with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League. He appeared in 118 games with Toronto and compiled a .340 batting average with 53 extra-base hits. In January 1932, the Detroit Tigers purchased rights to Strong. He was considered a tremendous major league prospect, but a wrist injury sustained late in the 1931 season when he ran into the outfield fence proved to be a fracture. Strong underwent surgery, but the Detroit surgeon removed the wrong bone. Strong never recovered the full use of his right wrist. In July 1933, Strong won a $75,000 jury verdict in a lawsuit against the surgeon who removed the wrong bone. The verdict was later reversed on appeal. Family, later years, and honors In December 1929, Strong married Amelie Hunneman, a New York actress known by the stage name Rella Harrison. The marriage was "stormy", short-lived, and ended in divorce. In December 1931, Strong married Mabel Anderson of Long Island. Strong and his second wife remained married for nearly 48 years and had a son, Kenneth Robert Strong, born in approximately 1932. After retiring from football, Strong lived with his wife and son in Bayside, Queens, and worked as a liquor salesman. From 1962 to 1965, he was an assistant coach for the New York Giants, working with the team's kickers. Strong had a history of heart problems and died of a heart attack in 1979 at age 73. Television On February 19, 1957 Strong made an appearance on the game show To Tell the Truth. He was contestant number 3 claiming to be Tommy Loughran, a former boxer. See also List of NCAA major college football yearly scoring leaders References External links Category:1906 births Category:1979 deaths Category:American football halfbacks Category:New York Giants players Category:New York Giants coaches Category:New York Yankees (1936 AFL) players Category:NYU Violets football players Category:NYU Violets football coaches Category:Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Category:Cape Cod Baseball League players (pre-modern era) Category:Staten Island Stapletons players Category:Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Category:All-American college football players Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:National Football League players with retired numbers Category:Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from West Haven, Connecticut Category:American football fullbacks Category:American football placekickers Category:Players of American football from Connecticut

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Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in 2002 after winning the inaugural season of the television series American Idol, which earned her a record deal with RCA Records. Clarkson's debut single, "A Moment Like This", topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became the best-selling single of 2002 in the US. It was followed by the release of her debut studio album, Thankful (2003), which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

2016-present: Children's books, Meaning of Life and The Voice

In February 2016, it was announced that Clarkson had signed a book deal with HarperCollins. Her first children's book, titled River Rose and the Magical Lullaby was released on October 4, 2016. The book features an original lullaby written and performed by Clarkson. On the possibility of writing anymore books in the future Clarkson told Publishers Weekly, "I've got a few ideas - there could be a lullaby for each book. We've got a plethora of stories, and I've already written seven songs, full out, so we'll just have to see which ones might pan out to be a book. But yes, there will definitely be more." The second book featuring the character of River Rose titled River Rose and the Magical Christmas was released on October 24, 2017, and included a new original song written and sung by Clarkson, titled "Christmas Eve". On March 15, 2016, First Lady Michelle Obama released "This Is for My Girls", a collaborative track featuring vocals from Clarkson, Janelle Monae, Kelly Rowland, Lea Michele, Zendaya and Missy Elliott to coincide with Barack Obama's SXSW speech and to promote the First Lady's third-world educational initiative "Let Girls Learn". Clarkson recorded a solo version of "It's Quiet Uptown" for The Hamilton Mixtape. Her version was released on November 3, 2016, as a promotional single for the album. She also recorded a duet called "Love Goes On" with Aloe Blacc for the original soundtrack of The Shack which was released in the United States on March 3, 2017. On May 11, 2017, it was announced that Clarkson would join The Voice as a coach for the series' fourteenth season. On June 24, 2016, Clarkson announced she had signed a long-term worldwide deal with Atlantic Records, with the intentions of releasing a soul-influenced eighth studio album in 2017. In November 2016, Clarkson announced her intentions of releasing a new single in April 2017, with the album to follow in June. On September 4, 2017, Clarkson announced her new lead single "Love So Soft", which was released on September 7, 2017, along with the song "Move You" as well. On September 6, 2017, Clarkson announced that her album, Meaning of Life, would be released on October 27, 2017. Clarkson opened the 45th American Music Awards with P!nk; together they performed R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" to honor first responders. Later in the show she performed "Miss Independent" and "Love So Soft". "Love So Soft" was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. She now holds the record for the most nominations in that category with four. Clarkson lent her voice in the computer-animated film, The Star alongside Oprah Winfrey, Steven Yeun, Tyler Perry and others, which is based on the Nativity of Jesus. Developed by Sony Pictures Animation, the film was released on November 17, 2017. This was the first film in which Clarkson performed a voice role. Clarkson also had a guest voice role in the Netflix animated series Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh, portraying herself in the series' 2017 animated Christmas special, Home for the Holidays, alongside Ben Schwartz. In March 2018, Clarkson released "I've Loved You Since Forever", a ballad version of the children's book by Hoda Kotb. CANNOTANSWER

Kelly Brianne (born April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, author and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of American Idol in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debut single, "A Moment Like This", topped the US Billboard Hot 100, and became the country's best selling single of 2002. It was included on her debut studio album, Thankful (2003), which debuted atop the Billboard 200. Trying to reinvent her image, Clarkson parted ways with Idol management and shifted to pop rock for her second studio album, Breakaway (2004). Supported by four US top-ten singles – the title track, "Since U Been Gone", "Behind These Hazel Eyes", and "Because of You" – Breakaway sold over 12 million copies worldwide and won two Grammy Awards. Clarkson took further creative control for her third studio album, My December (2007), co-writing all of its tracks and becoming its executive producer. However, her label was dissatisfied with the album's darker rock music and promoted it reluctantly. Clarkson's fourth and fifth studio albums, All I Ever Wanted (2009) and Stronger (2011), returned to a lighter tone and pop rock sound, with the former becoming her second US number-one album and the latter making her the first artist to win the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album twice. Both albums spawned a Hot 100 number-one single: "My Life Would Suck Without You", which holds the record for the biggest jump to number one in the chart's history, and "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)", which became her best-selling single worldwide. Clarkson then had the best-selling Christmas album of the year with Wrapped in Red (2013). Its single, "Underneath the Tree", was named the ASCAP's most popular Christmas song released in the 21st century. Her seventh studio album, Piece by Piece (2015), debuted at number-one in the US, while its title track reached the top ten. After leaving RCA and signing with Atlantic in 2016, Clarkson released her soul-influenced eighth album, Meaning of Life (2017), and her second Christmas album, When Christmas Comes Around... (2021). Clarkson has sold over 25 million albums and 45 million singles worldwide. She has 11 top-ten singles in the US, and nine top-ten singles in the UK, Canada, and Australia. She became the first artist in history to top each of Billboard's pop, adult contemporary, adult pop, country, and dance charts. Clarkson has also served as a coach on The Voice from its fourteenth season to the twenty-first season, and again for the twenty-third season. Since 2019, she has hosted her own talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show. Among her numerous accolades, Clarkson has received three MTV Video Music Awards, three Grammy Awards, four American Music Awards, two Academy of Country Music Awards, five Daytime Emmy Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Billboard has hailed Clarkson as "one of pop music's greatest singers", and honored her with the Powerhouse Award, while VH1 ranked her nineteenth on their list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music. Early life and career Kelly Brianne Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Jeanne Ann (née Rose), a first grade English teacher, and Stephen Michael Clarkson, a former engineer. She is the youngest of three children, with a brother named Jason and a sister named Alyssa. Clarkson also has two younger half brothers from her father's second marriage. Her parents divorced when she was six years old, whereupon her brother went to live with their father, her sister went to live with an aunt, and she stayed with her mother. Clarkson's mother later married Jimmy Taylor. Clarkson is of English, Welsh, Irish and Greek descent. Her mother is a descendant of Republican state senator Isaiah Rose, whose life story was discussed on Clarkson's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? in 2013. Clarkson was raised Southern Baptist. She has said, "I always grew up in church. I was the leader of our youth group. I've always grown up pretty close to church and with God. But I think I've just gotten a lot closer just because He's the only one I can lean on." She later said of her upbringing, "My family was highly conservative; I had to go to church on Sunday and Wednesday." Clarkson was educated at Pauline Hughes Middle School. In the seventh grade, the school's choir teacher, Cynthia Glenn, overheard her singing in a hallway and asked her to audition for the school choir. Clarkson told her she had never received any professional vocal training. Clarkson graduated from Burleson High School in 2000, where she performed in several musicals, such as Annie Get Your Gun, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Brigadoon. Clarkson started voice training, hoping to secure a college scholarship in music. After graduating high school, Clarkson declined full scholarships to the University of Texas at Austin, University of North Texas, and Berklee College of Music. She declined them stating, "I'd already written so much music and wanted to try on my own. And I figured you're never too old to go to college." She worked several jobs to finance a demo, recording material and trying to market it to record labels, but she received little response. Clarkson turned down two recording contracts from Jive Records and Interscope Records, saying, "They would have completely pigeonholed me as a bubblegum act. I was confident enough that something better would come along." In 2001, she traveled to Los Angeles, pursuing a career in music. She appeared as an extra in a few television series such as Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and Dharma & Greg, and briefly worked with musician Gerry Goffin to record five demo tracks in an effort to secure a record deal. According to Clarkson, her early attempts to launch her music career floundered when she was turned down by almost every U.S. record label for sounding "too black". Lack of other career opportunities and a fire incident in her apartment forced Clarkson to return to Burleson, where she promoted Red Bull energy drinks, worked as a telemarketer and as a cocktail waitress in a comedy club. Career 2002–2003: American Idol, World Idol, and Thankful Upon returning to Burleson, Clarkson was encouraged by her friends to audition for the inaugural season of the reality television series American Idol: The Search for a Superstar in May 2002. Despite receiving a "golden ticket", a pass to the Hollywood rounds, in the series premiere, Clarkson made her first appearance during the second episode. In an interview in 2012, Clarkson referred to the inaugural season as "ghetto", explaining: "On our season we were like kids in camp. Nobody knew what to do. The show was ever changing every day. They did one season of Pop Idol in the UK, but America is a very different market. They dropped us off in a mall and said 'find some clothes to wear on national television'. I am maybe the closest to white trash you can get. What do I buy? White pants I guess? I definitely looked like a cocktail waitress." Clarkson went on to win the competition on September 4, 2002, at the Kodak Theatre (now Dolby), earning 58% of the votes against runner-up Justin Guarini. Immediately after winning American Idol, Clarkson was signed to a record deal with RCA Records, 19 Recordings, and S Records by talent manager Simon Fuller, who created American Idol, and music mogul Clive Davis, who was slated to executive-produce her debut album. On September 17, 2002, her debut double-A-side single, "Before Your Love"/"A Moment Like This", was released. Both songs were performed by Clarkson during the season finale of American Idol. After debuting at number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the single climbed to number 52 the following week, and subsequently ascended to number one. It broke a 38-year-old record set by the British band The Beatles for the biggest leap to number one. It eventually went on to become the best-selling single of 2002 in the United States. Clarkson's debut album, Thankful, was released on April 15, 2003. The album contained aspects of pop, contemporary R&B, and gospel music, with several established musicians such as Rhett Lawrence, Diane Warren, The Underdogs, and Babyface contributing on to the tracks. Released during a time of urban-R&B dominance, the album was well received by several critics. AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised the album for its vocal ability: "throughout this record, (Clarkson) makes it seem effortless and charming. She can croon, she can belt out a song, she can be sexy and sassy while still being graceful and as wholesome as the girl next door." Henry Goldblatt of Entertainment Weekly remarked: "Clarkson glides through octaves with the masterful control of someone who's been doing this for decades." Thankful was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and went on to sell over 4.5 million copies worldwide. It was later certified double platinum by the RIAA, platinum in Canada, and gold in Japan and Australia. Its lead single, "Miss Independent", became her first international hit, reaching the top ten in five national charts, including the US. It was later certified gold by the RIAA. It earned Clarkson her first Grammy Award nomination for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" at the 46th Grammy Awards. It was followed with two moderately successful singles, "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is"; the latter was used on the soundtrack of British romantic film Love Actually. Her first video album, Miss Independent, was released on November 18, 2003, and was certified gold by the RIAA. To support Thankful, Clarkson and Idol second season runner-up Clay Aiken co-headlined the 2004 Independent Tour throughout the US. Clarkson made her film debut with Guarini with the release of the musical romantic comedy film From Justin to Kelly in June 2003. The film was poorly received by critics and was unsuccessful at the box office, with Clarkson explaining that she was "contractually obligated" to do the film and didn't like it. In 2002, Clarkson, along with American Idol judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson and hosts Brian Dunkleman and Ryan Seacrest, participated in the season premiere of the eighth season of the television comedy series MADtv. She also portrayed Brenda Lee in two episodes of the television drama American Dreams between 2003 and 2004. On December 25, 2003, Clarkson participated in the television special competition World Idol in London, along with the inaugural winners of the several Idol television series around the world. Clarkson was contractually obligated to participate, and she performed Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman". She ended up as the runner-up with 97 points, behind the first Norwegian Idol Kurt Nilsen. 2004–2006: New management and Breakaway Trying to distance herself from her American Idol image, Clarkson decided to part ways with Fuller and 19 Management and hired the services of talent manager Jeff Kwatinetz of The Firm. She reinvented her musical direction by developing a more rock-oriented sound with her second studio album, Breakaway. Davis served as the executive producer for the record, while Clarkson co-wrote six of the tracks with pop and rock songwriters such as former Evanescence band members Ben Moody and David Hodges, Kara DioGuardi, Dr. Luke and Max Martin. Breakaway received critical acclaim, with Erlewine of AllMusic remarking: "What gives Breakaway its spine are the driving, anthemic pop tunes, numbers that sound simultaneously mainstream and youthful, which is a hard trick to pull off, and they are the tracks that illustrate Clarkson is a rare thing in the 2000s: a pop singer who's neither hip nor square, just solidly and enjoyably in the mainstream." Breakaway was released on November 30, 2004, and became Clarkson's most commercially successful album. After debuting at number three on the Billboard 200, its longevity allowed it to become the third-best-selling album of 2005 in the US and was certified sextuple platinum by the RIAA. The album also enjoyed success throughout the world; it topped the charts in the Netherlands and Ireland, became the world's seventh-best-selling album of 2005 and went on to sell more than twelve million copies worldwide. Clarkson supported Breakaway with the Breakaway Tour, Hazel Eyes Tour, and Addicted Tour which took place from 2005 to 2006. Five singles were released to promote Breakaway. Its title track, "Breakaway", was originally released in July 2004, as the soundtrack for Disney film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and was later re-released as the album's fifth single in May 2006. It became Clarkson's third top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 with a peak of number six. It was a major success on adult contemporary radio, topping the Billboard Adult Contemporary for 21 weeks and the Adult Contemporary Audience chart for 28 weeks (her longest number one on any charts). "Since U Been Gone" was released as the album's lead single in November 2004 and became Clarkson's most successful single on the Hot 100 despite peaking at number two. The second and third singles, "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and "Because of You", also followed suit—peaking at number six and number seven on the Hot 100, respectively. "Because of You" became Clarkson's biggest single worldwide, reaching number one on the European Hot 100 Singles chart and the national charts in Brazil, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Switzerland. The fourth single, "Walk Away", peaked at number twelve on the Hot 100. According to Mediabase, Clarkson was the most-played artist of 2006 in the U.S. Breakaway garnered Clarkson many accolades, including two trophies at the 48th Grammy Awards—the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Since U Been Gone" and the Best Pop Vocal Album. She also won Best Female Video two years in a row, for "Since U Been Gone" and "Because of You", at the MTV Video Music Awards. Clarkson's second video album, Behind Hazel Eyes, was released on March 29, 2005. In 2005, she performed and participated during the thirtieth season of the American sketch-comedy series, Saturday Night Live, and the reality series Damage Control with Simple Plan frontman Pierre Bouvier. She performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Game2 of the NBA Finals. She also performed during the festivities All-Star Game and the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy; In 2006, Clarkson recorded "Go" as a free download for the Ford Motor Company advertising campaign. 2007–2009: My December and All I Ever Wanted Clarkson's third studio album, My December, was released on June 22, 2007. The album relied on darker themes and heavier rock music. Clarkson replaced Davis as the executive producer and co-wrote all the tracks. She opted to collaborate with her band members rather than her previous producers and collaborators. Its production and release became a subject of a dispute with RCA, particularly with Davis. He noted the album's lack of professional production input and wanted her to re-record tracks with a more mainstream appeal, which she refused. Clarkson defended herself saying, "I've sold more than 15 million records worldwide, and still nobody listens to what I have to say. I couldn't give a crap about being a star. I've always just wanted to sing and write." The album received positive response, but lack of promotion due to reluctance of RCA led Clarkson to dismiss Kwatinetz and Live Nation to cancel its accompanying tour, the My December Tour, and reschedule it into a smaller scale with supporting acts Jon McLaughlin, Sean Kingston and Mandy Moore. Clarkson later hired talent manager Narvel Blackstock of Starstruck Management. Blackstock was the husband of country artist Reba McEntire, of whom Clarkson is a close friend. Clarkson later issued an apology to Davis, citing him as "a key advisor" in her success. My December debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum by the RIAA. The album went on to sell over 2.5 million copies worldwide. It featured only one major hit single, "Never Again", which debuted and peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100—her highest debut on the chart ever. On July 7, 2007, Clarkson performed on the American leg of Live Earth concert. Clarkson partnered with NASCAR during their 2007 season, appearing in televised advertisements, performed at pre-race concerts, promoted NASCAR Day, and appeared at the Champions' Banquet in December. Clarkson collaborated with Reba McEntire in an hour-long CMT Crossroads special at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on February 22, 2007. Introduced by Dolly Parton, Clarkson performed "Why Haven't I Heard from You" and "Does He Love You" with Martina McBride on the television special CMT Giants: Reba McEntire. She also appeared on an episode of McEntire's sitcom Reba, which aired on January 14, 2007. At the Academy of Country Music Awards on May 16, 2007, Clarkson and McEntire sang a country version of "Because of You", which also became the lead single from the album Reba: Duets. It peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. Throughout 2008, Clarkson and McEntire embarked on the 2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour to support Reba: Duets and My December. Clarkson's fourth album, All I Ever Wanted, was released on March 10, 2009. Clarkson continued to co-write her own material, but this time she returned to a mainstream-oriented sound by reuniting with previous collaborators Dr. Luke, Martin, and DioGuardi, and new collaborators Howard Benson, Claude Kelly, Ryan Tedder, Glen Ballard, Matt Thiessen and Katy Perry in contributing tracks for the album. The release of All I Ever Wanted was met with positive acclaim from music critics for its lighter themes. The album was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 and remaining there for two weeks. The album has sold over a million copies in the U.S. and garnered Clarkson a nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards. Its first single, "My Life Would Suck Without You", became an international hit. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 97 and rose to the top position the following week, breaking the record for the biggest jump to number one in a single week previously held by Britney Spears' "Womanizer". It also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Hungary. It was followed with two more top-twenty singles, "I Do Not Hook Up" and "Already Gone". The release of "Already Gone" became a subject of another dispute between Clarkson and RCA, after she realized its similarities with Beyoncé's song "Halo", both of which were produced by Tedder. Further promotion for the album was abruptly ended with the limited success of its fourth and final singles, "All I Ever Wanted" and "Cry". Clarkson supported All I Ever Wanted with the All I Ever Wanted Tour from 2009 to 2010. She also performed as one of many main artists for the return of VH1 Divas in September 2009. Clarkson became a guest mentor on the Dutch television series X Factor in November 2009. 2010–2012: Stronger, Duets, and Greatest Hits – Chapter One Clarkson recorded a country duet with Jason Aldean, "Don't You Wanna Stay", for his 2010 album My Kinda Party. It became her first number-one song on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and has sold over 2.7 million copies, making it the best-selling country collaboration in history. It received numerous country-related accolades, including a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 54th Grammy Awards. Clarkson incorporated a slight country vibe into her fifth studio album, Stronger, which was also influenced by Prince, Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow, and Radiohead. She worked with several producers including Greg Kurstin, Ester Dean, Darkchild, Toby Gad, Steve Jordan, and Howard Benson. Released on October 21, 2011, Stronger debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the RIAA. It was also critically applauded and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards, making her the first artist to win the award twice. Strongers lead single, "Mr. Know It All", was released in September 2011. It reached number one in Australia and South Korea and attained a top-ten position in seven countries, including the U.S., where it became her ninth top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also became a crossover hit to the country charts, prompting RCA to reissue a country version. "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" served as the second single in January 2012, and topped sixteen Billboard charts, becoming her third number one on the Hot 100. It also reached number one in Poland and Slovakia and reached the top ten in many other charts worldwide. It remains Clarkson's best-selling single, with 4.9 million copies sold in the U.S. alone. The song was nominated for three Grammy Awards—Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance. "Dark Side" was released as the third and final single in June 2012, and it achieved a modest success. It became her eleventh top-ten hit on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart, and she surpassed Sheryl Crow and Katy Perry as the female artist with the most top-ten songs on the chart. The release of Stronger was accompanied by two EPs, The Smoakstack Sessions and iTunes Session. The latter debuted at number 85 on the Billboard 200, and it was promoted by its only single, a cover of "I'll Be Home For Christmas". Clarkson co-wrote "Tell Me a Lie", which was recorded by British boy band One Direction for their debut album, Up All Night (2011). Clarkson promoted Stronger with two concert tours, the Stronger Tour and the co-headlining the Kelly Clarkson / The Fray Tour with the alternative rock band The Fray. On February 5, 2012, she performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XLVI to widespread critical acclaim. She later released a promotional single, "Get Up (A Cowboys Anthem)", for use in Pepsi's NFL advertising campaign. Clarkson served as a mentor and judge, alongside John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, and Robin Thicke, on the ABC television show Duets, which premiered on May 24, 2012. The show concluded on July 19, 2012, with Clarkson's contestant Jason Farol finishing as the second runner-up. She also became a guest mentor to Blake Shelton's team on second season on The Voice. The two later collaborated on a cover of "There's a New Kid in Town" for Shelton's 2012 Christmas album, Cheers, It's Christmas. Commemorating the 10th anniversary of her career in music, Clarkson released her first greatest hits album, Greatest Hits – Chapter One, on November 19, 2012. Three new songs recorded for the compilation—"Catch My Breath", "Don't Rush" (featuring country musician Vince Gill) and "People Like Us"—were all released as singles. "Catch My Breath" became her 14th top-twenty hit on the Hot 100 chart as well as her 13th million-selling single in the United States. According to Billboard, it was the third biggest adult contemporary song of 2013. However, its follow-up singles performed moderately well on the charts. Clarkson earned more nominations from the country music industry, including Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Don't Rush" at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards and Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2012 Country Music Association Awards. Chapter One was eventually certified gold in Australia, the UK and the U.S. 2013–2015: Wrapped in Red and Piece by Piece In January 2013, Clarkson performed "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" at the second inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama. Her live rendition was acclaimed by critics, who contrasted it with Beyoncé's pre-recorded performance during the same event. In February 2013, she performed "Tennessee Waltz" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards as a tribute to Patti Page and Carole King. She also released a non-album single, "Tie It Up", exclusively to country music stations in June 2013. Clarkson and Maroon 5 performed at 24 concerts as part of the 12th Annual Honda Civic Tour, starting on August 1, 2013, and ending on October 6, 2013. She was featured on the re-recorded version of "Foolish Games" for Jewel's first compilation, Greatest Hits (2013). Clarkson also collaborated with singer Robbie Williams on the song "Little Green Apples" for his 2013 album Swings Both Ways. Clarkson's sixth studio album and first Christmas record, Wrapped in Red, was solely produced by Greg Kurstin. She co-wrote all five original songs and recorded eleven cover versions of Christmas standards and carols. Released on October 25, 2013, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Holiday Albums and at number three on the Billboard 200 chart. By December 2013, Wrapped in Red had already been certified platinum by the RIAA and eventually became the best-selling holiday album of the year. The album's lead single, "Underneath the Tree", was an adult contemporary number-one hit in both the U.S. and Canada. Clarkson subsequently became Billboards ninth top adult contemporary act of 2013. On December 11, 2013, her first Christmas special debut, Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale, garnered over 5.3 million viewers. In December 2013, Citizen Watch Co. announced Clarkson as their newest Brand Ambassador. Retaining her relationship with country music acts in 2014, Clarkson collaborated with Martina McBride on "In the Basement" (originally by Etta James and Sugar Pie DeSanto) for McBride's album Everlasting and with Trisha Yearwood on "PrizeFighter" for Yearwood's compilation PrizeFighter: Hit After Hit. Clarkson also performed a rendition of "All I Ask of You" with Josh Groban on his seventh studio album, Stages, and its companion television special. She was featured on Ben Haenow's "Second Hand Heart", the lead single from his debut studio album. In February 2015, Clarkson released Piece by Piece, her seventh and final studio album under her recording contract with RCA Records. Musically, it is an electropop and dance album, featuring collaborations with Kurstin, Jesse Shatkin, Sia, John Legend, and Shane McAnally, among others. Piece by Piece received a reasonably positive response from music critics and became her third album to debut at the top of the Billboard 200 chart. To promote the album, Clarkson appeared in several televised performances, including the fourteenth season of American Idol, where she became the only alumnus ever to be dedicated with a competing week featuring her discography. She also supported the Piece by Piece Tour throughout 2015, which was cut short of its worldwide visits following medical recommendations for a vocal rest during the year. Piece by Piece spawned three singles. The first one, "Heartbeat Song", peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became a top-ten hit in the UK, Austria, Poland, and South Africa. However, Clarkson failed to achieve a similar success with the second single, "Invincible". The third and final single, "Piece by Piece", debuted and peaked at number eight on the Hot 100 chart, following Clarkson's emotional performance on the fifteenth season of American Idol. It became her eleventh U.S. top-ten hit and matched "Never Again" as her highest debut on the chart. At the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, the album and "Heartbeat Song" were nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance, respectively. At the following year, the title track also received a nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance. 2016–2018: Children's books, Meaning of Life, and The Voice In February 2016, it was announced that Clarkson had signed a book deal with HarperCollins. Her first children's book, River Rose and the Magical Lullaby was released on October 4, 2016. The book features an original lullaby written and performed by Clarkson. On the possibility of writing any more books in the future, Clarkson told Publishers Weekly, "I've got a few ideas – there could be a lullaby for each book. We've got a plethora of stories, and I've already written seven songs, full out, so we'll just have to see which ones might pan out to be a book. But yes, there will definitely be more." The second book featuring River Rose, River Rose and the Magical Christmas, was released on October 24, 2017, and included an original song written and sung by Clarkson, "Christmas Eve". On March 15, 2016, First Lady Michelle Obama released "This Is for My Girls", a collaborative track featuring vocals from Clarkson, Janelle Monáe, Kelly Rowland, Lea Michele, Zendaya, and Missy Elliott to coincide with Barack Obama's SXSW speech and to promote the First Lady's third-world educational initiative Let Girls Learn. Clarkson recorded a solo version of "It's Quiet Uptown" for The Hamilton Mixtape. Her version was released on November 3, 2016, as a promotional single for the album. She also recorded a duet called "Love Goes On" with Aloe Blacc for the original soundtrack of The Shack, which was released in the United States on March 3, 2017. On May 11, 2017, it was announced that Clarkson would join The Voice as a coach for the series' fourteenth season. On June 24, 2016, Clarkson announced she had signed a long-term worldwide deal with Atlantic Records, with the intentions of releasing a soul-influenced eighth studio album in 2017. Her lead single "Love So Soft", was released on September 7, 2017, along with the song "Move You". On September 6, 2017, Clarkson announced that her album, Meaning of Life, would be released on October 27, 2017. Clarkson opened the 45th American Music Awards with P!nk, and together they performed R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" to honor first responders. Later in the show, she performed "Miss Independent" and "Love So Soft". "Love So Soft" was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, giving her the record for the most nominations in that category with four. With the release of Meaning of Life, Clarkson revealed that she had discussions with Atlantic Records about the sound of the follow-up record and has expressed interest in venturing deeper into R&B and soulful pop music. Clarkson lent her voice in the computer-animated film The Star, alongside Oprah Winfrey, Steven Yeun, Tyler Perry, and others. The film is based on the Nativity of Jesus. Developed by Sony Pictures Animation, the film was released on November 17, 2017. This was the first film in which Clarkson performed a voice role. Clarkson also had a guest voice role in the Netflix animated series Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh, portraying herself in the series' 2017 animated Christmas special, Home for the Holidays, alongside Ben Schwartz. In March 2018, Clarkson released "I've Loved You Since Forever", a ballad version of the children's book by Hoda Kotb. Clarkson hosted and performed at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards on May 20, 2018. In the fourteenth season of The Voice, Brynn Cartelli was crowned the winner, giving Clarkson her first victory. In the fifteenth season of The Voice, Chevel Shepherd was crowned the winner, giving Clarkson her second consecutive victory and making her the first female coach to win multiple seasons. 2019–2022: The Kelly Clarkson Show and When Christmas Comes Around... On February 28, 2019, it was announced that she would return to host the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, which aired on May 1, 2019. Clarkson voiced Moxy and provided original songs in the animated musical comedy film UglyDolls, which was released on May 3, 2019. On March 27, 2019, she released "Broken & Beautiful", the lead single from the UglyDolls: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Clarkson also began hosting the daytime variety talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, which premiered on September 9, 2019. In December 2019, Jake Hoot was crowned the winner of the seventeenth season of The Voice, giving Clarkson her third victory as a coach in four seasons. In November 2019, Clarkson announced a Las Vegas residency, Kelly Clarkson: Invincible. The residency was due to take place at the Zappos Theater. It was supposed to run from April to September 2020, but it was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Also in November 2019, Clarkson made an appearance on the Apple TV+ drama series The Morning Show as herself, performing her song "Heat" and interacting with the fictional hosts of the show. In February 2020, Clarkson became a brand ambassador for Wayfair. In addition, Wayfair released "an 'exclusive' collection of furniture and decor inspired by Clarkson and her Texan roots." On April 10, 2020, Trolls World Tour, which featured a character voiced by Clarkson, was released. On April 16, 2020, Clarkson released the standalone single "I Dare You" in English, as well as duets in five different languages with five native-speaking artists. In May 2020, The Kelly Clarkson Show earned seven nominations, the most for any talk show, with Clarkson winning in the category Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host. In June 2020, it was announced that she would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2021, being inducted into the category of Recording. In May 2021, NBC announced that Clarkson's show would take over the time slot of The Ellen DeGeneres Show after it ends in 2022. In June 2021, Clarkson won two Daytime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Talk Show Entertainment and a second consecutive win for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host. On September 23, 2021, Clarkson released "Christmas Isn't Canceled (Just You)", the lead single off her ninth studio album and second Christmas album, When Christmas Comes Around... The album was released on October 15, 2021 to positive reviews and earned Clarkson a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In November 2021, Clarkson performed at the second annual iHeartRadio Holiday Special. She hosted her second Christmas special, Kelly Clarkson Presents: When Christmas Comes Around, which premiered on December 1, 2021. Also in December 2021, Girl Named Tom were crowned winners of the twenty-first season of The Voice. They are the first group act to win an American season & secured Clarkson's fourth victory as a coach. In February 2022, Clarkson and Snoop Dogg were named co-hosts of the singing competition series American Song Contest. It is an adaptation of the popular international songwriting competition Eurovision Song Contest. The series premiered on March 21, 2022. On June 9, 2022, Clarkson released Kellyoke, an EP consisting of six cover songs that Clarkson covered during her "Kellyoke" segment on her talk show. She also revealed that her tenth studio album and follow-up to 2017's Meaning of Life and 2021's Christmas album When Christmas Comes Around... was complete, but Clarkson wanted more time to prepare for the promotion and release of the collection. In June 2022, Clarkson won two Daytime Emmys, including Outstanding Talk Show Entertainment for the second consecutive year and Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host for the third consecutive year. Clarkson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 19, 2022. Clarkson appeared on the Kelsea Ballerini song, "You're Drunk, Go Home" along with Carly Pearce, which was released in September 2022. 2023: Chemistry Clarkson hosted the 12th Annual NFL Honors on February 9, 2023. After taking twenty-second season of The Voice off, it was announced in October 2022, that Clarkson would return for twenty-third season in 2023. Clarkson covered the Cole Porter song, "Don't Fence Me In" on Jeff Goldblum and The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra's EP, Play Well with Others, which was released in March 2023. On March 26, 2023, she announced her tenth studio album, Chemistry, which is set to be released on June 23, 2023. The album's double a-side lead singles, "Mine" and "Me" were released on April 14, 2023. On March 27, 2023, Clarkson announced a ten night Las Vegas residency, Chemistry: An Intimate Evening with Kelly Clarkson, which will run from July 28 to August 19, 2023, at the Bakkt Theater. Artistry Voice Clarkson is a soprano, with a range spanning from E3 to G6. Clarkson can ascend to the whistle register, as well as possessing the ability to sing complex melisma. Describing Clarkson's voice, Arion Berger of Rolling Stone wrote that "her high notes are sweet and pillowy, her growl is bone-shaking and sexy, and her mid-range is amazingly confident." In reviewing a live performance of Clarkson's, Jon Caramanica of The New York Times said she "showed off a voice that moved in all sorts of ways, without ever appearing to strain", continuing "Ms. Clarkson, who has a malleable voice and a boatload of vocal confidence, might be a soul siren in the making". However, in a separate review of Stronger, Caramanica said Clarkson's voice is "too huge, too violent" for warmer and sweeter vocal stylings, stating "she's on a par with Taylor Swift when it comes to vengeance, and she'll do it louder and with more brutality in comparison to her contemporary." In a live review as part of her Stronger Tour, Sophie Sinclair of Hit The Floor said "Kelly's strong and powerful voice was flawless throughout the night, and some may even say she sounds better live than she does on her albums". Mark Deming from Phoenix New Times stated that "in an era when pop music means over-singing a song into a bloody pulp, Clarkson has consistently displayed both charisma and a welcome sense of restraint, knowing how to sound passionate and heartfelt without forgetting where the melody and the root note is supposed to go." Dr. Luke, who produced some of Clarkson's hits, said "She has powerful lungs. She's like the Lance Armstrong of vocal cords." In an interview with Good Morning America, Simon Cowell was asked of the then six American Idol winners, who he thought had the best voice. Cowell immediately answered that Clarkson did "by a mile", noting that she was "up there" with other great singers such as Celine Dion. Esquire wrote that Clarkson has "the best voice in the history of pop music". Reviewing Stronger, Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone states, Clarkson has "one of music's most remarkable voices." Jason Lipshutz from Billboard considered Clarkson as one of the greatest singers in pop music. Regarding the controversial practice of lip-syncing, Clarkson says she never has and never will lip-sync, elaborating in an interview with Cory Myers, "I've actually never done that because I'm terrified; if I ever did that, something horrible would happen, the track would skip. I have a really unhealthy fear about it. So no, I've never done that". Clarkson has earned the title "Queen of Covers" for her ability to perform songs from artists of various genres. Influences At age eight, Clarkson was first inspired to venture into music during a visit to an African-American church in Fort Worth. She recalled: "I was like, 'Wow, whatever they're feeling, I want to feel it too'." Clarkson has been influenced by musicians across various genres. She cited soul singer Aretha Franklin as her major influence. Many of her chosen Idol numbers were Aretha Franklin covers, including "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", which is considered her breakout moment during the competition. Other soul acts who influenced Clarkson were Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Etta James, Stevie Wonder. Clarkson was also influenced by rock acts such as Radiohead, Garbage, Aerosmith, and Jimi Hendrix, as well as Reba McEntire, Bette Midler, and Rosemary Clooney. Regarding her musical influence, Clarkson explained: I grew up with three totally different parents that were into different music. My stepfather is into Willie Nelson and Elvis and all that kind of stuff. And my real father is into Whitney and Mariah, and Aretha, all those soulful singers. My mom is into more, like, adult contemporary—Celine Dion, Barbra [Streisand], Bette Midler, all those types of things. And then my brother is a big influence on me. He's like ten years older than me, so you always wanna be around your cool brother and hang out, so I grew up loving Guns N' Roses. I was all about Metallica. I was all about all those bands, and I still am. I love Aerosmith and No Doubt. I have so many influences on me that are so different. And even country. I love Reba McEntire. I could listen to her all the time. Impact Clarkson has scored over 100 number ones on the Billboard charts and sold over 25 million albums and 45 million singles worldwide, including 14 million albums and 35 million digital singles in the United States alone. She became the first artist to top each of Billboards pop, adult contemporary, adult pop, country and dance charts. She was ranked nineteenth on VH1's list of 100 Greatest Women in Music. Television channel Fuse included Clarkson among "30 Greatest Musicians to Come From Singing Competitions" list. Music executive Simon Cowell believed that "What [Clarkson] sold in the UK, Europe, Asia had nothing to do with American Idol. It had everything to do with the fact that she made a great record and she's got an incredible voice. She's not a girl who got lucky in a talent competition; we got lucky to find her." According to The Hollywood Reporter, Clarkson is "the embodiment of the perfect pop star. Her unmistakable pipes are a powerful presence in top 40 and country, with forays into anthemic rock and dance." Nolan Feeney from Time asserted that Clarkson "has had more of a lasting impact on the pop music landscape than casual listeners might realize." According to Billboard, Clarkson was a "phenomenon" who "helped legitimize" the impact of talent shows. The Washington Post wrote that "Clarkson's powerhouse voice and dynamic presence signaled that the music industry should take these reality show contestants seriously: Her first two albums, Thankful and Breakaway, sold about ten million copies combined, and her pop tunes became empowerment anthems across the globe." Glenn Gamboa of Newsday believed Clarkson "has set the standard for all singing competition contestants with her savvy mix of pop, rock and country." Fox Broadcasting Company said that Clarkson gave "lasting credibility" to American Idol and "in so many ways she cleared a road" for all of the next contestants." George Varga from The San Diego Union-Tribune underlined the difference of Clarkson from most other talent show contestants is that she "writes or co-writes a fair number of [her] own songs. She is also the only one whose quest to follow her artistic instincts—the better to rock out and break free from the Idol cookie-cutter pop mold—prompted her to fire her management team and engage in a prolonged public battle with her record company, RCA." Jon Lisi from PopMatters cited Clarkson as one of the forces of female domination in pop music of the 2000s. He explained that "Clarkson's anti-sexual image appealed to those who were uncomfortable with Britney Spears' overt exhibitionism. When Clarkson performed "Since U Been Gone" at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, for instance, she only showed her midriff, and it was clear that she was marketing herself to an alternative group of young females who liked pop music's conventional sound but didn't want to be confronted with sexual imagery." Mickey Rapkin of Billboard magazine, who called Clarkson a role model and compared her vocals to golden-era Aretha Franklin, stated that Clarkson "has never shied away from speaking her mind, whether in her propulsive pop anthems or on her filter-free Twitter feed." Clarkson has been an influence on other artists, including Vanessa Hudgens, Demi Lovato, Ava Max, Jordin Sparks, Ashley Tisdale, Avril Lavigne, as well as country music singers such as Kelsea Ballerini and Priscilla Block. Personal life In 2012, Clarkson began dating talent manager Brandon Blackstock, son of her former manager Narvel Blackstock and former stepson of Reba McEntire. She and Blackstock married on October 20, 2013, at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee. During their marriage, Brandon was her manager. Together, they have a daughter, River Rose, born in June 2014, and a son, Remington "Remy" Alexander, born in April 2016. In June 2020, Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock, citing irreconcilable differences. In March 2022, it was reported their divorce had been finalized. In October 2019, Clarkson said that she has been managing an autoimmune condition and a thyroid condition since 2006, a fact which she had previously addressed on Today in 2018. Philanthropy In April 2007, Clarkson took part in "Idol Gives Back", a fundraiser for people in poverty in both Africa and the U.S., performing "Up to the Mountain" along with Jeff Beck. She would also perform a five-song set later that year on the American leg of Live Earth concerts opting for environmental awareness about climate change. She has served as ambassador for the March of Dimes since she was on American Idol, raising money regularly and assisting in volunteer service, having walked for "March for Babies", for the cause of improvement of the health of mothers and babies. Clarkson, additionally, got involved in the organization "Houses of Hope", who take care and build orphanages for children in South Africa who have been affected by HIV/AIDS, abuse and poverty. She has visited those children and also participated in "A Night for Hope" fund-raiser concert (held by Clarkson's background vocal singers, Jill and Kate), where she performed a song she wrote after her trip to South Africa, "You Still Won't Know What It's Like". Clarkson also supports the charities Save the Children, UNICEF, "Do Something" and "STOMP Out Bullying" and music causes like the Save the Music Foundation. Clarkson had a ranch in Texas for unwanted animals, which included amputee goats, blind dogs, and horses that survived colic; there are more than 80 animals at the sanctuary. She helped provide veterinary care for them and found them an adoptive family. Clarkson performed in a benefit concert on March 1, 2013, supporting the Omaha based Opportunity Education Foundation, an organization that provides access to education for children around the world, stating "Education was a key part of my childhood, and I am better for it. Anything for education I am really into and especially for kids. A lot of people don't have computers, and they can't afford them. Without education, you get far behind. As long as they have a chance, you know, I think that's important. I want every kid to have a chance." In 2013, Clarkson teamed up with State Farm Insurance to support teen safe driving as a part of Celebrate My Drive program. In 2013, Clarkson supported Feeding America, The Ad Council and their Child Hunger PSA Campaign, which provides food for children facing hunger. Also in 2013, Clarkson participated in Green Mountain Coffee's Great Coffee, Good Vibes, Choose Fair Trade campaign by traveling to coffee farms in Peru to draw attention to the importance of being Fair Trade Certified. Discography Studio albums Thankful (2003) Breakaway (2004) My December (2007) All I Ever Wanted (2009) Stronger (2011) Wrapped in Red (2013) Piece by Piece (2015) Meaning of Life (2017) When Christmas Comes Around... (2021) Chemistry (2023) Tours Headlining The Breakaway Tour (2005–2006) Hazel Eyes Tour (2005) Addicted Tour (2006) My December Tour (2007–2008) All I Ever Wanted Tour (2009–2010) Stronger Tour (2012) Piece by Piece Tour (2015) Meaning of Life Tour (2019) Co-headlining American Idols LIVE! Tour 2002 (2002) (with the American Idol season one finalists) Independent Tour (2004) (with Clay Aiken) 2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour (2008) (with Reba McEntire) Kelly Clarkson / The Fray Tour (2012) (with The Fray) 12th Annual Honda Civic Tour (2013) (with Maroon 5) Residencies Chemistry: An Intimate Evening with Kelly Clarkson (2023) Filmography Films starred From Justin to Kelly (2003) The Star (2017) UglyDolls (2019) Trolls World Tour (2020) Television series American Idol (2002) Duets (2012) The Voice (2018–2021, 2023) The Kelly Clarkson Show (2019–present) American Song Contest (2022) Bibliography See also List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart List of Idols winners Notes References Further reading Phares, Heather. [ "Kelly – Biography"]. Allmusic. Retrieved February 11, 2006. Lamb, Bill. "Kelly Clarkson – Profile" . About.com. Retrieved February 11, 2006. Phares, Heather. "Kelly Clarkson – Biography". Yahoo LAUNCHcast. Retrieved February 11, 2006. Kelly Gets Cocky . Idol winner fires Simon Fuller. PopSugar.com. Blog Archives. Retrieved February 25, 2006. Croatto, Pete. From Justin to Kelly. [Watching From Justin to Kelly, one question looms over the entire production: Why was this movie made?] Retrieved May 4, 2006. External links Category:1982 births Category:19 Recordings artists Category:21st-century American women singers Category:21st-century American singers Category:Actresses from Texas Category:American Christians Category:American children's writers Category:American women pop singers Category:American film actresses Category:American Idol winners Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of Greek descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Welsh descent Category:American pop rock singers Category:American soul singers Category:American sopranos Category:American television talk show hosts Category:American voice actresses Category:American women philanthropists Category:American women record producers Category:American women television personalities Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host winners Category:Feminist musicians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Judges in American reality television series Category:Living people Category:MTV Video Music Award winners Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Burleson, Texas Category:People from Fort Worth, Texas Category:RCA Records artists Category:Singers from Texas Category:Singers with a three-octave vocal range Category:Songwriters from Texas Category:Writers from Texas

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Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in 2002 after winning the inaugural season of the television series American Idol, which earned her a record deal with RCA Records. Clarkson's debut single, "A Moment Like This", topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became the best-selling single of 2002 in the US. It was followed by the release of her debut studio album, Thankful (2003), which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

Impact

Clarkson has scored 100 number ones on the Billboard charts and sold over 25 million albums and 45 million singles worldwide, including 14 million albums and 35 million digital singles in the United States alone. She became the first artist to top each of Billboard's pop, adult contemporary, adult pop, country and dance charts. She was ranked nineteenth on VH1's list of 100 Greatest Women in Music. Television channel Fuse included Clarkson among "30 Greatest Musicians to Come From Singing Competitions" list. Music executive Simon Cowell believed that "What [Clarkson] sold in the UK, Europe, Asia had nothing to do with American Idol. It had everything to do with the fact that she made a great record and she's got an incredible voice. She's not a girl who got lucky in a talent competition; we got lucky to find her." According to The Hollywood Reporter, Clarkson is "the embodiment of the perfect pop star. Her unmistakable pipes are a powerful presence in top 40 and country, with forays into anthemic rock and dance." Nolan Feeney from Time magazine asserted that Clarkson "has had more of a lasting impact on the pop music landscape than casual listeners might realize." According to Billboard, Clarkson was a "phenomenon" who "helped legitimize" the impact of talent shows. The Washington Post wrote that "Clarkson's powerhouse voice and dynamic presence signaled that the music industry should take these reality show contestants seriously: Her first two albums, Thankful and Breakway, sold about 10 million copies combined, and her pop tunes became empowerment anthems across the globe." Glenn Gamboa of Newsday believed that Clarkson "has set the standard for all singing competition contestants with her savvy mix of pop, rock and country." Fox Broadcasting Company claimed that Clarkson gave "lasting credibility" to American Idol and "in so many ways she cleared a road" for all of the next contestants." George Varga from The San Diego Union-Tribune underlined the difference of Clarkson from most of other talent show contestants is that she "writes or co-writes a fair number of [her] own songs. She is also the only one whose quest to follow her artistic instincts--the better to rock out and break free from the Idol cookie-cutter pop mold--prompted her to fire her management team and engage in a prolonged public battle with her record company, RCA." Jon Lisi from PopMatters cited Clarkson as one of the forces of female domination in pop music of the 2000s. He explained that "Clarkson's anti-sexual image appealed to those who were uncomfortable with Britney Spears' overt exhibitionism. When Clarkson performed "Since U Been Gone" at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, for instance, she only showed her midriff, and it was clear that she was marketing herself to an alternative group of young females that liked pop music's conventional sound but didn't want to be confronted with sexual imagery." Singer Demi Lovato, who cited Clarkson as her musical inspiration, said that "[Clarkson] stays out of the tabloids. You hear about her through how talented her music is, not what's going on in her personal life." Country music singer Kelsea Ballerini cites Clarkson as her inspiration and her most favorite female artist of all time, calling her "the best vocalist in the whole world." CANNOTANSWER

Kelly Brianne (born April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, author and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of American Idol in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debut single, "A Moment Like This", topped the US Billboard Hot 100, and became the country's best selling single of 2002. It was included on her debut studio album, Thankful (2003), which debuted atop the Billboard 200. Trying to reinvent her image, Clarkson parted ways with Idol management and shifted to pop rock for her second studio album, Breakaway (2004). Supported by four US top-ten singles – the title track, "Since U Been Gone", "Behind These Hazel Eyes", and "Because of You" – Breakaway sold over 12 million copies worldwide and won two Grammy Awards. Clarkson took further creative control for her third studio album, My December (2007), co-writing all of its tracks and becoming its executive producer. However, her label was dissatisfied with the album's darker rock music and promoted it reluctantly. Clarkson's fourth and fifth studio albums, All I Ever Wanted (2009) and Stronger (2011), returned to a lighter tone and pop rock sound, with the former becoming her second US number-one album and the latter making her the first artist to win the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album twice. Both albums spawned a Hot 100 number-one single: "My Life Would Suck Without You", which holds the record for the biggest jump to number one in the chart's history, and "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)", which became her best-selling single worldwide. Clarkson then had the best-selling Christmas album of the year with Wrapped in Red (2013). Its single, "Underneath the Tree", was named the ASCAP's most popular Christmas song released in the 21st century. Her seventh studio album, Piece by Piece (2015), debuted at number-one in the US, while its title track reached the top ten. After leaving RCA and signing with Atlantic in 2016, Clarkson released her soul-influenced eighth album, Meaning of Life (2017), and her second Christmas album, When Christmas Comes Around... (2021). Clarkson has sold over 25 million albums and 45 million singles worldwide. She has 11 top-ten singles in the US, and nine top-ten singles in the UK, Canada, and Australia. She became the first artist in history to top each of Billboard's pop, adult contemporary, adult pop, country, and dance charts. Clarkson has also served as a coach on The Voice from its fourteenth season to the twenty-first season, and again for the twenty-third season. Since 2019, she has hosted her own talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show. Among her numerous accolades, Clarkson has received three MTV Video Music Awards, three Grammy Awards, four American Music Awards, two Academy of Country Music Awards, five Daytime Emmy Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Billboard has hailed Clarkson as "one of pop music's greatest singers", and honored her with the Powerhouse Award, while VH1 ranked her nineteenth on their list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music. Early life and career Kelly Brianne Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Jeanne Ann (née Rose), a first grade English teacher, and Stephen Michael Clarkson, a former engineer. She is the youngest of three children, with a brother named Jason and a sister named Alyssa. Clarkson also has two younger half brothers from her father's second marriage. Her parents divorced when she was six years old, whereupon her brother went to live with their father, her sister went to live with an aunt, and she stayed with her mother. Clarkson's mother later married Jimmy Taylor. Clarkson is of English, Welsh, Irish and Greek descent. Her mother is a descendant of Republican state senator Isaiah Rose, whose life story was discussed on Clarkson's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? in 2013. Clarkson was raised Southern Baptist. She has said, "I always grew up in church. I was the leader of our youth group. I've always grown up pretty close to church and with God. But I think I've just gotten a lot closer just because He's the only one I can lean on." She later said of her upbringing, "My family was highly conservative; I had to go to church on Sunday and Wednesday." Clarkson was educated at Pauline Hughes Middle School. In the seventh grade, the school's choir teacher, Cynthia Glenn, overheard her singing in a hallway and asked her to audition for the school choir. Clarkson told her she had never received any professional vocal training. Clarkson graduated from Burleson High School in 2000, where she performed in several musicals, such as Annie Get Your Gun, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Brigadoon. Clarkson started voice training, hoping to secure a college scholarship in music. After graduating high school, Clarkson declined full scholarships to the University of Texas at Austin, University of North Texas, and Berklee College of Music. She declined them stating, "I'd already written so much music and wanted to try on my own. And I figured you're never too old to go to college." She worked several jobs to finance a demo, recording material and trying to market it to record labels, but she received little response. Clarkson turned down two recording contracts from Jive Records and Interscope Records, saying, "They would have completely pigeonholed me as a bubblegum act. I was confident enough that something better would come along." In 2001, she traveled to Los Angeles, pursuing a career in music. She appeared as an extra in a few television series such as Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and Dharma & Greg, and briefly worked with musician Gerry Goffin to record five demo tracks in an effort to secure a record deal. According to Clarkson, her early attempts to launch her music career floundered when she was turned down by almost every U.S. record label for sounding "too black". Lack of other career opportunities and a fire incident in her apartment forced Clarkson to return to Burleson, where she promoted Red Bull energy drinks, worked as a telemarketer and as a cocktail waitress in a comedy club. Career 2002–2003: American Idol, World Idol, and Thankful Upon returning to Burleson, Clarkson was encouraged by her friends to audition for the inaugural season of the reality television series American Idol: The Search for a Superstar in May 2002. Despite receiving a "golden ticket", a pass to the Hollywood rounds, in the series premiere, Clarkson made her first appearance during the second episode. In an interview in 2012, Clarkson referred to the inaugural season as "ghetto", explaining: "On our season we were like kids in camp. Nobody knew what to do. The show was ever changing every day. They did one season of Pop Idol in the UK, but America is a very different market. They dropped us off in a mall and said 'find some clothes to wear on national television'. I am maybe the closest to white trash you can get. What do I buy? White pants I guess? I definitely looked like a cocktail waitress." Clarkson went on to win the competition on September 4, 2002, at the Kodak Theatre (now Dolby), earning 58% of the votes against runner-up Justin Guarini. Immediately after winning American Idol, Clarkson was signed to a record deal with RCA Records, 19 Recordings, and S Records by talent manager Simon Fuller, who created American Idol, and music mogul Clive Davis, who was slated to executive-produce her debut album. On September 17, 2002, her debut double-A-side single, "Before Your Love"/"A Moment Like This", was released. Both songs were performed by Clarkson during the season finale of American Idol. After debuting at number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the single climbed to number 52 the following week, and subsequently ascended to number one. It broke a 38-year-old record set by the British band The Beatles for the biggest leap to number one. It eventually went on to become the best-selling single of 2002 in the United States. Clarkson's debut album, Thankful, was released on April 15, 2003. The album contained aspects of pop, contemporary R&B, and gospel music, with several established musicians such as Rhett Lawrence, Diane Warren, The Underdogs, and Babyface contributing on to the tracks. Released during a time of urban-R&B dominance, the album was well received by several critics. AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised the album for its vocal ability: "throughout this record, (Clarkson) makes it seem effortless and charming. She can croon, she can belt out a song, she can be sexy and sassy while still being graceful and as wholesome as the girl next door." Henry Goldblatt of Entertainment Weekly remarked: "Clarkson glides through octaves with the masterful control of someone who's been doing this for decades." Thankful was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and went on to sell over 4.5 million copies worldwide. It was later certified double platinum by the RIAA, platinum in Canada, and gold in Japan and Australia. Its lead single, "Miss Independent", became her first international hit, reaching the top ten in five national charts, including the US. It was later certified gold by the RIAA. It earned Clarkson her first Grammy Award nomination for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" at the 46th Grammy Awards. It was followed with two moderately successful singles, "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is"; the latter was used on the soundtrack of British romantic film Love Actually. Her first video album, Miss Independent, was released on November 18, 2003, and was certified gold by the RIAA. To support Thankful, Clarkson and Idol second season runner-up Clay Aiken co-headlined the 2004 Independent Tour throughout the US. Clarkson made her film debut with Guarini with the release of the musical romantic comedy film From Justin to Kelly in June 2003. The film was poorly received by critics and was unsuccessful at the box office, with Clarkson explaining that she was "contractually obligated" to do the film and didn't like it. In 2002, Clarkson, along with American Idol judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson and hosts Brian Dunkleman and Ryan Seacrest, participated in the season premiere of the eighth season of the television comedy series MADtv. She also portrayed Brenda Lee in two episodes of the television drama American Dreams between 2003 and 2004. On December 25, 2003, Clarkson participated in the television special competition World Idol in London, along with the inaugural winners of the several Idol television series around the world. Clarkson was contractually obligated to participate, and she performed Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman". She ended up as the runner-up with 97 points, behind the first Norwegian Idol Kurt Nilsen. 2004–2006: New management and Breakaway Trying to distance herself from her American Idol image, Clarkson decided to part ways with Fuller and 19 Management and hired the services of talent manager Jeff Kwatinetz of The Firm. She reinvented her musical direction by developing a more rock-oriented sound with her second studio album, Breakaway. Davis served as the executive producer for the record, while Clarkson co-wrote six of the tracks with pop and rock songwriters such as former Evanescence band members Ben Moody and David Hodges, Kara DioGuardi, Dr. Luke and Max Martin. Breakaway received critical acclaim, with Erlewine of AllMusic remarking: "What gives Breakaway its spine are the driving, anthemic pop tunes, numbers that sound simultaneously mainstream and youthful, which is a hard trick to pull off, and they are the tracks that illustrate Clarkson is a rare thing in the 2000s: a pop singer who's neither hip nor square, just solidly and enjoyably in the mainstream." Breakaway was released on November 30, 2004, and became Clarkson's most commercially successful album. After debuting at number three on the Billboard 200, its longevity allowed it to become the third-best-selling album of 2005 in the US and was certified sextuple platinum by the RIAA. The album also enjoyed success throughout the world; it topped the charts in the Netherlands and Ireland, became the world's seventh-best-selling album of 2005 and went on to sell more than twelve million copies worldwide. Clarkson supported Breakaway with the Breakaway Tour, Hazel Eyes Tour, and Addicted Tour which took place from 2005 to 2006. Five singles were released to promote Breakaway. Its title track, "Breakaway", was originally released in July 2004, as the soundtrack for Disney film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and was later re-released as the album's fifth single in May 2006. It became Clarkson's third top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 with a peak of number six. It was a major success on adult contemporary radio, topping the Billboard Adult Contemporary for 21 weeks and the Adult Contemporary Audience chart for 28 weeks (her longest number one on any charts). "Since U Been Gone" was released as the album's lead single in November 2004 and became Clarkson's most successful single on the Hot 100 despite peaking at number two. The second and third singles, "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and "Because of You", also followed suit—peaking at number six and number seven on the Hot 100, respectively. "Because of You" became Clarkson's biggest single worldwide, reaching number one on the European Hot 100 Singles chart and the national charts in Brazil, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Switzerland. The fourth single, "Walk Away", peaked at number twelve on the Hot 100. According to Mediabase, Clarkson was the most-played artist of 2006 in the U.S. Breakaway garnered Clarkson many accolades, including two trophies at the 48th Grammy Awards—the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Since U Been Gone" and the Best Pop Vocal Album. She also won Best Female Video two years in a row, for "Since U Been Gone" and "Because of You", at the MTV Video Music Awards. Clarkson's second video album, Behind Hazel Eyes, was released on March 29, 2005. In 2005, she performed and participated during the thirtieth season of the American sketch-comedy series, Saturday Night Live, and the reality series Damage Control with Simple Plan frontman Pierre Bouvier. She performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Game2 of the NBA Finals. She also performed during the festivities All-Star Game and the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy; In 2006, Clarkson recorded "Go" as a free download for the Ford Motor Company advertising campaign. 2007–2009: My December and All I Ever Wanted Clarkson's third studio album, My December, was released on June 22, 2007. The album relied on darker themes and heavier rock music. Clarkson replaced Davis as the executive producer and co-wrote all the tracks. She opted to collaborate with her band members rather than her previous producers and collaborators. Its production and release became a subject of a dispute with RCA, particularly with Davis. He noted the album's lack of professional production input and wanted her to re-record tracks with a more mainstream appeal, which she refused. Clarkson defended herself saying, "I've sold more than 15 million records worldwide, and still nobody listens to what I have to say. I couldn't give a crap about being a star. I've always just wanted to sing and write." The album received positive response, but lack of promotion due to reluctance of RCA led Clarkson to dismiss Kwatinetz and Live Nation to cancel its accompanying tour, the My December Tour, and reschedule it into a smaller scale with supporting acts Jon McLaughlin, Sean Kingston and Mandy Moore. Clarkson later hired talent manager Narvel Blackstock of Starstruck Management. Blackstock was the husband of country artist Reba McEntire, of whom Clarkson is a close friend. Clarkson later issued an apology to Davis, citing him as "a key advisor" in her success. My December debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum by the RIAA. The album went on to sell over 2.5 million copies worldwide. It featured only one major hit single, "Never Again", which debuted and peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100—her highest debut on the chart ever. On July 7, 2007, Clarkson performed on the American leg of Live Earth concert. Clarkson partnered with NASCAR during their 2007 season, appearing in televised advertisements, performed at pre-race concerts, promoted NASCAR Day, and appeared at the Champions' Banquet in December. Clarkson collaborated with Reba McEntire in an hour-long CMT Crossroads special at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on February 22, 2007. Introduced by Dolly Parton, Clarkson performed "Why Haven't I Heard from You" and "Does He Love You" with Martina McBride on the television special CMT Giants: Reba McEntire. She also appeared on an episode of McEntire's sitcom Reba, which aired on January 14, 2007. At the Academy of Country Music Awards on May 16, 2007, Clarkson and McEntire sang a country version of "Because of You", which also became the lead single from the album Reba: Duets. It peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. Throughout 2008, Clarkson and McEntire embarked on the 2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour to support Reba: Duets and My December. Clarkson's fourth album, All I Ever Wanted, was released on March 10, 2009. Clarkson continued to co-write her own material, but this time she returned to a mainstream-oriented sound by reuniting with previous collaborators Dr. Luke, Martin, and DioGuardi, and new collaborators Howard Benson, Claude Kelly, Ryan Tedder, Glen Ballard, Matt Thiessen and Katy Perry in contributing tracks for the album. The release of All I Ever Wanted was met with positive acclaim from music critics for its lighter themes. The album was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 and remaining there for two weeks. The album has sold over a million copies in the U.S. and garnered Clarkson a nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards. Its first single, "My Life Would Suck Without You", became an international hit. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 97 and rose to the top position the following week, breaking the record for the biggest jump to number one in a single week previously held by Britney Spears' "Womanizer". It also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Hungary. It was followed with two more top-twenty singles, "I Do Not Hook Up" and "Already Gone". The release of "Already Gone" became a subject of another dispute between Clarkson and RCA, after she realized its similarities with Beyoncé's song "Halo", both of which were produced by Tedder. Further promotion for the album was abruptly ended with the limited success of its fourth and final singles, "All I Ever Wanted" and "Cry". Clarkson supported All I Ever Wanted with the All I Ever Wanted Tour from 2009 to 2010. She also performed as one of many main artists for the return of VH1 Divas in September 2009. Clarkson became a guest mentor on the Dutch television series X Factor in November 2009. 2010–2012: Stronger, Duets, and Greatest Hits – Chapter One Clarkson recorded a country duet with Jason Aldean, "Don't You Wanna Stay", for his 2010 album My Kinda Party. It became her first number-one song on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and has sold over 2.7 million copies, making it the best-selling country collaboration in history. It received numerous country-related accolades, including a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 54th Grammy Awards. Clarkson incorporated a slight country vibe into her fifth studio album, Stronger, which was also influenced by Prince, Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow, and Radiohead. She worked with several producers including Greg Kurstin, Ester Dean, Darkchild, Toby Gad, Steve Jordan, and Howard Benson. Released on October 21, 2011, Stronger debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the RIAA. It was also critically applauded and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards, making her the first artist to win the award twice. Strongers lead single, "Mr. Know It All", was released in September 2011. It reached number one in Australia and South Korea and attained a top-ten position in seven countries, including the U.S., where it became her ninth top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also became a crossover hit to the country charts, prompting RCA to reissue a country version. "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" served as the second single in January 2012, and topped sixteen Billboard charts, becoming her third number one on the Hot 100. It also reached number one in Poland and Slovakia and reached the top ten in many other charts worldwide. It remains Clarkson's best-selling single, with 4.9 million copies sold in the U.S. alone. The song was nominated for three Grammy Awards—Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance. "Dark Side" was released as the third and final single in June 2012, and it achieved a modest success. It became her eleventh top-ten hit on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart, and she surpassed Sheryl Crow and Katy Perry as the female artist with the most top-ten songs on the chart. The release of Stronger was accompanied by two EPs, The Smoakstack Sessions and iTunes Session. The latter debuted at number 85 on the Billboard 200, and it was promoted by its only single, a cover of "I'll Be Home For Christmas". Clarkson co-wrote "Tell Me a Lie", which was recorded by British boy band One Direction for their debut album, Up All Night (2011). Clarkson promoted Stronger with two concert tours, the Stronger Tour and the co-headlining the Kelly Clarkson / The Fray Tour with the alternative rock band The Fray. On February 5, 2012, she performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XLVI to widespread critical acclaim. She later released a promotional single, "Get Up (A Cowboys Anthem)", for use in Pepsi's NFL advertising campaign. Clarkson served as a mentor and judge, alongside John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, and Robin Thicke, on the ABC television show Duets, which premiered on May 24, 2012. The show concluded on July 19, 2012, with Clarkson's contestant Jason Farol finishing as the second runner-up. She also became a guest mentor to Blake Shelton's team on second season on The Voice. The two later collaborated on a cover of "There's a New Kid in Town" for Shelton's 2012 Christmas album, Cheers, It's Christmas. Commemorating the 10th anniversary of her career in music, Clarkson released her first greatest hits album, Greatest Hits – Chapter One, on November 19, 2012. Three new songs recorded for the compilation—"Catch My Breath", "Don't Rush" (featuring country musician Vince Gill) and "People Like Us"—were all released as singles. "Catch My Breath" became her 14th top-twenty hit on the Hot 100 chart as well as her 13th million-selling single in the United States. According to Billboard, it was the third biggest adult contemporary song of 2013. However, its follow-up singles performed moderately well on the charts. Clarkson earned more nominations from the country music industry, including Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Don't Rush" at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards and Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2012 Country Music Association Awards. Chapter One was eventually certified gold in Australia, the UK and the U.S. 2013–2015: Wrapped in Red and Piece by Piece In January 2013, Clarkson performed "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" at the second inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama. Her live rendition was acclaimed by critics, who contrasted it with Beyoncé's pre-recorded performance during the same event. In February 2013, she performed "Tennessee Waltz" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards as a tribute to Patti Page and Carole King. She also released a non-album single, "Tie It Up", exclusively to country music stations in June 2013. Clarkson and Maroon 5 performed at 24 concerts as part of the 12th Annual Honda Civic Tour, starting on August 1, 2013, and ending on October 6, 2013. She was featured on the re-recorded version of "Foolish Games" for Jewel's first compilation, Greatest Hits (2013). Clarkson also collaborated with singer Robbie Williams on the song "Little Green Apples" for his 2013 album Swings Both Ways. Clarkson's sixth studio album and first Christmas record, Wrapped in Red, was solely produced by Greg Kurstin. She co-wrote all five original songs and recorded eleven cover versions of Christmas standards and carols. Released on October 25, 2013, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Holiday Albums and at number three on the Billboard 200 chart. By December 2013, Wrapped in Red had already been certified platinum by the RIAA and eventually became the best-selling holiday album of the year. The album's lead single, "Underneath the Tree", was an adult contemporary number-one hit in both the U.S. and Canada. Clarkson subsequently became Billboards ninth top adult contemporary act of 2013. On December 11, 2013, her first Christmas special debut, Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale, garnered over 5.3 million viewers. In December 2013, Citizen Watch Co. announced Clarkson as their newest Brand Ambassador. Retaining her relationship with country music acts in 2014, Clarkson collaborated with Martina McBride on "In the Basement" (originally by Etta James and Sugar Pie DeSanto) for McBride's album Everlasting and with Trisha Yearwood on "PrizeFighter" for Yearwood's compilation PrizeFighter: Hit After Hit. Clarkson also performed a rendition of "All I Ask of You" with Josh Groban on his seventh studio album, Stages, and its companion television special. She was featured on Ben Haenow's "Second Hand Heart", the lead single from his debut studio album. In February 2015, Clarkson released Piece by Piece, her seventh and final studio album under her recording contract with RCA Records. Musically, it is an electropop and dance album, featuring collaborations with Kurstin, Jesse Shatkin, Sia, John Legend, and Shane McAnally, among others. Piece by Piece received a reasonably positive response from music critics and became her third album to debut at the top of the Billboard 200 chart. To promote the album, Clarkson appeared in several televised performances, including the fourteenth season of American Idol, where she became the only alumnus ever to be dedicated with a competing week featuring her discography. She also supported the Piece by Piece Tour throughout 2015, which was cut short of its worldwide visits following medical recommendations for a vocal rest during the year. Piece by Piece spawned three singles. The first one, "Heartbeat Song", peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became a top-ten hit in the UK, Austria, Poland, and South Africa. However, Clarkson failed to achieve a similar success with the second single, "Invincible". The third and final single, "Piece by Piece", debuted and peaked at number eight on the Hot 100 chart, following Clarkson's emotional performance on the fifteenth season of American Idol. It became her eleventh U.S. top-ten hit and matched "Never Again" as her highest debut on the chart. At the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, the album and "Heartbeat Song" were nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance, respectively. At the following year, the title track also received a nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance. 2016–2018: Children's books, Meaning of Life, and The Voice In February 2016, it was announced that Clarkson had signed a book deal with HarperCollins. Her first children's book, River Rose and the Magical Lullaby was released on October 4, 2016. The book features an original lullaby written and performed by Clarkson. On the possibility of writing any more books in the future, Clarkson told Publishers Weekly, "I've got a few ideas – there could be a lullaby for each book. We've got a plethora of stories, and I've already written seven songs, full out, so we'll just have to see which ones might pan out to be a book. But yes, there will definitely be more." The second book featuring River Rose, River Rose and the Magical Christmas, was released on October 24, 2017, and included an original song written and sung by Clarkson, "Christmas Eve". On March 15, 2016, First Lady Michelle Obama released "This Is for My Girls", a collaborative track featuring vocals from Clarkson, Janelle Monáe, Kelly Rowland, Lea Michele, Zendaya, and Missy Elliott to coincide with Barack Obama's SXSW speech and to promote the First Lady's third-world educational initiative Let Girls Learn. Clarkson recorded a solo version of "It's Quiet Uptown" for The Hamilton Mixtape. Her version was released on November 3, 2016, as a promotional single for the album. She also recorded a duet called "Love Goes On" with Aloe Blacc for the original soundtrack of The Shack, which was released in the United States on March 3, 2017. On May 11, 2017, it was announced that Clarkson would join The Voice as a coach for the series' fourteenth season. On June 24, 2016, Clarkson announced she had signed a long-term worldwide deal with Atlantic Records, with the intentions of releasing a soul-influenced eighth studio album in 2017. Her lead single "Love So Soft", was released on September 7, 2017, along with the song "Move You". On September 6, 2017, Clarkson announced that her album, Meaning of Life, would be released on October 27, 2017. Clarkson opened the 45th American Music Awards with P!nk, and together they performed R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" to honor first responders. Later in the show, she performed "Miss Independent" and "Love So Soft". "Love So Soft" was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, giving her the record for the most nominations in that category with four. With the release of Meaning of Life, Clarkson revealed that she had discussions with Atlantic Records about the sound of the follow-up record and has expressed interest in venturing deeper into R&B and soulful pop music. Clarkson lent her voice in the computer-animated film The Star, alongside Oprah Winfrey, Steven Yeun, Tyler Perry, and others. The film is based on the Nativity of Jesus. Developed by Sony Pictures Animation, the film was released on November 17, 2017. This was the first film in which Clarkson performed a voice role. Clarkson also had a guest voice role in the Netflix animated series Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh, portraying herself in the series' 2017 animated Christmas special, Home for the Holidays, alongside Ben Schwartz. In March 2018, Clarkson released "I've Loved You Since Forever", a ballad version of the children's book by Hoda Kotb. Clarkson hosted and performed at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards on May 20, 2018. In the fourteenth season of The Voice, Brynn Cartelli was crowned the winner, giving Clarkson her first victory. In the fifteenth season of The Voice, Chevel Shepherd was crowned the winner, giving Clarkson her second consecutive victory and making her the first female coach to win multiple seasons. 2019–2022: The Kelly Clarkson Show and When Christmas Comes Around... On February 28, 2019, it was announced that she would return to host the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, which aired on May 1, 2019. Clarkson voiced Moxy and provided original songs in the animated musical comedy film UglyDolls, which was released on May 3, 2019. On March 27, 2019, she released "Broken & Beautiful", the lead single from the UglyDolls: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Clarkson also began hosting the daytime variety talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, which premiered on September 9, 2019. In December 2019, Jake Hoot was crowned the winner of the seventeenth season of The Voice, giving Clarkson her third victory as a coach in four seasons. In November 2019, Clarkson announced a Las Vegas residency, Kelly Clarkson: Invincible. The residency was due to take place at the Zappos Theater. It was supposed to run from April to September 2020, but it was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Also in November 2019, Clarkson made an appearance on the Apple TV+ drama series The Morning Show as herself, performing her song "Heat" and interacting with the fictional hosts of the show. In February 2020, Clarkson became a brand ambassador for Wayfair. In addition, Wayfair released "an 'exclusive' collection of furniture and decor inspired by Clarkson and her Texan roots." On April 10, 2020, Trolls World Tour, which featured a character voiced by Clarkson, was released. On April 16, 2020, Clarkson released the standalone single "I Dare You" in English, as well as duets in five different languages with five native-speaking artists. In May 2020, The Kelly Clarkson Show earned seven nominations, the most for any talk show, with Clarkson winning in the category Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host. In June 2020, it was announced that she would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2021, being inducted into the category of Recording. In May 2021, NBC announced that Clarkson's show would take over the time slot of The Ellen DeGeneres Show after it ends in 2022. In June 2021, Clarkson won two Daytime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Talk Show Entertainment and a second consecutive win for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host. On September 23, 2021, Clarkson released "Christmas Isn't Canceled (Just You)", the lead single off her ninth studio album and second Christmas album, When Christmas Comes Around... The album was released on October 15, 2021 to positive reviews and earned Clarkson a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In November 2021, Clarkson performed at the second annual iHeartRadio Holiday Special. She hosted her second Christmas special, Kelly Clarkson Presents: When Christmas Comes Around, which premiered on December 1, 2021. Also in December 2021, Girl Named Tom were crowned winners of the twenty-first season of The Voice. They are the first group act to win an American season & secured Clarkson's fourth victory as a coach. In February 2022, Clarkson and Snoop Dogg were named co-hosts of the singing competition series American Song Contest. It is an adaptation of the popular international songwriting competition Eurovision Song Contest. The series premiered on March 21, 2022. On June 9, 2022, Clarkson released Kellyoke, an EP consisting of six cover songs that Clarkson covered during her "Kellyoke" segment on her talk show. She also revealed that her tenth studio album and follow-up to 2017's Meaning of Life and 2021's Christmas album When Christmas Comes Around... was complete, but Clarkson wanted more time to prepare for the promotion and release of the collection. In June 2022, Clarkson won two Daytime Emmys, including Outstanding Talk Show Entertainment for the second consecutive year and Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host for the third consecutive year. Clarkson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 19, 2022. Clarkson appeared on the Kelsea Ballerini song, "You're Drunk, Go Home" along with Carly Pearce, which was released in September 2022. 2023: Chemistry Clarkson hosted the 12th Annual NFL Honors on February 9, 2023. After taking twenty-second season of The Voice off, it was announced in October 2022, that Clarkson would return for twenty-third season in 2023. Clarkson covered the Cole Porter song, "Don't Fence Me In" on Jeff Goldblum and The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra's EP, Play Well with Others, which was released in March 2023. On March 26, 2023, she announced her tenth studio album, Chemistry, which is set to be released on June 23, 2023. The album's double a-side lead singles, "Mine" and "Me" were released on April 14, 2023. On March 27, 2023, Clarkson announced a ten night Las Vegas residency, Chemistry: An Intimate Evening with Kelly Clarkson, which will run from July 28 to August 19, 2023, at the Bakkt Theater. Artistry Voice Clarkson is a soprano, with a range spanning from E3 to G6. Clarkson can ascend to the whistle register, as well as possessing the ability to sing complex melisma. Describing Clarkson's voice, Arion Berger of Rolling Stone wrote that "her high notes are sweet and pillowy, her growl is bone-shaking and sexy, and her mid-range is amazingly confident." In reviewing a live performance of Clarkson's, Jon Caramanica of The New York Times said she "showed off a voice that moved in all sorts of ways, without ever appearing to strain", continuing "Ms. Clarkson, who has a malleable voice and a boatload of vocal confidence, might be a soul siren in the making". However, in a separate review of Stronger, Caramanica said Clarkson's voice is "too huge, too violent" for warmer and sweeter vocal stylings, stating "she's on a par with Taylor Swift when it comes to vengeance, and she'll do it louder and with more brutality in comparison to her contemporary." In a live review as part of her Stronger Tour, Sophie Sinclair of Hit The Floor said "Kelly's strong and powerful voice was flawless throughout the night, and some may even say she sounds better live than she does on her albums". Mark Deming from Phoenix New Times stated that "in an era when pop music means over-singing a song into a bloody pulp, Clarkson has consistently displayed both charisma and a welcome sense of restraint, knowing how to sound passionate and heartfelt without forgetting where the melody and the root note is supposed to go." Dr. Luke, who produced some of Clarkson's hits, said "She has powerful lungs. She's like the Lance Armstrong of vocal cords." In an interview with Good Morning America, Simon Cowell was asked of the then six American Idol winners, who he thought had the best voice. Cowell immediately answered that Clarkson did "by a mile", noting that she was "up there" with other great singers such as Celine Dion. Esquire wrote that Clarkson has "the best voice in the history of pop music". Reviewing Stronger, Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone states, Clarkson has "one of music's most remarkable voices." Jason Lipshutz from Billboard considered Clarkson as one of the greatest singers in pop music. Regarding the controversial practice of lip-syncing, Clarkson says she never has and never will lip-sync, elaborating in an interview with Cory Myers, "I've actually never done that because I'm terrified; if I ever did that, something horrible would happen, the track would skip. I have a really unhealthy fear about it. So no, I've never done that". Clarkson has earned the title "Queen of Covers" for her ability to perform songs from artists of various genres. Influences At age eight, Clarkson was first inspired to venture into music during a visit to an African-American church in Fort Worth. She recalled: "I was like, 'Wow, whatever they're feeling, I want to feel it too'." Clarkson has been influenced by musicians across various genres. She cited soul singer Aretha Franklin as her major influence. Many of her chosen Idol numbers were Aretha Franklin covers, including "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", which is considered her breakout moment during the competition. Other soul acts who influenced Clarkson were Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Etta James, Stevie Wonder. Clarkson was also influenced by rock acts such as Radiohead, Garbage, Aerosmith, and Jimi Hendrix, as well as Reba McEntire, Bette Midler, and Rosemary Clooney. Regarding her musical influence, Clarkson explained: I grew up with three totally different parents that were into different music. My stepfather is into Willie Nelson and Elvis and all that kind of stuff. And my real father is into Whitney and Mariah, and Aretha, all those soulful singers. My mom is into more, like, adult contemporary—Celine Dion, Barbra [Streisand], Bette Midler, all those types of things. And then my brother is a big influence on me. He's like ten years older than me, so you always wanna be around your cool brother and hang out, so I grew up loving Guns N' Roses. I was all about Metallica. I was all about all those bands, and I still am. I love Aerosmith and No Doubt. I have so many influences on me that are so different. And even country. I love Reba McEntire. I could listen to her all the time. Impact Clarkson has scored over 100 number ones on the Billboard charts and sold over 25 million albums and 45 million singles worldwide, including 14 million albums and 35 million digital singles in the United States alone. She became the first artist to top each of Billboards pop, adult contemporary, adult pop, country and dance charts. She was ranked nineteenth on VH1's list of 100 Greatest Women in Music. Television channel Fuse included Clarkson among "30 Greatest Musicians to Come From Singing Competitions" list. Music executive Simon Cowell believed that "What [Clarkson] sold in the UK, Europe, Asia had nothing to do with American Idol. It had everything to do with the fact that she made a great record and she's got an incredible voice. She's not a girl who got lucky in a talent competition; we got lucky to find her." According to The Hollywood Reporter, Clarkson is "the embodiment of the perfect pop star. Her unmistakable pipes are a powerful presence in top 40 and country, with forays into anthemic rock and dance." Nolan Feeney from Time asserted that Clarkson "has had more of a lasting impact on the pop music landscape than casual listeners might realize." According to Billboard, Clarkson was a "phenomenon" who "helped legitimize" the impact of talent shows. The Washington Post wrote that "Clarkson's powerhouse voice and dynamic presence signaled that the music industry should take these reality show contestants seriously: Her first two albums, Thankful and Breakaway, sold about ten million copies combined, and her pop tunes became empowerment anthems across the globe." Glenn Gamboa of Newsday believed Clarkson "has set the standard for all singing competition contestants with her savvy mix of pop, rock and country." Fox Broadcasting Company said that Clarkson gave "lasting credibility" to American Idol and "in so many ways she cleared a road" for all of the next contestants." George Varga from The San Diego Union-Tribune underlined the difference of Clarkson from most other talent show contestants is that she "writes or co-writes a fair number of [her] own songs. She is also the only one whose quest to follow her artistic instincts—the better to rock out and break free from the Idol cookie-cutter pop mold—prompted her to fire her management team and engage in a prolonged public battle with her record company, RCA." Jon Lisi from PopMatters cited Clarkson as one of the forces of female domination in pop music of the 2000s. He explained that "Clarkson's anti-sexual image appealed to those who were uncomfortable with Britney Spears' overt exhibitionism. When Clarkson performed "Since U Been Gone" at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, for instance, she only showed her midriff, and it was clear that she was marketing herself to an alternative group of young females who liked pop music's conventional sound but didn't want to be confronted with sexual imagery." Mickey Rapkin of Billboard magazine, who called Clarkson a role model and compared her vocals to golden-era Aretha Franklin, stated that Clarkson "has never shied away from speaking her mind, whether in her propulsive pop anthems or on her filter-free Twitter feed." Clarkson has been an influence on other artists, including Vanessa Hudgens, Demi Lovato, Ava Max, Jordin Sparks, Ashley Tisdale, Avril Lavigne, as well as country music singers such as Kelsea Ballerini and Priscilla Block. Personal life In 2012, Clarkson began dating talent manager Brandon Blackstock, son of her former manager Narvel Blackstock and former stepson of Reba McEntire. She and Blackstock married on October 20, 2013, at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee. During their marriage, Brandon was her manager. Together, they have a daughter, River Rose, born in June 2014, and a son, Remington "Remy" Alexander, born in April 2016. In June 2020, Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock, citing irreconcilable differences. In March 2022, it was reported their divorce had been finalized. In October 2019, Clarkson said that she has been managing an autoimmune condition and a thyroid condition since 2006, a fact which she had previously addressed on Today in 2018. Philanthropy In April 2007, Clarkson took part in "Idol Gives Back", a fundraiser for people in poverty in both Africa and the U.S., performing "Up to the Mountain" along with Jeff Beck. She would also perform a five-song set later that year on the American leg of Live Earth concerts opting for environmental awareness about climate change. She has served as ambassador for the March of Dimes since she was on American Idol, raising money regularly and assisting in volunteer service, having walked for "March for Babies", for the cause of improvement of the health of mothers and babies. Clarkson, additionally, got involved in the organization "Houses of Hope", who take care and build orphanages for children in South Africa who have been affected by HIV/AIDS, abuse and poverty. She has visited those children and also participated in "A Night for Hope" fund-raiser concert (held by Clarkson's background vocal singers, Jill and Kate), where she performed a song she wrote after her trip to South Africa, "You Still Won't Know What It's Like". Clarkson also supports the charities Save the Children, UNICEF, "Do Something" and "STOMP Out Bullying" and music causes like the Save the Music Foundation. Clarkson had a ranch in Texas for unwanted animals, which included amputee goats, blind dogs, and horses that survived colic; there are more than 80 animals at the sanctuary. She helped provide veterinary care for them and found them an adoptive family. Clarkson performed in a benefit concert on March 1, 2013, supporting the Omaha based Opportunity Education Foundation, an organization that provides access to education for children around the world, stating "Education was a key part of my childhood, and I am better for it. Anything for education I am really into and especially for kids. A lot of people don't have computers, and they can't afford them. Without education, you get far behind. As long as they have a chance, you know, I think that's important. I want every kid to have a chance." In 2013, Clarkson teamed up with State Farm Insurance to support teen safe driving as a part of Celebrate My Drive program. In 2013, Clarkson supported Feeding America, The Ad Council and their Child Hunger PSA Campaign, which provides food for children facing hunger. Also in 2013, Clarkson participated in Green Mountain Coffee's Great Coffee, Good Vibes, Choose Fair Trade campaign by traveling to coffee farms in Peru to draw attention to the importance of being Fair Trade Certified. Discography Studio albums Thankful (2003) Breakaway (2004) My December (2007) All I Ever Wanted (2009) Stronger (2011) Wrapped in Red (2013) Piece by Piece (2015) Meaning of Life (2017) When Christmas Comes Around... (2021) Chemistry (2023) Tours Headlining The Breakaway Tour (2005–2006) Hazel Eyes Tour (2005) Addicted Tour (2006) My December Tour (2007–2008) All I Ever Wanted Tour (2009–2010) Stronger Tour (2012) Piece by Piece Tour (2015) Meaning of Life Tour (2019) Co-headlining American Idols LIVE! Tour 2002 (2002) (with the American Idol season one finalists) Independent Tour (2004) (with Clay Aiken) 2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour (2008) (with Reba McEntire) Kelly Clarkson / The Fray Tour (2012) (with The Fray) 12th Annual Honda Civic Tour (2013) (with Maroon 5) Residencies Chemistry: An Intimate Evening with Kelly Clarkson (2023) Filmography Films starred From Justin to Kelly (2003) The Star (2017) UglyDolls (2019) Trolls World Tour (2020) Television series American Idol (2002) Duets (2012) The Voice (2018–2021, 2023) The Kelly Clarkson Show (2019–present) American Song Contest (2022) Bibliography See also List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart List of Idols winners Notes References Further reading Phares, Heather. [ "Kelly – Biography"]. Allmusic. Retrieved February 11, 2006. Lamb, Bill. "Kelly Clarkson – Profile" . About.com. Retrieved February 11, 2006. Phares, Heather. "Kelly Clarkson – Biography". Yahoo LAUNCHcast. Retrieved February 11, 2006. Kelly Gets Cocky . Idol winner fires Simon Fuller. PopSugar.com. Blog Archives. Retrieved February 25, 2006. Croatto, Pete. From Justin to Kelly. [Watching From Justin to Kelly, one question looms over the entire production: Why was this movie made?] Retrieved May 4, 2006. External links Category:1982 births Category:19 Recordings artists Category:21st-century American women singers Category:21st-century American singers Category:Actresses from Texas Category:American Christians Category:American children's writers Category:American women pop singers Category:American film actresses Category:American Idol winners Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of Greek descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Welsh descent Category:American pop rock singers Category:American soul singers Category:American sopranos Category:American television talk show hosts Category:American voice actresses Category:American women philanthropists Category:American women record producers Category:American women television personalities Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host winners Category:Feminist musicians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Judges in American reality television series Category:Living people Category:MTV Video Music Award winners Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Burleson, Texas Category:People from Fort Worth, Texas Category:RCA Records artists Category:Singers from Texas Category:Singers with a three-octave vocal range Category:Songwriters from Texas Category:Writers from Texas

C_684cefc6b9f7453ea706836155fb83f5_1

Bonnie Raitt

Raitt was born in Burbank, California. She is the daughter of the Broadway musical star John Raitt and his first wife, the pianist Marjorie Haydock, and was raised in the Quaker tradition. She began playing guitar at Camp Regis-Apple Jack in Paul Smiths, NY, at an early age. Later she gained notice for her bottleneck-style guitar playing.

1970-1976

In the fall of 1970, She played with her brother David on stand up Bass with Mississippi Fred McDowell at the Philly Folk Festival as well as Opening for John Hammond at the Gaslight Cafe in New York, she was seen by a reporter from Newsweek, who began to spread the word about her performance. Scouts from major record companies were soon attending her shows to watch her play. She eventually accepted an offer from Warner Bros., who soon released her debut album, Bonnie Raitt, in 1971. The album was warmly received by the music press, with many writers praising her skills as an interpreter and as a bottleneck guitarist; at the time, few women in popular music had strong reputations as guitarists. While admired by those who saw her perform, and respected by her peers, Raitt gained little public acclaim for her work. Her critical stature continued to grow but record sales remained modest. Her second album, Give It Up, was released in 1972 to universal "acclaim"; though many critics still regard it as her best work, it did not change her commercial fortunes. 1973's Takin' My Time was also met with critical acclaim, but these notices were not matched by the sales. Raitt was beginning to receive greater press coverage, including a 1975 cover story for Rolling Stone, but with 1974's Streetlights, reviews for her work were becoming increasingly mixed. By now, Raitt was already experimenting with different producers and different styles, and she began to adopt a more mainstream sound that continued through 1975's Home Plate. In 1976, Raitt made an appearance on Warren Zevon's eponymous album with his friend Jackson Browne and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. CANNOTANSWER

Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk, and country. She was also a frequent session player and collaborator with other artists, including Warren Zevon, Little Feat, Jackson Browne, The Pointer Sisters, John Prine and Leon Russell. In 1989, after several years of limited commercial success, she had a major hit with her tenth studio album Nick of Time, which included the song of the same name. The album reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart, and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. It has since been selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry. Her following two albums, Luck of the Draw (1991) and Longing in Their Hearts (1994), were multimillion sellers, generating several hit singles, including "Something to Talk About", "Love Sneakin' Up On You", and the ballad "I Can't Make You Love Me" (with Bruce Hornsby on piano). Her 2022 single "Just Like That" won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year. As of 2023, Raitt has received 13 competitive Grammy Awards, from 30 nominations, as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She ranked No. 50 on Rolling Stones list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time", and ranked No. 89 on the magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Australian country music artist Graeme Connors has said "Bonnie Raitt does something with a lyric no one else can do; she bends it and twists it right into your heart." In 2000, Raitt was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She has also received the Icon Award from the Billboard Women in Music Awards, and the MusiCares Person of the Year from The Recording Academy. Early life Bonnie Lynn Raitt was born on November 8, 1949, in Burbank, California. Her mother, Marge Goddard (née Haydock), was a pianist, while her father, John Raitt, was an actor in musical productions including Oklahoma! and The Pajama Game. Raitt is of Scottish ancestry; her ancestors constructed Rait Castle near Nairn. As a child, Raitt would often play with her two brothers, Steve and David, and was a self-described tomboy. John Raitt's job as a theater actor meant Bonnie did not interact with him as much as she would have liked. Raitt grew to resent her mother, as she became the main authority figure of the household whenever John was away. Raitt's musically inclined parents had a strong influence on her life. From a young age, she and her brothers were encouraged to pursue music. Initially Raitt played the piano but was intimidated by her mother's abilities. She instead began playing a Stella guitar, which she received as a Christmas gift in 1957 at the age of eight. Raitt did not take lessons, and instead took influence from the American folk music revival of the 1950s. She was also influenced by the beatnik movement, stating: "It represented my whole belief ... I'd grow my hair real long so I looked like a beatnik." From ages eight through fifteen, Raitt and her brothers attended a summer camp in the Adirondack Mountains called Camp Regis. It was there where Raitt learned of her musical talents, when camp counselors would ask her to play in front of the campers. Learning how to play songs from folk albums then became a hobby for Raitt. As a teenager, Raitt was self-conscious about her weight and her freckles, and saw music as an escape from reality. "That was my saving grace. I just sat in my room and played my guitar,” said Raitt. After graduating from Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1967, Raitt entered Radcliffe College of Harvard University, majoring in Social Relations and African studies. She said her "plan was to travel to Tanzania, where President Julius Nyerere was creating a government based on democracy and socialism". She was the lead singer in a campus music group called the "Revolutionary Music Collective" founded by songwriter Bob Telson which played for striking Harvard students during the Student strike of 1970. Raitt befriended blues promoter Dick Waterman. During her second year of college, Raitt left school for a semester and moved to Philadelphia with Waterman and other local musicians. Raitt said it was an "opportunity that changed everything." Career 1970–1976 In the summer of 1970, she played with her brother David on stand-up bass with Mississippi Fred McDowell at the Philadelphia Folk Festival as well as opening for John Hammond at the Gaslight Cafe in New York. She was seen by a reporter from Newsweek, who began to spread the word about her performance. Scouts from major record companies were soon attending her shows to watch her play. She eventually accepted an offer from Warner Bros., who soon released her debut album, Bonnie Raitt, in 1971. The album was warmly received by the music press, with many writers praising her skills as an interpreter and as a bottleneck guitarist; at the time, few women in popular music had strong reputations as guitarists. While admired by those who saw her perform, and respected by her peers, Raitt gained little public acclaim for her work. Her critical stature continued to grow but record sales remained modest. Her second album, Give It Up, was released in 1972 to positive reviews. One journalist described the album as "an excellent set" and "established the artist as an inventive and sympathetic interpreter". However, it did not change her commercial fortunes. 1973's Takin' My Time was also met with critical acclaim, but these notices were not matched by the sales. Raitt began to receive greater press coverage, including a 1975 cover story for Rolling Stone, but with 1974's Streetlights, reviews for her work were becoming increasingly mixed. By this point, Raitt was already experimenting with different producers and different styles, and she began to adopt a more mainstream sound that continued through 1975's Home Plate. In 1976, Raitt made an appearance on Warren Zevon's eponymous album. She came to know Lowell George of the band Little Feat and was strongly influenced by his style of playing slide guitar with a pre-amp compressor. B.B. King once called Raitt the "best damn slide player working today". 1977–1988 1977's Sweet Forgiveness album gave Raitt her first commercial breakthrough, when it yielded a hit single in her remake of "Runaway". Recast as a heavy rhythm and blues recording based on a rhythmic groove inspired by Al Green, Raitt's version of "Runaway" was disparaged by many critics. However, the song's commercial success prompted a bidding war for Raitt between Warner Bros. and Columbia Records. "There was this big Columbia–Warner war going on at the time", recalled Raitt in a 1990 interview. "James Taylor had just left Warner Bros. and made a big album for Columbia... And then, Warner signed Paul Simon away from Columbia, and they didn't want me to have a hit record for Columbia – no matter what! So, I renegotiated my contract, and they basically matched Columbia's offer. Frankly the deal was a really big deal." Warner Brothers held higher expectations for Raitt's next album, The Glow, in 1979, but it was released to poor reviews as well as modest sales. Raitt had one commercial success in 1979 when she helped organize the five Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE) concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The shows spawned the three-record gold album No Nukes, as well as a Warner Brothers feature film of the same name. The shows featured co-founders Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, John Hall, and Raitt as well as Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Doobie Brothers, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Gil Scott-Heron, and others. In 1980, she appeared as herself in the Paramount film Urban Cowboy where she sang "Don't It Make You Wanna Dance". For her next record, 1982's Green Light, Raitt made a conscious attempt to revisit the sound of her earlier records. However, to her surprise, many of her peers and the media compared her new sound to the burgeoning new wave movement. The album received her strongest reviews in years, but her sales did not improve and this had a severe impact on her relationship with Warner Brothers. Tongue and Groove and release from Warner Brothers In 1983, Raitt was finishing work on her follow-up album, Tongue and Groove. The day after mastering was completed on Tongue & Groove, the record company dropped Raitt from its roster, not being happy with her commercial performance up to that point. The album was shelved and not released, and Raitt was left without a record contract. At this time Raitt was also struggling with alcohol and drug abuse problems. Despite her personal and professional problems, Raitt continued to tour and participate in political activism. In 1985, she sang and appeared in the video of "Sun City", the anti-apartheid song written and produced by guitarist Steven Van Zandt. Along with her participation in Farm Aid and Amnesty International concerts, Raitt traveled to Moscow, Russia in 1987 to participate in the first joint Soviet/American Peace Concert, later shown on the Showtime cable network. Also in 1987, Raitt organized a benefit in Los Angeles for Countdown '87 to Stop Contra Aid. The benefit featured herself, along with Don Henley, Herbie Hancock, and others. Two years after being dropped from Warner Brothers Records, the label notified Raitt of their plans to release the Tongue and Groove album. "I said it wasn't really fair," recalled Raitt. "I think at this point they felt kind of bad. I mean, I was out there touring on my savings to keep my name up, and my ability to draw was less and less. So they agreed to let me go in and recut half of it, and that's when it came out as Nine Lives." A critical and commercial disappointment, Nine Lives, released in 1986, was Raitt's last new recording for Warner Brothers. In late 1987, Raitt joined singers k.d. lang and Jennifer Warnes as background vocalists for Roy Orbison's television special, Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night. Following this highly acclaimed broadcast, Raitt began working on new material. By then, she was clean and sober, having resolved her problems with substance abuse. She later credited Stevie Ray Vaughan for his help in a Minnesota State Fair concert the night after Vaughan's 1990 death. During this time, Raitt considered signing with the Prince-owned Paisley Park Records, but they could not come to an agreement and negotiations fell through. Instead, she began recording a bluesy mix of pop and rock songs under the production guidance of Don Was at Capitol Records. Raitt had met Was through Hal Wilner, who was putting together Stay Awake, a tribute album to Disney music for A&M. Was and Wilner both wanted Raitt to sing lead on an adult-contemporary arrangement created by Was for "Baby Mine", the lullaby from Dumbo. Raitt was very pleased with the sessions, and she asked Was to produce her next album. 1989–1999: Commercial breakthrough After working with Was on the Stay Awake album, Raitt's management, Gold Mountain, approached numerous labels about a new record deal and found interest from Capitol Records. Raitt was signed to Capitol by A&R executive Tim Devine. With her first Capitol Records release, and after nearly twenty years in the business, Raitt achieved commercial success with Nick of Time, her tenth overall album of her career. Released in the spring of 1989, Nick of Time went to number one on the U.S. album chart following Raitt's Grammy sweep in early 1990. This album has also been voted number 230 in the Rolling Stone list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Raitt later stated that her 10th try was "my first sober album." At the same time, Raitt received a fourth Grammy Award for her duet "I'm in the Mood" with John Lee Hooker on his album The Healer. Nick of Time was also the first of many of her recordings to feature her longtime rhythm section of Ricky Fataar and James "Hutch" Hutchinson (although previously Fataar had played on her Green Light album and Hutchinson had worked on Nine Lives), both of whom continue to record and tour with her. Since its release in 1989, Nick of Time has currently sold over five million copies in the US alone. Raitt followed up this success with three more Grammy Awards for her next album, 1991's Luck of the Draw, which sold seven million copies in the United States. Three years later, in 1994, she added two more Grammys with her album Longing in Their Hearts, her second number one album, that sold two million copies in the US. Raitt's collaboration with Don Was amicably came to an end with 1995's live release Road Tested. Released to solid reviews, it was certified gold in the US. "Rock Steady" was a hit written by Bryan Adams and Gretchen Peters in 1995. The song was written as a duet with Bryan Adams and Bonnie Raitt for her Road Tested tour, which also became one of her albums. The original demo version of the song appears on Adams' 1996 single "Let's Make a Night to Remember". For her next studio album, Raitt hired Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake as her producers. "I loved working with Don Was but I wanted to give myself and my fans a stretch and do something different," Raitt stated. Her work with Froom and Blake was released on Fundamental in 1998. 2000–2007 In March 2000, Raitt was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Silver Lining was released in 2002. In the US, it reached number 13 on the Billboard chart and was later certified Gold. It contains the singles "I Can't Help You Now", "Time of Our Lives", and the title track. All three singles charted within the top 40 of the US Adult Contemporary chart. On March 19, 2002, Bonnie Raitt received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to the recording industry, located at 1750 N. Vine Street. In 2003 Capitol Records released the compilation album The Best of Bonnie Raitt. It contains songs from her prior Capitol albums from 1989 to 2002 including Nick of Time, Luck of the Draw, Longing in Their Hearts, Road Tested, Fundamental, and Silver Lining. Raitt was featured on the album True Love by Toots and the Maytals, which won the Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Reggae Album. Souls Alike was released in September 2005. In the US, it reached the top 20 on the Billboard chart. It contains the singles "I Will Not Be Broken" and "I Don't Want Anything to Change", which both charted in the top 40 of the US Adult Contemporary chart. In 2006, she released the live DVD/CD Bonnie Raitt and Friends, which was filmed as part of the critically acclaimed VH1 Classic Decades Rock Live! concert series, featuring special guests Keb' Mo', Alison Krauss, Ben Harper, Jon Cleary, and Norah Jones. The DVD was released by Capitol Records on August 15. Bonnie Raitt and Friends, which was recorded live in Atlantic City, NJ on September 30, 2005, features never-before-seen performance and interview footage, including four duets not included in the VH1 Classic broadcast of the concert. The accompanying CD features 11 tracks, including the radio single "Two Lights in the Nighttime" (featuring Ben Harper). In 2007, Raitt contributed to Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino. With Jon Cleary, she sang a medley of "I'm in Love Again" and "All by Myself" by Fats Domino. Raitt is interviewed on screen and appears in performance footage in the 2005 documentary film Make It Funky!, which presents a history of New Orleans music and its influence on rhythm and blues, rock and roll, funk and jazz. In the film, Raitt performs "What is Success" with Allen Toussaint and band, a song he wrote and that Raitt included on her 1974 album Streetlights. 2008–present Raitt appeared on the June 7, 2008 broadcast of Garrison Keillor's radio program A Prairie Home Companion. She performed two blues songs with Keb' Mo': "No Getting Over You" and "There Ain't Nothin' in Ramblin'". Raitt also sang "Dimming of the Day" with Richard Thompson. This show, along with another one with Raitt and her band in October 2006, is archived on the Prairie Home Companion website. Raitt appeared in the 2011 documentary Reggae Got Soul: The Story of Toots and the Maytals, which was featured on the BBC and described as "The untold story of one of the most influential artists ever to come out of Jamaica". In February 2012, Raitt performed a duet with Alicia Keys at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in 2012 honoring Etta James. In April 2012, Raitt released her first studio album since 2005, entitled Slipstream. It charted at Number 6 on the US Billboard 200 chart marking her first top ten album since 1994's Longing in Their Hearts. The album was described as "one of the best of her 40-year career" by American Songwriter magazine. In September 2012, Raitt was featured in a campaign called "30 Songs / 30 Days" to support Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, a multi-platform media project inspired by a project outlined in a book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. In 2013, she appeared on Foy Vance's album Joy of Nothing. On May 30, 2015, Leon Russell, Bonnie Raitt and Ivan Neville gave a performance at The Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, California to raise cash for Marty Grebb who was battling cancer. Grebb had played on some of their albums. In February 2016, Raitt released her seventeenth studio album Dig In Deep. The album charted at number 11 on the US Billboard 200 chart and received favorable reviews. The album features the single "Gypsy in Me" as well as a cover of the INXS song "Need You Tonight". Raitt cancelled the first leg of her 2018 spring-summer touring schedule due to a recently discovered medical issue requiring surgical intervention. She reported that a "full recovery" is expected and that she planned to resume touring with already-scheduled dates in June 2018. In 2022, Raitt announced the title of her 21st studio album would be Just Like That.... The record was released on April 22, 2022, and coincided with the beginning of a nationwide tour that ran through November 2022. Preceding the album, Raitt released "Made Up Mind", a song originally written by Canadian roots duo The Bros. Landreth, as the lead single. The title track of the album won for Song of the Year at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2023. The song also won in the Best American Roots Song category. Artistry Raitt possesses a contralto vocal range. Music journalist Robert Christgau described Raitt's voice as not particularly beautiful but "textured", capable of shouting, crooning, "carry[ing] a tune or fill[ing] a room". Christgau likened her vocal style to "a loving woman who has the touch, soft and hard at the right times in the right places". Journalist Will Hermes described Raitt's voice as warm and precise. Describing her as a "A master interpreter of other writers’ songs", Chris Hansen Orf of The Arizona Republic note that Raitt is equally skilled at singing blues, folk, country, rock and pop music. Kevin McKeough of the Chicago Tribune observed that blues has "remained the bedrock of all of Raitt's musical excursions", with her voice alternating between "sigh to a call to a sustained cry". Discussing the ability of a singer to make use of her voice, singer Linda Ronstadt stated "Of my own peers, Bonnie Raitt has way more musicianship than I do." Singer and guitarist David Crosby has said that Raitt is his favorite singer of all time. Personal life Raitt has taken sabbaticals, including after the deaths of her parents, brother, and best friend. She has said "When I went through a lot of loss, I took a hiatus." Raitt and actor Michael O'Keefe were married on April 27, 1991. They announced their divorce on November 9, 1999, with a factor appearing to be that their careers caused considerable time apart. Drug and alcohol use and recovery Raitt used alcohol and drugs, but began psychotherapy and joined Alcoholics Anonymous in the late 1980s. "I thought I had to live that partying lifestyle in order to be authentic," she said, "but in fact if you keep it up too long, all you're going to be is sloppy or dead." She became clean in 1987. She has credited Stevie Ray Vaughan for breaking her substance abuse, saying that what gave her the courage to admit her alcohol problem and stop drinking was seeing that Stevie Ray Vaughan was an even better musician when sober. She has also said that she stopped because she realized that the "late night life" was not working for her. In 1989, she said, "I really feel like some angels have been carrying me around. I just have more focus and more discipline, and consequently more self-respect." Political activism Raitt's political involvement goes back to the early 1970s. Her 1972 album Give It Up had a dedication "to the people of North Vietnam ..." printed on the back. Raitt's web site urges fans to learn more about preserving the environment. She was a founding member of Musicians United for Safe Energy in 1979 and a catalyst for the larger anti-nuclear movement, becoming involved with groups like the Abalone Alliance and Alliance for Survival. In 1994 at the urging of Dick Waterman, Raitt funded the replacement of a headstone for one of her mentors, blues guitarist Fred McDowell through the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund. Raitt later financed memorial headstones in Mississippi for musicians Memphis Minnie, Sam Chatmon, and Tommy Johnson again with the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund. In 2002, Raitt signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and free lessons to children in public schools throughout the U.S. She has visited children in the program and sits on the organization's board of directors as an honorary member. At the Stockholm Jazz Festival in July 2004, Raitt dedicated a performance of "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)", from her 1979 album The Glow, to sitting (and later re-elected) U.S. President George W. Bush. She was quoted as saying "We're gonna sing this for George Bush because he's out of here, people!". In 2008, Raitt donated a song to the Aid Still Required's CD to assist with relief efforts in Southeast Asia from the 2004 tsunami. Raitt worked with Reverb, a non-profit environmental organization, for her 2005 fall/winter and 2006 spring/summer/fall tours. Raitt is part of the No Nukes group, which opposes the expansion of nuclear power. In 2007, No Nukes recorded a music video of a new version of the Buffalo Springfield song "For What It's Worth". During the 2008 Democratic primary campaign, Raitt, along with Jackson Browne and bassist James "Hutch" Hutchinson, performed at campaign appearances for candidate John Edwards. During the 2016 Democratic primary campaign, Raitt endorsed Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Discography Bonnie Raitt (1971) Give It Up (1972) Takin' My Time (1973) Streetlights (1974) Home Plate (1975) Sweet Forgiveness (1977) The Glow (1979) Green Light (1982) Nine Lives (1986) Nick of Time (1989) Luck of the Draw (1991) Longing in Their Hearts (1994) Fundamental (1998) Silver Lining (2002) Souls Alike (2005) Slipstream (2012) Dig In Deep (2016) Just Like That... (2022) Guitar Raitt's principal touring guitar is a customized Fender Stratocaster that she nicknamed Brownie. This became the basis for a signature model in 1996. Raitt was the first female musician to receive a signature Fender line. Awards Grammy Awards |- | 1980 |"You're Gonna Get What's Coming" |rowspan="3"|Best Female Rock Vocal Performance | |- | 1983 |"Green Light" | |- | 1987 |"No Way to Treat a Lady" | |- |rowspan="4"| 1990 |rowspan="2"|Nick of Time |Album of the Year | |- |Best Female Rock Vocal Performance | |- |"Nick of Time" |Best Female Pop Vocal Performance | |- |"I'm in the Mood" (with John Lee Hooker) |Best Traditional Blues Recording | |- |rowspan="6"| 1992 |rowspan="2"|Luck of the Draw |Album of the Year | |- |Best Rock Vocal Solo Performance | |- |rowspan="2"|"Something to Talk About" |Record of the Year | |- |Best Female Pop Vocal Performance | |- |"Good Man, Good Woman" |Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal | |- |Bonnie Raitt |MusiCares Person of the Year | |- |rowspan="5"| 1995 |rowspan="2"|Longing in Their Hearts |Album of the Year | |- |Best Pop Vocal Album | |- |rowspan="2"|"Love Sneakin' Up On You" |Record of the Year | |- |Best Female Rock Vocal Performance | |- |"Longing in Their Hearts" |Best Female Pop Vocal Performance | |- |1996 |"You Got It" |Best Female Pop Vocal Performance | |- |rowspan="3"|1997 |Road Tested |Best Rock Album | |- |"Burning Down the House" |Best Female Rock Vocal Performance | |- |"SRV Shuffle" |Best Rock Instrumental Performance | |- | 1999 |"Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" (with Jackson Browne) |Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals | |- | 2003 |"Gnawin' on It" |rowspan="2"|Best Female Rock Vocal Performance | |- | 2004 | "Time of Our Lives" | |- | 2006 |"I Will Not Be Broken" |Best Female Pop Vocal Performance | |- |2013 |Slipstream |Best Americana Album | |- |2022 |Herself |Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award | |- : Not a Grammy Award, but awarded by The Recording Academy |rowspan="4"| 2023 |rowspan="2"| "Just Like That" |Song of the Year | |- |Best American Roots Song | |- |Just Like That... |Best Americana Album | |- |"Made Up Mind" |Best Americana Performance | |} Americana Music Honors and Awards |- |2012 |Herself |Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance | |- |2016 |Herself |Artist of the Year | |} Rock and Roll Hall of Fame |- |2000 |Herself |Hall of Fame induction | |} Other awards In 1992, Raitt was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music. In 1997, Raitt was awarded the Harvard Arts Medal. In 2017, Raitt was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Guitar Museum. In 2018, Raitt received the People's Voice Award from the Folk Alliance International Awards in recognition of her activism. In 2022, Raitt received the Icon Award at the Billboard Women in Music Awards. References Citations General references External links Fansite: Bonnie's Pride and Joy [ Allmusic Guide Profile] Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:American alternative country singers Category:American women country singers Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American anti–nuclear power activists Category:American blues guitarists Category:American blues pianists Category:American women pianists Category:American blues singer-songwriters Category:American women rock singers Category:American women singer-songwriters Category:American folk rock musicians Category:American feminists Category:American folk singers Category:American humanitarians Category:Women humanitarians Category:Record producers from California Category:American rock songwriters Category:Blues rock musicians Category:Electric blues musicians Category:Feminist musicians Category:Fingerstyle guitarists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Slide guitarists Category:Proponents of Christian feminism Category:Radcliffe College alumni Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Warner Music Group artists Category:Warner Records artists Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:Activists from California Category:Country musicians from California Category:Guitarists from California Category:Musicians from Burbank, California Category:Singer-songwriters from California Category:21st-century American pianists Category:20th-century American women singers Category:21st-century American women singers Category:20th-century American pianists Category:American women record producers Category:20th-century American women guitarists Category:20th-century American guitarists Category:21st-century American women guitarists Category:21st-century American guitarists Category:Proper Records artists Category:20th-century American singers Category:21st-century American singers Category:American contraltos Category:American activists

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Laura Schlessinger

Schlessinger was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. She was raised in Brooklyn and later on Long Island. Her parents were Monroe "Monty" Schlessinger, a civil engineer, and Yolanda (nee Ceccovini) Schlessinger, an Italian Catholic war bride. Schlessinger has said her father was charming and her mother beautiful as a young woman.

Use of racial epithet

On August 10, 2010, Nita Hanson, a black woman married to a white man, called Schlessinger's show to ask for advice on how to deal with a husband who did not care when she was the subject of racist comments by acquaintances. Schlessinger first replied that "some people are hypersensitive" and asked for some examples from the caller. Hanson informed Schlessinger that her acquaintances had stated, "How you black people do this? You black people like doing that." Schlessinger responded that her examples were not racist and that "a lot of blacks only voted for Obama simply because he was half black. Didn't matter what he was going to do in office; it was a black thing. You gotta' know that. That's not a surprise." Schlessinger continued by telling the caller that she had a "chip on [her] shoulder," was "sensitive," and also, "Don't NAACP me," and, "a lot of what I hear from black think... it's really distressing and disturbing." When the caller noted that she was referred to as the "n-word" by the individuals in question, Schlessinger complained that blacks are fine with cordially using the slur among themselves, but that it was wrong when whites used it to slur them. In doing so, she uttered "nigger" eleven times, albeit not directed at the caller. She discussed the word and its use by blacks and in black media. Her profuse use of the slur was mimicking the frequency of the word's use among black stand-up comics. When Hanson asked, "Is it ever OK to say that word?" Schlessinger responded, "It depends how it's said. Black guys talking to each other seem to think it's OK." After the call Schlessinger said, "If you're that hypersensitive about color and don't have a sense of humor, don't marry out of your race." Early that evening she wrote an apology to Los Angeles Radio People online journalist Don Barrett. A day later, as soon as she was back on the air, Schlessinger apologized. Hanson questioned the motivation and sincerity of Schlessinger's apology, believing it to be result of being "caught." Hanson also said that Schlessinger did not apologize for her comments on interracial marriage. Schlessinger announced that, while not retiring from radio, she would end her radio show at the end of 2010: I have made the decision not to do radio anymore. I want to regain my First Amendment rights. I want to be able to say what is on my mind. In 2011, she began broadcasting on satellite radio with Sirius XM. Her program is also available as a podcast at iTunes and from her own website. CANNOTANSWER

Laura Catherine Schlessinger (born January 16, 1947) is an American talk radio host and author. The Dr. Laura Program, heard weekdays for three hours on Sirius XM Radio, consists mainly of her responses to callers' requests for personal advice and often features her short monologues on social and political topics. Her website says that her show "preaches, teaches, and nags about morals, values, and ethics." She is an inductee to the National Radio Hall of Fame in Chicago. Schlessinger used to combine her local radio career in Los Angeles with a private practice as a marriage and family counselor, but after going into national radio syndication, she concentrated her efforts on The Dr. Laura Program heard each weekday, and on writing self-help books. The books Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives and The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands are among her bestselling works. A short-lived television talk show hosted by Schlessinger was launched in 2000. In August 2010, she announced that she would end her syndicated radio show in December 2010. Her show moved to the Sirius XM Stars satellite radio channel on January 3, 2011. Schlessinger announced a "multiyear" deal to be on satellite radio. On November 5, 2018, her radio program moved to the Sirius XM Triumph Channel 111. Early life Schlessinger was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. She was raised in Brooklyn and later on Long Island. Her parents were Monroe "Monty" Schlessinger, a Jewish American civil engineer, and Yolanda (née Ceccovini) Schlessinger, a Catholic war bride from Italy. Schlessinger has said her father was charming and her mother beautiful as a young woman. She has a sister, Cindy, who is 11 years her junior. Schlessinger has described her childhood environment as unloving and unpleasant, and her family as dysfunctional. She has ascribed some of the difficulty to extended family rejection of her parents' mixed faith Jewish-Catholic marriage. Schlessinger said her father was "petty, insensitive, mean, thoughtless, demeaning, and downright unloving". She described her mother as a person with "pathological pride", who "was never grateful", who "would always find something to criticize," and who "constantly expressed disdain for men, sex, and love". She credited her father with giving her the drive to succeed. Schlessinger attended Westbury High School and Jericho High School, where she showed an interest in science. She received a bachelor's degree from Stony Brook University. Moving to Columbia University for graduate studies, she earned a master's and PhD in physiology in 1974. Her doctoral thesis was on insulin's effects on laboratory rats. After she began dispensing personal advice on the radio, she obtained training and certification in marriage and family counseling from the University of Southern California, where she worked in the biology department, and a therapist's license from the State of California. In addition, she opened up a part-time practice as a marriage and family therapist. Radio career Schlessinger's first appearance on radio was in 1975 when she called in to a KABC show hosted by Bill Ballance. Impressed by her quick wit and sense of humor, Ballance began featuring her in a weekly segment. Schlessinger's stint on Ballance's show led to her own shows on a series of small radio stations. By 1979, she was on the air Sunday evenings from 9:00 to midnight on KWIZ in Santa Ana, California. That year, the Los Angeles Times described her show as dealing with all types of emotional problems, "though sex therapy is the show's major focus". In the late 1980s, Schlessinger was filling in for Barbara De Angelis' noon-time, relationship-oriented talk show in Los Angeles on KFI, while working weekends at KGIL in San Fernando. Her big break came when Sally Jessy Raphael began working at ABC Radio, and Maurice Tunick, former vice president of talk programming for the ABC Radio Networks, needed a regular substitute for Raphael's evening personal-advice show. Tunick chose Schlessinger to fill in for Raphael. Schlessinger began broadcasting a daily show on KFI, which was nationally syndicated in 1994 by Synergy, a company owned by Schlessinger and her husband. In 1997, Synergy sold its rights to the show to Jacor Communications, Inc., for $71.5 million. Later, Jacor merged with Clear Channel Communications and a company co-owned by Schlessinger, Take on the Day, LLC, acquired the production rights. The show became a joint effort between Take on the Day, which produced it, Talk Radio Network, which syndicated and marketed it to radio stations, and Premiere Radio Networks, (a subsidiary of Clear Channel), which provided satellite facilities and handled advertising sales. As of September 2009, Schlessinger broadcast from her home in Santa Barbara, California, with KFWB as her flagship station. Podcasts and live streams of the show have been available on her website for a monthly fee, and the show was also on XM Satellite Radio. At its peak, The Dr. Laura Program was the second-highest-rated radio show after The Rush Limbaugh Show, and was heard on more than 450 radio stations. Writing in 1998, Leslie Bennett described the popularity of the show: In 2010—her last year on terrestrial radio—she was still No. 5. In May 2002, the show still had an audience of more than 10 million, but had lost several million listeners in the previous two years as it was dropped by WABC and other affiliates, and was moved from day to night in cities such as Seattle and Boston. These losses were attributed in part to Schlessinger's shift from giving relationship advice to lecturing on morality and conservative politics. Pressure from gay rights groups caused dozens of sponsors to drop the radio show, as well. In 2006, Schlessinger's show was being aired on about 200 stations. As of 2009, it was tied for third place along with The Glenn Beck Program and The Savage Nation. Schlessinger used "Hot Talkin' Big Shot", a song by country and blues singer and songwriter Nikki Hornsby, for several years as cue music for her radio program and for a national radio commercial advertising for the show. She also used "New Attitude" by Patti LaBelle. On August 17, 2010, during an appearance on Larry King Live, Schlessinger announced the end of her radio show, saying that her motivation was to "regain her First Amendment rights", and that she wanted to be able to say what is on her mind without "some special interest group deciding this is a time to silence a voice of dissent." Several of her affiliates and major sponsors had dropped her show after her on-air use of a racial epithet on August 10 (see below). Specifically, she said, "[n-word n-word n-word] is what you hear [in rap]." On January 3, 2011, Schlessinger's show moved exclusively to Sirius XM Radio. She currently offers a short podcast of the "Call of the Day" from her SiriusXM daily show, and it is ranked in the top 25 "Kids and Family" podcasts on iTunes Television show In 1999, Schlessinger signed a deal with Paramount Domestic Television to produce a syndicated talk show titled Dr. Laura, which was carried in major markets by CBS's owned and operated stations and in 96% of the nation's markets overall for fall 2000. This was viewed as something of a coup by Paramount, as they felt that a popular personality such as Schlessinger could be the spark they needed to sell themselves as a daytime syndication powerhouse rivaling King World and Warner Bros. Television, which distributed the popular topical talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show and the variety talk show The Rosie O'Donnell Show. Leading up to the September 11, 2000, premiere of Dr. Laura, Schlessinger created a significant amount of controversy. In the months before the premiere of her TV show, Schlessinger called homosexuality a "biological error", said that homosexuality was acceptable as long as it was not public, and said that homosexuals should adopt older children. She also expressed her view that "a huge portion of the male homosexual populace is predatory on young boys." Schlessinger was frequently criticized in LGBT media for these views. Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, an LGBT media watchdog group, began monitoring Schlessinger's on-air comments about LGBT people, posting transcripts of relevant shows on its website. In March 2000, a group of gay activists launched StopDrLaura.com, an online campaign with the purpose of convincing Paramount to cancel Dr. Laura prior to its premiere. The group protested at Paramount studios, stating her views were offensively bigoted. StopDrLaura.com organized protests in 34 cities in the U.S. and Canada, and picked up on an advertiser boycott of the radio and the TV shows started by another grass-roots organization which called itself "Silence Of The Slams" operating its boycott through AOL Hometown. On Yom Kippur in 2000, Dr. Laura said she "deeply [regretted] the hurt this situation has caused the gay and lesbian community" and asked for forgiveness, while abstaining from offering a retraction of her words. Dr. Laura premiered to low ratings and unkind reviews. Critics and viewers complained that the format had been dumbed down and did not stand out from any other daytime talk show. The biting rhetoric that worked well on radio seemed overly harsh for face-to-face discourse, owing to the normal sympathetic nature of most other daytime hosts; the radical change in Schlessinger's demeanor from her radio persona left viewers cold. The television show failed to generate the energy and interest of Schlessinger's radio show. The credibility of Schlessinger's television program also suffered during its first month, when the New York Post reported that Schlessinger had used show staff to falsely pose as guests on the show. A September 25, 2000, episode named "Readin', Writin', and Cheatin'" featured a so-called college student who specialized in professional note-taking. On the next day's show, "Getting to the Altar," the same guest appeared in different hair and makeup and said she was a woman living with her boyfriend. In fact, the woman was San-D Duchas, a researcher for the show whose name appeared in the closing credits of the shows on which she posed as a guest. By November 2000, advertisers that had committed to Schlessinger's show had pulled their support due to plummeting ratings. CBS was displeased enough with the ratings that it began looking to either drop the series or move it to late-night slots on its stations within two months of its premiere. Other stations outside of CBS did the same thing, while others moved it to weaker sister stations. Dr. Laura aired its last first-run episode on March 30, 2001, on the stations that continued to air it, with reruns continuing until September 2001. In 2004, Schlessinger said that although the money and celebrity in television is greater, it is not as meaningful or intimate as radio, and for her, television was a "terrible experience". Publications Columns For several years, Schlessinger wrote a weekly column syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate that was carried in many newspapers, and in Jewish World Review. She discontinued the column in July 2000, citing lack of time due to her upcoming television show. She wrote a monthly column for WorldNetDaily between 2002 and 2004, with one entry in 2006. In 2006, Schlessinger joined the Santa Barbara News-Press, writing biweekly columns dealing with Santa Barbara news, as well as general news and cultural issues discussed on her radio show. She suspended the column in mid-2007, resumed writing it later, then discontinued it in December 2008. She currently writes columns on her blog, on a variety of topics. Books Schlessinger has written 13 books for adults and four for children. Several follow the mold of her successful Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives, with similarly named books giving advice for men, couples, and parents, while others are more moral in orientation. Magazine For several years, Schlessinger published a monthly magazine, Dr. Laura Perspective. She was the editor, her husband a contributing photographer, and her son the creative consultant. The magazine has ceased publication. Schlessinger was invited to the editorial board of Skeptic magazine in 1994 after taking a stand against recovered memory therapy, but resigned abruptly in 1998 after it published an issue on The God Question, insisting to its publisher Michael Shermer that there can be no question about God's existence. Website Schlessinger has a website that contains hints for stay-at-home parents, her blog, a reading list, and streaming audio of her shows (by subscription only). When it was started, 310,000 people tried to access it simultaneously and it crashed. Certain aspects of feminism are often discussed on her website; she was a self-proclaimed feminist in the 1970s, but is now opposed to feminism. Charitable work Schlessinger created the Laura Schlessinger Foundation to help abused and neglected children in 1998. Schlessinger regularly asked her on-air audience to donate items for My Stuff bags, which go to children in need. All other donations came from other people or groups, usually in the form of donated items for the bags. Per the foundation's reports, money not used for operations was directed toward pro-life organizations, such as crisis pregnancy centers. In September 2004, Schlessinger announced that she was closing down the foundation because it had become too difficult and costly for her husband and her to underwrite, and they wished to devote their "energies and resources to other pressing needs". In 2007, Schlessinger began fundraising for Operation Family Fund, an organization that aids the families of fallen or seriously injured veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2008, she helped raise more than $1 million for the organization. In 2017, Dr. Laura began donating proceeds from the sale of jewelry and glass art she designs and hand makes to Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, a charitable organization that provides college scholarships to military children who lost a parent in the line of duty. Awards She was the first woman to win the Marconi Award for Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year (1997). In 1998 she received the American Women in Radio & Television's Genii Award. She was on the Forbes top 100 list of celebrities in 2000 with estimated earnings of $13 million. In September 2002, the industry magazine Talkers named Schlessinger as the seventh-greatest radio talk-show host of all time. In 2005 and 2008, Schlessinger received a National Heritage award from the National Council of Young Israel in March 2001. She also received the National Religious Broadcasters Chairman's Award, and has lectured on the national conservative circuit. She was the commencement speaker at Hillsdale College in June 2002, and was awarded an honorary degree as a doctor of tradition and culture. In 2007, Schlessinger was given an Exceptional Public Service award by the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In 2008, Talkers presented her with an award for outstanding community service by a radio talk-show host. Schlessinger most recently was named to the National Radio Hall of Fame, Class of 2018. Schlessinger and Nanci Donnelan (the Fabulous Sports Babe) are the first two women with their own national radio shows to be inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. Religious beliefs Born to a Jewish father and an Italian Catholic mother, Schlessinger was raised in Brooklyn in a home that was without religion. Schlessinger was not religious until she started to practice Conservative Judaism in 1996. In 1998, Schlessinger, Bishop, and their son converted to Orthodox Judaism. and began instruction under Rabbi Reuven P. Bulka of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. During this time, Schlessinger sometimes used Jewish law and examples to advise her callers about their moral dilemmas. She occasionally clarified ethical and moral issues with her local Orthodox Rabbi Moshe D. Bryski, before mentioning them on the air. She was embraced by many in the politically conservative segment of Orthodox Judaism for bringing more awareness of Orthodoxy to her radio show. Some of her expressed views were explicitly religious and are referenced her 1999 book The Ten Commandments: The Significance of God's Laws in Everyday Life. In July 2003, Schlessinger announced on her show that she was no longer an Orthodox Jew, but that she was still Jewish. Marriage and family life Schlessinger met and married Michael F. Rudolph, a dentist, in 1972 while she was attending Columbia University. The couple had a Unitarian ceremony. Separating from Rudolph, Schlessinger moved to Encino, California in 1975, when she obtained a job in the science department at the University of Southern California. Their divorce was finalized in 1977. In 1975, while working in the labs at USC, she met Lewis G. Bishop, a professor of neurophysiology, who was married and the father of three children. Bishop separated from his wife and began living with Schlessinger the same year. Schlessinger has vociferously proclaimed her disapproval of unwed couples "shacking up" and having children out of wedlock. According to her friend Shelly Herman, "Laura lived with Lew for about nine years before she was married to him." His divorce was final in 1979. Bishop and Schlessinger married in 1985. Herman says that Schlessinger told her she was pregnant at the time, which Herman recalls as "particularly joyful because of the happy news." Schlessinger's only child, a son named Deryk, was born in November 1985. Schlessinger's husband died November 2, 2015, after being ill for 1.5 years. In the late 1980s, when her son was almost 4, Schlessinger began training in Hapkido under Sayed Qubadi, and had earned a black belt in that art by 1993. Schlessinger was estranged from her sister for years, and many thought she was an only child. She had not spoken to her mother for 18 to 20 years before her mother's death in 2002 from heart disease. Her mother's remains were found in her Beverly Hills condo about two months after she died, and lay unclaimed for some time in the Los Angeles morgue before Schlessinger had them picked up for burial. Concerning the day that she heard about her mother's death, she said: "Apparently she had no friends and none of her neighbors were close, so nobody even noticed! How sad." In 2006, Schlessinger wrote that she had been attacked in a "vulgar, inhumane manner by media types" because of the circumstances surrounding her mother's death, and that false allegations had been made that she was unfit to dispense advice based on family values. She said that she had not mourned the deaths of either of her parents because she had no emotional bond to them. Controversies Libel lawsuit In 1998, Schlessinger was in a Costa Mesa surf shop with her son when she began perusing the skateboarding magazine Big Brother. On her radio program, Schlessinger declared the magazine to be "stealth pornography". When the owner of the store publicly denied that she found pornography in his store, Schlessinger sued him for lying, claiming that his denial had hurt her reputation. When the case went to court, the judge dismissed her suit, but the shop owner's $4 million defamation countersuit lodged for hurting the reputation of his store was allowed to stand. The suit has since been settled, but the terms of the settlement have not been revealed. Internet publication of nude photos In 1998, Schlessinger's early radio mentor, Bill Ballance, sold nude photos of Schlessinger to a company specializing in internet porn. The photos were taken in the mid-1970s, while Schlessinger was involved in a brief affair with the then-married Ballance. Schlessinger sued after the photos were posted on the internet, claiming invasion of privacy and copyright violation. The court ruled that Schlessinger did not own the rights to the photos. She did not appeal the ruling. She told her radio audience that she was embarrassed, but that the photos were taken when she was going through a divorce and had "no moral authority." Opposition to homosexuality Over the years, Schlessinger expressed opposition to homosexuality based on biblical scripture, at one point referring to homosexual behavior as "products of a biological disorder". Her rhetoric eventually prompted an open letter penned in the year 2000 responding to her position that used text of Bible decrees. Use of racial slur On August 10, 2010, Nita Hanson, a black woman married to a white man, called Schlessinger's show to ask for advice on how to deal with a husband who did not care when she was the subject of racist comments by acquaintances. Schlessinger first replied that "some people are hypersensitive" and asked for some examples from the caller. Hanson informed Schlessinger that her acquaintances had stated, "How you black people do this? You black people like doing that." Schlessinger responded that her examples were not racist and that "a lot of blacks only voted for Obama simply because he was half black. Didn't matter what he was going to do in office; it was a black thing. You gotta know that. That's not a surprise." Schlessinger continued by telling the caller that she had a "chip on [her] shoulder," was "sensitive," and also, "Don't NAACP me," and, "a lot of what I hear from black-think ... it's really distressing and disturbing." When the caller noted that she was referred to as the "n-word" by the individuals in question, Schlessinger complained that blacks are fine with cordially using the slur among themselves, but that it was wrong when whites used it to slur them. In doing so, she uttered "nigger" 11 times, albeit not directed at the caller. She discussed the word and its use by blacks and in black media. When Hanson asked, "Is it ever OK to say that word?" Schlessinger responded, "It depends how it's said. Black guys talking to each other seem to think it's OK." After the call Schlessinger said, "If you're that hypersensitive about color and don't have a sense of humor, don't marry out of your race." Early that evening, she wrote an apology to Los Angeles Radio People online journalist Don Barrett. A day later, as soon as she was back on the air, Schlessinger apologized. Hanson questioned the motivation and sincerity of Schlessinger's apology, believing it to be result of being "caught." Hanson also said that Schlessinger did not apologize for her comments on interracial marriage. Schlessinger announced in August 2010 that, while not retiring from radio, she would end her radio show at the end of 2010: In 2011, she began broadcasting on satellite radio with Sirius XM. Her program is also available as a podcast at iTunes and from her own website. Bibliography Advice books: Religious books: Children's books Why Do You Love Me?. With Martha Lambers, illustrated by Daniel McFeeley. HarperCollins. 1999. pp. 40. . But I Waaannt It!. Illustrated by Daniel McFeeley. HarperCollins. 2000. pp 40. . Growing Up Is Hard. Illustrated by Daniel McFeeley. HarperCollins. 2001. pp. 40. . Where's God? Illustrated by Daniel McFeeley. HarperCollins. 2003. pp. 40. . Fictional portrayals In January 1992, Schlessinger played herself in the Quantum Leap season four episode "Roberto!". In 1999, Schlessinger was parodied as Dr. Nora on the sitcom Frasier. The character was portrayed as having dogmatic and fundamentalist social views that promoted social conservatism. The character was also shown to have a degree that belies her therapeutic advice and was estranged from her mother. A fictional, non-speaking depiction of Schlessinger is briefly seen in The Simpsons eleventh season episode "Treehouse of Horror X", as one of the useless people put on a rocketship headed for the Sun. In 2000, in the episode "The Midterms" on The West Wing, the fictional "Dr. Jenna Jacobs" is scolded by President Bartlet, who criticizes her views on homosexuality, and points out she is not a doctor in any field related to morality, ethics, medicine or theology. He quotes from the Bible to point out the inconsistency of condemning certain sins but not others. Show creator Aaron Sorkin admitted to modeling Bartlet's diatribe on an anonymous "Letter to Dr. Laura," which was a popular viral email at the time. A fictionalised version of Schlessinger is featured as an antagonist in the 2000 animated series Queer Duck. In 2001, Schlessinger was portrayed on the claymation show Celebrity Deathmatch on the episode, "A Night of Vomit". She was in a fight with Ellen DeGeneres; she lost. See also Culture war Talk radio in the United States Joy Browne – radio psychologist Toni Grant – radio psychologist Santa Barbara News-Press controversy References External links Official website Category:Living people Category:American children's writers Category:American columnists Category:American family and parenting writers Category:American writers of Italian descent Category:American political commentators Category:American self-help writers Category:American social commentators Category:American social psychologists Category:American social workers Category:American talk radio hosts Category:American women radio presenters Category:American television talk show hosts Category:American women children's writers Category:Celebrity doctors Category:Columbia University alumni Category:Converts to Judaism from atheism or agnosticism Category:Female critics of feminism Category:Jewish American writers Category:Jewish women writers Category:Writers from Brooklyn Category:Radio personalities from Los Angeles Category:Radio personalities from New York City Category:Stony Brook University alumni Category:University of Southern California alumni Category:Journalists from New York City Category:American women non-fiction writers Category:American women columnists Category:21st-century American Jews Category:21st-century American women Category:1947 births Category:American women journalists Category:Radio controversies Category:Race-related controversies in radio Category:American hapkido practitioners

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Titãs

Titas (Portuguese pronunciation: [tSi'tas]) are a rock band from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Though they basically play pop/alternative rock, their music has touched a number of other styles throughout their 30-year career, such as new wave, punk rock, grunge, MPB and electronic music. They are one of the most successful rock bands in Brazil, having sold more than 6,3 million albums as of 2005 and having been covered by several well-known Brazilian artists and a couple of international singers. They were awarded a Latin Grammy in 2009 and have won the Imprensa Trophy for Best Band a record four times.

Gavin's departure, tour and 30th birthday

On February 12, 2010, Titas announced in their official website that drummer Charles Gavin would leave the band for personal reasons. Gavin later stated that he was physically and mentally exhausted because of the tours and album releases. The quartet continued their performances of the Sacos Plasticos tour with drummer Mario Fabre, who is still with the band as of 2018, though not as an official member. Fabre was suggested by Gavin himself. When asked about the status of Fabre in the band, Bellotto explained that "he is the official drummer! He's the drummer of Titas! But he isn't one of Titas, because our history began long ago, at Greek mythology... " During an interview, keyboardist Sergio Britto said the band was planning to start recording a new album in 2011. Nothing else was said since then, until March 2013, when they revealed they were starting to work on a new album, to be released in the second half of 2013. The album would be self-produced, and, according to Britto, it would be "a mixture between Cabeca Dinossauro and O Blesq Blom. In January 2012, the band announced a live performance in company of ex-members Arnaldo Antunes, Nando Reis and Charles Gavin. The show would celebrate the 30-year career of the band, and would include guest performances of other friends of the band, and there were plans for a DVD release. According to Miklos: The reunion took place on October 6, 2012, in Sao Paulo. For the first time since 1997's Acustico MTV, the seven original members of the band reunited for a one-night performance. According to Bellotto: The band gathered in Reis' house to discuss the reunion - it was the first time since Fromer's death that all seven members met. CANNOTANSWER

Titãs () are a Brazilian rock band from São Paulo. Though they basically play pop/alternative rock, their music has touched a number of other styles throughout their 40-year career, such as new wave, punk rock, grunge, MPB and electronic music. They are one of the most successful rock bands in Brazil, having sold more than 6.3 million albums as of 2005 and having been covered by several well-known Brazilian artists and a couple of international singers. They were awarded a Latin Grammy in 2009 and have won the Imprensa Trophy for Best Band a record four times. Titãs started with a rather unusual line-up of nine members (including six lead vocalists): Nando Reis (bass guitar, vocals), Branco Mello (vocals), Marcelo Fromer (Rhythm guitar), Arnaldo Antunes (vocals), Tony Bellotto (Lead guitar), Paulo Miklos (sax, mandolin, harmonica, vocals), André Jung (drums), Sérgio Britto (keyboards, vocals) and Ciro Pessoa (vocals). Pessoa quickly left the band even before their debut album, Titãs, was released. André Jung was the initial drummer, but just after Titãs he also quit and was replaced by Charles Gavin, establishing their classic line-up. Since then, the band lost five members who were never officially replaced: in 1992, Antunes left to pursue a solo career. In 2001, Fromer died after being hit by a motorcycle in São Paulo. In the next year, Reis also left the group to focus on his solo albums. In 2010, Gavin left due to personal reasons. The most recent change was the departure of Miklos, who wanted to focus on personal projects. After Fromer's death and Reis' departure, the band performed with some session guitarists and bassists, but ended up having Mello and Britto as full-time bassists (with Britto performing only when Mello sings) and Miklos as the rhythm guitarist. After Gavin left, the band has been working with Mario Fabre, a session drummer. For Miklos' position, they hired Rita Lee's son Beto Lee. The band has released their latest studio album in 2018, titled Doze Flores Amarelas. History 1981-1985: Formation and first works Most of the band members (except for guitarist Tony Bellotto and drummer Charles Gavin) met at Colégio Equipe in São Paulo at the end of the seventies and, after their first live performance at the school itself in 1981, the band began to perform live in several night clubs around the city. Their very first performance was at the Mário de Andrade Library - on that occasion, Nando Reis played the drums. The first lineup was: Arnaldo Antunes (vocals), Branco Mello (vocals), Marcelo Fromer (rhythm guitar), Nando Reis (bass guitar), Paulo Miklos (sax and vocals), Sérgio Britto (keyboards and vocals), Tony Bellotto (lead guitar), Ciro Pessoa (vocals) and André Jung (drums). It was a pop/new wave-styled band, with a rather conventional sound and odd looks, with tender and little ball neckties. The band's name has its roots in their early sessions, at Bellotto's parent's home library, where there were books such as Titãs da Ciência, Titãs do Esporte, Titãs da Literatura (Science Titans, Sports Titans, Literature Titans), among others, and that inspired them to create the name Titãs do Iê Iê. Their first shows happened on 15 and 16 October 1982, at Sesc Pompeia. In 1984, Pessoa left the band, unwilling to exchange the local night clubs for popular TV shows. Soon after, the band signed with the WEA label to record their first album, Titãs, produced by Pena Schimdt, and featuring songs previously recorded with Pessoas's vocals. Although poorly promoted and hardly a success, the band spawned their first hit: "Sonífera Ilha", later recorded by singer Moraes Moreira. Following the release, Reis briefly left the band, willing to focus on another group he played at (salsa act Sossega Leão, in which he was a percussionist and crooner), but two weeks later he changed his mind and was accepted back. In 1985, with Charles Gavin replacing André Jung on drums (the latter going on to Ira!), their second album, Televisão, produced by Lulu Santos, was released with tighter arrangements than their debut album. Not only was the title track a great hit, the album was more heavily promoted than the first one and brought more opportunities to the group. Still, it sold below expectations. 1985-1989: Into the spotlight In November 1985, Tony Bellotto and Arnaldo Antunes were arrested for heroin traffic and transportation. It is considered by the band as the climax of their first crisis, started with the first two albums low sales. Also, the episode made so much of an impact in the band that the next album, Cabeça Dinossauro, released in June 1986, contained a lot of tracks criticizing public institutions ("Estado Violência" and "Polícia"), as well as other "pillars" of the Brazilian society and indeed society in general ("Igreja" and "Família"). The heavy and punk-influenced rhythms and the forceful lyrics, characteristic of the band in this phase, are fully represented in this album which is considered by the critics one of the best works of the group and one of the landmarks of the Brazilian rock. Jesus não Tem Dentes no País dos Banguelas, released in the end of 1987, continued in the same vein as the previous album in tracks like "Nome aos Bois", "Lugar Nenhum" and "Desordem", however adding samplers in tracks like "Corações e Mentes", "Todo Mundo quer Amor", "Comida" and "Diversão". After some international performances, the band recorded some of their hits in live Montreux Festival and released Go Back in 1988. The biggest hit to come out of Go Back was a live version of the song "Marvin" which is a re-invented version of "Patches" by Clarence Carter made famous by Elvis. Still in 1988, they guest performed on the song "Tempo" (written by Antunes and Miklos) of Sandra de Sá's 1988 self-titled album. The producer Liminha (a former adjunct member of Os Mutantes) was always an important associate of the band since Cabeça Dinossauro, and this association arrived to its climax in Õ Blésq Blom (1989), one of the most popular productions of the band by that time. Some of the prominence tracks: "Miséria", "Flores", "O Pulso" and "32 Dentes". One of the prominent features of this work was the special guest appearance of a couple of improvisors, called Mauro and Quitéria, discovered by the band at a beach in Recife. 1990-1995: Antunes' departure and Jack Endino era The band had arrived to a decisive point in its history and the next album, Tudo ao Mesmo Tempo Agora marks a strong yaw at the musicians' style, searching for heavier, alternative and authorial sound, along with scatological lyrics. The members themselves produced the album. Unhappy with the new direction taken by the band, Antunes left for a solo career on 15 December 1992, although he would continue to write occasional songs with them. The following album, Titanomaquia, in 1993, continued the previous work in a way, with heavy instrumentation and aggressive lyrics, only now produced by Jack Endino, producer of important bands like Nirvana, which contributed for the grunge-influenced sound. In 1995 the band decided to take a break for one year during which many of its members decided to work solo. Miklos and Reis released their debut solo efforts, Paulo Miklos and 12 de Janeiro, respectively; Britto and Mello formed Kleiderman; and Bellotto wrote his first book, Bellini e a Esfinge. The band released Domingo in the end of 1995, again with production by Endino. 1997-1999: Acoustic and tribute efforts The band's commercial peak was reached once they released the commemorative work Acústico MTV (MTV Unplugged), their most successful album to date, released in 1997, which sold 1,7 million copies. Recorded Live, Acústico MTV not only revisited their career up to that point but it also had a song which became an immediate hit named "Pra dizer Adeus" (originally from Televisão). It also had a number of guest performers, including former member Arnaldo Antunes. This record was followed by Volume Dois (1998), modeled in the same way of their unplugged album, only recorded in studio; and cover album As Dez Mais (1999), which didn't sell well and was panned by critics, despite "Aluga-se" and "Pelados em Santos" becoming hits. Also in 1999, the band embarked on a collaborative tour with Os Paralamas do Sucesso, another successful Brazilian rock band, and a live, collaborative record followed: Titãs & Paralamas Juntos ao Vivo. 2001-2009: Fromer's death, Reis' departure, documentary and Latin Grammy On 11 June 2001 Marcelo Fromer was rammed by a motorcycle in São Paulo and died two days later of Brain death. It was a hard stroke to the band, which started recording their new album the day after. A Melhor Banda de Todos os Tempos da Última Semana was released at the end of 2001 and brought "Epitáfio" as the prominence song and the title track as the first single. Regarding the death of Marcelo, this statement was published on 20 June 2001 at Titãs official site: In the following year, the band saw the departure of vocalist and bassist Nando Reis, who has since lead a successful solo career (including songs penned for other artists) fronting his own band Nando Reis e os Infernais. He announced his parting on 9 September 9, 2002, giving "thought incompatibility" as a reason and also saying Fromer's and his close friend Cássia Eller's deaths left him very upset: In a 2012 interview, he would say he didn't feel ready for the studio following his friends' deaths and three consecutive, exhausting tours. The band hired the bass guitarist Lee Marcucci (from Rádio Táxi) to play in their first album without Reis, Como Estão Vocês? (How Are You?). With self-help hits as "Enquanto Houver Sol", questions on relevance remain on Titãs' side, which faced declining sales and the ageing of their fanbase. In 2005, they released another MTV-branded album, only this time in a non-acoustic live performance. This album generated a new hit for the group, called "Vossa Excelência", that basically criticizes the hypocrisy and lack of care from politicians, thus bringing the band back to its roots. On 18 February 2006, Titãs opened the Rolling Stones free concert at Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro for an audience of some 1.5 million people. In 2007, the band started a tour, entitled 25 Anos de Rock (25 Years of Rock), again joining Os Paralamas do Sucesso to celebrate the 25th anniversary of both bands, as well as the 25th anniversary of the rising of 1980s Brazilian rock bands. The two line-ups played together most of the time on the shows, presenting also some invited musicians, like Arnaldo Antunes, Andreas Kisser and Dado Villa-Lobos. The concert in Rio de Janeiro, which took place on 26 January 2008, was recorded and filmed. The resulting collaborative CD and DVD were released five months after, titled Paralamas e Titãs Juntos e Ao Vivo . The band released a documentary of the 25 years of their career. The documentary features 90 minutes of images collected since the beginning of the band, including recording of albums, live performances, and more. It is titled Titãs - A Vida Até Parece Uma Festa. For most of 2008 and early 2009, the band recorded their 13th studio album, the Latin Grammy-winner Sacos Plásticos. The album was released on 3 June 2009, through Arsenal Music. The producer, Rick Bonadio, had already worked with artists such as Fresno and NX Zero. The first single from the album was "Antes de Você" ("Before You"), and it received radio airplay on 7 May. It was featured at the Caras & Bocas (current 19pm Rede Globo telenovela) soundtrack. The second single was "Porque Eu Sei que É Amor" (Because I Know It's Love) which was featured in Cama de Gato (a Brazilian telenovela that also features the song "Pelo Avesso" as opening theme, from their 2003 album Como Estão Vocês?) and reached #16 at Brasil Hot 100 Airplay In an interview to Jornal da Tarde, and regarding the music of the new album, Bonadio stated: 2010-2016: Gavin's departure, 30th birthday, Nheengatu On 12 February 2010, Titãs announced in their official website that drummer Charles Gavin would leave the band for personal reasons. Gavin later stated that he was physically and mentally exhausted because of the tours and album releases. The quartet continued their performances of the Sacos Plásticos tour with drummer Mario Fabre, who has remained with the band since then as a session member. Fabre was suggested by Gavin himself. When asked about the status of Fabre in the band, Bellotto explained that "he is the official drummer! He's the drummer of Titãs! But he isn't one of Titãs, because our history began long ago, at Greek mythology... " During an interview, keyboardist Sérgio Britto said the band was planning to start recording a new album in 2011. Nothing else was said since then, until March 2013, when they revealed they were starting to work on a new album, to be released in the second half of 2013. The album would be self-produced, and, according to Britto, it would be "a mixture between Cabeça Dinossauro and Õ Blésq Blom". In January 2012, the band announced a live performance in company of ex-members Arnaldo Antunes, Nando Reis and Charles Gavin. The show would celebrate the 30-year career of the band, and would include guest performances of other friends of the band, and there were plans for a DVD release. According to Miklos: The reunion took place on 6 October 2012, in São Paulo. For the first time since 1997's Acústico MTV, the seven original members of the band reunited for a one-night performance. According to Bellotto: The band gathered in Reis' house to discuss the reunion - it was the first time since Fromer's death that all seven members met. In 2013, Titãs performed new songs live, part of their Titãs Inédito (Titãs Unseen) tour. They were planning to begin work on a new album in April or May 2014. Miklos said the album was likely to be "heavy, dirty and mean". Later, Britto confirmed that the album would be released in early May and that the band was already recording songs for it, but it was yet to be titled. In March, radio Globo FM announced that the album would be actually released in April and would feature 14 tracks. On 16 April, the band announced that the album was ready and would be really released in May, via Som Livre records. On 28 April, they announced the title, cover and release date for the album, which is called Nheengatu and was released on 12 May. In August 2015, they released Nheengatu ao Vivo, a live album and DVD with songs from their Nheengatu Tour. In February 2016, they opened a Rolling Stones Brazilian show for a second and third time, this time at the Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo, on two different dates. 2016-2018: Miklos' departure and rock opera On 11 July 2016, vocalist, guitarist and founding member Paulo Miklos announced he would leave the band to focus on his personal projects. He was then replaced by session member Beto Lee, son of Brazilian notorious rock singer Rita Lee. His first recording with the band is a version of "Pro Dia Nascer Feliz", originally by Barão Vermelho, for the soundtrack of the 24th season of Malhação, a Rede Globo series. With Lee's inclusion, the band recovered some old songs for its live setlists, including Titanomaquia's "Será Que É Disso Que Eu Necessito?" and "Nem Sempre se Pode Ser Deus". They also started to have Bellotto sing in some songs. Also in 2016, the band announced a new album for a possible 2017 release. According to Bellotto, it would be a rock opera, and the band intended to enter the studio until mid-2017 so the album could be released in the year's second half. Drawing inspiration from albums such as The Who's Quadrophenia and Green Day's American Idiot, the over 30-track rock opera would have its story written by Hugo Possolo and Marcelo Rubens Paiva. By April 2017, Mello said a handful of tracks were ready. Also in April, the band started a tour called "Uma Noite no Teatro" (A Night at the Theater) with a show that was also the inaugurating event of Shopping Villa-Lobos' theater Opus. The tour included three new songs: "Me Estuprem" (Rape Me), about sexual harassment and rape; "12 Flores Amarelas" (12 Yellow Flowers); and "A Festa" (The Party). By that time, none of them were expected to be featured in the band's new album. On 23 September, however, the band performed them again during their show at the Rock in Rio 7, and this time they were announced as part of the new project. In December 2017, they announced that they had already started recording the album and that it would be released via Universal Music. On 31 January, they announced that the opera rock would be released in early 2018 and that its title would be Doze Flores Amarelas. In May 2018, after the Doze Flores Amarelas DVD had been recorded, Mello was diagnosed with a tumor in his larynx, which forced him to step down from the band activities for three months. Lee Marcucci, who worked for the band as a session musician from 2002 to 2009, stepped in to replace him. 2018-present: Titãs Trio Acústico, return to BMG and Reunion Tour From 2019 on, they did a series of acoustic shows in order to celebrate 20 years of Acústico MTV, which wasn't possible in 2017 since they were focusin on Doze Flores Amarelas. The tour was named "Trio Acústico" ("Acoustic Trio") and was conciliated with the Doze Flores Amarelas promotional tour and a third tour called "Enquanto Houver Sol", this one in an electric format and involving songs from many eras of the group. In 2020, the band announced it had recorded a studio version of the project and that it would be released as three EPs, under the collective title Titãs Trio Acústico. A re-recording of "Sonífera Ilha" was released as a single and video on 20 March, when it was also announced that the EPs would be released starting in April via BMG, the label to which then returned by the end of 2019. On 5 May 2020, original founding member Ciro Pessoa died following complications from a cancer and COVID-19. In October 2020, the remaining members were featured in a cover of "Comida" (from Jesus não Tem Dentes no País dos Banguelas) released by singer Elza Soares. The version was originally planned for her 2019 album Planeta Fome, but she chose to save the song for later and decided to release it at the album's first anniversary and also to celebrate its nomination for the Latin Grammy Award. In January 2022, former member Nando Reis said he has rejected for now the possibility of taking part in the band's 40th anniversary tour, due to him having "one idea" and them "another". In 2023, Titãs started the tour "Encontro: Todos Ao Mesmo Tempo Agora" which reunites the former members Arnaldo Antunes, Charles Gavin, Nando Reis and Paulo Miklos. The tour is allusive to the band's 40th Anniversary. Members Current Branco Mello – lead and backing vocals (1981–present; on hiatus: 2018); bass (2002–present, in some tracks: 2002–2009, 2023–present; in most tracks: 2009–2023; on hiatus: 2018); acoustic guitar on unplugged shows (2016–present; on hiatus: 2018) Sérgio Britto – keyboards, piano, organ, synthesizer, mellotron, lead and backing vocals (1981–present); bass on tracks sung by Mello (2009–2023); acoustic guitar (2016–present) Tony Bellotto – lead, rhythm, acoustic, slide, wah-wah, 6 and 12-string guitar (1981–present); backing and lead vocals (2016–present) Paulo Miklos – lead and backing vocals (1981–2016, 2023–present); saxophone (1988–2009, 2023–present); mandolin (1997–2009, 2023–present); banjo, harmonica (1998–2009, 2023–present); occasional keyboards (1981–2009, 2023–present); occasional bass (1981–1986); rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar (occasionally: 1981–2001, full-time: 2001–2016, 2023–present; in some tracks only: 2001–2009, 2023–present; in all tracks: 2009–2016) Arnaldo Antunes – lead and backing vocals (1981–1992, 1997, 2008, 2012, 2023–present) Nando Reis – bass, backing and lead vocals (1981–2002, 2012, 2023–present); occasional acoustic guitar (1995–2002, 2023–present) Charles Gavin – drums, percussion (1985–2010, 2012, 2023–present) Past Marcelo Fromer – rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar (1981–2001; his death) André Jung – drums (1981–1985) Ciro Pessoa – backing and lead vocals (1981–1984; died 2020) Touring and session musicians Liminha - rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar (2023-present, touring, some studio contributions from 1986-1991), acoustic guitar, acoustic bass, percussion (1997–1998, on Unplugged MTV). Emerson Villani – rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar, backing vocals (1998 as substitute for Fromer, 2001–2006 touring and session) Marco Lobo – percussion (2001–2003 touring and session) Lee Marcucci – bass (2002–2009 touring and session; 2018 as substitute for Mello) André Fonseca – rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar, backing vocals (2006–2009 touring only; 2014 as substitute for Miklos) Mario Fabre – drums (2010–2023 touring and session) Beto Lee – rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar, backing and occasional lead vocals (2016–2023 touring and session) Caio Góes Neves – bass (2021–2022 as substitute for Mello) Tiago Adorno – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals (2022 as substitute for Lee) Timeline Discography Titãs (1984) Televisão (1985) Cabeça Dinossauro (1986) Jesus não Tem Dentes no País dos Banguelas (1987) Õ Blésq Blom (1989) Tudo ao Mesmo Tempo Agora (1991) Titanomaquia (1993) Domingo (1995) Acústico MTV (1997) Volume Dois (1998) As Dez Mais (1999) A Melhor Banda de Todos os Tempos da Última Semana (2001) Como Estão Vocês? (2003) Sacos Plásticos (2009) Nheengatu (2014) Doze Flores Amarelas (2018) Titãs Trio Acústico (2020) Olho Furta-Cor (2022) Awards Latin Grammy Award – "Best Brazilian Rock Album" with Sacos Plásticos (2009)) Troféu Imprensa – "Best band" (1987, 1988, 1997, 1998) and "Best song" ("Pra Dizer Adeus", 1997) Prêmio Bizz (by Revista Bizz) – "Best album" (Cabeça Dinossauro (1986), Jesus Não Tem Dentes No País Dos Banguelas (1987), Õ Blésq Blom (1989), Volume Dois (1998)) "Best band" (1987, 1988, 1989, 1997, 1998), and "Best show" (Titãs – Volume 2 – Ao Vivo, 1998) Prêmio Multishow de Música Brasileira (by Multishow) – "Best band" (1998, 1999, 2002), "Best album" (Titãs – Acústico MTV (1998), Volume Dois (1999)), "Best show" (Titãs – Acústico MTV, 1998), "Best song" (É Preciso Saber Viver, 1999) and "Best instrumentalist" (Tony Bellotto, 2000) MTV Video Music Brasil – "Best videoclip" (Flores (1990), Será Que é Disso Que eu Necessito? (1993), "Best rock clip", "Best Rock Video", "Video Of The Year" and "Viewer's Choice" (Epitáfio, 2002), "Musical Movie/Documentary of the Year" (Titãs – A Vida Até Parece Uma Festa, 2009) TIM Music Award Best band (Pop/Rock category) (2004) References External links Official English website (by Jack Endino) Category:Brazilian rock music groups Category:Musical groups established in 1982 Category:Musical groups from São Paulo Category:Hollywood Records artists Category:Warner Music Group artists Category:Sony BMG artists Category:Brazilian punk rock groups Category:Latin Grammy Award winners Category:Musical quartets Category:1982 establishments in Brazil

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Titãs

Titas (Portuguese pronunciation: [tSi'tas]) are a rock band from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Though they basically play pop/alternative rock, their music has touched a number of other styles throughout their 30-year career, such as new wave, punk rock, grunge, MPB and electronic music. They are one of the most successful rock bands in Brazil, having sold more than 6,3 million albums as of 2005 and having been covered by several well-known Brazilian artists and a couple of international singers. They were awarded a Latin Grammy in 2009 and have won the Imprensa Trophy for Best Band a record four times.

Miklos departure and rock opera

On July 11, 2016, vocalist, guitarist and founding member Paulo Miklos announced he would leave the band to focus on his personal projects. He was then replaced by session member Beto Lee, son of Brazilian notorious rock singer Rita Lee. His first recording with the band is a version of "Pro Dia Nascer Feliz", originally by Barao Vermelho, for the soundtrack of the 24th season of Malhacao, a Rede Globo series. With Lee's inclusion, the band recovered some old songs for its live setlists, including Titanomaquia's "Sera Que E Disso Que Eu Necessito?" and " Nem Sempre se Pode Ser Deus". They also started to have Bellotto sing in some songs. Also in 2016, the band announced a new album for a possible 2017 release. According to Bellotto, it will be a rock opera, and the band intended to enter the studio until mid-2017 so the album could be released in the year's second half. Drawing inspiration from albums such as The Who's Quadrophenia and Green Day's American Idiot, the over 30-track rock opera will have its story written by Hugo Possolo and Marcelo Rubens Paiva. By April 2017, Mello said a handful of tracks were ready. Also in April, the band started a tour called "Uma Noite no Teatro" (A Night at the Theater) with a show that was also the inaugurating event of Shopping Villa-Lobos' theater Opus. The tour included three new songs: "Me Estuprem" (Rape Me), about sexual harassment and rape; "12 Flores Amarelas" (12 Yellow Flowers); and "A Festa" (The Party). By that time, none of them were expected to be featured in the band's next album. On 23 September, however, the band performed them again during their show at the Rock in Rio 7, and this time they were announced as part of the new project. On December 2017, they announced that they had already started recording the album and that it would be released via Universal Music. In January 31, they announced that the opera rock would be released in early 2018 and that its title would be 12 Flores Amarelas. CANNOTANSWER

Titãs () are a Brazilian rock band from São Paulo. Though they basically play pop/alternative rock, their music has touched a number of other styles throughout their 40-year career, such as new wave, punk rock, grunge, MPB and electronic music. They are one of the most successful rock bands in Brazil, having sold more than 6.3 million albums as of 2005 and having been covered by several well-known Brazilian artists and a couple of international singers. They were awarded a Latin Grammy in 2009 and have won the Imprensa Trophy for Best Band a record four times. Titãs started with a rather unusual line-up of nine members (including six lead vocalists): Nando Reis (bass guitar, vocals), Branco Mello (vocals), Marcelo Fromer (Rhythm guitar), Arnaldo Antunes (vocals), Tony Bellotto (Lead guitar), Paulo Miklos (sax, mandolin, harmonica, vocals), André Jung (drums), Sérgio Britto (keyboards, vocals) and Ciro Pessoa (vocals). Pessoa quickly left the band even before their debut album, Titãs, was released. André Jung was the initial drummer, but just after Titãs he also quit and was replaced by Charles Gavin, establishing their classic line-up. Since then, the band lost five members who were never officially replaced: in 1992, Antunes left to pursue a solo career. In 2001, Fromer died after being hit by a motorcycle in São Paulo. In the next year, Reis also left the group to focus on his solo albums. In 2010, Gavin left due to personal reasons. The most recent change was the departure of Miklos, who wanted to focus on personal projects. After Fromer's death and Reis' departure, the band performed with some session guitarists and bassists, but ended up having Mello and Britto as full-time bassists (with Britto performing only when Mello sings) and Miklos as the rhythm guitarist. After Gavin left, the band has been working with Mario Fabre, a session drummer. For Miklos' position, they hired Rita Lee's son Beto Lee. The band has released their latest studio album in 2018, titled Doze Flores Amarelas. History 1981-1985: Formation and first works Most of the band members (except for guitarist Tony Bellotto and drummer Charles Gavin) met at Colégio Equipe in São Paulo at the end of the seventies and, after their first live performance at the school itself in 1981, the band began to perform live in several night clubs around the city. Their very first performance was at the Mário de Andrade Library - on that occasion, Nando Reis played the drums. The first lineup was: Arnaldo Antunes (vocals), Branco Mello (vocals), Marcelo Fromer (rhythm guitar), Nando Reis (bass guitar), Paulo Miklos (sax and vocals), Sérgio Britto (keyboards and vocals), Tony Bellotto (lead guitar), Ciro Pessoa (vocals) and André Jung (drums). It was a pop/new wave-styled band, with a rather conventional sound and odd looks, with tender and little ball neckties. The band's name has its roots in their early sessions, at Bellotto's parent's home library, where there were books such as Titãs da Ciência, Titãs do Esporte, Titãs da Literatura (Science Titans, Sports Titans, Literature Titans), among others, and that inspired them to create the name Titãs do Iê Iê. Their first shows happened on 15 and 16 October 1982, at Sesc Pompeia. In 1984, Pessoa left the band, unwilling to exchange the local night clubs for popular TV shows. Soon after, the band signed with the WEA label to record their first album, Titãs, produced by Pena Schimdt, and featuring songs previously recorded with Pessoas's vocals. Although poorly promoted and hardly a success, the band spawned their first hit: "Sonífera Ilha", later recorded by singer Moraes Moreira. Following the release, Reis briefly left the band, willing to focus on another group he played at (salsa act Sossega Leão, in which he was a percussionist and crooner), but two weeks later he changed his mind and was accepted back. In 1985, with Charles Gavin replacing André Jung on drums (the latter going on to Ira!), their second album, Televisão, produced by Lulu Santos, was released with tighter arrangements than their debut album. Not only was the title track a great hit, the album was more heavily promoted than the first one and brought more opportunities to the group. Still, it sold below expectations. 1985-1989: Into the spotlight In November 1985, Tony Bellotto and Arnaldo Antunes were arrested for heroin traffic and transportation. It is considered by the band as the climax of their first crisis, started with the first two albums low sales. Also, the episode made so much of an impact in the band that the next album, Cabeça Dinossauro, released in June 1986, contained a lot of tracks criticizing public institutions ("Estado Violência" and "Polícia"), as well as other "pillars" of the Brazilian society and indeed society in general ("Igreja" and "Família"). The heavy and punk-influenced rhythms and the forceful lyrics, characteristic of the band in this phase, are fully represented in this album which is considered by the critics one of the best works of the group and one of the landmarks of the Brazilian rock. Jesus não Tem Dentes no País dos Banguelas, released in the end of 1987, continued in the same vein as the previous album in tracks like "Nome aos Bois", "Lugar Nenhum" and "Desordem", however adding samplers in tracks like "Corações e Mentes", "Todo Mundo quer Amor", "Comida" and "Diversão". After some international performances, the band recorded some of their hits in live Montreux Festival and released Go Back in 1988. The biggest hit to come out of Go Back was a live version of the song "Marvin" which is a re-invented version of "Patches" by Clarence Carter made famous by Elvis. Still in 1988, they guest performed on the song "Tempo" (written by Antunes and Miklos) of Sandra de Sá's 1988 self-titled album. The producer Liminha (a former adjunct member of Os Mutantes) was always an important associate of the band since Cabeça Dinossauro, and this association arrived to its climax in Õ Blésq Blom (1989), one of the most popular productions of the band by that time. Some of the prominence tracks: "Miséria", "Flores", "O Pulso" and "32 Dentes". One of the prominent features of this work was the special guest appearance of a couple of improvisors, called Mauro and Quitéria, discovered by the band at a beach in Recife. 1990-1995: Antunes' departure and Jack Endino era The band had arrived to a decisive point in its history and the next album, Tudo ao Mesmo Tempo Agora marks a strong yaw at the musicians' style, searching for heavier, alternative and authorial sound, along with scatological lyrics. The members themselves produced the album. Unhappy with the new direction taken by the band, Antunes left for a solo career on 15 December 1992, although he would continue to write occasional songs with them. The following album, Titanomaquia, in 1993, continued the previous work in a way, with heavy instrumentation and aggressive lyrics, only now produced by Jack Endino, producer of important bands like Nirvana, which contributed for the grunge-influenced sound. In 1995 the band decided to take a break for one year during which many of its members decided to work solo. Miklos and Reis released their debut solo efforts, Paulo Miklos and 12 de Janeiro, respectively; Britto and Mello formed Kleiderman; and Bellotto wrote his first book, Bellini e a Esfinge. The band released Domingo in the end of 1995, again with production by Endino. 1997-1999: Acoustic and tribute efforts The band's commercial peak was reached once they released the commemorative work Acústico MTV (MTV Unplugged), their most successful album to date, released in 1997, which sold 1,7 million copies. Recorded Live, Acústico MTV not only revisited their career up to that point but it also had a song which became an immediate hit named "Pra dizer Adeus" (originally from Televisão). It also had a number of guest performers, including former member Arnaldo Antunes. This record was followed by Volume Dois (1998), modeled in the same way of their unplugged album, only recorded in studio; and cover album As Dez Mais (1999), which didn't sell well and was panned by critics, despite "Aluga-se" and "Pelados em Santos" becoming hits. Also in 1999, the band embarked on a collaborative tour with Os Paralamas do Sucesso, another successful Brazilian rock band, and a live, collaborative record followed: Titãs & Paralamas Juntos ao Vivo. 2001-2009: Fromer's death, Reis' departure, documentary and Latin Grammy On 11 June 2001 Marcelo Fromer was rammed by a motorcycle in São Paulo and died two days later of Brain death. It was a hard stroke to the band, which started recording their new album the day after. A Melhor Banda de Todos os Tempos da Última Semana was released at the end of 2001 and brought "Epitáfio" as the prominence song and the title track as the first single. Regarding the death of Marcelo, this statement was published on 20 June 2001 at Titãs official site: In the following year, the band saw the departure of vocalist and bassist Nando Reis, who has since lead a successful solo career (including songs penned for other artists) fronting his own band Nando Reis e os Infernais. He announced his parting on 9 September 9, 2002, giving "thought incompatibility" as a reason and also saying Fromer's and his close friend Cássia Eller's deaths left him very upset: In a 2012 interview, he would say he didn't feel ready for the studio following his friends' deaths and three consecutive, exhausting tours. The band hired the bass guitarist Lee Marcucci (from Rádio Táxi) to play in their first album without Reis, Como Estão Vocês? (How Are You?). With self-help hits as "Enquanto Houver Sol", questions on relevance remain on Titãs' side, which faced declining sales and the ageing of their fanbase. In 2005, they released another MTV-branded album, only this time in a non-acoustic live performance. This album generated a new hit for the group, called "Vossa Excelência", that basically criticizes the hypocrisy and lack of care from politicians, thus bringing the band back to its roots. On 18 February 2006, Titãs opened the Rolling Stones free concert at Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro for an audience of some 1.5 million people. In 2007, the band started a tour, entitled 25 Anos de Rock (25 Years of Rock), again joining Os Paralamas do Sucesso to celebrate the 25th anniversary of both bands, as well as the 25th anniversary of the rising of 1980s Brazilian rock bands. The two line-ups played together most of the time on the shows, presenting also some invited musicians, like Arnaldo Antunes, Andreas Kisser and Dado Villa-Lobos. The concert in Rio de Janeiro, which took place on 26 January 2008, was recorded and filmed. The resulting collaborative CD and DVD were released five months after, titled Paralamas e Titãs Juntos e Ao Vivo . The band released a documentary of the 25 years of their career. The documentary features 90 minutes of images collected since the beginning of the band, including recording of albums, live performances, and more. It is titled Titãs - A Vida Até Parece Uma Festa. For most of 2008 and early 2009, the band recorded their 13th studio album, the Latin Grammy-winner Sacos Plásticos. The album was released on 3 June 2009, through Arsenal Music. The producer, Rick Bonadio, had already worked with artists such as Fresno and NX Zero. The first single from the album was "Antes de Você" ("Before You"), and it received radio airplay on 7 May. It was featured at the Caras & Bocas (current 19pm Rede Globo telenovela) soundtrack. The second single was "Porque Eu Sei que É Amor" (Because I Know It's Love) which was featured in Cama de Gato (a Brazilian telenovela that also features the song "Pelo Avesso" as opening theme, from their 2003 album Como Estão Vocês?) and reached #16 at Brasil Hot 100 Airplay In an interview to Jornal da Tarde, and regarding the music of the new album, Bonadio stated: 2010-2016: Gavin's departure, 30th birthday, Nheengatu On 12 February 2010, Titãs announced in their official website that drummer Charles Gavin would leave the band for personal reasons. Gavin later stated that he was physically and mentally exhausted because of the tours and album releases. The quartet continued their performances of the Sacos Plásticos tour with drummer Mario Fabre, who has remained with the band since then as a session member. Fabre was suggested by Gavin himself. When asked about the status of Fabre in the band, Bellotto explained that "he is the official drummer! He's the drummer of Titãs! But he isn't one of Titãs, because our history began long ago, at Greek mythology... " During an interview, keyboardist Sérgio Britto said the band was planning to start recording a new album in 2011. Nothing else was said since then, until March 2013, when they revealed they were starting to work on a new album, to be released in the second half of 2013. The album would be self-produced, and, according to Britto, it would be "a mixture between Cabeça Dinossauro and Õ Blésq Blom". In January 2012, the band announced a live performance in company of ex-members Arnaldo Antunes, Nando Reis and Charles Gavin. The show would celebrate the 30-year career of the band, and would include guest performances of other friends of the band, and there were plans for a DVD release. According to Miklos: The reunion took place on 6 October 2012, in São Paulo. For the first time since 1997's Acústico MTV, the seven original members of the band reunited for a one-night performance. According to Bellotto: The band gathered in Reis' house to discuss the reunion - it was the first time since Fromer's death that all seven members met. In 2013, Titãs performed new songs live, part of their Titãs Inédito (Titãs Unseen) tour. They were planning to begin work on a new album in April or May 2014. Miklos said the album was likely to be "heavy, dirty and mean". Later, Britto confirmed that the album would be released in early May and that the band was already recording songs for it, but it was yet to be titled. In March, radio Globo FM announced that the album would be actually released in April and would feature 14 tracks. On 16 April, the band announced that the album was ready and would be really released in May, via Som Livre records. On 28 April, they announced the title, cover and release date for the album, which is called Nheengatu and was released on 12 May. In August 2015, they released Nheengatu ao Vivo, a live album and DVD with songs from their Nheengatu Tour. In February 2016, they opened a Rolling Stones Brazilian show for a second and third time, this time at the Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo, on two different dates. 2016-2018: Miklos' departure and rock opera On 11 July 2016, vocalist, guitarist and founding member Paulo Miklos announced he would leave the band to focus on his personal projects. He was then replaced by session member Beto Lee, son of Brazilian notorious rock singer Rita Lee. His first recording with the band is a version of "Pro Dia Nascer Feliz", originally by Barão Vermelho, for the soundtrack of the 24th season of Malhação, a Rede Globo series. With Lee's inclusion, the band recovered some old songs for its live setlists, including Titanomaquia's "Será Que É Disso Que Eu Necessito?" and "Nem Sempre se Pode Ser Deus". They also started to have Bellotto sing in some songs. Also in 2016, the band announced a new album for a possible 2017 release. According to Bellotto, it would be a rock opera, and the band intended to enter the studio until mid-2017 so the album could be released in the year's second half. Drawing inspiration from albums such as The Who's Quadrophenia and Green Day's American Idiot, the over 30-track rock opera would have its story written by Hugo Possolo and Marcelo Rubens Paiva. By April 2017, Mello said a handful of tracks were ready. Also in April, the band started a tour called "Uma Noite no Teatro" (A Night at the Theater) with a show that was also the inaugurating event of Shopping Villa-Lobos' theater Opus. The tour included three new songs: "Me Estuprem" (Rape Me), about sexual harassment and rape; "12 Flores Amarelas" (12 Yellow Flowers); and "A Festa" (The Party). By that time, none of them were expected to be featured in the band's new album. On 23 September, however, the band performed them again during their show at the Rock in Rio 7, and this time they were announced as part of the new project. In December 2017, they announced that they had already started recording the album and that it would be released via Universal Music. On 31 January, they announced that the opera rock would be released in early 2018 and that its title would be Doze Flores Amarelas. In May 2018, after the Doze Flores Amarelas DVD had been recorded, Mello was diagnosed with a tumor in his larynx, which forced him to step down from the band activities for three months. Lee Marcucci, who worked for the band as a session musician from 2002 to 2009, stepped in to replace him. 2018-present: Titãs Trio Acústico, return to BMG and Reunion Tour From 2019 on, they did a series of acoustic shows in order to celebrate 20 years of Acústico MTV, which wasn't possible in 2017 since they were focusin on Doze Flores Amarelas. The tour was named "Trio Acústico" ("Acoustic Trio") and was conciliated with the Doze Flores Amarelas promotional tour and a third tour called "Enquanto Houver Sol", this one in an electric format and involving songs from many eras of the group. In 2020, the band announced it had recorded a studio version of the project and that it would be released as three EPs, under the collective title Titãs Trio Acústico. A re-recording of "Sonífera Ilha" was released as a single and video on 20 March, when it was also announced that the EPs would be released starting in April via BMG, the label to which then returned by the end of 2019. On 5 May 2020, original founding member Ciro Pessoa died following complications from a cancer and COVID-19. In October 2020, the remaining members were featured in a cover of "Comida" (from Jesus não Tem Dentes no País dos Banguelas) released by singer Elza Soares. The version was originally planned for her 2019 album Planeta Fome, but she chose to save the song for later and decided to release it at the album's first anniversary and also to celebrate its nomination for the Latin Grammy Award. In January 2022, former member Nando Reis said he has rejected for now the possibility of taking part in the band's 40th anniversary tour, due to him having "one idea" and them "another". In 2023, Titãs started the tour "Encontro: Todos Ao Mesmo Tempo Agora" which reunites the former members Arnaldo Antunes, Charles Gavin, Nando Reis and Paulo Miklos. The tour is allusive to the band's 40th Anniversary. Members Current Branco Mello – lead and backing vocals (1981–present; on hiatus: 2018); bass (2002–present, in some tracks: 2002–2009, 2023–present; in most tracks: 2009–2023; on hiatus: 2018); acoustic guitar on unplugged shows (2016–present; on hiatus: 2018) Sérgio Britto – keyboards, piano, organ, synthesizer, mellotron, lead and backing vocals (1981–present); bass on tracks sung by Mello (2009–2023); acoustic guitar (2016–present) Tony Bellotto – lead, rhythm, acoustic, slide, wah-wah, 6 and 12-string guitar (1981–present); backing and lead vocals (2016–present) Paulo Miklos – lead and backing vocals (1981–2016, 2023–present); saxophone (1988–2009, 2023–present); mandolin (1997–2009, 2023–present); banjo, harmonica (1998–2009, 2023–present); occasional keyboards (1981–2009, 2023–present); occasional bass (1981–1986); rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar (occasionally: 1981–2001, full-time: 2001–2016, 2023–present; in some tracks only: 2001–2009, 2023–present; in all tracks: 2009–2016) Arnaldo Antunes – lead and backing vocals (1981–1992, 1997, 2008, 2012, 2023–present) Nando Reis – bass, backing and lead vocals (1981–2002, 2012, 2023–present); occasional acoustic guitar (1995–2002, 2023–present) Charles Gavin – drums, percussion (1985–2010, 2012, 2023–present) Past Marcelo Fromer – rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar (1981–2001; his death) André Jung – drums (1981–1985) Ciro Pessoa – backing and lead vocals (1981–1984; died 2020) Touring and session musicians Liminha - rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar (2023-present, touring, some studio contributions from 1986-1991), acoustic guitar, acoustic bass, percussion (1997–1998, on Unplugged MTV). Emerson Villani – rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar, backing vocals (1998 as substitute for Fromer, 2001–2006 touring and session) Marco Lobo – percussion (2001–2003 touring and session) Lee Marcucci – bass (2002–2009 touring and session; 2018 as substitute for Mello) André Fonseca – rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar, backing vocals (2006–2009 touring only; 2014 as substitute for Miklos) Mario Fabre – drums (2010–2023 touring and session) Beto Lee – rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar, backing and occasional lead vocals (2016–2023 touring and session) Caio Góes Neves – bass (2021–2022 as substitute for Mello) Tiago Adorno – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals (2022 as substitute for Lee) Timeline Discography Titãs (1984) Televisão (1985) Cabeça Dinossauro (1986) Jesus não Tem Dentes no País dos Banguelas (1987) Õ Blésq Blom (1989) Tudo ao Mesmo Tempo Agora (1991) Titanomaquia (1993) Domingo (1995) Acústico MTV (1997) Volume Dois (1998) As Dez Mais (1999) A Melhor Banda de Todos os Tempos da Última Semana (2001) Como Estão Vocês? (2003) Sacos Plásticos (2009) Nheengatu (2014) Doze Flores Amarelas (2018) Titãs Trio Acústico (2020) Olho Furta-Cor (2022) Awards Latin Grammy Award – "Best Brazilian Rock Album" with Sacos Plásticos (2009)) Troféu Imprensa – "Best band" (1987, 1988, 1997, 1998) and "Best song" ("Pra Dizer Adeus", 1997) Prêmio Bizz (by Revista Bizz) – "Best album" (Cabeça Dinossauro (1986), Jesus Não Tem Dentes No País Dos Banguelas (1987), Õ Blésq Blom (1989), Volume Dois (1998)) "Best band" (1987, 1988, 1989, 1997, 1998), and "Best show" (Titãs – Volume 2 – Ao Vivo, 1998) Prêmio Multishow de Música Brasileira (by Multishow) – "Best band" (1998, 1999, 2002), "Best album" (Titãs – Acústico MTV (1998), Volume Dois (1999)), "Best show" (Titãs – Acústico MTV, 1998), "Best song" (É Preciso Saber Viver, 1999) and "Best instrumentalist" (Tony Bellotto, 2000) MTV Video Music Brasil – "Best videoclip" (Flores (1990), Será Que é Disso Que eu Necessito? (1993), "Best rock clip", "Best Rock Video", "Video Of The Year" and "Viewer's Choice" (Epitáfio, 2002), "Musical Movie/Documentary of the Year" (Titãs – A Vida Até Parece Uma Festa, 2009) TIM Music Award Best band (Pop/Rock category) (2004) References External links Official English website (by Jack Endino) Category:Brazilian rock music groups Category:Musical groups established in 1982 Category:Musical groups from São Paulo Category:Hollywood Records artists Category:Warner Music Group artists Category:Sony BMG artists Category:Brazilian punk rock groups Category:Latin Grammy Award winners Category:Musical quartets Category:1982 establishments in Brazil

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Dimitri Tiomkin

Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (May 10, 1894 - November 11, 1979) was a Russian-born American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in St. Petersburg, Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City after the Russian Revolution. In 1929, after the stock market crash, he moved to Hollywood, where he became best known for his scores for Western films, including Duel in the Sun, Red River, High Noon, The Big Sky, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and Last Train from Gun Hill. Tiomkin received twenty-two Academy Award nominations and won four Oscars, three for Best Original Score for High Noon, The High and the Mighty, and The Old Man and the Sea, and one for Best Original Song for "The Ballad of High Noon" from the former film.

High Noon (1952)

Following his work for Fred Zinnemann on The Men (1950), Tiomkin composed the score for the same director's High Noon (1952). His theme song was "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'" ("The Ballad of High Noon"). At its opening preview to the press, the film, which starred Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, did badly. Tiomkin writes that "film experts agreed that the picture was a flat failure... The producers hesitated to release the picture." Tiomkin bought the rights to the song and released it as a single for the popular music market, with singer Frankie Laine. The record became an immediate success worldwide. Based on the song's popularity, the studio released the film four months later, with the words sung by country western star Tex Ritter. The film received seven Academy Award nominations and won four awards, including two for Tiomkin: Best Original Music and Best Song. Walt Disney presented him with both awards that evening. According to film historian Arthur R. Jarvis, Jr., the score "has been credited with saving the movie." Another music expert, Mervyn Cooke, agrees, adding that "the song's spectacular success was partly responsible for changing the course of film-music history". Tiomkin was the second composer to receive two Oscars (score and song) for the same dramatic film. (The first was Leigh Harline, who won Best Original Score for Disney's Pinocchio and Best Song for "When You Wish Upon a Star". Ned Washington wrote its lyrics as he did for "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin".) The song's lyrics briefly tell High Noon's entire story arc, a tale of cowardice and conformity in a small Western town. Tiomkin composed his entire score around this single western-style ballad. He also eliminated violins from the ensemble. He added a subtle harmonica in the background, to give the film a "rustic, deglamorized sound that suits the anti-heroic sentiments" expressed by the story. According to Russian film historian Harlow Robinson, building the score around a single folk tune was typical of many Russian classical composers. Robinson adds that the source of Tiomkin's score, if indeed folk, has not been proven. However, the Encyclopedia of Modern Jewish Culture, on page 124, states: "The fifty-year period in the USA between 1914, the start of the First World War and the year of Irving Berlin's first full score, Watch Your Step, and 1964, the premiere of Boek and Hamick's Fiddler on the Roof, is informed by a rich musical legacy from Yiddish folk tunes (for example Mark Warshavsky's "Di milners trem," The miller's tears: and Dimitri Tiomkin's "Do Not Forsake Me." High Noon)..." The composer worked again for Zinnemann on The Sundowners (1960). Tiomkin won two more Oscars in subsequent years: for The High and the Mighty (1954), directed by William A. Wellman, and featuring John Wayne; and The Old Man and the Sea (1958), adapted from an Ernest Hemingway novel. During the 1955 ceremonies, Tiomkin thanked all of the earlier composers who had influenced him, including Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other names from the European classical tradition. CANNOTANSWER

Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian-born American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in Saint Petersburg before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City after the Russian Revolution. In 1929, after the stock market crash, he moved to Hollywood, where he became best known for his scores for Western films, including Duel in the Sun, Red River, High Noon, The Big Sky, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and Last Train from Gun Hill. Tiomkin received 22 Academy Award nominations and won four Oscars, three for Best Original Score for High Noon, The High and the Mighty, and The Old Man and the Sea, and one for Best Original Song for "The Ballad of High Noon" from the film High Noon. Early life and education Dimitri Tiomkin was born in Kremenchuk, Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire (today part of Ukraine). His family was of Jewish descent; his father Zinovy Tiomkin was a "distinguished pathologist" and associate of Professor Paul Ehrlich, and later a notable Zionist leader. His mother, Marie Tartakovskaya, was a musician who began teaching the young Tiomkin piano at an early age. Her hope was to have her son become a professional pianist, according to Tiomkin biographer Christopher Palmer. Tiomkin described his mother as being "small, blonde, merry and vivacious." Tiomkin was educated at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, where he studied piano with Felix Blumenfeld, teacher of Vladimir Horowitz, and harmony and counterpoint with Alexander Glazunov, mentor to Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich. He also studied piano with Isabelle Vengerova. He survived the revolution and found work under the new regime. In 1920, while working for the Petrograd Military District Political Administration (PUR), Tiomkin was one of the lead organizers of two revolutionary mass spectacles, the Mystery of Liberated Labor, a pseudo-religious mystery play for the May Day festivities, and The Storming of the Winter Palace for the celebrations of the third anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. He supported himself while living in Saint Petersburg by playing piano accompaniment for numerous Russian silent films. Because the revolution had diminished opportunities for classical musicians in Russia, Tiomkin joined many exiles in moving to Berlin after the Russian Revolution to live with his father. In Berlin, from 1921 to 1923, he studied with the pianist Ferruccio Busoni and Busoni's disciples Egon Petri and . He composed light classical and popular music, and made his performing debut as a pianist playing Franz Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Berlin Philharmonic. He moved to Paris with his roommate, Michael Khariton, to perform a piano duo repertory together. They did this before the end of 1924. Life in the United States In 1925 the duo received an offer from the New York theatrical producer Morris Gest and emigrated to the United States. They performed together on the Keith/Albee and Orpheum vaudeville circuits, in which they accompanied a ballet troupe run by the Austrian ballerina Albertina Rasch. Tiomkin and Rasch's professional relationship evolved into a personal one, and they married in 1927. While in New York, Tiomkin gave a recital at Carnegie Hall that featured contemporary music by Maurice Ravel, Alexander Scriabin, Francis Poulenc, and Alexandre Tansman. He and his new wife went on tour to Paris in 1928, where he played the European premiere of American George Gershwin's Concerto in F at the Paris Opera, with Gershwin in the audience. After the stock market crash in October 1929 reduced work opportunities in New York, Tiomkin and his wife moved to Hollywood, where she was hired to supervise dance numbers in MGM film musicals. He worked on some minor films, some without being credited under his own name. His first significant film score project was for Paramount's Alice in Wonderland (1933). Although Tiomkin worked on some smaller film projects, his goal was to become a concert pianist. In 1937 he broke his arm, injuring it so much that he ended that possible career. He began to focus on work as a film music composer. Working for Frank Capra (1937–1946) Tiomkin received his first break from Columbia director Frank Capra, who chose him to write and perform the score for Lost Horizon (1937). The film gained significant recognition for Tiomkin in Hollywood. It was released the same year that he became a naturalized US citizen. In his autobiography, Please Don't Hate Me! (1959), Tiomkin recalls how the assignment by Capra forced him to first confront a director in a matter of music style: He worked on other Capra films during the following decade, including the comedy You Can't Take It With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), and It's a Wonderful Life (1946). During World War II, he continued his close collaboration with Capra by composing scores for his Why We Fight series. These seven films were commissioned by the US government to show American soldiers the reason for United States' participation in the war. They were later released to the general US public to generate support for American involvement. Tiomkin credited Capra for broadening his musical horizons by shifting them away from a purely Eurocentric and romantic style to a more American style based on subject matter and story. High Noon (1952) Following his work for Fred Zinnemann on The Men (1950), Tiomkin composed the score for the same director's High Noon (1952). His theme song was "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'" ("The Ballad of High Noon"). At its opening preview to the press, the film, which starred Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, did badly. Tiomkin writes that "film experts agreed that the picture was a flat failure... The producers hesitated to release the picture." Tiomkin bought the rights to the song and released it as a single for the popular music market, with singer Frankie Laine. The record became an immediate success worldwide. Based on the song's popularity, the studio released the film four months later, with the words sung by country western star Tex Ritter. The film received seven Academy Award nominations and won four awards, including two for Tiomkin: Best Original Music and Best Song. Walt Disney presented him with both awards that evening. According to film historian Arthur R. Jarvis, Jr., the score "has been credited with saving the movie." Another music expert, Mervyn Cooke, agrees, adding that "the song's spectacular success was partly responsible for changing the course of film-music history". Tiomkin was the second composer to receive two Oscars (score and song) for the same dramatic film. (The first was Leigh Harline, who won Best Original Score for Disney's Pinocchio and Best Song for "When You Wish Upon a Star". Ned Washington wrote its lyrics as he did for "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin".) The song's lyrics briefly tell High Noons entire story arc, a tale of cowardice and conformity in a small Western town. Tiomkin composed his entire score around this single western-style ballad. He also eliminated violins from the ensemble. He added a subtle harmonica in the background, to give the film a "rustic, deglamorized sound that suits the anti-heroic sentiments" expressed by the story. According to Russian film historian Harlow Robinson, building the score around a single folk tune was typical of many Russian classical composers. Robinson adds that the source of Tiomkin's score, if indeed folk, has not been proven. The Encyclopedia of Modern Jewish Culture, on page 124, states: "The fifty-year period in the USA between 1914, the start of the First World War and the year of Irving Berlin's first full score, Watch Your Step, and 1964, the premiere of Bock and Harnick's Fiddler on the Roof, is informed by a rich musical legacy from Yiddish folk tunes (for example Mark Warshavsky's "Di milners trem," The miller's tears: and Dimitri Tiomkin's "Do Not Forsake Me." High Noon) ... " Tiomkin won two more Oscars in subsequent years: for The High and the Mighty (1954), directed by William A. Wellman, and featuring John Wayne; and The Old Man and the Sea (1958), adapted from an Ernest Hemingway novel. During the 1955 ceremonies, Tiomkin thanked all of the earlier composers who had influenced him, including Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other names from the European classical tradition. The composer worked again for Zinnemann on The Sundowners (1960). Film genres and other associations Many of his scores were for Western films, which were extremely popular in this period, and for which he is best remembered. His first Western was the King Vidor-directed Duel in the Sun (1946). In addition to High Noon, among his other Westerns were Giant (1956), Friendly Persuasion (1956), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), and Last Train from Gun Hill (1959). Rio Bravo (1959), The Alamo (1960), Circus World (1964) and The War Wagon (1967) were made with the involvement of John Wayne. Tiomkin received Oscar nominations for his scores in both Giant and The Alamo. He told TV host Gig Young that his aim in creating the score for Giant was to capture the "feelings of the great land and great state of Texas." Although influenced by European music traditions, Tiomkin was self-trained as a film composer. He scored many films of various genres, including historical dramas such as Cyrano de Bergerac (1950), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), and Great Catherine (1968); war movies such as The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955), The Guns of Navarone (1961), and Town Without Pity (1961); and suspense thrillers such as 36 Hours (1965). Tiomkin also wrote scores for four of Alfred Hitchcock's suspense dramas: Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Strangers on a Train (1951), I Confess (1953), and Dial M for Murder (1954). Here he used a lush style relying on solo violins and muted trumpets. He composed the score for the science fiction thriller The Thing from Another World (1951), which is considered his "strangest and most experimental score." He also worked with Howard Hawks on The Big Sky (1952) and Land of the Pharaohs (1955), with John Huston on The Unforgiven (1960), and with Nicholas Ray on 55 Days at Peking (1963). Television In addition to the cinema, Tiomkin composed for television, including such memorable theme songs as Rawhide (1959) and Gunslinger. (A cover version of the theme from Rawhide was performed in the musical film The Blues Brothers (1980); the in-joke that the composer was a Ukrainian-born Jewish American was lost on the crowd at the cowboy bar.) Although Tiomkin was hired to compose the theme for The Wild Wild West (1965), the producers rejected his music and subsequently hired Richard Markowitz as his replacement. Tiomkin also made a few cameo appearances on television programs. These include being the mystery challenger on What's My Line? and an appearance on Jack Benny's CBS program in December 1961, in which he attempted to help Benny write a song. He also appeared as a contestant on the October 20, 1955, episode of the TV quiz program You Bet Your Life, hosted by Groucho Marx. He composed the music to the song "Wild Is The Wind". It was originally recorded by Johnny Mathis for the film Wild Is the Wind (1957). Composition styles and significance Although Tiomkin was a trained classical pianist, he adapted his music training in Russia to the rapidly expanding Hollywood film industry, and taught himself how to compose meaningful film scores for almost any story type. Film historian David Wallace notes that despite Tiomkin's indebtedness to Europe's classical composers, he would go on to express more than any other composer, "the American spirit—its frontier spirit, anyway—in film music." Tiomkin had no illusions about his talent and the nature of his film work when compared to the classical composers. "I am no Prokofiev, I am no Tchaikovsky. But what I write is good for what I write for. So please, boys, help me." Upon receiving his Oscar in 1955 for The High and the Mighty, he became the first composer to publicly list and thank the great European masters, including Beethoven, Strauss, and Brahms, among others. Music historian Christopher Palmer says that Tiomkin's "genius lay in coming up with themes and finding vivid ways of creating sonic color appropriate to the story and visual image, not in his ability to combine the themes into a complex symphonic structure that could stand on its own." In addition he speculates how a Russian-born pianist like Tiomkin, who was educated at a respected Russian music conservatory, could have become so successful in the American film industry: Tiomkin alluded to this relationship in his autobiography: Techniques of composing Tiomkin's methods of composing a film score have been analyzed and described by music experts. Musicologist Dave Epstein, for one, has explained that after reading the script, Tiomkin would then outline the film's major themes and movements. After the film itself has been filmed, he would make a detailed study of the timing of scenes, using a stopwatch to arrange precise synchronization of the music with the scenes. He would complete the final score after assembling all the musicians and orchestra, rehearse a number of times, and then record the final soundtrack. Tiomkin paid careful attention to the voices of the actors when composing. According to Epstein, he "found that in addition to the timbre of the voice, the pitch of the speaking voice must be very carefully considered..." To accomplish this, Tiomkin would go to the set during filming and would listen to each of the actors. He would also talk with them individually, noting the pitch and color of their voices. Tiomkin explains why he took the extra time with actors: Death and legacy Dimitri Tiomkin died in London, England, in 1979 two weeks after fracturing his pelvis in a fall. He was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. During the 1950s Tiomkin was the highest-paid film composer, composing close to a rate of a picture each month, achieving his greatest fame during the 1950s and 1960s. Between 1948 and 1958, his "golden decade," he composed 57 film scores. In 1952 he composed nine film scores, including High Noon, for which he won two Academy Awards. In the same decade, he won two more Oscars and his film scores were nominated nine times. He was honored in the Soviet Union and Russia. In 1967, he was a member of the jury of the 5th Moscow International Film Festival. In 2014, his theme songs to It's a Wonderful Life and Giant were played during the closing ceremony for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Beginning with Lost Horizon in 1937, through his retirement from films in 1979, and until modern times, he is recognized as being the only Russian to have become a Hollywood film composer. Other Russian-born composers, such as Irving Berlin, wrote their scores for Broadway plays, many of which were later adapted to film. Tiomkin was the first film score composer to write both the title theme song and the score. He expanded on that technique in many of his westerns, including High Noon and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, in which the theme song was repeated as a common thread running through the entire film. For the film Red River his biographer Christopher Palmer describes how the music immediately sets the epic and heroic tone for the film: Because of this stylistic contribution to westerns, along with other film genres, using title and ongoing theme songs, he had the greatest impact on Hollywood films in the following decades up until the present. With many of his songs being used in the title of films, Tiomkin created what composer Irwin Bazelon called "title song mania." In subsequent decades, studios often attempted to create their own hit songs to both sell as a soundtrack and to enhance the movie experience, with a typical example being the film score for Titanic. He was known to use "source music" in his scores. Some experts claim these were often based on Russian folk songs. Much of his film music, especially for westerns, was used to create an atmosphere of "broad, sweeping landscapes," with a prominent use of chorus. During a TV interview, he credited his love of the European classic composers along with his ability to adapt American folk music styles to creating grand American theme music. A number of Tiomkin's film scores were released on LP soundtrack albums, including Giant and The Alamo. Some of the recordings, which usually featured Tiomkin conducting his own music, have been reissued on CD. The theme song to High Noon has been recorded by many artists, with one German CD producer, Bear Family Records, producing a CD with 25 different artists performing that one song. In 1999, the US Postal Service added his image to their "Legends of American Music" stamp series. The series began with the issuance of one featuring singer Elvis Presley in 1993. Tiomkin's image was added as part of their "Hollywood Composers" selection. In 1976, RCA Victor released Lost Horizon: The Classic Film Scores of Dimitri Tiomkin (US catalog #ARL1-1669, UK catalog #GL 43445) with Charles Gerhardt and the National Philharmonic Orchestra. Featuring highlights from various Tiomkin scores, the album was later reissued by RCA on CD with Dolby Surround Sound. The American Film Institute ranked Tiomkin's score for High Noon as No. 10 on their list of the 100 greatest film scores. His scores for the following films were also nominated for the list: The Alamo (1960) Dial M for Murder (1954) Duel in the Sun (1946) Friendly Persuasion (1956) The Guns of Navarone (1961) Lost Horizon (1937) Awards and nominations Academy Awards 1972 – nominated for "Best Music, Scoring Adaptation and Original Song" Score for Tchaikovsky (1969) 1965 – nominated for "Best Music, Score – Substantially Original" for The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) 1964 – nominated (with Paul Francis Webster) for "Best Music, Original Song" for 55 Days at Peking (1963) for "So Little Time", sung by Andy Williams 1964 – nominated for "Best Music, Score – Substantially Original" for 55 Days at Peking (1963) 1962 – nominated for "Best Music, Original Song" for Town Without Pity (1961) 1962 – nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Guns of Navarone (1961) 1961 – nominated (with Paul Francis Webster) for "Best Music, Original Song" for The Alamo (1960) for "The Green Leaves of Summer", sung by The Brothers Four 1961 – nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Alamo (1960) 1961 – nominated for "Best Music, Original Song" for The Young Land (1959) 1959 – won an Oscar for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Old Man and the Sea (1958) 1958 – nominated for "Best Music, Original Song" for Wild Is the Wind (1957) 1957 – nominated for "Best Music, Original Song" for "Friendly Persuasion", "Best Scoring of a Dramatic Picture" for "Giant" (1956) 1955 – won an Oscar for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The High and Mighty 1955 – nominated for "Best Music, Original Song" for "The High and the Mighty" (1954) 1953 – won (with Ned Washington) an Oscar for "Best Music, Original Song" for High Noon (1952) for "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'", sung by Tex Ritter 1953 – won an Oscar for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for High Noon (1952) 1950 – nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for Champion (1949) 1945 – nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1944) 1944 – nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Moon and Sixpence (1943) 1943 – nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Corsican Brothers (1941) 1940 – nominated for "Best Music, Scoring" for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) Golden Globe Awards 1965 for "Best Original Score" for The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) 1962 for "Best Motion Picture Score" for The Guns of Navarone (1961) 1962 for "Best Motion Picture Song" for Town without Pity (1961) 1961 for "Best Original Score" for The Alamo (1960) 1957 he received the "Special Award" as "Recognition for film music" 1955 he received the "Special Award" "For creative musical contribution to Motion Picture" 1953 for "Best Motion Picture Score" for High Noon (1952) Notes References External links Official site Dimitri Tiomkin Dimitri Tiomkin's Golden Decade Multimedia links Audio clips, 40 film samples , audio score compilation by Berny Debney, 10 minutes Tiomkin on You Bet Your Life in 1955 Category:1894 births Category:1979 deaths Category:People from Kremenchuk Category:People from Poltava Governorate Category:Ukrainian Jews Category:Soviet emigrants to the United States Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Category:American film score composers Category:American male film score composers Category:American male conductors (music) Category:Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters Category:Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Category:Golden Globe Award-winning musicians Category:Jewish American film score composers Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Category:20th-century American conductors (music) Category:20th-century American composers Category:20th-century American male musicians Category:20th-century American Jews Category:Russian Jews Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Russian descent Category:People from the Russian Empire of Jewish descent

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Dimitri Tiomkin

Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (May 10, 1894 - November 11, 1979) was a Russian-born American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in St. Petersburg, Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City after the Russian Revolution. In 1929, after the stock market crash, he moved to Hollywood, where he became best known for his scores for Western films, including Duel in the Sun, Red River, High Noon, The Big Sky, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and Last Train from Gun Hill. Tiomkin received twenty-two Academy Award nominations and won four Oscars, three for Best Original Score for High Noon, The High and the Mighty, and The Old Man and the Sea, and one for Best Original Song for "The Ballad of High Noon" from the former film.

Working for Frank Capra (1937-1946)

Tiomkin received his first break from Columbia director Frank Capra, who picked him to write and perform the score for Lost Horizon (1937). The film gained significant recognition for Tiomkin in Hollywood. It was released the same year that he became a naturalized U.S. citizen. In his autobiography, Please Don't Hate Me! (1959), Tiomkin recalls how the assignment by Capra forced him to first confront a director in a matter of music style: [H]e gave me the job without reservation. I could write the score without interference, and he would hear it when it was done. Lost Horizon offered me a superb chance to do something big... I thought I might be going a little too far in the matter of expense, and went to Frank one day as he sat in the projection room [and explained the score.]... He looked shocked. "No, Dimi, the lama is a simple man. His greatness is in being simple. For his death the music should be simple, nothing more than the muttering rhythm of a drum." "But Frank, death of lama is not ending one man, but is death of idea. Is tragedy applying to whole human race. I must be honest. Music should rise high, high. Should give symbolism of immense loss. Please don't hate me." He worked on other Capra films during the following decade, including the comedy You Can't Take It With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), and It's a Wonderful Life (1946). During World War II, he continued his close collaboration with Capra by composing scores for his Why We Fight series. These seven films were commissioned by the U.S. government to show American soldiers the reason for United States participation in the war. They were later released to the general U.S. public to generate support for American involvement. Tiomkin credited Capra for broadening his musical horizons by shifting them away from a purely Eurocentric and romantic style to a more American style based on subject matter and story. CANNOTANSWER

Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian-born American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in Saint Petersburg before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City after the Russian Revolution. In 1929, after the stock market crash, he moved to Hollywood, where he became best known for his scores for Western films, including Duel in the Sun, Red River, High Noon, The Big Sky, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and Last Train from Gun Hill. Tiomkin received 22 Academy Award nominations and won four Oscars, three for Best Original Score for High Noon, The High and the Mighty, and The Old Man and the Sea, and one for Best Original Song for "The Ballad of High Noon" from the film High Noon. Early life and education Dimitri Tiomkin was born in Kremenchuk, Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire (today part of Ukraine). His family was of Jewish descent; his father Zinovy Tiomkin was a "distinguished pathologist" and associate of Professor Paul Ehrlich, and later a notable Zionist leader. His mother, Marie Tartakovskaya, was a musician who began teaching the young Tiomkin piano at an early age. Her hope was to have her son become a professional pianist, according to Tiomkin biographer Christopher Palmer. Tiomkin described his mother as being "small, blonde, merry and vivacious." Tiomkin was educated at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, where he studied piano with Felix Blumenfeld, teacher of Vladimir Horowitz, and harmony and counterpoint with Alexander Glazunov, mentor to Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich. He also studied piano with Isabelle Vengerova. He survived the revolution and found work under the new regime. In 1920, while working for the Petrograd Military District Political Administration (PUR), Tiomkin was one of the lead organizers of two revolutionary mass spectacles, the Mystery of Liberated Labor, a pseudo-religious mystery play for the May Day festivities, and The Storming of the Winter Palace for the celebrations of the third anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. He supported himself while living in Saint Petersburg by playing piano accompaniment for numerous Russian silent films. Because the revolution had diminished opportunities for classical musicians in Russia, Tiomkin joined many exiles in moving to Berlin after the Russian Revolution to live with his father. In Berlin, from 1921 to 1923, he studied with the pianist Ferruccio Busoni and Busoni's disciples Egon Petri and . He composed light classical and popular music, and made his performing debut as a pianist playing Franz Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Berlin Philharmonic. He moved to Paris with his roommate, Michael Khariton, to perform a piano duo repertory together. They did this before the end of 1924. Life in the United States In 1925 the duo received an offer from the New York theatrical producer Morris Gest and emigrated to the United States. They performed together on the Keith/Albee and Orpheum vaudeville circuits, in which they accompanied a ballet troupe run by the Austrian ballerina Albertina Rasch. Tiomkin and Rasch's professional relationship evolved into a personal one, and they married in 1927. While in New York, Tiomkin gave a recital at Carnegie Hall that featured contemporary music by Maurice Ravel, Alexander Scriabin, Francis Poulenc, and Alexandre Tansman. He and his new wife went on tour to Paris in 1928, where he played the European premiere of American George Gershwin's Concerto in F at the Paris Opera, with Gershwin in the audience. After the stock market crash in October 1929 reduced work opportunities in New York, Tiomkin and his wife moved to Hollywood, where she was hired to supervise dance numbers in MGM film musicals. He worked on some minor films, some without being credited under his own name. His first significant film score project was for Paramount's Alice in Wonderland (1933). Although Tiomkin worked on some smaller film projects, his goal was to become a concert pianist. In 1937 he broke his arm, injuring it so much that he ended that possible career. He began to focus on work as a film music composer. Working for Frank Capra (1937–1946) Tiomkin received his first break from Columbia director Frank Capra, who chose him to write and perform the score for Lost Horizon (1937). The film gained significant recognition for Tiomkin in Hollywood. It was released the same year that he became a naturalized US citizen. In his autobiography, Please Don't Hate Me! (1959), Tiomkin recalls how the assignment by Capra forced him to first confront a director in a matter of music style: He worked on other Capra films during the following decade, including the comedy You Can't Take It With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), and It's a Wonderful Life (1946). During World War II, he continued his close collaboration with Capra by composing scores for his Why We Fight series. These seven films were commissioned by the US government to show American soldiers the reason for United States' participation in the war. They were later released to the general US public to generate support for American involvement. Tiomkin credited Capra for broadening his musical horizons by shifting them away from a purely Eurocentric and romantic style to a more American style based on subject matter and story. High Noon (1952) Following his work for Fred Zinnemann on The Men (1950), Tiomkin composed the score for the same director's High Noon (1952). His theme song was "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'" ("The Ballad of High Noon"). At its opening preview to the press, the film, which starred Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, did badly. Tiomkin writes that "film experts agreed that the picture was a flat failure... The producers hesitated to release the picture." Tiomkin bought the rights to the song and released it as a single for the popular music market, with singer Frankie Laine. The record became an immediate success worldwide. Based on the song's popularity, the studio released the film four months later, with the words sung by country western star Tex Ritter. The film received seven Academy Award nominations and won four awards, including two for Tiomkin: Best Original Music and Best Song. Walt Disney presented him with both awards that evening. According to film historian Arthur R. Jarvis, Jr., the score "has been credited with saving the movie." Another music expert, Mervyn Cooke, agrees, adding that "the song's spectacular success was partly responsible for changing the course of film-music history". Tiomkin was the second composer to receive two Oscars (score and song) for the same dramatic film. (The first was Leigh Harline, who won Best Original Score for Disney's Pinocchio and Best Song for "When You Wish Upon a Star". Ned Washington wrote its lyrics as he did for "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin".) The song's lyrics briefly tell High Noons entire story arc, a tale of cowardice and conformity in a small Western town. Tiomkin composed his entire score around this single western-style ballad. He also eliminated violins from the ensemble. He added a subtle harmonica in the background, to give the film a "rustic, deglamorized sound that suits the anti-heroic sentiments" expressed by the story. According to Russian film historian Harlow Robinson, building the score around a single folk tune was typical of many Russian classical composers. Robinson adds that the source of Tiomkin's score, if indeed folk, has not been proven. The Encyclopedia of Modern Jewish Culture, on page 124, states: "The fifty-year period in the USA between 1914, the start of the First World War and the year of Irving Berlin's first full score, Watch Your Step, and 1964, the premiere of Bock and Harnick's Fiddler on the Roof, is informed by a rich musical legacy from Yiddish folk tunes (for example Mark Warshavsky's "Di milners trem," The miller's tears: and Dimitri Tiomkin's "Do Not Forsake Me." High Noon) ... " Tiomkin won two more Oscars in subsequent years: for The High and the Mighty (1954), directed by William A. Wellman, and featuring John Wayne; and The Old Man and the Sea (1958), adapted from an Ernest Hemingway novel. During the 1955 ceremonies, Tiomkin thanked all of the earlier composers who had influenced him, including Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other names from the European classical tradition. The composer worked again for Zinnemann on The Sundowners (1960). Film genres and other associations Many of his scores were for Western films, which were extremely popular in this period, and for which he is best remembered. His first Western was the King Vidor-directed Duel in the Sun (1946). In addition to High Noon, among his other Westerns were Giant (1956), Friendly Persuasion (1956), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), and Last Train from Gun Hill (1959). Rio Bravo (1959), The Alamo (1960), Circus World (1964) and The War Wagon (1967) were made with the involvement of John Wayne. Tiomkin received Oscar nominations for his scores in both Giant and The Alamo. He told TV host Gig Young that his aim in creating the score for Giant was to capture the "feelings of the great land and great state of Texas." Although influenced by European music traditions, Tiomkin was self-trained as a film composer. He scored many films of various genres, including historical dramas such as Cyrano de Bergerac (1950), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), and Great Catherine (1968); war movies such as The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955), The Guns of Navarone (1961), and Town Without Pity (1961); and suspense thrillers such as 36 Hours (1965). Tiomkin also wrote scores for four of Alfred Hitchcock's suspense dramas: Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Strangers on a Train (1951), I Confess (1953), and Dial M for Murder (1954). Here he used a lush style relying on solo violins and muted trumpets. He composed the score for the science fiction thriller The Thing from Another World (1951), which is considered his "strangest and most experimental score." He also worked with Howard Hawks on The Big Sky (1952) and Land of the Pharaohs (1955), with John Huston on The Unforgiven (1960), and with Nicholas Ray on 55 Days at Peking (1963). Television In addition to the cinema, Tiomkin composed for television, including such memorable theme songs as Rawhide (1959) and Gunslinger. (A cover version of the theme from Rawhide was performed in the musical film The Blues Brothers (1980); the in-joke that the composer was a Ukrainian-born Jewish American was lost on the crowd at the cowboy bar.) Although Tiomkin was hired to compose the theme for The Wild Wild West (1965), the producers rejected his music and subsequently hired Richard Markowitz as his replacement. Tiomkin also made a few cameo appearances on television programs. These include being the mystery challenger on What's My Line? and an appearance on Jack Benny's CBS program in December 1961, in which he attempted to help Benny write a song. He also appeared as a contestant on the October 20, 1955, episode of the TV quiz program You Bet Your Life, hosted by Groucho Marx. He composed the music to the song "Wild Is The Wind". It was originally recorded by Johnny Mathis for the film Wild Is the Wind (1957). Composition styles and significance Although Tiomkin was a trained classical pianist, he adapted his music training in Russia to the rapidly expanding Hollywood film industry, and taught himself how to compose meaningful film scores for almost any story type. Film historian David Wallace notes that despite Tiomkin's indebtedness to Europe's classical composers, he would go on to express more than any other composer, "the American spirit—its frontier spirit, anyway—in film music." Tiomkin had no illusions about his talent and the nature of his film work when compared to the classical composers. "I am no Prokofiev, I am no Tchaikovsky. But what I write is good for what I write for. So please, boys, help me." Upon receiving his Oscar in 1955 for The High and the Mighty, he became the first composer to publicly list and thank the great European masters, including Beethoven, Strauss, and Brahms, among others. Music historian Christopher Palmer says that Tiomkin's "genius lay in coming up with themes and finding vivid ways of creating sonic color appropriate to the story and visual image, not in his ability to combine the themes into a complex symphonic structure that could stand on its own." In addition he speculates how a Russian-born pianist like Tiomkin, who was educated at a respected Russian music conservatory, could have become so successful in the American film industry: Tiomkin alluded to this relationship in his autobiography: Techniques of composing Tiomkin's methods of composing a film score have been analyzed and described by music experts. Musicologist Dave Epstein, for one, has explained that after reading the script, Tiomkin would then outline the film's major themes and movements. After the film itself has been filmed, he would make a detailed study of the timing of scenes, using a stopwatch to arrange precise synchronization of the music with the scenes. He would complete the final score after assembling all the musicians and orchestra, rehearse a number of times, and then record the final soundtrack. Tiomkin paid careful attention to the voices of the actors when composing. According to Epstein, he "found that in addition to the timbre of the voice, the pitch of the speaking voice must be very carefully considered..." To accomplish this, Tiomkin would go to the set during filming and would listen to each of the actors. He would also talk with them individually, noting the pitch and color of their voices. Tiomkin explains why he took the extra time with actors: Death and legacy Dimitri Tiomkin died in London, England, in 1979 two weeks after fracturing his pelvis in a fall. He was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. During the 1950s Tiomkin was the highest-paid film composer, composing close to a rate of a picture each month, achieving his greatest fame during the 1950s and 1960s. Between 1948 and 1958, his "golden decade," he composed 57 film scores. In 1952 he composed nine film scores, including High Noon, for which he won two Academy Awards. In the same decade, he won two more Oscars and his film scores were nominated nine times. He was honored in the Soviet Union and Russia. In 1967, he was a member of the jury of the 5th Moscow International Film Festival. In 2014, his theme songs to It's a Wonderful Life and Giant were played during the closing ceremony for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Beginning with Lost Horizon in 1937, through his retirement from films in 1979, and until modern times, he is recognized as being the only Russian to have become a Hollywood film composer. Other Russian-born composers, such as Irving Berlin, wrote their scores for Broadway plays, many of which were later adapted to film. Tiomkin was the first film score composer to write both the title theme song and the score. He expanded on that technique in many of his westerns, including High Noon and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, in which the theme song was repeated as a common thread running through the entire film. For the film Red River his biographer Christopher Palmer describes how the music immediately sets the epic and heroic tone for the film: Because of this stylistic contribution to westerns, along with other film genres, using title and ongoing theme songs, he had the greatest impact on Hollywood films in the following decades up until the present. With many of his songs being used in the title of films, Tiomkin created what composer Irwin Bazelon called "title song mania." In subsequent decades, studios often attempted to create their own hit songs to both sell as a soundtrack and to enhance the movie experience, with a typical example being the film score for Titanic. He was known to use "source music" in his scores. Some experts claim these were often based on Russian folk songs. Much of his film music, especially for westerns, was used to create an atmosphere of "broad, sweeping landscapes," with a prominent use of chorus. During a TV interview, he credited his love of the European classic composers along with his ability to adapt American folk music styles to creating grand American theme music. A number of Tiomkin's film scores were released on LP soundtrack albums, including Giant and The Alamo. Some of the recordings, which usually featured Tiomkin conducting his own music, have been reissued on CD. The theme song to High Noon has been recorded by many artists, with one German CD producer, Bear Family Records, producing a CD with 25 different artists performing that one song. In 1999, the US Postal Service added his image to their "Legends of American Music" stamp series. The series began with the issuance of one featuring singer Elvis Presley in 1993. Tiomkin's image was added as part of their "Hollywood Composers" selection. In 1976, RCA Victor released Lost Horizon: The Classic Film Scores of Dimitri Tiomkin (US catalog #ARL1-1669, UK catalog #GL 43445) with Charles Gerhardt and the National Philharmonic Orchestra. Featuring highlights from various Tiomkin scores, the album was later reissued by RCA on CD with Dolby Surround Sound. The American Film Institute ranked Tiomkin's score for High Noon as No. 10 on their list of the 100 greatest film scores. His scores for the following films were also nominated for the list: The Alamo (1960) Dial M for Murder (1954) Duel in the Sun (1946) Friendly Persuasion (1956) The Guns of Navarone (1961) Lost Horizon (1937) Awards and nominations Academy Awards 1972 – nominated for "Best Music, Scoring Adaptation and Original Song" Score for Tchaikovsky (1969) 1965 – nominated for "Best Music, Score – Substantially Original" for The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) 1964 – nominated (with Paul Francis Webster) for "Best Music, Original Song" for 55 Days at Peking (1963) for "So Little Time", sung by Andy Williams 1964 – nominated for "Best Music, Score – Substantially Original" for 55 Days at Peking (1963) 1962 – nominated for "Best Music, Original Song" for Town Without Pity (1961) 1962 – nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Guns of Navarone (1961) 1961 – nominated (with Paul Francis Webster) for "Best Music, Original Song" for The Alamo (1960) for "The Green Leaves of Summer", sung by The Brothers Four 1961 – nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Alamo (1960) 1961 – nominated for "Best Music, Original Song" for The Young Land (1959) 1959 – won an Oscar for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Old Man and the Sea (1958) 1958 – nominated for "Best Music, Original Song" for Wild Is the Wind (1957) 1957 – nominated for "Best Music, Original Song" for "Friendly Persuasion", "Best Scoring of a Dramatic Picture" for "Giant" (1956) 1955 – won an Oscar for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The High and Mighty 1955 – nominated for "Best Music, Original Song" for "The High and the Mighty" (1954) 1953 – won (with Ned Washington) an Oscar for "Best Music, Original Song" for High Noon (1952) for "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'", sung by Tex Ritter 1953 – won an Oscar for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for High Noon (1952) 1950 – nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for Champion (1949) 1945 – nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1944) 1944 – nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Moon and Sixpence (1943) 1943 – nominated for "Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for The Corsican Brothers (1941) 1940 – nominated for "Best Music, Scoring" for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) Golden Globe Awards 1965 for "Best Original Score" for The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) 1962 for "Best Motion Picture Score" for The Guns of Navarone (1961) 1962 for "Best Motion Picture Song" for Town without Pity (1961) 1961 for "Best Original Score" for The Alamo (1960) 1957 he received the "Special Award" as "Recognition for film music" 1955 he received the "Special Award" "For creative musical contribution to Motion Picture" 1953 for "Best Motion Picture Score" for High Noon (1952) Notes References External links Official site Dimitri Tiomkin Dimitri Tiomkin's Golden Decade Multimedia links Audio clips, 40 film samples , audio score compilation by Berny Debney, 10 minutes Tiomkin on You Bet Your Life in 1955 Category:1894 births Category:1979 deaths Category:People from Kremenchuk Category:People from Poltava Governorate Category:Ukrainian Jews Category:Soviet emigrants to the United States Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Category:American film score composers Category:American male film score composers Category:American male conductors (music) Category:Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters Category:Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Category:Golden Globe Award-winning musicians Category:Jewish American film score composers Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Category:20th-century American conductors (music) Category:20th-century American composers Category:20th-century American male musicians Category:20th-century American Jews Category:Russian Jews Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Russian descent Category:People from the Russian Empire of Jewish descent

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Marin Čilić

Marin Cilic (Croatian pronunciation: [mari:n tSi:litc]; born 28 September 1988) is a Croatian professional tennis player. Over the course of his career, Cilic has won 17 ATP singles titles, including the 2014 US Open. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 3, achieved on 28 January 2018. Cilic first came to international prominence by defeating then-World No. 2 Andy Murray in the fourth round of the 2009 US Open, and then reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open a few months later.

2008: First ATP singles title

In 2008, Cilic reached the semifinals at the Chennai Open, in both singles and doubles. In the singles, he was defeated by Mikhail Youzhny, who went on to win the tournament. Cilic made it to the fourth round of the 2008 Australian Open, taking out two seeds on his way, including 2007 Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez. James Blake beat him in the fourth round. He had achieved his goal for the year of reaching the top 40. His fourth-round result at the Australian Open put him at no. 39 in the ATP rankings. Cilic also made it to the fourth round of Wimbledon, beating Jarkko Nieminen in five sets in the second round and knocking-out fourteenth seed Paul-Henri Mathieu. At the 2008 Olympics, he reached the second round of the men's singles, beating Juan Monaco before losing to Fernando Gonzalez. He lost in straight sets to Arnaud Clement. At the Canada Masters, he defeated Andy Roddick in reaching the quarterfinal stage, giving his best performance in a Masters Series tournament to date. He lost in three sets to Gilles Simon in the quarterfinals. Cilic played the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut, where he won his first ATP title. He defeated Viktor Troicki, Jurgen Melzer, and Igor Andreev in early rounds, then 2007 finalist Mardy Fish in the final. Cilic, seeded for the first time at a Grand Slam, reached the third round of the US Open, but lost to Novak Djokovic in a match that lasted almost four hours. Cilic came back from a break down in each of the second, third, and fourth sets. In the first round, he had defeated Julien Benneteau in five sets in a match that lasted more than four hours, winning the deciding set. CANNOTANSWER

Marin Čilić (; born 28 September 1988) is a Croatian professional tennis player. Čilić has won 20 ATP Tour singles titles, including a major at the 2014 US Open. He was also runner-up at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships and the 2018 Australian Open, and won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the men's doubles tournament partnering Ivan Dodig. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 3, achieved on 28 January 2018. Čilić has reached the semifinal stage or better at all four majors, and the quarterfinal stage or better at all nine ATP Masters 1000 tournaments. He is one of six active players with at least 20 ATP Tour titles and one of the five active players to reach at least the semifinal stage at all four majors. Alongside compatriot Goran Ivanišević, Čilić is widely considered to be one of the greatest Croatian tennis players in history. Personal life Marin Čilić was born in Medjugorje, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, a town in the Herzegovina region of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Bosnian Croat parents. He was raised as a Catholic. His father Zdenko Čilić was determined that his sons – Marin and older brothers Vinko and Goran – would have the opportunities he lacked in playing sports. When the first tennis courts in the town were built in 1991, Marin and his friends were among the first to play on them. At the recommendation of Goran Ivanišević, in 2004, at the age of 15, Čilić moved to San Remo, Italy to work with Ivanišević's former coach, Bob Brett. He has a younger brother, Mile, who also plays tennis. On 28 April 2018, he married his long time girlfriend Kristina Milković. They have a son. Tennis career 2004–05: Junior circuit Čilić began playing on the junior ITF circuit in spring 2004. At the start he played on clay courts, winning the La Vie Junior Cup Villach in singles and the Dutch Junior Open in doubles. He then qualified for the 2004 US Open, where he lost in the second round to Sam Querrey. In 2005, he won the French Open title in Boys' singles, beating Andy Murray in the semifinal and Antal van der Duim in the final. He finished 2005 ranked number two behind American Donald Young. While on the junior circuit, he won six tournaments in singles and four in doubles with his Canadian partner, Greg Kates. Before representing Croatia, he played for Bosnia and Herzegovina as a junior with partner Zachary Rosen. 2005–2007: ATP Tour In 2004, Čilić played one Futures event (Croatia F1), at which he reached the second round; he finished the year tied at No. 1463 on the rankings of the ATP Tour. He played seven Futures tournaments in 2005, winning one, the Croatia F3 event; two Challenger tournaments, in Zagreb and Geneva; and one ATP International Series tournament, the Croatia Open, where he lost in the opening round. He finished the year ranked No. 587. In 2006, he played three Futures, winning the Croatia F1 and Croatia F2 events. He also played in nine Challengers, nine International Series events (reaching the semifinals at Gstaad), and two Davis Cup ties, against Austria and Argentina. By the end of the year, he was ranked No. 170. In 2007, he won the first and second professional tournaments of his career: the Casablanca Challenger (in April) and the Rijeka Challenger (in May). In June, at the Queen's Club Championships, he beat Tim Henman in the first round after trailing 2–4 in the final set, and reached the quarterfinals, where he fell to Andy Roddick. After that performance, he reached a new career-high ranking of No. 101 on 18 June 2007. In the World Group playoffs in the first round of the 2007 Davis Cup, Čilić beat Benjamin Becker of Germany; however, Croatia went on to lose the tie, three matches to two. 2008: First ATP singles title In 2008, Čilić reached the semifinals at the Chennai Open, in both singles and doubles. In the singles, he was defeated by Mikhail Youzhny, who went on to win the tournament. Čilić made it to the fourth round of the 2008 Australian Open, taking out two seeds on his way, including 2007 Australian Open finalist Fernando González. James Blake beat him in the fourth round. He had achieved his goal for the year of reaching the top 40. His fourth-round result at the Australian Open put him at no. 39 in the ATP rankings. Čilić also made it to the fourth round of Wimbledon, beating Jarkko Nieminen in five sets in the second round and knocking-out 14th seed Paul-Henri Mathieu. At the 2008 Olympics, he reached the second round of the men's singles, beating Juan Mónaco before losing to Fernando González. He lost in straight sets to Arnaud Clément. At the Canada Masters, he defeated Andy Roddick in reaching the quarterfinal stage, giving his best performance in a Masters Series tournament to date. He lost in three sets to Gilles Simon in the quarterfinals. Čilić played the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut, where he won his first ATP title. He defeated Viktor Troicki, Jürgen Melzer, and Igor Andreev in early rounds, then 2007 finalist Mardy Fish in the final. Čilić, seeded for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament, reached the third round of the US Open, but lost to Novak Djokovic in a match that lasted almost four hours. Čilić came back from a break down in each of the second, third, and fourth sets. In the first round, he had defeated Julien Benneteau in five sets in a match that lasted more than four hours, winning the deciding set. 2009: First Grand Slam quarterfinal Čilić won his first title of 2009 and second career ATP title at the Chennai Open, defeating first-time finalist Somdev Devvarman. He reached the fourth round of the Australian Open after beating David Ferrer in straight sets, equalling his 2008 record. In the fourth round, he was defeated by Juan Martín del Potro in four sets. Later in the year, Čilić won the PBZ Zagreb Indoors, defeating compatriot Mario Ančić in the final. He helped his country defeat Chilean opponents in the Davis Cup first-round tie by winning the opening singles match and joining forces with Mario Ančić to win the doubles rubber. Čilić reached a career best at the French Open when he beat 18th seed Radek Štěpánek in the third round in straight sets. After two competitive sets against the third-seeded Andy Murray, Čilić lost the match. He reached the second round of the Queen's Club Championships, an ATP World Tour 250 series event, where he was defeated by Nicolas Mahut of France. He beat Alberto Martín to make it into the second round at Wimbledon and won a five-set match (spread over two days) against Sam Querrey. He played another five-set match in the third round against Tommy Haas. He recovered from two sets down, but lost 10–8 in the deciding set, having held a match point. During the hard-court season, Čilić was defeated in back-to-back events in the first round. At Washington, he was defeated in straight sets by Somdev Devvarman. He then failed to duplicate his quarterfinal appearance in Canada, losing to Mikhail Youzhny. In the US Open, as the 16th seed, he reached the fourth round, after defeating Ryan Sweeting, Jesse Levine, and Denis Istomin. He defeated Levine after being down two sets to love, coming back to win. He then scored the biggest upset of the 2009 US Open with a straight-sets victory over second-seeded Andy Murray in the fourth round. Čilić outclassed Murray by saving all the break points he faced and took advantage of Murray's unforced errors. After the match, he said it was the biggest win of his career to date. However, in the quarterfinals, he lost to the eventual champion Juan Martín del Potro, despite leading by one set and an opening break in the second set. Following his impressive US Open run, Čilić participated in the China Open in Beijing as the eighth seed. He won his opening match against Russian Igor Andreev, followed by a three-set victory over Frenchman Julien Benneteau. In the quarterfinals, he defeated fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko, before stunning world No. 2 and top seed (in the tournament) Rafael Nadal in a straightforward win. In the final, Čilić went down to second seed Novak Djoković in straight sets. He reached the fifth final of his career at the Bank Austria Tennis Trophy as top seed; however, he lost. He received a wild card for the Davidoff Swiss Indoors, where he finished in the quarterfinals, losing to Radek Štěpánek. His final tournament of the year was the BNP Paribas Masters. Entered as 12th seed, he came from a set down to defeat Łukasz Kubot in the second round, and then from a set down again to defeat seventh seed Fernando Verdasco, before coming to a halt in the quarterfinals against eventual finalist Gaël Monfils. 2010: First major semifinal and top 10 ranking Čilić won the Chennai Open final, beating Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland in straight sets. Seeded 14th at the Australian Open, he defeated Fabrice Santoro, Bernard Tomic, and Stan Wawrinka in the first three rounds. In the fourth round, he faced fourth seed and reigning US Open champion del Potro; it was their third meeting in the past five Grand Slams. In a match that lasted more than four and a half hours, Čilić defeated Del Potro to reach his second Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance. In the quarterfinals, he defeated seventh seed Andy Roddick in another five-set victory. In doing so, he became the first Croatian to reach the semifinals at the Australian Open. However, Čilić eventually lost in four sets to Andy Murray, despite winning the first set. Čilić followed up his Australian campaign by defending his title in Zagreb, defeating Michael Berrer in the final. Čilić achieved a new career-high ranking of No. 9 as a result. Čilić was selected to play singles and doubles partnering with Karlović for the Croatia Davis Cup team against Ecuador in March 2010. Čilić, seeded eighth, lost in the second round to Guillermo García-López at the BNP Paribas Open. At the French Open, Čilić lost to Robin Söderling in the fourth round. Čilić was defeated in the first round of Wimbledon by Florian Mayer. He reached the semifinals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington D.C., ending Mardy Fish's 11-match winning-streak in the third round. Čilić was defeated by eventual champion David Nalbandian. At the US Open, Čilić lost to Kei Nishikori in the second round. 2011: Sixth ATP title Čilić began the season with a first-round loss to Kei Nishikori in Chennai, failing to defend his title. At the Australian Open he progressed to the fourth round, defeating Donald Young, Santiago Giraldo, and then John Isner in a five-set. In the fourth round, he lost to world No. 1, Rafael Nadal. Next, he went to Zagreb to defend another title. Again, he was unable to do so, falling to Florian Mayer in the quarterfinals. Čilić played next in Rotterdam and lost to Viktor Troicki in the quarterfinals. He then played in Marseille, where he was unseeded. He defeated Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinals and saved one match point in a comeback win against Mikhail Youzhny. He lost to Robin Söderling in the final. Čilić played for Croatia in the World Group playoffs in the first round of the 2011 Davis Cup, defeating Florian Mayer in the opening singles rubber. He levelled the tie at 2–2 by defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first reverse singles rubber. However, Germany ultimately won the tie. Čilić lost in the first round of the French Open to Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo and at Wimbledon to his compatriot Ivan Ljubičić. At Umag, Čilić became the first Croatian man to reach the finals in over 20 years, losing to Alexandr Dolgopolov. He upset Juan Martín del Potro in the second round of the Rogers Cup and reached the third round of the US Open, losing to Roger Federer. In ATP 500 in Beijing, he lost the final against world No. 6, Tomáš Berdych, in three sets. The next week he was upset by Albert Ramos in the Shanghai Rolex Masters. He won his sixth career title in Saint Petersburg by defeating world No. 10 Janko Tipsarević in the final. En route to the final, he defeated Sergei Bubka, Somdev Devvarman, Andreas Seppi, and Mikhail Youzhny. 2012: Seventh and eighth ATP titles Čilić did not play at the 2012 Australian Open, but did play at Indian Wells, where he lost in the second round to David Nalbandian. He was defeated by Juan Martín del Potro in the third round of Miami and the French Open. In June, Čilić won the Queen's Club Championships in London after his opponent in the final, David Nalbandian, was disqualified in the second set for aggravated behaviour, having kicked the hoarding around a linesman's chair, injuring the linesman. In the third round of Wimbledon, he beat Sam Querrey 7–6, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 17–15 in the second-longest match ever played at Wimbledon in 5 hours and 31 minutes. He subsequently lost to Andy Murray in the following round. In July 2012, Čilić became the first home player to win the Croatia Open after 22 years by defeating Marcel Granollers of Spain in the final. At the Summer Olympics, he reached the second round in the men's singles, beating Jürgen Melzer before losing to Lleyton Hewitt. In the men's doubles, he reached the quarterfinals with Ivan Dodig. Čilić was seeded 12th at the US Open, where he matched his 2009 effort in reaching the quarterfinals. He was defeated by the eventual champion Andy Murray despite winning the first set and leading 5–1 in the second set. 2013: Failed drugs test and ban Čilić started his year at the Chennai Open, where he lost to Benoît Paire in the quarterfinals. At the Australian Open, he was seeded 12th but was upset in the third round by Andreas Seppi in a five-set match. In February, Čilić played for Croatia in the Davis Cup World Group playoffs against Italy; he defeated Paolo Lorenzi in the opening singles rubber, and in the first reverse singles, he avenged his earlier loss to Seppi at the Australian Open, prevailing in a straight-sets win. Italy, however, won the tie eventually with a final score of 3–2. At Zagreb, where he had won twice in 2009 and 2010, Čilić won for a third time to earn his ninth career title, defeating Jürgen Melzer in the final. Čilić was top-seeded in the Memphis Indoor event but lost to Kei Nishikori, the eventual champion, in the quarterfinals. Čilić next played at Indian Wells, where he lost in the third round to Milos Raonic in three sets. In the following tournament at Miami, he defeated world No. 8, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in the fourth round but lost to Andy Murray in the quarterfinals. Čilić started his clay-court season in Monte Carlo, but lost to Richard Gasquet in the fourth round. In May, it was announced Čilić had left his longtime coach Bob Brett and would be coachless at tournaments before hiring a new one. At the French Open, he lost in the third round to Viktor Troicki in straight sets. In June, Čilić returned to Queen's Club to defend his title. He defeated world No. 6, Tomas Berdych, in the quarterfinals, his second top 10 win of the year, and Lleyton Hewitt in the semifinal. In the final, Čilić lost to Andy Murray in three sets. At Wimbledon Čilić pulled out before his second-round match claiming he had a left knee injury where he was scheduled to play Kenny de Schepper of France. However, a month later it was revealed that Čilić had pulled out due to failing a drugs test in Munich for, according to Jutarnji list daily, "incautious use of glucose." On 16 September 2013, he received a backdated nine-month ban due to testing positive for the banned substance nikethamide. Čilić claimed that the banned substance was ingested via Coramine glucose tablets bought at a pharmacy by a member of his team, and as a result, the independent tribunal believed that he did not intend to enhance his performance. The suspension ran until 1 February 2014 and all prize money and points since the positive test including the Munich tournament were null and forfeited. Čilić appealed against this ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who reduced the ban from nine months to four months on 25 October. They stated that "the degree of fault committed by the athlete was inferior to that established in the (tribunal) decision and the sanction imposed was too severe in view of the degree of fault". Čilić, whose ranking had dropped to number 47, received an immediate boost as results at the French Open, Queen's and Wimbledon were reinstated. In late 2013, Čilić started working with Goran Ivanišević as his new coach. 2014: US Open champion Čilić returned to the tour at Brisbane. He defeated Denis Istomin and Grigor Dimitrov to reach the quarterfinal, where he lost to Kei Nishikori. In Sydney, he lost to Denis Istomin in the second round. At the Australian Open second round, Čilić lost to Gilles Simon in five sets. In February, Čilić successfully defended his title at Zagreb without dropping a set, winning his 10th career title. Čilić extended his winning streak at the Rotterdam Open. He defeated Lukas Rosol, world No. 10, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, world No. 6, Andy Murray and Igor Sijsling, reaching the second final of the season, where he lost to Tomas Berdych. Čilić continued his excellent form in Delray Beach, reaching his third consecutive final of the season, where he defeated Kevin Anderson and won his 11th singles title. Čilić reached the fourth round of the Indian Wells Masters. He defeated Paolo Lorenzi and Tommy Robredo to set up a clash with Novak Djokovic. However, he lost the match in three sets. His good form came to an end in the Miami Masters where he lost to Édouard Roger-Vasselin in the second round. During the clay season, Čilić reached the quarterfinals in Barcelona. He lost in early rounds in both Madrid Open and Rome Masters. At the French Open, Čilić reached the third round before losing to Djokovic in four sets. Čilić returned to Queen's Club in June, where he was last year's runner-up on the grass court, however, he was knocked out by Marinko Matosevic in the first round. Čilić successfully rebounded at Wimbledon, reached the quarterfinals for the first time, beating Paul-Henri Mathieu, Andreas Haider-Maurer, Tomas Berdych and Jérémy Chardy before losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in five sets. In July, Čilić played Croatia Open on home soil, where he was defeated in the semifinals by Tommy Robredo. In the warmup US Open Series, Čilić advanced to the third round at Rogers Cup, where he lost to Roger Federer in a close three-set match. In the following Cincinnati Masters, Čilić also reached the third round before losing to Stan Wawrinka. Seeded 14th at the US Open, Čilić defeated Marcos Baghdatis, Illya Marchenko and Kevin Anderson to set up a fourth-round fixture against Gilles Simon, beating the Frenchman for the first time in five matches. He then went on to defeat both world No. 7, Tomas Berdych, and world No. 3, Roger Federer, in straight sets to reach his maiden Grand Slam final. This was also his first-ever victory against Federer in all competitions. Čilić defeated 10th seed Kei Nishikori in straight sets in the final, claiming his first Grand Slam title and becoming the first Croatian to win a men's Grand Slam event since his coach Goran Ivanišević won the 2001 Wimbledon Championships. His triumph in the final was also his 300th professional victory. Following his US Open victory, Čilić played for Croatia in Davis Cup World Group playoffs against Netherlands. Initially signed up for doubles rubber only, Čilić and teammate Marin Draganja beat Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer. After a 2:2 tie between two countries, however, Čilić stepped up and played the deciding fifth singles rubber in place of young compatriot Borna Ćorić, where he defeated Thiemo de Bakker. The victory earned Croatia the World Group status for 2015. At China Open, Čilić advanced to the quarterfinal before losing to Andy Murray. In Shanghai Masters, Čilić was upset in the first round by fellow countryman Ivo Karlović after losing the tiebreak in the third set. Čilić, however, rebounded at Kremlin Cup, where he defeated Roberto Bautista Agut in the final and won his fourth title of the season. On 18 October, it was announced Čilić, as the then reigning US Open champion, had become the fifth player (after Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Wawrinka) to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals in London from 9–16 November. Čilić subsequently withdrew from the Valencia Open and Paris Masters in order to allow time for an arm injury to heal before the tour finals. He ultimately lost all three matches in the round robin. Čilić finished the season as world No. 9 in year-end ATP rankings. 2015: 14th ATP title A shoulder injury prevented Čilić from playing the Brisbane International and Australian Open. After being sidelined for more than two months, Čilić made his season debut at the Indian Wells Masters. After receiving a bye in the first round, he lost in the second round to Juan Mónaco in straight sets. Čilić subsequently withdrew from the Miami Open due to the shoulder problem. Čilić returned to tour at Monte-Carlo Masters, where he advanced to quarterfinals, before losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. At the 2015 French Open, Čilić lost to David Ferrer in the fourth round in straight sets. At Queen's Club, Čilić was beaten in the second round by Victor Troicki in three sets. Čilić matched his 2014 Wimbledon performance, reaching the quarterfinals again after eliminating Moriya, Berankis, Isner (12–10 in the fifth set), and Kudla. Čilić returned to Flushing Meadows for the US Open to defend his title, reaching the semi-finals where he was beaten in straight sets by Novak Djokovic who also went on to win in the final. Čilić managed to defend his title at the Kremlin Cup, winning the final in almost identical fashion to the previous year. In the final, he defeated the same player as the previous year, Roberto Bautista Agut, by the same scoreline, 6–4, 6–4. 2016: First Masters title and Davis Cup final In the first major of the year, Marin Čilić was seeded 12th, but he was upset by Bautista Agut in the third round of the Australian Open. At Indian Wells, he reached the quarterfinals before losing to No. 15 seed David Goffin. At the Miami Masters, he was defeated by Gilles Simon in third round. At the Wimbledon Championships, Čilić repeated his efforts of the previous two years making the quarterfinals, after eliminating rival Kei Nishikori in the fourth round. In the quarterfinals, he met third seed Roger Federer; Čilić won the first two sets and had match points in the fourth set but was unable to convert eventually being eliminated in five sets. At the 2016 Olympics, he competed in the men's singles and the men's doubles with Marin Draganja. He reached the last 16 in the singles and the second round in the doubles. In August 2016, Čilić announced his new coach as Jonas Björkman in a video posted to MyATP. In Cincinnati, Čilić claimed his maiden Masters title, defeating Andy Murray in the final in straight sets. This win ended Murray's 22-match winning streak, dating back to 2016 Queen's Club. The Croat beat Viktor Troicki, Fernando Verdasco, Tomáš Berdych, Borna Ćorić and Grigor Dimitrov in the route to the final. Čilić returned to the top 10 in the following week. In October, he captured his maiden ATP 500 level title at the Swiss Indoors, beating Nishikori in straight sets in the final. At the Paris Masters, Čilić defeated Djokovic for the first time in his career to reach the semifinals, where he subsequently lost to John Isner. His run guaranteed that he would qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals for the second time in three years. There, in the round robin, he lost to Murray and Wawrinka, but defeated Nishikori for his first-ever win at the Finals. With this victory, he rose to No. 6 in the ATP rankings. In the final of the Davis Cup, with Croatia leading Argentina by 2–1 in matches, Čilić led Juan Martín del Potro by two sets to love needing one more set to win the title for his country. However, del Potro went on to win the match in five sets and Argentina won the deciding match to win the tournament. 2017: Wimbledon final Čilić started his 2017 season as first seed at the Chennai Open but lost to Jozef Kovalík in the second round. In the first major of the year, the Australian Open, Čilić lost in the second round to Dan Evans. In February, he lost in his opening match in Montpellier, reached the quarterfinals of the Rotterdam, and the semifinals of Acapulco. Čilić was eliminated in the second rounds of Indian Wells, Miami Open, and Madrid Open, but reached the quarterfinals in Rome, and Monte Carlo. In May, Čilić won the title at the Istanbul Open, defeating Milos Raonic in the final, in straight sets. This was his 14th ATP 250 title, second clay title, and 17th title overall. Additionally, Čilić's victory in Istanbul meant that 2017 was his tenth consecutive year winning at least one ATP title. Čilić reached the quarterfinal of the French Open for the first time in his career and thus became one of the few tennis players who reached the quarterfinal stage of every Grand Slam championship. In June, at the Queen's Club Championships, Marin made the final for the third time in his career. There he faced Feliciano López, losing in three sets, after having a championship point in the final-set tiebreaker. At Wimbledon, Čilić reached the quarterfinals without dropping a set. There, he defeated Gilles Müller in five sets to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal. In the semifinal he recovered from a one set deficit to defeat Sam Querrey in four sets. In the final he was defeated by Roger Federer in straight sets, he struggled with a blister. An adductor injury forced Čilić to miss the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters events. Čilić returned to play at the US Open where he lost to Diego Schwartzman in the third round. Despite this, following the tournament's conclusion Čilić broke into the top five for the first time in his career. In October, Čilić reached the semifinals of the Tokyo, Shanghai, Basel, and the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters. Čilić failed to win a match in the ATP Finals despite going to three sets against Federer, Alexander Zverev, and Jack Sock. Čilić finished the season as world No. 6 for the second consecutive year. 2018: Third Grand Slam final, Davis Cup champion, and world No. 3 Čilić started his 2018 season as first seed in Pune, India. He lost in semifinals to eventual champion Gilles Simon. Despite mixed form since his Wimbledon campaign, Čilić defeated world No. 1, Rafael Nadal, at the Australian Open after the Spaniard retired hurt in the fifth set, going on to reach another Grand-Slam final against Federer. This made him the first Croatian to ever reach the singles final at Melbourne Park. He eventually lost in five sets. The match garnered minor criticism from some tennis pundits for being played indoors to favour Federer, despite the Australian Open traditionally being an outdoor event. Čilić later admitted that he found it difficult to adjust to the changed conditions. However, it remained disputed that who among the two players was going to be favored in indoor conditions. At the conclusion of the tournament, Čilić reached a career-high ATP ranking of No. 3. He remained at that position for 12 weeks, before being surpassed by Alexander Zverev. In the first two Masters 1000 events of the season Čilić was defeated by Philipp Kohlschreiber (at Indian Wells, in the round of 32) and John Isner, the eventual champion of Miami. In the clay-court season, Čilić played four tournaments reaching the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo, the semifinals of Rome, and the quarterfinals at the French Open. Čilić failed to defend his only title from the 2017 season at Istanbul, losing in his opening match to Malek Jaziri. This defeat marked the first time since February 2014 that Čilić had not held any tournament on the ATP Tour. At Queen's Club, Čilić was the top seed. He reached the final, where he contested a close match with Djokovic, coming out on top in three sets saving match point in the process to claim his second title at Queen's Club and second career win over Djokovic. At Wimbledon, he was drawn in the top half and was considered one of the biggest threats to Roger Federer's title defense. He was upset in the second round by Guido Pella in five sets, after comfortably winning the first two sets. During the North American summer hard-court swing, Čilić made strong showings in Toronto and Cincinnati, losing in both tournaments to the eventual champion in tight three setters (Rafael Nadal in Toronto and Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati). At the US Open, Čilić recovered from a two set deficit to defeat teenager Alex de Minaur in the third round. Čilić eventually lost in the quarterfinals against Kei Nishikori in a replay of the 2014 final. Čilić helped Croatia reach the Davis Cup finals for the second time in three years, winning one of his two singles rubbers against the USA. In October, Čilić suffered a string of early exits at Tokyo, Shanghai, and Basel. He rebounded from this trough in form at the Paris Masters reaching the quarterfinals for a third consecutive year before losing to Djokovic in three sets. By winning a set he ended the Serb's streak of 30 consecutive sets won. Čilić qualified for the Tour Finals for a third successive time and fourth time overall. His disappointing record at the event continued winning only one of his three round-robin matches, bringing his overall record at the event to . Čilić led the Croatian national team at the 2018 Davis Cup final against France on the clay courts of Lille. After comfortably defeating Tsonga in his first match, Čilić found himself in the same position he was in the 2016 final, having to win his second rubber to guarantee Croatia the title. This time however, Čilić defeated his opponent, Lucas Pouille, in straight sets to grab the decisive victory for Croatia. 2019: 500 match wins, titleless year, fall from top 30 Čilić started his year at Australian Open. In his third round match against Fernando Verdasco, Čilić saved two match points and came back from a two set deficit to advance to the fourth round. This was the seventh time in Čilić's career that he had won a match after being down two sets. In the fourth round, Čilić was upset by an in-form Roberto Bautista Agut. Over his next three tournaments, Čilić only managed to win one match, while being eliminated early at Dubai, Indian Wells, and Miami. As a result of his poor form in the early hard court season, Čilić fell from the worlds top ten for the first time in over two years. After another two winless tournaments to start the clay court season (at Monte-Carlo and Budapest), Čilić finally broke his slump at the Madrid Masters by winning three consecutive matches against Martin Kližan, Jan-Lennard Struff, & Laslo Djere on the way to the quarterfinals. However, he had to withdraw before his match against Djokovic due to food poisoning. By reaching the quarterfinals, Čilić became one of the few players on the Tour to reach the quarterfinal stage of all nine Masters 1000 tournaments. Čilić lost his second round match at both Rome and the French Open, to Jan-Lennard Struff and Grigor Dimitrov respectively. Čilić failed to defend his Queen's Club title, leaving the Croat out of the top 15 for the first time in five years. This also marked the first time since August 2008 that Čilić had not reached a tournament final in over a year. Čilić lost in the second round of Wimbledon to João Sousa in straight sets. In the North American summer hard-court season, Čilić competed in Washington, Montreal, Cincinnati, and the US Open in New York. Čilić fell from the world's top 20 after failing to match his previous year's performance at the first three events. At the US Open, Čilić reached the fourth round where he showed improvements to form during a four set loss against eventual champion Nadal. On 17 October 2019, he reached his 500th career match win at the 2019 Kremlin Cup in Moscow becoming the 10th active player in the list. Čilić ended the year ranked No. 39 in the ATP rankings. It marked the first time that he had failed to win a singles title since 2007. 2020–2021: Twenty ATP titles, Olympics doubles silver medallist, return to top 30 Čilić started the year at the 2020 Australian Open where he beat Corentin Moutet, Benoît Paire, and Roberto Bautista Agut before losing to Milos Raonic in straight sets. At the Open 13, Čilić lost in the Round of 16 to Denis Shapovalov. He lost in the first rounds of the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Cincinnati Masters to Benoît Paire and Denis Shapovalov respectively. At the 2020 US Open, he beat Denis Kudla and Norbert Gombos before losing to Dominic Thiem in four sets. He was once again defeated by Thiem in the first round of the 2020 French Open in straight sets, and in 2021, he was defeated in the second round by Roger Federer in 4 sets. He won the 2021 Stuttgart Open, defeating 3rd seed Félix Auger-Aliassime in the final in straight sets, his 19th singles title and first in three years. At Wimbledon 2021, he reached 3rd round where he was knocked out by Daniil Medvedev after winning the first two sets. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he reached the second round in singles where he lost to Pablo Carreño Busta. In the doubles tournament, together with Ivan Dodig, he reached the final, where they lost to their countrymen Mate Pavić and Nikola Mektić. It was the third time in the Olympics men's doubles' history that the same country won both gold and silver, and the first one since 1908. At the 2021 US Open he retired in the first round in the fifth set against Philipp Kohlschreiber. It was his first retirement in more than 800 matches on the tour and the first time he had failed to make it past the opening round at Flushing Meadows in 13 attempts. Čilić played at the 2021 Kremlin Cup where he reached the final seeded sixth. He beat Damir Dzumhur in three sets before defeating Tommy Paul in straight sets. He once again won in straight sets against Pedro Martínez in the quarterfinals and against Ričardis Berankis in the semifinals. He lost to Aslan Karatsev in straight sets in the final. He won the St. Petersburg Open, defeating 5th seed Taylor Fritz in a three-sets final for his 20th singles title. On the way to the title, he also defeated Albert Ramos Viñolas, Karen Khachanov, Roberto Bautista Agut and Botic van de Zandschulp. With this title he became only the sixth active player in 2021 with 20 titles after Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray and del Potro. He also returned back into the top 30 after 2 years to World No. 28 on 1 November 2021. 2022: 550th win, Historic French Open semifinal & back to top 15 At the Adelaide International 1 tournament, he recorded his 550th win and became one of only seven active players to have over 550 wins and 40th man overall in the Open Era. Čilić entered the 2022 Australian Open as the 27th seed. He defeated Emilio Gómez in the first round in straight sets, Norbert Gombos in the second round in four sets, and fifth seed Andrey Rublev in the third round in four sets. He lost to ninth seed Félix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round in four sets. At the 2022 French Open Čilić defeated Attila Balazs in the first round, Marton Fucsovics in the second, Gilles Simon in the third before taking out number 2 seed Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in the round of 16. With this result, he secured his return into the top 20 in the rankings. He won against Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals in a long five sets match with a super tiebreak in the fifth — the first ever played on Court Philippe Chatrier — winning the last 9 points in a row and lasting 4 hours and 10 minutes to reach his first semifinal at this Major. He became only the 5th active player besides the Big Four, and the first Croatian player to reach this level at all four Grand Slams. He then lost to Casper Ruud in the semifinals. At the Canadian Open he recorded his 350th hard court win, becoming only the fifth active player, behind the Big Four, to reach the milestone. At the 2022 US Open, Čilić defeated Dan Evans in the third round. In the fourth round, he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in a five set match lasting almost four hours. In October, Cilic reached the final of Tel Aviv Open, where he lost in straight sets to number 1 seed Novak Djokovic, who played his first official tournament since winning Wimbledon. As a result he returned to the top 15 in the rankings at world No. 14 on 3 October 2022. 2023: Knee injury, out of top 20 In Pune, Čilić reached the quarterfinals, but injured his knee during the tournament. As a result, he has not played a tournament since, but will return at the French Open. Clothing and equipment As of 2018 Čilić plays with the Head YouTek Radical MidPlus with a custom drilled 16x19 string pattern, painted to look like the Head Graphene Touch Prestige Mid. For strings he uses a hybrid of Babolat VS Touch mains and Luxilon ALU Power crosses. He wore Fila apparel until the 2011 season, when he got a 5-year contract with Li-Ning, switching back to Fila in 2016. At the start of the 2020 season, Čilić started wearing head apparel. Career statistics Grand Slam singles performance timeline Current through the 2022 US Open. Čilić withdrew before the second round match at the 2013 Wimbledon. Finals: 3 (1 title, 2 runners-up) References External links Official website Website about Marin Čilić ATP DEUCE Magazine: On the Rise... Marin Čilić Category:1988 births Category:Living people Category:Croatian male tennis players Category:Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Category:Bosnia and Herzegovina male tennis players Category:Croatian sportspeople in doping cases Category:Croat sportspeople from Bosnia and Herzegovina Category:French Open junior champions Category:Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Category:Olympic tennis players for Croatia Category:People from Čitluk, Bosnia and Herzegovina Category:Tennis players from Zagreb Category:People from Monte Carlo Category:Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Category:US Open (tennis) champions Category:21st-century Croatian people Category:Doping cases in tennis Category:Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles Category:Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic silver medalists for Croatia Category:Olympic medalists in tennis

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Marin Čilić

Marin Cilic (Croatian pronunciation: [mari:n tSi:litc]; born 28 September 1988) is a Croatian professional tennis player. Over the course of his career, Cilic has won 17 ATP singles titles, including the 2014 US Open. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 3, achieved on 28 January 2018. Cilic first came to international prominence by defeating then-World No. 2 Andy Murray in the fourth round of the 2009 US Open, and then reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open a few months later.

2010: First major semifinal and top 10 ranking

Cilic won the 2010 Chennai Open final, beating Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in straight sets. Seeded 14th at the 2010 Australian Open, he defeated Fabrice Santoro, Bernard Tomic, and Stanislas Wawrinka in the first three rounds. In the fourth round, he faced fourth seed and reigning US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro; it was their third meeting in the past five Grand Slams. In a match that lasted more than four and a half hours, Cilic defeated Del Potro to reach his second quarterfinal appearance at a Grand Slam. In the quarterfinals, he defeated seventh seed Andy Roddick in another five-set victory. In doing so, he became the first Croatian to reach the semifinals at the Australian Open. However, Cilic eventually lost in four sets to Andy Murray, despite winning the first set. Cilic followed up his Australian campaign by defending his title in Zagreb, defeating Michael Berrer in the final. Cilic achieved a new career-high ranking of no. 9 as a result. Cilic was selected to play singles and doubles partnering with Karlovic for the Croatia Davis Cup Team against Ecuador in March 2010. Cilic, seeded eighth, lost in the second round to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open. At the French Open, Cilic lost to Robin Soderling in the fourth round. Cilic was defeated in the first round of Wimbledon by Florian Mayer. He reached the semifinals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., ending Mardy Fish's 11-match winning-streak in the third round. Cilic was defeated by eventual champion David Nalbandian. At the US Open, Cilic lost to Kei Nishikori in the second round. CANNOTANSWER

Marin Čilić (; born 28 September 1988) is a Croatian professional tennis player. Čilić has won 20 ATP Tour singles titles, including a major at the 2014 US Open. He was also runner-up at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships and the 2018 Australian Open, and won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the men's doubles tournament partnering Ivan Dodig. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 3, achieved on 28 January 2018. Čilić has reached the semifinal stage or better at all four majors, and the quarterfinal stage or better at all nine ATP Masters 1000 tournaments. He is one of six active players with at least 20 ATP Tour titles and one of the five active players to reach at least the semifinal stage at all four majors. Alongside compatriot Goran Ivanišević, Čilić is widely considered to be one of the greatest Croatian tennis players in history. Personal life Marin Čilić was born in Medjugorje, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, a town in the Herzegovina region of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Bosnian Croat parents. He was raised as a Catholic. His father Zdenko Čilić was determined that his sons – Marin and older brothers Vinko and Goran – would have the opportunities he lacked in playing sports. When the first tennis courts in the town were built in 1991, Marin and his friends were among the first to play on them. At the recommendation of Goran Ivanišević, in 2004, at the age of 15, Čilić moved to San Remo, Italy to work with Ivanišević's former coach, Bob Brett. He has a younger brother, Mile, who also plays tennis. On 28 April 2018, he married his long time girlfriend Kristina Milković. They have a son. Tennis career 2004–05: Junior circuit Čilić began playing on the junior ITF circuit in spring 2004. At the start he played on clay courts, winning the La Vie Junior Cup Villach in singles and the Dutch Junior Open in doubles. He then qualified for the 2004 US Open, where he lost in the second round to Sam Querrey. In 2005, he won the French Open title in Boys' singles, beating Andy Murray in the semifinal and Antal van der Duim in the final. He finished 2005 ranked number two behind American Donald Young. While on the junior circuit, he won six tournaments in singles and four in doubles with his Canadian partner, Greg Kates. Before representing Croatia, he played for Bosnia and Herzegovina as a junior with partner Zachary Rosen. 2005–2007: ATP Tour In 2004, Čilić played one Futures event (Croatia F1), at which he reached the second round; he finished the year tied at No. 1463 on the rankings of the ATP Tour. He played seven Futures tournaments in 2005, winning one, the Croatia F3 event; two Challenger tournaments, in Zagreb and Geneva; and one ATP International Series tournament, the Croatia Open, where he lost in the opening round. He finished the year ranked No. 587. In 2006, he played three Futures, winning the Croatia F1 and Croatia F2 events. He also played in nine Challengers, nine International Series events (reaching the semifinals at Gstaad), and two Davis Cup ties, against Austria and Argentina. By the end of the year, he was ranked No. 170. In 2007, he won the first and second professional tournaments of his career: the Casablanca Challenger (in April) and the Rijeka Challenger (in May). In June, at the Queen's Club Championships, he beat Tim Henman in the first round after trailing 2–4 in the final set, and reached the quarterfinals, where he fell to Andy Roddick. After that performance, he reached a new career-high ranking of No. 101 on 18 June 2007. In the World Group playoffs in the first round of the 2007 Davis Cup, Čilić beat Benjamin Becker of Germany; however, Croatia went on to lose the tie, three matches to two. 2008: First ATP singles title In 2008, Čilić reached the semifinals at the Chennai Open, in both singles and doubles. In the singles, he was defeated by Mikhail Youzhny, who went on to win the tournament. Čilić made it to the fourth round of the 2008 Australian Open, taking out two seeds on his way, including 2007 Australian Open finalist Fernando González. James Blake beat him in the fourth round. He had achieved his goal for the year of reaching the top 40. His fourth-round result at the Australian Open put him at no. 39 in the ATP rankings. Čilić also made it to the fourth round of Wimbledon, beating Jarkko Nieminen in five sets in the second round and knocking-out 14th seed Paul-Henri Mathieu. At the 2008 Olympics, he reached the second round of the men's singles, beating Juan Mónaco before losing to Fernando González. He lost in straight sets to Arnaud Clément. At the Canada Masters, he defeated Andy Roddick in reaching the quarterfinal stage, giving his best performance in a Masters Series tournament to date. He lost in three sets to Gilles Simon in the quarterfinals. Čilić played the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut, where he won his first ATP title. He defeated Viktor Troicki, Jürgen Melzer, and Igor Andreev in early rounds, then 2007 finalist Mardy Fish in the final. Čilić, seeded for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament, reached the third round of the US Open, but lost to Novak Djokovic in a match that lasted almost four hours. Čilić came back from a break down in each of the second, third, and fourth sets. In the first round, he had defeated Julien Benneteau in five sets in a match that lasted more than four hours, winning the deciding set. 2009: First Grand Slam quarterfinal Čilić won his first title of 2009 and second career ATP title at the Chennai Open, defeating first-time finalist Somdev Devvarman. He reached the fourth round of the Australian Open after beating David Ferrer in straight sets, equalling his 2008 record. In the fourth round, he was defeated by Juan Martín del Potro in four sets. Later in the year, Čilić won the PBZ Zagreb Indoors, defeating compatriot Mario Ančić in the final. He helped his country defeat Chilean opponents in the Davis Cup first-round tie by winning the opening singles match and joining forces with Mario Ančić to win the doubles rubber. Čilić reached a career best at the French Open when he beat 18th seed Radek Štěpánek in the third round in straight sets. After two competitive sets against the third-seeded Andy Murray, Čilić lost the match. He reached the second round of the Queen's Club Championships, an ATP World Tour 250 series event, where he was defeated by Nicolas Mahut of France. He beat Alberto Martín to make it into the second round at Wimbledon and won a five-set match (spread over two days) against Sam Querrey. He played another five-set match in the third round against Tommy Haas. He recovered from two sets down, but lost 10–8 in the deciding set, having held a match point. During the hard-court season, Čilić was defeated in back-to-back events in the first round. At Washington, he was defeated in straight sets by Somdev Devvarman. He then failed to duplicate his quarterfinal appearance in Canada, losing to Mikhail Youzhny. In the US Open, as the 16th seed, he reached the fourth round, after defeating Ryan Sweeting, Jesse Levine, and Denis Istomin. He defeated Levine after being down two sets to love, coming back to win. He then scored the biggest upset of the 2009 US Open with a straight-sets victory over second-seeded Andy Murray in the fourth round. Čilić outclassed Murray by saving all the break points he faced and took advantage of Murray's unforced errors. After the match, he said it was the biggest win of his career to date. However, in the quarterfinals, he lost to the eventual champion Juan Martín del Potro, despite leading by one set and an opening break in the second set. Following his impressive US Open run, Čilić participated in the China Open in Beijing as the eighth seed. He won his opening match against Russian Igor Andreev, followed by a three-set victory over Frenchman Julien Benneteau. In the quarterfinals, he defeated fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko, before stunning world No. 2 and top seed (in the tournament) Rafael Nadal in a straightforward win. In the final, Čilić went down to second seed Novak Djoković in straight sets. He reached the fifth final of his career at the Bank Austria Tennis Trophy as top seed; however, he lost. He received a wild card for the Davidoff Swiss Indoors, where he finished in the quarterfinals, losing to Radek Štěpánek. His final tournament of the year was the BNP Paribas Masters. Entered as 12th seed, he came from a set down to defeat Łukasz Kubot in the second round, and then from a set down again to defeat seventh seed Fernando Verdasco, before coming to a halt in the quarterfinals against eventual finalist Gaël Monfils. 2010: First major semifinal and top 10 ranking Čilić won the Chennai Open final, beating Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland in straight sets. Seeded 14th at the Australian Open, he defeated Fabrice Santoro, Bernard Tomic, and Stan Wawrinka in the first three rounds. In the fourth round, he faced fourth seed and reigning US Open champion del Potro; it was their third meeting in the past five Grand Slams. In a match that lasted more than four and a half hours, Čilić defeated Del Potro to reach his second Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance. In the quarterfinals, he defeated seventh seed Andy Roddick in another five-set victory. In doing so, he became the first Croatian to reach the semifinals at the Australian Open. However, Čilić eventually lost in four sets to Andy Murray, despite winning the first set. Čilić followed up his Australian campaign by defending his title in Zagreb, defeating Michael Berrer in the final. Čilić achieved a new career-high ranking of No. 9 as a result. Čilić was selected to play singles and doubles partnering with Karlović for the Croatia Davis Cup team against Ecuador in March 2010. Čilić, seeded eighth, lost in the second round to Guillermo García-López at the BNP Paribas Open. At the French Open, Čilić lost to Robin Söderling in the fourth round. Čilić was defeated in the first round of Wimbledon by Florian Mayer. He reached the semifinals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington D.C., ending Mardy Fish's 11-match winning-streak in the third round. Čilić was defeated by eventual champion David Nalbandian. At the US Open, Čilić lost to Kei Nishikori in the second round. 2011: Sixth ATP title Čilić began the season with a first-round loss to Kei Nishikori in Chennai, failing to defend his title. At the Australian Open he progressed to the fourth round, defeating Donald Young, Santiago Giraldo, and then John Isner in a five-set. In the fourth round, he lost to world No. 1, Rafael Nadal. Next, he went to Zagreb to defend another title. Again, he was unable to do so, falling to Florian Mayer in the quarterfinals. Čilić played next in Rotterdam and lost to Viktor Troicki in the quarterfinals. He then played in Marseille, where he was unseeded. He defeated Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinals and saved one match point in a comeback win against Mikhail Youzhny. He lost to Robin Söderling in the final. Čilić played for Croatia in the World Group playoffs in the first round of the 2011 Davis Cup, defeating Florian Mayer in the opening singles rubber. He levelled the tie at 2–2 by defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first reverse singles rubber. However, Germany ultimately won the tie. Čilić lost in the first round of the French Open to Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo and at Wimbledon to his compatriot Ivan Ljubičić. At Umag, Čilić became the first Croatian man to reach the finals in over 20 years, losing to Alexandr Dolgopolov. He upset Juan Martín del Potro in the second round of the Rogers Cup and reached the third round of the US Open, losing to Roger Federer. In ATP 500 in Beijing, he lost the final against world No. 6, Tomáš Berdych, in three sets. The next week he was upset by Albert Ramos in the Shanghai Rolex Masters. He won his sixth career title in Saint Petersburg by defeating world No. 10 Janko Tipsarević in the final. En route to the final, he defeated Sergei Bubka, Somdev Devvarman, Andreas Seppi, and Mikhail Youzhny. 2012: Seventh and eighth ATP titles Čilić did not play at the 2012 Australian Open, but did play at Indian Wells, where he lost in the second round to David Nalbandian. He was defeated by Juan Martín del Potro in the third round of Miami and the French Open. In June, Čilić won the Queen's Club Championships in London after his opponent in the final, David Nalbandian, was disqualified in the second set for aggravated behaviour, having kicked the hoarding around a linesman's chair, injuring the linesman. In the third round of Wimbledon, he beat Sam Querrey 7–6, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 17–15 in the second-longest match ever played at Wimbledon in 5 hours and 31 minutes. He subsequently lost to Andy Murray in the following round. In July 2012, Čilić became the first home player to win the Croatia Open after 22 years by defeating Marcel Granollers of Spain in the final. At the Summer Olympics, he reached the second round in the men's singles, beating Jürgen Melzer before losing to Lleyton Hewitt. In the men's doubles, he reached the quarterfinals with Ivan Dodig. Čilić was seeded 12th at the US Open, where he matched his 2009 effort in reaching the quarterfinals. He was defeated by the eventual champion Andy Murray despite winning the first set and leading 5–1 in the second set. 2013: Failed drugs test and ban Čilić started his year at the Chennai Open, where he lost to Benoît Paire in the quarterfinals. At the Australian Open, he was seeded 12th but was upset in the third round by Andreas Seppi in a five-set match. In February, Čilić played for Croatia in the Davis Cup World Group playoffs against Italy; he defeated Paolo Lorenzi in the opening singles rubber, and in the first reverse singles, he avenged his earlier loss to Seppi at the Australian Open, prevailing in a straight-sets win. Italy, however, won the tie eventually with a final score of 3–2. At Zagreb, where he had won twice in 2009 and 2010, Čilić won for a third time to earn his ninth career title, defeating Jürgen Melzer in the final. Čilić was top-seeded in the Memphis Indoor event but lost to Kei Nishikori, the eventual champion, in the quarterfinals. Čilić next played at Indian Wells, where he lost in the third round to Milos Raonic in three sets. In the following tournament at Miami, he defeated world No. 8, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in the fourth round but lost to Andy Murray in the quarterfinals. Čilić started his clay-court season in Monte Carlo, but lost to Richard Gasquet in the fourth round. In May, it was announced Čilić had left his longtime coach Bob Brett and would be coachless at tournaments before hiring a new one. At the French Open, he lost in the third round to Viktor Troicki in straight sets. In June, Čilić returned to Queen's Club to defend his title. He defeated world No. 6, Tomas Berdych, in the quarterfinals, his second top 10 win of the year, and Lleyton Hewitt in the semifinal. In the final, Čilić lost to Andy Murray in three sets. At Wimbledon Čilić pulled out before his second-round match claiming he had a left knee injury where he was scheduled to play Kenny de Schepper of France. However, a month later it was revealed that Čilić had pulled out due to failing a drugs test in Munich for, according to Jutarnji list daily, "incautious use of glucose." On 16 September 2013, he received a backdated nine-month ban due to testing positive for the banned substance nikethamide. Čilić claimed that the banned substance was ingested via Coramine glucose tablets bought at a pharmacy by a member of his team, and as a result, the independent tribunal believed that he did not intend to enhance his performance. The suspension ran until 1 February 2014 and all prize money and points since the positive test including the Munich tournament were null and forfeited. Čilić appealed against this ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who reduced the ban from nine months to four months on 25 October. They stated that "the degree of fault committed by the athlete was inferior to that established in the (tribunal) decision and the sanction imposed was too severe in view of the degree of fault". Čilić, whose ranking had dropped to number 47, received an immediate boost as results at the French Open, Queen's and Wimbledon were reinstated. In late 2013, Čilić started working with Goran Ivanišević as his new coach. 2014: US Open champion Čilić returned to the tour at Brisbane. He defeated Denis Istomin and Grigor Dimitrov to reach the quarterfinal, where he lost to Kei Nishikori. In Sydney, he lost to Denis Istomin in the second round. At the Australian Open second round, Čilić lost to Gilles Simon in five sets. In February, Čilić successfully defended his title at Zagreb without dropping a set, winning his 10th career title. Čilić extended his winning streak at the Rotterdam Open. He defeated Lukas Rosol, world No. 10, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, world No. 6, Andy Murray and Igor Sijsling, reaching the second final of the season, where he lost to Tomas Berdych. Čilić continued his excellent form in Delray Beach, reaching his third consecutive final of the season, where he defeated Kevin Anderson and won his 11th singles title. Čilić reached the fourth round of the Indian Wells Masters. He defeated Paolo Lorenzi and Tommy Robredo to set up a clash with Novak Djokovic. However, he lost the match in three sets. His good form came to an end in the Miami Masters where he lost to Édouard Roger-Vasselin in the second round. During the clay season, Čilić reached the quarterfinals in Barcelona. He lost in early rounds in both Madrid Open and Rome Masters. At the French Open, Čilić reached the third round before losing to Djokovic in four sets. Čilić returned to Queen's Club in June, where he was last year's runner-up on the grass court, however, he was knocked out by Marinko Matosevic in the first round. Čilić successfully rebounded at Wimbledon, reached the quarterfinals for the first time, beating Paul-Henri Mathieu, Andreas Haider-Maurer, Tomas Berdych and Jérémy Chardy before losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in five sets. In July, Čilić played Croatia Open on home soil, where he was defeated in the semifinals by Tommy Robredo. In the warmup US Open Series, Čilić advanced to the third round at Rogers Cup, where he lost to Roger Federer in a close three-set match. In the following Cincinnati Masters, Čilić also reached the third round before losing to Stan Wawrinka. Seeded 14th at the US Open, Čilić defeated Marcos Baghdatis, Illya Marchenko and Kevin Anderson to set up a fourth-round fixture against Gilles Simon, beating the Frenchman for the first time in five matches. He then went on to defeat both world No. 7, Tomas Berdych, and world No. 3, Roger Federer, in straight sets to reach his maiden Grand Slam final. This was also his first-ever victory against Federer in all competitions. Čilić defeated 10th seed Kei Nishikori in straight sets in the final, claiming his first Grand Slam title and becoming the first Croatian to win a men's Grand Slam event since his coach Goran Ivanišević won the 2001 Wimbledon Championships. His triumph in the final was also his 300th professional victory. Following his US Open victory, Čilić played for Croatia in Davis Cup World Group playoffs against Netherlands. Initially signed up for doubles rubber only, Čilić and teammate Marin Draganja beat Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer. After a 2:2 tie between two countries, however, Čilić stepped up and played the deciding fifth singles rubber in place of young compatriot Borna Ćorić, where he defeated Thiemo de Bakker. The victory earned Croatia the World Group status for 2015. At China Open, Čilić advanced to the quarterfinal before losing to Andy Murray. In Shanghai Masters, Čilić was upset in the first round by fellow countryman Ivo Karlović after losing the tiebreak in the third set. Čilić, however, rebounded at Kremlin Cup, where he defeated Roberto Bautista Agut in the final and won his fourth title of the season. On 18 October, it was announced Čilić, as the then reigning US Open champion, had become the fifth player (after Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Wawrinka) to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals in London from 9–16 November. Čilić subsequently withdrew from the Valencia Open and Paris Masters in order to allow time for an arm injury to heal before the tour finals. He ultimately lost all three matches in the round robin. Čilić finished the season as world No. 9 in year-end ATP rankings. 2015: 14th ATP title A shoulder injury prevented Čilić from playing the Brisbane International and Australian Open. After being sidelined for more than two months, Čilić made his season debut at the Indian Wells Masters. After receiving a bye in the first round, he lost in the second round to Juan Mónaco in straight sets. Čilić subsequently withdrew from the Miami Open due to the shoulder problem. Čilić returned to tour at Monte-Carlo Masters, where he advanced to quarterfinals, before losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. At the 2015 French Open, Čilić lost to David Ferrer in the fourth round in straight sets. At Queen's Club, Čilić was beaten in the second round by Victor Troicki in three sets. Čilić matched his 2014 Wimbledon performance, reaching the quarterfinals again after eliminating Moriya, Berankis, Isner (12–10 in the fifth set), and Kudla. Čilić returned to Flushing Meadows for the US Open to defend his title, reaching the semi-finals where he was beaten in straight sets by Novak Djokovic who also went on to win in the final. Čilić managed to defend his title at the Kremlin Cup, winning the final in almost identical fashion to the previous year. In the final, he defeated the same player as the previous year, Roberto Bautista Agut, by the same scoreline, 6–4, 6–4. 2016: First Masters title and Davis Cup final In the first major of the year, Marin Čilić was seeded 12th, but he was upset by Bautista Agut in the third round of the Australian Open. At Indian Wells, he reached the quarterfinals before losing to No. 15 seed David Goffin. At the Miami Masters, he was defeated by Gilles Simon in third round. At the Wimbledon Championships, Čilić repeated his efforts of the previous two years making the quarterfinals, after eliminating rival Kei Nishikori in the fourth round. In the quarterfinals, he met third seed Roger Federer; Čilić won the first two sets and had match points in the fourth set but was unable to convert eventually being eliminated in five sets. At the 2016 Olympics, he competed in the men's singles and the men's doubles with Marin Draganja. He reached the last 16 in the singles and the second round in the doubles. In August 2016, Čilić announced his new coach as Jonas Björkman in a video posted to MyATP. In Cincinnati, Čilić claimed his maiden Masters title, defeating Andy Murray in the final in straight sets. This win ended Murray's 22-match winning streak, dating back to 2016 Queen's Club. The Croat beat Viktor Troicki, Fernando Verdasco, Tomáš Berdych, Borna Ćorić and Grigor Dimitrov in the route to the final. Čilić returned to the top 10 in the following week. In October, he captured his maiden ATP 500 level title at the Swiss Indoors, beating Nishikori in straight sets in the final. At the Paris Masters, Čilić defeated Djokovic for the first time in his career to reach the semifinals, where he subsequently lost to John Isner. His run guaranteed that he would qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals for the second time in three years. There, in the round robin, he lost to Murray and Wawrinka, but defeated Nishikori for his first-ever win at the Finals. With this victory, he rose to No. 6 in the ATP rankings. In the final of the Davis Cup, with Croatia leading Argentina by 2–1 in matches, Čilić led Juan Martín del Potro by two sets to love needing one more set to win the title for his country. However, del Potro went on to win the match in five sets and Argentina won the deciding match to win the tournament. 2017: Wimbledon final Čilić started his 2017 season as first seed at the Chennai Open but lost to Jozef Kovalík in the second round. In the first major of the year, the Australian Open, Čilić lost in the second round to Dan Evans. In February, he lost in his opening match in Montpellier, reached the quarterfinals of the Rotterdam, and the semifinals of Acapulco. Čilić was eliminated in the second rounds of Indian Wells, Miami Open, and Madrid Open, but reached the quarterfinals in Rome, and Monte Carlo. In May, Čilić won the title at the Istanbul Open, defeating Milos Raonic in the final, in straight sets. This was his 14th ATP 250 title, second clay title, and 17th title overall. Additionally, Čilić's victory in Istanbul meant that 2017 was his tenth consecutive year winning at least one ATP title. Čilić reached the quarterfinal of the French Open for the first time in his career and thus became one of the few tennis players who reached the quarterfinal stage of every Grand Slam championship. In June, at the Queen's Club Championships, Marin made the final for the third time in his career. There he faced Feliciano López, losing in three sets, after having a championship point in the final-set tiebreaker. At Wimbledon, Čilić reached the quarterfinals without dropping a set. There, he defeated Gilles Müller in five sets to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal. In the semifinal he recovered from a one set deficit to defeat Sam Querrey in four sets. In the final he was defeated by Roger Federer in straight sets, he struggled with a blister. An adductor injury forced Čilić to miss the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters events. Čilić returned to play at the US Open where he lost to Diego Schwartzman in the third round. Despite this, following the tournament's conclusion Čilić broke into the top five for the first time in his career. In October, Čilić reached the semifinals of the Tokyo, Shanghai, Basel, and the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters. Čilić failed to win a match in the ATP Finals despite going to three sets against Federer, Alexander Zverev, and Jack Sock. Čilić finished the season as world No. 6 for the second consecutive year. 2018: Third Grand Slam final, Davis Cup champion, and world No. 3 Čilić started his 2018 season as first seed in Pune, India. He lost in semifinals to eventual champion Gilles Simon. Despite mixed form since his Wimbledon campaign, Čilić defeated world No. 1, Rafael Nadal, at the Australian Open after the Spaniard retired hurt in the fifth set, going on to reach another Grand-Slam final against Federer. This made him the first Croatian to ever reach the singles final at Melbourne Park. He eventually lost in five sets. The match garnered minor criticism from some tennis pundits for being played indoors to favour Federer, despite the Australian Open traditionally being an outdoor event. Čilić later admitted that he found it difficult to adjust to the changed conditions. However, it remained disputed that who among the two players was going to be favored in indoor conditions. At the conclusion of the tournament, Čilić reached a career-high ATP ranking of No. 3. He remained at that position for 12 weeks, before being surpassed by Alexander Zverev. In the first two Masters 1000 events of the season Čilić was defeated by Philipp Kohlschreiber (at Indian Wells, in the round of 32) and John Isner, the eventual champion of Miami. In the clay-court season, Čilić played four tournaments reaching the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo, the semifinals of Rome, and the quarterfinals at the French Open. Čilić failed to defend his only title from the 2017 season at Istanbul, losing in his opening match to Malek Jaziri. This defeat marked the first time since February 2014 that Čilić had not held any tournament on the ATP Tour. At Queen's Club, Čilić was the top seed. He reached the final, where he contested a close match with Djokovic, coming out on top in three sets saving match point in the process to claim his second title at Queen's Club and second career win over Djokovic. At Wimbledon, he was drawn in the top half and was considered one of the biggest threats to Roger Federer's title defense. He was upset in the second round by Guido Pella in five sets, after comfortably winning the first two sets. During the North American summer hard-court swing, Čilić made strong showings in Toronto and Cincinnati, losing in both tournaments to the eventual champion in tight three setters (Rafael Nadal in Toronto and Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati). At the US Open, Čilić recovered from a two set deficit to defeat teenager Alex de Minaur in the third round. Čilić eventually lost in the quarterfinals against Kei Nishikori in a replay of the 2014 final. Čilić helped Croatia reach the Davis Cup finals for the second time in three years, winning one of his two singles rubbers against the USA. In October, Čilić suffered a string of early exits at Tokyo, Shanghai, and Basel. He rebounded from this trough in form at the Paris Masters reaching the quarterfinals for a third consecutive year before losing to Djokovic in three sets. By winning a set he ended the Serb's streak of 30 consecutive sets won. Čilić qualified for the Tour Finals for a third successive time and fourth time overall. His disappointing record at the event continued winning only one of his three round-robin matches, bringing his overall record at the event to . Čilić led the Croatian national team at the 2018 Davis Cup final against France on the clay courts of Lille. After comfortably defeating Tsonga in his first match, Čilić found himself in the same position he was in the 2016 final, having to win his second rubber to guarantee Croatia the title. This time however, Čilić defeated his opponent, Lucas Pouille, in straight sets to grab the decisive victory for Croatia. 2019: 500 match wins, titleless year, fall from top 30 Čilić started his year at Australian Open. In his third round match against Fernando Verdasco, Čilić saved two match points and came back from a two set deficit to advance to the fourth round. This was the seventh time in Čilić's career that he had won a match after being down two sets. In the fourth round, Čilić was upset by an in-form Roberto Bautista Agut. Over his next three tournaments, Čilić only managed to win one match, while being eliminated early at Dubai, Indian Wells, and Miami. As a result of his poor form in the early hard court season, Čilić fell from the worlds top ten for the first time in over two years. After another two winless tournaments to start the clay court season (at Monte-Carlo and Budapest), Čilić finally broke his slump at the Madrid Masters by winning three consecutive matches against Martin Kližan, Jan-Lennard Struff, & Laslo Djere on the way to the quarterfinals. However, he had to withdraw before his match against Djokovic due to food poisoning. By reaching the quarterfinals, Čilić became one of the few players on the Tour to reach the quarterfinal stage of all nine Masters 1000 tournaments. Čilić lost his second round match at both Rome and the French Open, to Jan-Lennard Struff and Grigor Dimitrov respectively. Čilić failed to defend his Queen's Club title, leaving the Croat out of the top 15 for the first time in five years. This also marked the first time since August 2008 that Čilić had not reached a tournament final in over a year. Čilić lost in the second round of Wimbledon to João Sousa in straight sets. In the North American summer hard-court season, Čilić competed in Washington, Montreal, Cincinnati, and the US Open in New York. Čilić fell from the world's top 20 after failing to match his previous year's performance at the first three events. At the US Open, Čilić reached the fourth round where he showed improvements to form during a four set loss against eventual champion Nadal. On 17 October 2019, he reached his 500th career match win at the 2019 Kremlin Cup in Moscow becoming the 10th active player in the list. Čilić ended the year ranked No. 39 in the ATP rankings. It marked the first time that he had failed to win a singles title since 2007. 2020–2021: Twenty ATP titles, Olympics doubles silver medallist, return to top 30 Čilić started the year at the 2020 Australian Open where he beat Corentin Moutet, Benoît Paire, and Roberto Bautista Agut before losing to Milos Raonic in straight sets. At the Open 13, Čilić lost in the Round of 16 to Denis Shapovalov. He lost in the first rounds of the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Cincinnati Masters to Benoît Paire and Denis Shapovalov respectively. At the 2020 US Open, he beat Denis Kudla and Norbert Gombos before losing to Dominic Thiem in four sets. He was once again defeated by Thiem in the first round of the 2020 French Open in straight sets, and in 2021, he was defeated in the second round by Roger Federer in 4 sets. He won the 2021 Stuttgart Open, defeating 3rd seed Félix Auger-Aliassime in the final in straight sets, his 19th singles title and first in three years. At Wimbledon 2021, he reached 3rd round where he was knocked out by Daniil Medvedev after winning the first two sets. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he reached the second round in singles where he lost to Pablo Carreño Busta. In the doubles tournament, together with Ivan Dodig, he reached the final, where they lost to their countrymen Mate Pavić and Nikola Mektić. It was the third time in the Olympics men's doubles' history that the same country won both gold and silver, and the first one since 1908. At the 2021 US Open he retired in the first round in the fifth set against Philipp Kohlschreiber. It was his first retirement in more than 800 matches on the tour and the first time he had failed to make it past the opening round at Flushing Meadows in 13 attempts. Čilić played at the 2021 Kremlin Cup where he reached the final seeded sixth. He beat Damir Dzumhur in three sets before defeating Tommy Paul in straight sets. He once again won in straight sets against Pedro Martínez in the quarterfinals and against Ričardis Berankis in the semifinals. He lost to Aslan Karatsev in straight sets in the final. He won the St. Petersburg Open, defeating 5th seed Taylor Fritz in a three-sets final for his 20th singles title. On the way to the title, he also defeated Albert Ramos Viñolas, Karen Khachanov, Roberto Bautista Agut and Botic van de Zandschulp. With this title he became only the sixth active player in 2021 with 20 titles after Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray and del Potro. He also returned back into the top 30 after 2 years to World No. 28 on 1 November 2021. 2022: 550th win, Historic French Open semifinal & back to top 15 At the Adelaide International 1 tournament, he recorded his 550th win and became one of only seven active players to have over 550 wins and 40th man overall in the Open Era. Čilić entered the 2022 Australian Open as the 27th seed. He defeated Emilio Gómez in the first round in straight sets, Norbert Gombos in the second round in four sets, and fifth seed Andrey Rublev in the third round in four sets. He lost to ninth seed Félix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round in four sets. At the 2022 French Open Čilić defeated Attila Balazs in the first round, Marton Fucsovics in the second, Gilles Simon in the third before taking out number 2 seed Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in the round of 16. With this result, he secured his return into the top 20 in the rankings. He won against Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals in a long five sets match with a super tiebreak in the fifth — the first ever played on Court Philippe Chatrier — winning the last 9 points in a row and lasting 4 hours and 10 minutes to reach his first semifinal at this Major. He became only the 5th active player besides the Big Four, and the first Croatian player to reach this level at all four Grand Slams. He then lost to Casper Ruud in the semifinals. At the Canadian Open he recorded his 350th hard court win, becoming only the fifth active player, behind the Big Four, to reach the milestone. At the 2022 US Open, Čilić defeated Dan Evans in the third round. In the fourth round, he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in a five set match lasting almost four hours. In October, Cilic reached the final of Tel Aviv Open, where he lost in straight sets to number 1 seed Novak Djokovic, who played his first official tournament since winning Wimbledon. As a result he returned to the top 15 in the rankings at world No. 14 on 3 October 2022. 2023: Knee injury, out of top 20 In Pune, Čilić reached the quarterfinals, but injured his knee during the tournament. As a result, he has not played a tournament since, but will return at the French Open. Clothing and equipment As of 2018 Čilić plays with the Head YouTek Radical MidPlus with a custom drilled 16x19 string pattern, painted to look like the Head Graphene Touch Prestige Mid. For strings he uses a hybrid of Babolat VS Touch mains and Luxilon ALU Power crosses. He wore Fila apparel until the 2011 season, when he got a 5-year contract with Li-Ning, switching back to Fila in 2016. At the start of the 2020 season, Čilić started wearing head apparel. Career statistics Grand Slam singles performance timeline Current through the 2022 US Open. Čilić withdrew before the second round match at the 2013 Wimbledon. Finals: 3 (1 title, 2 runners-up) References External links Official website Website about Marin Čilić ATP DEUCE Magazine: On the Rise... Marin Čilić Category:1988 births Category:Living people Category:Croatian male tennis players Category:Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Category:Bosnia and Herzegovina male tennis players Category:Croatian sportspeople in doping cases Category:Croat sportspeople from Bosnia and Herzegovina Category:French Open junior champions Category:Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Category:Olympic tennis players for Croatia Category:People from Čitluk, Bosnia and Herzegovina Category:Tennis players from Zagreb Category:People from Monte Carlo Category:Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Category:US Open (tennis) champions Category:21st-century Croatian people Category:Doping cases in tennis Category:Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles Category:Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic silver medalists for Croatia Category:Olympic medalists in tennis

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Matt Bomer

Matthew Staton Bomer (born October 11, 1977) is an American actor, producer and director. He made his television debut with Guiding Light in 2001, and gained recognition with his recurring role in the NBC television series Chuck. He played the lead role of con-artist and thief Neal Caffrey in the USA Network series White Collar from 2009 to 2014. Bomer won a Golden Globe Award and received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his supporting role as Felix Turner, opposite Mark Ruffalo, in the HBO television film The Normal Heart (2014).

2005-2009: Transition to film and breakthrough with White Collar

His screen debut occurred in the 2005 starring in the Robert Schwentke-directed German-American mystery-thriller Flightplan, opposite Jodie Foster. Bomer's character was a flight attendant. The film grossed $223.3 million dollars worldwide, becoming the seventeenth highest grossing film of the year and Bomer's most lucrative film so far. The film received mixed reviews, although the cast was chosen. In the slasher film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), the film's story takes place four years before the timeline of the 2003 film, directed by Jonathan Liebesman, Bomer portrayed Eric, a Vietnam War veteran who is driving across Texas to re-enlist after his brother is drafted. The brothers run afoul of Sheriff Hoyt and are taken captive by the Hewitt family. The film, cast, direction and screenplay were criticized by critics. Writing to Rolling Stones, Peter Travers said: "putridly written, directed and acted." The remake was in second place at the box office of American theaters in its first weekend of opening with $18.5 million. The film grossed $51.8 million worldwide. Acted in his first television film Amy Coyne (2006), where he plays Case. The film tells the story of a young woman who after her father's death inherits her sports agency. His first leading role was in the series Traveler (2007), along with Logan Marshall-Green, Aaron Stanford and Viola Davis, a short-lived midseason replacement television series which premiered on ABC on May 30, 2007, the series tells the story of two graduate students, become suspected of terrorism after a skateboarding race inside a museum. It was broadcast only one season of Traveler, the series was canceled in the middle of the fourth episode and received mixed criticism from television critics. He had a supporting role in the NBC action-comedy-spy-drama Chuck (2007-09), created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck Bartowski (played by Zachary Levi), who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). His character Bryce Larkin, was also a CIA agent, the series in its first season had very positive critics. In 2007, Bomer took on the role of Ernest Hemingway in a Williamstown Theatre Festival production of Crispin Whittell's play Villa America in Massachusetts, starring with Jennifer Mudge and Nate Corddry. 2009 marked a significant turning point in Bomer's career. Starring as the a con artist Neal Caffrey in the police procedural--drama series White Collar, he was part of an ensemble cast that included Tim DeKay, Willie Garson and Tiffani Thiessen and created by Jeff Eastin. White Collar premiered on August 23, 2009 on USA Network and was watched by more than 5.40 million people. His performance and that of the cast were praised; Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "terrific acting, crackling dialogue and geek-hip crime are not the only things that make this the most electric drama to premiere this fall." She also praised the performance of the two leads together saying they "are so easy" and "perfect together". He won a People's Choice Award at the 2015 ceremony. In addition, Bomer produced 19 episodes of White Collar along with DeKay. CANNOTANSWER

Matthew Staton Bomer (born October 11, 1977) is an American actor. He is the recipient of accolades such as a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. In 2000, he made his television debut on the long-running soap opera All My Children. Bomer graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Soon after, he had a contract role on Guiding Light, as well as appearing on primetime shows, including Tru Calling. In 2005, Bomer made his film debut in the mystery-thriller Flightplan, then in 2007 gained recognition with his recurring role in the NBC television series Chuck. 2009 saw Bomer then land the lead role of con-artist and thief Neal Caffrey in the USA Network series White Collar with the series lasting to 2014. He has featured in supporting roles in the 2011 science fiction thriller In Time, the 2012 comedy-drama Magic Mike and its 2015 sequel, the 2014 supernatural-drama Winter's Tale, and the 2016 neo-noir film The Nice Guys. In 2015, he won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for playing a closeted writer of The New York Times in the drama television film The Normal Heart about the rise of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City. Bomer made a guest appearance on the fourth season of FX's horror anthology series American Horror Story. He was later upgraded to the main cast during the fifth season. In 2017 he received praise for his performances in the drama films Walking Out, Anything, and the 2018 comedy-drama Papi Chulo. He portrays Larry Trainor in the DC Universe series Doom Patrol, which premiered in 2019. On stage, Bomer starred in the Dustin Lance Black play 8 on Broadway, and at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles as Jeff Zarrillo, a plaintiff in the federal case that overturned California's Proposition 8. In 2018 he starred in revival of the Mart Crowley play The Boys in the Band on Broadway playing Donald; he reprised his role for the 2020 film of the same name. Early life and education Matthew Staton Bomer was born in Webster Groves, Missouri, to Elizabeth Macy (née Staton) and John O'Neill Bomer IV. His father, a Dallas Cowboys draft pick, played for the team from 1972 to 1974. Matt Bomer has a sister, Megan Bomer, and a brother, Neill Bomer, who is an engineer. Bomer credits his own parents for being understanding when they sensed their young child was a little different from other kids. "I've always had an active imagination," says Bomer. He is a distant cousin to American singer Justin Timberlake. Bomer's family is of English, Welsh, Scottish, Irish, Swiss-German and French descent. Bomer was raised in Spring, Texas, and attended Klein High School; he was a classmate of Lee Pace and Lynn Collins. In high school, Bomer followed in his dad's footsteps. He played wide receiver and defensive back for his school's football team before deciding to concentrate on acting. At age 17, he made his professional stage debut as Young Collector in a production of Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire staged by the Alley Theatre in downtown Houston. He also appeared in a 1998 production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, Utah. Speaking about his first role in a production, Bomer said: I started acting professionally when I was 17. I quit the team and did a production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Alley Theatre in Houston. I used to drive down at the end of the school day, do the show, do my homework during intermission and drive an hour back to Spring to go to school the next day. Bomer attended Carnegie Mellon University with fellow actor Joe Manganiello and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2001. In 1999, Bomer worked as a bartender while spending a year living in Galway, Ireland. Career 2000–2004: Early roles Shortly after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University, Bomer moved to New York City. His television debut came in 2000 on the ABC network, when he played Ian Kipling on the 1970s drama soap opera All My Children. Two years later he made a guest appearance in the mystery fantasy series Relic Hunter (2002). In 2001, he landed a contract role on the soap opera Guiding Light. He played Ben Reade, a character connected to several core families on the show. When Bomer left the show in 2003, his exit was controversial; Ben was suddenly revealed to be a male prostitute and serial killer. He received a Gold Derby Awards for Younger Actor – Daytime Drama for his performance in the series. Years later in 2015, Bomer talked about his participation in the series, he said: "I told them to just throw the kitchen sink at me, and they did." His next role was in the supernatural drama series Tru Calling (2003–2004). Starring alongside Eliza Dushku, Bomer starred as Luc Johnston the love interest of the protagonist of the series played by Dushku, in the first season. In 2003, Bomer returned to theatre to star in a Powerhouse Theater production of Paul Weitz's play Roullete in New York. A year later, he appeared in the episode Bellport in the primetime TV show of North Shore. 2005–2009: Transition to film and breakthrough with White Collar His screen debut occurred in the 2005 starring in the Robert Schwentke directed mystery thriller Flightplan, opposite Jodie Foster. Bomer's character was a flight attendant. The film grossed $223.3 million worldwide, becoming the seventeenth highest-grossing film of the year and Bomer's most lucrative film so far. In the slasher film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), Bomer portrayed Eric, a Vietnam War veteran who is driving across Texas to re-enlist after his brother is drafted. He acted in his first television film Amy Coyne (2006); he plays the role of Case. The film tells the story of a young woman who inherits her father's sports agency. His first leading role was in the series Traveler (2007), along with Logan Marshall-Green, Aaron Stanford and Viola Davis, a short-lived midseason replacement television series which premiered on ABC on May 30, 2007, the series tells the story of two graduate students, become suspected of terrorism after a skateboarding race inside a museum. The series was canceled after eight episodes. He had a supporting role in the NBC action comedy spy-drama Chuck (2007–09). The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck Bartowski (played by Zachary Levi), who receives an encoded e-mail from Bomer's character, Bryce Larkin, an old college friend now working for the CIA. In 2007, Bomer took on the role of Ernest Hemingway in a Williamstown Theatre Festival production of Crispin Whittell's play Villa America in Massachusetts, starring in it with Jennifer Mudge and Nate Corddry. 2009 marked a significant turning point in Bomer's career as he starred as the con artist Neal Caffrey in the police procedural drama series White Collar. He was part of an ensemble cast that included Tim DeKay, Willie Garson, and Tiffani Thiessen. White Collar premiered on August 23, 2009, on USA Network and was watched by more than 5.40 million people. His performance as well as the rest of the cast were praised; Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "terrific acting, crackling dialogue and geek-hip crime are not the only things that make this the most electric drama to premiere this fall." She also liked the performance of the two leads together saying they "are so easy" and "perfect together". He won a People's Choice Award at the 2015 ceremony. Additionally Bomer produced 19 episodes of White Collar along with DeKay. 2010–2015: Recognition 2010 began with Bomer invited to sing with actress and Tony Award winning singer Kelli O'Hara at the Kennedy Center Honors. In September 2011, Bomer starred in Dustin Lance Black's play, 8, a staged re-enactment of the federal trial that overturned California's Proposition 8. Bomer starred as Jeff Zarrillo. The production was directed by actor Joe Mantello and presented at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York City. In March 2012, he was featured in the Wilshire Ebell Theatre production as well. In 2011, Bomer was cast as a 105-year-old man in Andrew Niccol's science fiction thriller film In Time, starring alongside Justin Timberlake. On April 10, 2012, Bomer made a guest appearance in the third season of the television series Glee, playing Blaine's older brother, Cooper Anderson, a Hollywood commercials actor who comes to Lima for a visit, and while in town gives an acting masterclass to New Directions. His performance on Glee received critical acclaim; critic Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club described his performance as "absolutely fantastic." Crystal Bell of the Huffington Post called his appearance "perfectly cast" and Bomer as one of her favorite guest stars. For this performance on Glee, he won a Gold Derby award in the category of Best Comedy Guest Actor. For his next film, Bomer starred opposite Channing Tatum in Steven Soderbergh's comedy drama Magic Mike (2012). He studied with a group called Hollywood Men in Los Angeles to prepare for the role. The film premiered as the closing film for the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival on June 24, 2012. Magic Mike was a critical success and his performance was praised. Sara Stewart of the Bomer and Tatum were nominated for the MTV Movie & TV Awards at the 2013 ceremony in Best Musical Moment category. Bomer made two appearances in 2013, the first as a guest performer on the NBC sitcom The New Normal, portraying the role Monty, ex-boyfriend of the protagonist of the series Bryan Collins played by Andrew Rannells. The second was to voice Superman in the direct to video Superman: Unbound, based on the 2008 comic book story "Superman: Brainiac" by Geoff Johns. His voiceover assured him an invitation to the Behind the Voice Actors Awards in 2013. In 2014, Bomer appeared in five projects. His first two releases, Winter's Tale, and Space Station 76, were commercially unsuccessful. The first film, a romantic and supernatural fantasy drama film, was written and directed by Akiva Goldsman, and based on Mark Helprin's novel Winter's Tale. Bomer plays the young father of Colin Farrell's character. Winter's Tale received negative reviews. His second release of the year was in the black space fiction comedy Space Station 76 by Jack Plotnick, alongside Liv Tyler and Patrick Wilson. James Rocchi of The Wrap said; "all the performers are game" and the performance of Bomer; "as a melancholy engineer with a prosthetic hand that looks like a Nintendo Power Glove". Bomer's next project involved Ryan Murphy casting him opposite Mark Ruffalo, Jim Parsons and Julia Roberts in the drama romance film The Normal Heart (2014). Based on Larry Kramer's play of the same name, it featured Bomer as a closeted writer of The New York Times and love interest of Ruffalo's character. The film shows the rise of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks (Ruffalo), the founder of a prominent HIV advocacy group. The production of The Normal Heart stopped for a few months while he was on a diet. Bomer's performance was praised by a reviewer for The Hollywood Reporter, who considered his acting as the highlight of the production. Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe noticed that Bomer is: "quite simply, devastating in this movie, his beauty adding resonance because it begins to fade so suddenly, as his cheeks protrude and lesions gather." Gilbert also lauded the chemistry between Bomer and Ruffalo saying that: "is among the movie's strengths, too, as it provides the core of love and compassion amid all the acrimony." Bomer received his first Golden Globe Award in the Best Supporting Actor category and his first Primetime Emmy Awards nomination. After narrating the documentary Hunted: The War Against Gays in Russia, following LGBT people in Russia. later that year, Bomer was cast by Murphy in "Pink Cupcakes", an episode in the fourth season of American Horror Story. His participation was described by Lauren Piester of E! Online as "one of the show's most shocking moments". Bomer's first release of 2015 was Magic Mike XXL, a sequel to the popular 2012 film, again featuring Channing Tatum and Joe Manganiello. Magic Mike XXL grossed $122 million worldwide. Reviewing the film for Rolling Stones, Peter Travers noted that; "the movie is just a rambling, loosey-goosey road trip, with Bomer and Manganiello getting extra time to shine." He also sang two songs for the film's soundtrack: "Heaven" and "Untitled (How Does It Feel)". After Bomer's participation in American Horror Story: Freak Show; Murphy put him in the main cast of the fifth season, American Horror Story: Hotel. Bomer plays the son of Iris (Kathy Bates) and the lover of the Countess (Lady Gaga). 2016–present: Professional expansion, independent films and Broadway Bomer appeared in two films in 2016. He played for the first time a villain in the movie The Nice Guys, as a psycho killer named John Boy. Directed by Shane Black, starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe. Gosling and Bomer were at the premiere of the film at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016. The Nice Guys generated positive reviews and enjoyed moderate box office success. His next role was as Matthew Cullen in Antoine Fuqua's Western action film The Magnificent Seven, playing the farmer husband of Haley Bennett's character. The film received mixed reviews from critics, although the cast and action sequences were praised, and grossed $162.4 million worldwide. He was cast as Monroe Stahr, the lead in Billy Ray's 2016 series The Last Tycoon, loosely based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel of the same name, along with actors Kelsey Grammer, Lily Collins, and Dominique McElligott. In 2017, he starred in Alex & Andrew Smith's drama Walking Out, as an estranged father to a 14-year-old son (played by Josh Wiggins). He said that he related to the character "in a really profound way.” Walking Out was screened in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was released on October 6, 2017. Justin Chang of Los Angeles Times noted that he "steps confidently into the boots of a rugged, know-it-all mountain man whose idea of tough love can turn unexpectedly toward tenderness around a flickering campfire." David Ehrlich of IndieWire stated that Bomer fortunately plays against his "pretty boy type so convincingly that you might forget where you’ve even seen him before", concluding that Bomer "gives a commanding performance in a movie that fails to realize how evocative he is, the Smiths defaulting to flashbacks that show us less about cowboys and gender codes than we can glean from the wild look in its lead actor’s face. The Village Voice included his performance in the film in a list of the 17 Most Overlooked Performances of 2017. Timothy McNeil's drama Anything marked Bomer's final film release of 2017 and McNeil making his feature directorial debut. Bomer was cast as Freda Von Rhenburg, a transgender sex worker who lives in Los Angeles and begins a relationship with her neighbor, Early Landry (played by John Carroll Lynch). Anything is based on McNeil’s play of the same name. He has received some criticism from the transgender community for the casting of a cisgender man, to play a transgender woman. Jon Frosch of The Hollywood Reporter felt that Bomer: "gives a performance of real warmth and delicacy," saying that: "rather than play Freda as a force of nature or a collection of mannerisms—the typical default modes of actors playing trans women—Bomer renders her fully dimensional: an unpredictable tangle of impulses, by turns defensive and tender." Anything had its release at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 17, 2017. In 2018, Bomer began working on his directorial debut on series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Written by Tom Rob Smith and starring Jon Jon Briones and Darren Criss, in the roles of father and son, respectively, the episode that Bomer directs is titled "Creator/Destroyer". The episode was watched by more than 1 million people. Bomer had other opportunities to direct before but always wanted to wait for the optimum chance to immerse himself in a project. He read 3,000 pages of books on directing. He found a part in a 2018 revival of the Mart Crowley play The Boys in the Band, which was staged at Booth Theatre and marked his Broadway debut. Directed by Joe Mantello, it tells the story a group of gay men who gather for a birthday party in New York City. Theater critic Michael Sommers noted that "Matt Bomer tends to fade in the glare of flashier personalities, but he lends the character a watchful quality as one of those deferential souls who is content to observe others." The play won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Bomer's first film in 2018 was Bill Oliver's science fiction film Jonathan. His role was that of a detective who appears in only one scene of the film. Jonathan had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2018. Two of Bomer's films in 2018 premiered at the 43rd Toronto International Film Festivalthe comedy drama Papi Chulo and the drama Viper Club. In the former, Bomer plays Sean, a local network television weather forecaster. A reviewer for Screen Daily argued that Bomer is "terrific" and concluded that "while he may not yet have the name recognition to act as a key selling point for this film, it’s the kind of performance which gets noticed". In Viper Club, Bomer played Sam, a journalist who helps Helen (played by Susan Sarandon), to save her son who was kidnapped by a group of terrorists. He had a guest starring role on the NBC series Will & Grace (2018–2019) and he also appeared as Negative Man in the DC Universe superhero series, Doom Patrol (2019). In 2020, Bomer portrayed Jamie Burns on the USA Network anthology series The Sinner. Public image Bomer has been noted for his looks, and is regarded as a sex symbol. BuddyTV ranked him first on its list of "TV's Sexiest Men of 2011" and third in 2012. In June 2013, Bomer was ranked at no. 2 on Logos Hot 100 list, which is based on the votes of readers of the AfterEllen.com and TheBacklot.com. Bomer was the list's highest ranked man and second only to Jennifer Lawrence. Personal life Bomer married publicist Simon Halls in 2011; the marriage became public through the media only in 2014. In an interview discussing his marriage, Bomer said that his marriage to Halls was a very small event in New York City: "It was very chill and very small–just our closest and dear ones. There is a security, a validity. It's just a feeling, I think–something about saying vows in front of the people around you who love and support you. I think it was good for our family." The couple has three children conceived through surrogacy: Kit Bomer Halls (b. 2005), and then twin brothers, Walker and Henry Bomer Halls (b. 2008). Bomer publicly came out as gay in 2012, when he thanked Halls and their children during an acceptance speech for his Steve Chase Humanitarian Award. Also in 2012, Bomer was given an Inspiration Award for his work at the GLSEN Awards. He is an LGBT rights activist. In 2018, Bomer campaigned for Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke in the U.S. Senate election in Texas. Bomer has been practicing Transcendental Meditation since his early 20s; in 2013 he spoke of his support for the work of the David Lynch Foundation. Acting credits and awards According to the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes and box-office website The Numbers, Bomer's most critically and commercially successful films include Flightplan (2005), In Time (2011), Magic Mike (2012), Superman: Unbound (2013), The Normal Heart (2014), Magic Mike XXL (2015), The Magnificent Seven (2016), The Nice Guys (2016) and Walking Out (2017). Among his stage roles, he has appeared in a Broadway revival of The Boys in the Band (2018). Throughout his career, Bomer has already won and been nominated for several awards, notably his Golden Globe Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actor-Series, Miniseries or Television Film, winning the prize in 2015, an indication to the Primetime Emmy Awards of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie and the Critics' Choice Television Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries in 2014, winning the award that year. See also LGBT culture in New York City References External links Category:1977 births Category:20th-century American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors Category:American male film actors Category:American male soap opera actors Category:American male stage actors Category:American male television actors Category:American male voice actors Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Category:Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni Category:American gay actors Category:American LGBT rights activists Category:LGBT people from Missouri Category:LGBT people from Texas Category:Living people Category:Male actors from Texas Category:People from Spring, Texas Category:People from St. Louis County, Missouri Category:Klein High School alumni Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of French descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American people of Swiss-German descent Category:American people of Welsh descent

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Matt Bomer

Matthew Staton Bomer (born October 11, 1977) is an American actor, producer and director. He made his television debut with Guiding Light in 2001, and gained recognition with his recurring role in the NBC television series Chuck. He played the lead role of con-artist and thief Neal Caffrey in the USA Network series White Collar from 2009 to 2014. Bomer won a Golden Globe Award and received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his supporting role as Felix Turner, opposite Mark Ruffalo, in the HBO television film The Normal Heart (2014).

Early life and education

Matthew Staton Bomer was born on October 11, 1977 in Webster Groves, Missouri, to Elizabeth Macy (nee Staton) and John O'Neill Bomer IV, a Dallas Cowboys draft pick. His father, John Bomer, played for the Dallas Cowboys from 1972 to 1974. He has a sister Megan Bomer and a brother Neill Bomer, who is an engineer. Bomer credits his own parents for being understanding when they sensed their young child was a little different from other kids. "I've always had an active imagination," says Bomer. He is a distant cousin to American singer Justin Timberlake, with whom he starred in the movie In Time in 2011. Timberlake and Bomer share common descent from Edward Bomer, who was born in 1690. Bomer's ancestry includes English, as well as Welsh, Scots-Irish, Scottish, Irish, Swiss-German, and German. In 1995, at age 17, Bomer made his professional stage debut as Young Collector in a production of Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) staged by Alley Theatre, a company in the Downtown, Houston, at the Texas. A few years later he returned to the stage in 1998 in a re-presentation of the play Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice in the play he lived Issachar - who was represented at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, Utah. Speaking about his first role in a production, Bomer said: I started acting professionally when I was 17. I quit the team and did a production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Alley Theatre in Houston. I used to drive down at the end of the school day, do the show, do my homework during intermission and drive an hour back to Spring to go to school the next day. He grew up in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston, and attended its Klein High School in 1996, where he was a classmate of future actor Lee Pace and actress Lynn Collins. Pace and Bomer both acted at Houston's Alley Theatre, a non-profit theatre company. Bomer was nurtured throughout middle school by a theater arts teacher who taught him to improvise and give life to the characters he had created in his mind. His senior year, Bomer received a scholarship for some of his monologue performances, which led to his acceptance at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Where he graduated in 2001, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, along with his friend and also actor Joe Manganiello. CANNOTANSWER

Matthew Staton Bomer (born October 11, 1977) is an American actor. He is the recipient of accolades such as a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. In 2000, he made his television debut on the long-running soap opera All My Children. Bomer graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Soon after, he had a contract role on Guiding Light, as well as appearing on primetime shows, including Tru Calling. In 2005, Bomer made his film debut in the mystery-thriller Flightplan, then in 2007 gained recognition with his recurring role in the NBC television series Chuck. 2009 saw Bomer then land the lead role of con-artist and thief Neal Caffrey in the USA Network series White Collar with the series lasting to 2014. He has featured in supporting roles in the 2011 science fiction thriller In Time, the 2012 comedy-drama Magic Mike and its 2015 sequel, the 2014 supernatural-drama Winter's Tale, and the 2016 neo-noir film The Nice Guys. In 2015, he won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for playing a closeted writer of The New York Times in the drama television film The Normal Heart about the rise of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City. Bomer made a guest appearance on the fourth season of FX's horror anthology series American Horror Story. He was later upgraded to the main cast during the fifth season. In 2017 he received praise for his performances in the drama films Walking Out, Anything, and the 2018 comedy-drama Papi Chulo. He portrays Larry Trainor in the DC Universe series Doom Patrol, which premiered in 2019. On stage, Bomer starred in the Dustin Lance Black play 8 on Broadway, and at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles as Jeff Zarrillo, a plaintiff in the federal case that overturned California's Proposition 8. In 2018 he starred in revival of the Mart Crowley play The Boys in the Band on Broadway playing Donald; he reprised his role for the 2020 film of the same name. Early life and education Matthew Staton Bomer was born in Webster Groves, Missouri, to Elizabeth Macy (née Staton) and John O'Neill Bomer IV. His father, a Dallas Cowboys draft pick, played for the team from 1972 to 1974. Matt Bomer has a sister, Megan Bomer, and a brother, Neill Bomer, who is an engineer. Bomer credits his own parents for being understanding when they sensed their young child was a little different from other kids. "I've always had an active imagination," says Bomer. He is a distant cousin to American singer Justin Timberlake. Bomer's family is of English, Welsh, Scottish, Irish, Swiss-German and French descent. Bomer was raised in Spring, Texas, and attended Klein High School; he was a classmate of Lee Pace and Lynn Collins. In high school, Bomer followed in his dad's footsteps. He played wide receiver and defensive back for his school's football team before deciding to concentrate on acting. At age 17, he made his professional stage debut as Young Collector in a production of Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire staged by the Alley Theatre in downtown Houston. He also appeared in a 1998 production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, Utah. Speaking about his first role in a production, Bomer said: I started acting professionally when I was 17. I quit the team and did a production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Alley Theatre in Houston. I used to drive down at the end of the school day, do the show, do my homework during intermission and drive an hour back to Spring to go to school the next day. Bomer attended Carnegie Mellon University with fellow actor Joe Manganiello and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2001. In 1999, Bomer worked as a bartender while spending a year living in Galway, Ireland. Career 2000–2004: Early roles Shortly after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University, Bomer moved to New York City. His television debut came in 2000 on the ABC network, when he played Ian Kipling on the 1970s drama soap opera All My Children. Two years later he made a guest appearance in the mystery fantasy series Relic Hunter (2002). In 2001, he landed a contract role on the soap opera Guiding Light. He played Ben Reade, a character connected to several core families on the show. When Bomer left the show in 2003, his exit was controversial; Ben was suddenly revealed to be a male prostitute and serial killer. He received a Gold Derby Awards for Younger Actor – Daytime Drama for his performance in the series. Years later in 2015, Bomer talked about his participation in the series, he said: "I told them to just throw the kitchen sink at me, and they did." His next role was in the supernatural drama series Tru Calling (2003–2004). Starring alongside Eliza Dushku, Bomer starred as Luc Johnston the love interest of the protagonist of the series played by Dushku, in the first season. In 2003, Bomer returned to theatre to star in a Powerhouse Theater production of Paul Weitz's play Roullete in New York. A year later, he appeared in the episode Bellport in the primetime TV show of North Shore. 2005–2009: Transition to film and breakthrough with White Collar His screen debut occurred in the 2005 starring in the Robert Schwentke directed mystery thriller Flightplan, opposite Jodie Foster. Bomer's character was a flight attendant. The film grossed $223.3 million worldwide, becoming the seventeenth highest-grossing film of the year and Bomer's most lucrative film so far. In the slasher film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), Bomer portrayed Eric, a Vietnam War veteran who is driving across Texas to re-enlist after his brother is drafted. He acted in his first television film Amy Coyne (2006); he plays the role of Case. The film tells the story of a young woman who inherits her father's sports agency. His first leading role was in the series Traveler (2007), along with Logan Marshall-Green, Aaron Stanford and Viola Davis, a short-lived midseason replacement television series which premiered on ABC on May 30, 2007, the series tells the story of two graduate students, become suspected of terrorism after a skateboarding race inside a museum. The series was canceled after eight episodes. He had a supporting role in the NBC action comedy spy-drama Chuck (2007–09). The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck Bartowski (played by Zachary Levi), who receives an encoded e-mail from Bomer's character, Bryce Larkin, an old college friend now working for the CIA. In 2007, Bomer took on the role of Ernest Hemingway in a Williamstown Theatre Festival production of Crispin Whittell's play Villa America in Massachusetts, starring in it with Jennifer Mudge and Nate Corddry. 2009 marked a significant turning point in Bomer's career as he starred as the con artist Neal Caffrey in the police procedural drama series White Collar. He was part of an ensemble cast that included Tim DeKay, Willie Garson, and Tiffani Thiessen. White Collar premiered on August 23, 2009, on USA Network and was watched by more than 5.40 million people. His performance as well as the rest of the cast were praised; Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "terrific acting, crackling dialogue and geek-hip crime are not the only things that make this the most electric drama to premiere this fall." She also liked the performance of the two leads together saying they "are so easy" and "perfect together". He won a People's Choice Award at the 2015 ceremony. Additionally Bomer produced 19 episodes of White Collar along with DeKay. 2010–2015: Recognition 2010 began with Bomer invited to sing with actress and Tony Award winning singer Kelli O'Hara at the Kennedy Center Honors. In September 2011, Bomer starred in Dustin Lance Black's play, 8, a staged re-enactment of the federal trial that overturned California's Proposition 8. Bomer starred as Jeff Zarrillo. The production was directed by actor Joe Mantello and presented at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York City. In March 2012, he was featured in the Wilshire Ebell Theatre production as well. In 2011, Bomer was cast as a 105-year-old man in Andrew Niccol's science fiction thriller film In Time, starring alongside Justin Timberlake. On April 10, 2012, Bomer made a guest appearance in the third season of the television series Glee, playing Blaine's older brother, Cooper Anderson, a Hollywood commercials actor who comes to Lima for a visit, and while in town gives an acting masterclass to New Directions. His performance on Glee received critical acclaim; critic Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club described his performance as "absolutely fantastic." Crystal Bell of the Huffington Post called his appearance "perfectly cast" and Bomer as one of her favorite guest stars. For this performance on Glee, he won a Gold Derby award in the category of Best Comedy Guest Actor. For his next film, Bomer starred opposite Channing Tatum in Steven Soderbergh's comedy drama Magic Mike (2012). He studied with a group called Hollywood Men in Los Angeles to prepare for the role. The film premiered as the closing film for the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival on June 24, 2012. Magic Mike was a critical success and his performance was praised. Sara Stewart of the Bomer and Tatum were nominated for the MTV Movie & TV Awards at the 2013 ceremony in Best Musical Moment category. Bomer made two appearances in 2013, the first as a guest performer on the NBC sitcom The New Normal, portraying the role Monty, ex-boyfriend of the protagonist of the series Bryan Collins played by Andrew Rannells. The second was to voice Superman in the direct to video Superman: Unbound, based on the 2008 comic book story "Superman: Brainiac" by Geoff Johns. His voiceover assured him an invitation to the Behind the Voice Actors Awards in 2013. In 2014, Bomer appeared in five projects. His first two releases, Winter's Tale, and Space Station 76, were commercially unsuccessful. The first film, a romantic and supernatural fantasy drama film, was written and directed by Akiva Goldsman, and based on Mark Helprin's novel Winter's Tale. Bomer plays the young father of Colin Farrell's character. Winter's Tale received negative reviews. His second release of the year was in the black space fiction comedy Space Station 76 by Jack Plotnick, alongside Liv Tyler and Patrick Wilson. James Rocchi of The Wrap said; "all the performers are game" and the performance of Bomer; "as a melancholy engineer with a prosthetic hand that looks like a Nintendo Power Glove". Bomer's next project involved Ryan Murphy casting him opposite Mark Ruffalo, Jim Parsons and Julia Roberts in the drama romance film The Normal Heart (2014). Based on Larry Kramer's play of the same name, it featured Bomer as a closeted writer of The New York Times and love interest of Ruffalo's character. The film shows the rise of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks (Ruffalo), the founder of a prominent HIV advocacy group. The production of The Normal Heart stopped for a few months while he was on a diet. Bomer's performance was praised by a reviewer for The Hollywood Reporter, who considered his acting as the highlight of the production. Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe noticed that Bomer is: "quite simply, devastating in this movie, his beauty adding resonance because it begins to fade so suddenly, as his cheeks protrude and lesions gather." Gilbert also lauded the chemistry between Bomer and Ruffalo saying that: "is among the movie's strengths, too, as it provides the core of love and compassion amid all the acrimony." Bomer received his first Golden Globe Award in the Best Supporting Actor category and his first Primetime Emmy Awards nomination. After narrating the documentary Hunted: The War Against Gays in Russia, following LGBT people in Russia. later that year, Bomer was cast by Murphy in "Pink Cupcakes", an episode in the fourth season of American Horror Story. His participation was described by Lauren Piester of E! Online as "one of the show's most shocking moments". Bomer's first release of 2015 was Magic Mike XXL, a sequel to the popular 2012 film, again featuring Channing Tatum and Joe Manganiello. Magic Mike XXL grossed $122 million worldwide. Reviewing the film for Rolling Stones, Peter Travers noted that; "the movie is just a rambling, loosey-goosey road trip, with Bomer and Manganiello getting extra time to shine." He also sang two songs for the film's soundtrack: "Heaven" and "Untitled (How Does It Feel)". After Bomer's participation in American Horror Story: Freak Show; Murphy put him in the main cast of the fifth season, American Horror Story: Hotel. Bomer plays the son of Iris (Kathy Bates) and the lover of the Countess (Lady Gaga). 2016–present: Professional expansion, independent films and Broadway Bomer appeared in two films in 2016. He played for the first time a villain in the movie The Nice Guys, as a psycho killer named John Boy. Directed by Shane Black, starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe. Gosling and Bomer were at the premiere of the film at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016. The Nice Guys generated positive reviews and enjoyed moderate box office success. His next role was as Matthew Cullen in Antoine Fuqua's Western action film The Magnificent Seven, playing the farmer husband of Haley Bennett's character. The film received mixed reviews from critics, although the cast and action sequences were praised, and grossed $162.4 million worldwide. He was cast as Monroe Stahr, the lead in Billy Ray's 2016 series The Last Tycoon, loosely based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel of the same name, along with actors Kelsey Grammer, Lily Collins, and Dominique McElligott. In 2017, he starred in Alex & Andrew Smith's drama Walking Out, as an estranged father to a 14-year-old son (played by Josh Wiggins). He said that he related to the character "in a really profound way.” Walking Out was screened in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was released on October 6, 2017. Justin Chang of Los Angeles Times noted that he "steps confidently into the boots of a rugged, know-it-all mountain man whose idea of tough love can turn unexpectedly toward tenderness around a flickering campfire." David Ehrlich of IndieWire stated that Bomer fortunately plays against his "pretty boy type so convincingly that you might forget where you’ve even seen him before", concluding that Bomer "gives a commanding performance in a movie that fails to realize how evocative he is, the Smiths defaulting to flashbacks that show us less about cowboys and gender codes than we can glean from the wild look in its lead actor’s face. The Village Voice included his performance in the film in a list of the 17 Most Overlooked Performances of 2017. Timothy McNeil's drama Anything marked Bomer's final film release of 2017 and McNeil making his feature directorial debut. Bomer was cast as Freda Von Rhenburg, a transgender sex worker who lives in Los Angeles and begins a relationship with her neighbor, Early Landry (played by John Carroll Lynch). Anything is based on McNeil’s play of the same name. He has received some criticism from the transgender community for the casting of a cisgender man, to play a transgender woman. Jon Frosch of The Hollywood Reporter felt that Bomer: "gives a performance of real warmth and delicacy," saying that: "rather than play Freda as a force of nature or a collection of mannerisms—the typical default modes of actors playing trans women—Bomer renders her fully dimensional: an unpredictable tangle of impulses, by turns defensive and tender." Anything had its release at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 17, 2017. In 2018, Bomer began working on his directorial debut on series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Written by Tom Rob Smith and starring Jon Jon Briones and Darren Criss, in the roles of father and son, respectively, the episode that Bomer directs is titled "Creator/Destroyer". The episode was watched by more than 1 million people. Bomer had other opportunities to direct before but always wanted to wait for the optimum chance to immerse himself in a project. He read 3,000 pages of books on directing. He found a part in a 2018 revival of the Mart Crowley play The Boys in the Band, which was staged at Booth Theatre and marked his Broadway debut. Directed by Joe Mantello, it tells the story a group of gay men who gather for a birthday party in New York City. Theater critic Michael Sommers noted that "Matt Bomer tends to fade in the glare of flashier personalities, but he lends the character a watchful quality as one of those deferential souls who is content to observe others." The play won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Bomer's first film in 2018 was Bill Oliver's science fiction film Jonathan. His role was that of a detective who appears in only one scene of the film. Jonathan had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2018. Two of Bomer's films in 2018 premiered at the 43rd Toronto International Film Festivalthe comedy drama Papi Chulo and the drama Viper Club. In the former, Bomer plays Sean, a local network television weather forecaster. A reviewer for Screen Daily argued that Bomer is "terrific" and concluded that "while he may not yet have the name recognition to act as a key selling point for this film, it’s the kind of performance which gets noticed". In Viper Club, Bomer played Sam, a journalist who helps Helen (played by Susan Sarandon), to save her son who was kidnapped by a group of terrorists. He had a guest starring role on the NBC series Will & Grace (2018–2019) and he also appeared as Negative Man in the DC Universe superhero series, Doom Patrol (2019). In 2020, Bomer portrayed Jamie Burns on the USA Network anthology series The Sinner. Public image Bomer has been noted for his looks, and is regarded as a sex symbol. BuddyTV ranked him first on its list of "TV's Sexiest Men of 2011" and third in 2012. In June 2013, Bomer was ranked at no. 2 on Logos Hot 100 list, which is based on the votes of readers of the AfterEllen.com and TheBacklot.com. Bomer was the list's highest ranked man and second only to Jennifer Lawrence. Personal life Bomer married publicist Simon Halls in 2011; the marriage became public through the media only in 2014. In an interview discussing his marriage, Bomer said that his marriage to Halls was a very small event in New York City: "It was very chill and very small–just our closest and dear ones. There is a security, a validity. It's just a feeling, I think–something about saying vows in front of the people around you who love and support you. I think it was good for our family." The couple has three children conceived through surrogacy: Kit Bomer Halls (b. 2005), and then twin brothers, Walker and Henry Bomer Halls (b. 2008). Bomer publicly came out as gay in 2012, when he thanked Halls and their children during an acceptance speech for his Steve Chase Humanitarian Award. Also in 2012, Bomer was given an Inspiration Award for his work at the GLSEN Awards. He is an LGBT rights activist. In 2018, Bomer campaigned for Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke in the U.S. Senate election in Texas. Bomer has been practicing Transcendental Meditation since his early 20s; in 2013 he spoke of his support for the work of the David Lynch Foundation. Acting credits and awards According to the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes and box-office website The Numbers, Bomer's most critically and commercially successful films include Flightplan (2005), In Time (2011), Magic Mike (2012), Superman: Unbound (2013), The Normal Heart (2014), Magic Mike XXL (2015), The Magnificent Seven (2016), The Nice Guys (2016) and Walking Out (2017). Among his stage roles, he has appeared in a Broadway revival of The Boys in the Band (2018). Throughout his career, Bomer has already won and been nominated for several awards, notably his Golden Globe Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actor-Series, Miniseries or Television Film, winning the prize in 2015, an indication to the Primetime Emmy Awards of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie and the Critics' Choice Television Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries in 2014, winning the award that year. See also LGBT culture in New York City References External links Category:1977 births Category:20th-century American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors Category:American male film actors Category:American male soap opera actors Category:American male stage actors Category:American male television actors Category:American male voice actors Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Category:Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni Category:American gay actors Category:American LGBT rights activists Category:LGBT people from Missouri Category:LGBT people from Texas Category:Living people Category:Male actors from Texas Category:People from Spring, Texas Category:People from St. Louis County, Missouri Category:Klein High School alumni Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of French descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American people of Swiss-German descent Category:American people of Welsh descent

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Legion (Marvel Comics)

Legion (David Charles Haller) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the mutant son of Professor Charles Xavier and Gabrielle Haller. Legion takes the role of an antihero who has a severe mental illness including a form of dissociative identity disorder, in which each of his alternate personas controls one of his many superpowers. The television series Legion premiered on FX network in 2017.

Fictional character biography

Charles Xavier met Gabrielle Haller while he was working in an Israeli psychiatric facility where she was one of his patients. Xavier was secretly using his psychic powers to ease the pain of Holocaust survivors institutionalized there. The two had an affair that resulted in the birth of their son David. Xavier was initially unaware of this, as Gabrielle never told him she was pregnant. When he was very young, David was among the victims of a terrorist attack, in which he was the only survivor. The trauma of the situation caused David to manifest his mutant powers, incinerating the minds of the terrorists. In the process, he absorbed the mind of the terrorist leader, Jemail Karami, into his own. Being linked to so many others at their time of death, he was rendered catatonic, and remained in the care of Moira MacTaggert at the Muir Island mutant research facility. The trauma caused David's personality to splinter, with each of the personalities controlling a different aspect of his psionic power. Karami struggled for years to separate his consciousness from David's. Using David's telepathic abilities, he reintegrated the multiple personalities into David's core personality. Some of the personalities resisted Karami, and two proved to be formidable opponents: Jack Wayne, a swaggering adventurer, who commands David's telekinetic power, and Cyndi, a temperamental, rebellious girl who controls David's pyrokinetic power. Wayne intended to destroy Karami's consciousness to preserve his own independent existence within David's mind. Neither personality succeeds, and Karami, Wayne, and Cyndi continue as David's dominant personalities. During his time at Muir Island, David emerged from his catatonia. Soon after, David was possessed by the Shadow King, who used his powers to psychically increase the amount of hatred in the world and feed on the malignant energy. During this time, the Shadow King, as David, killed the mutant Destiny. The X-Men and X-Factor fought the Shadow King, and as a result, David was left in a coma. CANNOTANSWER

Legion (David Charles Haller) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the mutant son of Charles Xavier and Gabrielle Haller. Legion takes the role of an antihero who has a severe mental illness, including a form of dissociative identity disorder in which each of his identities exhibits different mutant abilities or powers. The character was portrayed by Dan Stevens in the critically acclaimed FX television series Legion (2017–19), which was developed, written, directed, and produced by Noah Hawley. Publication history Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bill Sienkiewicz, Legion first appeared as an abstract photo in the notes of Moira MacTaggert after the conclusion of New Mutants #25 (March 1985). He fully appeared for the first time in the following issue, New Mutants # 26 (April 1985), in his debut story: "Legion." In 1991, Legion was assigned to be a co-starring character in the newly revamped X-Factor, as a member of the eponymous superteam. However, writer Peter David was uncomfortable with this, and ultimately editor Bob Harras independently came to the conclusion that Legion should not be used in the series. David explained "I don't mind building a story around [Legion], but working him into a group – you're really asking for a bit much from the reader. Believing that a group of people will come together to form a team is enough of a suspension of disbelief... 'Oh, by the way, one of them is so nuts he shouldn't be setting foot off Muir Island'... that's asking the reader to bend so far he will break." Fictional character biography While working in an Israeli psychiatric facility, Charles Xavier met a patient named Gabrielle Haller. The two had an affair which ended amicably. Gabrielle became pregnant with David, but did not tell Charles. David, at a young age, was living with his mother and stepfather in Paris when his home was attacked by terrorists and his stepfather was killed. The trauma of the situation caused an initial manifestation of David's mutant powers, as David incinerated the minds of the terrorists. In the process, he unintentionally absorbed the mind of the terrorist leader, Jemail Karami, into his own. Being linked to so many others at their time of death, David was rendered catatonic for years. As he slowly recovered, he was moved to the care of Moira MacTaggert at the Muir Island mutant research facility. The trauma (possibly in conjunction with the nature of his reality-altering powers) caused David's mind to dissociate chronically until it became Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), each alter manifesting different mutant abilities. The Karami alter, which manifested telepathic abilities, struggled for years to separate his consciousness from David's. In the process, Karami tried to unifique many alters has he could trying to end David's catatonic state. Some of the alters resisted Karami, most notably Jack Wayne, a swaggering adventurer who was telekinetic, and Cyndi, a temperamental, rebellious girl who was pyrokinetic. Ultimately Karami, Wayne, and Cyndi continued to exist as David's most prominent alters. During his time at Muir Island, David saved Moira and Wolfsbane from a fatal accident by accessing the telekinetic abilities of his Jack Wayne alter. However, this allowed Jack Wayne to take control of David's body, and he left the island. The New Mutants tracked him down and, after a struggle, convinced Wayne to allow David to again assume control. Soon after, David was possessed by the Shadow King. While under the Shadow King's influence, David killed the mutant Destiny and destroyed 2/3 of the island. When the X-Men and X-Factor defeated the Shadow King, David was again left in a coma. Legion Quest/Age of Apocalypse Years later, David awoke from his coma believing his psyche fully healed. When he had killed the mutant precog Destiny, David had absorbed her psyche. Destiny gave David vague prophetic guidance about the great world that could exist "if only, years ago, Professor X had been given a real chance to fulfill his dream." David, who despite his belief that he was not sane, understood these words as a directive to travel back in time and kill Magneto, Xavier's greatest adversary, to allow his father Professor X to achieve the dream of human-mutant coexistence. As several X-Men attempted to stop him, Legion traveled twenty years into the past, accidentally dragging the X-Men with him. David appeared in the past in front of Xavier and Magneto, who at the time were orderlies in a mental hospital. As Legion attacked Magneto, the X-Men intervened. After overpowering the X-Men, Legion readied his fatal blow for Magneto, but Xavier leaped in front of the lethal psychic attack and was himself killed. By accidentally killing his father, the horrified David prevented his own birth and ceased to exist. The death of Xavier created a catastrophic alternate timeline, the Age of Apocalypse. Ultimately, Bishop managed to fix the timeline by enlisting the aid of the new reality's X-Men to travel back in time to the moment of Xavier's murder. There Bishop confronted Legion, using David's own power to create a psionic loop that showed the young mutant the damage that his actions would cause. David allowed the energy released in this process to incinerate him, in his last moments apologizing for what he had done." While David was considered deceased, some of his alters manifested as spirits and started terrorizing Israel (where David had been born). Excalibur was called to stop them. Ultimately Meggan used her empathy to calm their rage, convincing them to go "towards the light." Return David had in fact not died; rather, his mind manifested in Otherplace, a timeless interdimensional limbo. When Bishop had turned Legion's psychic power back on him, it devastated David's mental landscape, undoing all the healing efforts of Karami and Professor Xavier. David now had thousands of alters vying for control in his mind. David wandered through Otherplace for an untold period of time, trying to make his way back home. Magik, a mutant able to travel across dimensions, reached out and contacted one of David's alters, "The Legion," who could alter reality at a cosmic scale (this incredibly powerful personality claimed to be the "real" David, although it was distinct from David's host alter). Magik offered to guide Legion back to this dimension, provided that The Legion would aid her by destroying her nemeses, the Elder Gods, when she asked. David re-manifested in the physical world, although his David's host alter had been imprisoned in his mindscape by his other alters, allowing the more malicious alters to take turns controlling his body. One of these alters killed and absorbed the mind of a young girl, Marci Sobol, who became another alter within Legion. David was discovered by the New Mutants as they investigated a possible mutant case in Westcliffe, Colorado. David absorbed Karma and Magik into his mind. As the rest of the team fought a losing battle against various alters that seized control of Legion's body, in his mindscape Karma and Magik destroyed other hostile alters. Eventually they found the Marci alter, who led them to David's imprisoned core self. By freeing David and helping him reassert control, Karma and Magik saved the rest of the team and were restored to their bodies. David was detained by the X-Men and put in the care of Professor X, Doctor Nemesis, Danger, and Rogue. Weeks later, Magik managed to bring the Elder Gods back to Earth, planning to have her revenge on them. The Elder Gods manifested, causing catastrophic destruction, and appeared ready to lay waste to the world. As the various mutant teams tried to stop this apocalypse, Magik sent her ally Karma to free Legion and awaken "The Legion" alter to fulfill its bargain. The Legion, who Magik called "The God Mutant," appeared and altered reality to wipe the Elder Gods from existence and reset the world to a time before they had manifested. After this, David's host alter returned and he was taken back into the care and treatment of the X-Men. Age of X Believing that David's psyche would be healed if his alters were quarantined, Doctor Nemesis began to catalog and contain these alters within David's mind. Unbeknownst to Doctor Nemesis and Professor Xavier, however, David's mind subconsciously perceived this intervention as a threat and created a "psychic antibody," a powerful new alter, to defend itself. The new alter had access to a degree of David's underlying ability to alter reality and time. Assuming the appearance of the deceased Moira McTaggert (considered a mother figure by David due to his time under her care at Muir Island), the alter attempted to 'protect' Legion from the 'assault' on his mind by creating a pocket reality where Legion was the hero that he always wanted to be. The alternate pocket reality, the Age of X, was a dystopia in which mutants had been hunted almost to extinction; the remaining mutants were kept alive by Legion's mutant team, who daily generated a force wall to repel attacking human forces. Legion himself remained unaware that one of his alters had created this world, and most of the mutants who had been brought into the reality by 'Moira' believed that they had always been there. Within this pocket reality the 'Moira' personality was practically omnipotent, creating and controlling random soldiers for Legion and the other mutants to kill. Eventually, Legacy, the alternate Rogue, discovered that 'Moira' had in fact created this reality. Confronted with this truth, Legion spoke to 'Moira,' who tearfully offered to create as many universes for him as he wanted. Instead, David absorbed 'Moira' back into himself and erased the Age of X reality, restoring its participants to Earth-616 reality; ultimately, this entire timeline had lasted seven days in their normal continuity. Lost Legions With the Age of X incident underscoring the potentially apocalyptic scope of David's power, Professor X proposed a new approach to help Legion retain control of himself. Instead of isolating David from the other alters in his mind, Professor X suggested that he learn to co-exist with them. To this end, Doctor Nemesis, Madison Jeffries and Reed Richards designed a Neural Switchboard Wristband for David. This switchboard assigned unique numbers to different Legion alters. When David entered a number, the device stimulated cells in his thalamus and neocortex, creating a one-way link between David's host alter and the other alters he had selected. This allowed Legion to access the power of that alter for several seconds without being overwhelmed by it. While testing the device, Legion discovered that six of his alter were no longer in his mind, but had "escaped," manifesting separately from him in the real world. With a team of X-Men, Legion tracked down and reabsorbed all of these rogue personas. While absorbing the last one, he accidentally absorbed Rogue along with it, and, after releasing her, David suffered a massive shock to his nervous system. Rogue stated that, while she was inside Legion, she was connected to thousands of types of powers and there were more being born all the time. The Fiend To aid his recovery, Professor X left Legion with Merzah the Mystic, a powerful empath and telepath who ran a Himalayan monastery. While at the monastery, David gained much greater control of himself, and he stopped using the Neural Switchboard Wristband. Under Merzah's tutelage, David learned to visualize a facility in his mind where his alters could be kept and controlled. However, while David was at the monastery, elsewhere in the world Professor X was killed. When Legion sensed this, the mental shock caused a catastrophic release of energy that killed Merzah and everyone else at the monastery. In addition, without knowing it, David subconsciously created a new alter, The Fiend. This alter was able to kill other alters in his mind, absorbing their powers in the process. In the final issue of X-Men: Legacy, Legion, reaching the full extent of his powers, decided to erase himself from existence. Trauma For unknown reasons (perhaps elements of his own psyche working against him), Legion's attempt to erase himself from existence failed. When he reappeared, David's mind was again fragmented into many alter, including a malicious new alter, "Lord Trauma." Lord Trauma aimed to take over David's mind and body by absorbing all of David's other alter. In a desperate attempt to save himself, David sought out the help of renowned young psychotherapist Hannah Jones to delve into his fractured mind and fight back this dark alter While Jones was ultimately able to help Legion defeat Trauma, she remained trapped in David's psyche (her body in a vegetative coma). To thank Jones, Legion placed her psyche into a dream state/alternate reality where she achieved her biggest goals. X-Men Dissassembled As the X-Men race around the globe to fight the temporal anomalies that have been springing up and to corral the hundreds of Madrox duplicates wreaking havoc, Legion arrives at the X-Mansion, seemingly in control of his powers and psyche. While the young X-Men try to ascertain what he wants, elsewhere Jean Grey and Psylocke team up to psychically purge whatever force is controlling the army of Madrox duplicates. Finding the prime Madrox imprisoned below the area where the army of duplicates are congregating, he explains that Legion imprisoned him and implanted his numerous alter and powers across the hundreds of duplicates. However, with his control broken, Legion goes berserk in the mansion, attacking the young X-Men and ranting about a vision of the future. The rest of the X-Men arrive to help but Legion singlehandedly takes on the whole team until he and Jean Grey go head-to-head. Legion then explains that he's trying to prevent a vision of the future – the arrival of the Horsemen of Salvation – but just as Legion mentions them, the Horsemen arrive. Reign of X Following the creation of Krakoa as a mutant nation, Legion was captured by Project Orchis and had his brain harvested into a mysterious device which kept his mind trapped in a hellscape, simulating Legion's various personas to predict every probability scenarios in which to bring down the nation of Krakoa. Hoping to spread further strife, Orchis introduced an invasive entity to speed along the process, giving them a psychic weapon they can use to break the social structures of Krakoa and in the process, destroy the new mutant homeland. Nightcrawler is the first to notice this dark trend at the heart of his fellow mutants, especially in light of effective immortality, which radically altered and is influencing and pushing them to their darker and crueler impulses on a day-to-day basis. He also learns in the process about the Patchwork Man, a mysterious figure appearing to mutants in their dreams and haunting them. After recruiting Nightcrawler to rescue his mind from the device that trapped him, Legion confirms to Nightcrawler that the Patchwork Man and the signature he encountered in his mind are one and the same and that belongs to Onslaught, the evil psionic entity born from Xavier's darkest self, somehow restored by Project Orchis. Powers and abilities Legion is an Omega-level mutant who has dissociative identity disorder. Fundamentally, he has the ability to alter reality and time on a cosmic scale at will, but due to his multiple personalities, in practice his abilities vary depending on the dominant personality: each alter has different powers enabled by David's subconscious manipulation of reality. The core personality, David Haller himself, generally does not manifest mutant abilities, but must access various personalities to use their power, sometimes losing control of himself to that personality. Some of Legion's personalities physically transform his body (e.g., manifesting a prehensile tongue, becoming a woman, transforming into a werewolf, etc.). The first alter to manifest, Jemail Karami, was telepathic. Other prominent alters include Jack Wayne (telekinetic) and Cyndi (pyrokinetic). Legion has over a thousand different personalities (the exact number is unknown), and his mind can create additional alters in response to external or internal events. The cumulative abilities of all his personalities make him one of the most powerful mutants in existence, if not the most powerful. Since the abilities of his personalities stem from his subconscious alteration of reality, Legion is theoretically capable of manifesting any power he can imagine. In two instances David has manifested the full extent of his ability to alter time and reality: in the first, he wiped the Elder Gods from existence and reset the universe to a state before the Elder Gods first appeared on Earth, and in the other he observed the entirety of spacetime and mended damage his personalities had done to it. Legion can absorb other people's psyches into his mind, either intentionally or, if he is next to them when they die, unintentionally. Conversely, in several instances Legion has had personalities manifest and act separately from him (or even against him) in the physical world; in most instances Legion has ultimately reabsorbed these personalities back into himself. Presumably, both his absorption of other psyches and the physical manifestations of his own personalities are enabled by Legion's underlying ability to alter reality/time at will. Generally, David's ability to access and control his personalities/powers is closely tied to his self confidence and self esteem: the better he feels about himself, the more control he exercises. Unfortunately, David often suffers from self-doubt and self-recrimination, meaning that he must struggle to remain in control. Following the Age of X, David briefly used a Neural Switchboard Wristband engineered by Doctor Nemesis, Madison Jeffries, and Reed Richards. This device allowed Legion to utilize a personality's power set for several seconds without being overwhelmed by that personality. However, he soon abandoned this and attempted instead to develop a more organic control over his personalities. Personalities The following characters are different personalities of Legion that have appeared thus far, each one manifesting different powers: Through the personality of terrorist Jemail Karami (the name given to Personality #2), he has manifested telepathy. Through the personality of roustabout adventurer Jack Wayne (the name given to Personality #3), he has manifested telekinesis. This personality was often quite dangerous and would not hesitate to hurt or kill others if it would allow him to remain independent/free from David's control. Eventually, Jack Wayne was subsumed by a different, malevolent Legion personality, Lord Trauma. Through the personality of the rebellious girl Cyndi (the name given to Personality #4), he has manifested pyrokinesis. This personality of Legion has a crush on Cypher. Through the personality of The Legion (the name given to Personality #5, which claims to be Legion's "real me"), he can warp time and reality. Magik nicknamed this personality the "God-Mutant." Through the personality of Sally (the name given to Personality #67), he has the appearance of an obese woman with Hulk-like super-strength. Through the personality of a punk rocker named Lucas (the name given to Personality #115), he can channel sound into energy blasts. Through Personality #181, he can enlarge himself to an undetermined size. This was the first power Legion utilized with the Neural Switchboard Wristband. Through the personality of Johnny Gomorrah (the name given to Personality #186), he can transmute his enemies and objects into salt. Through the personality of Time-Sink (the name given to Personality #227), he has the ability of time-manipulation. This rebellious personality was able to become independent from David but was eventually found and reabsorbed by David. David was ultimately forced to stop using Time-Sink's powers because when David tried to access the personality, it would always fight to get back its freedom. Through Personality #302, he can move at supersonic speeds. Through the personality of Styx (the name given to Personality #666), he has the ability to absorb the consciousness of anyone he touches, turning that person's body into a shell that he can then control. The possessed individual can still access any special abilities they have, and there does not appear to be a limit to the number of individuals simultaneously controlled. David considers this manipulative personality his most dangerous, because it is clever, cruel, and extremely ambitious. Styx was able to become independent from Legion, manifesting as a desiccated corpse, and tried to take control of Legion himself, so that he could use Legion's reality-altering powers to remake the world according to his will. Legion, using the power of his Chain personality, managed to trick and reabsorb Styx. Through Personality #762, he becomes a pirate with the ability to belch an acidic gas. Through Personality #898, he becomes a centaur. Through the personality of Delphic (the name given to Personality #1012), he becomes a blue-skinned, seemingly-omniscient female seer who will answer any three questions from supplicants. Legion personalities that have not been assigned numbers include: Absence, an alien/demon creature with its eyes sewn shut who claims to have traveled through different realities and who can siphon off heat and love. Bleeding Image, a living voodoo doll who can redirect and amplify the pain from any injury he inflicts on himself onto his victims. As he notes, "How much must David hate himself, to have imagined me?" This malicious personality was able to become independent from David but he was eventually found and stated to have been destroyed by Magneto. Chain, effectively a human virus who turns anyone he touches into a copy of himself with a new weapon. The power dissipates when the original is dealt with. This personality was able to become independent from David but he was eventually found and reabsorbed by David. Chronodon, a dinosaur with a clock on its face. Based on its name and appearance, it can be assumed that it can manipulate time in some way. Clown, a surly-looking clown that can blast energy from his mouth. Compass Rose, who can locate any person and teleport to them. The Delusionaut, a train engineer with a billow stack for a head who uses the smoke that he exudes to create illusions so convincing that they fool even powerful telepaths such as Emma Frost. He manifested outside of Legion to help him at one point, and eventually was one of the personalities that volunteered to meld together to form Gestalt. Drexel, a foul-mouthed simpleton with super-strength. Endgame, huge and aggressive armor that instantly manifests the perfect counter to any attack executed against it (for example, becoming intangible, manifesting super strength, transmuting its material from metal to wood to defeat Magneto, etc.). This personality became independent from David, but it was eventually found and reabsorbed by David. The Fiend/"Charles Xavier", a dangerous personality David created following the mental shock of the death of his father, Professor X. The Fiend manifests as either a yellow goblin-like creature or in the guise of Professor X; it has significant psychic abilities, including precognition and possession, and can kill other Legion personalities in Legion's mind, absorbing their power. Eventually, the Fiend became independent from David and tried to help him retain more control of himself. Findel the Finder, who can find anyone across the galaxy. Gestalt, a powerful fusion of several Legion personalities with the core personality of David himself, allowing the abilities of these personalities to manifest simultaneously under David's control. Legion created Gestalt to successfully repel an attack on his mind. Hugh Davidson, a stereotypical prepster with a long prehensile tongue. Hunter, a macho-man personality David's mind created to replace Jack Wayne, when that personality was subsumed by the Lord Trauma personality. Hypnobloke, a gentleman with flashing swirls for eyes who wears a top hat and carries a pocket watch. He has the power of hypnotic suggestion. Joe Fury, an angry young man who can generate flame and other types of energy, and whom David struggles to repress. Kirbax the Kraklar, a demonic creature that can fly and generate electricity. Ksenia Nadejda Panov, a Moscovite heiress, discus-throwing champion, caviar exporter, and torturer of puppies. She has the ability to generate ionic scalpels from her fingers. K-Zek the Conduit, an android with the ability of far-field, concentrated wireless energy transfer (or WET). Lord Trauma, a malevolent personality who can bring out the worst traumas a person has experienced and draw power from the psychic energies that result. This personality became independent from David and tried to absorb all his other personas in order to gain control over David's body, although Trauma was eventually destroyed. Marci Sabol, a normal human girl who befriended David but was killed and absorbed into him by one of his other personalities; she has significant influence within David's mindscape. Max Kelvin, a crotchety old man whose eyes protrude when he uses his powers of plasmatic flame generation. Moira Kinross/X, a mother figure created by David's mind to protect his mindscape from tampering. This persona, which could warp reality, became independent from David and created the dystopian pocket reality dubbed Age of X where David was seen as a hero. Within this pocket reality X was practically omnipotent, altering the mindsets and personalities of the fabricated entities in her reality. Mycolojester, a plant-like entity with the attire of a jester, who can emit toxic spores from his skin. These spores act as a powerful nerve gas, but their effects can be dissipated by water. This personality volunteered to help David by merging with several other personalities to become Gestalt. Non-Newtonian Annie, a skinny purple woman dressed in pink clothes and cloaked in a "zero-tau nullskin" that does not conform to the law of conservation of energy (e.g., kinetic energy that hits it is immediately amplified and reflected directly back on its source). Origamist, one of the most powerful personalities in David's mind, is a reality warping sumo wrestler who can fold spacetime, allowing, among other things, instant teleportation of any object to any location. Protozoan Porter, a large green leech-like being who can teleport by disassembling himself into minuscule ameboid-like parts that reassemble after reaching his destination. This personality volunteered to help David by merging with several other personalities to create Gestalt. Pukatus Jr., a small cherub-like demon who flies and can vomit an acidic substance. Skinsmith, who can produce artificial skin on any surface or bend/alter the skin of others. Specs, a nervous young man with large glasses who can see through solid objects. This personality develops a romantic interest in Magma. Susan in Sunshine, an innocent-looking blonde child with the ability to sense, augment and manipulate the emotions of those around her and, if she wishes, convert those emotions into destructive energy. This personality became independent from Legion, but she was eventually found and reabsorbed by him. Tami Haar, a nightclub singer who is a friend and companion to David; she appears to have a master knowledge of David's mindscape, which among other things allows her to manifest in the real world. Tyrannix the Abominoid, a small and hapless Cthulhu-like creature with telepathic powers. When David traveled within his mindscape, he often used Tyrannix as a backpack. Tyrannix was the first personality to volunteer to help David by melding to create Gestalt. The Weaver, probably Legion's most powerful splinter personality, a large arachnid creature whose massive limbs are connected to a main body wreathed in bright light. The Weaver can change and refabricate reality itself, and it is ultimately revealed to be either David's core self or a mirror of David. When David and the Weaver united, he could observe and alter all time and space at will; David, aware of the extent and implications of this godlike power, attempted to unmake himself by erasing his own birth. For unknown reasons his attempt failed (it may have been undermined by other aspects of David's psyche), in the process creating the Lord Trauma personality. The White Witch Doctor, a murderous white man dressed as a witch doctor who killed Marci Sabol and absorbed her psyche into Legion, creating the Marci Sabol personality. Wormhole Wodo, who can open a wormhole between two points anywhere in the galaxy, allowing near instantaneous travel between them. Zari Zap, a young punk woman with short, spiked hair who can manipulate electricity. Zero G. Priestly, a robed priest who floats upside down and can control gravity. Zubar, a personality that likes to call himself "the Airshrike" and has the power to levitate himself. Mentality Legion has been described as having dissociative identity disorder. In his first appearance he was also described as autistic, however this diagnosis has not been used since. Origin of name Legion's name is derived from a passage in the Christian Bible (found in Mark 5 and Luke 8). In it, Jesus asks a man possessed by many evil spirits what his name is, to which the man replies "I am Legion, for we are many." Reception In 2014, Entertainment Weekly ranked Legion 21st in their "Let's rank every X-Man ever" list. In 2018, CBR.com ranked Legion 14th in their "8 X-Men Kids Cooler Than Their Parents (And 7 Who Are Way Worse)" list. In 2018, CBR.com ranked Legion 1st in their "20 Most Powerful Mutants From The '80s" list. Other versions Ultimate Marvel The Ultimate incarnation of Proteus is a combination of Legion and Proteus from the mainstream comics. His mother is Moira MacTaggert and his father is Charles Xavier. He possesses Proteus' reality warping power and is named David Xavier. He escapes his mother's facility, looking for his father, and murders hundreds to discredit him. David is later crushed by Colossus, while possessing S.T.R.I.K.E. agent Betsy Braddock inside a car. Age of X In the Age of X reality, Legion leads the Force Warriors, a select group of telekinetics who rebuild the "Force Walls" (telekinetic shields that protect Fortress X) on a daily basis to protect mutants from human attacks. Unlike his 616 counterpart, there is no trace of the other personalities shown. It is ultimately revealed that the Age of X reality was unconsciously created by Legion himself. A flashback reveals that in the 616 universe Professor X was arguing with Dr. Nemesis regarding the latter's containment and deletion of Legion's other personalities in an effort to stabilize him. While Dr. Nemesis claimed that everything was going according to his plan, Professor X was unconvinced and entered Legion's mind. There he found the other personalities dead and their rotting corpses left in their containment units. This surprised Dr. Nemesis, who had thought that when a personality was deleted it should simply disappear. Professor X was then attacked by what he called a "psychic antibody," a personality Legion had subconsciously created to defend against Nemesis's deleting of the personalities. To overcome Professor X on the psychic plane, this personality took on the face of Moira MacTaggart and claimed that it would make a world where Legion could be happy. The 'Moira' personality then reshaped Utopia into Fortress X and inserted itself as Moira and the supercomputer X. When finally confronted about its actions, the personality made the Force walls fall, allowing the human armies to attack. 'Moira' announced her intention to destroy the 616 universe as well as the Age of X and to create a new safe place for David to live happily forever. Instead, David absorbed her and reverted the Fortress X to the normal reality, with a few modifications. In other media Legion via David, Lucas, and an original personality named Ian, a young mute boy with pyrokinesis, appears in the X-Men: Evolution episode "Sins of the Son", voiced by Kyle Labine. This version is a blonde teenager whose body appears to randomly change to match the personality controlling said body and is capable of appearing in multiple places at once, both through unknown means. A character partially based on Legion named Takeo Sasaki appears in Marvel Anime: X-Men, voiced by Atsushi Abe in the Japanese version and by Steve Staley in the English dub. Similarly to Legion, Takeo is the son of Professor X. Additionally, while Legion himself does not appear, he is stated to be responsible for creating "Demon-Hall Syndrome", a mutant affliction that manifests secondary mutations, such as multiple personalities, uncontrolled physical mutations, and psychological instability. David Haller / Legion appears in a self-titled TV series, portrayed by Dan Stevens. This version was diagnosed with schizophrenia instead of dissociative identity disorder and possesses psionic abilities such as telepathy and telekinesis. Throughout the first season, he goes on to enter a relationship with a body-swapping mutant named Sydney "Syd" Barrett and discovers the Shadow King has lived in his mind since childhood before the latter possesses another psychic mutant named Oliver Bird. During the second season, David pursues the Shadow King, only to join forces with him to avert a future plague and become more psychopathic. In the third season, David starts a cult and recruits a mutant with time-traveling capabilities called Switch to help him warn his parents Professor X and Gabrielle Haller. However, he puts his mother into a catatonic state. Eventually, he confronts his father before attempting to kill Amahl Farouk for ruining his life, but reconciles with him instead, creating a new timeline in the process. Additionally, an alternate reality version of David appears in the episode "Chapter 18", also portrayed by Dan Stevens. Collected editions Solo Series X-Men Legacy volumes 1–4 were rereleased as Legion: Son of X volumes 1–4 in 2018. Storylines See also Crazy Jane – A DC Comics character who is often linked and compared to Legion Stephanie Maas – A Joe's Comics character with superpowers and dissociative identity disorder References External links Legion at Marvel Wiki Legion Personality Index at Marvel Wiki Legion at Comic Vine UncannyXmen.Net Spotlight on Legion Category:Characters created by Bill Sienkiewicz Category:Characters created by Chris Claremont Category:Comics characters introduced in 1985 Category:Fictional characters with dissociative identity disorder Category:Fictional characters with schizophrenia Category:Fictional Jews in comics Category:Fictional Israeli Jews Category:Jewish superheroes Category:Israeli superheroes Category:Fictional characters who can manipulate reality Category:Fictional characters who can manipulate time Category:Fictional characters who can manipulate sound Category:Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Category:Fictional characters with fire or heat abilities Category:Fictional characters with dimensional travel abilities Category:Fictional characters with absorption or parasitic abilities Category:Male characters in television Category:Marvel Comics characters who are shapeshifters Category:Marvel Comics characters who can teleport Category:Marvel Comics characters who have mental powers Category:Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Category:Marvel Comics mutants Category:Marvel Comics telekinetics Category:Marvel Comics telepaths Category:Marvel Comics male superheroes Category:Marvel Comics male supervillains Category:Marvel Comics television characters Category:Fictional attempted suicides Category:Time travelers Category:X-Men supporting characters

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Duncan Hunter

Duncan Lee Hunter (born May 31, 1948) is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the House of Representatives from California's 52nd, 45th and 42nd districts from 1981 to 2009. Hunter was the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee during the 108th and 109th Congress. Hunter sought the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States for 2008, but his campaign failed to attract significant voters or delegates in early primary and caucus states, and he dropped out after the Nevada Republican caucuses.

Other legislative actions

On December 8, 2006, Hunter introduced H.R. 6375, which would have required the defense department to post the purpose of all congressional earmarks in annual defense bills, along with the location and a grade according to the utility of the earmark. Hunter introduced H.R. 552, The Right to Life Act, on February 2, 2005. The purpose of the bill is to "implement equal protection... for the right to life of each born and preborn human person." In the 109th Congress, the legislation collected 101 cosponsors. Hunter states that The Right to Life Act "would legally define "personhood" as the moment of conception and, therefore, guarantee all constitutional rights and protections, including life, to the unborn without utilizing a constitutional amendment." Hearings for H.R. 552 were scheduled for December 12, 2006, but were cancelled right before the House adjourned. On April 28, 2004, Hunter introduced legislation that he said could "turn parents into prosecuting attorneys fighting a wave of obscenity." HR 6390 IH, also called the "Parents Empowerment Act", would allow the parent or guardian of a minor to sue in federal court anyone who knowingly disseminates material "that is harmful to minors", or specifically, "any pornographic communication, picture, image, graphic image file, article, recording, writing, or other pornographic matter of any kind", if it is distributed in a way that "a reasonable person can expect a substantial number of minors to be exposed to the material and the minor, as a result to exposure to the material, is likely to suffer personal or emotional injury or injury to mental or moral welfare." In 1994, Hunter legislatively mandated the construction of 14 miles (23 km) of security fencing on the international land border separating San Diego County and Tijuana, Mexico. In 2005, Hunter introduced legislation calling for the construction of a reinforced fence along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, citing crime statistics as measures of San Diego-Tijuana fence's success. After successfully adding an amendment to a House-passed bill that ultimately stalled in House-Senate negotiations, Hunter's amendment was later incorporated into H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act, introduced by New York Congressman Peter T. King. He has said that if he becomes President, the 754-mile (1,213 km) double layer border fence will be built in less than 12 months. Hunter repeatedly voted against international trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). CANNOTANSWER

Duncan Hunter may refer to: Duncan D. Hunter (born 1976), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California (2009–2020) Duncan L. Hunter (born 1948), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California (1981–2009) See also

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Duncan Hunter

Duncan Lee Hunter (born May 31, 1948) is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the House of Representatives from California's 52nd, 45th and 42nd districts from 1981 to 2009. Hunter was the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee during the 108th and 109th Congress. Hunter sought the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States for 2008, but his campaign failed to attract significant voters or delegates in early primary and caucus states, and he dropped out after the Nevada Republican caucuses.

Initial election and re-elections

In 1980, Hunter was recruited to run for Congress in what was then the 42nd District against 18-year incumbent Democrat Lionel Van Deerlin. Hunter was initially an underdog in a district where Democrats outnumbered Republicans by almost 2 to 1. However, his attacks on Van Deerlin's record on national defense gained traction in a district dominated by military bases and personnel. Van Deerlin did not respond quickly enough, and Hunter narrowly defeated him. He was one of many Republicans swept into office from historically Democratic districts as a result of the "Reagan revolution"; Van Deerlin had been the district's only congressman since its creation in 1963. After the 1980 census, many of the more Democratic areas were cut out of Hunter's district, and he was reelected 13 more times with no substantive opposition. His district was renumbered as the 45th District in 1983 and the 52nd in 1993. In the 2006 general election, he defeated Navy veteran/minister John Rinaldi, a Democrat, and Michael Benoit, a Libertarian. Hunter was re-elected with 65 percent of the vote, a 33-point margin over Rinaldi. On March 20, 2007, Hunter announced that, as part of his presidential bid, he would not seek re-election to the House of Representatives in 2008. After his son, Duncan D. Hunter, announced his candidacy for his father's seat, the younger Hunter was recalled by the United States Marine Corps to serve in the Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan. During Duncan D. Hunter's active service, his wife, Margaret Hunter, campaigned on his behalf. On June 3, 2008 Duncan D. Hunter won 72% of the Republican Primary vote and became the Republican nominee to replace his father representing the 52nd District. CANNOTANSWER

Duncan Hunter may refer to: Duncan D. Hunter (born 1976), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California (2009–2020) Duncan L. Hunter (born 1948), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California (1981–2009) See also

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Johnny Unitas

John Constantine Unitas was born in Pittsburgh in 1933 to Francis J. Unitas and Helen Superfisky, who both were of Lithuanian descent; he grew up in the Mount Washington neighborhood. When Johnny was five years old, his father died of cardiovascular renal disease complicated by pneumonia, leaving the young boy to be raised by his mother, who worked two jobs to support the family. His surname was a result of a phonetic transliteration of a common Lithuanian last name Jonaitis. Attending St. Justin's High School in Pittsburgh, Unitas played halfback and quarterback.

Baltimore Colts

In 1956, Unitas joined the Baltimore Colts of the NFL under legendary coach Weeb Ewbank, after being asked at the last minute to join Bloomfield Rams lineman Jim Deglau, a Croatian steel worker with a life much like Unitas', at the latter's scheduled Colts tryout. The pair borrowed money from friends to pay for the gas to make the trip. Deglau later told a reporter after Unitas' death, "[His] uncle told him not to come. [He] was worried that if he came down and the Colts passed on him, it would look bad (to other NFL teams)." The Colts signed Unitas, much to the chagrin of the Cleveland Browns, who had hoped to claim the rejected Steeler quarterback. Unitas made his NFL debut with an inauspicious "mop-up" appearance against Detroit, going 0-2 with one interception. Two weeks later, starting quarterback George Shaw suffered a broken leg against the Chicago Bears. In his first serious action, Unitas' initial pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Then he botched a hand-off on his next play, a fumble recovered by the Bears. Unitas rebounded quickly from that 58-27 loss, leading the Colts to an upset of Green Bay and their first win over Cleveland. He threw nine touchdown passes that year, including one in the season finale that started his record 47-game streak. His 55.6-percent completion mark was a rookie record. In 1957, his first season as the Colts full-time starter at quarterback, Unitas finished first in the NFL in passing yards (2,550) and touchdown passes (24) as he helped lead the Colts to a 7-5 record, the first winning record in franchise history. At season's end, Unitas received the Jim Thorpe Trophy as the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA). CANNOTANSWER

John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 to 1973, he has been consistently listed as one of the greatest NFL players of all time, and is widely considered to be the first "superstar" quarterback in American football history. Unitas set many NFL records and was named Most Valuable Player three times in 1959, 1964, and 1967, in addition to receiving 10 Pro Bowl and five first-team All-Pro honors. He helped lead the Colts to four championship titles; three in the pre-merger era in 1958, 1959, and 1968, and one in the Super Bowl era in Super Bowl V. His first championship victory is regarded as one of the league's greatest games and credited with helping popularize the NFL. Between 1956 and 1960, he set the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass at 47, which held for 52 years. Nicknamed "Johnny U" and the "Golden Arm", Unitas was considered the prototype of the modern era marquee quarterback. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. Early life John Constantine Unitas was born in Pittsburgh in 1933 to Francis J. Unitas and Helen Superfisky, both of Lithuanian descent; he grew up in the Mount Washington neighborhood in a Roman Catholic upbringing. When Unitas was five years old, his father died of cardiovascular renal disease complicated by pneumonia, leaving the young boy to be raised by his mother, who worked two jobs to support the family. His surname was a result of a phonetic transliteration of a common Lithuanian last name Jonaitis. Attending St. Justin's High School in Pittsburgh, Unitas played halfback and quarterback. College career In his younger years, Unitas dreamed about being part of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, but when he tried out for the team, coach Frank Leahy said that he was just too skinny and he would "get murdered" if he was put on the field. Instead, he attended the University of Louisville. In his four-year career as a Louisville Cardinal, Unitas completed 245 passes for 3,139 yards and 27 touchdowns. Reportedly, the Unitas weighed on his first day of practice. His first start was in the fifth game of the 1951 season against St. Bonaventure, where he threw 11 consecutive passes and three touchdowns to give the Cardinals a 21–19 lead. Louisville ended up losing the game 22–21 on a disputed field goal, but found a new starting quarterback. Unitas completed 12 of 19 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns in a 35–28 victory over Houston. The team finished the season 5–5 overall and 4–1 with Unitas starting. He completed 46 of 99 passes for 602 yards and nine touchdowns (44). By the 1952 season, the university decided to de-emphasize sports. The new president at Louisville, Dr. Philip Grant Davidson, reduced the amount of athletic aid, and tightened academic standards for athletes. As a result, 15 returning players could not meet the new standards and lost their scholarships. Unitas maintained his by taking on a new elective: square dancing. In 1952, coach Frank Camp switched the team to two-way football. Unitas not only played safety or linebacker on defense and quarterback on offense, but also returned kicks and punts on special teams. The Cardinals won their first game against Wayne State, and then Florida State in the second game. Unitas completed 16 of 21 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns. It was said that Unitas put on such a show at the Florida State game that he threw a pass under his legs for 15 yards. The rest of the season was a struggle for the Cardinals, who finished 3–5. Unitas completed 106 of 198 passes for 1,540 yards and 12 touchdowns. The team won their first game in 1953, against Murray State, and lost the rest for a record of 1–7. One of the most memorable games of the season came in a 59–6 loss against Tennessee. Unitas completed 9 out of 19 passes for 73 yards, rushed 9 times for 52 yards, returned six kickoffs for 85 yards, one punt for three yards, and had 86 percent of the team's tackles. The only touchdown the team scored was in the fourth quarter when Unitas made a fake pitch to the running back and ran the ball 23 yards for a touchdown. Unitas was hurt later in the fourth quarter while trying to run the ball. On his way off the field, he received a standing ovation. When he got to the locker room he was so tired that his jersey and shoulder pads had to be cut off because he could not lift his arms. Louisville ended the season with a 20–13 loss to Eastern Kentucky. Unitas completed 49 of 95 passes for 470 yards and three touchdowns. Unitas was elected captain for the 1954 season, but due to an early injury did not see much playing time. His first start was the third game of the season, against Florida State. Of the 34-man team, 21 were freshmen. The 1954 Cardinals went 3–6, with their last win at home against Morehead State. Unitas was slowed by so many injuries his senior year his 527 passing yards ended second to Jim Houser's 560. Professional career Pittsburgh Steelers After his collegiate career, the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL drafted Unitas in the ninth round. However, he was released before the season began as the odd man out among four quarterbacks trying to fill three spots. Steelers' head coach Walt Kiesling had made up his mind about Unitas; he thought he was not smart enough to quarterback an NFL team, and he was not given any snaps in practice with the Steelers. Among those edging out Unitas was Ted Marchibroda, future longtime NFL head coach. Out of pro football, Unitas—by this time married—worked in construction in Pittsburgh to support his family. On the weekends, he played quarterback, safety and punter on a local semi-professional team called the Bloomfield Rams for $6 a game. Baltimore Colts In 1956, Unitas joined the Baltimore Colts of the NFL under legendary coach Weeb Ewbank, after being asked at the last minute to join Bloomfield Rams lineman Jim Deglau, a Croatian steelworker with a life much like Unitas, at the latter's scheduled Colts tryout. The pair borrowed money from friends to pay for the gas to make the trip. Deglau later told a reporter after Unitas's death, "[His] uncle told him not to come. [He] was worried that if he came down and the Colts passed on him, it would look bad (to other NFL teams)." The Colts signed Unitas, much to the chagrin of the Cleveland Browns, who had hoped to claim the former Steeler quarterback. Unitas made his NFL debut with an inauspicious "mop-up" appearance against Detroit, going 0–2 with one interception. Two weeks later, starting quarterback George Shaw suffered a broken leg against the Chicago Bears. In his first serious action, Unitas's initial pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Then he botched a hand-off on his next play, a fumble recovered by the Bears. Unitas rebounded quickly from that 58–27 loss, leading the Colts to an upset of Green Bay and their first win over Cleveland. He threw nine touchdown passes that year, including one in the season finale that started his record 47-game streak. His 55.6-percent completion mark was a rookie record. In 1957, his first season as the Colts full-time starter at quarterback, Unitas finished first in the NFL in passing yards (2,550) and touchdown passes (24) as he helped lead the Colts to a 7–5 record, the first winning record in franchise history. At season's end, Unitas received the Jim Thorpe Trophy as the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA). 1958: "The Greatest Game Ever Played" Unitas continued his prowess in 1958 passing for 2,007 yards and 19 touchdowns as the Colts won the Western Conference title. The Colts won the NFL championship under his leadership on December 28, 1958, by defeating the New York Giants 23–17 in sudden death overtime on a touchdown by fullback Alan Ameche. It was the first overtime game in NFL history, and is often referred to as the "greatest game ever played". The game, nationally televised by NBC, has been credited for sparking the rise in popularity of professional football during the 1960s. 1959 MVP season In 1959, Unitas was named the NFL's MVP by the Associated Press (AP) for the first time, as well as United Press International's player of the year, after leading the NFL in passing yards (2,899), touchdown passes (32), and completions (193). He then led the Colts to a repeat championship, beating the Giants again 31–16 in the title game. Beginning of the 1960s As the 1960s began, the Colts' fortunes (and win totals) declined. Injuries to key players such as Alan Ameche, Raymond Berry, and Lenny Moore were a contributing factor. Unitas's streak of 47 straight games with at least one touchdown pass ended against the Los Angeles Rams in week 11 of the 1960 season. In spite of this, he topped the 3,000-yard passing mark for the first time and led the league in touchdown passes for the fourth consecutive season. After three middle-of-the-pack seasons, Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom fired Weeb Ewbank and replaced him with Don Shula, who at the time was the youngest head coach in NFL history (33 years of age when he was hired). The Colts finished 8–6 in Shula's first season at the helm, good enough for only third place in the NFL's Western Conference, but they did end the season on a strong note by winning their final three games. The season was very successful for Unitas personally, as he led the NFL in passing yards with a career-best total of 3,481 and also led in completions with 237. 1964 MVP season In the 1964 season the Colts returned to the top of the Western Conference. After dropping their season opener to the Minnesota Vikings, the Colts ran off 10 straight victories to finish with a 12–2 record. The season was one of Unitas's best as he finished with 2,824 yards passing, a league-best 9.26 yards per pass attempt, 19 touchdown passes and only 6 interceptions. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the AP and UPI for a second time. However, the season ended on a disappointing note for the Colts as they were upset by the Cleveland Browns in the 1964 NFL Championship Game, losing 27–0. Unitas resumed his torrid passing in 1965, throwing for 2,530 yards, 23 touchdowns and finishing with a league-high and career-best 97.1 passer rating. But he was lost for the balance of the season due to a knee injury in a week 12 loss to the Bears. Backup quarterback Gary Cuozzo also suffered a season-ending injury the following week, and running back Tom Matte filled in as the emergency quarterback for the regular season finale and in a playoff loss to the Packers. The Colts and Packers finished in a tie for first place in the Western Conference and a one-game playoff was played in Green Bay to decide who would be the conference representative in the 1965 NFL Championship Game. The Colts lost in overtime 13–10 due in large part to a game-tying field goal by Don Chandler that many say was incorrectly ruled good. Unitas, healthy once more, threw for 2,748 yards and 22 touchdowns in 1966 in a return to Pro Bowl form. However, he posted a league-high 24 interceptions. 1967 MVP season After once again finishing second in the Western Conference in 1966, the Colts rebounded to finish 11–1–2 in 1967 tying the Los Angeles Rams for the NFL's best record. In winning his third MVP award from the AP and UPI in 1967 (and his second from the NEA), Unitas had a league-high 58.5 completion percentage and passed for 3,428 yards and 20 touchdowns. He openly complained about having tennis elbow and he threw eight interceptions and only three touchdown passes in the final five games. Once again, the season ended in loss for the Colts, as they were shut out of the newly instituted four-team NFL playoff after losing the divisional tiebreaker to the Rams, a 34–10 rout in the regular season finale. Super Bowls and final Colt years In the final game of the 1968 preseason, the muscles in Unitas's arm were torn when he was hit by a member of the Dallas Cowboys defense. Unitas wrote in his autobiography that he felt his arm was initially injured by the use of the "night ball" that the NFL was testing for better TV visibility during night games. In a post-game interview the previous year, he noted having constant pain in his elbow for several years prior. He would spend most of the season sitting on the bench. The Colts still marched to a league-best 13–1 record behind backup quarterback and ultimate 1968 NFL MVP Earl Morrall. Although he was injured through most of the season, Unitas came off the bench to play in Super Bowl III, the famous game where Joe Namath guaranteed a New York Jets win despite conventional wisdom. Unitas's insertion was a desperation move in an attempt to retrieve dominance of the NFL over the upstart AFL. Although the Colts won an NFL Championship in 1968, they lost the Super Bowl to the AFL Champion New York Jets, thus becoming the first-ever NFL champions that were not also deemed world champions. Unitas helped put together the Colts' only score, a touchdown late in the game. Unitas also drove the Colts into scoring position following the touchdown and successful onside kick, but head coach Don Shula eschewed a field goal attempt, which (if successful) would have cut the Jets' lead to 16–10. Despite not playing until late in the third quarter, he still finished the game with more passing yards than the team's starter, Earl Morrall. After an off-season of rehabilitation on his elbow, Unitas rebounded in 1969, passing for 2,342 yards and 12 touchdowns with 20 interceptions. But the Colts finished with a disappointing 8–5–1 record, and missed the playoffs. In 1970, the NFL and AFL had merged into one league, and the Colts moved to the new American Football Conference, along with the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He threw for 2,213 yards and 14 touchdowns while leading the Colts to an 11–2–1 season. In their first rematch with the Jets, Unitas and Namath threw a combined nine interceptions in a 29–22 Colts win. Namath threw 62 passes and broke his hand on the final play of the game, ending his season. Unitas threw for 390 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in AFC playoff victories over the Cincinnati Bengals and the Oakland Raiders. In Super Bowl V against the Dallas Cowboys, he was knocked out of the game with a rib injury in the second quarter, soon after throwing a 75-yard touchdown pass (setting a then-Super Bowl record) to John Mackey. However, he had also tossed two interceptions before his departure from the game. Earl Morrall came in to lead the team to a last-second, 16–13 victory. In 1971, Unitas split playing time with Morrall, throwing only three touchdown passes. He started both playoff games, a win over the Cleveland Browns that sent the Colts to the AFC Championship game against the Miami Dolphins, which they lost by a score of 21–0. Unitas threw three interceptions in the game, one of which was returned for a touchdown by safety Dick Anderson. The 1972 season saw the Colts declining. After losing the season opener, Unitas was involved in the second and final regular season head-to-head meeting with "Broadway" Joe Namath. The first was in 1970 (won by the Colts, 29–22). The last meeting took place on September 24, 1972 at Memorial Stadium. He threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns, but Namath upstaged him again, bombing the Colts for 496 yards and six touchdowns in a 44–34 Jets victory – their first over Baltimore since the 1970 merger. After losing four of their first five games, the Colts fired head coach Don McCafferty, and benched Unitas. One of the more memorable moments in football history came on Unitas's last game in a Colts uniform at Memorial Stadium, in a game against the Buffalo Bills. He was not the starter for this game, but the Colts were blowing the Bills out by a score of 28–0 behind Marty Domres; Unitas entered the game due to the fans chanting, "We want Unitas!!!", and a plan devised by head coach John Sandusky to convince Unitas that the starting quarterback was injured. Unitas came onto the field, and threw two passes, one of which was a long touchdown to wide receiver Eddie Hinton which would be his last pass as a Colt. The Colts won the game by the score of 35–7. San Diego, retirement, and records Unitas was traded from the Colts to the San Diego Chargers on January 20, 1973, in a transaction that originally had future considerations returning to Baltimore. The deal's only obstacle was the personal services contract he had signed with the Colts in 1970 which would've kept him employed within the organization on an annual salary of $30,000 over ten years once his career as an active player ended. The pact had been signed when the ballclub was owned by Carroll Rosenbloom who subsequently acquired the Los Angeles Rams on July 13, 1972, in a franchise swap with Robert Irsay. The deal was completed when the Chargers purchased that contract. Eager to sever all ties with the Colts, Unitas signed a new two-year contract with the Chargers on June 8, 1973. He succeeded John Hadl who had requested and was granted a trade to the Rams. Unitas started the season with a 38–0 loss to the Washington Redskins. He threw for just 55 yards and 3 interceptions, and was sacked 8 times. His final victory as a starter came against the Buffalo Bills in week two. Unitas was 10–18 for 175 yards, two touchdown passes, and no interceptions in a 34–7 Chargers rout. Many were questioning his role as a starter after a loss to the Bengals in week three. Two weeks later, he threw two first-half interceptions, passed for only 19 yards, and went 2-for-9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was then replaced by rookie quarterback, future Hall of Famer Dan Fouts. After having posted a 1–3 record as a starter, Unitas retired in the preseason of 1974. Unitas finished his 18 NFL seasons with 2,830 completions in 5,186 attempts for 40,239 yards and 290 touchdowns, with 253 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,777 yards and 13 touchdowns. Plagued by arm trouble in his later seasons, he threw more interceptions (64) than touchdowns (38) in 1968–1973. After averaging 215.8 yards per game in his first 12 seasons, his production fell to 124.4 in his final six. His passer rating plummeted from 82.9 to 60.4 for the same periods. Even so, Unitas set many passing records during his career. He was the first quarterback to throw for more than 40,000 yards, despite playing during an era when NFL teams played shorter seasons of 12 or 14 games (as opposed to today's 17-game seasons) and prior to modern passing-friendly rules implemented in 1978. His 32 touchdown passes in 1959 were a record at the time, making Unitas the first quarterback to hit the 30 touchdown mark in a season. His 47-game consecutive touchdown streak between 1956 and 1960 was a record considered by many to be unbreakable. The streak stood for 52 years before being broken by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees in a game against the San Diego Chargers on October 7, 2012. Post-playing days After his playing days were finished, Unitas settled in Baltimore where he raised his family while also pursuing a career in broadcasting, doing color commentary for NFL games on CBS in the 1970s. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. After Robert Irsay moved the Colts franchise to Indianapolis in 1984, a move known to this day in Baltimore as "Bob Irsay's Midnight Ride," he was so outraged that he cut all ties to the relocated team (though his No. 19 jersey is still retired by the Colts), declaring himself strictly a Baltimore Colt for the remainder of his life. Some other prominent old-time Colts followed his lead, although many attended the 1975 team's reunion at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in 2009. A total of 39 Colts players from that 1975 team attended said reunion in Indianapolis, including Bert Jones and Lydell Mitchell. Unitas asked the Pro Football Hall of Fame on numerous occasions (including on Roy Firestone's Up Close) to remove his display unless it was listed as belonging to the Baltimore Colts. The Hall of Fame has never complied with the request. Unitas donated his Colts memorabilia to the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore; they are now on display in the Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards. Unitas was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987. Unitas actively lobbied for another NFL team to come to Baltimore. After the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996 and changed their name to the Ravens, he and some of the other old-time Colts attended the Ravens' first game ever against the Raiders on Opening Day at Memorial Stadium. He was frequently seen on the Ravens' sidelines at home games (most prominently in 1998 when the now-Indianapolis Colts played the Ravens in Baltimore) and received a thunderous ovation every time he was pictured on each of the huge widescreens at M&T Bank Stadium. He was often seen on the 30-yard line on the Ravens side. When the NFL celebrated its first 50 years, Unitas was voted the league's best player. Retired Bears quarterback Sid Luckman said of Unitas, "He was better than me, better than Sammy Baugh, better than anyone." Unitas lived most of the final years of his life severely hobbled. Due to an elbow injury suffered during his playing career, he had only very limited use of his right hand, and could not perform any physical activity more strenuous than golf due to his artificial knees. In 1991, Unitas and his wife filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11. Their court filings showed that the couple owed creditors as much as $3.2 million but had assets of about $1.4 million. His financial problems arose in part from a business venture in which he and two partners took out loans to buy National Circuits Inc., a maker of printed circuit boards, and the firm subsequently failed. NFL career statistics Regular season In 1957, Unitas was named MVP by the Newspaper Enterprise Association. Postseason Personal life At the age of 21 on November 20, 1954, Unitas married his high school sweetheart Dorothy Hoelle; they lived in Towson and had five children before divorcing. Unitas's second wife was Sandra Lemon, whom he married on June 26, 1972; they had three children, lived in Baldwin, and remained married until his death. Towson University, where Unitas was a major fund-raiser and which his children attended, named its football and lacrosse complex Johnny Unitas Stadium in recognition of both his football career and service to the university. Toward the end of his life, Unitas brought media attention to the many permanent physical disabilities that he and his fellow players suffered during their careers before heavy padding and other safety features became popular. Unitas himself lost almost total use of his right hand, with the middle finger and thumb noticeably disfigured from being repeatedly broken during games. On September 11, 2002, Unitas died from a heart attack while working out at the Kernan Physical Therapy Center (now The University of Maryland Rehabilitation & Orthopaedic Institute) in Baltimore. His funeral was held at Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Maryland. Between his death and October 4, 2002, 56,934 people signed an online petition urging the Baltimore Ravens to rename the Ravens' home stadium (owned by the State of Maryland) after Unitas. These requests were unsuccessful since the lucrative naming rights had already been leased by the Ravens to Buffalo-based M&T Bank. However, on October 20, 2002, the Ravens dedicated the front area of the stadium's main entrance as Unitas Plaza and unveiled a statue of Unitas as the centerpiece of the plaza. Unitas is buried at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium, Maryland. Legacy Unitas held the record for most Pro Bowl appearances (10) by a quarterback until Brett Favre broke his record in 2009. Unitas set the original standard for most wins as a starting quarterback with 118 regular season victories (since surpassed by multiple quarterbacks). Unitas was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. Unitas is 11th in all-time number of regular season games won by an NFL starting quarterback with 118 wins. Unitas is 16th in all-time percentage of regular season games won by an NFL starting quarterback with a percentage of 64.5. 1987 American Football Association Semi Pro Hall of Fame Unitas's no. 16 is the first number retired by the football program at the University of Louisville. Unitas Tower, a dormitory at the University of Louisville, is named for Johnny Unitas. A statue of Unitas sits in the north end zone of Cardinal Stadium at the University of Louisville. It is a tradition for each Cardinal player to touch the statue as he enters the field. Since 1987, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award has been awarded to the top senior quarterback of the current year in college football. The award is presented annually in Louisville. In 1999, he was ranked No. 5 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, behind only Joe Montana among quarterbacks. In 2004, The Sporting News ranked Unitas No. 1 among the NFL's 50 Greatest Quarterbacks, with Joe Montana at No. 2. In 1999, ESPN's Sportscentury: 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century ranked Unitas No. 32. Just before his death, Johnny Unitas became the community liaison for athletics in Towson, Maryland. The football stadium at Towson University was renamed Johnny Unitas Stadium in 2002. Unitas died less than a week after throwing his last pass in the grand opening of the stadium. Set the record for consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass at 47 games. This record was surpassed by Drew Brees in 2012. Set the record for consecutive games with at least two touchdown passes at 12 games. This record was surpassed by Don Meredith, Peyton Manning (twice), Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers, and Patrick Mahomes. Set the record for most consecutive games with at least a 120 passer rating (4); this record was later matched by Kurt Warner For the game following his death, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning asked to wear a pair of black cleats as a tribute to Johnny's signature black boots. The league denied his request and threatened Manning with a US$25,000 fine; Manning decided not to wear them. Despite the threatened fine, Chris Redman, a Louisville alum like Unitas, and then quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, decided to pay homage by wearing the signature cleats during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 2013, a movie project was announced by The Baltimore Sun called Unitas We Stand, which will feature Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco as Unitas during the 1958 NFL Championship. 19th Street in Ocean City, Maryland is named "Johnny Unitas Way" in his honor. Johnny Unitas Stadium on the campus of Towson University in Towson, Maryland, home of the Towson Tigers football and Towson Tigers men's lacrosse teams is named in his honor. Unitas was posthumously inducted into the National Lithuanian American Hall of Fame on August 24, 2013. Unitas was featured twice on The Simpsons, first in the episode "Homie the Clown", in which Unitas (voiced by himself) encourages the usage of the Krusty Moustache Removal System in a non-stop infomercial. In "Mother Simpson", Homer's father admires Unitas' short hair in contrast to Joe Namath's controversial sideburns, calling it "a haircut you could set your watch to". Unitas is referenced in the 1991 movie Point Break. One of the characters in the movie said "They got me babysitting some quarterback punk, named Johnny Unitas or something" when they get a new partner. Unitas is referenced in a 1992 episode of the Nickelodeon television show The Adventures of Pete & Pete titled "Space, Geeks and Johnny Unitas." See also List of most consecutive starts by a National Football League quarterback Most wins by a starting quarterback (NFL) Notes References Sources Bolus, Jim, and Billy Reed. Cardinal Football. Champaign, IL: Sports Pub Inc., 1999. Callahan, Tom. Johnny U: the life and times of John Unitas. New York: Crown Publishers, 2006. Lazenby, Roland. Johnny Unitas: the best there ever was. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2002. Schaap, Dick (1999). "Johnny Unitas: Sunday's Best". In ESPN SportsCentury. Michael MacCambridge, Editor. New York: ESPN-Hyperion Books. pp. 154–65. Cavanaugh, Jack (2008), Giants Among Men. New York:Random House. MacCambridge, Michael (2005), America's Game. New York:Anchor Books. External links Category:1933 births Category:2002 deaths Category:American football quarterbacks Category:American people of Lithuanian descent Category:Baltimore Colts players Category:Burials at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens Category:Catholics from Maryland Category:Catholics from Pennsylvania Category:Louisville Cardinals football players Category:National Football League announcers Category:National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners Category:National Football League players with retired numbers Category:People from Timonium, Maryland Category:People from Towson, Maryland Category:Pittsburgh Steelers players Category:Players of American football from Baltimore Category:Players of American football from Pittsburgh Category:Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:San Diego Chargers players Category:Sportspeople from Baltimore County, Maryland Category:Western Conference Pro Bowl players

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Johnny Unitas

John Constantine Unitas was born in Pittsburgh in 1933 to Francis J. Unitas and Helen Superfisky, who both were of Lithuanian descent; he grew up in the Mount Washington neighborhood. When Johnny was five years old, his father died of cardiovascular renal disease complicated by pneumonia, leaving the young boy to be raised by his mother, who worked two jobs to support the family. His surname was a result of a phonetic transliteration of a common Lithuanian last name Jonaitis. Attending St. Justin's High School in Pittsburgh, Unitas played halfback and quarterback.

1964 MVP season

The 1964 season would see the Colts return to the top of the Western Conference. After dropping their season opener to the Minnesota Vikings, the Colts ran off 10 straight victories to finish with a 12-2 record. The season was one of Unitas' best as he finished with 2,824 yards passing, a league-best 9.26 yards per pass attempt, 19 touchdown passes and only 6 interceptions. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the AP and UPI for a second time. However, the season would end on a disappointing note for the Colts as they were upset by the Cleveland Browns in the 1964 NFL Championship Game, losing 27-0. Unitas resumed his torrid passing in 1965, as he threw for 2,530 yards, 23 touchdowns and finished with a league-high and career best 97.1 passer rating. But he was lost for the balance of the season due to a knee injury in a week 12 loss to the Bears. More postseason heartbreak would follow in 1965. The Colts and Packers finished in a tie for first place in the Western Conference and a one-game playoff was played in Green Bay to decide who would be the conference representative in the 1965 NFL Championship Game. The Colts lost in overtime 13-10 due in large part to a game-tying field goal by Don Chandler that many say was incorrectly ruled good. Backup quarterback Gary Cuozzo also suffered a season-ending injury the following week and it would be running back Tom Matte who filled in as the emergency QB for the regular-season finale and the playoff loss to the Packers. Unitas, healthy once more, threw for 2748 yards and 22 touchdowns in 1966 in a return to Pro Bowl form. However, he posted a league-high 24 interceptions. CANNOTANSWER

John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 to 1973, he has been consistently listed as one of the greatest NFL players of all time, and is widely considered to be the first "superstar" quarterback in American football history. Unitas set many NFL records and was named Most Valuable Player three times in 1959, 1964, and 1967, in addition to receiving 10 Pro Bowl and five first-team All-Pro honors. He helped lead the Colts to four championship titles; three in the pre-merger era in 1958, 1959, and 1968, and one in the Super Bowl era in Super Bowl V. His first championship victory is regarded as one of the league's greatest games and credited with helping popularize the NFL. Between 1956 and 1960, he set the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass at 47, which held for 52 years. Nicknamed "Johnny U" and the "Golden Arm", Unitas was considered the prototype of the modern era marquee quarterback. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. Early life John Constantine Unitas was born in Pittsburgh in 1933 to Francis J. Unitas and Helen Superfisky, both of Lithuanian descent; he grew up in the Mount Washington neighborhood in a Roman Catholic upbringing. When Unitas was five years old, his father died of cardiovascular renal disease complicated by pneumonia, leaving the young boy to be raised by his mother, who worked two jobs to support the family. His surname was a result of a phonetic transliteration of a common Lithuanian last name Jonaitis. Attending St. Justin's High School in Pittsburgh, Unitas played halfback and quarterback. College career In his younger years, Unitas dreamed about being part of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, but when he tried out for the team, coach Frank Leahy said that he was just too skinny and he would "get murdered" if he was put on the field. Instead, he attended the University of Louisville. In his four-year career as a Louisville Cardinal, Unitas completed 245 passes for 3,139 yards and 27 touchdowns. Reportedly, the Unitas weighed on his first day of practice. His first start was in the fifth game of the 1951 season against St. Bonaventure, where he threw 11 consecutive passes and three touchdowns to give the Cardinals a 21–19 lead. Louisville ended up losing the game 22–21 on a disputed field goal, but found a new starting quarterback. Unitas completed 12 of 19 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns in a 35–28 victory over Houston. The team finished the season 5–5 overall and 4–1 with Unitas starting. He completed 46 of 99 passes for 602 yards and nine touchdowns (44). By the 1952 season, the university decided to de-emphasize sports. The new president at Louisville, Dr. Philip Grant Davidson, reduced the amount of athletic aid, and tightened academic standards for athletes. As a result, 15 returning players could not meet the new standards and lost their scholarships. Unitas maintained his by taking on a new elective: square dancing. In 1952, coach Frank Camp switched the team to two-way football. Unitas not only played safety or linebacker on defense and quarterback on offense, but also returned kicks and punts on special teams. The Cardinals won their first game against Wayne State, and then Florida State in the second game. Unitas completed 16 of 21 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns. It was said that Unitas put on such a show at the Florida State game that he threw a pass under his legs for 15 yards. The rest of the season was a struggle for the Cardinals, who finished 3–5. Unitas completed 106 of 198 passes for 1,540 yards and 12 touchdowns. The team won their first game in 1953, against Murray State, and lost the rest for a record of 1–7. One of the most memorable games of the season came in a 59–6 loss against Tennessee. Unitas completed 9 out of 19 passes for 73 yards, rushed 9 times for 52 yards, returned six kickoffs for 85 yards, one punt for three yards, and had 86 percent of the team's tackles. The only touchdown the team scored was in the fourth quarter when Unitas made a fake pitch to the running back and ran the ball 23 yards for a touchdown. Unitas was hurt later in the fourth quarter while trying to run the ball. On his way off the field, he received a standing ovation. When he got to the locker room he was so tired that his jersey and shoulder pads had to be cut off because he could not lift his arms. Louisville ended the season with a 20–13 loss to Eastern Kentucky. Unitas completed 49 of 95 passes for 470 yards and three touchdowns. Unitas was elected captain for the 1954 season, but due to an early injury did not see much playing time. His first start was the third game of the season, against Florida State. Of the 34-man team, 21 were freshmen. The 1954 Cardinals went 3–6, with their last win at home against Morehead State. Unitas was slowed by so many injuries his senior year his 527 passing yards ended second to Jim Houser's 560. Professional career Pittsburgh Steelers After his collegiate career, the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL drafted Unitas in the ninth round. However, he was released before the season began as the odd man out among four quarterbacks trying to fill three spots. Steelers' head coach Walt Kiesling had made up his mind about Unitas; he thought he was not smart enough to quarterback an NFL team, and he was not given any snaps in practice with the Steelers. Among those edging out Unitas was Ted Marchibroda, future longtime NFL head coach. Out of pro football, Unitas—by this time married—worked in construction in Pittsburgh to support his family. On the weekends, he played quarterback, safety and punter on a local semi-professional team called the Bloomfield Rams for $6 a game. Baltimore Colts In 1956, Unitas joined the Baltimore Colts of the NFL under legendary coach Weeb Ewbank, after being asked at the last minute to join Bloomfield Rams lineman Jim Deglau, a Croatian steelworker with a life much like Unitas, at the latter's scheduled Colts tryout. The pair borrowed money from friends to pay for the gas to make the trip. Deglau later told a reporter after Unitas's death, "[His] uncle told him not to come. [He] was worried that if he came down and the Colts passed on him, it would look bad (to other NFL teams)." The Colts signed Unitas, much to the chagrin of the Cleveland Browns, who had hoped to claim the former Steeler quarterback. Unitas made his NFL debut with an inauspicious "mop-up" appearance against Detroit, going 0–2 with one interception. Two weeks later, starting quarterback George Shaw suffered a broken leg against the Chicago Bears. In his first serious action, Unitas's initial pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Then he botched a hand-off on his next play, a fumble recovered by the Bears. Unitas rebounded quickly from that 58–27 loss, leading the Colts to an upset of Green Bay and their first win over Cleveland. He threw nine touchdown passes that year, including one in the season finale that started his record 47-game streak. His 55.6-percent completion mark was a rookie record. In 1957, his first season as the Colts full-time starter at quarterback, Unitas finished first in the NFL in passing yards (2,550) and touchdown passes (24) as he helped lead the Colts to a 7–5 record, the first winning record in franchise history. At season's end, Unitas received the Jim Thorpe Trophy as the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA). 1958: "The Greatest Game Ever Played" Unitas continued his prowess in 1958 passing for 2,007 yards and 19 touchdowns as the Colts won the Western Conference title. The Colts won the NFL championship under his leadership on December 28, 1958, by defeating the New York Giants 23–17 in sudden death overtime on a touchdown by fullback Alan Ameche. It was the first overtime game in NFL history, and is often referred to as the "greatest game ever played". The game, nationally televised by NBC, has been credited for sparking the rise in popularity of professional football during the 1960s. 1959 MVP season In 1959, Unitas was named the NFL's MVP by the Associated Press (AP) for the first time, as well as United Press International's player of the year, after leading the NFL in passing yards (2,899), touchdown passes (32), and completions (193). He then led the Colts to a repeat championship, beating the Giants again 31–16 in the title game. Beginning of the 1960s As the 1960s began, the Colts' fortunes (and win totals) declined. Injuries to key players such as Alan Ameche, Raymond Berry, and Lenny Moore were a contributing factor. Unitas's streak of 47 straight games with at least one touchdown pass ended against the Los Angeles Rams in week 11 of the 1960 season. In spite of this, he topped the 3,000-yard passing mark for the first time and led the league in touchdown passes for the fourth consecutive season. After three middle-of-the-pack seasons, Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom fired Weeb Ewbank and replaced him with Don Shula, who at the time was the youngest head coach in NFL history (33 years of age when he was hired). The Colts finished 8–6 in Shula's first season at the helm, good enough for only third place in the NFL's Western Conference, but they did end the season on a strong note by winning their final three games. The season was very successful for Unitas personally, as he led the NFL in passing yards with a career-best total of 3,481 and also led in completions with 237. 1964 MVP season In the 1964 season the Colts returned to the top of the Western Conference. After dropping their season opener to the Minnesota Vikings, the Colts ran off 10 straight victories to finish with a 12–2 record. The season was one of Unitas's best as he finished with 2,824 yards passing, a league-best 9.26 yards per pass attempt, 19 touchdown passes and only 6 interceptions. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the AP and UPI for a second time. However, the season ended on a disappointing note for the Colts as they were upset by the Cleveland Browns in the 1964 NFL Championship Game, losing 27–0. Unitas resumed his torrid passing in 1965, throwing for 2,530 yards, 23 touchdowns and finishing with a league-high and career-best 97.1 passer rating. But he was lost for the balance of the season due to a knee injury in a week 12 loss to the Bears. Backup quarterback Gary Cuozzo also suffered a season-ending injury the following week, and running back Tom Matte filled in as the emergency quarterback for the regular season finale and in a playoff loss to the Packers. The Colts and Packers finished in a tie for first place in the Western Conference and a one-game playoff was played in Green Bay to decide who would be the conference representative in the 1965 NFL Championship Game. The Colts lost in overtime 13–10 due in large part to a game-tying field goal by Don Chandler that many say was incorrectly ruled good. Unitas, healthy once more, threw for 2,748 yards and 22 touchdowns in 1966 in a return to Pro Bowl form. However, he posted a league-high 24 interceptions. 1967 MVP season After once again finishing second in the Western Conference in 1966, the Colts rebounded to finish 11–1–2 in 1967 tying the Los Angeles Rams for the NFL's best record. In winning his third MVP award from the AP and UPI in 1967 (and his second from the NEA), Unitas had a league-high 58.5 completion percentage and passed for 3,428 yards and 20 touchdowns. He openly complained about having tennis elbow and he threw eight interceptions and only three touchdown passes in the final five games. Once again, the season ended in loss for the Colts, as they were shut out of the newly instituted four-team NFL playoff after losing the divisional tiebreaker to the Rams, a 34–10 rout in the regular season finale. Super Bowls and final Colt years In the final game of the 1968 preseason, the muscles in Unitas's arm were torn when he was hit by a member of the Dallas Cowboys defense. Unitas wrote in his autobiography that he felt his arm was initially injured by the use of the "night ball" that the NFL was testing for better TV visibility during night games. In a post-game interview the previous year, he noted having constant pain in his elbow for several years prior. He would spend most of the season sitting on the bench. The Colts still marched to a league-best 13–1 record behind backup quarterback and ultimate 1968 NFL MVP Earl Morrall. Although he was injured through most of the season, Unitas came off the bench to play in Super Bowl III, the famous game where Joe Namath guaranteed a New York Jets win despite conventional wisdom. Unitas's insertion was a desperation move in an attempt to retrieve dominance of the NFL over the upstart AFL. Although the Colts won an NFL Championship in 1968, they lost the Super Bowl to the AFL Champion New York Jets, thus becoming the first-ever NFL champions that were not also deemed world champions. Unitas helped put together the Colts' only score, a touchdown late in the game. Unitas also drove the Colts into scoring position following the touchdown and successful onside kick, but head coach Don Shula eschewed a field goal attempt, which (if successful) would have cut the Jets' lead to 16–10. Despite not playing until late in the third quarter, he still finished the game with more passing yards than the team's starter, Earl Morrall. After an off-season of rehabilitation on his elbow, Unitas rebounded in 1969, passing for 2,342 yards and 12 touchdowns with 20 interceptions. But the Colts finished with a disappointing 8–5–1 record, and missed the playoffs. In 1970, the NFL and AFL had merged into one league, and the Colts moved to the new American Football Conference, along with the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He threw for 2,213 yards and 14 touchdowns while leading the Colts to an 11–2–1 season. In their first rematch with the Jets, Unitas and Namath threw a combined nine interceptions in a 29–22 Colts win. Namath threw 62 passes and broke his hand on the final play of the game, ending his season. Unitas threw for 390 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in AFC playoff victories over the Cincinnati Bengals and the Oakland Raiders. In Super Bowl V against the Dallas Cowboys, he was knocked out of the game with a rib injury in the second quarter, soon after throwing a 75-yard touchdown pass (setting a then-Super Bowl record) to John Mackey. However, he had also tossed two interceptions before his departure from the game. Earl Morrall came in to lead the team to a last-second, 16–13 victory. In 1971, Unitas split playing time with Morrall, throwing only three touchdown passes. He started both playoff games, a win over the Cleveland Browns that sent the Colts to the AFC Championship game against the Miami Dolphins, which they lost by a score of 21–0. Unitas threw three interceptions in the game, one of which was returned for a touchdown by safety Dick Anderson. The 1972 season saw the Colts declining. After losing the season opener, Unitas was involved in the second and final regular season head-to-head meeting with "Broadway" Joe Namath. The first was in 1970 (won by the Colts, 29–22). The last meeting took place on September 24, 1972 at Memorial Stadium. He threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns, but Namath upstaged him again, bombing the Colts for 496 yards and six touchdowns in a 44–34 Jets victory – their first over Baltimore since the 1970 merger. After losing four of their first five games, the Colts fired head coach Don McCafferty, and benched Unitas. One of the more memorable moments in football history came on Unitas's last game in a Colts uniform at Memorial Stadium, in a game against the Buffalo Bills. He was not the starter for this game, but the Colts were blowing the Bills out by a score of 28–0 behind Marty Domres; Unitas entered the game due to the fans chanting, "We want Unitas!!!", and a plan devised by head coach John Sandusky to convince Unitas that the starting quarterback was injured. Unitas came onto the field, and threw two passes, one of which was a long touchdown to wide receiver Eddie Hinton which would be his last pass as a Colt. The Colts won the game by the score of 35–7. San Diego, retirement, and records Unitas was traded from the Colts to the San Diego Chargers on January 20, 1973, in a transaction that originally had future considerations returning to Baltimore. The deal's only obstacle was the personal services contract he had signed with the Colts in 1970 which would've kept him employed within the organization on an annual salary of $30,000 over ten years once his career as an active player ended. The pact had been signed when the ballclub was owned by Carroll Rosenbloom who subsequently acquired the Los Angeles Rams on July 13, 1972, in a franchise swap with Robert Irsay. The deal was completed when the Chargers purchased that contract. Eager to sever all ties with the Colts, Unitas signed a new two-year contract with the Chargers on June 8, 1973. He succeeded John Hadl who had requested and was granted a trade to the Rams. Unitas started the season with a 38–0 loss to the Washington Redskins. He threw for just 55 yards and 3 interceptions, and was sacked 8 times. His final victory as a starter came against the Buffalo Bills in week two. Unitas was 10–18 for 175 yards, two touchdown passes, and no interceptions in a 34–7 Chargers rout. Many were questioning his role as a starter after a loss to the Bengals in week three. Two weeks later, he threw two first-half interceptions, passed for only 19 yards, and went 2-for-9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was then replaced by rookie quarterback, future Hall of Famer Dan Fouts. After having posted a 1–3 record as a starter, Unitas retired in the preseason of 1974. Unitas finished his 18 NFL seasons with 2,830 completions in 5,186 attempts for 40,239 yards and 290 touchdowns, with 253 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,777 yards and 13 touchdowns. Plagued by arm trouble in his later seasons, he threw more interceptions (64) than touchdowns (38) in 1968–1973. After averaging 215.8 yards per game in his first 12 seasons, his production fell to 124.4 in his final six. His passer rating plummeted from 82.9 to 60.4 for the same periods. Even so, Unitas set many passing records during his career. He was the first quarterback to throw for more than 40,000 yards, despite playing during an era when NFL teams played shorter seasons of 12 or 14 games (as opposed to today's 17-game seasons) and prior to modern passing-friendly rules implemented in 1978. His 32 touchdown passes in 1959 were a record at the time, making Unitas the first quarterback to hit the 30 touchdown mark in a season. His 47-game consecutive touchdown streak between 1956 and 1960 was a record considered by many to be unbreakable. The streak stood for 52 years before being broken by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees in a game against the San Diego Chargers on October 7, 2012. Post-playing days After his playing days were finished, Unitas settled in Baltimore where he raised his family while also pursuing a career in broadcasting, doing color commentary for NFL games on CBS in the 1970s. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. After Robert Irsay moved the Colts franchise to Indianapolis in 1984, a move known to this day in Baltimore as "Bob Irsay's Midnight Ride," he was so outraged that he cut all ties to the relocated team (though his No. 19 jersey is still retired by the Colts), declaring himself strictly a Baltimore Colt for the remainder of his life. Some other prominent old-time Colts followed his lead, although many attended the 1975 team's reunion at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in 2009. A total of 39 Colts players from that 1975 team attended said reunion in Indianapolis, including Bert Jones and Lydell Mitchell. Unitas asked the Pro Football Hall of Fame on numerous occasions (including on Roy Firestone's Up Close) to remove his display unless it was listed as belonging to the Baltimore Colts. The Hall of Fame has never complied with the request. Unitas donated his Colts memorabilia to the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore; they are now on display in the Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards. Unitas was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987. Unitas actively lobbied for another NFL team to come to Baltimore. After the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996 and changed their name to the Ravens, he and some of the other old-time Colts attended the Ravens' first game ever against the Raiders on Opening Day at Memorial Stadium. He was frequently seen on the Ravens' sidelines at home games (most prominently in 1998 when the now-Indianapolis Colts played the Ravens in Baltimore) and received a thunderous ovation every time he was pictured on each of the huge widescreens at M&T Bank Stadium. He was often seen on the 30-yard line on the Ravens side. When the NFL celebrated its first 50 years, Unitas was voted the league's best player. Retired Bears quarterback Sid Luckman said of Unitas, "He was better than me, better than Sammy Baugh, better than anyone." Unitas lived most of the final years of his life severely hobbled. Due to an elbow injury suffered during his playing career, he had only very limited use of his right hand, and could not perform any physical activity more strenuous than golf due to his artificial knees. In 1991, Unitas and his wife filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11. Their court filings showed that the couple owed creditors as much as $3.2 million but had assets of about $1.4 million. His financial problems arose in part from a business venture in which he and two partners took out loans to buy National Circuits Inc., a maker of printed circuit boards, and the firm subsequently failed. NFL career statistics Regular season In 1957, Unitas was named MVP by the Newspaper Enterprise Association. Postseason Personal life At the age of 21 on November 20, 1954, Unitas married his high school sweetheart Dorothy Hoelle; they lived in Towson and had five children before divorcing. Unitas's second wife was Sandra Lemon, whom he married on June 26, 1972; they had three children, lived in Baldwin, and remained married until his death. Towson University, where Unitas was a major fund-raiser and which his children attended, named its football and lacrosse complex Johnny Unitas Stadium in recognition of both his football career and service to the university. Toward the end of his life, Unitas brought media attention to the many permanent physical disabilities that he and his fellow players suffered during their careers before heavy padding and other safety features became popular. Unitas himself lost almost total use of his right hand, with the middle finger and thumb noticeably disfigured from being repeatedly broken during games. On September 11, 2002, Unitas died from a heart attack while working out at the Kernan Physical Therapy Center (now The University of Maryland Rehabilitation & Orthopaedic Institute) in Baltimore. His funeral was held at Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Maryland. Between his death and October 4, 2002, 56,934 people signed an online petition urging the Baltimore Ravens to rename the Ravens' home stadium (owned by the State of Maryland) after Unitas. These requests were unsuccessful since the lucrative naming rights had already been leased by the Ravens to Buffalo-based M&T Bank. However, on October 20, 2002, the Ravens dedicated the front area of the stadium's main entrance as Unitas Plaza and unveiled a statue of Unitas as the centerpiece of the plaza. Unitas is buried at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium, Maryland. Legacy Unitas held the record for most Pro Bowl appearances (10) by a quarterback until Brett Favre broke his record in 2009. Unitas set the original standard for most wins as a starting quarterback with 118 regular season victories (since surpassed by multiple quarterbacks). Unitas was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. Unitas is 11th in all-time number of regular season games won by an NFL starting quarterback with 118 wins. Unitas is 16th in all-time percentage of regular season games won by an NFL starting quarterback with a percentage of 64.5. 1987 American Football Association Semi Pro Hall of Fame Unitas's no. 16 is the first number retired by the football program at the University of Louisville. Unitas Tower, a dormitory at the University of Louisville, is named for Johnny Unitas. A statue of Unitas sits in the north end zone of Cardinal Stadium at the University of Louisville. It is a tradition for each Cardinal player to touch the statue as he enters the field. Since 1987, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award has been awarded to the top senior quarterback of the current year in college football. The award is presented annually in Louisville. In 1999, he was ranked No. 5 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, behind only Joe Montana among quarterbacks. In 2004, The Sporting News ranked Unitas No. 1 among the NFL's 50 Greatest Quarterbacks, with Joe Montana at No. 2. In 1999, ESPN's Sportscentury: 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century ranked Unitas No. 32. Just before his death, Johnny Unitas became the community liaison for athletics in Towson, Maryland. The football stadium at Towson University was renamed Johnny Unitas Stadium in 2002. Unitas died less than a week after throwing his last pass in the grand opening of the stadium. Set the record for consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass at 47 games. This record was surpassed by Drew Brees in 2012. Set the record for consecutive games with at least two touchdown passes at 12 games. This record was surpassed by Don Meredith, Peyton Manning (twice), Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers, and Patrick Mahomes. Set the record for most consecutive games with at least a 120 passer rating (4); this record was later matched by Kurt Warner For the game following his death, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning asked to wear a pair of black cleats as a tribute to Johnny's signature black boots. The league denied his request and threatened Manning with a US$25,000 fine; Manning decided not to wear them. Despite the threatened fine, Chris Redman, a Louisville alum like Unitas, and then quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, decided to pay homage by wearing the signature cleats during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 2013, a movie project was announced by The Baltimore Sun called Unitas We Stand, which will feature Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco as Unitas during the 1958 NFL Championship. 19th Street in Ocean City, Maryland is named "Johnny Unitas Way" in his honor. Johnny Unitas Stadium on the campus of Towson University in Towson, Maryland, home of the Towson Tigers football and Towson Tigers men's lacrosse teams is named in his honor. Unitas was posthumously inducted into the National Lithuanian American Hall of Fame on August 24, 2013. Unitas was featured twice on The Simpsons, first in the episode "Homie the Clown", in which Unitas (voiced by himself) encourages the usage of the Krusty Moustache Removal System in a non-stop infomercial. In "Mother Simpson", Homer's father admires Unitas' short hair in contrast to Joe Namath's controversial sideburns, calling it "a haircut you could set your watch to". Unitas is referenced in the 1991 movie Point Break. One of the characters in the movie said "They got me babysitting some quarterback punk, named Johnny Unitas or something" when they get a new partner. Unitas is referenced in a 1992 episode of the Nickelodeon television show The Adventures of Pete & Pete titled "Space, Geeks and Johnny Unitas." See also List of most consecutive starts by a National Football League quarterback Most wins by a starting quarterback (NFL) Notes References Sources Bolus, Jim, and Billy Reed. Cardinal Football. Champaign, IL: Sports Pub Inc., 1999. Callahan, Tom. Johnny U: the life and times of John Unitas. New York: Crown Publishers, 2006. Lazenby, Roland. Johnny Unitas: the best there ever was. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2002. Schaap, Dick (1999). "Johnny Unitas: Sunday's Best". In ESPN SportsCentury. Michael MacCambridge, Editor. New York: ESPN-Hyperion Books. pp. 154–65. Cavanaugh, Jack (2008), Giants Among Men. New York:Random House. MacCambridge, Michael (2005), America's Game. New York:Anchor Books. External links Category:1933 births Category:2002 deaths Category:American football quarterbacks Category:American people of Lithuanian descent Category:Baltimore Colts players Category:Burials at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens Category:Catholics from Maryland Category:Catholics from Pennsylvania Category:Louisville Cardinals football players Category:National Football League announcers Category:National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners Category:National Football League players with retired numbers Category:People from Timonium, Maryland Category:People from Towson, Maryland Category:Pittsburgh Steelers players Category:Players of American football from Baltimore Category:Players of American football from Pittsburgh Category:Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:San Diego Chargers players Category:Sportspeople from Baltimore County, Maryland Category:Western Conference Pro Bowl players

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Casey Stengel

Charles Dillon Stengel was born on July 30, 1890, in Kansas City, Missouri. His ancestry involves German and Irish; his parents--Louis Stengel and Jennie (Wolff) Stengel--were from the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa, and had moved to Kansas City soon after their 1886 wedding so Louis could take an insurance job. "Charlie" was the youngest of three children, and the second son. Charlie Stengel played sandlot baseball as a child, and also played baseball, football and basketball at Kansas City's Central High School.

Minor leagues

Before reporting to spring training for the Blues in early 1910 at Excelsior Springs, Missouri, Stengel was approached by his neighbor, Kid Nichols, a former star pitcher, who advised him to listen to his manager and to the older players, and if he was minded to reject their advice, at least think it over for a month or so first. Stengel failed to make the ball club, which was part of the American Association, considered one of the top minor leagues. Kansas City optioned Stengel to the Kankakee Kays of the Class D Northern Association, a lower-level minor league, to gain experience as an outfielder. He had a .251 batting average with Kankakee when the league folded in July. He found a place with the Shelbyville Grays, who moved mid-season and became the Maysville Rivermen, of the Class D Blue Grass League, batting .221. He returned to the Blues for the final week of the season, with his combined batting average for 1910 at .237. Uncertain of whether he would be successful as a baseball player, Stengel attended Western Dental College in the 1910-1911 offseason. He would later tell stories of his woes as a left-handed would-be dentist using right-handed equipment. The Blues sold Stengel to the Aurora Blues of the Class C Wisconsin-Illinois League. He led the league with a .352 batting average. Brooklyn Dodgers scout Larry Sutton took a trip from Chicago to nearby Aurora, noticed Stengel, and the Dodgers purchased his contract on September 1, 1911. Brooklyn outfielder Zach Wheat later claimed credit for tipping off Sutton that Stengel was worth signing. Stengel finished the season with Aurora and returned to dental school for the offseason. The Dodgers assigned Stengel to the Montgomery Rebels of the Class A Southern Association for the 1912 season. Playing for manager Kid Elberfeld, Stengel batted .290 and led the league in outfield assists. He also developed a reputation as an eccentric player. Scout Mike Kahoe referred to Stengel as a "dandy ballplayer, but it's all from the neck down". After reporting to Brooklyn in September and getting a taste of the big leagues, he spent a third offseason at dental school in 1912-1913. He did not graduate, though whenever his baseball career hit a bad patch in the years to follow, his wife Edna would urge him to get his degree. CANNOTANSWER

Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, the expansion New York Mets. Nicknamed "The Ol' Perfessor", he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in . Stengel was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1890. In 1910, he began a professional baseball career that would span over half a century. After almost three seasons in the minor leagues, Stengel reached the major leagues late in 1912, as an outfielder, for the Brooklyn Dodgers. His six seasons there saw some success, among them playing for Brooklyn's 1916 National League championship team; but he also developed a reputation as a clown. After repeated clashes over pay with the Dodgers owner, Charlie Ebbets, Stengel was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1918; however, he enlisted in the Navy that summer, for the remainder of World War I. After returning to baseball, he continued his pay disputes, resulting in trades to the Philadelphia Phillies (in 1919) and to the New York Giants (in 1921). There, he learned much about baseball from the manager, John McGraw, and had some of the glorious moments in his career, such as hitting an inside-the-park home run in Game 1 of the 1923 World Series to defeat the Yankees. His major league playing career ended with the Boston Braves in 1925, but he then began a career as a manager. The first twenty years of Stengel's second career brought mostly poor finishes, especially during his MLB managerial stints with the Dodgers (1934–1936) and Braves (1938–1943). He thereafter enjoyed some success on the minor league level, and Yankee general manager George Weiss hired him as manager in October 1948. Stengel's Yankees won the World Series five consecutive times (1949–1953), the only time that has been achieved. Although the team won ten pennants in his twelve seasons, and won seven World Series, his final two years brought less success, with a third-place finish in 1959, and a loss in the 1960 World Series. By then aged 70, he was dismissed by the Yankees shortly after the defeat. Stengel had become famous for his humorous and sometimes disjointed way of speech while with the Yankees, and these skills of showmanship served the expansion Mets well when they hired him in late 1961. He promoted the team tirelessly, as well as managing it to a 40–120 win–loss record, the most losses of any 20th century MLB team. The team finished last all four years he managed it, but was boosted by considerable support from fans. Stengel retired in 1965, and became a fixture at baseball events for the rest of his life. Although Stengel is sometimes described as one of the great managers in major league history, others have contrasted his success during the Yankee years with his lack of success at other times, and concluded he was a good manager only when given good players. Stengel is remembered as one of the great characters in baseball history. Early life Charles Dillon Stengel was born on July 30, 1890, in Kansas City, Missouri. His ancestry included German and Irish; his parents—Louis Stengel and Jennie (Jordan) Stengel—were from the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa, and had moved to Kansas City soon after their 1886 wedding so Louis could take an insurance job. "Charlie" was the youngest of three children, and the second son. Charlie Stengel played sandlot baseball as a child, and also played baseball, football and basketball at Kansas City's Central High School. His basketball team won the city championship, while the baseball team won the state championship. As a teenager, Stengel played on a number of semipro baseball teams. He played on the traveling team called the Kansas City Red Sox during the summers of 1908 and 1909, going as far west as Wyoming and earning a dollar a day. He was offered a contract by the minor league Kansas City Blues for $135 a month, more money than his father was making. Since young Stengel was underage, his father had to agree, which he did. Louis Stengel recalled, "So I put down my paper and signed. You could never change that boy's mind anyway". Playing career Minor leagues Before reporting to spring training for the Blues in early 1910 at Excelsior Springs, Missouri, Stengel was approached by his neighbor, Kid Nichols, a former star pitcher, who advised him to listen to his manager and to the older players, and if he was minded to reject their advice, at least think it over for a month or so first. Stengel failed to make the ball club, which was part of the American Association, considered one of the top minor leagues. Kansas City optioned Stengel to the Kankakee Kays of the Class D Northern Association, a lower-level minor league, to gain experience as an outfielder. He had a .251 batting average with Kankakee when the league folded in July. He found a place with the Shelbyville Grays, who moved mid-season and became the Maysville Rivermen, of the Class D Blue Grass League, batting .221. He returned to the Blues for the final week of the season, with his combined batting average for 1910 at .237. Uncertain of whether he would be successful as a baseball player, Stengel attended Western Dental College in the 1910–1911 offseason. He would later tell stories of his woes as a left-handed would-be dentist using right-handed equipment. The Blues sold Stengel to the Aurora Blues of the Class C Wisconsin–Illinois League. He led the league with a .352 batting average. Brooklyn Dodgers scout Larry Sutton took a trip from Chicago to nearby Aurora, noticed Stengel, and the Dodgers purchased his contract on September 1, 1911. Brooklyn outfielder Zach Wheat later claimed credit for tipping off Sutton that Stengel was worth signing. Stengel finished the season with Aurora and returned to dental school for the offseason. The Dodgers assigned Stengel to the Montgomery Rebels of the Class A Southern Association for the 1912 season. Playing for manager Kid Elberfeld, Stengel batted .290 and led the league in outfield assists. He also developed a reputation as an eccentric player. Scout Mike Kahoe referred to Stengel as a "dandy ballplayer, but it's all from the neck down". After reporting to Brooklyn in September and getting a taste of the big leagues, he spent a third offseason at dental school in 1912–1913. He did not graduate, though whenever his baseball career hit a bad patch in the years to follow, his wife Edna would urge him to get his degree. Brooklyn years (1912–1917) In later years, Casey Stengel told stories of his coming to Brooklyn to play for the Dodgers; most focused on his naïveté and were, at least, exaggerated. Wheat was from the Kansas City area and watched over Stengel, getting the young player a locker next to his and working with him on outfield technique. Stengel made his MLB debut at Brooklyn's Washington Park on September 17, 1912, as the starting center fielder, and went 4–4 with a walk, two stolen bases and two tie-breaking runs batted in, leading seventh-place Brooklyn to a 7–3 win over the Pirates. Stengel continued to play well, finishing the season with a .316 batting average, though hitting .351 when right-handers started against Brooklyn and only .250 when left-handers started. After holding out for better pay, Stengel signed with the Dodgers for 1913. He won the starting center fielder job. The Dodgers had a new ballpark, Ebbets Field, and Stengel became the first person to hit a home run there, first an inside-the-park home run against the New York Yankees in an exhibition game to open the stadium, and then in the regular season. During the 1913 season, Stengel acquired the nickname "Casey"; there are varying stories of how this came to be, though his home town of Kansas City likely played a prominent role—sportswriter Fred Lieb stated that the ballplayer had "Charles Stengel—K.C." stenciled on his bags. Although he missed 25 games with injuries, he hit .272 with 7 official home runs in his first full season as a major leaguer. Prior to 1914 spring training, Stengel coached baseball at the University of Mississippi. Though the position was unpaid, he was designated an assistant professor for the time he was there, something that may have been the source of Stengel's nickname, "The Ol' Perfessor". The Dodgers were an improving team in Stengel's first years with them, and he was greatly influenced by the manager who joined the team in 1914, Wilbert Robinson. Stengel also avoided a holdout in 1914; Dodgers owner Charlie Ebbets was anxious to put his players under contract lest they jump to the new Federal League, and nearly doubled Stengel's salary to $4,000 per year. During spring training, the Dodgers faced the minor league Baltimore Orioles and their rookie, Babe Ruth, who pitched. Ruth hit a triple over Stengel's head but gave up two doubles to him, and Stengel chased down a long Ruth fly ball to right in the Dodgers' loss. Both Brooklyn and Stengel started the season slowly, but both recovered with a hot streak that left the Dodgers only 4 games under .500, their best record since 1903, and Stengel finished with a .316 batting average, fifth best in the league. His on-base percentage led the league at .404, though this was not yet an official statistic. With the Federal League still active, Stengel was rewarded with a two-year contract at $6,000 per year. Stengel reported to spring training ill and thin; he was unable to work out for much of the time the Dodgers spent in Florida. Although the team stated that he had typhoid fever, still common in 1915, Lieb wrote after Stengel's death in 1975 that the ballplayer had gonorrhea. Stengel may have been involved in a well-known incident during spring training when Robinson agreed to catch a baseball dropped from an airplane piloted by Ruth Law—except that it proved not to be a baseball, but a small grapefruit, much to the manager's shock, as he assumed the liquid on him was blood. Law stated that she dropped the grapefruit as she had forgotten the baseball, but Stengel retold the story, imitating Robinson, many times in his later years, with himself as grapefruit dropper, and is often given the credit for the stunt. Stengel's batting average dipped as low as the .150s for part of the season; though he eventually recovered to .237, this was still the worst full season percentage of his major league career. Soon after the 1916 season started, it became clear that the Dodgers were one of the better teams in the league. Robinson managed to squeeze one more year of productivity out of some older veterans such as Chief Meyers, who said of Stengel, "It was Casey who kept us on our toes. He was the life of the party and just kept all us old-timers pepped up all season." Stengel, mostly playing right field, hit .279 with eight home runs, one less than the team leader in that category, Wheat. Stengel's home run off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander, who won 33 games that year, in the second game of a doubleheader on September 30, provided the margin of victory as the Dodgers went into first place to stay, qualifying for their first World Series, against the Boston Red Sox. Despite getting two hits in a Game 1 loss at Boston, Stengel was benched for Game 2 because the Red Sox were pitching a left-hander, Babe Ruth, and Stengel hit better against right-handers. Stengel, back in the lineup for Game 3, got a hit in Brooklyn's only victory of the series. He was benched again in Game 4 against left-hander Dutch Leonard, though he was inserted as a pinch runner, and got another hit in the Game 5 loss, finishing 4 for 11, .364, the best Dodger batting average of the Series. Despite the successful season, Ebbets was determined to cut his players' salaries, including Stengel, whom he considered overpaid. By then, the Federal League was defunct, and the reserve clause prevented players from jumping to other major league clubs. The owner sent Stengel a contract for $4,600, and when that was rejected, cut it by another $400. A holdout ensued, together with a war of words waged in the press. With little leverage, Stengel became willing to sign for the original contract, and did on March 27, 1917, but missed most of spring training. Stengel's batting average dropped from .279 to .257 as the defending league champion Dodgers finished seventh in the eight-team league, but he led the team in games, hits, doubles, triples, home runs and runs batted in. After the season, Ebbets sent Stengel a contract for $4,100, and the outfielder eventually signed for that amount, but on January 9, 1918, Ebbets traded him along with George Cutshaw to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Burleigh Grimes, Al Mamaux and Chuck Ward. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia (1918–1921) The Pirates had been the only National League team to do worse than the Dodgers in 1917, finishing last. Stengel met with the Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss to seek a salary increase, but found Dreyfuss reluctant to deal until Stengel proved himself as a Pirate. On June 3, 1918, Stengel was ejected for arguing with the umpire, and was fined by the league office for taking off his shirt on the field. The U.S. had been fighting in World War I for a year, and Stengel enlisted in the Navy. His wartime service was playing for and managing the Brooklyn Navy Yard's baseball team, driving in the only run to beat Army, 1–0, before 5,000 spectators at the Polo Grounds. He also occasionally helped paint a ship—he later stated he had guarded the Gowanus Canal, and not a single submarine got into it. The Armistice renewed the conflict between Stengel and Dreyfuss, and the outfielder held out again to begin the 1919 season. Both wanted to see Stengel traded, but no deal was immediately made. By then, Stengel's position as regular right fielder had been taken by Billy Southworth, and he had difficulty breaking back into the lineup. Stengel played better than he had before he enlisted, and by the time Dreyfuss traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies for Possum Whitted on August 9, he was batting .293 with four home runs. But before being traded, Stengel pulled one of his most famous stunts, on May 25 at Ebbets Field, as a member of the visiting Pirates. It was not unusual at Ebbets Field for right fielders of either team, rather than go to the dugout after three were out, to go to the Dodgers' bullpen, in foul territory down the right field line, if they were not likely to bat in the upcoming inning. Stengel did so to visit old friends, and discovered that pitcher Leon Cadore had captured a sparrow. Stengel took it, and quietly placed it under his cap when called to bat in the sixth inning. He received mixed boos and cheers from the Brooklyn crowd as a former Dodger, took a deep bow at the plate, and doffed his cap, whereupon the bird flew away to great laughter from the crowd. The trade to the Phillies ended Stengel's major league season for 1919, as he refused to report unless he got a raise, and when one was not forthcoming, returned to Kansas City to raise a barnstorming team. In the offseason, he came to terms with William Baker, the owner of the Phillies, and hit .292 in 1920 with nine home runs. However, racked by injuries and no longer young for a ballplayer, he did not play much in the early part of the 1921 season. On June 30, 1921, the Phillies traded Stengel, Red Causey and Johnny Rawlings to the New York Giants for Lee King, Goldie Rapp and Lance Richbourg. The Giants were one of the dominant teams in the National League, and Stengel, who had feared being sent to the minor leagues, quietly placed a long-distance call once informed to ensure he was not the victim of a practical joke. New York Giants and Boston Braves (1921–1925) When Stengel reported to the Giants on July 1, 1921, they were managed, as they had been for almost 20 years, by John McGraw. Stengel biographer Robert W. Creamer said of McGraw, "his Giants were the most feared, the most respected, the most admired team in baseball". Stengel biographer Marty Appel noted, "McGraw and Stengel. Teacher and student. Casey was about to learn a lot about managing". Stengel had time to learn, playing in only 18 games for the Giants in 1921, mostly as a pinch hitter, and watched from his place on the bench as McGraw led the Giants from a 7 game deficit on August 24 to the National League pennant. Although he was on the 25-player postseason roster, Stengel did not appear in the 1921 World Series against the Yankees, as McGraw used only 13 players (4 of them pitchers) in beating the Yankees, five games to three. The only contribution Stengel made to the box score was being ejected from Game 5 for arguing. McGraw brought several outfielders into spring training with the Giants. When Stengel was not included with the starters when the manager split the squad, some sportswriters assumed he would not be with the team when the regular season began. Stengel, at McGraw's request, acted as a coach to the young players on the "B" squad, and worked hard, getting key hits in spring training games, and making the Giants as a reserve outfielder. McGraw and Stengel sometimes stayed up all night, discussing baseball strategy. With two Giant outfielders injured by June, Stengel was put in center field, and hit .368 in 84 games, as McGraw platooned him against right-handers. If Stengel had enough plate appearances to qualify for the league batting championship, he would have finished second to Rogers Hornsby of the St. Louis Cardinals, who hit .401. The Giants played the Yankees again in the 1922 World Series; Stengel went 1–4 in Game 1, nursing an injured right leg muscle, which he aggravated running out an infield single in his first at bat in Game 2. Stengel was obviously limping when he was advanced to second base on another single, and McGraw sent in a pinch runner. He did not use Stengel again in the Series, which the Giants won, four games to zero, with one tie. After the Series, Stengel and other major leaguers went on a barnstorming tour of Japan and the Far East. The year 1923 started much the same as the year before, with Stengel detailed to the "B" squad as player and coach in spring training, making the team as a reserve, and then inserted as center fielder when righties pitched. Similar also were Stengel's hot batting streaks, helping the Giants as they contended for their third straight pennant. Stengel was ejected several times for brawling or arguing with the umpire, and the league suspended him for ten games in one incident. McGraw continued to use him as a means of exerting some control over the younger players. During that summer, Stengel fell in love with Edna Lawson, a Californian who was running part of her father's building contracting business; they were married the following year. Near the end of the season, he sustained a mild foot injury, causing McGraw to rest him for a week, but he played the final two games of the regular season to finish at .339 as the Giants and Yankees each won their leagues. Until 1923, the Yankees had been tenants of the Giants at the Polo Grounds, but had opened Yankee Stadium that year, and this was the site for Game 1 of the 1923 World Series on October 10. Casey Stengel's at bat in the ninth inning with the score tied 4–4 was "the stuff of legend", as Appel put it in his history of the Yankees. Before the largest crowd he had ever played before, Stengel lined a changeup from Joe Bush for a hit that went between the outfielders deep to left center. Hobbled by his injury and even more as a sponge inside his shoe flew out as he rounded second base, Stengel slowly circled the bases, and evaded the tag from catcher Wally Schang for an inside-the-park home run, providing the winning margin. Thus, the first World Series home run in old Yankee Stadium's history did not go to Babe Ruth, "that honor, with great irony, would fall to the aging reserve outfielder Casey Stengel". After the Yankees won Game 2 at the Polo Grounds, the Series returned to Yankee Stadium for Game 3. Stengel won it, 1–0, on a home run into the right field bleachers. As the Yankee fans booed Stengel, he thumbed his nose at the crowd and blew a kiss toward the Yankee players, outraging the team's principal owner, Jacob Ruppert, who demanded that Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis fine or suspend Stengel. Judge Landis declined, saying "a man who wins two games with home runs may feel a little playful, especially if he's a Stengel". The Yankees won the next three games to take the Series; Stengel batted .417 in the six games, completing his World Series career as a player with a .393 batting average. On November 13, 1923, twenty-nine days after the World Series ended, Stengel was traded to the perennial second-division-dwelling Boston Braves with Dave Bancroft and Bill Cunningham for Joe Oeschger and Billy Southworth. Stengel had enjoyed his time in New York and was initially unhappy at the trade, especially since he had become close to McGraw. He soon cooled down, and later praised McGraw as "the greatest manager I ever played for". Despite nagging pains in his legs, Stengel played in 134 games during the 1924 season, the most since his days with the Dodgers, and hit .280 with a team-leading 13 stolen bases, but the Braves finished last. After the season, Stengel joined a baseball tour of Europe organized by McGraw and Charles Comiskey, with Edna Stengel accompanying the team. Casey Stengel met King George V and the Duke of York, later to become King George VI; Edna sipped tea with Queen Mary, an experience that strained her nerves. That winter, the Stengels moved into a house built by Edna's father in Glendale, California, where they would live the rest of their lives. The marriage produced no children. Early managerial career (1925–1948) Minor leagues (1925–1931) Stengel started 1925 on the active roster of the Braves, but was used as a pinch hitter and started only once, in right field against the Pirates on May 14, a game in which he got his only MLB hit of 1925, the final one of his major league career, a single. His average sank to .077. Braves owner Emil Fuchs purchased the Worcester Panthers of the Eastern League, and hired Stengel as player-manager and team president. Appel noted that in joining the Panthers, Stengel was "starting out on a managing career that would eventually take him to Cooperstown". With fans enjoying Stengel's on-field antics and his World Series heroics still recent, he was the Eastern League's biggest attendance draw. Between run-ins with the umpires, Stengel hit .302 in 100 games as the Panthers finished third. The Panthers were not a box office success, and Fuchs planned to move the team to Providence, Rhode Island for the 1926 season, with Stengel to remain in his roles. McGraw, with whom Stengel had remained close, wanted him to take over as manager of the Giants' top affiliate, the Toledo Mud Hens of the American Association, at an increase in salary. Stengel was still under contract to the Braves, and Mud Hens president Joseph O'Brien was unwilling to send them money or players in order to get him. When Stengel asked Fuchs what to do if a higher-level club wanted to draft him, Fuchs half-heartedly suggested releasing himself as a player, which would automatically terminate his Braves contract. Stengel took up Fuchs on his suggestion, releasing himself as a player, then firing himself as manager and resigning as president, clearing the way for him to move to the Mud Hens. Fuchs was outraged, and went to Judge Landis, who advised him to let the matter go. Stengel's six years in Toledo would be as long as he would spend anywhere as manager, except his time with the Yankees of the 1950s. McGraw sent talented players down to Toledo, and the Mud Hens threatened for the pennant in Stengel's first year before falling back to third. In 1927, the team won its first pennant and defeated the Buffalo Bisons, five games to one, in the Little World Series. Stengel missed part of the 1927 campaign, as he was suspended by the league for inciting the fans to attack the umpire after a close play during the first game of the Labor Day doubleheader. Stengel continued as an occasional player as late as 1931 in addition to his managerial role, hitting a game-winning home run (the last of his professional career) in 1927 for the Mud Hens. Since minor league clubs suffer large turnovers in their rosters, the team's success did not carry over to 1928, when it finished sixth, and then eighth in the eight-team league in 1929. The team recovered for third in 1930, but by then both Stengel and the team (in which he had invested) were having financial problems due to the start of the Great Depression. The team finished last again in 1931, and, after Landis was convinced no money had been skimmed off to benefit Stengel and other insiders, the team went into receivership, and Stengel was fired. Brooklyn and Boston (1932–1943) Stengel had approached the new manager of the Dodgers, Max Carey, an old teammate from his time with the Pirates, seeking a job, and was hired as first base coach. Stengel thus ended an exile of seven years from the major leagues: Appel suggested that Stengel's reputation as a clown inhibited owners from hiring him although he was known as knowledgeable and able to manage the press. Sportswriter Dan Daniel described Stengel's hiring as "the return of an ancient Flatbush landmark", which might satisfy old Dodger fans upset at Robinson's dismissal at the end of 1931. Brooklyn finished third and then sixth with Stengel in the first base coaching box. Among the players was catcher Al Lopez; the two became close friends and would be managing rivals in the 1950s American League. During the winter following the 1933 season, the manager of the world champion Giants, Bill Terry was interviewed by the press about the other teams in the National League. When asked about the Dodgers, Terry responded, "Brooklyn? Gee, I haven't heard a peep out of there. Is Brooklyn still in the league?" This angered Brooklyn's management, and they expected Carey to make a full-throated response. When he remained silent, he was fired. One sportswriter regarded the hiring of Stengel as too logical a thing to happen in Brooklyn, but on February 24, 1934, Stengel faced the press for the first time as the manager of a major league team. McGraw, Stengel's mentor, was too ill to issue a statement on seeing him become a major league manager; he died the following day. Stengel, hired only days before spring training, had a limited opportunity to shape his new ballclub. The Dodgers quickly settled into sixth place, where they would end the season. Stengel, in later years, enjoyed discussing one 1934 game in Philadelphia's Baker Bowl: with Dodger pitcher Boom-Boom Beck ineffective, Stengel went out to the mound to take out the angry pitcher, who, instead of giving Stengel the baseball, threw it into right field, where it hit the metal wall with a loud noise. The right fielder, Hack Wilson, lost in thought, heard the boom, assumed the ball had been hit by a batter, and ran to retrieve it and throw it to the infield, to be met by general laughter. Stengel got the last laughs on the Giants as well. The Giants, six games ahead of the Cardinals on Labor Day, squandered that lead, and with two games remaining in the season, were tied with St. Louis. The final two games were against Brooklyn at the Polo Grounds, games played in front of raucous crowds, who well remembered Terry's comments. Brooklyn won both games, while the Cardinals won their two games against the Cincinnati Reds, and won the pennant. Richard Bak, in his biography of Stengel, noted that the victories over the Terry-led Giants represented personal vindication for the Dodger manager. The Dodgers finished fifth in 1935 and seventh in 1936. Dodger management felt Stengel had not done enough with the talent he had been given, and he was fired during the 1936 World Series between the Yankees and Giants. Stengel was paid for one year left on his contract, and he was not involved in baseball during the 1937 season. Stengel had invested in oil properties, as advised by one of his players, Randy Moore, a Texan; the investment helped make the Stengels well-to-do, and they put the profits in California real estate. Stengel considered going in the oil business full-time, but Braves president Bob Quinn offered him the Boston managerial job in late 1937, and he accepted. Stengel was both manager and an investor in the Braves. In his six years there, 1938 to 1943, his team never finished in the top half of the league standings, and the Boston club finished seventh four straight years between 1939 and 1942, saved from last place by the fact that the Phillies were even worse. The entry of the United States in World War II meant that many top players went into the service, but for the Braves, the changeover made little difference in the standings. Among the young players to join the Braves was pitcher Warren Spahn, who was sent down to the minor leagues by the manager for having "no heart". Spahn, who would go on to a Hall of Fame career, much of it with the Braves, would play again for Stengel on the woeful New York Mets in 1965, and joke that he was the only person to play for Stengel both before and after he was a genius. A few days before the opening of the 1943 season, Stengel was hit by a vehicle while crossing Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, and he severely fractured a leg. He missed the first two months of the season, receiving many well-wishers, and reading get-well cards jokingly misaddressed to the hospital's psychiatric ward. For the rest of his life, Stengel walked with a limp. At the end of the season, Braves management, tired of minimal progress, fired Stengel, and he received no immediate job offers. Stengel testified about this part of his career before a Senate subcommittee fifteen years later, "I became a major league manager in several cities and was discharged. We call it discharged because there is no question I had to leave". Return to the minors (1944–1948) Stengel thought the 1943 season would be his last in baseball; Edna urged him to look after the family business interests full-time, and Casey, who had always been an athlete, was reluctant to show himself at a baseball stadium with the imperfectly healed injury. But early in the 1944 season, the minor-league Milwaukee Brewers had a managing vacancy to fill, as the Chicago Cubs had hired away the Brewer manager, Charlie Grimm, who had played with Stengel on the 1919 Pirates. Grimm told the Cubs he was obliged to see the Brewers had a competent replacement, and urged the Brewers to hire Stengel. The team owner, Bill Veeck, stationed as a Marine on Guadalcanal, thought ill of Stengel as a manager, and was very reluctant in his consent when reached by cable. Stengel was adept at fostering good relations with reporters, and the very talented team continued to win; by the end of May, Veeck had withdrawn his objections. The team won the American Association pennant, but lost in the playoffs to Louisville. Veeck, having returned to the United States, offered to rehire Stengel for 1945, but Stengel preferred another offer he received. This was from George Weiss of the New York Yankees, to manage the team Stengel had begun with, the Kansas City Blues, by then a Yankee farm club. Kansas City had finished last in the American Association as Milwaukee won the pennant, making it something of a comedown for Stengel, who hoped to return to the major leagues. Nevertheless, it was in his old home town, allowing him to see friends and relations, and he took the job. The Blues finished seventh in the eight-team league in 1945. Although there was no major league managing vacancy Stengel could aspire to, the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League had fired their manager, and approached Stengel. The baseball played in the PCL was close to major league level, and the league featured many aging big leaguers finishing their careers. Also attractive to Stengel was that the league had three teams in Southern California, allowing him to spend more time at his home in Glendale. To that time, the club had won only one pennant, and was something of a weak sister to its crossbay rivals, the San Francisco Seals, but owner Brick Laws believed Stengel could mold the players into a winning team. The Oaks finished second in the league behind the Seals in 1946, winning the first round of the playoffs against Los Angeles before losing to San Francisco in the finals. They finished fourth in 1947, beating San Francisco in the first round before losing to Los Angeles. Stengel managed the Oaks for a third year in 1948, with the roster heavy with former major leaguers. Among the younger players on the team was 20-year-old shortstop Billy Martin. Stengel was impressed by Martin's fielding, baseball acuity, and, when there were brawls on the field, fighting ability. The Oaks clinched the pennant on September 26, and defeated Los Angeles and the Seattle Rainiers to win the Governors' Cup. The Sporting News named Stengel the Minor League Manager of the Year. Glory days: Yankee dynasty (1949–1960) Hiring and 1949 season Stengel had been talked about as a possible Yankee manager in the early 1940s, but longtime team boss Ed Barrow (who retired in 1945) refused to consider it. Yankee manager Joe McCarthy retired during the 1946 season, and after the interim appointment of catcher Bill Dickey as player-manager, Bucky Harris was given the job in 1947. Stengel's name was mentioned for the job before Harris got it; he was backed by Weiss, but Larry MacPhail, then in charge of the franchise, was opposed. Harris and the Yankees won the World Series that year, but finished third in 1948, though they were not eliminated until the penultimate day. Harris was fired, allegedly because he would not give Weiss his home telephone number. MacPhail could no longer block Stengel's hiring, as he had sold his interest in the Yankees after the 1947 season. Weiss, who became general manager after MacPhail's departure, urged his partners in the Yankees to allow the appointment of Stengel, who aided his own cause by winning the championship with Oakland during the time the Yankee job stood open. Del Webb, who owned part of the Yankees, had initial concerns but went along. Yankee scouts on the West Coast recommended Stengel, and Webb's support helped bring around co-owner Dan Topping. Stengel was introduced as Yankee manager on October 12, 1948, the 25th anniversary of his second World Series home run to beat the Yankees. Joe DiMaggio attended the press conference as a sign of team support. Stengel faced obstacles to being accepted—Harris had been popular with the press and public, and the businesslike Yankee corporate culture and successful tradition were thought to be ill matched with a manager who had the reputation of a clown and who had never had a major league team finish in the top half of the standings. Stengel's MLB involvement had been in the National League, and there were several American League parks in which he had neither managed nor played. Stengel tried to keep a low profile during the 1949 Yankee spring training at St. Petersburg, Florida, but there was considerable media attention as Stengel shuttled rookies from one position on the field to another, and endlessly shuffled his lineup. He had the advantage of diminished expectations, as DiMaggio, the Yankee superstar, was injured with a bone spur in his heel, and few picked New York to win the pennant. There were other injuries once the season began, and Stengel, who had initially planned a conservative, stable lineup in his first American League season, was forced to improvise. Although platooning, playing right-handed batters against left-handed pitchers and the reverse, against whom they are on average more able to hit, had been known for some years, Stengel popularized it, and his use gave the practice its name, coined by a sportswriter and borrowed from football. For example, in the early part of the 1949 season, Stengel might play Bobby Brown at third base and Cliff Mapes and Gene Woodling in the outfield against right-handers. Against left-handers, Stengel might play Billy Johnson at third with Johnny Lindell and Hank Bauer in the outfield. After the team blew leads and lost both ends of a doubleheader in Philadelphia on May 15, Stengel called a team meeting in which he criticized the players responsible for the two losses, but also predicted greatness for them, and told the team it was going to win. The team then won 13 of its next 14 games. Yankee sportscaster Curt Gowdy, who was present, later stated, "that speech in Philadelphia was the turning point of the season". DiMaggio returned from injury on June 28 after missing 65 games. He hit four home runs in three games to help sweep Boston and extend the Yankees' league lead. Despite DiMaggio's return, the lineup remained plagued with injuries. After consulting with Stengel, Weiss obtained Johnny Mize from the Giants, but he was soon sidelined with a separated shoulder. Twelve games behind on the Fourth of July, the Red Sox steadily gained ground on the Yankees, and tied them by sweeping a two-game set at Fenway September 24 and 25, the first time the Yankees had not been in sole possession of first place since the third game of the season. The Red Sox took the lead the following day with a comeback win in a makeup game, as Stengel lost his temper at the umpire for the first time in Yankee uniform; although he was not ejected, he was fined by the league. The season came down to a two-game set with the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, with the home team one game behind and needing to win both. Stengel, during the 1949 season, had shown himself more apt than his peers to bring in a relief pitcher, and when during the first game, starter Allie Reynolds gave up the first two runs in the third inning, the manager brought in Joe Page. Though Page walked in two more runs, he shut out the Red Sox the rest of the way as the Yankees came back to win, 5–4. This set up a winner-take-all game for the league title. The Yankees took a 5–0 lead before Boston scored three in the ninth, but Vic Raschi was able to prevent further damage, giving the Yankees the pennant, Stengel's first as a major league manager. In the 1949 World Series, Stengel's first as a participant since 1923, the Yankees faced the Brooklyn Dodgers, who were assembling the team that would challenge the Yankees through much of his time in New York. The teams split the first two games, at Yankee Stadium. Before Game 3 at Ebbets Field, Stengel was called upon to introduce his surviving teammates from the 1916 pennant-winning Brooklyn club, which he did emotionally. The Yankees won Game 3, and during Game 4, a Yankee victory, Stengel left the dugout to shout to catcher Yogi Berra to throw the ball to second base, which Berra did to catch Pee Wee Reese trying to take an extra base. For this breach of baseball's rules, Stengel was reprimanded after the game by Commissioner Happy Chandler. The Yankees won Game 5 as well to take the Series, and during the celebration after the game, Del Webb said of Stengel to the press, "I knew he would win, whether we got some more players for him or not". Repeating success (1950–1953) During the 1949 season, Stengel had been more subdued than he usually was, but being the manager of the defending world champions and the Major League Manager of the Year relieved his inhibitions, and he was thereafter his talkative self. He also was more forceful in running the team, not always to the liking of veteran players such as DiMaggio and Phil Rizzuto. As part of his incessant shuffling of the lineup, Stengel had DiMaggio play first base, a position to which he was unaccustomed and refused to play after the first game. Stengel considered DiMaggio's decline in play as he neared the end of his stellar career more important than his resentment. In August, with the slugger in the middle of a batting slump, Stengel benched him, stating he needed a rest. DiMaggio returned after six games, and hit .370 for the rest of the season, winning the slugging percentage title. Other young players on the 1950 team were Billy Martin and Whitey Ford. The ascendence of these rookies meant more of the Yankees accepted Stengel's techniques, and diminished the number of those from the McCarthy era who resented their new manager. The Detroit Tigers were the Yankees' main competition, leading for much of the summer, but the Yankees passed them in the middle of September to win the pennant by three games. In the 1950 World Series, the Yankees played the Phillies, another of Stengel's old teams. The Yankees won in four games. Before spring training in 1950, the Yankees had pioneered the idea of an instructional school for rookies and other young players. This was the brainchild of Stengel and Weiss. Complaints from other teams that the Yankees were violating time limits on spring training and were using their money for competitive advantage led to modifications, but the concept survived and was eventually broadly adopted. Among those invited to the 1951 early camp was 19-year-old Mickey Mantle, whose speed and talent awed Stengel, and who had spent the previous year in the minor leagues. Stengel moved Mantle from shortstop to the outfield, reasoning that Rizzuto, the shortstop, was likely to play several more years. Both Mantle and the Yankees started the 1951 season slowly, and on July 14, Mantle was sent to Kansas City to regain his confidence at the plate. He was soon recalled to the Yankees; although he hit only .267 for the season, this was four points better than DiMaggio, in his final season. Much of the burden of winning a third consecutive pennant fell on Berra, who put together an MVP season. The White Sox and then the Indians led the league for much of the summer, but the Yankees, never far behind, put together a torrid final month of the season to win the pennant by five games. The Yankee opponent in the 1951 World Series was the Giants, with Game 1 played the day after they won the National League pennant in the Miracle of Coogan's Bluff. On an emotional high, the Giants beat the Yankees in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium. Game 2 was a Yankee victory, but Mantle suffered a knee injury and was out for the Series, the start of knee problems that would darken Mantle's career. The Giants won Game 3, but DiMaggio stepped to the fore, with six hits in the following three games, including a home run to crown his career. The Yankees won Games 4 and 5, and staked Raschi to a 4–1 lead in Game 6 before Stengel had Johnny Sain pitch in relief. When Sain loaded the bases with none out in the ninth, Stengel brought in Bob Kuzava, a left-hander, to pitch against the Giants, even though right-handers Monte Irvin and Bobby Thomson were due to bat. The Giants scored twice, but Kuzava hung on. The Yankees and Stengel had their third straight World Series championship. DiMaggio's retirement after the 1951 season gave Stengel greater control over the players, as the relationship between superstar and manager had sometimes been fraught. Stengel moved Mantle from right to center field in DiMaggio's place. The Yankees were not the favorites to win the pennant again in 1952, with DiMaggio retired, Mantle still recovering from his injury and several Yankees in military service, deployed in the Korean War. Sportswriters favored the Indians. Younger players, some of whom Stengel had developed, came to the fore, with Martin the regular second baseman for the first time. Mantle proved slow to develop, but hit well towards the end of the season to finish at .311. The Yankee season was also slow to get on track; the team had a record of 18–17 on May 30, but they improved thereafter. Stengel prepared nearly 100 different lineup cards for the 1952 season. The race was still tight in early September, and on September 5, Stengel lectured the team for excessive levity on the train after the Yankees lost two of three to Philadelphia. Embarrassed by the episode, which made its way into print, the Yankees responded by winning 15 of their next 19, clinching the pennant on September 27. The 1952 World Series was against the Brooklyn Dodgers, who by then had their stars of the 1950s such as Jackie Robinson, Gil Hodges and Duke Snider, with the team later nicknamed "The Boys of Summer". The teams split the first four games. With his pitching staff tired, Stengel gave the start to late-season acquisition Ewell Blackwell, who surrendered four runs in five innings, and the Yankees lost the game in 11 innings to the Dodgers behind Carl Erskine's complete game. Needing to win two in a row at Ebbets Field, Stengel pitched Raschi in Game 6, who won it with a save from Reynolds. With no tomorrow in Game 7, Stengel sent four pitchers to the mound. Mantle hit a home run to break a 2–2 tie, Martin preserved the lead by making a difficult catch off a Robinson popup, and Kuzava again secured the final outs for a Series victory, as the Yankees won 4–2 for their fourth straight World Series victory, matching the record set in 1936–1939, also by the Yankees. The sportswriters had picked other teams to win the pennant in Stengel's first four years as Yankee manager; in 1953 they picked the Yankees, and this time they were proven correct. An 18-game winning streak in June placed them well in front, and they coasted to their fifth consecutive league championship, the first time a team had won five straight pennants. The Yankees played the Dodgers again in the World Series, which was less dramatic than the previous year's, as the Yankees won in six games, with Mantle, Martin, Berra and Gil McDougald—players developed under Stengel—taking the fore. The Yankees and Stengel won the World Series for the fifth consecutive year, the only team to accomplish that feat. Stengel, having taken the managerial record for consecutive pennants from McGraw (1921–1924) and McCarthy (1936–1939) and for consecutive titles from the latter, would say, "You know, John McGraw was a great man in New York and he won a lot of pennants. But Stengel is in town now, and he's won a lot of pennants too". Middle years (1954–1958) The Yankees started the defense of their title in 1954 with an opening day loss to the Washington Senators in the presence of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Even though the Yankees won 103 games, the most regular season victories they would have under Stengel, they lost by 8 games to the Indians, managed by Stengel's old friend Al Lopez. In spite of the defeat, Stengel was given a new two-year contract at $75,000 per year. By the mid-1950s, Stengel was becoming a national figure, familiar from television broadcasts of the Yankees on NBC's Game of the Week, and from managing in most World Series and All-Star Games during his tenure. National magazines such as Look and Sports Illustrated did feature stories about Stengel, and his turn of phrase became known as "Stengelese". The magazines not only told stories about the manager's one-liners and jokes, but recounted the pranks from his playing days, such as the grapefruit dropped from the plane and the sparrow under the cap. According to Richard Bak in his biography of Stengel, "people across the country grew enamored of the grandfatherly fellow whose funny looks and fractured speech were so at odds with the Yankees' bloodless corporate image". The Yankees won the pennant again in 1955, breaking open a close pennant race in September to take the American League. They played the Dodgers again in the World Series, which the Dodgers won in seven games. The Dodgers won Game 7, 2–0, behind the pitching of Johnny Podres and Stengel, after losing his first World Series as a manager, blamed himself for not instructing his hitters to bat more aggressively against Podres. Billy Martin stated, "It's a shame for a great manager like that to have to lose". There was not much of a pennant race in the American League in 1956, with the Yankees leading from the second week of the season onwards. With little suspense as to the team's standing, much attention turned to Mantle's batting, as he made a serious run at Babe Ruth's record at the time of 60 home runs in a season, finishing with 52, and won the Triple Crown. On August 25, Old-Timers' Day, Stengel and Weiss met with the little-used Rizzuto, the last of the "McCarthy Yankees" and released him from the team so they could acquire Enos Slaughter. Never a Stengel fan, the process left Rizzuto bitter. The World Series that year was again against the Dodgers, who won the first two games at Ebbets Field. Stengel lectured the team before Game 3 at Yankee Stadium and the team responded with a victory then and in Game 4. For Game 5, Stengel pitched Don Larsen, who had been knocked out of Game 2, and who responded with a perfect game, the only one in major league postseason history. The Dodgers won Game 6 as the Series returned to Ebbets Field. Many expected Whitey Ford to start Game 7, but Stengel chose Johnny Kucks, an 18-game winner that season who had been used twice in relief in the Series. Kucks threw a three-hit shutout as the Yankees won the championship, 9–0, Stengel's sixth as their manager. New York got off to a slow start in the 1957 season, and by early June was six games out. By then, the team was making headlines off the field. Some of the Yankees were known for partying late into the night, something Stengel turned a blind eye to as long as the team performed well. The May 16 brawl at the Copacabana nightclub in New York involved Martin, Berra, Mantle, Ford, Hank Bauer and other Yankees, resulted in the arrest of Bauer (the charge of assault was later dropped) and exhausted Yankee management's patience with Martin. Stengel was close to Martin, who took great pride in being a Yankee, and Topping and Weiss did not involve the manager in the trade talks that ensued. On June 15, Martin was traded to the Kansas City Athletics. Martin wrote in his autobiography that Stengel could not look him in the eye as the manager told him of the trade. The two, once close friends, rarely spoke in the years to come. The Yankees recovered from their slow start, winning the American League pennant by eight games. They faced the Milwaukee Braves in the 1957 World Series. The Braves (Stengel had managed them when they played in Boston) defeated the Yankees in seven games, with Lew Burdette, who had been a Yankee until traded in 1950, beating New York three times. Stengel stated in an interview, "We're going to have Burditis on our minds next year". What was seen as a failure to keep discipline on the team hurt Stengel's standing with the Yankee owners, Topping, Weiss and Webb, as did the defeat in the 1957 Series. Stengel was by then aged 67 and had several times fallen asleep in the dugout, and players complained that he was growing more irritable with the years. Former Yankee catcher Ralph Houk, who had been successful as a minor league manager and was Stengel's first base coach, was seen by ownership as the next manager of the Yankees. Stengel's contract, his fifth two-year deal, was up after the 1958 season. As ownership debated whether to renew it, the Yankees led by as many as 17 games, and won the pennant by 10. The Braves were the opponent in the 1958 World Series. The Braves won three of the first four games, but the Yankees, backed by the pitching of Bob Turley (who got two wins and a save in the final three games) stormed back to win the Series. Firing Stengel under such circumstances was not possible, and ownership gave him another two-year contract, to expire after the 1960 season. Final years and firing (1959–1960) The Yankees finished 79–75 in 1959, in third place, their worst record since 1925, as the White Sox, managed by Lopez, won the pennant. There was considerable criticism of Stengel, who was viewed as too old and out of touch with the players. After the 1959 season, Weiss made a trade with Kansas City to bring Roger Maris to the Yankees. Stengel was delighted with the acquisition and batted Maris third in the lineup, just in front of Mantle, and the new Yankee responded with an MVP season in 1960. Stengel had health issues during the season, spending ten days in the hospital in late May and early June, with the illness variously reported as a bladder infection, a virus or influenza. The Yankees were challenged by the Baltimore Orioles for most of the year but won the pennant by eight games, Stengel's tenth as manager, tying the major league record held by McGraw. The Yankees played the Pittsburgh Pirates, again a team Stengel had played for, in the 1960 World Series. Stengel picked Art Ditmar, who had won the most games, 15, for the Yankees, as the Game 1 starter rather than the established star, Whitey Ford. The Pirates knocked Ditmar out of the box in the first inning, and won Game 1. Ditmar was also knocked out of Game 5; Ford won Games 3 and 6 of the seven-game series with shutouts, but could not pitch Game 7, as he might have if Stengel had used him in Games 1 and 5. The Pirates defeated the Yankees in Game 7, 10–9, on a ninth-inning home run by Bill Mazeroski. Shortly after the Yankees returned to New York, Stengel was informed by the team owners that he would not be given a new contract. Shortly after the Yankees returned to New York, Stengel was informed by the team owners that he would not be given a new contract. His request, that the termination be announced at a press conference, was granted and on October 18, 1960, Topping and Stengel appeared before the microphones. After Topping evaded questions from the press about whether Stengel had been fired, Stengel took the microphone, and when asked if he had been fired, stated, "Quit, fired, whatever you please, I don't care". Topping stated that Stengel was being terminated because of his age, 70, and alleged that this would have happened even had the Yankees won the World Series. The Amazins': Casey and the Mets (1962–1965) Hiring and 1962 season Two days after dismissing Stengel, the Yankees announced the hiring of Houk as his replacement—part of the reason for Stengel's firing was so that New York would not lose Houk to another team. Stengel returned to Glendale, and spent the 1961 season out of baseball for the first time since 1937. He turned down several job offers to manage, from the Tigers, San Francisco Giants and the expansion Los Angeles Angels. He spent the summer of 1961 as vice president of the Glendale Valley National Bank, which was owned by members of Edna Stengel's family. As part of baseball's expansion in the early 1960s, a franchise was awarded to New York, to play in the National League beginning in 1962, and to be known as the New York Mets. It was hoped that the new team would be supported by the many former Giant and Dodger fans left without a team when the franchises moved to California after the 1957 season. There were rumors through the 1961 season that Stengel would be the manager, but he initially showed no interest in managing a team that, given the rules for the expansion draft, was unlikely to be competitive. George Weiss had been forced out as Yankee general manager and hired by the Mets. He wanted Stengel as manager, and after talks with the Mets principal owners, Joan Whitney Payson and M. Donald Grant, Stengel was introduced as Mets manager at a press conference on October 2, 1961. Leonard Koppett of The New York Times suggested that Stengel took the job to give something back to the game that had been his life for half a century. Weiss was convinced his scouting staff would make the Mets a respectable team in five to six years, but in the interim New York would most likely do poorly. He hoped to overcome the challenge of attracting supporters to a losing team in the "City of Winners" by drafting well-known players who would draw fans to the Polo Grounds, where the Mets would initially play. Thus, the Mets selected a number of over-the-hill National Leaguers, some of whom had played for the Dodgers or Giants, including Gil Hodges, Roger Craig, Don Zimmer and Frank Thomas. Selected before them all was journeyman catcher Hobie Landrith; as Stengel explained, "You have to have a catcher or you'll have a lot of passed balls". The return of Casey Stengel to spring training received considerable publicity, and when the Mets played the Yankees in an exhibition game, Stengel played his best pitchers while the Yankees treated it as a meaningless game, and the Mets won, 4–3. The team won nearly as many games as it lost in spring training, but Stengel warned, "I ain't fooled. They play different when the other side is trying too". The Mets lost their first nine games of the regular season; in the meantime the Pirates were 10–0, meaning the Mets were already 9 games out of first place. Some light appeared in May, when the Mets won 11 of 18 games to reach eighth place in the ten-team league. They then lost 17 in a row, returning to last place, where they would spend the remainder of the season. According to sportswriter Joseph Durso, on days when [Stengel's] amazing Mets were, for some reason, amazing, he simply sat back and let the writers swarm over the heroes of the diamond. On days when the Mets were less than amazing—and there were many more days like that—he stepped into the vacuum and diverted the writers' attention, and typewriters, to his own flamboyance ... the perfect link with the public was formed, and it grew stronger as the team grew zanier. The Mets appealed to the younger generation of fans and became an alternative to the stuffy Yankees. As the losing continued, a particular fan favorite was "Marvelous" Marv Throneberry, who was a "lightning-rod for disaster" in the 1962 season, striking out to kill rallies, or dropping pop flies and routine throws to first base. During one game, Throneberry hit a massive shot to right, winding up on third base, only to be called out for missing first. Stengel came from the dugout to argue, only to be told that Throneberry had missed second base as well. Stengel tried incessantly to promote the Mets, talking to reporters or anyone else who would listen. He often used the word "amazin' " (as he put it) and soon this became the "Amazin' Mets", a nickname that stuck. Stengel urged the fans, "Come out and see my amazin' Mets. I been in this game a hundred years but I see new ways to lose I never knew existed before". Stengel was successful in selling the team to some extent, as the Mets drew 900,000 fans, half again as many as the Giants had prior to their departure, though the games against the Giants and Dodgers accounted for half of the total. The team was less successful on the field, finishing with a record of 40–120, the most losses of any 20th century major league team. They finished 60 games behind the pennant-winning Giants, and 18 games behind ninth-place Chicago. Later seasons and retirement (1963–1965) The 1963 season unfolded for the Mets much like the previous year's, though they lost only eight games to begin the season, rather than nine, but they still finished 51–111, in last place. One highlight, though it did not count in the standings, was the Mayor's Trophy Game on June 20 at Yankee Stadium. Stengel played to win; the Yankees under Houk possibly less so, and the Mets beat the Yankees, 6–2. In 1964, the Mets moved into the new Shea Stadium; Stengel commented that "the park is lovelier than my team". The Mets finished 53–109, again in last place. By this time, the fans were starting to be impatient with the losing, and a number of people, including sportscaster Howard Cosell and former Dodger Jackie Robinson, criticized Stengel as ineffective and prone to fall asleep on the bench. Stengel was given a contract for 1965, though Creamer suggested that Weiss, Grant and Payson would have preferred that the 74-year-old Stengel retire. The early part of the 1965 season saw similar futility. On July 25, the Mets had a party at Toots Shor's for the invitees to the following day's Old-Timers' Game. Sometime during that evening, Stengel fell off a barstool and broke his hip. The circumstances of his fall are not known with certainty, as he did not realize he had been severely injured until the following day. Stengel spent his 75th birthday in the hospital. Recognizing that considerable rehabilitation would be required, he retired as manager of the Mets on August 30, replaced by Wes Westrum, one of his coaches. The Mets would again finish in last place. Later years and death The Mets retired Stengel's uniform number, 37, on September 2, 1965, after which he returned to his home in California. He was kept on the team payroll as a vice president, but for all intents and purposes he was out of baseball. His life settled into a routine of attending the World Series (especially when in California), the All-Star Game, Mets spring training, and the baseball writers' dinner in New York. The writers, who elect members of baseball's Hall of Fame, considered it unjust that Stengel should have to wait the usual five years after retirement for election, and waived that rule. On March 8, 1966, at a surprise ceremony at the Mets spring training site in St. Petersburg, Stengel was told of his election; he was inducted in July along with Ted Williams. Thereafter, he added the annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony to his schedule. In 1969, the "Amazin' Mets" justified their nickname by unexpectedly winning the World Series over the favored Orioles. Stengel attended the Series, threw out the first ball for Game 3 at Shea, and visited the clubhouse after the Mets triumphed in Game 5 to win the Series. The Mets presented him with a championship ring. Stengel also participated in Old-Timers' Day at a number of ballparks, including, regularly, Shea Stadium. In 1970, the Yankees invited him to Old-Timers' Day, at which his number, 37, was to be retired. By this time, the Yankee ownership had changed, and the people responsible for his dismissal were no longer with the team. He accepted and attended, and Stengel became the fifth Yankee to have his number retired. He thereafter became a regular at the Yankees' Old-Timers' Day. By 1971, Edna Stengel was showing signs of Alzheimer's disease, and in 1973, following a stroke, she was moved into a nursing home. Casey Stengel continued to live in his Glendale home with the help of his housekeeper June Bowdin. Stengel himself showed signs of senility in his last years, and during the final year of his life, these increased. In his last year, Stengel cut back on his travel schedule, and was too ill to attend the Yankees' Old-Timers Day game in August 1975, at which it was announced that Billy Martin would be the new team manager. A diagnosis of cancer of the lymph glands had been made, and Stengel realized he was dying. In mid-September, he was admitted to Glendale Memorial Hospital, but the cancer was inoperable. He died there on September 29, 1975. Stengel was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale. The tributes to Stengel upon his death were many. Maury Allen wrote, "He is gone and I am supposed to cry, but I laugh. Every time I saw the man, every time I heard his voice, every time his name was mentioned, the creases in my mouth would give way and a smile would come to my face". Richie Ashburn, a member of the 1962 Mets, stated, "Don't shed any tears for Casey. He wouldn't want you to ... He was the happiest man I've ever seen". Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "God is certainly getting an earful tonight". Edna Stengel died in 1978, and was interred next to her husband. In addition to the marker at their graves in Forest Lawn Cemetery, there is a plaque nearby in tribute to Casey Stengel, which besides biographical information contains a bit of Stengelese: "There comes a time in every man's life, and I've had plenty of them". Managerial record Awards and honors As part of professional baseball's centennial celebrations in 1969, Stengel was voted its "Greatest Living Manager". He had his uniform number, 37, retired by both the Yankees and the Mets. He is the first man in MLB history to have had his number retired by more than one team based solely upon his managerial accomplishments, and was joined in that feat in 2011 by the late Sparky Anderson, who had called Stengel "the greatest man" in the history of baseball. The Yankees dedicated a plaque in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park in Stengel's memory on July 30, 1976, reading: "Brightened baseball for over 50 years; with spirit of eternal youth; Yankee manager 1949–1960 winning 10 pennants and 7 world championships including a record 5 consecutive, 1949–1953". He was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1981. Stengel is the only man to have worn the uniform (as player or manager) of all four Major League Baseball teams in New York City in the 20th century: the Dodgers, Giants, Yankees and Mets. He is the only person to have played or managed for the home team in five New York City major league venues: Washington Park, Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds, Shea Stadium and the original Yankee Stadium. In 2009, in an awards segment on the MLB Network titled "The Prime 9", he was named "The Greatest Character of The Game", beating out Yogi Berra. Managerial techniques Stengel re-invigorated platooning in baseball. Most of Stengel's playing days were after offensive platooning, choosing left-handed batters against a right-handed pitcher and the converse, was used successfully by the World Series champion 1914 Boston "Miracle" Braves. This set off widespread use of platooning: Stengel himself was several times during his playing career platooned against right-handers, but the practice fell into disuse around 1930. Stengel reintroduced it to the Yankees, and its prominent use amid the team's success caused it to be imitated by other teams. Bill James deemed Stengel and Earl Weaver the most successful platoon managers. This strategic selection also applied to the pitchers, as Stengel leveraged his staff, starting his best pitchers against the best opponents. Although Stengel is best known for doing this with the Yankees, he also did it in his days managing Brooklyn and Boston, and to a very limited extent with the Mets. Rather than have a regular pitching rotation to maximize the number of starts a pitcher will have, Stengel often rested pitchers longer to take advantage of situational advantages which he perceived. For example, Stengel started Eddie Lopat against Cleveland whenever possible, because he regularly beat them. Stengel's 1954 Yankees had the highest sabermetrics measurement of Leverage Points Average of any 20th century baseball team. Leveraging became unpopular after choices of starting pitchers based on it backfired on Lopez in the 1959 World Series and on Stengel in the following year's—he waited until Game 3 to start Whitey Ford because he felt Ford would be more effective at Yankee Stadium rather than at the small Forbes Field. Ford pitched two shutouts, including Game 6 at Forbes Field, but could not pitch in the Yankees' Game 7 loss. Stengel's philosophy took another blow in 1961 when Houk used Ford in a regular rotation and the pitcher went 25–4 and won the Cy Young Award—he had never won 20 games under Stengel. Today, teams prefer, for the most part, a regular rotation. James noted that Stengel was not only the most successful manager of the 1950s, he was the most dominant manager of any single decade in baseball history. Stengel used his entire squad as Yankee manager, in contrast to other teams when he began his tenure, on which substitutes tended to get little playing time. Stengel's use of platooning meant more players saw more use, and he was generally more prone to put in a pinch hitter or replace his pitcher than other managers. Although only once in Stengel's time (1954) did the Yankees lead the league in number of pinch hitters, Stengel was known for using them in odd situations, once pinch-hitting for Moose Skowron in the first inning after a change of pitcher. Additionally, according to James, Stengel "rotated lineups with mad abandon, using perhaps 70 to 100 different lineups in a 154 game season". Although Stengel was not the first Yankee manager to use a regular relief pitcher—Harris had seen success with Joe Page in 1947—his adoption of the concept did much to promote it. Stengel often rotated infielders between positions, with the Yankees having no real regular second baseman or shortstop between 1954 and 1958. Despite this, the Yankees had a strong defensive infield throughout. Stengel gave great attention to the double play, both defensively and in planning his lineup, and the Yankees responded by being first in the league in double plays as a defense six times in his twelve-year tenure, and the batters hit into the fewest double plays as a team eight times in that era. Having had few players he could rely upon while managing Brooklyn and Boston, Stengel treated his Yankee roster with little sentimentality, trading players quickly when their performance seemed to decline, regardless of past accomplishments. Assured of quality replacements secured by the Yankee front office, the technique worked well, but was not a success with the Mets, where no quality replacements were available, and the technique caused confusion and apathy among the players. Appraisal Marty Appel wrote of Stengel, "He was not a man for all seasons; he was a man for baseball seasons". Stengel remains the only manager to lead his club to victory in five consecutive World Series. How much credit he is due for that accomplishment is controversial, due to the talent on the Yankee teams he managed—Total Baseball deemed that the Yankees won only six games more than expected during the Stengel years, given the number of runs scored and allowed. According to Bak, "the argument—even among some Yankees—was that the team was so good anybody could manage it to a title". Rizzuto stated, "You or I could have managed and gone away for the summer and still won those pennants". Appel noted, "There was no doubt, by taking on the Mets job, he hurt his reputation as a manager. Once again, it was clear that with good players he was a good manager, and with bad players, not. Still, his Yankee years had put him so high on the list of games won, championships won, etc., that he will always be included in conversations about the greatest managers". Bill Veeck said of Stengel in 1966, soon after the manager's retirement, "He was never necessarily the greatest of managers, but any time he had a ball club that had a chance to win, he'd win". Stengel's American League rival, Al Lopez, once said of him "I swear I don't understand some of the things he does when he manages". Though platooning survives, Stengel's intuitive approach to managing is no longer current in baseball, replaced by the use of statistics, and the advent of instant replay makes obsolete Stengel's tendency to charge from the dugout to confront an umpire over a disputed call. Stengel has been praised for his role in successfully launching the Mets. Appel deemed the Mets' beginnings unique, as later expansion teams have been given better players to begin with, "few expansion teams in any sport have tried the formula—a quotable, fan-popular man who would charm the press and deflect attention away from ineptness on the field". Arthur Daley of The New York Times wrote, "he gave the Mets the momentum they needed when they needed it most. He was the booster that got them off the ground and on their journey. The smoke screen he generated to accompany the blast-off obscured the flaws and gave the Mets an acceptance and a following they could not have obtained without him". James wrote, "Stengel became such a giant character that you really can't talk about him in the past. He became an enduring part of the game". Commissioner William Eckert said of Stengel, "he's probably done more for baseball than anyone". A child of the Jim Crow era, and from a border state (Missouri) with southern characteristics, Stengel has sometimes been accused of being a racist, for example by Roy Campanella Jr., who stated that Stengel made racist remarks from the dugout during the World Series towards his father Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson and other black stars of the Dodgers. Bak noted, though, that Stengel was a "vicious and inventive" bench jockey, hazing the other team with whatever might throw off their performance. Stengel had poor relations with Robinson; each disliked the other and was a vocal critic. One widely quoted Stengel comment was about catcher Elston Howard, who became the first black Yankee in 1955, eight years after Robinson had broken the color barrier, "they finally get me a nigger, I get the only one who can't run". Howard, though, denied that Stengel had shouted racial epithets at the Dodgers, and said "I never felt any prejudice around Casey". Al Jackson, a black pitcher with the Mets under Stengel, concurred, "He never treated me with anything but respect". According to Bill Bishop in his account of Stengel, "Casey did use language that would certainly be considered offensive today, but was quite common vernacular in the fifties. He was effusive in his praise of black players like Satchel Paige, Larry Doby and Howard". Conscious of changing times, Stengel was more careful in his choice of words while with the Mets. Stengel was sometimes considered thoughtless or even cruel towards his players. Examples of this include his playing Joe DiMaggio at first base, and sometimes batting Phil Rizzuto ninth, behind the pitcher, as well as his dismissal of the shortshop on Old-Timers' Day in 1956. In spite of their falling out over the 1957 trade, Billy Martin, by then manager of the Yankees, wore a black armband in remembrance of Stengel during the 1976 season, the sole Yankee to do so. According to Creamer, "It doesn't seem to be stretching the point too far to say that Ned Hanlon begat John McGraw who begat Casey Stengel who begat Billy Martin". Sportswriter Leonard Koppett wrote of Stengel in The New York Times: See also List of Major League Baseball managers by wins References Numbers for the James books and for Jaffe indicate Kindle locations. Bibliography Further reading Casey at the Bat: The Story of My Life in Baseball, by Casey Stengel and Harry T. Paxton, Random House, 1962. External links Casey Stengel at the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR BioProject) Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel interviewed with New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. on the occasion of Stengel's 75th birthday celebration at City Hall, July 22, 1965 as broadcast on WNYC Radio. 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Olmec

The Olmecs were the earliest known major civilization in Mexico following a progressive development in Soconusco. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the present-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco. It has been speculated that the Olmecs derive in part from neighboring Mokaya or Mixe-Zoque. The Olmecs flourished during Mesoamerica's formative period, dating roughly from as early as 1500 BCE to about 400 BCE. Pre-

Social and political organization

Little is directly known about the societal or political structure of Olmec society. Although it is assumed by most researchers that the colossal heads and several other sculptures represent rulers, nothing has been found like the Maya stelae (see drawing) which name specific rulers and provide the dates of their rule. Instead, archaeologists relied on the data that they had, such as large- and small-scale site surveys. These provided evidence of considerable centralization within the Olmec region, first at San Lorenzo and then at La Venta - no other Olmec sites come close to these in terms of area or in the quantity and quality of architecture and sculpture. This evidence of geographic and demographic centralization leads archaeologists to propose that Olmec society itself was hierarchical, concentrated first at San Lorenzo and then at La Venta, with an elite that was able to use their control over materials such as water and monumental stone to exert command and legitimize their regime. Nonetheless, Olmec society is thought to lack many of the institutions of later civilizations, such as a standing army or priestly caste. And there is no evidence that San Lorenzo or La Venta controlled, even during their heyday, all of the Olmec heartland. There is some doubt, for example, that La Venta controlled even Arroyo Sonso, only some 35 km (22 mi) away. Studies of the Tuxtla Mountain settlements, some 60 km (37 mi) away, indicate that this area was composed of more or less egalitarian communities outside the control of lowland centers. CANNOTANSWER

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Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music band formed in Wirral, Merseyside in 1978. Spawned by earlier group The Id, the outfit is composed of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), along with Martin Cooper (various instruments) and Stuart Kershaw (drums); McCluskey is the only constant member. OMD released their debut single, "Electricity", in 1979, and gained popularity throughout Europe with the 1980 anti-war song "Enola Gay".

Split and McCluskey-led OMD (1989-1996)

During 1988 the band appeared poised to consolidate their US success, with a support slot for Depeche Mode's Music for the Masses Tour at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on 18 June 1988, a top 20 US hit with "Dreaming" and a successful "Best of" album. However, it was at this point when OMD broke in two. Graham and Neil Weir left at the end of the 1988 US tour and co-founder Paul Humphreys subsequently called it a day, unhappy with the band's commercial orientation. Finally, Cooper and Holmes left OMD to join Humphreys in founding a new band called The Listening Pool in 1989. This left only McCluskey to carry on, essentially becoming a solo artist working under the OMD banner. McCluskey's first album from the new OMD was the dance-pop Sugar Tax LP in May 1991, which charted at No. 3 in the UK. McCluskey recruited in 1989 Liverpool musicians Raw Unlimited (aka Lloyd Massett, Stuart Kershaw and Nathalie Loates) as collaborators for the making of Sugar Tax: writing credits carefully distinguished between songs written by OMD (i.e., McCluskey) and songs written by OMD/Kershaw/Massett. This iteration of the group was initially successful with hits like "Sailing on the Seven Seas" and "Pandora's Box", with lesser success on fellow chart entries, "Call My Name" and "Then You Turn Away". McCluskey's live band was then formed by Nigel Ipinson (keyboards), Phil Coxon (keyboards) and Abe Juckes (drums) since late 1990. Kershaw, Ipinson and Coxon from 1992 to 1996 contributed to OMD albums and a 1993 tour. The fifth track from Liberator (1993), "Dream of Me", was built around a sample from "Love's Theme" by Love Unlimited Orchestra, a track which was written and produced by Barry White. To release the "Dream of Me" track as an OMD single, however, McCluskey had to agree that the single release of the track would remove the actual "Love's Theme" sample, but still be officially titled "Dream of Me (Based on Love's Theme)", and furthermore would still give a writing credit to White. Paul Humphreys, while no longer part of the group, co-wrote the single "Everyday". Also in 1993, McCluskey made contributions to the Esperanto album, a project by former Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos (then working under the moniker of Elektric Music). McCluskey returned with a rotating cast of musicians for the 1996 album Universal, which featured two songs co-written by Humphreys as well as a holdover from the Esperanto sessions, co-penned by Bartos. The record spawned OMD's first Top 20 hit in five years, "Walking on the Milky Way". CANNOTANSWER

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic band formed in Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), along with Martin Cooper (keyboards, saxophone) and Stuart Kershaw (drums); McCluskey has been the only constant member. Regarded as pioneers of electronic music, OMD combined an experimental, minimalist ethos with pop sensibilities, becoming key figures in the emergence of synth-pop. The band were also an early presence in the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US. McCluskey and Humphreys led precursor group the Id from 1977–1978, and re-recorded their track "Electricity" as OMD's debut single in 1979. Weathering an "uncool" image and a degree of hostility from music critics, the band achieved popularity throughout Europe with the 1980 anti-war song "Enola Gay", and gained further recognition via Architecture & Morality (1981) and its three hit singles. Although later reappraised, Dazzle Ships (1983) was seen as overly experimental, and eroded European support. The group embraced a more radio-friendly sound on Junk Culture (1984); this change in direction led to greater success in the United States, and spawned hits including "If You Leave" (from the 1986 film Pretty in Pink). McCluskey and Humphreys attracted the moniker, "the Lennon–McCartney of synth-pop". In 1989, creative differences saw Humphreys and other members form the spin-off band the Listening Pool, leaving McCluskey the only remaining member of OMD. The group returned with a new line-up and explored the dance-pop genre: Sugar Tax (1991) and its initial singles were hits in Europe. OMD then began to flounder amid the guitar-oriented grunge and Britpop movements, eventually disbanding in 1996. McCluskey later conceived girl group Atomic Kitten, for whom he served as a principal songwriter and producer, while Humphreys formed the duo Onetwo alongside lead vocalist Claudia Brücken of Propaganda. In 2006, OMD reformed with Humphreys and McCluskey revisiting the experimental territory of their early work; the band have achieved 13 top-20 entries on the UK Albums Chart. Their 20th century output yielded 18 top-40 appearances on the UK Singles Chart, as well as four top-40 entries on the US Billboard Hot 100. Although sometimes identified as a cult band, OMD have sold over 40 million records worldwide, and have influenced many artists across diverse genres. History 1975–1979: Roots and early years Co-founders Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys met at primary school in Meols in the early 1960s, and in the mid-1970s, as teenagers, they were involved in different local groups but shared a distaste for guitar-driven rock with a macho attitude popular among their friends at the time. By 1975, McCluskey had formed Equinox as bassist and lead vocalist, alongside schoolmate Malcolm Holmes on drums, while Humphreys was roadie. During that time, McCluskey and Humphreys discovered their electronic style, inspired by German band Kraftwerk. After Equinox, McCluskey joined Pegasus, and, later, the short-lived Hitlerz Underpantz, alongside Humphreys. McCluskey would usually sing and play bass guitar; roadie and electronics enthusiast Humphreys, who shared McCluskey's love of electronic music, graduated to keyboards. In September 1977, McCluskey and Humphreys put together the seven-piece (three vocalists, two guitarists, bassist, drummer, and keyboardist) Wirral band the Id, whose line-up included drummer Malcolm Holmes and McCluskey's girlfriend Julia Kneale on vocals. The group began to gig regularly in the Merseyside area, performing original material (largely written by McCluskey and Humphreys). They had quite a following on the scene, and one of their tracks ("Julia's Song") was included on a compilation album of local bands called Street to Street – A Liverpool Album (1979). Meanwhile, Humphreys and McCluskey collaborated on a side project called VCL XI, whose name was adapted from a diagram on the back cover of Kraftwerk's fifth studio album Radio-Activity (1975), reading "VCL 11". This project allowed them to pursue their more obscure electronic experiments. In August 1978, the Id broke up due to musical differences. The same month, McCluskey joined Wirral electronic outfit Dalek I Love You as lead vocalist, but quit in September. Later that month, he rejoined Humphreys and their VCL XI project was renamed Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. The name was gleaned from a list of song lyrics and ideas that were written on McCluskey's bedroom wall; and was chosen so they would not be mistaken for a punk band. Given that OMD intended to play only one gig, the duo considered their moniker to be inconsequential. McCluskey has since expressed regret over choosing "such a very silly name". The contrasting personalities of Humphreys and McCluskey established the band's dynamic, with the former saying that "two Pauls wouldn't get anything done and two Andys would kill each other." They have further described their creative roles as "The Surgeon" (Humphreys) and "The Butcher" (McCluskey). As working class youngsters, OMD had a limited budget, using second-hand "junk-shop" instruments including a left-handed bass guitar (which McCluskey would play upside-down). The pair also created their own devices, with Humphreys "making things out of his aunt's radios cannibalised for the circuit boards". Eventually, they acquired a basic Korg M-500 Micro Preset synthesizer, purchased via McCluskey's mother's mail-order catalogue for £7.76 a week, paid over 36 weeks. OMD began to gig regularly as a duo, performing to backing tracks played from a TEAC 4-track tape-recorder christened "Winston" (after the antihero of George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four). Their debut performance was in October 1978 at Eric's Club in Liverpool. Finding themselves on the cusp of an electronic new wave in British pop music, they released a one-off single, "Electricity", with independent label Factory Records. The track was supposed to be produced by the Factory Records producer Martin Hannett. However, the A-side was the band's original demo produced by their friend, owner of Winston and soon to be manager, Paul Collister, under the pseudonym Chester Valentino (taken from a nightclub called Valentino's in the nearby city of Chester). The single's sleeve was designed by Peter Saville, whose distinctive graphics contributed to OMD's public image into the 1980s. "Electricity" became a seminal release within the burgeoning synth-pop movement, and led to the band receiving a seven-album recording contract with Dindisc, worth over £250,000. In 1979, OMD were asked to support Gary Numan on his first major British tour. Humphreys noted, "[Numan] gave us our first big break. He saw us opening for Joy Division and he asked us to go on tour with him... we went from the small clubs to playing huge arenas. Gary was very good to us." Numan later supported OMD on a 1993 UK arena tour. 1980–1988: Classic line-up Rather than hire studio time to record their eponymous debut album (1980), McCluskey and Humphreys used their advance payment from Dindisc to build their own Liverpool recording studio, called the Gramophone Suite. They predicted that they would be dropped by the label due to disappointing sales, but would at least own a studio. The album showcased the band's live set at the time, and included some guest drums from former Id drummer Malcolm Holmes and saxophone from former Dalek I Love You member Martin Cooper. It had a raw, poppy, melodic synth-pop sound. Dindisc arranged for the song "Messages" to be re-recorded (produced by Gong bassist Mike Howlett) and released as a single—it gave the band their first hit. Dave Hughes (another Dalek I Love You alumnus), who joined OMD in 1980, is featured in the "Messages" music video. A tour followed; Winston was augmented with live drums from Malcolm Holmes, and Dave Hughes played synthesizers. Hughes left OMD in late 1980. The band's second studio album, Organisation (a reference to the band which preceded Kraftwerk, founded by Kraftwerk's original members Florian Schneider-Esleben and Ralf Hütter), followed later that year, recorded as a three-piece with Humphreys, McCluskey and Holmes. It was again produced by Howlett, and had a darker, moodier feel largely inspired by the passing of Joy Division lead vocalist and former Factory label-mate, Ian Curtis. The album included the anti-war hit single "Enola Gay", named after the plane that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The song was intended to be included on the debut studio album, but was left out at the final selection. The tour for this album had a four-piece band line-up, with Martin Cooper recruited for keyboard duties and enlisted as an official group member. The McCluskey/Humphreys/Cooper/Holmes unit came to be regarded as the band's classic line-up. In early 1981, readers of Record Mirror voted OMD the fourth-best band and eighth-best live act of 1980; NME and Sounds readers named the group the eighth and 10th best new act of the year, respectively. In Smash Hits, they were voted both the fifth-best band of 1980 and the eighth-hottest new act for 1981. Howlett then presided over the recording of a further hit single, "Souvenir", co-written by Cooper and Humphreys. It ushered in a lush choral electronic sound. The song also became OMD's biggest UK hit to date. The band's third studio album, Architecture & Morality, was released in the UK and Europe in November 1981, becoming their most commercially successful studio album. The group went into the studio with Richard Manwaring producing. Cooper then temporarily dropped out and was replaced by Mike Douglas, but this change was reversed by the time the album was released and a tour followed. The album's sound saw OMD's original synth-pop sound augmented by the use of the Mellotron (an instrument previously associated with progressive rock bands), adding atmospheric swatches of string, choir, and other sounds to their palette. Two more hit singles, "Joan of Arc" and "Maid of Orleans" (which became the biggest-selling single of 1982 in Germany) were on the album. Both songs were originally titled "Joan of Arc"; the name of the latter single was changed to Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc) at the insistence of the publishers and to avoid confusion. Readers of Smash Hits voted OMD the seventh-best group of 1981, while Record Mirror readers named them the eighth-best band (as well as the 10th-best "new artist") and the third-best live act of the year. The group came close to breaking up in 1982, with McCluskey later saying, "We had never expected the success, we were exhausted." In 1983, the band lost commercial momentum somewhat, with the release of their more experimental fourth studio album Dazzle Ships, produced by Rhett Davies, perhaps best known for his previous work with Roxy Music and Brian Eno. The record mixed melancholy synth ballads and uptempo synth-pop with musique concrète and short wave radio tape collages. Its relative commercial failure caused a crisis of confidence for Humphreys and McCluskey, and brought about a deliberate move towards the mainstream. Their following studio album, 1984's Junk Culture, was a shift to a more pop-style sound, and the band used digital sampling keyboards such as the Fairlight CMI and the E-mu Emulator. The album was a success, reassuring the group about their new direction. The "Locomotion" single returned them to the top five in the UK. Record Mirror readers named OMD the eighth-best live act of 1984. In 1985, the band expanded to a sextet with the addition of brothers Graham Weir (guitar, keyboards, trombone) and Neil Weir (keyboards, trumpet, bass guitar), and released their sixth studio album, Crush, produced by Stephen Hague in Paris and New York. OMD had been an early presence in the Second British Invasion of the US, but achieved their first Billboard Hot 100 hit with the no. 26 entry "So in Love". This led to some success for Crush, which entered the American Top 40. Later in 1985, the group were asked to write a song for the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink (1986). They offered "Goddess of Love", although the ending of the film was re-shot due to a negative response from test audiences. OMD then wrote "If You Leave" in less than 24 hours, and it became a top 5 hit in the US, Canada, and New Zealand. Journalist Hugo Lindgren argued that the success of "If You Leave" has concealed from US audiences the band's history of making innovative music. In September of 1986, the same six piece line-up also released their seventh studio album, The Pacific Age, but the group began to see their critical and public popularity wane notably in the UK. The album's first single, "(Forever) Live and Die", was a top 10 hit across Europe and entered the top 20 in both the UK and US. On 18 June 1988, OMD supported Depeche Mode at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California where they played to over 60,000 people. They also released the top 20 US hit "Dreaming" and a successful greatest hits album, The Best of OMD. Graham and Neil Weir left the band at the end of the 1988 US tour. 1989–1996: McCluskey-led OMD and disbandment As OMD appeared poised to consolidate their US success, the band continued to fracture. Humphreys departed in 1989 amid personal and creative dissension with McCluskey. Cooper and Holmes then left OMD to join Humphreys in founding a new band called the Listening Pool. McCluskey recalled, "We were all in agreement that something was wrong. How to fix it was where we disagreed." This left only McCluskey to carry on, essentially becoming a solo artist working under the OMD banner. McCluskey's first album from the new OMD was the dance-pop studio album Sugar Tax in May 1991, which charted at No. 3 in the UK. McCluskey recruited Liverpool musicians Raw Unlimited (Lloyd Massett, Stuart Kershaw, Nathalie Loates) as collaborators for the making of Sugar Tax; writing credits carefully distinguished between songs written by OMD (i.e., McCluskey) and songs written by OMD/Kershaw/Massett. This iteration of the group was initially successful, with hits such as "Sailing on the Seven Seas" and "Pandora's Box", with lesser success on fellow chart entries "Call My Name" and "Then You Turn Away". McCluskey's live band was then composed of Nigel Ipinson (keyboards), Phil Coxon (keyboards), and Abe Juckes (drums) from late 1990. Smash Hits readers voted OMD the sixth-best British group of 1991. The group's next studio album would be 1993's Liberator, which ventured further into dance territory. It peaked at No. 14 on the UK Albums Chart. The lead single "Stand Above Me" peaked at no. 21 on the UK Singles Chart, with a follow-up single, "Dream of Me", charting at no. 24. Paul Humphreys was credited as co-writer of the single "Everyday" (a No. 59 UK chart entry). The fifth track from Liberator, "Dream of Me", was built around a sample from "Love's Theme" by Love Unlimited Orchestra, a song written and produced by Barry White. To release the track as an OMD single, however, McCluskey had to agree that the single release would remove the actual "Love's Theme" sample, but still be officially titled "Dream of Me (Based on Love's Theme)", and furthermore would still give a writing credit to White. Also in 1993, McCluskey made contributions to the Elektric Music album Esperanto, a project by former Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos. McCluskey returned with a rotating cast of musicians for the more organic Universal (1996), which featured two songs co-written by Humphreys as well as a holdover from the Esperanto sessions, co-written by Bartos. The record spawned OMD's first Top 20 hit in five years, "Walking on the Milky Way". Alhough both Liberator and Universal produced minor hits, McCluskey retired OMD in late 1996, having faced waning public interest amid the grunge and Britpop movements. A particular source of frustration was the modest commercial response to "Walking on the Milky Way", over which McCluskey said he "sweated blood", considering it "about as good a song as I could write". However, the track was not playlisted by BBC Radio 1, and Woolworths did not stock it. McCluskey said, "I just thought: 'Screw this, I'm not going to bang my head against a brick wall'." A second singles album was released in 1998, along with an EP of remixed material by such acts as Sash! and Moby. Post-1996, McCluskey decided to focus on songwriting for such Liverpool-based acts as Atomic Kitten and Genie Queen, and trying to develop new Merseyside artists from his Motor Museum recording studio. With McCluskey focusing his talents elsewhere, Humphreys decided to work with his new musical partner Claudia Brücken (of the ZTT bands Propaganda and Act) as Onetwo. He also undertook a US live tour under the banner "Paul Humphreys from OMD". 2006–2012: Reformation and comeback releases An unexpected request to perform from a German television show led the group to reunite. On 1 January 2006, McCluskey announced plans to reform OMD with the "classic" line-up of McCluskey, Humphreys, Holmes, and Cooper. The original plan was to tour the studio album Architecture & Morality and other pre-1983 material, then record a new studio album set for release in 2007. In May 2007, the Architecture & Morality remastered CD was re-released together with a DVD featuring the Drury Lane concert from 1981 that had previously been available on VHS. The band toured throughout May and June, beginning their set with a re-ordered but otherwise complete re-staging of the Architecture & Morality album. The second half of each concert featured a selection of their best known hits. Spring 2008 saw the release of a live CD and DVD of the 2007 tour, OMD Live: Architecture & Morality & More, recorded at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. Also released was a 25th anniversary re-release of Dazzle Ships, including six bonus tracks. To tie-in with the re-release, the band made the brief "Messages 78-08 30th Anniversary Tour", featuring China Crisis as a support act. A cover of Atomic Kitten's 2001 hit, "Whole Again" (which had been co-written by McCluskey), was included on Liverpool – The Number Ones Album (2008), marking OMD's first new studio recording in 12 years. In June 2009, an orchestral concert with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic was played in Liverpool; a recording of this concert was released on DVD in December. The band returned to arena touring in November and December, supporting Simple Minds on their Graffiti Soul Tour. OMD had performed at the Night of the Proms festival in December 2006 in Germany, renewing the experience again in Belgium and the Netherlands that year. They were the headline act at Britain's first Vintage Computer Festival at The National Museum of Computing in June 2010. Their eleventh studio album, History of Modern, was released in September 2010, reaching No. 28 in the UK Albums Chart and being followed by a European tour. On 28 September, OMD performed as a special guest at the "first ever gig" of the Buggles. In March 2011, OMD played their first North American tour as the original line-up since 1988. In September, the band appeared at the Electric Picnic 2011 festival in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland. In November 2011, OMD returned to the studio and started work on their next album, English Electric. On 12 March 2012, the band played a concert in the Philippines at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. In August, OMD performed to South African audiences in Cape Town and Johannesburg. 2013–2019: Return to prominence In 2013, OMD performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on 14 and 21 April. "Metroland", the first single from the forthcoming studio album English Electric, was released on 25 March 2013. The album was released in the UK on 8 April, and entered the UK album chart at No. 12 and the German chart at No. 10. Reviews for both the album and their concerts were generally positive. "The Future Will Be Silent", a 500-copy limited edition 10-inch picture disc EP from English Electric, was made available for Record Store Day 2013, and included a then-exclusive non-album track titled "Time Burns". For Record Store Day 2015, a 1000-copy limited edition 10-inch EP of "Julia's Song (Dub Version)" from Junk Culture was made available, which includes an exclusive non-album track titled "10 to 1". OMD performed a one-off concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London on 9 May 2016 to a sell-out crowd, playing both Architecture & Morality and Dazzle Ships in their entirety, along with other songs from before 1983. The only song post-1983 played was "History of Modern Part 1". The concert was recorded and made available on double CD right after the show, with a triple LP vinyl recording of the concert also being made available. The band collaborated with Gary Barlow, Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman on the OMD song "Thrill Me", co-written by Barlow and McCluskey for the soundtrack of the 2015 film Eddie the Eagle. Work began in October 2015 on what was to be their thirteenth studio album The Punishment of Luxury, which was released on 1 September 2017 and charted at no. 4 in the UK. OMD toured Europe and North America in support of the album, with Stuart Kershaw replacing Holmes as the band's drummer, due to the latter's health issues. In 2018, OMD published a book titled Pretending to See the Future, which is a first-person "autobiography" about the band. It mixed fan-submitted memories with commentary from McCluskey, Humphreys, Cooper, Holmes, and Kershaw. For people who pre-ordered the book on PledgeMusic, they received a limited-edition flexi-disc containing a previously unheard demo of "Messages" from 1978. As part of the group's 40th-anniversary celebrations, they embarked on a UK and European tour in 2019. OMD won "Group of the Year" and "Live Act of the Year" in the 2019 Classic Pop Reader Awards. A retrospective deluxe box set titled Souvenir was also released. The 40th anniversary collection includes the band's forty singles, including a new release titled "Don't Go". It also contains 22 previously unreleased recordings from the group's archive, selected and mixed by Paul Humphreys. Two audio live shows (one from 2011 and one from 2013) are also included, together with two DVDs bringing together two more live concerts (Drury Lane in 1981 and Sheffield City Hall in 1985) plus Crush – The Movie, and various BBC TV performances from Top of the Pops, The Old Grey Whistle Test and Later... with Jools Holland. 2020–present: Continued acknowledgement During the COVID-19 lockdown imposed in March 2020, McCluskey "rediscovered the creative power of boredom" and began writing material for OMD's next studio album. In October, the band returned to live performance with a limited-capacity gig at London's indigo at The O2, with proceeds going to their road crew; the event was also streamed online. In 2021, the Souvenir box set was nominated for "Best Historical Album" at the Grammy Awards. Also that year, OMD celebrated the 40th anniversary of 1981's Architecture & Morality with a UK tour, and released a triple-vinyl set of the album's singles containing associated B-sides, demo recordings, and live tracks. The following March, a pair of concerts with a heavy emphasis on the group's more experimental work (rescheduled from September 2020), took place at the Royal Albert Hall, with a live album based on the shows released through the OMD store. Another re-issue of 1983's Dazzle Ships, featuring previously unheard recordings, was announced for a March 2023 release. OMD's fourteenth studio album, Bauhaus Staircase, is also set for release in 2023; McCluskey has said it is likely to be the band's last. Artistry and image James Hunter of Spin wrote that "OMD set about reinventing punk with different applications of dance beats, keyboards, melodies, and sulks", rejecting the genre's "sonic trappings but not its intellectual freedom". The band found commercial success with a style of synth-pop described as "experimental", "minimal[ist]" and "edgy". OMD often eschewed choruses, replacing them with synthesizer lines, and opted for unconventional lyrical subjects such as industrial processes, micronations and telephone boxes; the BBC said that the group "were always more intellectual" than "contemporaries like Duran Duran and Eurythmics". Despite the band's experimentation, they employed pop hooks in their music, attaining what AllMusic's Ned Raggett described as "the enviable position of at once being creative innovators and radio-friendly pop giants". They were influenced by electronic artists such as Kraftwerk, Brian Eno and Neu!, as well as more mainstream acts like David Bowie and Roxy Music. OMD drew inspiration from former Factory Records label-mates Joy Division, particularly during the making of Organisation (1980). The group also recorded two Velvet Underground covers. OMD were indifferent to celebrity status, and avoided the calculated fashion stylings of many of their 1980s peers. During live performances, McCluskey developed a frenetic dancing style that has been dubbed the "Trainee Teacher Dance"; he explains that it stemmed "from the perception that [OMD] were making boring robotic intellectual music that you couldn't dance to". Journalist Hugo Lindgren noted that the band were perceived as "oddballs, freaks" on the Liverpool scene, while McCluskey has identified himself and Humphreys as "synth punks" and "complete geeks". Gareth Ware of DIY called OMD "one of the guiding lights of British synth-pop... albeit one with a disarming naivety and warm characterful nature at odds with the sleek, chic image cultivated by the likes of [the] Human League and Depeche Mode." Critic Andrew Collins said the group represented a wave of "uncool" pop stars who would eventually "become cool" in the public eye. Mid-1980s style change The experimental Dazzle Ships (1983) was a critical and commercial disappointment upon release. Facing potential excision from Virgin Records, OMD moved toward a more accessible sound on the black music-influenced Junk Culture (1984); the band also donned more vibrant garments on the album's accompanying tour. The group continued to incorporate elements of sonic experimentation, although their sound became increasingly polished on the Stephen Hague-produced studio albums Crush (1985) and The Pacific Age (1986). The Quietus founder John Doran, who was supportive of the band's reinvention, told how it became "quite popular to see OMD as nose-diving into the effluence after Dazzle Ships". Author Richard Metzger refused to "stick up for anything they recorded" afterwards, while the A.V. Club alleged that McCluskey would "give up" following that album. Conversely, Ian Peel of Record Collector observed "two brilliant, but very different, bands. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, the early 80s Factory descendents... and OMD, the late 80s stadium pop act." The Miami New Times asserted that "even their poppiest records of that postexperimental era, such as Junk Culture and Crush, were clever and beautifully arranged." Musicians have commented on OMD's post-Dazzle Ships output. Michael "Telekinesis" Lerner was unable to "sink [his] teeth into" Junk Culture, and did not invest in the group again for many years. Moby remarked, "Their earlier records were just phenomenal... a few years on they were making music for John Hughes movies, and they were good at it and I'm glad that they had success with it, but it wasn't nearly as creatively inspiring." On the other hand, bassist Tony Kanal of No Doubt said, "[OMD] inspired us to try and do our own John Hughes prom-scene movie moment kind of songs... Junk Culture is great." Angus Andrew of Liars referred to "the complexity and mastery in OMD's later pop material", calling himself "a fan of OMD albums from all of their phases". The band themselves defend Junk Culture as an enjoyable "collection of songs" as opposed to a "deep, conceptual" record, and argue that Crush features some strong material despite being hastily written and excessively produced. They concede, however, that The Pacific Age "[does]n't work" and marks their "musical nadir". Spin journalist Jessica Bendinger reflected on OMD's stylistic journey by the late 1980s, saying that "their music has been colored by continual exploration... which has run the gamut from Gregorian-chant-inspired anthems of love to a union of Orchestral-Motown." Subsequent reinventions The McCluskey-led OMD explored a dance-oriented approach on Sugar Tax (1991) and Liberator (1993); the latter has since been dismissed by McCluskey. Critic Ian Peel wrote that the band "defied expectations by updating their sound and becoming, if only briefly, relevant in the 90s". The group disbanded shortly after the release of Universal (1996), on which they strained for a more organic and acoustic sound. McCluskey recalled a negative media perception of the band by the mid-1990s, saying, "At the height of indie rock and Britpop, we were totally out of fashion." Since the group's 2006 reformation, their material has been seen as more akin to their early output. While celebrating the Dazzle Ships era in a 2023 article, Rolling Stone journalist Rob Sheffield declared that "OMD are still running at the same creative level". Legacy and influence OMD have been recognised as pioneers of electronic music, and key figures in the emergence of synth-pop. Record Mirror had pondered in 1980 whether co-founders McCluskey and Humphreys were becoming "the Lennon and McCartney of the electronic world"; variations of this descriptor frequently appeared in the media over the years. PopMatters identified OMD as "the most important and influential group of the late 1970s/early 1980s birth of electropop", while the Stranger labelled them "synth-pop royalty" and an inspiration for "hundreds" of artists since the early 1980s. The band are responsible for a number of landmark releases in the synth-pop canon: the singles "Electricity" (1979) and "If You Leave" (1986), and the albums Architecture & Morality (1981) and Dazzle Ships (1983), have been described as particularly influential. Journalists have credited the group with helping define 1980s popular music, and informing the dance music scene of the 1990s. On the other hand, OMD experienced hostility from sections of the music press, once being described in Smash Hits as "one of the most irritating groups in the universe". Record Mirror told how they received a "thorough tarring of the same brush" as then-reviled artist Gary Numan, but were able to weather "this almost certain kiss of death". The Independent wrote that OMD did not "attract the kudos" directed towards electronic peers New Order and Depeche Mode, but were "certainly as significant" as those bands; New Order co-founder, Peter Hook, described McCluskey as a "really underrated" songwriter. Despite their often-difficult relationship with critics, OMD have earned a loyal following. Broadcaster Chris Evans remarked, "There are fans, and then there are OMD fans. [Their] fans may be among the greatest in the world... they are devout." The group also enjoy a large fanbase within the LGBT community, which McCluskey says they cherish. Architecture & Morality, regarded as OMD's seminal album, had sold over four million copies by early 2007; Sugar Tax (1991) had sold more than three million by the same time period. 1980 single "Enola Gay" has sold over five million copies. Although viewed by some journalists as a cult band, OMD have sold over 40 million records in total, with sales of 15 million albums and 25 million singles as of 2019. Impact on other artists Depeche Mode were influenced by OMD during their formative stages; original bandleader Vince Clarke stated that without OMD, Depeche Mode would never have existed. Clarke has further credited the group for educating mainstream audiences that electronic music could have emotion, asserting, "OMD are the guys who did that. They had a really good voice, and they created real songs. I mean, they were the songs that if you played on a guitar, if someone's singing them without synthesizers, they would say, 'Hey, that's a good song, yep, I get that'." OMD inspired other electronic contemporaries such as New Order, Tears for Fears, Erasure, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Howard Jones, Alphaville, and Pet Shop Boys, whose vocalist, Neil Tennant, identified the band as "pioneers of electronic music". 1979 single "Electricity" was influential on a young Duran Duran, while 1980's "Messages" was a key inspiration for Kim Wilde songwriter and producer, Ricky Wilde. Rock group ZZ Top publicly championed OMD's debut studio album and adopted elements of their sound and performance style. OMD have influenced later artists including No Doubt, the Killers, Moby, Deftones, Barenaked Ladies, MGMT, AFI, Anohni, Paul van Dyk, Sharon Van Etten, Arcade Fire orchestrator Owen Pallett, Red Hot Chili Peppers' John Frusciante, Take That's Gary Barlow, Belle and Sebastian's Stevie Jackson, and Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson, who said the band's albums "stand up very, very well as experimental pop records with the most enjoyable kind of songwriting." 1983's "challenging" commercial flop, Dazzle Ships, has been celebrated by acts such as Saint Etienne, Death Cab for Cutie, Future Islands and producer Mark Ronson. OMD were named as childhood favourites by LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy and the Shins' James Mercer, while Sash! recognised the group as widely influential on DJ/producers and "one of the leading bands in the 80s and 90s regarding electronic music/production". The group's influence also extends to country outfit Sugarland, countertenor Andreas Scholl, and novelist Anna Smaill. OMD's songs have been covered, remixed or sampled by acts including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Boy George, Kid Cudi, Good Charlotte, Leftfield, Scooter, NOFX, Hot Chip, Nada Surf, Angel Olsen, and David Guetta, who described the opportunity to rework the band's material as "a thrill for any electronic musician". Console sampled "Sacred Heart" (1981) for his 1998 instrumental track "Crabcraft", to which Björk added vocals, retitling it "Heirloom" (2001). OMD are also the subject of two 2001 tribute albums, which feature interpretations by the likes of White Town, the Faint, Mahogany and Acid House Kings. The official biography OMD: Pretending to See the Future (2018) features tributes from fellow artists such as Kraftwerk's Karl Bartos, U2's Adam Clayton, Thompson Twins' Tom Bailey, the Human League's Philip Oakey, and Gary Numan, who credited the group for "some of the best pop songs ever written". Members Current members Andy McCluskey – vocals, bass guitar, keyboards (1978–96; 2006–present) Paul Humphreys – keyboards, vocals (1978–89; 2006–present) Martin Cooper – keyboards, saxophone (1980–89; 2006–present) Stuart Kershaw – drums (1993; 2015–present) Former members Malcolm Holmes – drums, percussion (1980–89; 2006–2015) Dave Hughes – keyboards (1979–80) Michael Douglas – keyboards (1980–81) Graham Weir – guitar, brass, keyboards (1984–89) Neil Weir – brass, keyboards, bass guitar (1984–89) Phil Coxon – keyboards (1991–93) Nigel Ipinson – keyboards (1991–93) Abe Juckes – drums (1991–92) Timeline Discography Studio albums Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (1980) Organisation (1980) Architecture & Morality (1981) Dazzle Ships (1983) Junk Culture (1984) Crush (1985) The Pacific Age (1986) Sugar Tax (1991) Liberator (1993) Universal (1996) History of Modern (2010) English Electric (2013) The Punishment of Luxury (2017) Bauhaus Staircase (2023) Notes References Bibliography Houghton, Richard. OMD: Pretending to See the Future (expanded paperback). This Day in Music Books. 2019. Houghton, Richard. OMD: Pretending to See the Future (hardcover). This Day in Music Books. 2018. Waller, Johnny; Humphreys, Mike. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Messages. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1987. West, Mike. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Omnibus Press. 1982. External links Official YouTube channel Category:English electronic music groups Category:English electronic music duos Category:English new wave musical groups Category:English synth-pop groups Category:Factory Records artists Category:British synth-pop new wave groups Category:Musical groups established in 1978 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2006 Category:Musical groups from Merseyside Category:Virgin Records artists Category:1978 establishments in England Category:English experimental musical groups Category:Second British Invasion artists Category:Live Here Now artists

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Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music band formed in Wirral, Merseyside in 1978. Spawned by earlier group The Id, the outfit is composed of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), along with Martin Cooper (various instruments) and Stuart Kershaw (drums); McCluskey is the only constant member. OMD released their debut single, "Electricity", in 1979, and gained popularity throughout Europe with the 1980 anti-war song "Enola Gay".

Legacy and influence

Critic Hugo Lindgren wrote that OMD have cultivated a "legacy as musical innovators". In February 2007 a Scotsman journalist said: "If Kraftwerk were the Elvis Presley of synth-pop, then Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark were its Beatles." In 2008, American publication The A.V. Club noted that McCluskey and Humphreys were "often labeled as the 'Lennon-McCartney of synth-pop'." In a 2008 piece on OMD, The Quietus magazine editor John Doran called them "the only Liverpool band to come near to living up to the monolithic standards of productivity and creativity set in place by the Beatles", and asserted: "Orchestral Manouevres in the Dark are not one of the best synth bands ever: they are one of the best bands ever." Veteran BBC DJ Simon Mayo described OMD as "the fathers of electronic music in this country [the UK]." OMD's experimental brand of synth-pop has garnered limited mainstream attention. The group generally eschew choruses, replacing them with synthesizer lines, and opt for unconventional lyrical subjects such as war and machinery; the BBC wrote that "OMD were always more intellectual" than "contemporaries like Duran Duran and Eurythmics". The band also rejected celebrity status and strove "to have no image". Despite the group's experimentation, they had an established knack for pop hooks; AllMusic critic Mike DeGagne wrote that OMD's music was "a step above other keyboard pop music of the time, thanks to the combination of intelligently crafted hooks and colorful rhythms". DeGagne's colleague Jon O'Brien remarked that the outfit were "ahead of their time". McCluskey in 2010 opined that OMD had become "the forgotten band" (he had predicted in 1981, at the peak of the group's popularity, that they would soon be forgotten). The band have nonetheless earned a growing cult following. OMD have come to be regarded as one of the great Liverpool acts of the 1980s, and pioneers of the synth-pop genre. Architecture & Morality (1981), regarded as the group's seminal work, had sold more than 4 million copies by early 2007; Sugar Tax (1991), the album that marked a commercial renaissance for the band, had sold more than 3 million by the same time period. The experimental Dazzle Ships (1983), while not as commercially successful, has retrospectively been praised by critics, according to The Oxford Times and Fact. OMD's overall record sales stand in excess of 40 million. The group regularly features on 1980s compilation albums and box sets; multiple OMD tracks feature on each of the three volumes of Ministry of Sound's Anthems: Electronic 80s series. The band's songs (and samples of their work) have featured in films such as Urgh! A Music War (1982), Weird Science (1985), Pretty in Pink (1986), Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988) as well as in television shows including Scrum V, Ashes to Ashes, Top Gear, Chuck, Cold Case, Modern Family, The Goldbergs and Castle. Cover versions of "If You Leave" have appeared in the film Not Another Teen Movie (2001) and the TV series The O.C.; a season 6 episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation was named after the track. The 2015 film Ex Machina also incorporated their song Enola Gay. Additionally, every episode of the TV show Hunters is named after an OMD song. CANNOTANSWER

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic band formed in Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), along with Martin Cooper (keyboards, saxophone) and Stuart Kershaw (drums); McCluskey has been the only constant member. Regarded as pioneers of electronic music, OMD combined an experimental, minimalist ethos with pop sensibilities, becoming key figures in the emergence of synth-pop. The band were also an early presence in the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US. McCluskey and Humphreys led precursor group the Id from 1977–1978, and re-recorded their track "Electricity" as OMD's debut single in 1979. Weathering an "uncool" image and a degree of hostility from music critics, the band achieved popularity throughout Europe with the 1980 anti-war song "Enola Gay", and gained further recognition via Architecture & Morality (1981) and its three hit singles. Although later reappraised, Dazzle Ships (1983) was seen as overly experimental, and eroded European support. The group embraced a more radio-friendly sound on Junk Culture (1984); this change in direction led to greater success in the United States, and spawned hits including "If You Leave" (from the 1986 film Pretty in Pink). McCluskey and Humphreys attracted the moniker, "the Lennon–McCartney of synth-pop". In 1989, creative differences saw Humphreys and other members form the spin-off band the Listening Pool, leaving McCluskey the only remaining member of OMD. The group returned with a new line-up and explored the dance-pop genre: Sugar Tax (1991) and its initial singles were hits in Europe. OMD then began to flounder amid the guitar-oriented grunge and Britpop movements, eventually disbanding in 1996. McCluskey later conceived girl group Atomic Kitten, for whom he served as a principal songwriter and producer, while Humphreys formed the duo Onetwo alongside lead vocalist Claudia Brücken of Propaganda. In 2006, OMD reformed with Humphreys and McCluskey revisiting the experimental territory of their early work; the band have achieved 13 top-20 entries on the UK Albums Chart. Their 20th century output yielded 18 top-40 appearances on the UK Singles Chart, as well as four top-40 entries on the US Billboard Hot 100. Although sometimes identified as a cult band, OMD have sold over 40 million records worldwide, and have influenced many artists across diverse genres. History 1975–1979: Roots and early years Co-founders Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys met at primary school in Meols in the early 1960s, and in the mid-1970s, as teenagers, they were involved in different local groups but shared a distaste for guitar-driven rock with a macho attitude popular among their friends at the time. By 1975, McCluskey had formed Equinox as bassist and lead vocalist, alongside schoolmate Malcolm Holmes on drums, while Humphreys was roadie. During that time, McCluskey and Humphreys discovered their electronic style, inspired by German band Kraftwerk. After Equinox, McCluskey joined Pegasus, and, later, the short-lived Hitlerz Underpantz, alongside Humphreys. McCluskey would usually sing and play bass guitar; roadie and electronics enthusiast Humphreys, who shared McCluskey's love of electronic music, graduated to keyboards. In September 1977, McCluskey and Humphreys put together the seven-piece (three vocalists, two guitarists, bassist, drummer, and keyboardist) Wirral band the Id, whose line-up included drummer Malcolm Holmes and McCluskey's girlfriend Julia Kneale on vocals. The group began to gig regularly in the Merseyside area, performing original material (largely written by McCluskey and Humphreys). They had quite a following on the scene, and one of their tracks ("Julia's Song") was included on a compilation album of local bands called Street to Street – A Liverpool Album (1979). Meanwhile, Humphreys and McCluskey collaborated on a side project called VCL XI, whose name was adapted from a diagram on the back cover of Kraftwerk's fifth studio album Radio-Activity (1975), reading "VCL 11". This project allowed them to pursue their more obscure electronic experiments. In August 1978, the Id broke up due to musical differences. The same month, McCluskey joined Wirral electronic outfit Dalek I Love You as lead vocalist, but quit in September. Later that month, he rejoined Humphreys and their VCL XI project was renamed Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. The name was gleaned from a list of song lyrics and ideas that were written on McCluskey's bedroom wall; and was chosen so they would not be mistaken for a punk band. Given that OMD intended to play only one gig, the duo considered their moniker to be inconsequential. McCluskey has since expressed regret over choosing "such a very silly name". The contrasting personalities of Humphreys and McCluskey established the band's dynamic, with the former saying that "two Pauls wouldn't get anything done and two Andys would kill each other." They have further described their creative roles as "The Surgeon" (Humphreys) and "The Butcher" (McCluskey). As working class youngsters, OMD had a limited budget, using second-hand "junk-shop" instruments including a left-handed bass guitar (which McCluskey would play upside-down). The pair also created their own devices, with Humphreys "making things out of his aunt's radios cannibalised for the circuit boards". Eventually, they acquired a basic Korg M-500 Micro Preset synthesizer, purchased via McCluskey's mother's mail-order catalogue for £7.76 a week, paid over 36 weeks. OMD began to gig regularly as a duo, performing to backing tracks played from a TEAC 4-track tape-recorder christened "Winston" (after the antihero of George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four). Their debut performance was in October 1978 at Eric's Club in Liverpool. Finding themselves on the cusp of an electronic new wave in British pop music, they released a one-off single, "Electricity", with independent label Factory Records. The track was supposed to be produced by the Factory Records producer Martin Hannett. However, the A-side was the band's original demo produced by their friend, owner of Winston and soon to be manager, Paul Collister, under the pseudonym Chester Valentino (taken from a nightclub called Valentino's in the nearby city of Chester). The single's sleeve was designed by Peter Saville, whose distinctive graphics contributed to OMD's public image into the 1980s. "Electricity" became a seminal release within the burgeoning synth-pop movement, and led to the band receiving a seven-album recording contract with Dindisc, worth over £250,000. In 1979, OMD were asked to support Gary Numan on his first major British tour. Humphreys noted, "[Numan] gave us our first big break. He saw us opening for Joy Division and he asked us to go on tour with him... we went from the small clubs to playing huge arenas. Gary was very good to us." Numan later supported OMD on a 1993 UK arena tour. 1980–1988: Classic line-up Rather than hire studio time to record their eponymous debut album (1980), McCluskey and Humphreys used their advance payment from Dindisc to build their own Liverpool recording studio, called the Gramophone Suite. They predicted that they would be dropped by the label due to disappointing sales, but would at least own a studio. The album showcased the band's live set at the time, and included some guest drums from former Id drummer Malcolm Holmes and saxophone from former Dalek I Love You member Martin Cooper. It had a raw, poppy, melodic synth-pop sound. Dindisc arranged for the song "Messages" to be re-recorded (produced by Gong bassist Mike Howlett) and released as a single—it gave the band their first hit. Dave Hughes (another Dalek I Love You alumnus), who joined OMD in 1980, is featured in the "Messages" music video. A tour followed; Winston was augmented with live drums from Malcolm Holmes, and Dave Hughes played synthesizers. Hughes left OMD in late 1980. The band's second studio album, Organisation (a reference to the band which preceded Kraftwerk, founded by Kraftwerk's original members Florian Schneider-Esleben and Ralf Hütter), followed later that year, recorded as a three-piece with Humphreys, McCluskey and Holmes. It was again produced by Howlett, and had a darker, moodier feel largely inspired by the passing of Joy Division lead vocalist and former Factory label-mate, Ian Curtis. The album included the anti-war hit single "Enola Gay", named after the plane that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The song was intended to be included on the debut studio album, but was left out at the final selection. The tour for this album had a four-piece band line-up, with Martin Cooper recruited for keyboard duties and enlisted as an official group member. The McCluskey/Humphreys/Cooper/Holmes unit came to be regarded as the band's classic line-up. In early 1981, readers of Record Mirror voted OMD the fourth-best band and eighth-best live act of 1980; NME and Sounds readers named the group the eighth and 10th best new act of the year, respectively. In Smash Hits, they were voted both the fifth-best band of 1980 and the eighth-hottest new act for 1981. Howlett then presided over the recording of a further hit single, "Souvenir", co-written by Cooper and Humphreys. It ushered in a lush choral electronic sound. The song also became OMD's biggest UK hit to date. The band's third studio album, Architecture & Morality, was released in the UK and Europe in November 1981, becoming their most commercially successful studio album. The group went into the studio with Richard Manwaring producing. Cooper then temporarily dropped out and was replaced by Mike Douglas, but this change was reversed by the time the album was released and a tour followed. The album's sound saw OMD's original synth-pop sound augmented by the use of the Mellotron (an instrument previously associated with progressive rock bands), adding atmospheric swatches of string, choir, and other sounds to their palette. Two more hit singles, "Joan of Arc" and "Maid of Orleans" (which became the biggest-selling single of 1982 in Germany) were on the album. Both songs were originally titled "Joan of Arc"; the name of the latter single was changed to Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc) at the insistence of the publishers and to avoid confusion. Readers of Smash Hits voted OMD the seventh-best group of 1981, while Record Mirror readers named them the eighth-best band (as well as the 10th-best "new artist") and the third-best live act of the year. The group came close to breaking up in 1982, with McCluskey later saying, "We had never expected the success, we were exhausted." In 1983, the band lost commercial momentum somewhat, with the release of their more experimental fourth studio album Dazzle Ships, produced by Rhett Davies, perhaps best known for his previous work with Roxy Music and Brian Eno. The record mixed melancholy synth ballads and uptempo synth-pop with musique concrète and short wave radio tape collages. Its relative commercial failure caused a crisis of confidence for Humphreys and McCluskey, and brought about a deliberate move towards the mainstream. Their following studio album, 1984's Junk Culture, was a shift to a more pop-style sound, and the band used digital sampling keyboards such as the Fairlight CMI and the E-mu Emulator. The album was a success, reassuring the group about their new direction. The "Locomotion" single returned them to the top five in the UK. Record Mirror readers named OMD the eighth-best live act of 1984. In 1985, the band expanded to a sextet with the addition of brothers Graham Weir (guitar, keyboards, trombone) and Neil Weir (keyboards, trumpet, bass guitar), and released their sixth studio album, Crush, produced by Stephen Hague in Paris and New York. OMD had been an early presence in the Second British Invasion of the US, but achieved their first Billboard Hot 100 hit with the no. 26 entry "So in Love". This led to some success for Crush, which entered the American Top 40. Later in 1985, the group were asked to write a song for the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink (1986). They offered "Goddess of Love", although the ending of the film was re-shot due to a negative response from test audiences. OMD then wrote "If You Leave" in less than 24 hours, and it became a top 5 hit in the US, Canada, and New Zealand. Journalist Hugo Lindgren argued that the success of "If You Leave" has concealed from US audiences the band's history of making innovative music. In September of 1986, the same six piece line-up also released their seventh studio album, The Pacific Age, but the group began to see their critical and public popularity wane notably in the UK. The album's first single, "(Forever) Live and Die", was a top 10 hit across Europe and entered the top 20 in both the UK and US. On 18 June 1988, OMD supported Depeche Mode at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California where they played to over 60,000 people. They also released the top 20 US hit "Dreaming" and a successful greatest hits album, The Best of OMD. Graham and Neil Weir left the band at the end of the 1988 US tour. 1989–1996: McCluskey-led OMD and disbandment As OMD appeared poised to consolidate their US success, the band continued to fracture. Humphreys departed in 1989 amid personal and creative dissension with McCluskey. Cooper and Holmes then left OMD to join Humphreys in founding a new band called the Listening Pool. McCluskey recalled, "We were all in agreement that something was wrong. How to fix it was where we disagreed." This left only McCluskey to carry on, essentially becoming a solo artist working under the OMD banner. McCluskey's first album from the new OMD was the dance-pop studio album Sugar Tax in May 1991, which charted at No. 3 in the UK. McCluskey recruited Liverpool musicians Raw Unlimited (Lloyd Massett, Stuart Kershaw, Nathalie Loates) as collaborators for the making of Sugar Tax; writing credits carefully distinguished between songs written by OMD (i.e., McCluskey) and songs written by OMD/Kershaw/Massett. This iteration of the group was initially successful, with hits such as "Sailing on the Seven Seas" and "Pandora's Box", with lesser success on fellow chart entries "Call My Name" and "Then You Turn Away". McCluskey's live band was then composed of Nigel Ipinson (keyboards), Phil Coxon (keyboards), and Abe Juckes (drums) from late 1990. Smash Hits readers voted OMD the sixth-best British group of 1991. The group's next studio album would be 1993's Liberator, which ventured further into dance territory. It peaked at No. 14 on the UK Albums Chart. The lead single "Stand Above Me" peaked at no. 21 on the UK Singles Chart, with a follow-up single, "Dream of Me", charting at no. 24. Paul Humphreys was credited as co-writer of the single "Everyday" (a No. 59 UK chart entry). The fifth track from Liberator, "Dream of Me", was built around a sample from "Love's Theme" by Love Unlimited Orchestra, a song written and produced by Barry White. To release the track as an OMD single, however, McCluskey had to agree that the single release would remove the actual "Love's Theme" sample, but still be officially titled "Dream of Me (Based on Love's Theme)", and furthermore would still give a writing credit to White. Also in 1993, McCluskey made contributions to the Elektric Music album Esperanto, a project by former Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos. McCluskey returned with a rotating cast of musicians for the more organic Universal (1996), which featured two songs co-written by Humphreys as well as a holdover from the Esperanto sessions, co-written by Bartos. The record spawned OMD's first Top 20 hit in five years, "Walking on the Milky Way". Alhough both Liberator and Universal produced minor hits, McCluskey retired OMD in late 1996, having faced waning public interest amid the grunge and Britpop movements. A particular source of frustration was the modest commercial response to "Walking on the Milky Way", over which McCluskey said he "sweated blood", considering it "about as good a song as I could write". However, the track was not playlisted by BBC Radio 1, and Woolworths did not stock it. McCluskey said, "I just thought: 'Screw this, I'm not going to bang my head against a brick wall'." A second singles album was released in 1998, along with an EP of remixed material by such acts as Sash! and Moby. Post-1996, McCluskey decided to focus on songwriting for such Liverpool-based acts as Atomic Kitten and Genie Queen, and trying to develop new Merseyside artists from his Motor Museum recording studio. With McCluskey focusing his talents elsewhere, Humphreys decided to work with his new musical partner Claudia Brücken (of the ZTT bands Propaganda and Act) as Onetwo. He also undertook a US live tour under the banner "Paul Humphreys from OMD". 2006–2012: Reformation and comeback releases An unexpected request to perform from a German television show led the group to reunite. On 1 January 2006, McCluskey announced plans to reform OMD with the "classic" line-up of McCluskey, Humphreys, Holmes, and Cooper. The original plan was to tour the studio album Architecture & Morality and other pre-1983 material, then record a new studio album set for release in 2007. In May 2007, the Architecture & Morality remastered CD was re-released together with a DVD featuring the Drury Lane concert from 1981 that had previously been available on VHS. The band toured throughout May and June, beginning their set with a re-ordered but otherwise complete re-staging of the Architecture & Morality album. The second half of each concert featured a selection of their best known hits. Spring 2008 saw the release of a live CD and DVD of the 2007 tour, OMD Live: Architecture & Morality & More, recorded at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. Also released was a 25th anniversary re-release of Dazzle Ships, including six bonus tracks. To tie-in with the re-release, the band made the brief "Messages 78-08 30th Anniversary Tour", featuring China Crisis as a support act. A cover of Atomic Kitten's 2001 hit, "Whole Again" (which had been co-written by McCluskey), was included on Liverpool – The Number Ones Album (2008), marking OMD's first new studio recording in 12 years. In June 2009, an orchestral concert with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic was played in Liverpool; a recording of this concert was released on DVD in December. The band returned to arena touring in November and December, supporting Simple Minds on their Graffiti Soul Tour. OMD had performed at the Night of the Proms festival in December 2006 in Germany, renewing the experience again in Belgium and the Netherlands that year. They were the headline act at Britain's first Vintage Computer Festival at The National Museum of Computing in June 2010. Their eleventh studio album, History of Modern, was released in September 2010, reaching No. 28 in the UK Albums Chart and being followed by a European tour. On 28 September, OMD performed as a special guest at the "first ever gig" of the Buggles. In March 2011, OMD played their first North American tour as the original line-up since 1988. In September, the band appeared at the Electric Picnic 2011 festival in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland. In November 2011, OMD returned to the studio and started work on their next album, English Electric. On 12 March 2012, the band played a concert in the Philippines at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. In August, OMD performed to South African audiences in Cape Town and Johannesburg. 2013–2019: Return to prominence In 2013, OMD performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on 14 and 21 April. "Metroland", the first single from the forthcoming studio album English Electric, was released on 25 March 2013. The album was released in the UK on 8 April, and entered the UK album chart at No. 12 and the German chart at No. 10. Reviews for both the album and their concerts were generally positive. "The Future Will Be Silent", a 500-copy limited edition 10-inch picture disc EP from English Electric, was made available for Record Store Day 2013, and included a then-exclusive non-album track titled "Time Burns". For Record Store Day 2015, a 1000-copy limited edition 10-inch EP of "Julia's Song (Dub Version)" from Junk Culture was made available, which includes an exclusive non-album track titled "10 to 1". OMD performed a one-off concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London on 9 May 2016 to a sell-out crowd, playing both Architecture & Morality and Dazzle Ships in their entirety, along with other songs from before 1983. The only song post-1983 played was "History of Modern Part 1". The concert was recorded and made available on double CD right after the show, with a triple LP vinyl recording of the concert also being made available. The band collaborated with Gary Barlow, Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman on the OMD song "Thrill Me", co-written by Barlow and McCluskey for the soundtrack of the 2015 film Eddie the Eagle. Work began in October 2015 on what was to be their thirteenth studio album The Punishment of Luxury, which was released on 1 September 2017 and charted at no. 4 in the UK. OMD toured Europe and North America in support of the album, with Stuart Kershaw replacing Holmes as the band's drummer, due to the latter's health issues. In 2018, OMD published a book titled Pretending to See the Future, which is a first-person "autobiography" about the band. It mixed fan-submitted memories with commentary from McCluskey, Humphreys, Cooper, Holmes, and Kershaw. For people who pre-ordered the book on PledgeMusic, they received a limited-edition flexi-disc containing a previously unheard demo of "Messages" from 1978. As part of the group's 40th-anniversary celebrations, they embarked on a UK and European tour in 2019. OMD won "Group of the Year" and "Live Act of the Year" in the 2019 Classic Pop Reader Awards. A retrospective deluxe box set titled Souvenir was also released. The 40th anniversary collection includes the band's forty singles, including a new release titled "Don't Go". It also contains 22 previously unreleased recordings from the group's archive, selected and mixed by Paul Humphreys. Two audio live shows (one from 2011 and one from 2013) are also included, together with two DVDs bringing together two more live concerts (Drury Lane in 1981 and Sheffield City Hall in 1985) plus Crush – The Movie, and various BBC TV performances from Top of the Pops, The Old Grey Whistle Test and Later... with Jools Holland. 2020–present: Continued acknowledgement During the COVID-19 lockdown imposed in March 2020, McCluskey "rediscovered the creative power of boredom" and began writing material for OMD's next studio album. In October, the band returned to live performance with a limited-capacity gig at London's indigo at The O2, with proceeds going to their road crew; the event was also streamed online. In 2021, the Souvenir box set was nominated for "Best Historical Album" at the Grammy Awards. Also that year, OMD celebrated the 40th anniversary of 1981's Architecture & Morality with a UK tour, and released a triple-vinyl set of the album's singles containing associated B-sides, demo recordings, and live tracks. The following March, a pair of concerts with a heavy emphasis on the group's more experimental work (rescheduled from September 2020), took place at the Royal Albert Hall, with a live album based on the shows released through the OMD store. Another re-issue of 1983's Dazzle Ships, featuring previously unheard recordings, was announced for a March 2023 release. OMD's fourteenth studio album, Bauhaus Staircase, is also set for release in 2023; McCluskey has said it is likely to be the band's last. Artistry and image James Hunter of Spin wrote that "OMD set about reinventing punk with different applications of dance beats, keyboards, melodies, and sulks", rejecting the genre's "sonic trappings but not its intellectual freedom". The band found commercial success with a style of synth-pop described as "experimental", "minimal[ist]" and "edgy". OMD often eschewed choruses, replacing them with synthesizer lines, and opted for unconventional lyrical subjects such as industrial processes, micronations and telephone boxes; the BBC said that the group "were always more intellectual" than "contemporaries like Duran Duran and Eurythmics". Despite the band's experimentation, they employed pop hooks in their music, attaining what AllMusic's Ned Raggett described as "the enviable position of at once being creative innovators and radio-friendly pop giants". They were influenced by electronic artists such as Kraftwerk, Brian Eno and Neu!, as well as more mainstream acts like David Bowie and Roxy Music. OMD drew inspiration from former Factory Records label-mates Joy Division, particularly during the making of Organisation (1980). The group also recorded two Velvet Underground covers. OMD were indifferent to celebrity status, and avoided the calculated fashion stylings of many of their 1980s peers. During live performances, McCluskey developed a frenetic dancing style that has been dubbed the "Trainee Teacher Dance"; he explains that it stemmed "from the perception that [OMD] were making boring robotic intellectual music that you couldn't dance to". Journalist Hugo Lindgren noted that the band were perceived as "oddballs, freaks" on the Liverpool scene, while McCluskey has identified himself and Humphreys as "synth punks" and "complete geeks". Gareth Ware of DIY called OMD "one of the guiding lights of British synth-pop... albeit one with a disarming naivety and warm characterful nature at odds with the sleek, chic image cultivated by the likes of [the] Human League and Depeche Mode." Critic Andrew Collins said the group represented a wave of "uncool" pop stars who would eventually "become cool" in the public eye. Mid-1980s style change The experimental Dazzle Ships (1983) was a critical and commercial disappointment upon release. Facing potential excision from Virgin Records, OMD moved toward a more accessible sound on the black music-influenced Junk Culture (1984); the band also donned more vibrant garments on the album's accompanying tour. The group continued to incorporate elements of sonic experimentation, although their sound became increasingly polished on the Stephen Hague-produced studio albums Crush (1985) and The Pacific Age (1986). The Quietus founder John Doran, who was supportive of the band's reinvention, told how it became "quite popular to see OMD as nose-diving into the effluence after Dazzle Ships". Author Richard Metzger refused to "stick up for anything they recorded" afterwards, while the A.V. Club alleged that McCluskey would "give up" following that album. Conversely, Ian Peel of Record Collector observed "two brilliant, but very different, bands. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, the early 80s Factory descendents... and OMD, the late 80s stadium pop act." The Miami New Times asserted that "even their poppiest records of that postexperimental era, such as Junk Culture and Crush, were clever and beautifully arranged." Musicians have commented on OMD's post-Dazzle Ships output. Michael "Telekinesis" Lerner was unable to "sink [his] teeth into" Junk Culture, and did not invest in the group again for many years. Moby remarked, "Their earlier records were just phenomenal... a few years on they were making music for John Hughes movies, and they were good at it and I'm glad that they had success with it, but it wasn't nearly as creatively inspiring." On the other hand, bassist Tony Kanal of No Doubt said, "[OMD] inspired us to try and do our own John Hughes prom-scene movie moment kind of songs... Junk Culture is great." Angus Andrew of Liars referred to "the complexity and mastery in OMD's later pop material", calling himself "a fan of OMD albums from all of their phases". The band themselves defend Junk Culture as an enjoyable "collection of songs" as opposed to a "deep, conceptual" record, and argue that Crush features some strong material despite being hastily written and excessively produced. They concede, however, that The Pacific Age "[does]n't work" and marks their "musical nadir". Spin journalist Jessica Bendinger reflected on OMD's stylistic journey by the late 1980s, saying that "their music has been colored by continual exploration... which has run the gamut from Gregorian-chant-inspired anthems of love to a union of Orchestral-Motown." Subsequent reinventions The McCluskey-led OMD explored a dance-oriented approach on Sugar Tax (1991) and Liberator (1993); the latter has since been dismissed by McCluskey. Critic Ian Peel wrote that the band "defied expectations by updating their sound and becoming, if only briefly, relevant in the 90s". The group disbanded shortly after the release of Universal (1996), on which they strained for a more organic and acoustic sound. McCluskey recalled a negative media perception of the band by the mid-1990s, saying, "At the height of indie rock and Britpop, we were totally out of fashion." Since the group's 2006 reformation, their material has been seen as more akin to their early output. While celebrating the Dazzle Ships era in a 2023 article, Rolling Stone journalist Rob Sheffield declared that "OMD are still running at the same creative level". Legacy and influence OMD have been recognised as pioneers of electronic music, and key figures in the emergence of synth-pop. Record Mirror had pondered in 1980 whether co-founders McCluskey and Humphreys were becoming "the Lennon and McCartney of the electronic world"; variations of this descriptor frequently appeared in the media over the years. PopMatters identified OMD as "the most important and influential group of the late 1970s/early 1980s birth of electropop", while the Stranger labelled them "synth-pop royalty" and an inspiration for "hundreds" of artists since the early 1980s. The band are responsible for a number of landmark releases in the synth-pop canon: the singles "Electricity" (1979) and "If You Leave" (1986), and the albums Architecture & Morality (1981) and Dazzle Ships (1983), have been described as particularly influential. Journalists have credited the group with helping define 1980s popular music, and informing the dance music scene of the 1990s. On the other hand, OMD experienced hostility from sections of the music press, once being described in Smash Hits as "one of the most irritating groups in the universe". Record Mirror told how they received a "thorough tarring of the same brush" as then-reviled artist Gary Numan, but were able to weather "this almost certain kiss of death". The Independent wrote that OMD did not "attract the kudos" directed towards electronic peers New Order and Depeche Mode, but were "certainly as significant" as those bands; New Order co-founder, Peter Hook, described McCluskey as a "really underrated" songwriter. Despite their often-difficult relationship with critics, OMD have earned a loyal following. Broadcaster Chris Evans remarked, "There are fans, and then there are OMD fans. [Their] fans may be among the greatest in the world... they are devout." The group also enjoy a large fanbase within the LGBT community, which McCluskey says they cherish. Architecture & Morality, regarded as OMD's seminal album, had sold over four million copies by early 2007; Sugar Tax (1991) had sold more than three million by the same time period. 1980 single "Enola Gay" has sold over five million copies. Although viewed by some journalists as a cult band, OMD have sold over 40 million records in total, with sales of 15 million albums and 25 million singles as of 2019. Impact on other artists Depeche Mode were influenced by OMD during their formative stages; original bandleader Vince Clarke stated that without OMD, Depeche Mode would never have existed. Clarke has further credited the group for educating mainstream audiences that electronic music could have emotion, asserting, "OMD are the guys who did that. They had a really good voice, and they created real songs. I mean, they were the songs that if you played on a guitar, if someone's singing them without synthesizers, they would say, 'Hey, that's a good song, yep, I get that'." OMD inspired other electronic contemporaries such as New Order, Tears for Fears, Erasure, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Howard Jones, Alphaville, and Pet Shop Boys, whose vocalist, Neil Tennant, identified the band as "pioneers of electronic music". 1979 single "Electricity" was influential on a young Duran Duran, while 1980's "Messages" was a key inspiration for Kim Wilde songwriter and producer, Ricky Wilde. Rock group ZZ Top publicly championed OMD's debut studio album and adopted elements of their sound and performance style. OMD have influenced later artists including No Doubt, the Killers, Moby, Deftones, Barenaked Ladies, MGMT, AFI, Anohni, Paul van Dyk, Sharon Van Etten, Arcade Fire orchestrator Owen Pallett, Red Hot Chili Peppers' John Frusciante, Take That's Gary Barlow, Belle and Sebastian's Stevie Jackson, and Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson, who said the band's albums "stand up very, very well as experimental pop records with the most enjoyable kind of songwriting." 1983's "challenging" commercial flop, Dazzle Ships, has been celebrated by acts such as Saint Etienne, Death Cab for Cutie, Future Islands and producer Mark Ronson. OMD were named as childhood favourites by LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy and the Shins' James Mercer, while Sash! recognised the group as widely influential on DJ/producers and "one of the leading bands in the 80s and 90s regarding electronic music/production". The group's influence also extends to country outfit Sugarland, countertenor Andreas Scholl, and novelist Anna Smaill. OMD's songs have been covered, remixed or sampled by acts including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Boy George, Kid Cudi, Good Charlotte, Leftfield, Scooter, NOFX, Hot Chip, Nada Surf, Angel Olsen, and David Guetta, who described the opportunity to rework the band's material as "a thrill for any electronic musician". Console sampled "Sacred Heart" (1981) for his 1998 instrumental track "Crabcraft", to which Björk added vocals, retitling it "Heirloom" (2001). OMD are also the subject of two 2001 tribute albums, which feature interpretations by the likes of White Town, the Faint, Mahogany and Acid House Kings. The official biography OMD: Pretending to See the Future (2018) features tributes from fellow artists such as Kraftwerk's Karl Bartos, U2's Adam Clayton, Thompson Twins' Tom Bailey, the Human League's Philip Oakey, and Gary Numan, who credited the group for "some of the best pop songs ever written". Members Current members Andy McCluskey – vocals, bass guitar, keyboards (1978–96; 2006–present) Paul Humphreys – keyboards, vocals (1978–89; 2006–present) Martin Cooper – keyboards, saxophone (1980–89; 2006–present) Stuart Kershaw – drums (1993; 2015–present) Former members Malcolm Holmes – drums, percussion (1980–89; 2006–2015) Dave Hughes – keyboards (1979–80) Michael Douglas – keyboards (1980–81) Graham Weir – guitar, brass, keyboards (1984–89) Neil Weir – brass, keyboards, bass guitar (1984–89) Phil Coxon – keyboards (1991–93) Nigel Ipinson – keyboards (1991–93) Abe Juckes – drums (1991–92) Timeline Discography Studio albums Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (1980) Organisation (1980) Architecture & Morality (1981) Dazzle Ships (1983) Junk Culture (1984) Crush (1985) The Pacific Age (1986) Sugar Tax (1991) Liberator (1993) Universal (1996) History of Modern (2010) English Electric (2013) The Punishment of Luxury (2017) Bauhaus Staircase (2023) Notes References Bibliography Houghton, Richard. OMD: Pretending to See the Future (expanded paperback). This Day in Music Books. 2019. Houghton, Richard. OMD: Pretending to See the Future (hardcover). This Day in Music Books. 2018. Waller, Johnny; Humphreys, Mike. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Messages. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1987. West, Mike. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Omnibus Press. 1982. External links Official YouTube channel Category:English electronic music groups Category:English electronic music duos Category:English new wave musical groups Category:English synth-pop groups Category:Factory Records artists Category:British synth-pop new wave groups Category:Musical groups established in 1978 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2006 Category:Musical groups from Merseyside Category:Virgin Records artists Category:1978 establishments in England Category:English experimental musical groups Category:Second British Invasion artists Category:Live Here Now artists

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Good Night, and Good Luck

Good Night, and Good Luck is a 2005 American historical drama film directed by George Clooney and starring David Strathairn, George Clooney, Robert Downey, Jr., Patricia Clarkson and Jeff Daniels. The movie was written by Clooney and Grant Heslov (both of whom also have acting roles in the film) and portrays the conflict between veteran radio and television journalist Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, especially relating to the anti-Communist Senator's actions with the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Although released in black and white, Good Night, and Good Luck was filmed on color film stock but on a greyscale set, and was color corrected to black and white during post-production. It focuses on the theme of media responsibility, and also addresses what occurs when the media offer a voice of dissent from government policy.

Reception

The film was critically acclaimed upon release. It was named "Best Reviewed Film of 2005 in Limited Release" by Rotten Tomatoes, where it achieved a 93% positive review rating, based on reviews from 217 critics. The film received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Director (Clooney), and Actor (Strathairn). Roger Ebert, in his Chicago Sun-Times review, contends that "the movie is not really about the abuses of McCarthy, but about the process by which Murrow and his team eventually brought about his downfall (some would say his self-destruction). It is like a morality play, from which we learn how journalists should behave. It shows Murrow as fearless, but not flawless." Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton from the ABC show At the Movies each gave the film five stars, making Good Night, and Good Luck the only other film besides Brokeback Mountain to receive such a score from the hosts in 2005. Both described the film as "beautiful" but also praised Clooney for the film's importance. Margaret commented that "[The film] is so important, because it's about things that are really vital today, like the responsibility of the press and examining the press' role in forming opinion." David noted "Though [the film] is in black-and-white, there's nothing monochromatic about Clooney's passion for his subject or the importance of his message." Jack Shafer, a libertarian-leaning columnist for the online magazine Slate, accused the film of continuing what he characterizes as the hagiography of Murrow. Clooney's film gives the impression that Murrow brought down McCarthy single-handedly, while Shafer notes that in reality much of the mainstream media, many Democrats and some of McCarthy's Republican peers were condemning him before Murrow. Furthermore, Shafer writes, evidence obtained via the declassified Venona espionage program confirmed that many Soviet agents and sympathizers were in fact in positions of influence in the U.S. government, a disclosure the film entirely overlooks: "Clooney and company ignore the material that might argue against their simple-minded thesis about Murrow, the era, and the press to produce an after-school special". One complaint about the film among test audiences was their belief that the actor playing McCarthy was too over the top, not realizing that the film used actual archive footage of McCarthy himself. CANNOTANSWER

Good Night, and Good Luck (stylized as good night, and good luck.''') is a 2005 historical drama film about American television news directed by George Clooney, with the movie starring David Strathairn, Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr., and Frank Langella as well as Clooney himself. The film was co-written by Clooney and Grant Heslov, and it portrays the conflict between veteran journalist Edward R. Murrow (Strathairn) and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, especially relating to the anti-communist Senator's actions with the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Although released in black and white, it was filmed on color film stock, but on a grayscale set, and was color-corrected to black and white during post-production. It focuses on the theme of media responsibility, and also addresses what occurs when U.S. journalism offer voices of dissent from government policy. The movie takes its title (which ends with a period or full stop) from the line with which Murrow routinely signed off his broadcasts. The film was a box office success and received critical acclaim for Clooney's direction, the writing, cinematography, production design and performances (particularly Strathairn's). It was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Strathairn. Plot The setting is 1953, during the early days of television broadcast journalism. Edward R. Murrow, along with his news team, producer Fred Friendly and reporter Joseph Wershba, learn of U.S. Air Force officer Milo Radulovich, who is being forcibly discharged because of family members being known Communists and his refusal to denounce them. Interest is piqued when it is found that the compilation of charges at Radulovich's hearing was in a sealed envelope and nobody saw them. Murrow presents the story to CBS News' director, Sig Mickelson, who warns Murrow that the story will bring serious accusations and repercussions to CBS and their sponsors, some of whom have government contracts. He reluctantly allows the story to air, which gains positive responses from the public. Murrow also tries to ease the worries of his colleague, Don Hollenbeck, who is struggling with both the strain of his recent divorce and attacks from newspaper writer Jack O'Brian, who is accusing him of being biased in his news reporting and being a "pinko". While covering a story in Washington DC, Wershba is given an envelope suggesting that Murrow has previously interacted with the Soviets and used to be on their payroll. CBS's Chief Executive, William Paley, brings this up with Murrow. He warns Murrow that if any members of his staff are associated with Communism in any way, however remotely, they would have to recuse themselves from Murrow's next story. They were planning to make a direct attack on Senator Joseph McCarthy and his crusade against Communist infiltration in the U.S. government, which some denounce as a witch hunt. Friendly and Murrow gather their staff together, and when one of the team members voluntarily excuses himself because his ex-wife had attended Communist meetings before they even met, Murrow concludes that this kind of fear is what McCarthy wants. The team stays together and presents the story, which becomes highly praised by the public and the press, with the exception of Jack O'Brian, who continues to attack both Murrow and especially Hollenbeck on their supposed support of Communism. Hollenbeck pleads with Murrow to go after O'Brian, but Murrow reluctantly tells him that he cannot attack O'Brian while he is busy going after McCarthy. As the team turns their focus to a filmed hearing of Annie Lee Moss, a Pentagon communication worker accused of being a Communist based on her name appearing on a list seen by an FBI infiltrator of the American Communist Party, they receive the news that Milo Radulovich is being reinstated by the Air Force, citing no direct evidence supporting any connections with Communism. McCarthy then asks for the opportunity to speak for himself on Murrow's show, which Murrow allows. McCarthy openly accuses Murrow of being a Communist, citing several pieces of evidence that seem to support it. Murrow broadcasts a rebuttal the following week, easily disproving McCarthy's accusations and pointing out that McCarthy didn't do anything to defend himself other than accuse anyone who opposes him as being either a Communist or a Communist sympathizer. A few days later, the news arrives that the U.S. Senate is investigating McCarthy, which means the imminent end of his crusade. As the team celebrates, Friendly and Murrow learn that Hollenbeck has died by suicide. Paley then tells Murrow and Friendly that their news program's airtime is going to be severely cut, citing the high costs of the show's production, along with Murrow's attacks on controversial topics. Also, Joe Wershba and his wife Shirley, who have been concealing their marriage due to CBS forbidding co-workers from being married, are approached by Mickelson, who tells them that everyone knows of their marriage and that he will allow one of them to resign to save face, which Joe agrees to do. The film is framed by performance of the speech given by Murrow to the Radio and Television News Directors Association at "A Salute to Edward R. Murrow" on October 25, 1958, in which he harshly admonishes his audience not to squander the potential of television to inform and educate the public, so that it does not become only "wires and lights in a box". Cast Production In September 2005, Clooney explained his interest in the story to an audience at the New York Film Festival: "I thought it was a good time to raise the idea of using fear to stifle political debate." Having majored in journalism in college, Clooney was well-versed in the subject matter. His father, Nick Clooney, was a television journalist for many years, appearing as an anchorman in Cincinnati, Ohio; Salt Lake City, Utah; Los Angeles, California; and Buffalo, New York. The elder Clooney also ran for Congress in 2004. George Clooney was paid $1 each for writing, directing, and acting in Good Night, and Good Luck, which cost $7.5 million to make. Due to an injury he received on the set of Syriana a few months earlier, Clooney could not pass the tests to be insured. He then mortgaged his own house in Los Angeles in order to make the film. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and former eBay president Jeffrey Skoll invested money in the project as executive producers. The film ultimately grossed more than $54 million worldwide. The CBS offices and studios seen in the movie were all sets on a sound stage. To accomplish a pair of scenes showing characters going up an elevator, different "floors" of the building were laid out on the same level. The "elevator" was actually built on a large turntable at the intersection of the two floor sets and rotated once the doors were closed. When the doors reopened, the actors appeared to be in a different location. In doing so, the movie exercised a bit of dramatic license—the CBS executive offices at the time were located at 485 Madison Avenue. CBS News was located in an office building just north of Grand Central Terminal (demolished and now the site of the MetLife Building); and the See It Now studio was located in Grand Central Terminal itself, above the waiting room. For dramatic effect, all three areas were depicted as being in the same building. Clooney and producer Grant Heslov decided to use only archival footage of Joseph McCarthy in his depiction. As all of that footage was black-and-white, that determined the color scheme of the film. A young Robert F. Kennedy is also shown in the movie during McCarthy's hearing sessions. He was then a staff member on the Senate subcommittee chaired by McCarthy. Music A small jazz combo starring jazz singer Dianne Reeves was hired to record the soundtrack to the movie. This combo (Peter Martin, Christoph Luty, Jeff Hamilton and Matt Catingub) was featured in the movie in several scenes; for example, in one scene the newsmen pass a studio where she is recording with the rest of the band. The CD is Dianne Reeves's second featuring jazz standards (including "How High the Moon", "I've Got My Eyes on You", "Too Close For Comfort", "Straighten Up and Fly Right" and "One for My Baby"), and it won the Grammy Award in 2006 for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Soundtrack The soundtrack to Good Night, and Good Luck was released on September 27, 2005. The film's score was composed by Jim Papoulis. Reception and legacy Critical reception On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 226 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's critics consensus states: "A passionate and concise cinematic civics lesson, Good Night, and Good Luck has plenty to say about today's political and cultural climate, and its ensemble cast is stellar." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100 based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Roger Ebert, in his Chicago Sun-Times review, contends that "the movie is not really about the abuses of McCarthy, but about the process by which Murrow and his team eventually brought about his downfall (some would say his self-destruction). It is like a morality play, from which we learn how journalists should behave. It shows Murrow as fearless, but not flawless." Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's film review show At the Movies each gave the film five stars, making Good Night, and Good Luck the only other film besides Brokeback Mountain to receive such a score from the hosts in 2005. Both described the film as "beautiful", but also praised Clooney for the film's importance. Pomeranz commented that, "[The film] is so important, because it's about things that are really vital today, like the responsibility of the press and examining the press' role in forming opinion." David noted: "Though [the film] is in black-and-white, there's nothing monochromatic about Clooney's passion for his subject or the importance of his message." Jack Shafer, at the time a libertarian-leaning columnist for the online magazine Slate, accused the film of continuing what he characterizes as the hagiography of Murrow. Clooney's film gives the impression that Murrow brought down McCarthy single-handedly, while Shafer notes that in reality much of the mainstream media, many Democrats and some Republicans were condemning him before Murrow. Furthermore, Shafer writes, evidence obtained via the declassified Venona espionage program confirmed that many Soviet agents and sympathizers were in fact in positions of influence in the U.S. government, a disclosure the film entirely overlooks: "Clooney and company ignore the material that might argue against their simple-minded thesis about Murrow, the era, and the press to produce an after school special". One complaint about the film among test audiences was their belief that the actor playing McCarthy was too over the top, not realizing that the film used actual archive footage of McCarthy himself. Accolades The film received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Director (Clooney), and Actor (Strathairn). It was also nominated for six BAFTAs at the 2005 BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globes at the 2006 Golden Globe Awards. The American Film Institute named Good Night, and Good Luck as one of the Top Ten Movies of 2005. Television series As of November 2022, AMC is developing a television series adaptation of the film with Jonathan Glatzer as showrunner and Clooney as executive producer. See also 2005 in film George Clooney filmography History of CBS McCarthyism Tail Gunner Joe'' Television news in the United States References External links Category:Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album Category:2005 films Category:2005 independent films Category:2000s historical drama films Category:2000s political drama films Category:Japanese black-and-white films Category:Japanese historical drama films Category:French black-and-white films Category:French historical drama films Category:French political drama films Category:British black-and-white films Category:British historical drama films Category:British political drama films Category:American black-and-white films Category:American historical drama films Category:American political drama films Category:Drama films based on actual events Category:English-language French films Category:English-language Japanese films Category:European Film Awards winners (films) Category:Films about freedom of expression Category:Films set in the 1950s Category:Films about McCarthyism Category:Films about television Category:Films about the Hollywood blacklist Category:Films directed by George Clooney Category:Films produced by Grant Heslov Category:Films set in 1953 Category:Films set in 1958 Category:Japanese films set in New York City Category:British films set in New York City Category:Films with screenplays by George Clooney Category:Films with screenplays by Grant Heslov Category:Davis Films films Category:Redbus Pictures films Category:Tohokushinsha films Category:Metropolitan Filmexport films Category:Lionsgate films Category:Participant (company) films Category:Procedural films Category:Warner Independent Pictures films Category:Warner Bros. films Category:Biographical films about journalists Category:2000s English-language films Category:2000s American films Category:2000s British films Category:2000s Japanese films Category:2000s French films

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Good Night, and Good Luck

Good Night, and Good Luck is a 2005 American historical drama film directed by George Clooney and starring David Strathairn, George Clooney, Robert Downey, Jr., Patricia Clarkson and Jeff Daniels. The movie was written by Clooney and Grant Heslov (both of whom also have acting roles in the film) and portrays the conflict between veteran radio and television journalist Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, especially relating to the anti-Communist Senator's actions with the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Although released in black and white, Good Night, and Good Luck was filmed on color film stock but on a greyscale set, and was color corrected to black and white during post-production. It focuses on the theme of media responsibility, and also addresses what occurs when the media offer a voice of dissent from government policy.

Production

In September 2005, Clooney explained his interest in the story to an audience at the New York Film Festival: "I thought it was a good time to raise the idea of using fear to stifle political debate." Having majored in journalism in college, Clooney was well-versed in the subject matter. His father, Nick Clooney, was a television journalist for many years, appearing as an anchorman in Cincinnati, Ohio, Salt Lake City, Utah, Los Angeles, California, and Buffalo, New York. The elder Clooney also ran for Congress in 2004. George Clooney was paid $1 each for writing, directing, and acting in Good Night, and Good Luck., which cost $7.5 million to make. Due to an injury he received on the set of Syriana a few months earlier, Clooney could not pass the tests to be insured. He then mortgaged his own house in Los Angeles in order to make the film. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and former eBay president Jeff Skoll invested money in the project as executive producers. The film ultimately grossed more than $54 million worldwide. The CBS offices and studios seen in the movie were all sets on a soundstage. To accomplish a pair of scenes showing characters going up an elevator, different "floors" of the building were laid out on the same level. The "elevator" was actually built on a large turntable at the intersection of the two floor sets, and rotated once the doors were closed. When the doors reopened, the actors appeared to be in a different location. In doing so, the movie exercised a bit of dramatic license--the CBS executive offices at the time were located at 485 Madison Avenue. CBS News was located in an office building just north of Grand Central Terminal (demolished and now the site of the Met Life Building); and the See It Now studio was located in Grand Central Terminal itself, above the waiting room. For dramatic effect, all three areas were depicted as being in the same building. Clooney and producer Grant Heslov decided to use only archival footage of Joseph McCarthy in his depiction. As all of that footage was black-and-white, that determined the color scheme of the film. A young Robert Kennedy is also shown in the movie during McCarthy's hearing sessions. He was then a staff member on the Senate subcommittee chaired by McCarthy. CANNOTANSWER

Good Night, and Good Luck (stylized as good night, and good luck.''') is a 2005 historical drama film about American television news directed by George Clooney, with the movie starring David Strathairn, Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr., and Frank Langella as well as Clooney himself. The film was co-written by Clooney and Grant Heslov, and it portrays the conflict between veteran journalist Edward R. Murrow (Strathairn) and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, especially relating to the anti-communist Senator's actions with the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Although released in black and white, it was filmed on color film stock, but on a grayscale set, and was color-corrected to black and white during post-production. It focuses on the theme of media responsibility, and also addresses what occurs when U.S. journalism offer voices of dissent from government policy. The movie takes its title (which ends with a period or full stop) from the line with which Murrow routinely signed off his broadcasts. The film was a box office success and received critical acclaim for Clooney's direction, the writing, cinematography, production design and performances (particularly Strathairn's). It was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Strathairn. Plot The setting is 1953, during the early days of television broadcast journalism. Edward R. Murrow, along with his news team, producer Fred Friendly and reporter Joseph Wershba, learn of U.S. Air Force officer Milo Radulovich, who is being forcibly discharged because of family members being known Communists and his refusal to denounce them. Interest is piqued when it is found that the compilation of charges at Radulovich's hearing was in a sealed envelope and nobody saw them. Murrow presents the story to CBS News' director, Sig Mickelson, who warns Murrow that the story will bring serious accusations and repercussions to CBS and their sponsors, some of whom have government contracts. He reluctantly allows the story to air, which gains positive responses from the public. Murrow also tries to ease the worries of his colleague, Don Hollenbeck, who is struggling with both the strain of his recent divorce and attacks from newspaper writer Jack O'Brian, who is accusing him of being biased in his news reporting and being a "pinko". While covering a story in Washington DC, Wershba is given an envelope suggesting that Murrow has previously interacted with the Soviets and used to be on their payroll. CBS's Chief Executive, William Paley, brings this up with Murrow. He warns Murrow that if any members of his staff are associated with Communism in any way, however remotely, they would have to recuse themselves from Murrow's next story. They were planning to make a direct attack on Senator Joseph McCarthy and his crusade against Communist infiltration in the U.S. government, which some denounce as a witch hunt. Friendly and Murrow gather their staff together, and when one of the team members voluntarily excuses himself because his ex-wife had attended Communist meetings before they even met, Murrow concludes that this kind of fear is what McCarthy wants. The team stays together and presents the story, which becomes highly praised by the public and the press, with the exception of Jack O'Brian, who continues to attack both Murrow and especially Hollenbeck on their supposed support of Communism. Hollenbeck pleads with Murrow to go after O'Brian, but Murrow reluctantly tells him that he cannot attack O'Brian while he is busy going after McCarthy. As the team turns their focus to a filmed hearing of Annie Lee Moss, a Pentagon communication worker accused of being a Communist based on her name appearing on a list seen by an FBI infiltrator of the American Communist Party, they receive the news that Milo Radulovich is being reinstated by the Air Force, citing no direct evidence supporting any connections with Communism. McCarthy then asks for the opportunity to speak for himself on Murrow's show, which Murrow allows. McCarthy openly accuses Murrow of being a Communist, citing several pieces of evidence that seem to support it. Murrow broadcasts a rebuttal the following week, easily disproving McCarthy's accusations and pointing out that McCarthy didn't do anything to defend himself other than accuse anyone who opposes him as being either a Communist or a Communist sympathizer. A few days later, the news arrives that the U.S. Senate is investigating McCarthy, which means the imminent end of his crusade. As the team celebrates, Friendly and Murrow learn that Hollenbeck has died by suicide. Paley then tells Murrow and Friendly that their news program's airtime is going to be severely cut, citing the high costs of the show's production, along with Murrow's attacks on controversial topics. Also, Joe Wershba and his wife Shirley, who have been concealing their marriage due to CBS forbidding co-workers from being married, are approached by Mickelson, who tells them that everyone knows of their marriage and that he will allow one of them to resign to save face, which Joe agrees to do. The film is framed by performance of the speech given by Murrow to the Radio and Television News Directors Association at "A Salute to Edward R. Murrow" on October 25, 1958, in which he harshly admonishes his audience not to squander the potential of television to inform and educate the public, so that it does not become only "wires and lights in a box". Cast Production In September 2005, Clooney explained his interest in the story to an audience at the New York Film Festival: "I thought it was a good time to raise the idea of using fear to stifle political debate." Having majored in journalism in college, Clooney was well-versed in the subject matter. His father, Nick Clooney, was a television journalist for many years, appearing as an anchorman in Cincinnati, Ohio; Salt Lake City, Utah; Los Angeles, California; and Buffalo, New York. The elder Clooney also ran for Congress in 2004. George Clooney was paid $1 each for writing, directing, and acting in Good Night, and Good Luck, which cost $7.5 million to make. Due to an injury he received on the set of Syriana a few months earlier, Clooney could not pass the tests to be insured. He then mortgaged his own house in Los Angeles in order to make the film. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and former eBay president Jeffrey Skoll invested money in the project as executive producers. The film ultimately grossed more than $54 million worldwide. The CBS offices and studios seen in the movie were all sets on a sound stage. To accomplish a pair of scenes showing characters going up an elevator, different "floors" of the building were laid out on the same level. The "elevator" was actually built on a large turntable at the intersection of the two floor sets and rotated once the doors were closed. When the doors reopened, the actors appeared to be in a different location. In doing so, the movie exercised a bit of dramatic license—the CBS executive offices at the time were located at 485 Madison Avenue. CBS News was located in an office building just north of Grand Central Terminal (demolished and now the site of the MetLife Building); and the See It Now studio was located in Grand Central Terminal itself, above the waiting room. For dramatic effect, all three areas were depicted as being in the same building. Clooney and producer Grant Heslov decided to use only archival footage of Joseph McCarthy in his depiction. As all of that footage was black-and-white, that determined the color scheme of the film. A young Robert F. Kennedy is also shown in the movie during McCarthy's hearing sessions. He was then a staff member on the Senate subcommittee chaired by McCarthy. Music A small jazz combo starring jazz singer Dianne Reeves was hired to record the soundtrack to the movie. This combo (Peter Martin, Christoph Luty, Jeff Hamilton and Matt Catingub) was featured in the movie in several scenes; for example, in one scene the newsmen pass a studio where she is recording with the rest of the band. The CD is Dianne Reeves's second featuring jazz standards (including "How High the Moon", "I've Got My Eyes on You", "Too Close For Comfort", "Straighten Up and Fly Right" and "One for My Baby"), and it won the Grammy Award in 2006 for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Soundtrack The soundtrack to Good Night, and Good Luck was released on September 27, 2005. The film's score was composed by Jim Papoulis. Reception and legacy Critical reception On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 226 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's critics consensus states: "A passionate and concise cinematic civics lesson, Good Night, and Good Luck has plenty to say about today's political and cultural climate, and its ensemble cast is stellar." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100 based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Roger Ebert, in his Chicago Sun-Times review, contends that "the movie is not really about the abuses of McCarthy, but about the process by which Murrow and his team eventually brought about his downfall (some would say his self-destruction). It is like a morality play, from which we learn how journalists should behave. It shows Murrow as fearless, but not flawless." Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's film review show At the Movies each gave the film five stars, making Good Night, and Good Luck the only other film besides Brokeback Mountain to receive such a score from the hosts in 2005. Both described the film as "beautiful", but also praised Clooney for the film's importance. Pomeranz commented that, "[The film] is so important, because it's about things that are really vital today, like the responsibility of the press and examining the press' role in forming opinion." David noted: "Though [the film] is in black-and-white, there's nothing monochromatic about Clooney's passion for his subject or the importance of his message." Jack Shafer, at the time a libertarian-leaning columnist for the online magazine Slate, accused the film of continuing what he characterizes as the hagiography of Murrow. Clooney's film gives the impression that Murrow brought down McCarthy single-handedly, while Shafer notes that in reality much of the mainstream media, many Democrats and some Republicans were condemning him before Murrow. Furthermore, Shafer writes, evidence obtained via the declassified Venona espionage program confirmed that many Soviet agents and sympathizers were in fact in positions of influence in the U.S. government, a disclosure the film entirely overlooks: "Clooney and company ignore the material that might argue against their simple-minded thesis about Murrow, the era, and the press to produce an after school special". One complaint about the film among test audiences was their belief that the actor playing McCarthy was too over the top, not realizing that the film used actual archive footage of McCarthy himself. Accolades The film received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Director (Clooney), and Actor (Strathairn). It was also nominated for six BAFTAs at the 2005 BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globes at the 2006 Golden Globe Awards. The American Film Institute named Good Night, and Good Luck as one of the Top Ten Movies of 2005. Television series As of November 2022, AMC is developing a television series adaptation of the film with Jonathan Glatzer as showrunner and Clooney as executive producer. See also 2005 in film George Clooney filmography History of CBS McCarthyism Tail Gunner Joe'' Television news in the United States References External links Category:Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album Category:2005 films Category:2005 independent films Category:2000s historical drama films Category:2000s political drama films Category:Japanese black-and-white films Category:Japanese historical drama films Category:French black-and-white films Category:French historical drama films Category:French political drama films Category:British black-and-white films Category:British historical drama films Category:British political drama films Category:American black-and-white films Category:American historical drama films Category:American political drama films Category:Drama films based on actual events Category:English-language French films Category:English-language Japanese films Category:European Film Awards winners (films) Category:Films about freedom of expression Category:Films set in the 1950s Category:Films about McCarthyism Category:Films about television Category:Films about the Hollywood blacklist Category:Films directed by George Clooney Category:Films produced by Grant Heslov Category:Films set in 1953 Category:Films set in 1958 Category:Japanese films set in New York City Category:British films set in New York City Category:Films with screenplays by George Clooney Category:Films with screenplays by Grant Heslov Category:Davis Films films Category:Redbus Pictures films Category:Tohokushinsha films Category:Metropolitan Filmexport films Category:Lionsgate films Category:Participant (company) films Category:Procedural films Category:Warner Independent Pictures films Category:Warner Bros. films Category:Biographical films about journalists Category:2000s English-language films Category:2000s American films Category:2000s British films Category:2000s Japanese films Category:2000s French films

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Sheila E.

Born in Oakland, California, Sheila E. is the daughter of Juanita Gardere, a dairy factory worker, and percussionist Pete Escovedo, with whom she frequently performs. Her mother is Creole-French/African mix, and her father is of Mexican origin. Sheila E's uncle is Alejandro Escovedo, and Tito Puente was Escovedo's godfather. She also is niece to Javier Escovedo, founder of seminal San Diego punk act The Zeros.

1996-2005: Music directing

In 1996, she played in Japanese pop singer Namie Amuro's live band. The show at Chiba Marine Stadium was later made available on DVD. In 1998, she played percussion on the Phil Collins cover of "True Colors". She was also the leader of the house band on the short-lived late night talk show, The Magic Hour, hosted by Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. in the late 1990s. Sheila E. has performed three stints as one of the member "All-Starrs" of Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, in 2001, 2003, and 2006. Her drum "duets" with Starr are a moment of comic relief in the show, where they play the same parts but he quickly falls behind, shrugs and smiles as she takes off on an extended percussion solo. Says Sheila E.: "Ringo truly is one of the greatest rock n' roll drummers in the history of music. He enjoys the joke!" In 2002, Sheila E. appeared on the Beyonce song "Work It Out". In 2004, Sheila E. toured New Zealand as drummer and percussionist for the Abe Laboriel Band. The same year she also was featured on Tonex's Out the Box on the song "Todos Juntos". She also played drums on Cyndi Lauper's hit album of standard covers, At Last. She played percussion on the song "Stay". Sheila E. joined Lauper on a live version of that song on VH1 Divas. Sheila also performed at Prince's One Nite Alone... Live! concert, Live at the Aladdin Las Vegas in 2003, 36th NAACP Image Awards in 2005, and on the Good Morning show in June 2006. In 2005, Sheila E. was a surprise guest orchestrating a band, in Amerie's "1 Thing" performances for The Lady Of Soul & World Music Awards. In February 2006, Sheila E. performed with Prince (and Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman) once again at the BRIT Awards. Sheila E. performed at the Sonoma Jazz Festival in 2006 as part of Herbie Hancock's band featuring Larry Carlton, Terrence Blanchard, Marcus Miller, and Terri Lyne Carrington. CANNOTANSWER

Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957), known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist for The George Duke Band. After separating from the group in 1983, Sheila began a solo career, starting with the release of her debut album in 1984, which included her biggest hit song, "The Glamorous Life". She also saw a hit with the single "A Love Bizarre". She is sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Percussion". Early life and family Born in Oakland, California, Sheila E. is the daughter of Juanita Gardere, a dairy factory worker, and percussionist Pete Escovedo, with whom she frequently performs. Her mother is of Creole-French/African descent, and her father is of Mexican-American origin. She was raised Catholic. Sheila E's uncle is Alejandro Escovedo, and Tito Puente was Escovedo's godfather. She also is niece to Javier Escovedo, founder of seminal San Diego punk act The Zeros. Another uncle, Mario Escovedo, fronted long-running indie rockers The Dragons. She also is the niece of Coke Escovedo, who was in Santana and formed the band Azteca. Nicole Richie is Sheila E.'s biological niece, the daughter of Sheila's musician brother, Peter Michael Escovedo. She has publicly stated that, at the age of five, she was raped by her teen-aged babysitter, and this event had a profound influence on her childhood development. Career 1976–1983: Beginnings Sheila made her recording debut with jazz bassist Alphonso Johnson on "Yesterday's Dream" in 1976. By her early 20s, she had already played with George Duke, Lionel Richie, Marvin Gaye, Herbie Hancock, and Diana Ross. In 1977, she and her father released the album Solo Two. That same year, she joined The George Duke Band. She appeared on several of Duke's albums, including Don't Let Go (1978), Follow the Rainbow (1979), Master of the Game (1979), and A Brazilian Love Affair (1980). Along with appearing on Duke's Don't Let Go in 1978, Escovedo and her father released Happy Together that year on Fantasy Records, sharing billing as Pete and Sheila Escovedo. In 1980, she appeared on the pivotal Herbie Hancock album Monster. In 1983, she joined Marvin Gaye's final tour Midnight Love Tour as one of his percussionists. 1984–1989: The Glamorous Life and A Love Bizarre Prince met Sheila E. at a concert in 1977, when she was performing with her father. After the show he met her and told her that he and his bassist Andre Cymone "were just fighting about which one of us would be the first to be your husband." He also vowed that one day she would join his band. The two would eventually join forces during the Purple Rain recording sessions. She provided vocals to the Prince song "Erotic City" in 1984. Though part of the Prince camp to some degree, she proved to be an artist in her own right as well. In June 1984, her debut album The Glamorous Life was released on Warner Bros. Records. The album's title-song, "The Glamorous Life", peaked at number 7 on the US Hot 100 and also topped the dance charts for two weeks in August 1984. The video for the song would bring three MTV Award nominations for Best Female Video, Best New Artist, and Best Choreography. She also received two Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Performance Female. The second single, "The Belle of St. Mark", became a moderate hit, peaking at number 34 on the Hot 100. It became NME'''s "Single of the Week". Sheila E. also toured as the opening act for Prince's Purple Rain Tour and the two began a romantic relationship, while Prince was still involved with Susannah Melvoin, twin sister of The Revolution band member, Wendy Melvoin. They would later become briefly engaged in the late 1980s, during Prince's Lovesexy Tour. In 1985, her second album, titled Romance 1600, was released. It's lead single "Sister Fate" failed to crack the US Hot 100; it peaked at number 36 on the R&B charts. The album's second single, "A Love Bizarre", saw more success, peaking at number 11 on the US Hot 100, becoming her second and last time reaching the US Hot 100 top twenty. The non-album track "Holly Rock" made its way to live shows and into the film Krush Groove. In July 1987, her third album, the self-titled Sheila E., was released. The first single, the ballad "Hold Me", peaked at number 3 on the R&B chart. The second single "Koo Koo" peaked inside the top 40 of the R&B chart. Sheila E. later served as Prince's percussionist and musical director during his tours from 1987 to 1989. Sheila E. has appeared in four films, Krush Groove with Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, and Blair Underwood in 1985; Prince's concert film, Sign "O" the Times in 1987; The Adventures of Ford Fairlane in 1990; and Chasing Papi in 2003. 1989–1994: Sex Cymbal and Mi Tierra After leaving the Prince organization in 1989, Sheila E. collaborated with writers like Demetrius Ross and David Gamson, recorded and released an album, Sex Cymbal in 1991. The album spawned the singles "Sex Cymbal", "Dropping Like Flies" and "Cry Baby", although all failed to chart on the Hot 100. She began her tour in Japan which only lasted for a brief time. Shortly after returning to America, she developed severe health issues after her lung collapsed. She described herself as "semi-paralyzed from playing drums in heels for so long". In 1994, Sheila E. contributed as a guest artist, playing congas and timbales, for the album Mi Tierra by Gloria Estefan. 1996–2005: Music directing In 1996, she played in Japanese pop singer Namie Amuro's live band. The show at Chiba Marine Stadium was later made available on DVD. In 1998, she played percussion on the Phil Collins cover of "True Colors". She was also the leader of the house band on the short-lived late night talk show, The Magic Hour, hosted by Earvin "Magic" Johnson in the late 1990s. Sheila E. has performed three stints as one of the member "All-Starrs" of Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, in 2001, 2003, and 2006. Her drum "duets" with Starr are a moment of comic relief in the show, where they play the same parts but he quickly falls behind, shrugs and smiles as she takes off on an extended percussion solo. Says Sheila E.: "Ringo truly is one of the greatest rock n' roll drummers in the history of music. He enjoys the joke!" In 2002, Sheila E. appeared on the Beyoncé song "Work It Out". In 2004, Sheila E. toured New Zealand as drummer and percussionist for the Abe Laboriel Band. The same year, she also was featured on Tonex's Out the Box on the song "Todos Juntos". She also played drums on Cyndi Lauper's hit album of standard covers, At Last. She played percussion on the song "Stay". Sheila E. joined Lauper on a live version of that song on VH1 Divas. Sheila also performed at Prince's One Nite Alone... Live! concert, Live at the Aladdin Las Vegas in 2003, 36th NAACP Image Awards in 2005, and on the Good Morning show in June 2006. In 2005, Sheila E. was a surprise guest orchestrating a band, in Amerie's "1 Thing" performances for The Lady Of Soul & World Music Awards. In February 2006, Sheila E. performed with Prince (and Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman) once again at the BRIT Awards. Sheila E. performed at the Sonoma Jazz Festival in 2006 as part of Herbie Hancock's band featuring Larry Carlton, Terrence Blanchard, Marcus Miller, and Terri Lyne Carrington. 2007–2009: C.O.E.D. and reunion with Prince In 2006, Sheila formed a female group C.O.E.D. (Chronicles of Every Diva), consisting of Sheila E., Kat Dyson, Rhonda Smith and Cassandra O'Neal. The group released a single "Waters of Life". In March 2007, the group went on a successful tour in Europe and Japan. The group toured overseas in 2008 and released a CD available in limited distribution or through her website. For several concerts she was joined by Candy Dulfer, who was billed as a special guest. She performed at the 2007 Latin Grammy Awards with Juan Luis Guerra. She also performed at the American Latin Music Awards in June 2007 with Prince and on July 7, 2007, in Minneapolis with Prince. She performed at all three of his concerts: at Prince's 3121 perfume launch at Macy's, followed by the Target Center concert, and finally, at an aftershow at First Avenue. In October 2007, Sheila E. was a judge alongside Australian Idol judge and marketing manager Ian "Dicko" Dickson and Goo Goo Dolls lead singer John Rzeznik on the Fox network's The Next Great American Band. Sheila E. once again teamed up with Prince in March 2008, as she sat in (and played keyboard) on the performance with her family at Harvelle's Redondo Beach. On April 9, 2008, Sheila E. appeared on the Emmy winning program Idol Gives Back. Sheila E. took part in the show opener, "Get on Your Feet", with Gloria Estefan while the So You Think You Can Dance finalists dance troupe joined them on stage. On April 26, 2008, Sheila E., along with Morris Day and Jerome Benton, performed with Prince at the Coachella Music Festival. From May 2 to 6, 2008, Sheila E. played four sold-out shows at Blue Note Tokyo, the most frequented jazz music club in Tokyo, Japan. On June 14, 2008, Sheila E. performed at the Rhythm on the Vine music and wine festival at the South Coast Winery in Temecula, California for Shriners Hospital for Children. She took the stage with the E Family, Pete Escovedo, Juan Escovedo and Peter Michael Escovedo. Other performers at the event were jazz musician Herbie Hancock, contemporary music artist Jim Brickman and Kirk Whalum. 2009–2012: The E Family On May 30, 2009, Sheila E. and the E Family Band performed at Rhythm on the Vine at Gainey Vineyard in Santa Ynez, California for the Hot Latin Beats concert. Also performing at the concert was Poncho Sanchez. On December 13, 2009, Sheila E. performed at the Deryck Walcott produced Christmas Jazz held at the Plantation Restaurant in Barbados. In 2009, Sheila E. participated and won the CMT reality show, Gone Country. This gave her an opportunity to make country music aided by the country producer, writer, and singer John Rich. Sheila E.'s first song in the country market was "Glorious Train". A video for the song debuted on CMT on March 7, 2009, following the airing of the episode of Gone Country in which Sheila E. was announced the winner. Sheila E. performed two shows at Yoshi's in Oakland, California, on August 15, 2010. At her merchandise stand she sold an EP From E 2 U. It includes a song "Leader of the Band" written by Prince (uncredited, but confirmed by Sheila E.) and it features Prince on piano according to the song's introduction, where he is called by name. She toured on his 20Ten Tour and Welcome 2 America tours. In 2010, Sheila E joined forces with Avon as a celebrity judge for Avon Voices, Avon's first global, online singing talent search for women and songwriting competition for men and women. On May 25, 2011, Sheila performed alongside Marc Anthony on the 10th-season finale of American Idol. On June 7, 2011, she performed on the Late Show with David Letterman as a part of the show's first "Drum Solo Week". In September 2011, The E. Family consisting of Pete Escovedo, Peter Michael Escovedo III, Juan Escovedo, and Sheila released an album Now & Forever. The album spawned the singles "Do What It Do" and "I Like It". On February 26, 2012, Sheila performed at the 2012 Academy Awards alongside Pharrell Williams and Hans Zimmer, playing the into and out of commercial segments. On April 17, 2012, Sheila was featured with "Macy's Stars of Dance" on the Dancing with the Stars results show. On June 16, Sheila headlined the 2012 Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California. Sheila toured in 2012 alongside Sy Smith throughout Europe and the United States. Sheila joined Dave Koz on his 2012 Christmas Tour. 2013–2015: Icon and Beat of my Own Drum In 2013, Sheila began recording her seventh album. In November 2013, she released her album Icon in the UK. The album was also Sheila's first release of her own recording label Stilettoflats Music. In September 2014, she released her autobiography Beat of my Own Drum. In November 2014, her album Icon was internationally released. 2016–present: Girl Meets Boy In 2016, Sheila provided drums for Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL's orchestral soundtrack to the blockbuster superhero films Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. On June 26, 2016, Sheila and The New Power Generation led a tribute to Prince on the 2016 BET Awards, featuring a medley of his hits. The next day, she released a new song, "Girl Meets Boy," in honor of Prince. In 2017 she was the featured percussionist for the soundtrack to the film The Boss Baby, which was also co-produced by Zimmer. Sheila E. is featured in Fred Armisen's 2018 Netflix comedy special Stand Up for Drummers. Sheila E. plays percussion on a number of tracks on Gary Clark Jr.'s album This Land''. She performed and served as music director for Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince concert at the Staples Center on January 28, 2020. It was broadcast on CBS on April 21, 2020. On April 17, 2020, she released the single "Lemon Cake" which was available as an audio track on YouTube. On May 14, 2020, Sheila E. premiered the official video for "Lemon Cake" on Rated R&B. In July 2020, Sheila E. collaborated with MasterClass to create "Sheila E. Teaches Drumming and Percussion" Shiela E. will be featured on Kelly Clarkson's 2023 album Chemistry on a song called "That's Right". Honors In February 2009, she was made an honorary member of Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Sorority by the Eta Delta Chapter located at Howard University in recognition of her humanitarian efforts through and in music. Escovedo and her friend Lynn Mabry are also the co-founder of Elevate Oakland, a nonprofit that uses music and art to serve the needs of youth in Oakland public schools. Sheila E., along with her father, were presented with the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021. Discography Studio albums Singles See also List of number-one dance hits (United States) List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart References External links Sheila E.’s MasterClass Category:American musicians of Mexican descent Category:American dance musicians Category:American women drummers Category:Living people Category:Timbaleros Category:Bongo players Category:Conga players Category:American rock percussionists Category:African-American drummers Category:American funk drummers Category:American rock drummers Category:Rhythm and blues drummers Category:Soul drummers Category:American contemporary R&B singers Category:American soul singers Category:American funk singers Category:Warner Records artists Category:Paisley Park Records artists Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:Musicians from Oakland, California Category:Singing talent show winners Category:Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area Category:20th-century American drummers Category:21st-century African-American women singers Category:20th-century African-American women singers Category:Hispanic and Latino American musicians Category:The Blackout All-Stars members Category:1957 births Category:Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band members Category:African-American women singer-songwriters Category:Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:American performers of Latin music Category:Hispanic and Latino American women singers Category:Women in Latin music Category:Singer-songwriters from California

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Sheila E.

Born in Oakland, California, Sheila E. is the daughter of Juanita Gardere, a dairy factory worker, and percussionist Pete Escovedo, with whom she frequently performs. Her mother is Creole-French/African mix, and her father is of Mexican origin. Sheila E's uncle is Alejandro Escovedo, and Tito Puente was Escovedo's godfather. She also is niece to Javier Escovedo, founder of seminal San Diego punk act The Zeros.

1984-89: The Glamorous Life and A Love Bizarre

Prince met Sheila E. at a concert in 1978, when she was performing with her father. After the show he met her and told her that he and his bassist Andre Cymone "were just fighting about which one of us would be the first to be your husband." He also vowed that one day she would join his band. The two would eventually join forces during the Purple Rain recording sessions. She provided vocals on the B-side to "Let's Go Crazy", "Erotic City" in 1984. Though taken under Prince's wing, she proved to be a successful artist in her own right. In June 1984, she released her debut album The Glamorous Life. The album's title-track single "The Glamorous Life" peaked at number 7 the Hot 100 and also topped the dance charts for two weeks in August 1984. The video for the song would bring three MTV Award nominations for Best Female Video, Best New Artist, and Best Choreography. She also received two Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Performance Female. Her second single "The Belle of St. Mark" charted at number 34 on Billboard Hot 100 and later became NME's "Single of the Week". She also toured as the opening act for Prince's Purple Rain Tour and the duo simultaneously began a brief romantic relationship, while Prince was still seeing Susannah Melvoin, twin sister of The Revolution band member, Wendy Melvoin. They would later become briefly engaged in the late '80s, during Prince's Lovesexy Tour. In 1985, she released Romance 1600. The lead single "Sister Fate" peaked at number 36 on the R&B charts. The album's second single "A Love Bizarre" became her signature song, peaking at number 11 the Hot 100 and also topped the dance charts. The non-album track "Holly Rock" made its way to live shows and into the film Krush Groove. Sheila later served as Prince's drummer and musical director in his band during the tours from 1987 to 1989. In July 1986, her self-titled album Sheila E. was released. The ballad single "Hold Me" peaked at number 3 on R&B charts. She appeared in four films, Krush Groove with Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J and Blair Underwood in 1985, Prince's concert film, Sign "O" the Times in 1987 The Adventures of Ford Fairlane and Chasing Papi in 2003. CANNOTANSWER

Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957), known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist for The George Duke Band. After separating from the group in 1983, Sheila began a solo career, starting with the release of her debut album in 1984, which included her biggest hit song, "The Glamorous Life". She also saw a hit with the single "A Love Bizarre". She is sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Percussion". Early life and family Born in Oakland, California, Sheila E. is the daughter of Juanita Gardere, a dairy factory worker, and percussionist Pete Escovedo, with whom she frequently performs. Her mother is of Creole-French/African descent, and her father is of Mexican-American origin. She was raised Catholic. Sheila E's uncle is Alejandro Escovedo, and Tito Puente was Escovedo's godfather. She also is niece to Javier Escovedo, founder of seminal San Diego punk act The Zeros. Another uncle, Mario Escovedo, fronted long-running indie rockers The Dragons. She also is the niece of Coke Escovedo, who was in Santana and formed the band Azteca. Nicole Richie is Sheila E.'s biological niece, the daughter of Sheila's musician brother, Peter Michael Escovedo. She has publicly stated that, at the age of five, she was raped by her teen-aged babysitter, and this event had a profound influence on her childhood development. Career 1976–1983: Beginnings Sheila made her recording debut with jazz bassist Alphonso Johnson on "Yesterday's Dream" in 1976. By her early 20s, she had already played with George Duke, Lionel Richie, Marvin Gaye, Herbie Hancock, and Diana Ross. In 1977, she and her father released the album Solo Two. That same year, she joined The George Duke Band. She appeared on several of Duke's albums, including Don't Let Go (1978), Follow the Rainbow (1979), Master of the Game (1979), and A Brazilian Love Affair (1980). Along with appearing on Duke's Don't Let Go in 1978, Escovedo and her father released Happy Together that year on Fantasy Records, sharing billing as Pete and Sheila Escovedo. In 1980, she appeared on the pivotal Herbie Hancock album Monster. In 1983, she joined Marvin Gaye's final tour Midnight Love Tour as one of his percussionists. 1984–1989: The Glamorous Life and A Love Bizarre Prince met Sheila E. at a concert in 1977, when she was performing with her father. After the show he met her and told her that he and his bassist Andre Cymone "were just fighting about which one of us would be the first to be your husband." He also vowed that one day she would join his band. The two would eventually join forces during the Purple Rain recording sessions. She provided vocals to the Prince song "Erotic City" in 1984. Though part of the Prince camp to some degree, she proved to be an artist in her own right as well. In June 1984, her debut album The Glamorous Life was released on Warner Bros. Records. The album's title-song, "The Glamorous Life", peaked at number 7 on the US Hot 100 and also topped the dance charts for two weeks in August 1984. The video for the song would bring three MTV Award nominations for Best Female Video, Best New Artist, and Best Choreography. She also received two Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Performance Female. The second single, "The Belle of St. Mark", became a moderate hit, peaking at number 34 on the Hot 100. It became NME'''s "Single of the Week". Sheila E. also toured as the opening act for Prince's Purple Rain Tour and the two began a romantic relationship, while Prince was still involved with Susannah Melvoin, twin sister of The Revolution band member, Wendy Melvoin. They would later become briefly engaged in the late 1980s, during Prince's Lovesexy Tour. In 1985, her second album, titled Romance 1600, was released. It's lead single "Sister Fate" failed to crack the US Hot 100; it peaked at number 36 on the R&B charts. The album's second single, "A Love Bizarre", saw more success, peaking at number 11 on the US Hot 100, becoming her second and last time reaching the US Hot 100 top twenty. The non-album track "Holly Rock" made its way to live shows and into the film Krush Groove. In July 1987, her third album, the self-titled Sheila E., was released. The first single, the ballad "Hold Me", peaked at number 3 on the R&B chart. The second single "Koo Koo" peaked inside the top 40 of the R&B chart. Sheila E. later served as Prince's percussionist and musical director during his tours from 1987 to 1989. Sheila E. has appeared in four films, Krush Groove with Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, and Blair Underwood in 1985; Prince's concert film, Sign "O" the Times in 1987; The Adventures of Ford Fairlane in 1990; and Chasing Papi in 2003. 1989–1994: Sex Cymbal and Mi Tierra After leaving the Prince organization in 1989, Sheila E. collaborated with writers like Demetrius Ross and David Gamson, recorded and released an album, Sex Cymbal in 1991. The album spawned the singles "Sex Cymbal", "Dropping Like Flies" and "Cry Baby", although all failed to chart on the Hot 100. She began her tour in Japan which only lasted for a brief time. Shortly after returning to America, she developed severe health issues after her lung collapsed. She described herself as "semi-paralyzed from playing drums in heels for so long". In 1994, Sheila E. contributed as a guest artist, playing congas and timbales, for the album Mi Tierra by Gloria Estefan. 1996–2005: Music directing In 1996, she played in Japanese pop singer Namie Amuro's live band. The show at Chiba Marine Stadium was later made available on DVD. In 1998, she played percussion on the Phil Collins cover of "True Colors". She was also the leader of the house band on the short-lived late night talk show, The Magic Hour, hosted by Earvin "Magic" Johnson in the late 1990s. Sheila E. has performed three stints as one of the member "All-Starrs" of Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, in 2001, 2003, and 2006. Her drum "duets" with Starr are a moment of comic relief in the show, where they play the same parts but he quickly falls behind, shrugs and smiles as she takes off on an extended percussion solo. Says Sheila E.: "Ringo truly is one of the greatest rock n' roll drummers in the history of music. He enjoys the joke!" In 2002, Sheila E. appeared on the Beyoncé song "Work It Out". In 2004, Sheila E. toured New Zealand as drummer and percussionist for the Abe Laboriel Band. The same year, she also was featured on Tonex's Out the Box on the song "Todos Juntos". She also played drums on Cyndi Lauper's hit album of standard covers, At Last. She played percussion on the song "Stay". Sheila E. joined Lauper on a live version of that song on VH1 Divas. Sheila also performed at Prince's One Nite Alone... Live! concert, Live at the Aladdin Las Vegas in 2003, 36th NAACP Image Awards in 2005, and on the Good Morning show in June 2006. In 2005, Sheila E. was a surprise guest orchestrating a band, in Amerie's "1 Thing" performances for The Lady Of Soul & World Music Awards. In February 2006, Sheila E. performed with Prince (and Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman) once again at the BRIT Awards. Sheila E. performed at the Sonoma Jazz Festival in 2006 as part of Herbie Hancock's band featuring Larry Carlton, Terrence Blanchard, Marcus Miller, and Terri Lyne Carrington. 2007–2009: C.O.E.D. and reunion with Prince In 2006, Sheila formed a female group C.O.E.D. (Chronicles of Every Diva), consisting of Sheila E., Kat Dyson, Rhonda Smith and Cassandra O'Neal. The group released a single "Waters of Life". In March 2007, the group went on a successful tour in Europe and Japan. The group toured overseas in 2008 and released a CD available in limited distribution or through her website. For several concerts she was joined by Candy Dulfer, who was billed as a special guest. She performed at the 2007 Latin Grammy Awards with Juan Luis Guerra. She also performed at the American Latin Music Awards in June 2007 with Prince and on July 7, 2007, in Minneapolis with Prince. She performed at all three of his concerts: at Prince's 3121 perfume launch at Macy's, followed by the Target Center concert, and finally, at an aftershow at First Avenue. In October 2007, Sheila E. was a judge alongside Australian Idol judge and marketing manager Ian "Dicko" Dickson and Goo Goo Dolls lead singer John Rzeznik on the Fox network's The Next Great American Band. Sheila E. once again teamed up with Prince in March 2008, as she sat in (and played keyboard) on the performance with her family at Harvelle's Redondo Beach. On April 9, 2008, Sheila E. appeared on the Emmy winning program Idol Gives Back. Sheila E. took part in the show opener, "Get on Your Feet", with Gloria Estefan while the So You Think You Can Dance finalists dance troupe joined them on stage. On April 26, 2008, Sheila E., along with Morris Day and Jerome Benton, performed with Prince at the Coachella Music Festival. From May 2 to 6, 2008, Sheila E. played four sold-out shows at Blue Note Tokyo, the most frequented jazz music club in Tokyo, Japan. On June 14, 2008, Sheila E. performed at the Rhythm on the Vine music and wine festival at the South Coast Winery in Temecula, California for Shriners Hospital for Children. She took the stage with the E Family, Pete Escovedo, Juan Escovedo and Peter Michael Escovedo. Other performers at the event were jazz musician Herbie Hancock, contemporary music artist Jim Brickman and Kirk Whalum. 2009–2012: The E Family On May 30, 2009, Sheila E. and the E Family Band performed at Rhythm on the Vine at Gainey Vineyard in Santa Ynez, California for the Hot Latin Beats concert. Also performing at the concert was Poncho Sanchez. On December 13, 2009, Sheila E. performed at the Deryck Walcott produced Christmas Jazz held at the Plantation Restaurant in Barbados. In 2009, Sheila E. participated and won the CMT reality show, Gone Country. This gave her an opportunity to make country music aided by the country producer, writer, and singer John Rich. Sheila E.'s first song in the country market was "Glorious Train". A video for the song debuted on CMT on March 7, 2009, following the airing of the episode of Gone Country in which Sheila E. was announced the winner. Sheila E. performed two shows at Yoshi's in Oakland, California, on August 15, 2010. At her merchandise stand she sold an EP From E 2 U. It includes a song "Leader of the Band" written by Prince (uncredited, but confirmed by Sheila E.) and it features Prince on piano according to the song's introduction, where he is called by name. She toured on his 20Ten Tour and Welcome 2 America tours. In 2010, Sheila E joined forces with Avon as a celebrity judge for Avon Voices, Avon's first global, online singing talent search for women and songwriting competition for men and women. On May 25, 2011, Sheila performed alongside Marc Anthony on the 10th-season finale of American Idol. On June 7, 2011, she performed on the Late Show with David Letterman as a part of the show's first "Drum Solo Week". In September 2011, The E. Family consisting of Pete Escovedo, Peter Michael Escovedo III, Juan Escovedo, and Sheila released an album Now & Forever. The album spawned the singles "Do What It Do" and "I Like It". On February 26, 2012, Sheila performed at the 2012 Academy Awards alongside Pharrell Williams and Hans Zimmer, playing the into and out of commercial segments. On April 17, 2012, Sheila was featured with "Macy's Stars of Dance" on the Dancing with the Stars results show. On June 16, Sheila headlined the 2012 Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California. Sheila toured in 2012 alongside Sy Smith throughout Europe and the United States. Sheila joined Dave Koz on his 2012 Christmas Tour. 2013–2015: Icon and Beat of my Own Drum In 2013, Sheila began recording her seventh album. In November 2013, she released her album Icon in the UK. The album was also Sheila's first release of her own recording label Stilettoflats Music. In September 2014, she released her autobiography Beat of my Own Drum. In November 2014, her album Icon was internationally released. 2016–present: Girl Meets Boy In 2016, Sheila provided drums for Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL's orchestral soundtrack to the blockbuster superhero films Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. On June 26, 2016, Sheila and The New Power Generation led a tribute to Prince on the 2016 BET Awards, featuring a medley of his hits. The next day, she released a new song, "Girl Meets Boy," in honor of Prince. In 2017 she was the featured percussionist for the soundtrack to the film The Boss Baby, which was also co-produced by Zimmer. Sheila E. is featured in Fred Armisen's 2018 Netflix comedy special Stand Up for Drummers. Sheila E. plays percussion on a number of tracks on Gary Clark Jr.'s album This Land''. She performed and served as music director for Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince concert at the Staples Center on January 28, 2020. It was broadcast on CBS on April 21, 2020. On April 17, 2020, she released the single "Lemon Cake" which was available as an audio track on YouTube. On May 14, 2020, Sheila E. premiered the official video for "Lemon Cake" on Rated R&B. In July 2020, Sheila E. collaborated with MasterClass to create "Sheila E. Teaches Drumming and Percussion" Shiela E. will be featured on Kelly Clarkson's 2023 album Chemistry on a song called "That's Right". Honors In February 2009, she was made an honorary member of Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Sorority by the Eta Delta Chapter located at Howard University in recognition of her humanitarian efforts through and in music. Escovedo and her friend Lynn Mabry are also the co-founder of Elevate Oakland, a nonprofit that uses music and art to serve the needs of youth in Oakland public schools. Sheila E., along with her father, were presented with the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021. Discography Studio albums Singles See also List of number-one dance hits (United States) List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart References External links Sheila E.’s MasterClass Category:American musicians of Mexican descent Category:American dance musicians Category:American women drummers Category:Living people Category:Timbaleros Category:Bongo players Category:Conga players Category:American rock percussionists Category:African-American drummers Category:American funk drummers Category:American rock drummers Category:Rhythm and blues drummers Category:Soul drummers Category:American contemporary R&B singers Category:American soul singers Category:American funk singers Category:Warner Records artists Category:Paisley Park Records artists Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:Musicians from Oakland, California Category:Singing talent show winners Category:Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area Category:20th-century American drummers Category:21st-century African-American women singers Category:20th-century African-American women singers Category:Hispanic and Latino American musicians Category:The Blackout All-Stars members Category:1957 births Category:Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band members Category:African-American women singer-songwriters Category:Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:American performers of Latin music Category:Hispanic and Latino American women singers Category:Women in Latin music Category:Singer-songwriters from California

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Lin-Manuel Miranda

Miranda was born in New York City and raised in the neighborhood of Inwood, the son of Luz Towns, a clinical psychologist, and Luis A. Miranda, Jr., a Democratic Party consultant who advised New York City mayor Ed Koch. Miranda has one older sister, Luz, who is the Chief Financial Officer of the MirRam Group. During childhood and his teens, he spent at least one month each year with his grandparents in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. He is of mostly Puerto Rican descent.

2002-10: In the Heights

In 2002, Miranda and John Buffalo Mailer worked with director Thomas Kail to revise In the Heights. Book writer Quiara Alegria Hudes joined the team in 2004. After success off-Broadway, the musical went to Broadway, opening in March 2008. It was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, winning four, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. It also won the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Miranda's performance in the leading role of Usnavi earned him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Miranda left the cast of the Broadway production on February 15, 2009. Miranda reprised the role when the national tour of In the Heights played in Los Angeles from June 23 to July 25, 2010. He again joined the tour in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Miranda rejoined the Broadway cast as Usnavi from December 25, 2010 until the production closed on January 9, 2011, after 29 previews and 1,185 regular performances. Miranda created other work for the stage during this period. He wrote Spanish language dialogue and worked with Stephen Sondheim to translate into Spanish song lyrics for the 2009 Broadway revival of West Side Story. In 2008, he was invited by composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz to contribute two new songs to a revised version of Schwartz and Nina Faso's 1978 musical Working, which opened in May 2008 at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida. Miranda also did work for film and television. In 2007, he made a guest appearance on the television series The Sopranos in the episode "Remember When", and in 2009, he played Alvie, Gregory House's roommate in a psychiatric hospital, in the two-hour season six premiere episode of House; he returned to the role in May 2010. He also has done work for Sesame Street, playing occasional roles and singing the theme song to the recurring segment Murray Has a Little Lamb. He was a composer and actor on the 2009 revival of The Electric Company and appeared in the CollegeHumor sketch "Hardly Working: Rap Battle", playing himself working as an intern and rapper. During these years, Miranda also worked as an English teacher at his former high school, wrote for the Manhattan Times as a columnist and restaurant reviewer, and composed music for commercials. CANNOTANSWER

Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, singer, filmmaker, and playwright. He is known for creating the Broadway musicals In the Heights (2005), and Hamilton (2015), and the soundtracks for the animated films Moana (2016), Encanto, and Vivo (both 2021). His awards include three Tony Awards, two Emmy Awards, five Grammy Awards, two Laurence Olivier Awards, an Annie Award, a MacArthur Fellowship Award, a Kennedy Center Honor, and a Pulitzer Prize. Miranda made his Broadway debut in 2008 in the musical In the Heights, in which he starred and wrote the music and lyrics. The production was a critical and commercial success, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical and Tony Award for Best Original Score, and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The stage musical was adapted into a film released in June 2021. Miranda gained still wider recognition for writing the script, music, and lyrics for Hamilton, which has been acclaimed as a popular culture phenomenon since its 2015 Broadway premiere. It earned the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for a record 16 Tony Awards and won 11, including Miranda's first win for the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. The Hamilton cast recording spent 10 weeks atop Billboards Top Rap Albums chart and became the eleventh-biggest album of the 2010s. The Hamilton Mixtape, a cover album by Miranda, further reached number one on the Billboard 200. A frequent collaborator of the Walt Disney Company, Miranda has written original songs for the studio, which has gained him two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ("How Far I'll Go" and "Dos Oruguitas") for Moana (2016), and Encanto (2021) respectively. The song "We Don't Talk About Bruno" broke various records, marked Miranda's first number-one song on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles charts, and cemented his mainstream fame. He starred as Jack in the musical fantasy Mary Poppins Returns (2018), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. For his performance in the Disney+ live stage recording of Hamilton released in 2020, he received Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Miranda debuted as a film director with Tick, Tick...Boom! (2021). His television work includes recurring roles on The Electric Company (2009–2010) and His Dark Materials (2019). Miranda hosted Saturday Night Live in 2016 and had a guest role on Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2018, for which he was nominated twice for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. He has been politically active on behalf of Puerto Rico. Miranda met with politicians in 2016 to speak out in favor of debt relief for Puerto Rico and raised funds for rescue efforts and disaster relief after Hurricane Maria in 2017. Early life and education Miranda was born on January 16, 1980, in New York City to Dr. Luz Towns-Miranda, a clinical psychologist, and Luis Miranda Jr., a Democratic Party consultant. The name "Lin-Manuel" was inspired by a poem about the Vietnam War, Nana roja para mi hijo Lin Manuel, by the Puerto Rican writer José Manuel Torres Santiago. He was raised Catholic in the neighborhood of Inwood. He is of Puerto Rican, Mexican, and African descent. During childhood and his teens, he spent at least one month each year with his grandparents in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. Miranda has one older sister, Luz, who is the Chief Financial Officer of the MirRam Group, a strategic consulting firm in Government and Communications. Miranda attended Hunter College Elementary School and Hunter College High School. Among his classmates was journalist Chris Hayes, who was Miranda's first director when Miranda starred in a school play described by Hayes as "a 20-minute musical that featured a maniacal fetal pig in a nightmare that [Miranda] had cut up in biology class". His classmates also included rapper Immortal Technique, who bullied Miranda, although the two later became friends. Miranda began writing musicals at school. As a student, Miranda wrote the earliest draft of what would become his first Broadway musical, In the Heights, in 1999, his sophomore year of college at Wesleyan University. After the show was accepted by Wesleyan's student theater company, Second Stage, Miranda added freestyle rap and salsa numbers, and the show was premiered there in 1999. Miranda wrote and directed several other musicals at Wesleyan and acted in many other productions, ranging from musicals to William Shakespeare. He graduated from Wesleyan in 2002. Career Theatre 2002–2010: In the Heights In 2002, Miranda and John Buffalo Mailer worked with director Thomas Kail to revise In the Heights. Playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes joined the team in 2004. After premiering in Connecticut in 2005 and opening at the 37 Arts Theater off-Broadway in 2007, the musical went to Broadway, opening in March 2008. It was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, winning four, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. It also won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Miranda's performance in the leading role of Usnavi earned him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Miranda left the cast of the Broadway production on February 15, 2009. Miranda reprised the role when the national tour of In the Heights played in Los Angeles from June 23 to July 25, 2010. He again joined the tour in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Miranda rejoined the Broadway cast as Usnavi from December 25, 2010, until the production closed on January 9, 2011, after 29 previews and 1,185 regular performances. Miranda created other work for the stage during this period. He wrote Spanish language dialogue and worked with Stephen Sondheim to translate into Spanish song lyrics for the 2009 Broadway revival of West Side Story. During this time, he also performed at bar and bat mitzvahs. In 2008, he was invited by composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz to contribute two new songs to a revised version of Schwartz and Nina Faso's 1978 musical Working, which opened in May 2008 at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida. During these years, Miranda worked as an English teacher at his former high school, wrote for the Manhattan Times as a columnist and restaurant critic, and composed music for commercials. In 2003, Miranda co-founded Freestyle Love Supreme, a hip hop improv group that has toured the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, as well as the Aspen, Melbourne and Montreal Comedy Festivals. The group created a limited television series for Pivot in 2014 and made its Broadway debut on October 2, 2019, at the Booth Theatre in a self-titled show to positive reviews. 2011–2014: Bring It On and other theatrical work Miranda co-wrote the music and lyrics for Bring It On: The Musical with Tom Kitt and Amanda Green. Bring It On premiered at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia in January 2011. The musical began a US national tour on October 30, 2011, in Los Angeles, California. It played a limited engagement on Broadway at the St. James Theatre, beginning previews on July 12, and officially opening on August 1, 2012. It closed on December 30, 2012. It was nominated for Tony Awards in the categories of Best Musical and Best Choreography. In February 2012, Miranda appeared in Merrily We Roll Along, in the role of Charley, in an Encores! staged concert at New York City Center. His theatrical achievements in 2014 included an Emmy Award for the song "Bigger!", which he and Kitt co-wrote for the opening number at the 67th Tony Awards. Miranda wrote music and lyrics for the one-act musical 21 Chump Street, and performed as narrator for the show's single performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on June 7, 2014, which was broadcast on National Public Radio's This American Life on June 20, 2014. Later that month, he starred in the June 2014 Encores! revival of Jonathan Larson's Tick, Tick... Boom!, under the artistic direction of Jeanine Tesori. The show was directed by Oliver Butler. Earlier in 2014, he guest starred in a show by comedy duo The Skivvies. 2015–2016: Hamilton While on a vacation in 2008, Lin-Manuel Miranda read Ron Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton and, inspired by the book, wrote a rap about Hamilton that he performed for the White House Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word on May 12, 2009, accompanied by Alex Lacamoire. Miranda later said he spent a year writing the Hamilton song "My Shot", revising it countless times for every verse to reflect Alexander Hamilton's intellect. By 2012, Miranda was performing an extended set of pieces based on the life of Hamilton, which he then referred to as the Hamilton Mixtape. The New York Times called it "an obvious game changer". Hamilton: An American Musical premiered off-Broadway at The Public Theater in January 2015, directed by Thomas Kail. Miranda wrote the book and score and starred as the title character. The show received highly positive reviews, and its engagement was sold out. Chernow and Miranda received the 2015 History Makers Award from the New York Historical Society for their work in creating the musical. The show began previews on Broadway in July 2015 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre and officially opened on August 6, 2015, earning positive reviews. On the first night of Hamilton previews, over 700 people lined up for lottery tickets. The Hamilton ticket lottery evolved into Ham4Ham, a series of outdoor mini-performances for lottery participants that was hosted daily by Miranda and cast members for over a year, until August 31, 2016. Miranda earned a 3% royalty on each performance of Hamilton, earning him $12.7 million by July 2017. Hamilton won the Tony Award for Best Musical; Miranda won the Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical and received a nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. Miranda won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the musical, and the Hamilton cast album won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. In May 2016, for his work in the role of Alexander Hamilton, Miranda received the Drama League Distinguished Performance Award. On March 15, 2016, members of the cast of Hamilton performed at the White House and hosted workshops; Miranda performed freestyle rap from prompts held up by President Obama. In April 2016, Miranda and Jeremy McCarter published Hamilton: The Revolution, a book describing Hamiltons journey from conception to Broadway success and discussing the cultural revolution that permeates the show. Miranda gave his last performance in Hamilton on July 9, 2016, but vowed to return to the show. Miranda reprised the role of Alexander Hamilton for a three-week run in Puerto Rico January 11–27, 2019, for which the engagement was sold out in three hours in November 2018. In a review, Chris Jones praised "deeper on-stage emotions" in Miranda's reprisal, as well as improved vocal and dance technique than on Broadway. A documentary about the creation of the show, Hamilton's America, featuring Miranda, premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 1, 2016, and first aired on PBS' Great Performances series on October 21, 2016. A taping of the OBT version of Hamilton was released on Disney+ on July 3, 2020. On January 24, 2016, Miranda performed the offstage cameo role of Loud Hailer in the Broadway production of Les Misérables, fulfilling his childhood dream of being in the show, as it was the first production he ever saw on Broadway. Film Early acting roles Miranda appeared in a small role in the Walt Disney Pictures live-action film The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012). 2015–present: Disney projects Miranda interviewed with Disney in the winter of 2013, and submitted a six-song demo package to Walt Disney Animation Studios. This began a series of collaborations with the company: Moana – In spring 2014, the studio hired Miranda to help write and perform music for Moana, its 2016 animated feature film. From 2014 to 2016, Miranda collaborated with Opetaia Foa'i and Mark Mancina on the songs for Moana. He later explained that because he was so busy with Moana and Hamilton, he turned down other projects "that would have distracted" him, but this served as an "ego check" as Hamilton became a hit. Moana opened in November 2016 and was a box office hit, earning positive reviews and praise from critics for Miranda's songwriting. Miranda also sang the song "We Know the Way" in the film, and recorded a duet with Jordan Fisher of the song "You're Welcome", which was played over the film's end credits. For the song "How Far I'll Go", Miranda received Golden Globe, Critics' Choice, Oscar, and Grammy Award nominations. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – While working on Hamilton, Miranda contributed music for the Disney-distributed film Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), writing a song for the scene in Maz Kanata's cantina, an homage to the classic Mos Eisley Cantina scene and song by Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes. DuckTales – Miranda debuted in May 2018 as the voice of Fenton "Gizmoduck" Crackshell-Cabrera in Disney Channel's 2017 reboot of DuckTales. Mary Poppins Returns – Miranda plays Jack, a lamplighter and former apprentice to Bert, the chimney sweep played by Dick Van Dyke in the original 1964 film Mary Poppins. This was his first major role after leaving the Broadway cast of Hamilton. Miranda traveled to London in 2017 for the film, directed by Rob Marshall, which was released in December 2018. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – Following his work on The Force Awakens, Miranda contributed music for the Disney-distributed film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), writing a song for the scene on the desert planet Pasaana, in addition to making a cameo appearance as a Resistance trooper. The live stage recording of the original Broadway production of Hamilton was acquired by Walt Disney Pictures and released on Disney+ on July 3, 2020. Encanto – Miranda collaborated again with Walt Disney Animation Studios on a computer-animated musical titled Encanto directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, with Charise Castro Smith co-directing. The film was released on November 24, 2021. The soundtrack was a success; the song "We Don't Talk About Bruno" rose to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, and Miranda received an Academy Award for Best Original Song nomination for the song "Dos Oruguitas". The Little Mermaid – In August 2016, Miranda agreed to write songs with Alan Menken for Disney's forthcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. Miranda will co-produce the film with Marc Platt and Rob Marshall, the latter of whom will direct. Menken announced in July 2017 that he and Miranda had begun working on new songs for the project. Miranda and Menken wrote four new songs for The Little Mermaid, which had been recorded by April 2020. The film is scheduled to be released in theaters on May 26, 2023. In the Heights (2021) On November 7, 2008, Universal Pictures announced that they planned to adapt In the Heights as a feature film for release in 2011. However, the project was canceled in March 2011, reportedly due to the fact Universal was looking for a "bankable Latino star" like Shakira or Jennifer Lopez instead of unknown actors. In January 2012, Miranda stated that the film adaptation was back under discussion; in May 2016, it was announced that Miranda would co-produce the film with Harvey Weinstein and backing from The Weinstein Company. On June 10, 2016, Jon M. Chu came on board to direct the film adaptation of the musical. In the aftermath of numerous sexual misconduct allegations made against Weinstein, his producer credit on the film was removed, with the rights to the film eventually auctioned off to Warner Bros. for $50 million. While Miranda originated the role of Usnavi, he felt he was too old to star as Usnavi in the film adaptation. Ultimately, Miranda played the smaller role of Piraguero, the "Piragua Guy", in the film. He was quoted as saying the Broadway production was "...a miraculous experience. I went from substitute teacher to Broadway composer. I will never make a leap that big again in my life. I was very content to let Anthony Ramos and this incredible cast have their own experience." Miranda also served as producer and acted alongside Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, and Jimmy Smits. The film was set for release on June 26, 2020, but was pulled from the schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the film industry. It was released in theaters and temporarily on HBO Max on June 10, 2021. Vivo (2021) Miranda stars as the titular character and provided eleven songs for Vivo, a Sony Pictures Animation film directed by Kirk DeMicco which was released on Netflix in August 2021. Tick, Tick…Boom! (2021) Imagine Entertainment announced in July 2018 that Miranda would make his debut as a film director with an adaptation of Jonathan Larson's semi-autobiographical musical Tick, Tick... Boom!, to be scripted by Dear Evan Hansen librettist Steven Levenson. Miranda produced the film alongside Ron Howard and Brian Grazer: it was released on Netflix in 2021. Upcoming projects Miranda agreed in 2016 to serve as executive producer and composer of Lionsgate's film adaptation of The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss, as well as a tie-in television series. In 2022, it was revealed that he was no longer attached to the project. Television 2007–2013: Early roles Miranda also worked in film and television. In 2007, he made a small appearance on the television series The Sopranos in the episode "Remember When", and in 2009, he played Juan "Alvie" Alvarez, Gregory House's roommate in a psychiatric hospital, in the two-hour season six premiere episode of House; he returned to the role in May 2010. For Sesame Street, he occasionally played roles and sang the theme song to the recurring segment Murray Has a Little Lamb. He was a composer and actor on the 2009 revival of The Electric Company and appeared in the CollegeHumor sketch "Hardly Working: Rap Battle", playing himself working as an intern and rapper. He played several television roles during this period. He appeared on the TV series Modern Family in the 2011 episode "Good Cop Bad Dog". In 2013, he played the recurring role of Ruben Marcado in the NBC drama Do No Harm. He later appeared in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, in an all-verse episode titled "Bedtime Stories" that aired in November 2013. 2016–2021: Comedy roles and other projects On April 24, 2016, on the TV show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, at the end of a segment about the debt crisis in Puerto Rico, Miranda performed an emotional rap about allowing the island to restructure its debt. Miranda hosted Saturday Night Live on October 8, 2016, and played himself in two episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2017, receiving Emmy Award nominations for both appearances. Miranda performed the theme song for the Netflix original series The Magic School Bus Rides Again, the revival and sequel series of the 1994 series The Magic School Bus. He played the part of Amy's brother (David Santiago) in the episode "The Golden Child" in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. On July 29, 2019, it was announced that Miranda had teamed with TV producer Norman Lear to make an American Masters documentary about the life of Puerto Rican actress Rita Moreno, titled Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It. It premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Miranda, in collaboration with Brittany Howard, Daveed Diggs, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and Robert Lopez wrote the lyrics for the song "Checks and Balances", which was sung by Benjy Brooke for the 2021 Netflix animated series We the People. Fosse/Verdon (2018) In 2019, Miranda served as an executive producer on the FX limited series Fosse/Verdon based on the relationship of Broadway dancer, choreographer, and director Bob Fosse and his wife dancer Gwen Verdon. Miranda also made a brief appearance playing Roy Scheider from All That Jazz. The series won critical acclaim, and Miranda was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series as an executive producer. His Dark Materials (2019) Miranda was cast as Lee Scoresby in the BBC series television adaptation of His Dark Materials (2019). Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter praised Miranda in his review writing, "[While] I appreciate that Miranda feels initially miscast as Pullman's paragon of cowboy American masculinity...[he] forces you to reconstruct an image of American manliness around him, making him exactly what the series needs". Upcoming projects He is set to appear as Hermes, messenger of the gods, in Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which will be released on Disney+ in early 2024. Personal life Family Miranda married Vanessa Nadal, a high school friend, in 2010. At the wedding reception, Miranda, along with the wedding party, performed the Fiddler on the Roof song "To Life". Nadal was a lawyer at the law firm Jones Day. Miranda and Nadal's first son, Sebastian, was born in November 2014. Their second son, Francisco, was born in February 2018. His son Sebastian was named after the Jamaican crab from The Little Mermaid, one of his favorite films, the reason for which he took the job of composing the music for live-action version. Sebastian was the first name listed in the production babies credits of Moana, for which Miranda wrote the songs. Miranda's son Francisco is listed as a production baby in the credits for Vivo. Miranda discovered that he is related to artists Residente and iLe of Calle 13 during a 2009 concert by the group in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where Miranda was invited to perform. Backstage, the mother of Residente and ILE revealed their connection to Gilberto Concepción de Gracia, founder of the Puerto Rican Independence Party. Miranda and Residente have since confirmed the relationship. In 2017, Miranda performed on the opening track of Residente's self-titled debut album. Miranda is a cousin of professional baseball player José Miranda. Activism After a meeting with President Barack Obama in March 2016, Miranda joined U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, and other Democratic lawmakers to call for congressional action to back a Senate bill in Washington that would allow Puerto Rico to declare bankruptcy and significantly ease its $70 billion government-debt burden. Miranda was particularly active in the wake of Hurricane Maria's devastation in Puerto Rico, and by December 2017, proceeds from his song "Almost Like Praying" helped the Hispanic Federation raise $22 million for rescue efforts and disaster relief. Miranda uses proceeds from Hamilton to support Graham Windham, a nonprofit adoption agency founded by Eliza Schuyler Hamilton. Miranda performs at their fundraising gala benefits in New York City and helps to fundraise for children in foster care. He performed "Found/Tonight" with Ben Platt at the March for Our Lives anti-gun violence rally in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2018. In order to raise money for Puerto Rico's reconstruction after being struck by hurricanes Irma and María, including at least $15 million to be channeled through the Flamboyán Foundation, Lin-Manuel decided to take, and once again play the protagonist role in Hamilton to his father's native Puerto Rico. The Miranda family donated approximately $1 million to bring the University of Puerto Rico theater up to par in order to use it as the venue for the musical's performance in January 2018. After tickets sold out in two hours for the three-week run, producers decided to move out of the university venue due to warnings of potential disruptions by a university workers' labor organization, and move the already-installed set to the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in Santurce, where the performances ran from January 11 to January 27. The production donated additional hundreds of thousands of dollars in improvements to the Ferré Performing Arts Center. In 2016, Miranda advocated for the passing of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), a law setting out to restructure the debt of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. The law led to budget cuts resulting in the closure of over 200 public schools, cuts to government labor benefits, and budget cuts at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR). It was met with protests, with UPR shutting down due to student strikes over the measures in 2017. Miranda became a target of criticism, especially when he performed Hamilton in Puerto Rico, given his lobbying on the bill as well as the musical's subject matter of the United States which many Puerto Ricans see as an oppressor of the island. During the post show, Miranda met with protestors explaining that he had seen PROMESA as the only bipartisan option for the debt crisis previously, he does not support the austerity measures introduced and that he believes full debt-relief should now be pursued. Subsequently, he has argued for full debt-relief for the island and noted that the 2016 act has not led to the promised relief. Awards and honors In 2015, Miranda was the recipient of Smithsonian Magazine's American Ingenuity Award in the History category. In 2019, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery awarded Miranda the Portrait of a Nation prize. Honorary degrees Miranda received an honorary degree in 2009 from Yeshiva University in Washington Heights, Manhattan, becoming the youngest person to receive an honorary degree from that university. Ed Koch, former mayor of New York City, presented Miranda with the degree. He received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in 2015 from his alma mater, Wesleyan University, and gave their commencement address. In May 2016, he received an honorary Doctorate of the Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and gave the commencement speech. In July 2016, The University of Puerto Rico approved to grant him the degree of doctor honoris causa. In July 2022, he received an honorary doctorate from the Royal Academy of Music in London, England. Work Theatre Film Television Web series Bibliography Books Hamilton: The Revolution (2016) with Jeremy McCarter Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You (2018) with Jonny Sun In the Heights: Finding Home (2021) with Quiara Alegría Hudes and Jeremy McCarter Articles "Stop the Bots from Killing Broadway", The New York Times (2016) "Give Puerto Rico Its Chance to Thrive", The New York Times (2016) Discography Cast albums Soundtrack albums Soundtrack mixtapes Instrumental albums Singles Audiobook narration 2013: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz 2016: Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jeremy McCarter, & Mariska Hargitay 2016: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz 2018: Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You by Lin-Manuel Miranda See also Nuyorican Nuyorican Movement Latino theatre in the United States Puerto Rican literature Latino literature List of Latin American Academy Award winners and nominees Puerto Ricans in New York City Puerto Ricans in the United States List of Puerto Ricans Notes References External links Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century American dramatists and playwrights Category:21st-century American male actors Category:21st-century American male writers Category:21st-century American singers Category:American folk-pop singers Category:American male dramatists and playwrights Category:American male musical theatre actors Category:American male voice actors Category:American musical theatre composers Category:American musical theatre librettists Category:American musical theatre lyricists Category:American people of Puerto Rican descent Category:American tenors Category:American writers of Mexican descent Category:Annie Award winners Category:Audiobook narrators Category:Broadway composers and lyricists Category:Drama Desk Award winners Category:Film directors from New York City Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hispanic and Latino American dramatists and playwrights Category:Hispanic and Latino American rappers Category:Hunter College High School alumni Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Laurence Olivier Award winners Category:MacArthur Fellows Category:Male actors from New York City Category:People from Inwood, Manhattan Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners Category:Puerto Rican rappers Category:Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Category:Screenwriters from New York (state) Category:Singers from New York City Category:Songwriters from New York (state) Category:Theatre World Award winners Category:Tony Award winners Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios people Category:Walt Disney Records artists Category:Wesleyan University alumni Category:Writers from Manhattan

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Sherbet (band)

Sherbet (aka Highway or The Sherbs) was one of the most prominent and successful Australian rock bands of the 1970s. The 'classic line-up' of Daryl Braithwaite on vocals, Tony Mitchell on bass guitar, Garth Porter on keyboards, Alan Sandow on drums, and Clive Shakespeare on guitar provided their teen-orientated pop style. In 1976 Shakespeare left and was soon replaced by Harvey James. Sherbet's biggest singles were "Summer Love" (1975) and "Howzat" (1976), both reaching number one in Australia. "

The Sherbs era (1980-1984)

The breakup did not last long. In 1980, Sherbet reconvened as The Sherbs with exactly the same personnel they had before the split: Braithwaite, Harvey, Mitchell, Porter and Sandow. The new renamed iteration of the group also changed their approach, as they now featured a somewhat modified progressive new wave sound. This version of the band had some minor success in America, but their almost complete lack of chart action in Australia was in stark contrast to their 1970s heyday. The Sherbs' first album The Skill was released in October 1980 and reached the top half of the Billboard 200. It was the first album by the group - under any of their names - to chart in the US. An accompanying single, "I Have the Skill", became the band's second US pop chart hit at No. 61. The Sherbs also appeared on the inaugural AOR-oriented Rock Tracks chart issued by Billboard in March 1981: "I Have the Skill" debuted at No. 45. The track peaked at No. 14 - the band's highest position on any US chart, and The Sherbs also received airplay on US album-oriented rock (AOR) radio stations with "No Turning Back". However, none of the singles from The Skill reached the Australian Kent Music Report top 100, a huge comedown for a band that had been major charting artists in Australia only two years earlier. The Sherbs's second album, Defying Gravity, followed in 1981, but failed to produce a single that charted in the either the US or Australian top 100. The band did, however, chart on Billboard's Rock Tracks Chart with the album cut "We Ride Tonight" peaking at No. 26 in 1982. The track's mild AOR success was not enough to ignite album sales in the US, though, and Defying Gravity only reached No. 202 on the album charts. A mini-album, Shaping Up, appeared in 1982. It was critically well received and spawned two minor hits in Australia, but the US issue missed the chart completely. The Sherbs were now in a position where the US listening public were largely indifferent to their releases, and - despite their newer, more contemporary sound - the Australian audience had seemingly written them off as a relic of the 1970s. Porter has said that he found this especially frustrating, as he felt The Sherbs were actually writing and performing better material during this era than in their 1970s heyday. James left The Sherbs at the end of 1982 to be replaced by Tony Leigh (Harry Young and Sabbath, Gillian Eastoe Band) on guitar. In late 1983, the group announced their decision to disband in 1984, they reverted to the Sherbet name and undertook a successful farewell tour of Australia and a final single, "Tonight Will Last Forever". Shakespeare returned to co-write and appear on the final single. Both Shakespeare and James rejoined Sherbet on the final tour. Following the group's break-up, Braithwaite continued his solo career in Australia, and Porter and Shakespeare each became successful record producers. In 1990 Sherbet were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame alongside classical composer and pianist, Percy Grainger. CANNOTANSWER

Sherbet (aka Highway or The Sherbs) was one of the most successful Australian rock bands of the 1970s. The 'classic line-up' of Daryl Braithwaite on vocals, Tony Mitchell on bass guitar, Garth Porter on keyboards, Alan Sandow on drums, and Clive Shakespeare on guitar provided their teen-oriented pop style. In 1976 Shakespeare left and was soon replaced by Harvey James. Sherbet's biggest singles were "Summer Love" (1975) and "Howzat" (1976), both reaching number one in Australia. "Howzat" was also a top 5 hit in the United Kingdom. The band was less successful in the United States, where "Howzat" peaked at No. 61. As The Sherbs they also reached No. 61 in 1981 with "I Have the Skill". The group disbanded in 1984. Subsequent re-unions have occurred since 1998. According to rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, "alongside Skyhooks, Sherbet was the most successful Australian pop band of the 1970s. With a run of 20 consecutive hit singles to its credit, and 17 albums that yielded ten platinum and 40 gold disc awards, Sherbet was the first domestic act to sell a million dollars' worth of records in Australia". In 1990 Sherbet were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame alongside classical composer and pianist, Percy Grainger. On 15 January 2011 Harvey James died of lung cancer. On 15 February 2012 Clive Shakespeare died of prostate cancer. On 23 January 2019 founding vocalist Denis Loughlin died after being diagnosed with cancer. History From 1970 until 1984 Sherbet scored 20 hit singles in Australia (including two number ones) and released ten platinum status albums. The single "Howzat" which was a number-one hit in 1976, also reached number four on the UK Singles Chart. They were the first Australian band to reach $1 million in record sales in Australia, and they pioneered the concept of massive regional tours. In December 1976, the book Sherbet on Tour, by Christie Eliezer, sold 30,000 copies in its first week. Formation and early years (1969–1972) Sherbet was formed in Sydney in April 1969, with Glasgow-born Denis Loughlin (ex-Sebastian Hardie Blues Band, Clapham Junction) on vocals, Doug Rea (ex Downtown Roll Band) on bass guitar, Sammy See (ex Clapham Junction) on organ, guitar and vocals, Clive Shakespeare (ex-Downtown Roll Band) on lead guitar and vocals, and Danny Taylor (ex Downtown Roll Band) on drums. Initially they were a soul band, playing Motown covers and rock-based material. Alan Sandow (ex-Daisy Roots) had replaced Taylor on drums by July. Sherbet signed to the Infinity Records label, a subsidiary of Festival Records. In March 1970, the band's debut single was issued, a cover version of Badfinger's "Crimson Ships", from that band's January 1970 album Magic Christian Music. During 1970, the band played a residency at Jonathon's Disco, playing seven hours a night, four days a week for eight months. They were spotted by their future manager, Roger Davies. By March Daryl Braithwaite (Bright Lights, House of Bricks, Samael Lilith) had joined, initially sharing lead vocals with Loughlin who left the band a few months later. Braithwaite's former bandmate Bruce Worrall (Bright Lights, House of Bricks, Samael Lilith) took over from Rea on bass guitar. By year's end the group undertook their first national tour. See had left in October to join The Flying Circus and was replaced by New Zealand-born Garth Porter (Samael Lilith, Toby Jugg) who provided Hammond organ and electric piano. In 1971, Sherbet entered Australia's prestigious national rock band contest, Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds, and won the New South Wales final but lost the national final to Adelaide-based band Fraternity (led by Bon Scott later in AC/DC). They entered again in 1972 and won the national final, previous winners include The Twilights (1966) and The Groove (1968), which went on to achieve major commercial success. Sherbet's first chart hits on the Go-Set National Top 40 were covers of Blue Mink's "Can You Feel It Baby?" (September 1971), Delaney and Bonnie's "Free the People" (February 1972) and Ted Mulry's "You're All Woman" (September 1972). Most of their early recordings were produced by Festival's in-house producer Richard Batchens, who later produced albums and singles for another Infinity label mate, Richard Clapton. The band increased its profile with prestigious support slots on major tours by visiting international acts including Gary Glitter and The Jackson 5. Rise to stardom (1972–1975) In January 1972, Sherbet's 'classic line-up' was in place when Tony Mitchell replaced Worrall on bass guitar: the band now consisted of lead vocalist Braithwaite, keyboardist Porter, drummer Sandow, bassist Mitchell and guitarist Shakespeare. The band had evolved from a soul-based covers band into a teen-oriented pop, rock outfit that relied mostly on original material. Nevertheless, they released occasional covers throughout the 1970s, including Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog", The Beatles' "Nowhere Man" and Free's "Wishing Well". From 1972 to 1976, Sherbet's chief songwriting team of Porter and Shakespeare were responsible for co-writing the lion's share of the band's material, which combined British pop and American soul influences. Sherbet issued their debut album, Time Change... A Natural Progression, in December 1972 on Infinity Records. Also that month the band were voted 'Most Popular Australian Group' by readers of Go-Set in their annual pop poll. The album's accompanying single "You've Got the Gun", written by Shakespeare, Porter and Braithwaite, was Sherbet's first self-penned A-side, and peaked at No. 29 in January 1973. In December 1973, the band hit the Go-Set Top 10 for the first time with the Porter and Shakespeare original, "Cassandra". It was issued in October ahead of their second album, On with the Show released in November, which peaked at No. 6 on the Go-Set Top 20 Australian Albums Chart in February 1974. It was followed by "Slipstream" which reached No. 7 on Go-Sets National Top 40 in August. A string of hits followed on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart (replaced Go-Set charts after August), with Sherbet releasing original Top 10 hits such as "Silvery Moon" (1974) and their first number-one hit "Summer Love" (1975). A total of 11 Sherbet songs reached the Australian top 10. The band were the darlings of Australia's teenyboppers: for six years in a row they were voted 'Most Popular Australian Group' by readers of TV Week for their King of Pop Awards from 1973 to 1978. From 1975 they made more appearances on national TV pop show Countdown than any other band in the programme's history. Band members – especially Braithwaite – often appeared as co-hosts. According to contemporary musician, Dave Warner, "[t]hey had a clean-cut boys-next door image; a big contrast to the bad boy, weirdo, heavy-riff persona favoured by their peers". Sherbet's albums also charted on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart with October 1974's Slipstream peaking at No. 5, 1975's Life... Is for Living reached No. 6, and their first compilation album, Greatest Hits 1970-75, from 1975 became their first number-one album. From 1974, Braithwaite maintained a parallel solo career with Sherbet members often playing on his solo singles. Braithwaite was voted 'King of Pop' for three successive years, 1975 to 1977. Beginning in 1975, Sherbet's records were produced by Richard Lush who had started as a trainee engineer at EMI's Abbey Road Studios, where he helped engineer some of The Beatles' recordings including Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Porter began to take an occasional lead vocal on Sherbet singles, including "Hollywood Dreaming" and "A Matter of Time". Throughout this era, Sherbet toured Australia regularly and with remarkable thoroughness; they were one of the few bands to consistently commit to playing full-scale concerts in regional areas of the country. The idea for the satin bomber jackets came from Garth Porter. He got an American baseball jacket in an Op Shop. When they were having their clothes designed (by Richard Tyler), Garth said: "If you're going to make me anything just make me something like this," showing him the satin bomber jacket. Before they knew what was happening, the trend took hold and everybody in the band was having them made up to their own requirements. Their management then went as far as using it as a marketing tool for the band. International success (1976–1979) In January 1976, Shakespeare left Sherbet citing 'personal reasons'. He later explained "I couldn't even go out the front of my house because there were all these girls just hanging on the fence [...] There was always a deadline for Garth and me - another album, another tour. When it did finally end, I was relieved more than anything because I had had enough. I left the band early in 1976 for reasons I don't want to discuss fully … but let's just say I wasn't happy about where all the money went". The last single he played on was "Child's Play", which was a No. 5 hit in February. Shakespeare was briefly replaced by journeyman guitarist Gunther Gorman (ex-Home) but within weeks a more permanent replacement, Harvey James (ex-Mississippi, Ariel) joined. Meanwhile, Mitchell had stepped up to join Porter as Sherbet's new main songwriting team. The pair were responsible for penning "Howzat" (1976), the band's only international hit, which was inspired by the sport of cricket. The song's success led to an extensive international tour in 1976-77. "Howzat" went to number one in Australia, and in New Zealand, it was a Top 10 hit in several European countries – including number four on the UK Singles Chart, number six in The Netherlands, and number eight in Norway. It reached the top 10 in South Africa, South-East Asia, and Israel. The single had less chart success in the United States where it reached No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album of the same name also made No. 1 in Australia, No. 12 in New Zealand, but failed to chart in the US. In 1976, the release of the double A-sided single "Rock Me Gently/You've Got the Gun" saw the record company place full page ads in Billboard. The promotion went on to state the band had a sound "as sophisticated pop/rock along the lines of Chicago or Three Dog Night". It goes on to say the single has "the unique distinction of having received heavy airplay before it was shipped". Hoping to achieve further international success, from 1977, Sherbet spent several years trying to make an impact in the US. Their 1977 album Photoplay was retitled Magazine for US release, and featured an elaborate gate-fold packaging. Though Photoplay and its lead single, "Magazine Madonna", were successful in Australia – both reached No. 3 on their respective charts – the retitled Magazine LP failed to chart in the US as did the associated single. In the same year Sherbet provided the soundtrack for the buddy comedy, High Rolling. With US success proving elusive, the band's label RSO Records felt that the lightweight name Sherbet may have hurt their chances. Accordingly, their US-recorded self-titled album, was issued in the US under a new group name, Highway, and re-titled as Highway 1 – despite the change it also flopped. By this time the band's career in Australia had begun to decline. Though the Sherbet album peaked at No. 3, "Another Night on the Road" (1978) was Sherbet's final top 10 Australian hit. The band's next single, "Beg, Steal or Borrow" missed the chart completely, and January 1979's "Angela" – from the soundtrack to the film Snapshot – reached the top 100 - but only just. The group's Australian success was on the wane, and either as Sherbet or as Highway, they were unable to come up with a follow-up international hit to "Howzat". Frustrated by the career downturn, after issuing a final single in Australia as Highway – "Heart Get Ready" – which flopped at No. 89, the band broke up in mid-1979. Throughout the 1970s, the group was managed by Roger Davies. The group briefly reunited for the Concert of the Decade held on 4 November 1979 at the Sydney Opera House and sponsored by radio station 2SM – an edited hour of concert footage was broadcast by the Nine Network under the same name and a double-LP was issued on Mushroom Records later that month. During the concert, Mitchell also supplied bass guitar for Neale Johns' set (see Blackfeather) and then Stevie Wright's rendition of his solo hit "Evie". The Sherbs era (1980–1984) The break-up did not last long. In 1980, Sherbet reconvened as The Sherbs with exactly the same personnel they had before the split: Braithwaite, Harvey, Mitchell, Porter and Sandow. The new renamed iteration of the group also changed their approach, as they now featured a somewhat modified progressive new wave sound. This version of the band had some minor success in America, but their almost complete lack of chart action in Australia was in stark contrast to their 1970s heyday. The Sherbs' first album The Skill was released in October 1980 and reached the top half of the Billboard 200. It was the first album by the group – under any of their names – to chart in the US. An accompanying single, "I Have the Skill", became the band's second US pop chart hit at No. 61. The Sherbs also appeared on the inaugural AOR-oriented Rock Tracks chart issued by Billboard in March 1981: "I Have the Skill" debuted at No. 45. The track peaked at No. 14 – the band's highest position on any US chart, and The Sherbs also received airplay on US album-oriented rock (AOR) radio stations with "No Turning Back". However, none of the singles from The Skill reached the Australian Kent Music Report top 100, a huge comedown for a band that had been major charting artists in Australia only two years earlier. The Sherbs's second album, Defying Gravity, followed in 1981, but failed to produce a single that charted in the either the US or Australian top 100. The band did, however, chart on Billboards Rock Tracks Chart with the album cut "We Ride Tonight" peaking at No. 26 in 1982. The track's mild AOR success was not enough to ignite album sales in the US, though, and Defying Gravity only reached No. 202 on the album charts. A mini-album, Shaping Up, appeared in 1982. It was critically well received and spawned two minor hits in Australia, but the US issue missed the chart completely. The Sherbs were now in a position where the US listening public were largely indifferent to their releases, and – despite their newer, more contemporary sound – the Australian audience had seemingly written them off as a relic of the 1970s. Porter has said that he found this especially frustrating, as he felt The Sherbs were actually writing and performing better material during this era than in their 1970s heyday. James left The Sherbs at the end of 1982 to be replaced by Tony Leigh (Harry Young and Sabbath, Gillian Eastoe Band) on guitar. In late 1983, the group announced their decision to disband in 1984, they reverted to Sherbet and undertook a successful farewell tour of Australia and a final single, "Tonight Will Last Forever". Shakespeare returned to co-write and appear on the final single. Both Shakespeare and James rejoined Sherbet on the final tour. Following the group's break-up, Braithwaite continued his solo career in Australia, and Porter and Shakespeare each became successful record producers. In 1990 Sherbet were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame alongside classical composer and pianist, Percy Grainger. Reunions (1998–2011) Sherbet have reunited on occasion over subsequent years. Their first reunion was an ABC-TV special on New Year's Eve 1998. They performed "Howzat" and "Summer Love" without Sandow – John Watson (ex-Kevin Borich Band, Australian Crawl) filled in on drums. On 10 March 2001 with Sandow on board, the band reunited for Gimme Ted – a benefit concert for Ted Mulry, with two songs recorded for the associated 2×DVD tribute album released in May 2003. In June 2003 Sherbet performed at another benefit show for Wane Jarvis (a former roadie). At the May 2006 Logie Awards Sherbet reunited as a six-piece: Braithwaite, James, Mitchell, Porter, Sandow and Shakespeare, where they performed "Howzat". The band played three shows in late August 2006 billed as Daryl Braithwaite and Highway. They followed by joining the Countdown Spectacular tour throughout Australia during September and October. 2006 also saw the release of two newly recorded tracks on the compilation album, Sherbet – Super Hits, "Red Dress" (Porter, Shakespeare, Braithwaite, Mitchell, James, Sandow) and "Hearts Are Insane" (Porter), both produced by Ted Howard. 2007 saw the release of a live compilation on CD and DVD entitled Live – And the Crowd Went Wild encompassing material recorded in the 1970s at shows in Sydney, Melbourne and the UK. Sherbet performed on the Countdown Spectacular 2 in August and September. On 15 January 2011 Harvey James died of lung cancer – the remaining members except Shakespeare, who was too ill, performed at Gimme that Guitar, a tribute concert for James on 17 February. This was the last performance by Sherbet to date. On 15 February 2012 Clive Shakespeare died of prostate cancer. Founding vocalist Denis Loughlin (28 July 194923 January 2019) died after contracting cancer. Discography Time Change... A Natural Progression – 1972 On with the Show – 1973 Slipstream – 1974 Life... Is for Living – 1975 Howzat! – 1976 Photoplay – 1977 Sherbet – 1978 (Released overseas as Highway 1 by Highway) The Skill – 1980 by The Sherbs Defying Gravity – 1981 by The Sherbs Shaping Up – 1982 by The Sherbs (Mini-LP) Band members Arranged chronologically: Denis Loughlin – lead vocals Doug Rea – bass guitar Sam See – keyboards,organ, guitar, vocals Clive Shakespeare – guitar, vocals Danny Taylor – drums Alan Sandow – drums, percussion, bongoes, chimes Daryl Braithwaite – lead vocals, tambourine, tabla Bruce Worrall – bass guitar Garth Porter – keyboards, clavinet, piano, lead and backing vocals, Hammond organ, electric piano, synthesiser Tony Mitchell – bass guitar, ukulele, backing vocals Gunther Gorman – guitar Harvey James – guitar, backing vocals, slide guitar Tony Leigh – guitar John Watson – drums Gabe James Josh James Awards and nominations ARIA Music Awards The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. Sherbet were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990. |- | ARIA Music Awards of 1990 | Sherbet | ARIA Hall of Fame | Go-Set Pop Poll The Go-Set Pop Poll was coordinated by teen-oriented pop music newspaper, Go-Set and was established in February 1966 and conducted an annual poll during 1966 to 1972 of its readers to determine the most popular personalities. |- | rowspan="2"| 1972 | themselves | Best Australian Group | style="background:gold;"| 1st |- | "You're All Woman" | Best Australian Single | style="background:silver"| 2nd |- King of Pop Awards The King of Pop Awards were voted by the readers of TV Week. The King of Pop award started in 1967 and ran through to 1978. NB: wins only |- | 1973 | themselves | Most Popular Australian Group | |- | 1974 | themselves | Most Popular Australian Group | |- | rowspan="3"| 1975 | Daryl Braithwaite (Sherbet) | King of Pop | |- | themselves | Most Popular Australian Group | |- | "Summer Love" | Most Popular Australian single | |- | rowspan="4"| 1976 | Daryl Braithwaite (Sherbet) | King of Pop | |- | themselves | Most Popular Australian Group | |- | Howzat | Most Popular Australian album | |- | "Howzat" | Most Popular Australian single | |- | rowspan="4"| 1977 | Daryl Braithwaite (Sherbet) | King of Pop | |- | themselves | Most Popular Australian Group | |- | Photoplay | Most Popular Australian album | |- | "Magazine Madonna" | Most Popular Australian single | |- | 1978 | themselves | Most Popular Australian Group | TV Week / Countdown Awards Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974–1987, it presented music awards from 1979–1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards. |- | 1979 | themselves | Most Popular Group | |- References General Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality. Specific External links Webcuts On-line essay celebrating "Magazine Madonna" Sherbet Slips into Something Comfortable photographed by Lewis Morley for POL October/November 1974. Exhibited at National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, 15 March – 18 May 2003. Sherbet Today (2006) Sherbet scrapbooks at the National Library of Australia Category:Australian rock music groups Category:ARIA Award winners Category:ARIA Hall of Fame inductees Category:New South Wales musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 1969 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1984 Category:Atco Records artists

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Sherbet (band)

Sherbet (aka Highway or The Sherbs) was one of the most prominent and successful Australian rock bands of the 1970s. The 'classic line-up' of Daryl Braithwaite on vocals, Tony Mitchell on bass guitar, Garth Porter on keyboards, Alan Sandow on drums, and Clive Shakespeare on guitar provided their teen-orientated pop style. In 1976 Shakespeare left and was soon replaced by Harvey James. Sherbet's biggest singles were "Summer Love" (1975) and "Howzat" (1976), both reaching number one in Australia. "

Formation and early years (1969-1972)

Sherbet was formed in Sydney in April 1969 by Dennis Laughlin on vocals (ex-Sebastian Hardie Blues Band, Clapham Junction), Doug Rea on bass guitar (Downtown Roll Band), Sammy See on organ, guitar and vocals (Clapham Junction), Clive Shakespeare on lead guitar and vocals (Downtown Roll Band), and Danny Taylor on drums (Downtown Roll Band). Initially they were a soul band playing Motown covers and rock-based material. Alan Sandow (ex-Daisy Roots) replaced Taylor on drums by July. Sherbet signed to the Infinity Records label - a subsidiary of Festival Records. The band's debut single was issued in March 1970 as a cover version of Badfinger's "Crimson Ships" - from that band's January 1970 album Magic Christian Music. During 1970 the band played a residency at Jonathon's Disco, playing seven hours a night, four days a week for eight months. They were spotted by their future manager, Roger Davies. By March Daryl Braithwaite (Bright Lights, House of Bricks, Samael Lilith) had joined, initially sharing lead vocals with Laughlin who left the band a few months later. Braithwaite's former band mate Bruce Worrall (Bright Lights, House of Bricks, Samael Lilith) took over from Rea on bass guitar. By year's end the group undertook their first national tour. See had left in October to join The Flying Circus and was replaced by New Zealand-born Garth Porter (Samael Lilith, Toby Jugg) who provided Hammond organ and electric piano. In 1971, Sherbet entered Australia's prestigious national rock band contest, Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds, and won the New South Wales final but lost the national final to Adelaide-based band Fraternity (led by Bon Scott later in AC/DC). They entered again in 1972 and won the national final, previous winners include The Twilights (1966) and The Groove (1968), which went on to achieve major commercial success. Sherbet's first chart hits on the Go-Set National Top 40 were covers of Blue Mink's "Can You Feel It Baby?" (September 1971), Delaney and Bonnie's "Free the People" (February 1972) and Ted Mulry's "You're All Woman" (September 1972). Most of their early recordings were produced by Festival's in-house producer Richard Batchens, who later produced albums and singles for another Infinity label mate, Richard Clapton. The band increased its profile with prestigious support slots on major tours by visiting international acts including Gary Glitter and The Jackson 5. CANNOTANSWER

Sherbet (aka Highway or The Sherbs) was one of the most successful Australian rock bands of the 1970s. The 'classic line-up' of Daryl Braithwaite on vocals, Tony Mitchell on bass guitar, Garth Porter on keyboards, Alan Sandow on drums, and Clive Shakespeare on guitar provided their teen-oriented pop style. In 1976 Shakespeare left and was soon replaced by Harvey James. Sherbet's biggest singles were "Summer Love" (1975) and "Howzat" (1976), both reaching number one in Australia. "Howzat" was also a top 5 hit in the United Kingdom. The band was less successful in the United States, where "Howzat" peaked at No. 61. As The Sherbs they also reached No. 61 in 1981 with "I Have the Skill". The group disbanded in 1984. Subsequent re-unions have occurred since 1998. According to rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, "alongside Skyhooks, Sherbet was the most successful Australian pop band of the 1970s. With a run of 20 consecutive hit singles to its credit, and 17 albums that yielded ten platinum and 40 gold disc awards, Sherbet was the first domestic act to sell a million dollars' worth of records in Australia". In 1990 Sherbet were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame alongside classical composer and pianist, Percy Grainger. On 15 January 2011 Harvey James died of lung cancer. On 15 February 2012 Clive Shakespeare died of prostate cancer. On 23 January 2019 founding vocalist Denis Loughlin died after being diagnosed with cancer. History From 1970 until 1984 Sherbet scored 20 hit singles in Australia (including two number ones) and released ten platinum status albums. The single "Howzat" which was a number-one hit in 1976, also reached number four on the UK Singles Chart. They were the first Australian band to reach $1 million in record sales in Australia, and they pioneered the concept of massive regional tours. In December 1976, the book Sherbet on Tour, by Christie Eliezer, sold 30,000 copies in its first week. Formation and early years (1969–1972) Sherbet was formed in Sydney in April 1969, with Glasgow-born Denis Loughlin (ex-Sebastian Hardie Blues Band, Clapham Junction) on vocals, Doug Rea (ex Downtown Roll Band) on bass guitar, Sammy See (ex Clapham Junction) on organ, guitar and vocals, Clive Shakespeare (ex-Downtown Roll Band) on lead guitar and vocals, and Danny Taylor (ex Downtown Roll Band) on drums. Initially they were a soul band, playing Motown covers and rock-based material. Alan Sandow (ex-Daisy Roots) had replaced Taylor on drums by July. Sherbet signed to the Infinity Records label, a subsidiary of Festival Records. In March 1970, the band's debut single was issued, a cover version of Badfinger's "Crimson Ships", from that band's January 1970 album Magic Christian Music. During 1970, the band played a residency at Jonathon's Disco, playing seven hours a night, four days a week for eight months. They were spotted by their future manager, Roger Davies. By March Daryl Braithwaite (Bright Lights, House of Bricks, Samael Lilith) had joined, initially sharing lead vocals with Loughlin who left the band a few months later. Braithwaite's former bandmate Bruce Worrall (Bright Lights, House of Bricks, Samael Lilith) took over from Rea on bass guitar. By year's end the group undertook their first national tour. See had left in October to join The Flying Circus and was replaced by New Zealand-born Garth Porter (Samael Lilith, Toby Jugg) who provided Hammond organ and electric piano. In 1971, Sherbet entered Australia's prestigious national rock band contest, Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds, and won the New South Wales final but lost the national final to Adelaide-based band Fraternity (led by Bon Scott later in AC/DC). They entered again in 1972 and won the national final, previous winners include The Twilights (1966) and The Groove (1968), which went on to achieve major commercial success. Sherbet's first chart hits on the Go-Set National Top 40 were covers of Blue Mink's "Can You Feel It Baby?" (September 1971), Delaney and Bonnie's "Free the People" (February 1972) and Ted Mulry's "You're All Woman" (September 1972). Most of their early recordings were produced by Festival's in-house producer Richard Batchens, who later produced albums and singles for another Infinity label mate, Richard Clapton. The band increased its profile with prestigious support slots on major tours by visiting international acts including Gary Glitter and The Jackson 5. Rise to stardom (1972–1975) In January 1972, Sherbet's 'classic line-up' was in place when Tony Mitchell replaced Worrall on bass guitar: the band now consisted of lead vocalist Braithwaite, keyboardist Porter, drummer Sandow, bassist Mitchell and guitarist Shakespeare. The band had evolved from a soul-based covers band into a teen-oriented pop, rock outfit that relied mostly on original material. Nevertheless, they released occasional covers throughout the 1970s, including Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog", The Beatles' "Nowhere Man" and Free's "Wishing Well". From 1972 to 1976, Sherbet's chief songwriting team of Porter and Shakespeare were responsible for co-writing the lion's share of the band's material, which combined British pop and American soul influences. Sherbet issued their debut album, Time Change... A Natural Progression, in December 1972 on Infinity Records. Also that month the band were voted 'Most Popular Australian Group' by readers of Go-Set in their annual pop poll. The album's accompanying single "You've Got the Gun", written by Shakespeare, Porter and Braithwaite, was Sherbet's first self-penned A-side, and peaked at No. 29 in January 1973. In December 1973, the band hit the Go-Set Top 10 for the first time with the Porter and Shakespeare original, "Cassandra". It was issued in October ahead of their second album, On with the Show released in November, which peaked at No. 6 on the Go-Set Top 20 Australian Albums Chart in February 1974. It was followed by "Slipstream" which reached No. 7 on Go-Sets National Top 40 in August. A string of hits followed on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart (replaced Go-Set charts after August), with Sherbet releasing original Top 10 hits such as "Silvery Moon" (1974) and their first number-one hit "Summer Love" (1975). A total of 11 Sherbet songs reached the Australian top 10. The band were the darlings of Australia's teenyboppers: for six years in a row they were voted 'Most Popular Australian Group' by readers of TV Week for their King of Pop Awards from 1973 to 1978. From 1975 they made more appearances on national TV pop show Countdown than any other band in the programme's history. Band members – especially Braithwaite – often appeared as co-hosts. According to contemporary musician, Dave Warner, "[t]hey had a clean-cut boys-next door image; a big contrast to the bad boy, weirdo, heavy-riff persona favoured by their peers". Sherbet's albums also charted on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart with October 1974's Slipstream peaking at No. 5, 1975's Life... Is for Living reached No. 6, and their first compilation album, Greatest Hits 1970-75, from 1975 became their first number-one album. From 1974, Braithwaite maintained a parallel solo career with Sherbet members often playing on his solo singles. Braithwaite was voted 'King of Pop' for three successive years, 1975 to 1977. Beginning in 1975, Sherbet's records were produced by Richard Lush who had started as a trainee engineer at EMI's Abbey Road Studios, where he helped engineer some of The Beatles' recordings including Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Porter began to take an occasional lead vocal on Sherbet singles, including "Hollywood Dreaming" and "A Matter of Time". Throughout this era, Sherbet toured Australia regularly and with remarkable thoroughness; they were one of the few bands to consistently commit to playing full-scale concerts in regional areas of the country. The idea for the satin bomber jackets came from Garth Porter. He got an American baseball jacket in an Op Shop. When they were having their clothes designed (by Richard Tyler), Garth said: "If you're going to make me anything just make me something like this," showing him the satin bomber jacket. Before they knew what was happening, the trend took hold and everybody in the band was having them made up to their own requirements. Their management then went as far as using it as a marketing tool for the band. International success (1976–1979) In January 1976, Shakespeare left Sherbet citing 'personal reasons'. He later explained "I couldn't even go out the front of my house because there were all these girls just hanging on the fence [...] There was always a deadline for Garth and me - another album, another tour. When it did finally end, I was relieved more than anything because I had had enough. I left the band early in 1976 for reasons I don't want to discuss fully … but let's just say I wasn't happy about where all the money went". The last single he played on was "Child's Play", which was a No. 5 hit in February. Shakespeare was briefly replaced by journeyman guitarist Gunther Gorman (ex-Home) but within weeks a more permanent replacement, Harvey James (ex-Mississippi, Ariel) joined. Meanwhile, Mitchell had stepped up to join Porter as Sherbet's new main songwriting team. The pair were responsible for penning "Howzat" (1976), the band's only international hit, which was inspired by the sport of cricket. The song's success led to an extensive international tour in 1976-77. "Howzat" went to number one in Australia, and in New Zealand, it was a Top 10 hit in several European countries – including number four on the UK Singles Chart, number six in The Netherlands, and number eight in Norway. It reached the top 10 in South Africa, South-East Asia, and Israel. The single had less chart success in the United States where it reached No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album of the same name also made No. 1 in Australia, No. 12 in New Zealand, but failed to chart in the US. In 1976, the release of the double A-sided single "Rock Me Gently/You've Got the Gun" saw the record company place full page ads in Billboard. The promotion went on to state the band had a sound "as sophisticated pop/rock along the lines of Chicago or Three Dog Night". It goes on to say the single has "the unique distinction of having received heavy airplay before it was shipped". Hoping to achieve further international success, from 1977, Sherbet spent several years trying to make an impact in the US. Their 1977 album Photoplay was retitled Magazine for US release, and featured an elaborate gate-fold packaging. Though Photoplay and its lead single, "Magazine Madonna", were successful in Australia – both reached No. 3 on their respective charts – the retitled Magazine LP failed to chart in the US as did the associated single. In the same year Sherbet provided the soundtrack for the buddy comedy, High Rolling. With US success proving elusive, the band's label RSO Records felt that the lightweight name Sherbet may have hurt their chances. Accordingly, their US-recorded self-titled album, was issued in the US under a new group name, Highway, and re-titled as Highway 1 – despite the change it also flopped. By this time the band's career in Australia had begun to decline. Though the Sherbet album peaked at No. 3, "Another Night on the Road" (1978) was Sherbet's final top 10 Australian hit. The band's next single, "Beg, Steal or Borrow" missed the chart completely, and January 1979's "Angela" – from the soundtrack to the film Snapshot – reached the top 100 - but only just. The group's Australian success was on the wane, and either as Sherbet or as Highway, they were unable to come up with a follow-up international hit to "Howzat". Frustrated by the career downturn, after issuing a final single in Australia as Highway – "Heart Get Ready" – which flopped at No. 89, the band broke up in mid-1979. Throughout the 1970s, the group was managed by Roger Davies. The group briefly reunited for the Concert of the Decade held on 4 November 1979 at the Sydney Opera House and sponsored by radio station 2SM – an edited hour of concert footage was broadcast by the Nine Network under the same name and a double-LP was issued on Mushroom Records later that month. During the concert, Mitchell also supplied bass guitar for Neale Johns' set (see Blackfeather) and then Stevie Wright's rendition of his solo hit "Evie". The Sherbs era (1980–1984) The break-up did not last long. In 1980, Sherbet reconvened as The Sherbs with exactly the same personnel they had before the split: Braithwaite, Harvey, Mitchell, Porter and Sandow. The new renamed iteration of the group also changed their approach, as they now featured a somewhat modified progressive new wave sound. This version of the band had some minor success in America, but their almost complete lack of chart action in Australia was in stark contrast to their 1970s heyday. The Sherbs' first album The Skill was released in October 1980 and reached the top half of the Billboard 200. It was the first album by the group – under any of their names – to chart in the US. An accompanying single, "I Have the Skill", became the band's second US pop chart hit at No. 61. The Sherbs also appeared on the inaugural AOR-oriented Rock Tracks chart issued by Billboard in March 1981: "I Have the Skill" debuted at No. 45. The track peaked at No. 14 – the band's highest position on any US chart, and The Sherbs also received airplay on US album-oriented rock (AOR) radio stations with "No Turning Back". However, none of the singles from The Skill reached the Australian Kent Music Report top 100, a huge comedown for a band that had been major charting artists in Australia only two years earlier. The Sherbs's second album, Defying Gravity, followed in 1981, but failed to produce a single that charted in the either the US or Australian top 100. The band did, however, chart on Billboards Rock Tracks Chart with the album cut "We Ride Tonight" peaking at No. 26 in 1982. The track's mild AOR success was not enough to ignite album sales in the US, though, and Defying Gravity only reached No. 202 on the album charts. A mini-album, Shaping Up, appeared in 1982. It was critically well received and spawned two minor hits in Australia, but the US issue missed the chart completely. The Sherbs were now in a position where the US listening public were largely indifferent to their releases, and – despite their newer, more contemporary sound – the Australian audience had seemingly written them off as a relic of the 1970s. Porter has said that he found this especially frustrating, as he felt The Sherbs were actually writing and performing better material during this era than in their 1970s heyday. James left The Sherbs at the end of 1982 to be replaced by Tony Leigh (Harry Young and Sabbath, Gillian Eastoe Band) on guitar. In late 1983, the group announced their decision to disband in 1984, they reverted to Sherbet and undertook a successful farewell tour of Australia and a final single, "Tonight Will Last Forever". Shakespeare returned to co-write and appear on the final single. Both Shakespeare and James rejoined Sherbet on the final tour. Following the group's break-up, Braithwaite continued his solo career in Australia, and Porter and Shakespeare each became successful record producers. In 1990 Sherbet were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame alongside classical composer and pianist, Percy Grainger. Reunions (1998–2011) Sherbet have reunited on occasion over subsequent years. Their first reunion was an ABC-TV special on New Year's Eve 1998. They performed "Howzat" and "Summer Love" without Sandow – John Watson (ex-Kevin Borich Band, Australian Crawl) filled in on drums. On 10 March 2001 with Sandow on board, the band reunited for Gimme Ted – a benefit concert for Ted Mulry, with two songs recorded for the associated 2×DVD tribute album released in May 2003. In June 2003 Sherbet performed at another benefit show for Wane Jarvis (a former roadie). At the May 2006 Logie Awards Sherbet reunited as a six-piece: Braithwaite, James, Mitchell, Porter, Sandow and Shakespeare, where they performed "Howzat". The band played three shows in late August 2006 billed as Daryl Braithwaite and Highway. They followed by joining the Countdown Spectacular tour throughout Australia during September and October. 2006 also saw the release of two newly recorded tracks on the compilation album, Sherbet – Super Hits, "Red Dress" (Porter, Shakespeare, Braithwaite, Mitchell, James, Sandow) and "Hearts Are Insane" (Porter), both produced by Ted Howard. 2007 saw the release of a live compilation on CD and DVD entitled Live – And the Crowd Went Wild encompassing material recorded in the 1970s at shows in Sydney, Melbourne and the UK. Sherbet performed on the Countdown Spectacular 2 in August and September. On 15 January 2011 Harvey James died of lung cancer – the remaining members except Shakespeare, who was too ill, performed at Gimme that Guitar, a tribute concert for James on 17 February. This was the last performance by Sherbet to date. On 15 February 2012 Clive Shakespeare died of prostate cancer. Founding vocalist Denis Loughlin (28 July 194923 January 2019) died after contracting cancer. Discography Time Change... A Natural Progression – 1972 On with the Show – 1973 Slipstream – 1974 Life... Is for Living – 1975 Howzat! – 1976 Photoplay – 1977 Sherbet – 1978 (Released overseas as Highway 1 by Highway) The Skill – 1980 by The Sherbs Defying Gravity – 1981 by The Sherbs Shaping Up – 1982 by The Sherbs (Mini-LP) Band members Arranged chronologically: Denis Loughlin – lead vocals Doug Rea – bass guitar Sam See – keyboards,organ, guitar, vocals Clive Shakespeare – guitar, vocals Danny Taylor – drums Alan Sandow – drums, percussion, bongoes, chimes Daryl Braithwaite – lead vocals, tambourine, tabla Bruce Worrall – bass guitar Garth Porter – keyboards, clavinet, piano, lead and backing vocals, Hammond organ, electric piano, synthesiser Tony Mitchell – bass guitar, ukulele, backing vocals Gunther Gorman – guitar Harvey James – guitar, backing vocals, slide guitar Tony Leigh – guitar John Watson – drums Gabe James Josh James Awards and nominations ARIA Music Awards The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. Sherbet were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990. |- | ARIA Music Awards of 1990 | Sherbet | ARIA Hall of Fame | Go-Set Pop Poll The Go-Set Pop Poll was coordinated by teen-oriented pop music newspaper, Go-Set and was established in February 1966 and conducted an annual poll during 1966 to 1972 of its readers to determine the most popular personalities. |- | rowspan="2"| 1972 | themselves | Best Australian Group | style="background:gold;"| 1st |- | "You're All Woman" | Best Australian Single | style="background:silver"| 2nd |- King of Pop Awards The King of Pop Awards were voted by the readers of TV Week. The King of Pop award started in 1967 and ran through to 1978. NB: wins only |- | 1973 | themselves | Most Popular Australian Group | |- | 1974 | themselves | Most Popular Australian Group | |- | rowspan="3"| 1975 | Daryl Braithwaite (Sherbet) | King of Pop | |- | themselves | Most Popular Australian Group | |- | "Summer Love" | Most Popular Australian single | |- | rowspan="4"| 1976 | Daryl Braithwaite (Sherbet) | King of Pop | |- | themselves | Most Popular Australian Group | |- | Howzat | Most Popular Australian album | |- | "Howzat" | Most Popular Australian single | |- | rowspan="4"| 1977 | Daryl Braithwaite (Sherbet) | King of Pop | |- | themselves | Most Popular Australian Group | |- | Photoplay | Most Popular Australian album | |- | "Magazine Madonna" | Most Popular Australian single | |- | 1978 | themselves | Most Popular Australian Group | TV Week / Countdown Awards Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974–1987, it presented music awards from 1979–1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards. |- | 1979 | themselves | Most Popular Group | |- References General Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality. Specific External links Webcuts On-line essay celebrating "Magazine Madonna" Sherbet Slips into Something Comfortable photographed by Lewis Morley for POL October/November 1974. Exhibited at National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, 15 March – 18 May 2003. Sherbet Today (2006) Sherbet scrapbooks at the National Library of Australia Category:Australian rock music groups Category:ARIA Award winners Category:ARIA Hall of Fame inductees Category:New South Wales musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 1969 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1984 Category:Atco Records artists

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Tori Amos

Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos, August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, and composer. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full scholarship to the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University at the age of five, the youngest person ever to have been admitted. She was expelled at the age of eleven for what Rolling Stone described as "musical insubordination.

The Universal Republic years (2008-11)

In May 2008, Amos announced that, due to creative and financial disagreements with Epic Records, she had negotiated an end to her contract with the record label, and would be operating independently of major record labels on future work. In September of the same year, Amos released a live album and DVD, Live at Montreux 1991/1992, through Eagle Rock Entertainment, of two performances she gave at the Montreux Jazz Festival very early on in her career while promoting her debut solo album, Little Earthquakes. By December, after a chance encounter with chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, Doug Morris, Amos signed a "joint venture" deal with Universal Republic Records. Abnormally Attracted to Sin, Amos's tenth solo studio album and her first album released through Universal Republic, was released in May 2009 to mostly positive reviews. The album debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, making it Amos's seventh album to do so. Abnormally Attracted to Sin, admitted Amos, is a "personal album", not a conceptual one, with the album exploring themes of power, boundaries, and the subjective view of sin. Continuing her distribution deal with Universal Republic, Amos released Midwinter Graces, her first seasonal album, in November of the same year. The album features reworked versions of traditional carols, as well as original songs written by Amos. During her contract with the label, Amos recorded vocals for two songs for David Byrne's collaboration album with Fatboy Slim, titled Here Lies Love, which was released in April 2010. In July of the same year, the DVD Tori Amos- Live from the Artists Den was released exclusively through Barnes & Noble. After a brief tour from June to September 2010, Amos released the highly exclusive live album From Russia With Love in December the same year, recorded live in Moscow on September 3, 2010. The limited edition set included a signature edition Lomography Diana F+ camera, along with 2 lenses, a roll of film and 1 of 5 photographs taken of Tori during her time in Moscow. The set was released exclusively through toriamos.com and only 2000 copies were produced. CANNOTANSWER

Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full scholarship to the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University at the age of five, the youngest person ever to have been admitted. She had to leave at the age of eleven when her scholarship was discontinued for what Rolling Stone described as "musical insubordination". Amos was the lead singer of the short-lived 1980s pop group Y Kant Tori Read before achieving her breakthrough as a solo artist in the early 1990s. Her songs focus on a broad range of topics, including sexuality, feminism, politics, and religion. Her charting singles include "Crucify", "Silent All These Years", "God", "Cornflake Girl", "Caught a Lite Sneeze", "Professional Widow", "Spark", "1000 Oceans", "Flavor" and "A Sorta Fairytale", her most commercially successful single in the U.S. to date. Amos has received five MTV VMA nominations and eight Grammy Award nominations, and won an Echo Klassik award for her Night of Hunters classical crossover album. She is listed on VH1's 1999 "100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll" at number 71. Early life and education Amos is the third child of Mary Ellen (Copeland) and Edison McKinley Amos. She was born on August 22, 1963 at the Old Catawba Hospital in Newton, North Carolina, during a trip from their Georgetown home in Washington, D.C., and was named Myra Ellen Amos. Of particular importance to her as a child was her maternal grandfather, Calvin Clinton Copeland, who was a great source of inspiration and guidance, offering a more pantheistic spiritual alternative to her father and paternal grandmother's traditional Christianity. When she was two years old, her family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where her father had transplanted his Methodist ministry from its original base in Washington, D.C. Her older brother and sister took piano lessons, but Tori did not need them. From the time she could reach the piano, she taught herself to play: when she was two, she could reproduce pieces of music she had only heard once, and, by the age of three, she was composing her own songs. She has described seeing music as structures of light since early childhood, an experience consistent with chromesthesia: At five, she became the youngest student ever admitted to the preparatory division of the Peabody Institute. She studied classical piano at Peabody from 1968 to 1974. In 1974, when she was eleven, her scholarship was discontinued, and she was asked to leave. Amos has asserted that she lost the scholarship because of her interest in rock and popular music, coupled with her dislike for reading from sheet music. In 1972, the Amos family moved to Silver Spring, Maryland, where her father became pastor of the Good Shepherd United Methodist church. At thirteen, Amos began playing at gay bars and piano bars, chaperoned by her father. Amos won a county teen talent contest in 1977, singing a song called "More Than Just a Friend". As a senior at Richard Montgomery High School, she co-wrote "Baltimore" with her brother, Mike Amos, for a competition involving the Baltimore Orioles. The song did not win the contest but became her first single, released as a 7-inch single pressed locally for family and friends in 1980 with another Amos-penned composition as a B-side, "Walking With You". Before this, she had performed under her middle name, Ellen, and was considering the stage name 'Sammy J' at the time, but permanently adopted Tori after a friend's boyfriend told her she looked like a Torrey pine, a tree native to the West Coast. Career 1979–1989: Career beginnings and Y Kant Tori Read By the time she was 17, Amos had a stock of homemade demo tapes that her father regularly sent out to record companies and producers. Producer Narada Michael Walden responded favorably: he and Amos cut some tracks together, but none were released. Eventually, Atlantic Records responded to one of the tapes, and, when A&R man Jason Flom flew to Baltimore to audition her in person, the label was convinced and signed her. In 1984, Amos moved to Los Angeles to pursue her music career after several years performing on the piano bar circuit in the D.C. area. In 1986, Amos formed a musical group called Y Kant Tori Read, named for her difficulty sight-reading. In addition to Amos, the group was composed of Steve Caton (who would later play guitars on all of her albums until 1999), drummer Matt Sorum, bass player Brad Cobb and, for a short time, keyboardist Jim Tauber. The band went through several iterations of songwriting and recording; Amos has said interference from record executives caused the band to lose its musical edge and direction during this time. Finally, in July 1988, the band's self-titled debut album, Y Kant Tori Read, was released. Although its producer, Joe Chiccarelli, stated that Amos was very happy with the album at the time, Amos has since criticized it, once remarking: "The only good thing about that album is my ankle high boots." Following the album's commercial failure and the group's subsequent disbanding, Amos began working with other artists (including Stan Ridgway, Sandra Bernhard, and Al Stewart) as a backup vocalist. She also recorded a song called "Distant Storm" for the film China O'Brien. In the credits, the song is attributed to a band called Tess Makes Good. 1990–1995: Little Earthquakes and Under the Pink Despite the disappointing reaction to Y Kant Tori Read, Amos still had to comply with her six-record contract with Atlantic Records, which, in 1989, wanted a new record by March 1990. The initial recordings were declined by the label, which Amos felt was because the album had not been properly presented. The album was reworked and expanded under the guidance of Doug Morris and the musical talents of Steve Caton, Eric Rosse, Will MacGregor, Carlo Nuccio, and Dan Nebenzal, resulting in Little Earthquakes, an album recounting her religious upbringing, sexual awakening, struggle to establish her identity, and sexual assault. This album became her commercial and artistic breakthrough, entering the British charts in January 1992 at Number 15. Little Earthquakes was released in the United States in February 1992 and slowly but steadily began to attract listeners, gaining more attention with the video for the single "Silent All These Years". Amos traveled to New Mexico with personal and professional partner Eric Rosse in 1993 to write and largely record her second solo record, Under the Pink. The album was received with mostly favorable reviews and sold enough copies to chart at No. 12 on the Billboard 200, a significantly higher position than the preceding album's position at No. 54 on the same chart. However, the album found its biggest success in the UK, debuting at number one upon release in February 1994. 1996–2000: Boys for Pele, From the Choirgirl Hotel, and To Venus and Back Her third solo album, Boys for Pele, was released in January 1996. Prior to its release, the first single, "Caught a Lite Sneeze" became the first full song released for streaming online prior to an album's release. The album was recorded in an Irish church, in Delgany, County Wicklow, with Amos taking advantage of the church's acoustics. For this album, Amos used the harpsichord, harmonium, and clavichord as well as the piano. The album garnered mixed reviews upon its release, with some critics praising its intensity and uniqueness while others bemoaned its comparative impenetrability. Despite the album's erratic lyrical content and instrumentation, the latter of which kept it away from mainstream audiences, Boys for Pele is Amos' most successful simultaneous transatlantic release, reaching No. 2 on the UK Top 40 and No. 2 on the Billboard 200 upon its release. Fueled by the desire to have her own recording studio to distance herself from record company executives, Amos had the barn of her home in Cornwall converted into the state-of-the-art recording studio of Martian Engineering Studios. From the Choirgirl Hotel and To Venus and Back, released in May 1998 and September 1999, respectively, differ greatly from previous albums. Amos' trademark acoustic, piano-based sound is largely replaced with arrangements that include elements of electronica and dance music with vocal washes. The underlying themes of both albums deal with womanhood and Amos' own miscarriages and marriage. Reviews for From the Choirgirl Hotel were mostly favorable and praised Amos' continued artistic originality. Debut sales for From the Choirgirl Hotel are Amos' best to date, selling 153,000 copies in its first week. To Venus and Back, a two-disc release of original studio material and live material recorded from the previous world tour, received mostly positive reviews and included the first major-label single available for sale as a digital download. 2001–2004: Strange Little Girls and Scarlet's Walk Shortly after giving birth to her daughter, Amos decided to record a cover album, taking songs written by men about women and reversing the gender roles to reflect a woman's perspective. That became Strange Little Girls, released in September 2001. The album is Amos' first concept album, with artwork featuring Amos photographed in character of the women portrayed in each song. Amos would later reveal that a stimulus for the album was to end her contract with Atlantic without giving them original songs; Amos felt that since 1998, the label had not been properly promoting her and had trapped her in a contract by refusing to sell her to another label. With her Atlantic contract fulfilled after a 15-year stint, Amos signed to Epic in late 2001. In October 2002, Amos released Scarlet's Walk, another concept album. Described as a "sonic novel", the album explores Amos' alter ego, Scarlet, intertwined with her cross-country concert tour following 9/11. Through the songs, Amos explores such topics as the history of America, American people, Native American history, pornography, masochism, homophobia and misogyny. The album had a strong debut at No. 7 on the Billboard 200. Scarlet's Walk is Amos' last album to date to reach certified gold status from the RIAA. Not long after Amos was ensconced with her new label, she received unsettling news when Polly Anthony resigned as president of Epic Records in 2003. Anthony had been one of the primary reasons Amos signed with the label and as a result of her resignation, Amos formed the Bridge Entertainment Group. Further trouble for Amos occurred the following year when her label, Epic/Sony Music Entertainment, merged with BMG Entertainment as a result of the industry's decline. 2005–2008: The Beekeeper and American Doll Posse Amos released two more albums with Epic, The Beekeeper (2005) and American Doll Posse (2007). Both albums received generally favorable reviews. The Beekeeper was conceptually influenced by the ancient art of beekeeping, which she considered a source of female inspiration and empowerment. Through extensive study, Amos also wove in the stories of the Gnostic gospels and the removal of women from a position of power within the Christian church to create an album based largely on religion and politics. The album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, placing her in an elite group of women who have secured five or more US Top 10 album debuts. While the newly merged label was present throughout the production process of The Beekeeper, Amos and her crew nearly completed her next project, American Doll Posse, before inviting the label to listen to it. American Doll Posse, another concept album, is fashioned around a group of girls (the "posse") who are used as a theme of alter-egos of Amos'. Musically and stylistically, the album saw Amos return to a more confrontational nature. Like its predecessor, American Doll Posse debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. During her tenure with Epic Records, Amos also released a retrospective collection titled Tales of a Librarian (2003) through her former label, Atlantic Records; a two-disc DVD set Fade to Red (2006) containing most of Amos' solo music videos, released through the Warner Bros. reissue imprint Rhino; a five disc box set titled A Piano: The Collection (2006), celebrating Amos' 15-year solo career through remastered album tracks, remixes, alternate mixes, demos, and a string of unreleased songs from album recording sessions, also released through Rhino; and numerous official bootlegs from two world tours, The Original Bootlegs (2005) and Legs & Boots (2007) through Epic Records. 2008–2011: Abnormally Attracted to Sin and Midwinter Graces In May 2008, Amos announced that, due to creative and financial disagreements with Epic Records, she had negotiated an end to her contract with the record label, and would be operating independently of major record labels on future work. In September of the same year, Amos released a live album and DVD, Live at Montreux 1991/1992, through Eagle Rock Entertainment, of two performances she gave at the Montreux Jazz Festival very early on in her career while promoting her debut solo album, Little Earthquakes. By December, after a chance encounter with chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, Doug Morris, Amos signed a "joint venture" deal with Universal Republic Records. Abnormally Attracted to Sin, Amos' tenth solo studio album and her first album released through Universal Republic, was released in May 2009 to mostly positive reviews. The album debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, making it Amos' seventh album to do so. Abnormally Attracted to Sin, admitted Amos, is a "personal album", not a conceptual one, with the album exploring themes of power, boundaries, and the subjective view of sin. Continuing her distribution deal with Universal Republic, Amos released Midwinter Graces, her first seasonal album, in November of the same year. The album features reworked versions of traditional carols, as well as original songs written by Amos. During her contract with the label, Amos recorded vocals for two songs for David Byrne's collaboration album with Fatboy Slim, titled Here Lies Love, which was released in April 2010. In July of the same year, the DVD Tori Amos- Live from the Artists Den was released exclusively through Barnes & Noble. After a brief tour from June to September 2010, Amos released a live album From Russia With Love in December the same year, recorded in Moscow on September 3, 2010. The limited edition set included a signature edition Lomography Diana F+ camera, along with two lenses, a roll of film and one of five photographs taken of Amos during her time in Moscow. The set was released exclusively through her website and only 2000 copies were produced. 2011–2015: Night of Hunters, Gold Dust, and Unrepentant Geraldines In September 2011, Amos released her first classical-style music album, Night of Hunters, featuring variations on a theme to pay tribute to composers such as Bach, Chopin, Debussy, Granados, Satie and Schubert, on the Deutsche Grammophon label, a division of Universal Music Group. Amos recorded the album with several musicians, including the Apollon Musagète string quartet. To mark the 20th anniversary of her debut album, Little Earthquakes (1992), Amos released an album of songs from her back catalogue re-worked and re-recorded with the Metropole Orchestra. The album, titled Gold Dust, was released in October 2012 through Deutsche Grammophon. On May 1, 2012, Amos announced the formation of her own record label, Transmission Galactic, which she said she intended to use to develop new artists. In 2013, Amos collaborated with the Bullitts on the track "Wait Until Tomorrow" from their debut album, They Die by Dawn & Other Short Stories. She also stated in an interview that a new album and tour would materialize in 2014 and that it would be a "return to contemporary music". September 2013 saw the launch of Amos' musical project adaptation of George MacDonald's The Light Princess, along with book writer Samuel Adamson and Marianne Elliott. It premiered at London's Royal National Theatre and ended in February 2014. The Light Princess and its lead actress, Rosalie Craig, were nominated for Best Musical and Best Musical Performance respectively at the Evening Standard Award. Craig won the Best Musical Performance category. Amos' 14th studio album, Unrepentant Geraldines, was released on May 13, 2014, via Mercury Classics/Universal Music Classics in the US. Its first single, "Trouble's Lament", was released on March 28. The album was supported by the Unrepentant Geraldines Tour which began May 5, 2014, in Cork and continued across Europe, Africa, North America, and Australia, ending in Brisbane on November 21, 2014. In Sydney, Amos performed two orchestral concerts, reminiscent of the Gold Dust Orchestral Tour, with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House. According to a press release, Unrepentant Geraldines was a "return to her core identity as a creator of contemporary songs of exquisite beauty following a series of more classically-inspired and innovative musical projects of the last four years. [It is] both one further step in the artistic evolution of one of the most successful and influential artists of her generation, and a return to the inspiring and personal music that Amos is known for all around the world." The 2-CD set The Light Princess (Original Cast Recording) was released on October 9, 2015, via Universal/Mercury Classics. Apart from the original cast performances, the recording also includes two songs from the musical ("Highness in the Sky" and "Darkest Hour') performed by Amos. 2016–present: Native Invader, Christmastide and Ocean to Ocean On November 18, 2016, Amos released a deluxe version of the album Boys for Pele to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the original release. This follows the deluxe re-releases of her first two albums in 2015. On September 8, 2017, Amos released Native Invader, accompanied by a world tour. During the summer of 2017, Amos launched three songs from the album: "Cloud Riders", "Up the Creek", and "Reindeer King", the latter featuring string arrangements by John Philip Shenale. Produced by Amos, the album explores topics like American politics and environmental issues, mixed with mythological elements and first-person narrations. The initial inspiration for the album came from a trip that Amos took to the Great Smoky Mountains (Tennessee-North Carolina), home of her alleged Native American ancestors; however, two events deeply influenced the final record: in November 2016, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States of America; two months later, in January 2017, Amos' mother, Mary Ellen, had a stroke that left her unable to speak. Shocked by both events, Amos spent the first half of 2017 writing and recording the songs that would eventually form Native Invader. The album, released on September 8, 2017, was presented in two formats: standard and deluxe. The standard version includes 13 songs, while the deluxe edition adds two extra songs to the tracklist: "Upside Down 2" and "Russia". Native Invader was well received by most music critics upon release. The album obtained a score of 76 out of 100 on the review aggregator website Metacritic, based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On November 9, 2020, Amos announced the release of a holiday-themed EP entitled Christmastide on December 4, digitally and on limited-edition vinyl. The EP consists of four original songs and features her first work with bandmates Matt Chamberlain and Jon Evans since 2009. Amos recorded the EP remotely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. On September 20, 2021, Amos announced her sixteenth studio album, Ocean to Ocean, which was released on October 29. The album was written and recorded in Cornwall during lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and explores "a universal story of going to rock bottom and renewing yourself all over again". Amos embarked on a European and United States tour in support of the album in 2022, and is continuing to support the album with a European Tour in 2023. Matt Chamberlain and Jon Evans will again feature on drums and bass guitar respectively, their first collaboration with Amos on an album since 2009's Midwinter Graces. For the 2022 and 2023 tour, Amos was joined by Jon Evans and the drummer Ash Soan. She appeared at the EPIX original docuseries Women Who Rock which premiered on July 10, 2022. In print Amos and her music have been the subject of numerous official and unofficial books, as well as academic critique, including Tori Amos: Lyrics (2001) illustrated by Herb Leonhard, and an earlier biography, Tori Amos: All These Years (1996) by Kalen Rogers. Released in conjunction with The Beekeeper, Amos co-authored an autobiography with rock music journalist Ann Powers titled Piece by Piece (2005). The book's subject is Amos' interest in mythology and religion, exploring her songwriting process, rise to fame, and her relationship with Atlantic Records. Image Comics released Comic Book Tattoo (2008), a collection of comic stories, each based on or inspired by songs recorded by Amos. Editor Rantz Hoseley worked with Amos to gather 80 different artists for the book, including Neil Gaiman, Carla Speed McNeil, Mark Buckingham, C.B. Cebulski, Nikki Cook, Hope Larson, John Ney Reiber, Ryan Kelly, Pia Guerra, David Mack, and Leah Moore. Tori Amos: In the Studio (2011) by Jake Brown features an in-depth look at Amos' career, discography, and recording process. Sing Us a Song, Piano Woman: Female Fans and the Music of Tori Amos (2013) by Adrienne Trier-Bieniek explores the ways women are represented in pop culture and the many-layered relationships female fans build with feminist musicians in general and with Tori Amos in particular. Tori Amos' Boys for Pele (2018) by Amy Gentry uses a blend of memoir, criticism, and aesthetic theory in order to argue that the aesthetics of disgust are useful of thinking in a broader way about women's experience of all art forms. Amos released her second memoir, called Resistance: A Songwriter's Story of Hope, Change, and Courage on 5 May 2020. Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes (2022) by Tori Amos and Neil Gaiman is an official graphic novel celebrating 30 years of Tori Amos' breakout album Little Earthquakes. Personal life Amos married English sound engineer Mark Hawley on February 22, 1998. Tori and her husband Mark have one daughter, Natashya Lórien Hawley, born September 5, 2000. Amos' mother, Mary Ellen, died on May 11, 2019. Early in her professional career, Amos befriended author Neil Gaiman, who became a fan after she referred to him in the song "Tear in Your Hand" and also in print interviews. Although created before the two met, the character Delirium from Gaiman's The Sandman series is inspired by Amos; Gaiman has stated that they "steal shamelessly from each other". She wrote the foreword to his collection Death: The High Cost of Living; he in turn wrote the introduction to Comic Book Tattoo. Gaiman is godfather to her daughter, and a poem written for her birth, Blueberry Girl, was published as a children's book of the same name in 2009. In 2019, Amos performed the British standard "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" over the closing credits of Gaiman's TV series Good Omens, based on the novel of the same name written by Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Activism In June 1994, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), a toll-free help line in the US connecting callers with their local rape crisis center, was founded. Amos, who was raped at knifepoint when she was 22, answered the ceremonial first call to launch the hotline. She was the first national spokesperson for the organization and has continued to be closely associated with RAINN. On August 18, 2013, a concert in honor of her 50th birthday was held, an event which raised money for RAINN. On August 22, 2020, Amos appeared on a panel called Artistry & Activism at the diversity and inclusion digital global conference CARLA. Discography Studio albums Little Earthquakes (1992) Under the Pink (1994) Boys for Pele (1996) From the Choirgirl Hotel (1998) To Venus and Back (1999) Strange Little Girls (2001) Scarlet's Walk (2002) The Beekeeper (2005) American Doll Posse (2007) Abnormally Attracted to Sin (2009) Midwinter Graces (2009) Night of Hunters (2011) Gold Dust (2012) Unrepentant Geraldines (2014) Native Invader (2017) Ocean to Ocean (2021) Tours Amos, who has been performing in bars and clubs from as early as 1976 and under her professional name as early as 1991, has performed more than 1,000 shows since her first world tour in 1992. In 2003, Amos was voted fifth best touring act by the readers of Rolling Stone magazine. Her concerts are notable for their changing set lists from night to night. Little Earthquakes Tour Under the Pink Tour Dew Drop Inn Tour Plugged '98 Tour 5 ½ Weeks Tour / To Dallas and Back Strange Little Tour On Scarlet's Walk / Lottapianos Tour Original Sinsuality Tour / Summer of Sin American Doll Posse World Tour Sinful Attraction Tour Night of Hunters tour Gold Dust Orchestral Tour Unrepentant Geraldines Tour Native Invader Tour Ocean to Ocean Tour Awards and nominations {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! scope="col" | Award ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Nominee(s) ! scope="col" | Category ! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| |- ! scope="row" rowspan=3|Brit Awards | rowspan=2|1993 | rowspan=3|Herself | International Breakthrough Act | | rowspan=2| |- | International Solo Artist | |- | 1995 | International Female Solo Artist | | |- ! scope="row"|Critics' Choice Documentary Awards | 2016 | "Flicker" | Best Song in a Documentary | | |- !scope="row"|ECHO Awards | 1995 | Herself | Best International Female | | |- ! scope="row"|ECHO Klassik Awards | rowspan=1|2012 | Night of Hunters | The Klassik-ohne-Grenzen Prize | | |- ! scope="row" rowspan=4|GAFFA Awards | 2000 | rowspan=3|Herself | rowspan=2|Best Foreign Female Act | | rowspan=2| |- | 2003 | |- | rowspan=2|2022 | Best Foreign Solo Act | | rowspan=2| |- | Ocean to Ocean | Best Foreign Album | |- ! scope="row"|George Peabody Medal | 2019 | Herself | Outstanding Contributions to Music | | |- ! scope="row"|Glamour Awards | 1998 | Herself | Woman of the Year | | |- ! scope="row" rowspan=8|Grammy Awards | 1995 | Under the Pink | rowspan=3|Best Alternative Music Album | | rowspan=8| |- | 1997 | Boys for Pele | |- | rowspan=2|1999 | From the Choirgirl Hotel | |- | "Raspberry Swirl" | rowspan=2|Best Female Rock Vocal Performance | |- | rowspan=2|2000 | "Bliss" | |- | To Venus and Back | rowspan=2|Best Alternative Music Album | |- | rowspan=2|2002 | Strange Little Girls | |- | "Strange Little Girl" | Best Female Rock Vocal Performance | |- ! scope="row"|Hollywood Music in Media Awards | 2016 | "Flicker" | Best Original Song in a Documentary | | |- ! scope="row"|Hungarian Music Awards | 2010 | Abnormally Attracted to Sin | Best Foreign Alternative Album | | |- ! scope="row"|MTV Europe Music Awards | 1994 | Herself | Best Female | | |- ! scope="row" rowspan=4|MTV Video Music Awards | rowspan=4|1992 | rowspan=4|"Silent All These Years" | Best Female Video | |rowspan=4| |- | Best New Artist in a Video | |- | Breakthrough Video | |- | Best Cinematography in a Video | |- !scope="row"|MVPA Awards | 2000 | "1000 Oceans" | Adult Contemporary Video of the Year | | |- ! scope="row"|NME Awards | 2016 | Under the Pink | Best Reissue | | |- ! scope="row"|North Carolina Music Hall of Fame | 2012 | Herself | Inducted | | |- !scope="row" rowspan=5|Pollstar Concert Industry Awards | rowspan=2|1993 | rowspan=2|Little Earthquakes Tour | Best New Rock Artist | | rowspan=2| |- | Club Tour Of The Year | |- | 1995 | Under the Pink Tour | rowspan=3|Small Hall Tour Of The Year | | |- | 1997 | Dew Drop Inn Tour | | |- | 1999 | 5 ½ Weeks Tour | | |- ! scope="row"|Q Awards | 1992 | Herself | Best New Act | | |- ! scope="row" rowspan=2|WhatsOnStage Awards | rowspan=2|2014 | rowspan=2|The Light Princess | Best New Musical | | rowspan=2| |- | Best London Newcomer of the Year | |- !scope="row"|Žebřík Music Awards | 2001 | Herself | Best International Female | | 1999: Spin Readers' Poll Awards (Won) On May 21, 2020, Amos was invited to and gave special remarks at her alma mater Johns Hopkins University's 2020 Commencement ceremony. Other notable guest speakers during the virtual ceremony included Reddit co-founder and commencement speaker Alexis Ohanian; philanthropist and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg; Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leading member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force; and senior class president Pavan Patel. Film appearances Amos appears as a wedding singer in the film Mona Lisa Smile. She previously auditioned for a role as a member of Beverly's band, Cherry Bomb, in the 1986 film Howard the Duck. Her song Talula featured in the epic disaster film Twister (1996), Professional Widow in the action film Escape from L.A. (1996), Siren featured in the drama romantic film Great Expectations (1998), the songs "Murder" He Says and You Belong To Me in the film Mona Lisa Smile (2003) and Flicker in the film Audrie & Daisy (2016) while numerous songs of her were inclused in television series soundtracks such as God in american adult animated series Beavis and Butt-head (Season 5, episode 7 1993) Lust in fantasy, drama television series Charmed (Season 2, episode 12, 1998) Northern Land in teen drama television series Dawson's Creek (Season 2, Episode 4, 1998) Sorta Fairytale in drama television series Everwood (Season 4, Episode 16, 2002) Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas in crime procedures comedy-drama television series Bones (Season 1, Episode 9, 2005) and in science fiction television series Roswell (Season 3, Episode 9, 1999) Precious Things in comedy-drama television series Hindsight (Season 1, Episode 6, 2015) Pretty Good Year in television series Casual (Season 3, Episode 12, 2015) A Nightingale Song in Berkeley Square in fantasy comedy television series Good Omens (Season 1, Episode 6, 2019) Professional Widow (Armand's Star Trunk Funkin' Mix) in netflix drama thriller series White Lines (Season 1, Episode 9, 2020), in Derry Girls (Season 3, Episode 4, The Haunting, 2018) and Love Island (Season 5, Episode 14, 2015) Crucify in anthology comedy-drama television series High Maintenance (Season 4, Episode 8, 2016) Raspberry Swirl in the television series The End (Season 1, Episode 9, 2020) 1000 Oceans in mystery teen drama television series Pretty Little Liars (Season 1, Episode 10, 2022) Cornflake Girl in Conversations with Friends (season 1, episode10, 2022), in drama television series YellowJackets (Season 2, Episode 1, 2023) and in comedy drama series Beef (Season 1, episode 2, 2023). Bells for Her in drama television series YellowJackets (Season 2, Episode 3, 2023) References Citations Works cited External links Category:1963 births Category:20th-century American composers Category:20th-century American keyboardists Category:20th-century American women pianists Category:20th-century American pianists Category:20th-century American women singers Category:21st-century American keyboardists Category:21st-century American women pianists Category:21st-century American pianists Category:21st-century American women singers Category:Alternative rock keyboardists Category:Alternative rock pianists Category:Alternative rock singers Category:American alternative rock musicians Category:American expatriates in the Republic of Ireland Category:American expatriates in England Category:American women composers Category:American women singer-songwriters Category:American feminist writers Category:American harpsichordists Category:American mezzo-sopranos Category:American organists Category:American people who self-identify as being of Native American descent Category:American pop pianists Category:American rock pianists Category:American women rock singers Category:American rock songwriters Category:Articles containing video clips Category:Art rock musicians Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Child classical musicians Category:Clavichordists Category:Deutsche Grammophon artists Category:Electronica musicians Category:Epic Records artists Category:Feminist musicians Category:Harmonium players Category:Island Records artists Category:Living people Category:Montgomery College alumni Category:Musicians from Baltimore Category:Musicians from Rockville, Maryland Category:People from Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) Category:People from Newton, North Carolina Category:People from Sewall's Point, Florida Category:Republic Records artists Category:Sexual abuse victim advocates Category:Singer-songwriters from Maryland Category:Singer-songwriters from North Carolina Category:Women organists Category:20th-century women composers Category:American women in electronic music Category:20th-century American singers Category:21st-century American singers Category:Singer-songwriters from Washington, D.C. Category:Y Kant Tori Read members

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My Happiness (Powderfinger song)

"My Happiness" is a song by Australian rock band Powderfinger. It was released on record label Universal Music Australia on 21 August 2000 as the first single from the band's fourth album, Odyssey Number Five. The single is Powderfinger's most successful; it peaked at number four on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, and charted in the United States on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart--the first Powderfinger song to do so. Powderfinger frontman Bernard Fanning wrote the lyrics for "My Happiness" as a reflection on the time the band spent touring to promote their work, and the loneliness that came as a result.

Touring and promotion

"My Happiness" was put on heavy rotation by Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM two months prior to its United States release, and Powderfinger signed a contract with United States label Republic as a result of the song's early success. Beat journalist Jayson Argall joked the song had received "a bit" of airplay. Although "My Happiness" was subsequently dropped from KROQ's roster, other radio stations continued to give the song high priority. "My Happiness" peaked at number 23 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks, making it the first Powderfinger song to appear on a Billboard chart. According to Susan Groves of WHRL, part of the song's success came about because very few people knew of Powderfinger, but were drawn towards "My Happiness" because it was "melodic, [and] pretty"--a change from what she described as "middle of the road rock" popular in the United States. Meanwhile, Australians were "starting to get sick of My Happiness"--Cameron Adams argued in The Hobart Mercury that this was one of the reasons Powderfinger decided to focus on the offshore market. Powderfinger performed "My Happiness" live on the Late Show with David Letterman while touring North America with British rock group Coldplay. They were the fourth Australian act (after The Living End, Silverchair, and Nick Cave) to play on the show. The band also did free promotional shows leading up to the release of the single. In Europe, "My Happiness" received approximately four weeks of airplay on German music video program Viva II, and the band sold out for three nights in a row in London, partly due to the success of the single. CANNOTANSWER

"My Happiness" is a song by Australian rock band Powderfinger. It was released via record label Universal Music Australia on 21 August 2000 as the first single from the band's fourth album, Odyssey Number Five. Powderfinger frontman Bernard Fanning wrote the lyrics for "My Happiness" as a reflection on the time the band spent touring to promote their work, and the loneliness that came as a result. It was inspired by his love of gospel and soul music. The rest of the band are co-credited with Fanning for composing the track. Despite its melancholy mood, "My Happiness" is considered by many to be a love song, a suggestion Fanning regards as mystifying. The single is Powderfinger's most successful; it peaked at number four on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, number seven on the New Zealand Singles Chart, and number 23 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart—the first Powderfinger song to do so. In June 2020, the song was certified 5× Platinum in Australia. It won an ARIA Award and an APRA Award and topped the Triple J Hottest 100 in 2000 as well as coming 27th in the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time in 2009. "My Happiness" was highly praised by critics, with even negative reviews of Odyssey Number Five noting it as a highlight, especially for its catchy chorus. One of the highlights of Powderfinger's United States tour with Coldplay was a performance of "My Happiness" on the Late Show with David Letterman; they were only the fourth Australian act to appear on the show. In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "My Happiness" was ranked number 31. Production and content The lyrics for "My Happiness" were written by Bernard Fanning, Powderfinger's lead singer and songwriter. The rest of the band are co-credited with Fanning for composing the track. The song describes feelings of love and separation; Sains Pennie Dennison said it described "the pining feeling you experience when you spend time away from the one you love". Fanning called it "a sad story of touring and the absence loneliness that comes with it". The extensive time spent touring took its toll on the band, and it was on the back of this that Fanning wrote "My Happiness". Thus, he expressed confusion at its being considered a romantic song. "My Happiness" was attacked by some fans as being "like Lauryn Hill, bland and boring Top 40 bullshit"; guitarist Ian Haug rebutted by pointing out that the song was an example of the new emotional level on which Powderfinger made music, while Fanning was more aggressive in his defence of the song. In response to being dubbed "Mr Miserable" by The Sun-Heralds Peter Holmes for the lyrics of "My Happiness" and "These Days", Fanning pointed out that the songs could be construed either as melancholy, or as part of "the most hopeful record ... in a long time". Much of Fanning's writing is inspired by non-rock music, and "My Happiness" is no exception. Gospel and soul music that is "unashamedly about love and how good it makes you feel" was common during the Odyssey Number Five recording sessions. Powderfinger worked hard in those sessions to ensure a more polished work than Internationalist; guitarist Darren Middleton concluded that "My Happiness", "The Metre", and "Up & Down & Back Again" were more "complete" because of the band's efforts. The lighter elements of "My Happiness" in comparison to some of the band's earlier work saw Fanning reveal his passion for several other musicians such as James Taylor—something that "five years ago ... would have been an embarrassing thing to say". Touring and promotion "My Happiness" was put on heavy rotation by Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM two months prior to its United States release, and Powderfinger signed a contract with United States label Republic as a result of the song's early success. Beat journalist Jayson Argall joked the song had received "a bit" of airplay. Although "My Happiness" was subsequently dropped from KROQ's roster, other radio stations continued to give the song high priority. "My Happiness" peaked at number 23 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks, making it the first Powderfinger song to appear on a Billboard chart. According to Susan Groves of WHRL, part of the song's success came about because very few people knew of Powderfinger, but were drawn towards "My Happiness" because it was "melodic, [and] pretty"—a change from what she described as "middle of the road rock" popular in the United States. Meanwhile, Australians were "starting to get sick of My Happiness"—Cameron Adams argued in The Hobart Mercury that this was one of the reasons Powderfinger decided to focus on the offshore market. Powderfinger performed "My Happiness" live on the Late Show with David Letterman while touring North America with British rock group Coldplay. They were the fourth Australian act (after The Living End, Silverchair, and Nick Cave) to play on the show. The band also did free promotional shows leading up to the release of the single. In Europe, "My Happiness" received approximately four weeks of airplay on German music video program Viva II, and the band sold out for three nights in a row in London, partly due to the success of the single. Release and commercial success "My Happiness" was released as a single in Australia on 21 August 2000. When asked how they chose the release date, Fanning jokingly said "the release date is timed to coincide with the Olympics, when all the visitors are here ... they can go into HMV and pick it up." At the time of the single's release, the band's previous album, Internationalist, was still in the top 50 on the ARIA Albums Chart, 95 weeks after entering. The single featured B-side "My Kind of Scene", which had already received strong airplay due to its appearance on the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack. "My Happiness" appeared on a Triple M compilation entitled Triple M's New Stuff, and on a Kerrang! compilation, Kerrang!2 The Album. "My Happiness" entered the ARIA Singles Chart at number four—making it Powderfinger's highest-charting single in Australia—and spent 24 weeks on the chart. It reached number two on the Queensland singles chart, and peaked at number seven on the New Zealand Singles Chart, on which it spent 23 weeks. In the US, "My Happiness" was serviced to alternative radio on 13 February 2001; it was Powderfinger's first single to chart in the US, reaching number 23 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song won the "Single of the Year" award at the ARIA Awards of 2001, and the 2001 "Song of the Year" APRA Award. Furthermore, "My Happiness" topped the Triple J Hottest 100 chart in 2000, and appeared on that year's CD release. Rolling Stone Australia named "My Happiness" "Song of the Year" in a reader poll. "My Happiness" was the eighth most-played song on Australian radio in 2001. Critical reception "My Happiness" was critically acclaimed. Cameron Adams of the Herald Sun wrote that "My Happiness" did not disappoint in the trend of excellent first singles from Powderfinger, citing "Pick You Up" and "The Day You Come" as examples. He praised the song's structure, stating that "the verses almost crash into the chorus". Adams also expressed surprise that "My Kind of Scene" was only released as a B-side. The Newcastle Heralds Chad Watson described a mixture of acoustic and electric guitar and "a restrained yet warmly infectious chorus". Despite praising it as a "Big Rock Anthem™", Richard Jinman of The Sydney Morning Herald complained that "My Happiness" was not as "hummable" as past singles "Passenger" or "These Days". Devon Powers of PopMatters described it, and "Waiting for the Sun", as sounding bored. The Evening Mail agreed; it argued the "rock-lite" song, while sounding lush, failed to "make you really sit up and take notice". Despite being highly critical of Odyssey Number Five, Allmusic's Dean Carlson labelled it, alongside "Odyssey #5", as one of the album's best songs, for the riff Powderfinger executed "better than most bands of their stature". Adams also enjoyed the song's "wobbly guitar", and Sains Christie Eliszer approved of the "acoustic strumalong", but The Advertisers Michael Duffy said the song was "a familiar piece of yearning guitar indie that is polished but pedestrian"; he reserved his praise for "My Kind of Scene", which he described as akin to the best of Internationalist. Darren Bunting wrote in the Hull Daily Mail that "My Happiness" was the best song on Odyssey Number Five, praising "soaring vocals, heartfelt lyrics and chiming guitar". Entertainment Weeklys Marc Weingarten said that on "My Happiness", "Fanning's heavy heart is tattered by scratching and clawing guitars". Music video The music video for "My Happiness" starts at a railway station (Roma Street in Brisbane) with a boy and girl stepping off a train. As the pair leave the train, the boy turns and tries to reach for something, but the girl pulls him back. It is shown that he was reaching for a sentient slinky. The slinky leaves the train, and passes Middleton busking in the train station. The slinky ventures to find the boy, facing a range of challenges along the way; these include avoiding fruit falling on it and riding a skateboard. In the middle of the music clip, the slinky is shown making its way through a music room in which Powderfinger are performing "My Happiness". It rests on the bar and the band finishes playing, while the background music continues. As Powderfinger leaves, the slinky is picked up by Haug. He gets into a car and places the slinky on the car's dashboard, but it falls out the window as the car turns a tight corner. It lands outside the gate of a house and is picked up and brought inside to the boy. The video was created by Fifty Fifty Films, who created numerous other Powderfinger music videos. It was directed by Chris Applebaum and produced by Keeley Gould of A Band Apart, with editing by Jeff Selis. Cameron Adams of The Courier Mail reported that following the music video's release, slinky sales increased dramatically. Awards and accolades Track listings Australian CD single "My Happiness" – 4:36 "My Kind of Scene" – 4:37 "Nature Boy" – 3:12 "Odyssey #1" (demo) – 4:09 European CD single "My Happiness" (edit) – 4:11 "Nature Boy" – 3:38 Personnel Powderfinger Bernard Fanning – vocals and tambourine Darren Middleton – guitars and backing vocals Ian Haug – guitars John Collins – bass guitars Jon Coghill – drums and percussion Production Nick DiDia – Producer, engineer and mixer Matt Voigt – Assistant engineer Anton Hagop – Assistant engineer Alex Pertout – Percussion Stewart Whitmore – Digital editing Stephen Marcussen – Mastering Anton Hagop – Assistant producer Kevin Wilkins – Art direction and photography Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Certifications References Category:Powderfinger songs Category:2000 singles Category:2000 songs Category:APRA Award winners Category:ARIA Award-winning songs Category:Polydor Records singles Category:Songs written by Bernard Fanning Category:Songs written by Jon Coghill Category:Songs written by John Collins (Australian musician) Category:Songs written by Ian Haug Category:Songs written by Darren Middleton Category:Universal Music Australia singles

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Montel Vontavious Porter

Assad was born in Liberty City, Miami, but grew up in Opa-locka, Florida. His father was a police officer. He joined a gang when he was 12, describing it as "a graffiti gang", which later turned into a street gang. He spent six months in a juvenile detention center after a robbery.

Brand switches (2009-2010)

On April 13, 2009, MVP was drafted as the first overall pick to the Raw brand as a part of the 2009 WWE draft. As a result of being the reigning WWE United States Champion, he transferred the title to Raw for the first time in history. He lost the title to Kofi Kingston on the June 1 episode of Raw. He then formed a tag team with Mark Henry, and they challenged Jeri-Show (Chris Jericho and The Big Show) for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship at the Breaking Point pay-per-view, but they failed to win the championship. After beginning a feud with The Miz, MVP faced him for the WWE United States Championship at Royal Rumble on January 31, 2010, but was unable to win. After this preliminary title retention, both also participated in the Rumble itself. MVP entered 14th and was surprise-attacked by Miz (who was not yet an official entrant) who hit him with the United States title belt. MVP later recovered and entered the match (having not been eliminated) to double-eliminate both himself and Miz. MVP challenged The Miz for the title a second time at the February 21 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view but was once again unable to win. He also competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI, but was unable to win. As part of the 2010 WWE supplemental draft, MVP was drafted back to the SmackDown brand. He made his SmackDown return on the April 30 episode, interrupting CM Punk's promo, and later teaming up with Rey Mysterio to defeat Punk and Luke Gallows. On June 1, MVP was announced as the mentor of Percy Watson for the second season of WWE NXT; Watson was eliminated from the competition on August 17, finishing fifth overall. On the November 5 episode of SmackDown, MVP fought in a Triple Threat Match for the number one contendership of Dolph Ziggler's Intercontinental Championship against Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre. The match was won by MVP, and the championship match was set for the following week's SmackDown, but MVP was unsuccessful in winning the title. MVP was announced as part of Team Mysterio, teaming with Rey Mysterio, The Big Show, Chris Masters and Kofi Kingston to take on Team Del Rio (Alberto Del Rio, Tyler Reks, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes) at Survivor Series. At the pay-per-view, MVP was the first man eliminated in the match by McIntyre, who was aided by Del Rio holding MVP's foot down so he couldn't kick out. MVP's team was able to win the match with Rey Mysterio and Big Show being sole survivors. MVP's last match with the WWE aired on December 3, teaming with Kaval in a losing effort against Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler; afterward, he and Kaval were attacked by Kane. MVP was later released from his WWE contract. CANNOTANSWER

Hassan Hamin Assad (born Alvin Antonio Burke Jr.; October 28, 1973) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with WWE, where he performs under the ring name MVP (standing for Montel Vontavious Porter) and is the manager of Omos. He is best known for his time with WWE, and also known for his tenures in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Between the three promotions, he is a two-time WWE United States Champion, one-time WWE Tag Team Champion (with Matt Hardy), and was the inaugural IWGP Intercontinental Champion. He was trained by Soulman Alex G and Norman Smiley. Following the completion of his training, he began wrestling for numerous independent promotions, including a stint in TNA. During his time in these promotions, he won various championships in singles competition. He signed with WWE in 2005 and was assigned to Deep South Wrestling (DSW), one of the company's developmental territories. After being promoted to the SmackDown brand, he made his WWE wrestling debut in October 2006. Following his departure from WWE in 2010, he joined New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in February 2011. He spent the next two years with the promotion, then left NJPW in 2013. Since then, he has returned to the independent circuit and made appearances in Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor (ROH). He returned to WWE in January 2020. Early life Hassan Hamin Assad was born Alvin Antonio Burke Jr. in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, Florida, on October 28, 1973. He grew up in Opa-locka, Florida. His father was a police officer. He joined a gang when he was 12, describing it as a "graffiti gang" which later turned into a street gang. He spent six months in a juvenile detention center after a robbery. He later completed nine and a half years of an 18.5-year prison sentence for armed robbery and kidnapping, which he started at the age of 16. He converted to Islam while in prison and changed his name, though he is now an atheist. Due to his criminal record, his visits to other countries on international tours are subject to permits and background checks for recent behavior. Unrelated to his record, Assad also doesn't attend WWE's shows in Saudi Arabia, as his status as a former Muslim is considered a punishable offense in the Kingdom. Professional wrestling career Early career (2002–2005) Assad entered the professional wrestling business through the help of a corrections officer in his prison who also worked as a wrestler in the independent circuit. After being trained by former professional wrestlers Soulman Alex G and Norman Smiley, Assad made his wrestling debut in 2002. He worked for many different companies on the independent circuit using the name Antonio Banks, including appearances with Full Impact Pro (FIP) and Future of Wrestling (FOW), where he won the latter's Tag Team Championship with Punisher. During his time in FIP, he wrestled Homicide for the World Heavyweight Championship at the Ring of Honor show Do or Die IV on February 19, 2005, but did not win the title. He also made sporadic appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and wrestled on the April 20, 2003, episode of TNA Xplosion. He appeared again for TNA on the August 6, 2004, episode of Impact!, with Sal Rinauro as his tag team partner, losing to America's Most Wanted. He also wrestled for Coastal Championship Wrestling (CCW) and Elite Wrestling Entertainment in 2005, competing against wrestlers like Jerry Lynn and D'Lo Brown. In CCW, he won the Heavyweight Championship on August 20, 2005, by defeating Blackhart and Bruno Sassi in a three-way match. World Wrestling Entertainment Deep South Wrestling (2005–2006) In 2005, after a number of live events and dark matches, Assad signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was assigned to their developmental territory Deep South Wrestling. He originally wrestled under his "Antonio Banks" ring name, but then developed the Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) in-ring persona: an arrogant, self-obsessed athlete. He was also on an episode of SmackDown! on January 13, 2005, being one of the police officers in the ring with Kurt Angle. Feuding with Kane (2006–2007) As MVP, he made his first appearance on WWE television on the August 4, 2006 episode of SmackDown!, during which announcers described him as a coveted free agent. The initial angle involved MVP appearing backstage and in arena crowds, often flanked by women and/or a bodyguard, and talking to SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long about the contract his (unseen) agent was supposedly aggressively negotiating. Throughout his segments, commentators described MVP as arrogant, noting that he would stop conversations in the middle to answer his mobile phone or admire his own jewelry while people were speaking to him. Finally, on September 26, 2006, video of a press conference announcing the signing of MVP to "the largest contract in SmackDown! history" was uploaded to WWE.com. MVP made his in-ring debut at No Mercy as a heel with a ring entrance featuring an NFL-like inflatable tunnel, before defeating Marty Garner. During the match, commentators Michael Cole and John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) decried the choice of opponent, since it had been implied that it would be someone "more competent", and joined in with fans mocking his athletic suit styled ring gear, calling him "pathetic" while the fans chanted Power Ranger. On the following episode of SmackDown!, MVP made a demand for a tougher opponent to prove his mettle, which was answered by Kane making his SmackDown! debut. The two feuded for the next two months, with MVP narrowly scoring wins over Kane in a Street Fight, a Steel Cage match and tag team matches with Mr. Kennedy against the reunited Brothers of Destruction, before losing to Kane in an Inferno match at Armageddon, from which he suffered storyline first-degree burns. Because of the burns he was "out of action" for a short time, during which color commentator JBL expressed rage with the fans for cheering a match where the only way of achieving victory is to set an opponent on fire. United States Champion (2007–2009) When his feud with Kane ended, MVP began a feud with the WWE United States Champion Chris Benoit over Benoit's title. During the buildup for a title match with Benoit, MVP appeared on SmackDown! introducing various supposed champions from around the world, defeating them in squash matches. MVP lost to Benoit at WrestleMania 23 and at Backlash, but finally defeated Benoit in a Two out of three falls match at Judgment Day, with MVP taking the United States Championship, his first WWE title, in two straight falls. MVP credits his time working with Benoit for improving his in-ring skill. In his first pay-per-view championship defense at Vengeance: Night of Champions, MVP defeated Ric Flair to retain the title. His first major feud as the champion was against Matt Hardy, whom he started claiming to be better than at everything, after defeating him at The Great American Bash. When MVP was legitimately diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome, it was written into the storyline, with MVP blaming the condition for his losing an arm wrestling match against Hardy. When MVP was given an interview segment during SmackDown!, the VIP Lounge, it was used to bow out of a scheduled boxing match at Saturday Night's Main Event XXXV—with Evander Holyfield replacing him, and eventually punching out MVP during the bout. On the August 24 episode of SmackDown!, MVP bragged to General Manager Theodore Long that he was so good, he could win the WWE Tag Team Championship with anybody, prompting Long to grant him a championship match alongside the next person who entered the room, who turned out to be Matt Hardy. The following week, MVP and Hardy won the WWE Tag Team Championship from Deuce 'n Domino, making MVP a double champion. MVP and Hardy's contentious relationship had them competing with each other in various ways while MVP proclaimed himself "Captain" of the team. In the months coming, MVP started getting along better with Hardy, including helping him defeat Finlay on the October 19 episode of SmackDown!. Their reign together came to an end on the November 16 episode of SmackDown! after Hardy demanded a shot at the United States Championship, but MVP declined, and announced they had a WWE Tag Team Championship defense against John Morrison and the Miz instead. They lost the match and the titles, and immediately afterwards, MVP invoked the rematch clause, but they lost that match as well. MVP then attacked Hardy, targeting his knee, which in storyline had been injured during the matches, and put him "out of action". Hardy suffered a legitimate ruptured appendix while he was off television, putting their feud on hold. While Hardy recovered, MVP engaged in short feuds with Rey Mysterio (losing a title match by countout at Armageddon) and Ric Flair (losing a career threatening match at the Royal Rumble). At No Way Out, he competed in the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match for a World Heavyweight Championship opportunity at WrestleMania XXIV, but was eliminated by Finlay after The Undertaker chokeslammed him off the top of a chamber pod. He would instead participate in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania, and during the match, Hardy made an unannounced return and knocked MVP from the ladder with his signature Twist of Fate maneuver, costing him the match and reigniting their feud. At Backlash on April 27, MVP lost the United States Championship to Hardy, ending his record reign at 343 days, which was at the time the longest reign of the WWE era, and the third longest in the entire history of the championship (the record has since broken by Dean Ambrose in 2014). He then subsequently failed to regain the championship in a rematch on the May 2 episode of SmackDown. Beginning on the August 29 episode of SmackDown, MVP developed a losing streak that lasted over five months, losing in both singles and tag team matches. At Unforgiven, he challenged for the WWE Championship in the Championship Scramble match, but was unsuccessful, continuing his losing streak. The losing streak meant that, in storyline, MVP did not receive "his contract incentive bonus", and also was no longer allowed his usual entrance with the NFL-like inflatable tunnel. During this losing streak he had a short feud with The Great Khali. On the January 16, 2009 episode of SmackDown, MVP finally broke the losing streak by defeating Big Show in a Last Man Standing match with help from Triple H, as he was fighting to ensure that Triple H would be allowed to compete in the Royal Rumble match, in the process turning him face for the first time in his career. On the 500th episode of SmackDown on March 20, MVP won the United States Championship for the second time by defeating Shelton Benjamin. At WrestleMania 25, MVP competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match for the second year in a row, but failed to win. Teaming with Mark Henry (2009–2010) On the April 13 episode of Raw, MVP was drafted as the first overall pick to the Raw brand as a part of the 2009 WWE draft. As a result of being the reigning WWE United States Champion, he transferred the title to Raw for the first time in history. He lost the title to Kofi Kingston on the June 1 episode of Raw, before beginning a feud with Jack Swagger, which culminated in a match at SummerSlam, which MVP won. He then formed a tag team with Mark Henry, and they challenged Jeri-Show (Chris Jericho and The Big Show) for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship at the Breaking Point pay-per-view, but they failed to win the championship. At Survivor Series, MVP and Henry made up part of Team Kofi, competing against Team Orton in a 5-on-5 tag team elimination match. Although both MVP and Henry were eliminated, Team Kofi would go onto to win the match. After beginning a feud with The Miz, MVP faced him for the WWE United States Championship at Royal Rumble on January 31, 2010, but was unable to win. After this preliminary title retention, both also participated in the Rumble itself. MVP entered 14th and was surprise-attacked by Miz (who was not yet an official entrant) who hit him with the United States title belt. MVP later recovered and entered the match (having not been eliminated) to eliminate both himself and Miz. MVP challenged The Miz for the title a second time at the February 21 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view but was once again unable to win after interference from Big Show. He also competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI, but was unable to win. As part of the 2010 WWE supplemental draft, MVP was drafted back to the SmackDown brand. He made his SmackDown return on the April 30 episode, interrupting CM Punk's promo, and later teaming up with Rey Mysterio to defeat Punk and Luke Gallows. On June 1, MVP was announced as the mentor of Percy Watson for the second season of WWE NXT; Watson was eliminated from the competition on August 17, finishing fifth overall. On the November 5 episode of SmackDown, MVP fought in a triple threat match for the number one contendership of Dolph Ziggler's Intercontinental Championship against Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre. The match was won by MVP, and the championship match was set for the following week's SmackDown, but MVP was unsuccessful in winning the title. MVP was announced as part of Team Mysterio, teaming with Rey Mysterio, The Big Show, Chris Masters and Kofi Kingston to take on Team Del Rio (Alberto Del Rio, Tyler Reks, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes) at Survivor Series. At Survivor Series, MVP was the first man eliminated in the match by McIntyre, who was aided by Del Rio holding MVP's foot down so he could not kick out. MVP's team was able to win the match with Rey Mysterio and Big Show being sole survivors. MVP's last match with the WWE aired on the December 3 episode of SmackDown, teaming with Kaval in a losing effort against Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler; afterward, he and Kaval were attacked by Kane. MVP was released from his WWE contract earlier on December 2. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2011–2013) In 2011, Assad signed a one-year contract with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, pursuing his noted passion for puroresu. TMZ reported that Assad's prior convictions had made it difficult for him to acquire a visa but that he would be debuting in February. As WWE owned the rights to the name Montel Vontavious Porter, but not MVP, Assad was able to continue working under the abbreviated ring name. In storyline MVP was brought in to the promotion by Nosawa Rongai, who wanted him to join the villainous Kojima-gun, led by Satoshi Kojima. In his debut match for the promotion on February 20 at The New Beginning, MVP teamed with fellow Kojima-gun member Taichi to defeat Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma in a tag team match by making Honma submit to his Take it to the Bank crucifix neck crank. On March 6, MVP entered the 2011 New Japan Cup, used to determine the new number one contender to the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, defeating Karl Anderson in his first round match. On March 19, MVP suffered his first loss in New Japan, when he was defeated by Togi Makabe in the second round of the New Japan Cup. The following day, MVP achieved a major victory when he tapped IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi out with the TTB in a tag team match, where he teamed with Satoshi Kojima and Tanahashi with Hirooki Goto. On May 3, the returning Minoru Suzuki took over as the new leader of Kojima-gun, after its members Taichi and Taka Michinoku had turned on Satoshi Kojima. In May 2011, MVP took part in the Invasion Tour 2011, New Japan's first tour of the United States. On May 13 in Rahway, New Jersey, he entered the tournament to determine the first ever IWGP Intercontinental Champion, defeating Kazuchika Okada in his first round match. The following day in New York City, MVP defeated Tetsuya Naito to advance to the finals of the tournament. On the third and final day of the tour in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, MVP defeated Toru Yano in the finals to become the first IWGP Intercontinental Champion. Earlier in the event, MVP showed his allegiance to Satoshi Kojima by saving him from the debuting Lance Archer, thus breaking away from the newly renamed Suzuki-gun. On June 18 at Dominion 6.18, MVP made his first successful defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship by defeating Toru Yano. After the match, Yano attacked him and cut his hair. The two would face each other in a third title match on July 18, where MVP was once again victorious. After the match MVP was attacked and challenged by Yano's Chaos stablemate Masato Tanaka. In August, MVP took part in the 2011 G1 Climax, where he managed to win six out of his nine matches, but a loss to Karl Anderson on the final day of the tournament caused him to narrowly miss advancing to the finals. On October 10 at Destruction '11, MVP lost the IWGP Intercontinental Championship to Masato Tanaka, ending his reign at 148 days. MVP received a rematch for the title on December 4, but was again defeated by Tanaka, following interference from his stablemate Yujiro Takahashi. On January 4, 2012, at Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome, MVP teamed with Shelton Benjamin, making a special one-time appearance, to defeat Tanaka and Takahashi in a tag team match. MVP reunited with Benjamin on June 16 at Dominion 6.16, where they defeated Karl Anderson and Tama Tonga in a tag team match. In August, MVP took part in his second G1 Climax tournament, where he won four out of his eight matches and failed to advance to the finals. In November, MVP took part in the 2012 World Tag League, where he teamed with Shelton Benjamin under the tag team name "Black Dynamite". MVP and Benjamin finished their tournament on December 1 with a record of three wins, one over the reigning IWGP Tag Team Champions K.E.S. (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer), and three losses, failing to advance from their block. On January 4, 2013, at Wrestle Kingdom 7 in Tokyo Dome, MVP teamed with Akebono, Manabu Nakanishi and Strong Man in an eight-man tag team match, where they defeated Bob Sapp, Takashi Iizuka, Toru Yano and Yujiro Takahashi. On February 26, Assad announced that he had parted ways with New Japan and would be next focusing on a television project with Lionsgate Television. He later explained his reasons behind leaving the promotion, saying that he wanted to stay closer to his home in addition to just "recharging the batteries". Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2014–2015, 2019) At the January 30, 2014, tapings of Impact Wrestling, Assad returned to TNA using the MVP name, where he was pointed as the storyline "investor" of TNA. As an authority figure, he signed The Wolves and counteracting TNA President Dixie Carter's agenda. Both feuded over the control of TNA until Lockdown, where two teams, representing MVP and Carter, face each other. MVP's team defeated Dixie's team with an assist from special referee Bully Ray, earning MVP total control of wrestling operations. However, MVP turned heel when, on the May 8 episode of Impact Wrestling, he attacked TNA World Heavyweight Champion Eric Young and announced himself as the number one contender to the title at Slammiversary XII. However, MVP suffered a legit torn meniscus and was removed from the match. According to PWInsider, the original plans were to crown MVP as champion. After that, MVP and Kenny King helped Lashley win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Eric Young, but MVP was substituted by Kurt Angle as the on-screen authority figure. From there, MVP acted as Lashley and King's manager (and occasional partner after his knee's condition improved), while feuding with Angle in promos. He defeated Kazma Sakamoto at Bound for Glory and, on the November 5 episode of Impact Wrestling, MVP lost to Bobby Roode in a TNA World Heavyweight Championship match. In January 2015, MVP formed a new group, the Beat Down Clan with King, Samoa Joe, Low Ki, and Eric Young, helping Lashley to regain the championship from Roode. MVP attempted to present Lashley as the centerpiece of the Clan as well as a "founding member" (officially establishing the MVP-Lashley-King trio as the foundation of the BDC as a faction). However, Lashley turned on them and the Beat Down Clan attacked him. At Impact Wrestling: Lockdown (2015), Team Angle (Kurt Angle, Austin Aries, Gunner, and Lashley) defeated The BDC (MVP, Samoa Joe, Low Ki, and Kenny King) in a Lethal Lockdown match. On February 27 broadcast of Impact Wrestling, MVP faced Lashley for the title, but was defeated. In April, The Beat Down Clan started a feud against the newly formed The Rising (Drew Galloway, Eli Drake and Micah), having several matches between the stables until the June 24, 2015 (aired July 1) episode of Impact Wrestling, where The Beat Down Clan defeated The Rising in a 4-on-3 Handicap match, forcing The Rising to dissolve. On July 17, 2015, MVP officially left TNA. He was reportedly released in the fallout of a contract dispute between TNA and Lucha Underground. MVP had pushed for TNA to sign Hernandez, even though he was at the time still under contract to Lucha Underground. When Lucha Underground contacted TNA, they released Hernandez and were forced to re-edit all segments he had been involved in at the past tapings. On September 13, 2019, he made an appearance for TNA, now known as Impact Wrestling at their Operation Override Twitch special. In the match, he challenged for WCR's World Class Championship against the champion Chavo Guerrero Jr. Due to the disqualification finish, the two had a rematch at the following night's Victory Road Impact Plus Monthly Specials. Independent circuit (2013–2019) MVP has made frequent appearances for Tommy Dreamer's House of Hardcore (HOH) promotion. He wrestled at the second and third events when the promotion was starting up in 2013. After his stint in TNA, MVP defeated Moose at House of Hardcore XVI in August 2016 in his return to the promotion. He went on to appear at nine straight shows for the promotion in 2017, wrestling the likes of Jack Swagger, Tommy Dreamer, Billy Gunn and Matt Cross among others. At December 1, 2018, he made his most recent appearance for the promotion, defeating Big Cass at HOH 51. He announced on March 31, 2016, that he would be joining Lucha Underground. However, days later, on April 8, he announced his release from the company due to inadvertently violating terms of his contract by interviewing members of the roster for his podcast. On October 10, 2016, MVP defeated Jody Kristofferson for the All Pro Wrestling (APW) Universal Heavyweight Championship. MVP fought Rob Van Dam for the PCW Ultra Heavyweight Championship on March 24, 2017, in a losing effort. The following day, MVP lost the APW Universal Heavyweight Championship to Luster the Legend. His June 22, 2018, return to APW resulted in a loss to Penta El 0M. In early 2018 MVP wrestled two matches for Booker T's promotion Reality of Wrestling. On February 25, 2018, he won a battle royal for the Big League Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship, a title he still holds. In March 2018 he wrestled in Istanbul, Turkey for Turkish Power Wrestling in the main event. He debuted for AAW Wrestling on August 4, 2018, in a match where he beat Eddie Kingston. During early 2019 he wrestled most frequently for World Class Revolution (WCR), a promotion based out of Oklahoma. Also during 2019 he wrestled for Oakland's Hoodslam Wrestling and Alberto El Patron's new Mexican promotion Nación Lucha Libre. Major League Wrestling (2017–2018) Due to his podcast on Court Bauer's MLW Radio Network, MVP was chosen as one of the wrestlers for the newly relaunched Major League Wrestling (MLW). He appeared at their first show since 2004, One Shot beating Sami Callihan in a no-disqualification match October 5, 2017. He also joined the company as an agent, producing talent promos and matches. In February 2018, MVP participated in the tournament to crown a new MLW World Heavyweight Champion, the first one since the promotion's revival. He was beaten in the first round by Tom Lawlor. Two months later he made his debut on their new weekly program MLW Fusion in a match against Callihan, that MVP lost. MVP continued his feud with Callihan by defeating one of Callihan's partners Leon Scott by DQ on the June 8 episode of MLW Fusion. On July 1, 2018, MVP revealed he had parted ways with MLW and MLW Radio. His final match for the promotion aired on July 6, 2018. It was a Boiler Room Brawl that was won by Sami Callihan ending their feud. Ring of Honor (2019) On January 25, 2019, MVP made a return to Ring of Honor (ROH) at their Road To G1 Supercard show in Houston, Texas. This was his first appearance for the company since one match in 2005, where he wrestled as Antonio Banks. At the show he debuted as a surprise partner of Kenny King, reforming the Beat Down Clan. They would go on to defeat the team of Willie Mack and Colt Cabana advancing them in the Tag Wars tournament. The winners of Tag Wars were set to receive a ROH World Tag Team Championship title shot at ROH's 17th-anniversary pay-per-view and a spot in the Crockett Cup tournament. However, MVP and King lost in the semi-finals of the tournament to Brody King and PCO. Return to WWE (2018, 2020-present) Sporadic appearances and return (2018, 2020) On January 22, 2018, MVP made a special appearance on the 25th-anniversary episode of Raw as a guest WWE legend, in a poker segment also involving The APA (Bradshaw and Ron Simmons), and Ted DiBiase. This marked his first WWE appearance of any kind in over eight years at that point. When Paul Heyman worked as executive director of the Raw brand, Hassan called him asking for a spot on the Royal Rumble match, since it was going to be celebrated on Houston. Heyman agreed if he had also one match on Raw the next day. At the end, WWE and Hassan made an agreement to work as a wrestler, manager, producer and commentator. On January 26, 2020, at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, MVP would return again, as a face, as entrant No. 12 as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble match, where he was quickly eliminated by Brock Lesnar; this marked MVP's first time in a WWE ring in 10 years. The next night on Raw, MVP had a match with Rey Mysterio, which he lost. On the February 10 episode of Raw, MVP brought back "The VIP Lounge," with his guest being 2020 Royal Rumble winner Drew McIntyre. During the segment, MVP turned heel for the first time since 2009, insulting the fans, and trying to advise McIntyre to be managed by him. However, McIntyre disregarded the advice and subsequently attacked MVP. The following week, MVP announced that he was hired by WWE as a backstage producer, while still being an on-screen performer. On the April 20 episode of Raw, MVP faced Apollo Crews to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match, but was defeated. The Hurt Business (2020–2022) At Money in the Bank on May 10, MVP was scheduled to face R-Truth, but was replaced by Bobby Lashley, who quickly defeated Truth. The following night on Raw, MVP aligned himself with Lashley. At Backlash, MVP managed Lashley as he challenged Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship, but he was unsuccessful in capturing the title due to an altercation between MVP and Lashley's storyline wife, Lana, that distracted Lashley and allowed McIntyre to retain his championship. The following night on Raw, Lashley had a rematch against McIntyre for the WWE Championship in a tag team match that also involved MVP and R-Truth, but he lost again when the latter pinned MVP. On the July 20 episode of Raw, Shelton Benjamin joined his stable, now known as The Hurt Business. MVP then started a feud with the United States Champion Apollo Crews, after MVP would offer him his services but Crews turned him down. During the storyline, MVP proclaimed himself the real United States Champion when he unveiled a new belt design. At The Horror Show at Extreme Rules, Crews did not appear for their scheduled match, so MVP declared himself as the champion. However, MVP faced Crews two times, one at Raw and the other at SummerSlam, failing both times. At Payback, Lashley defeated Crews to win the United States Championship. On the September 7 episode of Raw, Cedric Alexander joined The Hurt Business when he betrayed Crews and Ricochet during a six-man tag team match, attacking them and helping The Hurt Business win the match. At TLC, he was present when Alexander and Benjamin won the Raw Tag Team Championship. In early 2021, MVP suffered a leg injury and began using a crutch to move around, taken him out of in-ring action. He was present when Bobby Lashley won the WWE Championship on the March 1 episode of Raw. On the March 29 episode of Raw, Lashley attacked Alexander and Benjamin due to them losing the Raw Tag Team Championships and losing to Drew McIntyre in a 2-on-1 handicap match, thus kicking the tag team out of the faction in the process. Lashley would proclaim that The Hurt Business was over. MVP later stated on Twitter that The Hurt Business is still in action, comprising now of just him and Lashley, and that it was open for new members. On the July 5 episode of Raw, MVP wrestled for the first time since his injury earlier in the year, in a tag match with Bobby Lashley against Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, also known as The New Day. The team of MVP and Lashley lost the match. On the August 30 episode of Raw, MVP and Lashley would challenge RK-Bro for the Raw Tag Team Championships, but were unsuccessful in winning the titles. On the September 13 episode of Raw, MVP suffered a broken rib after receiving an RKO from Randy Orton, which put him out of action indefinitely. He returned on the November 8 episode of Raw, accompanying Lashley to the ring for his match with Dominik Mysterio. Alliance with Omos (2022–present) On the April 4, 2022 episode of Raw, MVP turned on Lashley and aligned himself with Omos. MVP helped Omos defeat Lashley at WrestleMania Backlash. This led to a 2-on-1 handicap match at Hell in a Cell, where MVP and Omos lost to Lashley, ending their feud. Personal life In August 2007, Assad was diagnosed with Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome, a rare condition that causes the heart to beat faster than normal. The condition was discovered during his tenure with WWE, when he had undergone a routine check-up in accordance with WWE's Talent Wellness Policy, which otherwise would have gone undetected until it was too late. Assad has acquired numerous tattoos through his life, including a portrait of Malcolm X on the upper left portion of his chest, the sarcophagus of King Tut and the pyramids on his left upper biceps, the words "Monte Cristo" with the phrase "the best revenge is living well" in script on his right forearm (both references to the book The Count of Monte Cristo), the Eye of Horus on the back of his left arm, and a star on his right shoulder. He also has a number of homemade gang-related tattoos that he had done when he was a teenager. Assad has stated that he was a video game fan growing up, and that the finishing maneuver he used on the independent circuit, the Malicious Intent, was inspired by a similar move performed by Eddy Gordo from the Tekken series. He has been a fan of Manchester United FC since he was 13, naming Eric Cantona as his favorite player. Despite his earlier conversion to Islam, he has since described himself as an atheist and "infidel". Assad practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu, in which he gained the rank of purple belt after winning the gold medal at the Houston Open in the Masters 3 Ultra Heavyweight Division. He also won gold in the Open Division at the Houston Open, and silver at the IBJJF Masters World Championship in the Masters 4/Male/Purple/Ultra-Heavy Category. In December 2020, he won a gold medal at the IBJJF Masters World Championship in the Masters 4/Male/Purple/Ultra-Heavy Category, and was promoted to brown belt at the medal presentation. He continues to train in the sport, alongside fellow wrestler Dave Bautista. Other media Assad made a cameo appearance in the film MacGruber, alongside fellow WWE Superstars Chris Jericho, The Great Khali, Big Show, Kane, and Mark Henry. MVP released his first hip hop song titled "Holla to da World" featuring Dwayne Swayze in June 2011. A music video for the song, featuring cameos from Carlito and Hernandez, was released the following October. The song was released as a single through iTunes on April 5, 2012. On March 18, 2013, he released his second song entitled "Tokyo". On January 30, 2014, MVP released his third single, titled "Return of the Ronin". The song also became MVP's entrance theme in TNA. MVP has been featured as a playable character in the video games WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011, and WWE 2K22, his first WWE licensed video game in 11 years. He also appeared in WWE 2K23. Filmography Championships and accomplishments All Pro Wrestling APW Universal Heavyweight Championship (1 time) The Baltimore Sun Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (2007) Big League Wrestling BLW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) BLW Title Rumble Match (2018) CBS Sports Comeback Wrestler of the Year (2020) Coastal Championship Wrestling CCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) DDT Pro-Wrestling Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship (1 time) Future of Wrestling FOW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Punisher Imperial Wrestling Revolution IWR Heavyweight Championship (1 time) IWR Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with D Money, Marce Lewis, Montego Seeka and Nytronis A'Teo New Japan Pro-Wrestling IWGP Intercontinental Championship (1 time, inaugural) IWGP Intercontinental Championship Tournament (2011) Pro Wrestling Illustrated Comeback of the Year (2020) Ranked No. 23 of the best 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2008 Southern Championship Wrestling Florida SCW Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time) World Class Revolution WCR Heavyweight Championship (3 times) World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE WWE United States Championship (2 times) WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Matt Hardy Slammy Award for Trash Talker of the Year (2020) Wrestling Observer Newsletter Most Improved (2007) Most Underrated (2008) References External links Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:African-American atheists Category:African-American players of American football Category:African-American male professional wrestlers Category:American atheists Category:American sportspeople convicted of crimes Category:American former Muslims Category:American male professional wrestlers Category:American people convicted of robbery Category:NWA/WCW/WWE United States Heavyweight Champions Category:Expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan Category:People from Opa-locka, Florida Category:Professional wrestlers from Florida Category:Professional wrestling authority figures Category:Professional wrestling managers and valets Category:Sportspeople from Miami Category:American people convicted of kidnapping Category:Former gang members Category:IWGP Intercontinental champions Category:21st-century professional wrestlers Category:Ironman Heavymetalweight Champions

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Nate Silver

Silver was born in East Lansing, Michigan, the son of Sally (nee Thrun), a community activist, and Brian David Silver, a former chair of the political science department at Michigan State University. Silver's mother's family, of English and German descent, includes several distinguished men and women, including his maternal great-grandfather, Harmon Lewis, who was president of the Alcoa Steamship Company, Inc. Silver has described himself as "half-Jewish". Silver showed a proficiency in math from a young age.

2008 U.S. elections

In March 2008, Silver established his blog FiveThirtyEight.com, in which he developed a system for tracking polls and forecasting the outcome of the 2008 general election. At the same time, he continued making forecasts of the 2008 Democratic primary elections. That several of his forecasts based on demographic analysis proved to be substantially more accurate than those of the professional pollsters gained visibility and professional credibility for "Poblano," the pseudonym that Silver was then using. After the North Carolina and Indiana primaries on May 6, the popularity of FiveThirtyEight.com surged. Silver recalls the scenario: 'I know the polls show it's really tight in NC, but we think Obama is going to win by thirteen, fourteen points, and he did. ... Any time you make a prediction like that people give you probably too much credit for it.... But after that [Silver's and the website's popularity] started to really take off. It's pretty nonlinear, once you get one mention in the mainstream media, other people [quickly follow suit]'". As a CNET reporter wrote on election eve, "Even though Silver launched the site as recently as March, its straightforward approach, daring predictions, and short but impressive track record has put it on the map of political sites to follow. The Washington Post featured Silver in its 14th annual election prediction contest this year, and he'll be reporting on Tuesday night's results with Dan Rather on HDNet". Silver's final 2008 presidential election forecast accurately predicted the winner of 49 of the 50 states as well as the District of Columbia (missing only the prediction for Indiana). As his model predicted, the races in Missouri and North Carolina were particularly close. He also correctly predicted the winners of every U.S. Senate race. The accuracy of his predictions won him further acclaim, including abroad, and added to his reputation as a leading political prognosticator. Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign signed off on a proposal to share all of its private polling with Silver. After signing a confidentiality agreement, Silver was granted access to hundreds of polls the campaign had conducted. CANNOTANSWER

Nathaniel Read Silver (born January 13, 1978) is an American statistician, writer, and poker player who analyzes baseball (see sabermetrics), basketball, and elections (see psephology). He is the founder and editor-in-chief of FiveThirtyEight and a special correspondent for ABC News. Silver was named one of The World's 100 Most Influential People by Time in 2009 after an election forecasting system he developed successfully predicted the outcomes in forty-nine of the fifty states in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. His subsequent election forecasting systems predicted the outcome of the 2012 and 2020 presidential elections with a high degree of accuracy, and—at the time—gave presidential candidate Donald Trump the highest chance of success the day of the 2016 presidential election of reputable forecasts at the time. Much of Silver's approach can be characterized by using probabilistic and statistical modelling to try and understand complex social systems, such as professional sports, the popularity of political platforms, and elections. Early life and education Silver was born in East Lansing, Michigan, the son of Sally (née Thrun), a community activist, and Brian David Silver, a former chair of the political science department at Michigan State University. Silver's mother's family, of English and German descent, includes several distinguished men and women, including his maternal great-grandfather, Harmon Lewis, who was president of the Alcoa Steamship Company, Inc. Silver's father's family includes two uncles—Leon Silver and Caswell Silver—who were distinguished geologists. Silver has described himself as "half-Jewish". Silver showed a proficiency in math from a young age. According to journalist William Hageman, "Silver caught the baseball bug when he was 6.... It was 1984, the year the Detroit Tigers won the World Series. The Tigers became his team and baseball his sport. And if there's anything that goes hand in glove with baseball, it's numbers, another of Silver's childhood interests ("It's always more interesting to apply it to batting averages than algebra class")". As a student at East Lansing High School, Silver won first place in the State of Michigan in the 49th annual John S. Knight Scholarship Contest for senior high school debaters in 1996. Silver first showed his journalism skills as a writer and opinion page editor for The Portrait, East Lansing High School's student newspaper, from 1993–1996. In 2000, Silver graduated with Honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Chicago. He also wrote for the Chicago Weekly News and the Chicago Maroon. He spent his third year at the London School of Economics. Career Economic consultant: 2000–2004 After college graduation in 2000, Silver worked for three and a half years as a transfer pricing consultant with KPMG in Chicago. When asked in 2009, "What is your biggest regret in life?" Silver responded, "Spending four years of my life at a job I didn't like". While employed at KPMG, Silver continued to nurture his lifelong interest in baseball and statistics, and on the side he began to work on his PECOTA system for projecting player performance and careers. He quit his job at KPMG in April 2004 and for a time earned his living mainly by playing online poker. According to Sports Illustrated writer Alexander Wolff, over a three-year period Silver earned $400,000 from online poker. Baseball analyst: 2003–2008 In 2003, Silver became a writer for Baseball Prospectus (BP), after having sold PECOTA to BP in return for a partnership interest. After resigning from KPMG in 2004, he took the position of Executive Vice-President, later renamed Managing Partner of BP. Silver further developed PECOTA and wrote a weekly column under the heading "Lies, Damned Lies". He applied sabermetric techniques to a broad range of topics including forecasting the performance of individual players, the economics of baseball, metrics for the valuation of players, and developing an Elo rating system for Major League baseball. Between 2003 and 2009, Silver co-authored the Baseball Prospectus annual book of Major League Baseball forecasts, as well as other books, including Mind Game: How the Boston Red Sox Got Smart, Won a World Series, and Created a New Blueprint for Winning, Baseball Between the Numbers, and It Ain't Over 'til It's Over: The Baseball Prospectus Pennant Race Book. He contributed articles about baseball to ESPN.com, Sports Illustrated, Slate, the New York Sun, and The New York Times. Silver wrote more than 200 articles for Baseball Prospectus. PECOTA PECOTA (Player Empirical Comparison and Optimization Test Algorithm) is a statistical system that projects the future performance of hitters and pitchers. It is designed primarily for two users: fans interested in fantasy baseball, and professionals in the baseball business trying to predict the performance and valuation of major league players. Unlike most other baseball projection systems, PECOTA relies on matching a given current player to a set of "comparable" players whose past performance can serve as a guide to how the given current player is likely to perform in the future. Unlike most other such systems, PECOTA also calculates a range of probable performance levels rather than a single predicted value on a given measure such as earned run average or batting average. PECOTA projections were first published by Baseball Prospectus in the 2003 edition of its annual book as well as online by BaseballProspectus.com. Silver produced the PECOTA forecasts for each Major League Baseball season from 2003 through 2009. Political analyst and blogger: since 2008 FiveThirtyEight blog Creation and motivation On November 1, 2007, while still employed by Baseball Prospectus, Silver began publishing a diary under the pseudonym "Poblano" on the progressive political blog Daily Kos. Silver set out to analyze quantitative aspects of the political game to enlighten a broader audience. Silver reports that "he was stranded in a New Orleans airport when the idea of FiveThirtyEight.com came to him. 'I was just frustrated with the analysis. ... I saw a lot of discussion about strategy that was not all that sophisticated, especially when it came to quantitative things like polls and demographics'". His forecasts of the 2008 United States presidential primary elections drew a lot of attention, including being cited by The New York Times op-ed columnist William Kristol. On March 7, 2008, while still writing as "Poblano", Silver established his own blog, FiveThirtyEight.com. Often colloquially referred to as just 538, the website takes its name from the number of electors in the United States electoral college. On May 30, 2008, Poblano revealed his identity to FiveThirtyEight.com readers. On June 1, 2008, Silver published a two-page op-ed in the New York Post outlining the rationale underlying his focus on the statistical aspects of politics. He first appeared on national television on CNN's American Morning on June 13, 2008. Silver described his partisan orientation as follows in the FAQ on his website: "My state [Illinois] has non-partisan registration, so I am not registered as anything. I vote for Democratic candidates the majority of the time (though by no means always). This year, I have been a supporter of Barack Obama". With respect to the impartiality of his electoral projections, Silver stated, "Are [my] results biased toward [my] preferred candidates? I hope not, but that is for you to decide. I have tried to disclose as much about my methodology as possible". 2008 election and aftermath Shortly after the November 4 election, ESPN writer Jim Caple observed, "Forget Cole Hamels and the Phillies. No one in baseball had a more impressive fall than Nate Silver.... [R]ight now Silver is exhausted. He barely slept the last couple weeks of the campaign—'By the end, it was full-time plus'—and for that matter, he says he couldn't have kept it up had the campaign lasted two days longer. Plus, he has his Baseball Prospectus duties. 'We write our [Baseball Prospectus 2009] book from now through the first of the year,' [Silver] said. 'I have a week to relax and then it gets just as busy again. In February 2009 I will just have to find an island in the Caribbean and throw my BlackBerry in the ocean'". Later in November 2008, Silver signed a contract with Penguin Group USA to write two books, reportedly for a $700,000 advance. Silver was invited to be a speaker at TED 2009 in February 2009, and keynote speaker at the 2009 South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive conference (March 2009). While maintaining his FiveThirtyEight.com website, in January 2009 Silver began a monthly feature column, "The Data", in Esquire as well as contributed occasional articles to other media such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He also tried his luck in the 2009 World Series of Poker. The success of his FiveThirtyEight.com blog marked the effective end of Silver's career as baseball analyst, though he continued to devote some attention to sports statistics and sports economics in his blog. In March 2009, he stepped down as Managing Partner of Baseball Prospectus and handed over responsibility for producing future PECOTA projections to other Baseball Prospectus staff members. In April 2009, he appeared as an analyst on ESPN's Baseball Tonight. After March 2009, he published only two "Lies, Damned Lies" columns on BaseballProspectus.com. In November 2009, ESPN introduced a new Soccer Power Index (SPi), designed by Nate Silver, for predicting the outcome of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He published a post-mortem after the tournament, comparing his predictions to those of alternative rating systems. In April 2010, in an assignment for New York magazine, Silver created a quantitative index of "The Most Livable Neighborhoods in New York". Transition to The New York Times On June 3, 2010, Silver announced on FiveThirtyEight In the near future, the blog will "re-launch" under a NYTimes.com domain. It will retain its own identity (akin to other Times blogs like DealBook), but will be organized under the News:Politics section. Once this occurs, content will no longer be posted at FiveThirtyEight.com on an ongoing basis, and the blog will re-direct to the new URL. In addition, I will be contributing content to the print edition of The New York Times, and to the Sunday Magazine. The partnership agreement, which is structured as a license, has a term of three years. The New York Times "FiveThirtyEight: Nate Silver's Political Calculus" commenced on August 25, 2010, with the publication of "New Forecast Shows Democrats Losing 6 to 7 Senate Seats". From that date the blog focused almost exclusively on forecasting the outcomes of the 2010 U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives elections as well as state gubernatorial contests. Silver's Times Sunday Magazine feature first appeared on November 19, 2010, under the heading "Go Figure". It was later titled "Acts of Mild Subversion". While blogging for The Times, Silver also worked on his book about prediction, which was published in September 2012. At that time, Silver began to drop hints that after 2012 he would turn his attention to matters other than detailed statistical forecasting of elections. As reported in New York magazine: " 'I view my role now as providing more of a macro-level skepticism, rather than saying this poll is good or this poll is evil,' he says. And in four [years], he might be even more macro, as he turns his forecasting talents to other fields. 'I'm 97 percent sure that the FiveThirtyEight model will exist in 2016,' he says, 'but it could be someone else who's running it or licensing it.'" During the last year of FiveThirtyEights license to The New York Times, it drew a very large volume of online traffic to the paper: The Times does not release traffic figures, but a spokesperson said yesterday that Silver's blog provided a significant—and significantly growing, over the past year—percentage of Times pageviews. This fall, visits to the Times' political coverage (including FiveThirtyEight) have increased, both absolutely and as a percentage of site visits. But FiveThirtyEight's growth is staggering: where earlier this year, somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of politics visits included a stop at FiveThirtyEight, last week that figure was 71 percent. But Silver's blog has buoyed more than just the politics coverage, becoming a significant traffic-driver for the site as a whole. Earlier this year, approximately 1 percent of visits to the New York Times included FiveThirtyEight. Last week, that number was 13 percent. Yesterday, it was 20 percent. That is, one in five visitors to the sixth-most-trafficked U.S. news site took a look at Silver's blog. Departure from The Times In an online chat session a week after the 2012 election Silver commented: "As tempting as it might be to pull a Jim Brown/Sandy Koufax and just mic-drop/retire from elections forecasting, I expect that we'll be making forecasts in 2014 and 2016. Midterm elections can be dreadfully boring, unfortunately. But the 2016 G.O.P. primary seems almost certain to be epic." In late November 2012, Times executive editor Jill Abramson declared her wish to keep Silver and his blog: "We would love to have Nate continue to be part of the New York Times family, and to expand on what he does", she said. "We know he began in sports anyway, so it is not an exclusively political product. I am excited to talk to Nate when he finishes his book tour about ways to expand that kind of reporting." On July 22, 2013, ESPN announced that it had acquired ownership of the FiveThirtyEight website and brand, and that "Silver will serve as editor-in-chief of the site and will build a team of journalists, editors, analysts and contributors in the coming months." The New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan wrote upon Silver's decision to leave for ESPN: I don't think Nate Silver ever really fit into the Times culture and I think he was aware of that. He was, in a word, disruptive. Much like the Brad Pitt character in the movie "Moneyball" disrupted the old model of how to scout baseball players, Nate disrupted the traditional model of how to cover politics. She added, "A number of traditional and well-respected Times journalists disliked his work." Later, Sullivan wrote in The Times that "I don't feel so good about not being able to investigate every complaint from every individual reader fully, or about making some misjudgments in individual posts — my Nate Silver commentary, among others, has probably been off-base...". New York magazine reported that executive editor Jill Abramson "put on a full-court press" to keep Silver at The Times and that "for Abramson, Silver was a tentpole attraction for her favorite subject, national politics, and brought the kind of buzz she thought valuable", but the company's CEO and President Mark Thompson "confirmed that keeping Silver was not at the top of his agenda." The article stated that "the major reason Silver left was because he felt it was Thompson who had not committed to building his franchise. The mixed signals from Thompson and Abramson—his lack of enthusiasm for committing resources to Silver, her desire to keep a major star—frustrated Silver and his lawyer." FiveThirtyEight under ESPN ownership When FiveThirtyEight was relaunched under ESPN's ownership on March 17, 2014, Silver outlined the scope of topics that would be covered under the rubric of "data journalism": FiveThirtyEight's election forecasts 2008 U.S. elections In March 2008, Silver established his blog FiveThirtyEight.com, in which he developed a system for tracking polls and forecasting the outcome of the 2008 general election. At the same time, he continued making forecasts of the 2008 Democratic primary elections. That several of his forecasts based on demographic analysis proved to be substantially more accurate than those of the professional pollsters gained visibility and professional credibility for "Poblano", the pseudonym that Silver was then using. After the North Carolina and Indiana primaries on May 6, the popularity of FiveThirtyEight.com surged. Silver recalls the scenario: "I know the polls show it's really tight in NC, but we think Obama is going to win by thirteen, fourteen points, and he did. ... Any time you make a prediction like that people give you probably too much credit for it.... But after that [Silver's and the website's popularity] started to really take off. It's pretty nonlinear, once you get one mention in the mainstream media, other people [quickly follow suit]". As a CNET reporter wrote on election eve, "Even though Silver launched the site as recently as March, its straightforward approach, daring predictions, and short but impressive track record has put it on the map of political sites to follow. The Washington Post featured Silver in its 14th annual election prediction contest this year, and he'll be reporting on Tuesday night's results with Dan Rather on HDNet". Silver's final 2008 presidential election forecast accurately predicted the winner of 49 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, missing only the prediction for Indiana. As his model predicted, the races in Missouri and North Carolina were particularly close. He also correctly predicted the winners of every U.S. Senate race. The accuracy of his predictions won him further acclaim, including abroad, and added to his reputation as a leading political prognosticator. Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign signed off on a proposal to share all of its private polling with Silver. After signing a confidentiality agreement, Silver was granted access to hundreds of polls the campaign had conducted. 2010 U.S. elections Shortly after FiveThirtyEight relocated to The New York Times, Silver introduced his prediction models for the 2010 elections to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and state governorships. Each of these models relied initially on a combination of electoral history, demographics, and polling. Silver eventually published detailed forecasts and analyses of the results for all three sets of elections. He correctly predicted the winner in 34 of the 37 contested Senate races. His 2010 congressional mid-term predictions were not as accurate as those made in 2008, but were still within the reported confidence interval. Silver predicted a Republican pickup of 54 seats in the House of Representatives; the GOP won 63 seats. Of the 37 gubernatorial races, FiveThirtyEight correctly predicted the winner of 36. 2012 U.S. elections Although throughout 2011 Silver devoted a lot of attention on his blog to the 2012 Republican party primaries, his first effort to handicap the 2012 presidential general election appeared as the cover story in The New York Times Magazine a year prior to the election: "Is Obama Toast? Handicapping the 2012 Election". Accompanying the online release of this article, Silver also published "Choose Obama's Re-Election Adventure", an interactive toy that allowed readers to predict the outcome of the election based on their assumptions about three variables: President Obama's favorability ratings, the rate of GDP growth, and how conservative the Republican opponent would be. This analysis stimulated a lot of critical discussion. While publishing numerous stories on the Republican primary elections, in mid-February 2012 Silver reprised and updated his previous Magazine story with another one, "What Obama Should Do Next". This story painted a more optimistic picture of President Obama's re-election chances. A companion article on his FiveThirtyEight blog, "The Fundamentals Now Favor Obama", explained how the model and the facts on the ground had changed between November and February. Silver published the first iteration of his 2012 general election forecasts on June 7, 2012. According to the model, at that time Barack Obama was projected to win 291 electoral votes—21 more than the 270 required for a majority. Obama then had an estimated 61.8% chance of winning a majority. On the morning of the November 6, 2012, presidential election, the final update of Silver's model at 10:10 A.M. gave President Barack Obama a 90.9% chance of winning a majority of the 538 electoral votes. Both in summary tables and in an electoral map, Silver forecast the winner of each state. At the conclusion of that day, when Mitt Romney had conceded to Barack Obama, Silver's model had correctly predicted the winner of every one of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Silver, along with at least three academic-based analysts—Drew Linzer, Simon Jackman, and Josh Putnam—who also aggregated polls from multiple pollsters—thus was not only broadly correct about the election outcome, but also specifically predicted the outcomes for the nine swing states. In contrast, individual pollsters were less successful. For example, Rasmussen Reports "missed on six of its nine swing-state polls". 2016 U.S. elections In the week leading up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the FiveThirtyEight team predicted that Hillary Clinton had a 64.5% chance of winning the election. Their final prediction on November 8, 2016, gave Clinton a 71% chance to win the 2016 United States presidential election, while other major forecasters had predicted Clinton to win with at least an 85% to 99% probability. Donald Trump won the election. FiveThirtyEight argued it projected a much higher chance (29%) of Donald Trump winning the presidency than other modelers, a projection which was criticized days before the election by Ryan Grim of The Huffington Post as "unskewing" too much in favor of Trump. 2020 U.S. elections In their final prediction of the 2020 United States presidential election, FiveThirtyEight predicted that Joe Biden had an 89% chance of winning the election; Biden won both the Electoral College and the popular vote. FiveThirtyEight only missed Florida, North Carolina, and Maine's 2nd congressional district in their prediction. Donald Trump prevailed in each of these contests, which FiveThirtyEight had predicted Biden would win. Reception Silver has been criticized for inaccurate predictions. In January 2010, journalist and blogger Colby Cosh criticized Silver's performance during the Massachusetts special Senate election, saying he was "still arguing as late as Thursday afternoon that [Martha] Coakley was the clear favourite; he changed his mind at midnight that evening and acknowledged that Scott Brown had a puncher's chance." (Brown won the election.) Silver's quantitative focus on polling data, without insight from experience in political organizing or journalism, has been a recurring critique from experienced commentators. Huffington Post columnist Geoffrey Dunn described Silver as someone who "has never organized a precinct in his life, much less walked one, pontificating about the dynamics in the electoral processes as if he actually understood them." Considerable criticism during the 2012 elections came from political conservatives, who argued that Silver's election projections were politically biased against Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for president. For example, Silver was accused of applying a double standard to his treatment of Rasmussen Reports polls, such as a 2010 analysis asserting a statistical bias in its methodology. Josh Jordan wrote in National Review that Silver clearly favored Obama and adjusted the weight he gave polls "based on what [he] think[s] of the pollster and the results and not based on what is actually inside the poll". On MSNBC's Morning Joe, host Joe Scarborough stated that Silver's prediction that day of a 73.6% chance of a win for Obama greatly exceeded the confidence of the Obama campaign itself, which Scarborough equated to that of the Romney campaign, both believing "they have a 50.1 percent chance of winning", and calling Silver an "ideologue" and a "joke". Silver responded with the offer of a $1,000 wager (for charity) over the outcome of the election. The New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan, while defending Silver's analysis, characterized the wager as "a bad idea" as it gave the appearance of a partisan motive for Silver, and "inappropriate" for someone perceived as a Times journalist (although Silver was not a member of the newspaper's staff). After a post-election appearance by Silver on Joe Scarborough's Morning Joe, Scarborough published what he called a "(semi) apology", in which he concluded: "I won't apologize to Mr. Silver for predicting an outcome that I had also been predicting for a year. But I do need to tell Nate I'm sorry for leaning in too hard and lumping him with pollsters whose methodology is as rigorous as the Simpsons' strip mall physician, Dr. Nick. For those sins (and a multitude of others that I'm sure I don't even know about), I am sorry. Politics is a messy sport. And just as ball players who drink beer and eat fried chicken in dugouts across America can screw up the smartest sabermetrician's forecast, Nate Silver's formula is sure to let his fervent admirers down from time to time. But judging from what I saw of him this morning, Nate is a grounded guy who admits as much in his book. I was too tough on him and there's a 84.398264% chance I will be less dismissive of his good work in the future." Silver's nondisclosure of the details of his analytical model has resulted in some skepticism. Washington Post journalist Ezra Klein wrote: "There are good criticisms to make of Silver's model, not the least of which is that, while Silver is almost tediously detailed about what's going on in the model, he won't give out the code, and without the code, we can't say with certainty how the model works." Colby Cosh wrote that the model "is proprietary and irreproducible. That last feature makes it unwise to use Silver's model as a straw stand-in for "science", as if the model had been fully specified in a peer-reviewed journal". The Signal and the Noise The Signal and The Noise was published in the United States on September 27, 2012. It reached the New York Times Best Sellers List as #12 for non-fiction hardback books after its first week in print. It dropped to #20 in the second week, before rising to #13 in the third, and remaining on the non-fiction hardback top 15 list for the following 13 weeks, with a highest weekly ranking of #4. Sales increased after the election on November 6, jumping 800% and becoming the second best seller on Amazon.com. The book describes methods of mathematical model-building using probability and statistics. Silver takes a big-picture approach to using statistical tools, combining sources of unique data (e.g., timing a minor league ball player's fastball using a radar gun), with historical data and principles of sound statistical analysis; Silver argues that many of these are violated by many pollsters and pundits who nonetheless have important media roles. Case studies in the book include baseball, elections, climate change, the financial crash, poker, and weather forecasting. These different topics illustrate different statistical principles. As a reviewer in The New York Times notes: "It's largely about evaluating predictions in a variety of fields, from finance to weather to epidemiology. We learn about a handful of successes: when, for instance, meteorologists predict a hurricane's landfall 72 hours in advance.... But mostly we learn about failures. It turns out we're not even close to predicting the next catastrophic earthquake or the spread of the next killer bird flu, despite the enormous amounts of brainpower trained on these questions in the past few decades". Blogs and other publications Blogs FiveThirtyEight blog, now owned by ABC Nate Silver's Baseball Prospectus article archive (2003–2009) Nate Silver's The Burrito Bracket (2007) Other publications Nate Silver, "The Most Livable Neighborhoods in New York: A Quantitative Index of the 50 Most Satisfying Places to Live", New York, April 11, 2010. Nate Silver, "The Influence Index", Time, April 29, 2010. Nate Silver and Walter Hickey, "Best Picture Math", Vanity Fair, March 2014. Gareth Cook (Editor), Nate Silver (Introduction). The Best American Infographics 2014, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. . Review of two children's books, with an autobiographical comment: "Beautiful Minds: The Boy Who Loved Math and On a Beam of Light", The New York Times, July 12, 2013. Andrew Gelman, Nate Silver, Aaron S. Edlin, "What Is the Probability Your Vote Will Make a Difference", Economic Inquiry, 2012, 50(2): 321–26. In addition to chapters in several issues of the Baseball Prospectus annual, Silver contributed chapters to one-off monographs edited by Baseball Prospectus, including: Mind Game: How the Boston Red Sox Got Smart, Won a World Series, and Created a New Blueprint for Winning. Steven Goldman, Ed. New York: Workman Publishing Co., 2005. . Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know about the Game Is Wrong. Jonah Keri, Ed. New York: Basic Books, 2006. (hardback) and (paperback). It Ain't over 'til It's over: The Baseball Prospectus Pennant Race Book. Steven Goldman, Ed. New York: Basic Books. Hardback 2007. ; paperback 2008. . Media Silver's self-unmasking at the end of May 2008 brought him a lot of publicity focused on his combined skill as both baseball statistician-forecaster and political statistician-forecaster, including articles about him in The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Science News, and his hometown Lansing State Journal. In early June he began to cross-post his daily "Today's Polls" updates on "The Plank" in The New Republic. Also, Rasmussen Reports began to use the FiveThirtyEight.com poll averages for its own tracking of the 2008 state-by-state races. In 2009 through 2012, Silver appeared as a political analyst on MSNBC, CNN and Bloomberg Television, PBS, NPR, Democracy Now!, The Charlie Rose Show, ABC News, and Current TV. Silver also appeared on The Colbert Report (October 7, 2008 and November 5, 2012), The Daily Show (October 17, 2012 and November 7, 2012), and Real Time with Bill Maher (October 26, 2012). That Silver accurately predicted the outcome of the 2012 presidential race, in the face of numerous public attacks on his forecasts by critics, inspired many articles in the press, ranging from Gizmodo, to online and mainstream newspapers, news and commentary magazines, business media, trade journals, media about media, and Scientific American, as well as a feature interview on The Today Show, a return appearance on The Daily Show, and an appearance on Morning Joe. Silver's first appearance on ABC News as Editor-in-Chief of the new FiveThirtyEight.com was on George Stephanopoulos's This Week on November 3, 2013. Silver is referenced in the Syfy channel show The Magicians as an earth wizard who uses polling spells. In 2015, Silver appeared on the podcast Employee of the Month, where he criticized Vox Media for "recycling Wikipedia entries" in their content. Selected recognition and awards April 30, 2009: Silver was named one of "The World's 100 Most Influential People" by TIME magazine. May 12, 2013: Silver received an honorary Doctor of Science degree (Scientiæ Doctor honoris causa – D.Sc. h.c.) and gave the commencement address at Ripon College. May 24, 2013: Silver received an honorary Doctor of Literature degree (Doctor of Literature honoris causa) and presented a commencement address at The New School. October 2013: Silver's The Signal and the Noise won the 2013 Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science, which recognizes "outstanding contributions by scientists to the literature of science". December 2013: The University of Leuven (KU Leuven) (Belgium) and the Leuven Statistics Research Centre awarded Silver an honorary doctoral degree "for his prominent role in the development, application, and dissemination of proper prediction methods in sports and in political sciences". May 25, 2014: Silver received a Doctorate of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from Amherst College. May 2017: Georgetown University awarded Silver a degree of Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa. May 2018: Kenyon College awarded Silver a degree, Doctor of Humane Letters. Personal life In a 2012 interview with Charlie Rose he said, "I'd say I’m somewhere in between being a libertarian and a liberal. So if I were to vote, it would be kind of a Gary Johnson versus Mitt Romney decision, I suppose." Silver is a great-nephew of geologists Caswell Silver and Leon Silver. He is a great-grandson of Harmon Lewis, the President of Alcoa Steamship Company, as well as a great-great-nephew of the embryologist Warren Harmon Lewis and his wife, biologist Margaret Reed Lewis. Silver is openly gay. "I've always felt like something of an outsider. I've always had friends but I've always come from an outside point of view. I think that's important. If you grow up gay, or in a household that's agnostic, when most people are religious, then from the get-go, you are saying there are things that the majority of society believes that I don't believe", he told an interviewer in 2012. When asked "what made you feel more of a misfit, being gay or being a geek", he replied, "Probably the numbers stuff since I had that from when I was six." When asked in 2008 if he had noticed people looking at him as a "gay icon", he responded, "I've started to notice it a little bit, although so far it seems like I'm more a subject of geek affection than gay affection". Silver discussed his sexuality in the context of growing up in East Lansing, in an article about the Supreme Court ruling Obergefell v. Hodges in favor of recognizing same-sex marriage on the date of its announcement. He analyzed the speed of the change of public sentiment, pointing out that the change over only several decades has been palpable to the current generations. Silver has long been interested in fantasy baseball, especially Scoresheet Baseball. While in college he served as an expert on Scoresheet Baseball for BaseballHQ. When he took up political writing, Silver abandoned his blog, The Burrito Bracket, in which he ran a one-and-done competition among the taquerias in his Wicker Park neighborhood in Chicago. Silver plays poker semi-professionally. See also Computational statistics Editorial board LGBT culture in New York City List of LGBT people from New York City New Yorkers in journalism Political analysis Sports betting References Further reading External links Category:1978 births Category:ABC News personalities Category:American bloggers Category:American male journalists Category:21st-century American journalists Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Jewish descent Category:American poker players Category:American political commentators Category:American political writers Category:American statisticians Category:Baseball statisticians Category:American gay writers Category:Journalists from Michigan Category:KPMG people Category:American LGBT journalists Category:LGBT people from Michigan Category:American LGBT scientists Category:Living people Category:Online journalists Category:People from East Lansing, Michigan Category:Mathematicians from New York (state) Category:Psephologists Category:The New York Times writers Category:University of Chicago alumni Category:Science bloggers Category:ESPN people Category:Mathematicians from Michigan Category:Journalists from New York City Category:21st-century American mathematicians Category:Data journalists Category:Sportswriters from New York (state) Category:American male bloggers Category:LGBT mathematicians Category:Gay scientists category:Articles containing video clips

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Nate Silver

Silver was born in East Lansing, Michigan, the son of Sally (nee Thrun), a community activist, and Brian David Silver, a former chair of the political science department at Michigan State University. Silver's mother's family, of English and German descent, includes several distinguished men and women, including his maternal great-grandfather, Harmon Lewis, who was president of the Alcoa Steamship Company, Inc. Silver has described himself as "half-Jewish". Silver showed a proficiency in math from a young age.

Creation and motivation

On November 1, 2007, while still employed by Baseball Prospectus, Silver began publishing a diary under the pseudonym "Poblano" on the progressive political blog Daily Kos. Silver set out to analyze quantitative aspects of the political game to enlighten a broader audience. Silver reports that "he was stranded in a New Orleans airport when the idea of FiveThirtyEight.com came to him. 'I was just frustrated with the analysis. ... I saw a lot of discussion about strategy that was not all that sophisticated, especially when it came to quantitative things like polls and demographics'". His forecasts of the 2008 United States presidential primary elections drew a lot of attention, including being cited by The New York Times Op-Ed columnist William Kristol. On March 7, 2008, while still writing as "Poblano," Silver established his own blog, FiveThirtyEight.com. Often colloquially referred to as just 538, the website takes its name from the number of electors in the United States electoral college. On May 30, 2008, Poblano revealed his identity to FiveThirtyEight.com readers. On June 1, 2008, Silver published a two-page Op-Ed article in the New York Post outlining the rationale underlying his focus on the statistical aspects of politics. He first appeared on national television on CNN's American Morning on June 13, 2008. Silver described his partisan orientation as follows in the FAQ on his website: "My state [Illinois] has non-partisan registration, so I am not registered as anything. I vote for Democratic candidates the majority of the time (though by no means always). This year, I have been a supporter of Barack Obama". With respect to the impartiality of his electoral projections, Silver stated, "Are [my] results biased toward [my] preferred candidates? I hope not, but that is for you to decide. I have tried to disclose as much about my methodology as possible". CANNOTANSWER

Nathaniel Read Silver (born January 13, 1978) is an American statistician, writer, and poker player who analyzes baseball (see sabermetrics), basketball, and elections (see psephology). He is the founder and editor-in-chief of FiveThirtyEight and a special correspondent for ABC News. Silver was named one of The World's 100 Most Influential People by Time in 2009 after an election forecasting system he developed successfully predicted the outcomes in forty-nine of the fifty states in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. His subsequent election forecasting systems predicted the outcome of the 2012 and 2020 presidential elections with a high degree of accuracy, and—at the time—gave presidential candidate Donald Trump the highest chance of success the day of the 2016 presidential election of reputable forecasts at the time. Much of Silver's approach can be characterized by using probabilistic and statistical modelling to try and understand complex social systems, such as professional sports, the popularity of political platforms, and elections. Early life and education Silver was born in East Lansing, Michigan, the son of Sally (née Thrun), a community activist, and Brian David Silver, a former chair of the political science department at Michigan State University. Silver's mother's family, of English and German descent, includes several distinguished men and women, including his maternal great-grandfather, Harmon Lewis, who was president of the Alcoa Steamship Company, Inc. Silver's father's family includes two uncles—Leon Silver and Caswell Silver—who were distinguished geologists. Silver has described himself as "half-Jewish". Silver showed a proficiency in math from a young age. According to journalist William Hageman, "Silver caught the baseball bug when he was 6.... It was 1984, the year the Detroit Tigers won the World Series. The Tigers became his team and baseball his sport. And if there's anything that goes hand in glove with baseball, it's numbers, another of Silver's childhood interests ("It's always more interesting to apply it to batting averages than algebra class")". As a student at East Lansing High School, Silver won first place in the State of Michigan in the 49th annual John S. Knight Scholarship Contest for senior high school debaters in 1996. Silver first showed his journalism skills as a writer and opinion page editor for The Portrait, East Lansing High School's student newspaper, from 1993–1996. In 2000, Silver graduated with Honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Chicago. He also wrote for the Chicago Weekly News and the Chicago Maroon. He spent his third year at the London School of Economics. Career Economic consultant: 2000–2004 After college graduation in 2000, Silver worked for three and a half years as a transfer pricing consultant with KPMG in Chicago. When asked in 2009, "What is your biggest regret in life?" Silver responded, "Spending four years of my life at a job I didn't like". While employed at KPMG, Silver continued to nurture his lifelong interest in baseball and statistics, and on the side he began to work on his PECOTA system for projecting player performance and careers. He quit his job at KPMG in April 2004 and for a time earned his living mainly by playing online poker. According to Sports Illustrated writer Alexander Wolff, over a three-year period Silver earned $400,000 from online poker. Baseball analyst: 2003–2008 In 2003, Silver became a writer for Baseball Prospectus (BP), after having sold PECOTA to BP in return for a partnership interest. After resigning from KPMG in 2004, he took the position of Executive Vice-President, later renamed Managing Partner of BP. Silver further developed PECOTA and wrote a weekly column under the heading "Lies, Damned Lies". He applied sabermetric techniques to a broad range of topics including forecasting the performance of individual players, the economics of baseball, metrics for the valuation of players, and developing an Elo rating system for Major League baseball. Between 2003 and 2009, Silver co-authored the Baseball Prospectus annual book of Major League Baseball forecasts, as well as other books, including Mind Game: How the Boston Red Sox Got Smart, Won a World Series, and Created a New Blueprint for Winning, Baseball Between the Numbers, and It Ain't Over 'til It's Over: The Baseball Prospectus Pennant Race Book. He contributed articles about baseball to ESPN.com, Sports Illustrated, Slate, the New York Sun, and The New York Times. Silver wrote more than 200 articles for Baseball Prospectus. PECOTA PECOTA (Player Empirical Comparison and Optimization Test Algorithm) is a statistical system that projects the future performance of hitters and pitchers. It is designed primarily for two users: fans interested in fantasy baseball, and professionals in the baseball business trying to predict the performance and valuation of major league players. Unlike most other baseball projection systems, PECOTA relies on matching a given current player to a set of "comparable" players whose past performance can serve as a guide to how the given current player is likely to perform in the future. Unlike most other such systems, PECOTA also calculates a range of probable performance levels rather than a single predicted value on a given measure such as earned run average or batting average. PECOTA projections were first published by Baseball Prospectus in the 2003 edition of its annual book as well as online by BaseballProspectus.com. Silver produced the PECOTA forecasts for each Major League Baseball season from 2003 through 2009. Political analyst and blogger: since 2008 FiveThirtyEight blog Creation and motivation On November 1, 2007, while still employed by Baseball Prospectus, Silver began publishing a diary under the pseudonym "Poblano" on the progressive political blog Daily Kos. Silver set out to analyze quantitative aspects of the political game to enlighten a broader audience. Silver reports that "he was stranded in a New Orleans airport when the idea of FiveThirtyEight.com came to him. 'I was just frustrated with the analysis. ... I saw a lot of discussion about strategy that was not all that sophisticated, especially when it came to quantitative things like polls and demographics'". His forecasts of the 2008 United States presidential primary elections drew a lot of attention, including being cited by The New York Times op-ed columnist William Kristol. On March 7, 2008, while still writing as "Poblano", Silver established his own blog, FiveThirtyEight.com. Often colloquially referred to as just 538, the website takes its name from the number of electors in the United States electoral college. On May 30, 2008, Poblano revealed his identity to FiveThirtyEight.com readers. On June 1, 2008, Silver published a two-page op-ed in the New York Post outlining the rationale underlying his focus on the statistical aspects of politics. He first appeared on national television on CNN's American Morning on June 13, 2008. Silver described his partisan orientation as follows in the FAQ on his website: "My state [Illinois] has non-partisan registration, so I am not registered as anything. I vote for Democratic candidates the majority of the time (though by no means always). This year, I have been a supporter of Barack Obama". With respect to the impartiality of his electoral projections, Silver stated, "Are [my] results biased toward [my] preferred candidates? I hope not, but that is for you to decide. I have tried to disclose as much about my methodology as possible". 2008 election and aftermath Shortly after the November 4 election, ESPN writer Jim Caple observed, "Forget Cole Hamels and the Phillies. No one in baseball had a more impressive fall than Nate Silver.... [R]ight now Silver is exhausted. He barely slept the last couple weeks of the campaign—'By the end, it was full-time plus'—and for that matter, he says he couldn't have kept it up had the campaign lasted two days longer. Plus, he has his Baseball Prospectus duties. 'We write our [Baseball Prospectus 2009] book from now through the first of the year,' [Silver] said. 'I have a week to relax and then it gets just as busy again. In February 2009 I will just have to find an island in the Caribbean and throw my BlackBerry in the ocean'". Later in November 2008, Silver signed a contract with Penguin Group USA to write two books, reportedly for a $700,000 advance. Silver was invited to be a speaker at TED 2009 in February 2009, and keynote speaker at the 2009 South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive conference (March 2009). While maintaining his FiveThirtyEight.com website, in January 2009 Silver began a monthly feature column, "The Data", in Esquire as well as contributed occasional articles to other media such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He also tried his luck in the 2009 World Series of Poker. The success of his FiveThirtyEight.com blog marked the effective end of Silver's career as baseball analyst, though he continued to devote some attention to sports statistics and sports economics in his blog. In March 2009, he stepped down as Managing Partner of Baseball Prospectus and handed over responsibility for producing future PECOTA projections to other Baseball Prospectus staff members. In April 2009, he appeared as an analyst on ESPN's Baseball Tonight. After March 2009, he published only two "Lies, Damned Lies" columns on BaseballProspectus.com. In November 2009, ESPN introduced a new Soccer Power Index (SPi), designed by Nate Silver, for predicting the outcome of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He published a post-mortem after the tournament, comparing his predictions to those of alternative rating systems. In April 2010, in an assignment for New York magazine, Silver created a quantitative index of "The Most Livable Neighborhoods in New York". Transition to The New York Times On June 3, 2010, Silver announced on FiveThirtyEight In the near future, the blog will "re-launch" under a NYTimes.com domain. It will retain its own identity (akin to other Times blogs like DealBook), but will be organized under the News:Politics section. Once this occurs, content will no longer be posted at FiveThirtyEight.com on an ongoing basis, and the blog will re-direct to the new URL. In addition, I will be contributing content to the print edition of The New York Times, and to the Sunday Magazine. The partnership agreement, which is structured as a license, has a term of three years. The New York Times "FiveThirtyEight: Nate Silver's Political Calculus" commenced on August 25, 2010, with the publication of "New Forecast Shows Democrats Losing 6 to 7 Senate Seats". From that date the blog focused almost exclusively on forecasting the outcomes of the 2010 U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives elections as well as state gubernatorial contests. Silver's Times Sunday Magazine feature first appeared on November 19, 2010, under the heading "Go Figure". It was later titled "Acts of Mild Subversion". While blogging for The Times, Silver also worked on his book about prediction, which was published in September 2012. At that time, Silver began to drop hints that after 2012 he would turn his attention to matters other than detailed statistical forecasting of elections. As reported in New York magazine: " 'I view my role now as providing more of a macro-level skepticism, rather than saying this poll is good or this poll is evil,' he says. And in four [years], he might be even more macro, as he turns his forecasting talents to other fields. 'I'm 97 percent sure that the FiveThirtyEight model will exist in 2016,' he says, 'but it could be someone else who's running it or licensing it.'" During the last year of FiveThirtyEights license to The New York Times, it drew a very large volume of online traffic to the paper: The Times does not release traffic figures, but a spokesperson said yesterday that Silver's blog provided a significant—and significantly growing, over the past year—percentage of Times pageviews. This fall, visits to the Times' political coverage (including FiveThirtyEight) have increased, both absolutely and as a percentage of site visits. But FiveThirtyEight's growth is staggering: where earlier this year, somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of politics visits included a stop at FiveThirtyEight, last week that figure was 71 percent. But Silver's blog has buoyed more than just the politics coverage, becoming a significant traffic-driver for the site as a whole. Earlier this year, approximately 1 percent of visits to the New York Times included FiveThirtyEight. Last week, that number was 13 percent. Yesterday, it was 20 percent. That is, one in five visitors to the sixth-most-trafficked U.S. news site took a look at Silver's blog. Departure from The Times In an online chat session a week after the 2012 election Silver commented: "As tempting as it might be to pull a Jim Brown/Sandy Koufax and just mic-drop/retire from elections forecasting, I expect that we'll be making forecasts in 2014 and 2016. Midterm elections can be dreadfully boring, unfortunately. But the 2016 G.O.P. primary seems almost certain to be epic." In late November 2012, Times executive editor Jill Abramson declared her wish to keep Silver and his blog: "We would love to have Nate continue to be part of the New York Times family, and to expand on what he does", she said. "We know he began in sports anyway, so it is not an exclusively political product. I am excited to talk to Nate when he finishes his book tour about ways to expand that kind of reporting." On July 22, 2013, ESPN announced that it had acquired ownership of the FiveThirtyEight website and brand, and that "Silver will serve as editor-in-chief of the site and will build a team of journalists, editors, analysts and contributors in the coming months." The New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan wrote upon Silver's decision to leave for ESPN: I don't think Nate Silver ever really fit into the Times culture and I think he was aware of that. He was, in a word, disruptive. Much like the Brad Pitt character in the movie "Moneyball" disrupted the old model of how to scout baseball players, Nate disrupted the traditional model of how to cover politics. She added, "A number of traditional and well-respected Times journalists disliked his work." Later, Sullivan wrote in The Times that "I don't feel so good about not being able to investigate every complaint from every individual reader fully, or about making some misjudgments in individual posts — my Nate Silver commentary, among others, has probably been off-base...". New York magazine reported that executive editor Jill Abramson "put on a full-court press" to keep Silver at The Times and that "for Abramson, Silver was a tentpole attraction for her favorite subject, national politics, and brought the kind of buzz she thought valuable", but the company's CEO and President Mark Thompson "confirmed that keeping Silver was not at the top of his agenda." The article stated that "the major reason Silver left was because he felt it was Thompson who had not committed to building his franchise. The mixed signals from Thompson and Abramson—his lack of enthusiasm for committing resources to Silver, her desire to keep a major star—frustrated Silver and his lawyer." FiveThirtyEight under ESPN ownership When FiveThirtyEight was relaunched under ESPN's ownership on March 17, 2014, Silver outlined the scope of topics that would be covered under the rubric of "data journalism": FiveThirtyEight's election forecasts 2008 U.S. elections In March 2008, Silver established his blog FiveThirtyEight.com, in which he developed a system for tracking polls and forecasting the outcome of the 2008 general election. At the same time, he continued making forecasts of the 2008 Democratic primary elections. That several of his forecasts based on demographic analysis proved to be substantially more accurate than those of the professional pollsters gained visibility and professional credibility for "Poblano", the pseudonym that Silver was then using. After the North Carolina and Indiana primaries on May 6, the popularity of FiveThirtyEight.com surged. Silver recalls the scenario: "I know the polls show it's really tight in NC, but we think Obama is going to win by thirteen, fourteen points, and he did. ... Any time you make a prediction like that people give you probably too much credit for it.... But after that [Silver's and the website's popularity] started to really take off. It's pretty nonlinear, once you get one mention in the mainstream media, other people [quickly follow suit]". As a CNET reporter wrote on election eve, "Even though Silver launched the site as recently as March, its straightforward approach, daring predictions, and short but impressive track record has put it on the map of political sites to follow. The Washington Post featured Silver in its 14th annual election prediction contest this year, and he'll be reporting on Tuesday night's results with Dan Rather on HDNet". Silver's final 2008 presidential election forecast accurately predicted the winner of 49 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, missing only the prediction for Indiana. As his model predicted, the races in Missouri and North Carolina were particularly close. He also correctly predicted the winners of every U.S. Senate race. The accuracy of his predictions won him further acclaim, including abroad, and added to his reputation as a leading political prognosticator. Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign signed off on a proposal to share all of its private polling with Silver. After signing a confidentiality agreement, Silver was granted access to hundreds of polls the campaign had conducted. 2010 U.S. elections Shortly after FiveThirtyEight relocated to The New York Times, Silver introduced his prediction models for the 2010 elections to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and state governorships. Each of these models relied initially on a combination of electoral history, demographics, and polling. Silver eventually published detailed forecasts and analyses of the results for all three sets of elections. He correctly predicted the winner in 34 of the 37 contested Senate races. His 2010 congressional mid-term predictions were not as accurate as those made in 2008, but were still within the reported confidence interval. Silver predicted a Republican pickup of 54 seats in the House of Representatives; the GOP won 63 seats. Of the 37 gubernatorial races, FiveThirtyEight correctly predicted the winner of 36. 2012 U.S. elections Although throughout 2011 Silver devoted a lot of attention on his blog to the 2012 Republican party primaries, his first effort to handicap the 2012 presidential general election appeared as the cover story in The New York Times Magazine a year prior to the election: "Is Obama Toast? Handicapping the 2012 Election". Accompanying the online release of this article, Silver also published "Choose Obama's Re-Election Adventure", an interactive toy that allowed readers to predict the outcome of the election based on their assumptions about three variables: President Obama's favorability ratings, the rate of GDP growth, and how conservative the Republican opponent would be. This analysis stimulated a lot of critical discussion. While publishing numerous stories on the Republican primary elections, in mid-February 2012 Silver reprised and updated his previous Magazine story with another one, "What Obama Should Do Next". This story painted a more optimistic picture of President Obama's re-election chances. A companion article on his FiveThirtyEight blog, "The Fundamentals Now Favor Obama", explained how the model and the facts on the ground had changed between November and February. Silver published the first iteration of his 2012 general election forecasts on June 7, 2012. According to the model, at that time Barack Obama was projected to win 291 electoral votes—21 more than the 270 required for a majority. Obama then had an estimated 61.8% chance of winning a majority. On the morning of the November 6, 2012, presidential election, the final update of Silver's model at 10:10 A.M. gave President Barack Obama a 90.9% chance of winning a majority of the 538 electoral votes. Both in summary tables and in an electoral map, Silver forecast the winner of each state. At the conclusion of that day, when Mitt Romney had conceded to Barack Obama, Silver's model had correctly predicted the winner of every one of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Silver, along with at least three academic-based analysts—Drew Linzer, Simon Jackman, and Josh Putnam—who also aggregated polls from multiple pollsters—thus was not only broadly correct about the election outcome, but also specifically predicted the outcomes for the nine swing states. In contrast, individual pollsters were less successful. For example, Rasmussen Reports "missed on six of its nine swing-state polls". 2016 U.S. elections In the week leading up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the FiveThirtyEight team predicted that Hillary Clinton had a 64.5% chance of winning the election. Their final prediction on November 8, 2016, gave Clinton a 71% chance to win the 2016 United States presidential election, while other major forecasters had predicted Clinton to win with at least an 85% to 99% probability. Donald Trump won the election. FiveThirtyEight argued it projected a much higher chance (29%) of Donald Trump winning the presidency than other modelers, a projection which was criticized days before the election by Ryan Grim of The Huffington Post as "unskewing" too much in favor of Trump. 2020 U.S. elections In their final prediction of the 2020 United States presidential election, FiveThirtyEight predicted that Joe Biden had an 89% chance of winning the election; Biden won both the Electoral College and the popular vote. FiveThirtyEight only missed Florida, North Carolina, and Maine's 2nd congressional district in their prediction. Donald Trump prevailed in each of these contests, which FiveThirtyEight had predicted Biden would win. Reception Silver has been criticized for inaccurate predictions. In January 2010, journalist and blogger Colby Cosh criticized Silver's performance during the Massachusetts special Senate election, saying he was "still arguing as late as Thursday afternoon that [Martha] Coakley was the clear favourite; he changed his mind at midnight that evening and acknowledged that Scott Brown had a puncher's chance." (Brown won the election.) Silver's quantitative focus on polling data, without insight from experience in political organizing or journalism, has been a recurring critique from experienced commentators. Huffington Post columnist Geoffrey Dunn described Silver as someone who "has never organized a precinct in his life, much less walked one, pontificating about the dynamics in the electoral processes as if he actually understood them." Considerable criticism during the 2012 elections came from political conservatives, who argued that Silver's election projections were politically biased against Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for president. For example, Silver was accused of applying a double standard to his treatment of Rasmussen Reports polls, such as a 2010 analysis asserting a statistical bias in its methodology. Josh Jordan wrote in National Review that Silver clearly favored Obama and adjusted the weight he gave polls "based on what [he] think[s] of the pollster and the results and not based on what is actually inside the poll". On MSNBC's Morning Joe, host Joe Scarborough stated that Silver's prediction that day of a 73.6% chance of a win for Obama greatly exceeded the confidence of the Obama campaign itself, which Scarborough equated to that of the Romney campaign, both believing "they have a 50.1 percent chance of winning", and calling Silver an "ideologue" and a "joke". Silver responded with the offer of a $1,000 wager (for charity) over the outcome of the election. The New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan, while defending Silver's analysis, characterized the wager as "a bad idea" as it gave the appearance of a partisan motive for Silver, and "inappropriate" for someone perceived as a Times journalist (although Silver was not a member of the newspaper's staff). After a post-election appearance by Silver on Joe Scarborough's Morning Joe, Scarborough published what he called a "(semi) apology", in which he concluded: "I won't apologize to Mr. Silver for predicting an outcome that I had also been predicting for a year. But I do need to tell Nate I'm sorry for leaning in too hard and lumping him with pollsters whose methodology is as rigorous as the Simpsons' strip mall physician, Dr. Nick. For those sins (and a multitude of others that I'm sure I don't even know about), I am sorry. Politics is a messy sport. And just as ball players who drink beer and eat fried chicken in dugouts across America can screw up the smartest sabermetrician's forecast, Nate Silver's formula is sure to let his fervent admirers down from time to time. But judging from what I saw of him this morning, Nate is a grounded guy who admits as much in his book. I was too tough on him and there's a 84.398264% chance I will be less dismissive of his good work in the future." Silver's nondisclosure of the details of his analytical model has resulted in some skepticism. Washington Post journalist Ezra Klein wrote: "There are good criticisms to make of Silver's model, not the least of which is that, while Silver is almost tediously detailed about what's going on in the model, he won't give out the code, and without the code, we can't say with certainty how the model works." Colby Cosh wrote that the model "is proprietary and irreproducible. That last feature makes it unwise to use Silver's model as a straw stand-in for "science", as if the model had been fully specified in a peer-reviewed journal". The Signal and the Noise The Signal and The Noise was published in the United States on September 27, 2012. It reached the New York Times Best Sellers List as #12 for non-fiction hardback books after its first week in print. It dropped to #20 in the second week, before rising to #13 in the third, and remaining on the non-fiction hardback top 15 list for the following 13 weeks, with a highest weekly ranking of #4. Sales increased after the election on November 6, jumping 800% and becoming the second best seller on Amazon.com. The book describes methods of mathematical model-building using probability and statistics. Silver takes a big-picture approach to using statistical tools, combining sources of unique data (e.g., timing a minor league ball player's fastball using a radar gun), with historical data and principles of sound statistical analysis; Silver argues that many of these are violated by many pollsters and pundits who nonetheless have important media roles. Case studies in the book include baseball, elections, climate change, the financial crash, poker, and weather forecasting. These different topics illustrate different statistical principles. As a reviewer in The New York Times notes: "It's largely about evaluating predictions in a variety of fields, from finance to weather to epidemiology. We learn about a handful of successes: when, for instance, meteorologists predict a hurricane's landfall 72 hours in advance.... But mostly we learn about failures. It turns out we're not even close to predicting the next catastrophic earthquake or the spread of the next killer bird flu, despite the enormous amounts of brainpower trained on these questions in the past few decades". Blogs and other publications Blogs FiveThirtyEight blog, now owned by ABC Nate Silver's Baseball Prospectus article archive (2003–2009) Nate Silver's The Burrito Bracket (2007) Other publications Nate Silver, "The Most Livable Neighborhoods in New York: A Quantitative Index of the 50 Most Satisfying Places to Live", New York, April 11, 2010. Nate Silver, "The Influence Index", Time, April 29, 2010. Nate Silver and Walter Hickey, "Best Picture Math", Vanity Fair, March 2014. Gareth Cook (Editor), Nate Silver (Introduction). The Best American Infographics 2014, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. . Review of two children's books, with an autobiographical comment: "Beautiful Minds: The Boy Who Loved Math and On a Beam of Light", The New York Times, July 12, 2013. Andrew Gelman, Nate Silver, Aaron S. Edlin, "What Is the Probability Your Vote Will Make a Difference", Economic Inquiry, 2012, 50(2): 321–26. In addition to chapters in several issues of the Baseball Prospectus annual, Silver contributed chapters to one-off monographs edited by Baseball Prospectus, including: Mind Game: How the Boston Red Sox Got Smart, Won a World Series, and Created a New Blueprint for Winning. Steven Goldman, Ed. New York: Workman Publishing Co., 2005. . Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know about the Game Is Wrong. Jonah Keri, Ed. New York: Basic Books, 2006. (hardback) and (paperback). It Ain't over 'til It's over: The Baseball Prospectus Pennant Race Book. Steven Goldman, Ed. New York: Basic Books. Hardback 2007. ; paperback 2008. . Media Silver's self-unmasking at the end of May 2008 brought him a lot of publicity focused on his combined skill as both baseball statistician-forecaster and political statistician-forecaster, including articles about him in The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Science News, and his hometown Lansing State Journal. In early June he began to cross-post his daily "Today's Polls" updates on "The Plank" in The New Republic. Also, Rasmussen Reports began to use the FiveThirtyEight.com poll averages for its own tracking of the 2008 state-by-state races. In 2009 through 2012, Silver appeared as a political analyst on MSNBC, CNN and Bloomberg Television, PBS, NPR, Democracy Now!, The Charlie Rose Show, ABC News, and Current TV. Silver also appeared on The Colbert Report (October 7, 2008 and November 5, 2012), The Daily Show (October 17, 2012 and November 7, 2012), and Real Time with Bill Maher (October 26, 2012). That Silver accurately predicted the outcome of the 2012 presidential race, in the face of numerous public attacks on his forecasts by critics, inspired many articles in the press, ranging from Gizmodo, to online and mainstream newspapers, news and commentary magazines, business media, trade journals, media about media, and Scientific American, as well as a feature interview on The Today Show, a return appearance on The Daily Show, and an appearance on Morning Joe. Silver's first appearance on ABC News as Editor-in-Chief of the new FiveThirtyEight.com was on George Stephanopoulos's This Week on November 3, 2013. Silver is referenced in the Syfy channel show The Magicians as an earth wizard who uses polling spells. In 2015, Silver appeared on the podcast Employee of the Month, where he criticized Vox Media for "recycling Wikipedia entries" in their content. Selected recognition and awards April 30, 2009: Silver was named one of "The World's 100 Most Influential People" by TIME magazine. May 12, 2013: Silver received an honorary Doctor of Science degree (Scientiæ Doctor honoris causa – D.Sc. h.c.) and gave the commencement address at Ripon College. May 24, 2013: Silver received an honorary Doctor of Literature degree (Doctor of Literature honoris causa) and presented a commencement address at The New School. October 2013: Silver's The Signal and the Noise won the 2013 Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science, which recognizes "outstanding contributions by scientists to the literature of science". December 2013: The University of Leuven (KU Leuven) (Belgium) and the Leuven Statistics Research Centre awarded Silver an honorary doctoral degree "for his prominent role in the development, application, and dissemination of proper prediction methods in sports and in political sciences". May 25, 2014: Silver received a Doctorate of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from Amherst College. May 2017: Georgetown University awarded Silver a degree of Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa. May 2018: Kenyon College awarded Silver a degree, Doctor of Humane Letters. Personal life In a 2012 interview with Charlie Rose he said, "I'd say I’m somewhere in between being a libertarian and a liberal. So if I were to vote, it would be kind of a Gary Johnson versus Mitt Romney decision, I suppose." Silver is a great-nephew of geologists Caswell Silver and Leon Silver. He is a great-grandson of Harmon Lewis, the President of Alcoa Steamship Company, as well as a great-great-nephew of the embryologist Warren Harmon Lewis and his wife, biologist Margaret Reed Lewis. Silver is openly gay. "I've always felt like something of an outsider. I've always had friends but I've always come from an outside point of view. I think that's important. If you grow up gay, or in a household that's agnostic, when most people are religious, then from the get-go, you are saying there are things that the majority of society believes that I don't believe", he told an interviewer in 2012. When asked "what made you feel more of a misfit, being gay or being a geek", he replied, "Probably the numbers stuff since I had that from when I was six." When asked in 2008 if he had noticed people looking at him as a "gay icon", he responded, "I've started to notice it a little bit, although so far it seems like I'm more a subject of geek affection than gay affection". Silver discussed his sexuality in the context of growing up in East Lansing, in an article about the Supreme Court ruling Obergefell v. Hodges in favor of recognizing same-sex marriage on the date of its announcement. He analyzed the speed of the change of public sentiment, pointing out that the change over only several decades has been palpable to the current generations. Silver has long been interested in fantasy baseball, especially Scoresheet Baseball. While in college he served as an expert on Scoresheet Baseball for BaseballHQ. When he took up political writing, Silver abandoned his blog, The Burrito Bracket, in which he ran a one-and-done competition among the taquerias in his Wicker Park neighborhood in Chicago. Silver plays poker semi-professionally. See also Computational statistics Editorial board LGBT culture in New York City List of LGBT people from New York City New Yorkers in journalism Political analysis Sports betting References Further reading External links Category:1978 births Category:ABC News personalities Category:American bloggers Category:American male journalists Category:21st-century American journalists Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Jewish descent Category:American poker players Category:American political commentators Category:American political writers Category:American statisticians Category:Baseball statisticians Category:American gay writers Category:Journalists from Michigan Category:KPMG people Category:American LGBT journalists Category:LGBT people from Michigan Category:American LGBT scientists Category:Living people Category:Online journalists Category:People from East Lansing, Michigan Category:Mathematicians from New York (state) Category:Psephologists Category:The New York Times writers Category:University of Chicago alumni Category:Science bloggers Category:ESPN people Category:Mathematicians from Michigan Category:Journalists from New York City Category:21st-century American mathematicians Category:Data journalists Category:Sportswriters from New York (state) Category:American male bloggers Category:LGBT mathematicians Category:Gay scientists category:Articles containing video clips

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Ricky Martin

Enrique Martin Morales (born December 24, 1971), commonly known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, actor and author. Martin began his career at age 12 with the all-boy pop group Menudo. After five years with the group, he released several Spanish-language solo albums throughout the 1990s. He also acted on stage and on TV in Mexico, where he achieved modest stardom.

1999-2002: Crossover to English

After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999 in an attempt to cross over to the United States market. The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release, became the most successful album debut on the Billboard charts by a Hispanic artist. It contained material by writers and producers such as Desmond Child, Diane Warren, William Orbit, George Noriega and his longtime childhood friend Draco Rosa. The album also featured special guests: Madonna on the Spanish-English duet "Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazon)" and Meja on "Private Emotion". Two weeks after the album's release, Martin was featured on the cover of Time with the title "Latin Music Goes Pop!". Before the album's release, Janet Jackson collaborated with Ricky Martin for the Latin American version of "Ask for More", a promotional single and commercial released as part of an advertising campaign for soft drink company Pepsi. The first and most prominent single was "Livin' la Vida Loca", which reached number one in many countries around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is Ricky Martin's biggest hit. The video for "Livin 'La Vida Loca" was directed by Wayne Isham and starring model Nina Moric. It was followed by "She's All I Ever Had" which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Both tracks peaked at number one on the Hot Latin Songs. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is generally seen as the song that began the Latin pop explosion of 1999 and made the transition of other Latin artists (first Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias, then later Shakira) into the English-speaking market easier. Ricky Martin became one of the top-selling albums of 1999, and was certified 7x platinum in the United States, selling over 22 million copies worldwide. In October 1999, Martin embarked on a very successful year-long Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. After this success, a new English-language album, Sound Loaded, was released in November 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and was certified 2x platinum by the RIAA. "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" (duet with Christina Aguilera) peaked at number twelve and thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Both singles reached number one on the Hot Latin Songs. Sound Loaded has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish greatest hits album entitled La Historia, which went to number one for five weeks on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and debuted at number eighty-three on the Billboard 200. It also topped the chart in Sweden for three weeks. The album contained reworkings of two of his early songs "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida". In November 2001, an English-language greatest hits album, The Best of Ricky Martin was released outside North America. It contained two new remixes of "Amor". CANNOTANSWER

Enrique Ricky Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971) is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is best known for his musical versatility, with his discography incorporating a wide variety of many elements, such as Latin pop, pop, dance, reggaeton, salsa, and other genres. Dubbed the "King of Latin Pop", the "King of Latin Music", and the "Latin Pop God", he is regarded as one of the most influential artists in the world. Born in San Juan, Martin began appearing in television commercials at age nine and began his musical career at twelve, as a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. He began his solo career in 1991 while in Sony Music Mexico, gaining recognition in Latin America with the release of his first two studio albums, Ricky Martin (1991) and Me Amaras (1993), both of which were focused on ballads. Martin's third album, A Medio Vivir (1995), helped him rise to prominence in European countries. The chart-topping single "María", incorporated a mixture of Latin music genres and became his first international hit. His international success was further solidified with his fourth album, Vuelve (1998). The album, which earned Martin his first Grammy Award, spawned chart-topping songs "Vuelve" and "La Copa de la Vida". Martin performed the latter at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and is known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide. His first English album, Ricky Martin (1999) became his first US Billboard 200 number one. The lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Martin's success in the late 1990s is generally seen as the beginning of the "Latin explosion". He has been credited for propelling the Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition, paving the way for a large number of Latin artists to achieve global success. Martin has since established his status as a pop icon and a sex symbol, releasing several successful albums, including all-time Latin bestsellers Almas del Silencio (2003) and MTV Unplugged (2006), as well as Grammy Award winner A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015). He has also amassed many successful singles and chart-toppers, including "She Bangs", "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely", "Tal Vez", "Tu Recuerdo", "La Mordidita", "Vente Pa' Ca", and "Canción Bonita". As an actor, Martin gained popularity and stardom for his role in the hit soap opera General Hospital (1994–1996), while his portrayal of Antonio D'Amico in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018) marked the acting opportunity of his career, garnering him an Emmy nomination. He also starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita in 2012, which broke the theater's box-office sales record seven times. Martin is one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time, having sold over 70 million records worldwide. He has scored 11 Billboard Hot Latin Songs number-one songs, and won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, three Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards, a Guinness World Record, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time, the Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time, and the Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time by Billboard. His philanthropy and activism focus on LGBT rights and fighting against human trafficking; in 2004, he founded The Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's existence. Early life Enrique Martín Morales was born on December 24, 1971, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His mother, Doña Nereida Morales, is a former accountant; his father, Enrique Martín Negroni, is a former psychologist who previously worked as a regional supervisor for a Puerto Rican mental-health agency. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and although his mother had custody of Martin, he could also move freely between his father's house in the middle-class suburb of University Gardens in San Juan, and his paternal grandmother's house nearby. In an interview with People, he told the magazine that he "never had to make decisions" about who he loved more, and he was "always happy". Martin has two older maternal half-brothers, Fernando and Ángel Fernández, two younger paternal half-brothers, Eric and Daniel Martín, and a younger paternal half-sister, Vanessa Martín. Martin has Spanish heritage of Basque and Canarian descent. As he explained to ABC, the Martins traveled from Spain to Puerto Rico in 1779. He also has some Corsican origin through his paternal grandmother. Martin grew up Catholic. The people closest to him called him "Kiki" (a nickname that comes from Enrique). He began singing at age six, using wooden kitchen spoons as make-believe microphones; he often sang songs by Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, as well as English-language rock groups such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon. His mother's side of the family was musically inclined and his maternal grandfather was a poet. Martin later reflected on his time spent with his family as a child: "Every time I find myself in front of an audience, be it twenty people or one hundred thousand, once again I feel the energy that consumed me back at the family gatherings of my youth." He attended Colegio Sagrado Corazón, a bilingual Catholic grade school in University Gardens since fourth grade and was an "average" student there. When he was nine years old, he began appearing in television commercials for products such as soft drinks, toothpaste, and fast food restaurants, including Orange Crush and Burger King. In a year and a half, he starred in 11 commercials. Career 1983–1989: Menudo After achieving moderate fame in his country for his appearances in television commercials, Martin auditioned for membership in Menudo. Formed in Puerto Rico in 1977, Menudo members were usually replaced when they hit 16 in order to keep the band "full of fresh-faced members". Although the executives enjoyed his dancing and singing at his first two auditions, Martin was rejected because he was too short. By the third audition, his persistence impressed executives, and in 1984, 12-year-old Martin became a member. A month after joining Menudo, he made his debut performance with the group at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan. During this performance, he inadvertently disobeyed the choreography by walking around the stage, when it was planned that he would stay still, and was chastised by the band manager after the show: "The mistake was such a big deal that from that moment on, never again did I move when I wasn't supposed to move. That was the discipline of Menudo: You either did things the way you were told or you were not part of the group." Although Martin enjoyed traveling and performing onstage with Menudo, he found the band's busy schedule and strict management exhausting, and later reflected that the experience "cost" him his childhood. Despite this, Martin acknowledged his "opportunity to have so many amazing experiences with so many amazing people" during his time with the group. During his time with Menudo, he became a "key-member of the group" and a "fan-favorite", while the band released 11 albums, including the Grammy-nominated Evolución () (1984) and their highest-charting and longest-running album on the US Billboard 200, Menudo (1985). The former featured Martin's debut single, "Rayo de Luna" () and the latter included the hit single "Hold Me". "Hold Me" became the group's first and only entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 62. It was ranked among the "100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Billboard, the "75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and the "30 Best Boy Band Songs" by Complex. Besides the musical career, Martin appeared with other members of Menudo in the American romantic comedy/drama television series, The Love Boat (1985), and the Argentine soap opera, Por Siempre Amigos (1987). He also developed an interest in philanthropy when the group became UNICEF ambassadors, often working with impoverished children in third world countries. His experiences as an ambassador affected him greatly and inspired him to continue working with charities later in his life. Finally, Martin left the band in July 1989, at age 17, hoping to rest and evaluate his career path; he stayed a few extra months after his "age-mandated retirement" came around. He performed his final show with the group at the same venue where he had performed his first performance as a member. Referred to as the "Most Iconic Latino Pop Music Band", Menudo was ranked as one of the Biggest Boy Bands of All Time by Us Weekly in 2021. The group has sold around 20 million records worldwide, and has been acknowledged as the "Most Successful Latin Boy Band of All Time" by Billboard. Martin returned to Puerto Rico to "get a break from the pressures of the group, the promotional tours, and the constant stress of work", but although his parents' divorce had not affected him before, suddenly began to affect him; his parents "began fighting more than ever" and they were forcing him to "choose between the two people in the world" he loved most. As he understood they did this because they loved him and wanted the best for him, he "forgave all of the pain and anger they caused" him. He graduated from the high school, and 13 days after turning 18, he moved to New York City to celebrate his financial independence; since he was a minor during his time with Menudo, Martin was not allowed to access his own bank accounts. 1990–1994: Acting and first solo albums Martin was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1990, but before classes began, his friend invited him to Mexico City. He attended the musical comedy play, Mama Ama el Rock () there, and was offered to stay and replace one of the actors. He accepted the offer, dropped out the university and moved from New York to Mexico City to perform in the play. While he was performing onstage in Mama Ama el Rock, a producer in the audience took notice of Martin's acting and offered him a role in the Mexican telenovela Alcanzar una estrella () (1990). Martin also joined the cast for the second season of the show, titled Alcanzar una estrella II (1991). A film based on the TV series, titled Más que alcanzar una estrella () (1992), was also produced in which Martin starred, and earned him an El Heraldo Award for his role. A Sony Discos executive noticed Martin's acting in the soap operas and offered him his first solo music recording contract. Eager to record his first solo album and hustled by the executive, Martin signed the contract without reading its conditions and inadvertently signed a deal in which he would only be paid one cent for each album sold. Despite viewing the contract as unfair, Martin referred to the record as "the start of something phenomenal" for him. After working "around the clock" to finish filming Alcanzar una estrella II and recording music, he released his debut solo album, Ricky Martin, on November 26, 1991. The album peaked at number five on the US Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart and spent a total of 41 weeks on the list. It sold over 500,000 copies worldwide, was certified gold in several countries, and spawned his first solo hit singles, "Fuego Contra Fuego" (), "El Amor de Mi Vida" (), and "Dime Que Me Quieres" (). Both "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida" reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks. To promote the album, Martin embarked on a successful Latin American tour, breaking box office records, which the singer referred to as "an indescribable feeling, almost like coming home". After the success of Ricky Martin and its subsequent tour, Martin's record company met him with the Spanish musician Juan Carlos Calderón to work on his second studio album, Me Amaras () (1993). Although Martin felt "very grateful" for the opportunity to work with Calderón, he noted, "I always felt that that record was more his than mine." The album sold over one million copies worldwide and was certified triple-platinum in Chile. In 1994, Martin's agent encouraged him to move to Los Angeles to act in an American sitcom called Getting By. The show was canceled after two seasons, but soon afterward, Martin was given the role of Miguel Morez on the popular hit soap opera General Hospital; Morez, a bartender and singer, known for his long and flowing hair, was a Puerto Rican citizen hiding in the United States from his lover's criminal mastermind father and created a love triangle with his fiancé Lily Rivera and Brenda. Martin portrayed the role for two years and gained huge popularity and stardom, becoming "one of the most-talked about actors on the soap opera". Despite this, Martin felt he lacked chemistry with the rest of the General Hospital cast and observed that people treated him differently because of his Puerto Rican accent. At the time, it was relatively uncommon for Latin actors to appear on American television, and people suggested that he take accent reduction classes, which he refused. 1995–1997: Breakthrough with A Medio Vivir In 1995, Martin refocused on his music career, and began working on his third studio album, A Medio Vivir (). The album was released in September 1995, and became a huge success; it sold over three million copies worldwide. being certified gold in the United States, platinum in France, 4× platinum in Spain, as well as many other certifications in Latin American countries. It spawned several successful hits, including "Te Extraño, Te Olvido, Te Amo" (), "María", and "Volverás" (). On "María", which was released as the second single from the album, Martin allowed himself "to go into a very Latin, African sound". He created a mix of different Latin music genres instead of singing a romantic ballad, the style that he focused on it in his first two albums, while Latin pop music in general was mainly made up of it at the time. Although Martin was satisfied with the track and he describes it as a song that he is "extremely proud of", the first time he played it for a record label executive, the man said: "Are you crazy? You have ruined your career! I can't believe you are showing me this. You're finished — this is going to be your last album." Despite this, the track became Martin's breakthrough song and his first international hit. It topped the charts in 20 countries, and has sold over five million physical copies worldwide. As a result, the song was featured in the 1999 edition of The Guinness Book of Records as the biggest Latin hit. In Australia, "María" spent six weeks at number one, topped the country's year-end chart in 1998, and was certified platinum. The song also spent nine weeks at number one in France, and was certified diamond, selling over 1.4 million copies there. Additionally, the track reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, and became Martin's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. To promote A Medio Vivir, he embarked on the worldwide A Medio Vivir Tour, that lasted for more than two years, through which he performed 63 shows and visited Europe, Latin America and the United States. During an interview with The Miami Herald in 1996, Martin expressed an interest in performing on Broadway. In a few days, he received a phone call from producer Richard Jay-Alexander, and was offered the role of Marius Pontmercy in the play Les Misérables. After the conclusion of the A Medio Vivir Tour in Latin America, Martin returned to New York to appear in the play in an eleven-week run. He greatly enjoyed the experience, calling his time in the play an "honor" and "the role of [his] life". Martin continued to tour after the conclusion of the show's run, and noted that his audiences were growing in both size and enthusiasm. 1998–1999: Vuelve While the A Medio Vivir Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his fourth album Vuelve (). He called the experience of touring and recording at the same time "brutal and incredibly intense". As he was finishing the record in 1997, "María" caught the attention of FIFA. They contacted Martin and asked him to create a song as the 1998 FIFA World Cup anthem. He stated about the request: "I have to admit that the challenge made me a bit nervous, but the massive growth potential for my career was such that I decided to accept." Following his acceptance, musicians K.C. Porter, Robi Rosa, and Desmond Child joined him and they started working on a song titled "La Copa de la Vida" (English: "The Cup of Life"). Martin wrote about the recording: "La Copa de la Vida" was included on Vuelve, released February 12, 1998. The album became a huge success; it sold over eight million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling Spanish-language album in history, according to his label. Also, some sources have reported the album's sales as six million copies worldwide. It spent 26 weeks atop the US Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Canada, the album peaked at number three and was certified double platinum. Vuelve spawned big hits, including the title track, "La Copa de la Vida", "Perdido Sin Ti" (), and "La Bomba" (). "La Copa de la Vida" grew to be an international success, appearing on the charts in more than 60 countries, and reaching number one in 30 countries, Both "Vuelve" and "Perdido Sin Ti" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart; the former also reached number one in eight countries. On July 12, 1998, Martin performed "La Copa de la Vida" as the official anthem at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final in France, in front of more than a billion TV viewers around the world. To promote Vuelve, Martin embarked on the worldwide Vuelve Tour; he performed in Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South America, and the United States. Although Latin music was not important to the Recording Academy or the mainstream music industry at the time, Tommy Mottola, then-chief of Columbia Records, was certain about Martin's stardom and pushed hard to have him on the Grammy Awards ceremony. During an interview with Billboard, Mottola told the magazine about it: "There was tremendous resistance from the Grammys. They did not want an 'unknown' to perform, yet we he had already sold 10 million copies of Vuelve worldwide. To me, that was absolutely UNACCEPTABLE." Finally, on February 24, 1999, cavorting with a 15-piece band alongside and a large number of dancers and percussionists, Martin performed a bilingual version of "La Copa de La Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and met with acclaim from music critics. At the same night, Vuelve earned Martin his first Grammy award, for Best Latin Pop Performance. 1999–2000: Crossover to English In October 1998, CNN confirmed that Martin has been working on his first English language album, following the huge success of Vuelve. The album was titled Ricky Martin and was released on May 11, 1999, two weeks ahead of schedule, because of the huge interest in the disc, following Martin's performance at the Grammy Awards. Tim Devin, the general manager of Tower Records stated about Martin: "He's always been one of our strongest Latin artists, but interest in him has picked up considerably since that performance." Ricky Martin debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 661,000 copies, becoming the largest sales week by any album in 1999. It also broke the record as the largest first-week sales for any pop or Latin artist in history, as well as any Columbia Records artist during the SoundScan era. With this album, Martin became the first male Latin act in history to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was certified 7× platinum by RIAA, denoting shipments of over seven million copies in the US and breaking the record as the best-selling album by a Latin artist in the country. Only within three months, Ricky Martin became the best-selling album ever by a Latin artist. According to different sources, the album has sold over 15 million copies or even 17 million copies worldwide. It was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. The album's lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" () topped the charts in more than 20 countries and is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, and one of the best-selling singles of all time. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Martin's first number one single on the chart. Additionally, it broke several records on Billboard charts. It also spent eight consecutive weeks atop the Canada Top Singles chart and topped the country's year-end chart. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number one and stayed there for three weeks, making Martin the first Puerto Rican artist in history to hit number one. The track was ranked as the best '90s pop song by Elle, and was listed among the Best Latin Songs of All Time by Billboard. It was nominated for four categories at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Its Spanish version reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart, and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 1st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "She's All I Ever Had" was released as the second single from the album in June 1999. It peaked at numbers two and three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canada Top Singles charts, respectively. The Spanish version, "Bella" () topped the charts in five countries, as well as Billboards Hot Latin Tracks chart. To further promote Ricky Martin, he embarked on the worldwide Livin' la Vida Loca Tour, which was the highest-grossing tour of 2000 by a Latin artist in the US. 2000–2005: Sound Loaded, Almas del Silencio, and Life While the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded. The album was released on November 14, 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 318,000 copies. The album has sold over seven million copies or even eight million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified double platinum in the US. The album featured two hit singles, "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely". The former reached number one in seven countries, including Italy and Sweden, as well as the top five in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. It was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards. The Spanish-language version of "She Bangs" reached the summit of the Hot Latin Tracks chart and won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" was re-recorded along with American singer Christina Aguilera, peaking at number one in five countries, as well as the top five in Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, among others. It was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. The solo Spanish version, entitled "Sólo Quiero Amarte" topped the Hot Latin Tracks chart. Both "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" are certified silver in the UK. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish compilation album entitled La Historia (), which spent five weeks at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart, topped the charts in Argentina and Sweden, and was certified quadruple Latin platinum in the United States. Following the success of Ricky Martin and Sound Loaded, he initially planned to release the third English-language album as his seventh studio album, which was supposed to be his first complete work in the field of songwriting. Despite Sony Music Entertainment's original plan, he decided to release a Spanish-language album: "I woke up five months ago, and I said 'We're doing an album in Spanish.' Everyone went nuts. They said, 'You don't have time; you have to release an album in English because of timing issues with your career.' And that's fine. But I told them, 'In five months, you'll have a kick-ass album' [in Spanish]. Martin's seventh studio album, Almas del Silencio () was released in May 2003. It debuted atop the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart with first-week sales of 65,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, breaking the record as the largest first-week sales for a Spanish-language album in the US. The album also debuted at number 12 on Billboard 200, tying the 2002 album, Quizás () as the chart's highest Spanish-language debut. The album also debuted at number one in "at least 13 Latin American markets" and sold over two million copies worldwide. Almas del Silencio spawned three Hot Latin Tracks chart-topper hits: "Tal Vez" (), "Jaleo", and "Y Todo Queda en Nada" (). "Tal Vez" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart on the week of April 12, 2003, marking the first number one debut since February 1998, and becoming the sixth song overall in the chart's history to do so. It spent a total of 11 weeks at this position, surpassing "Livin' la Vida Loca" as Martin's longest number-one single on the chart, and was the longest-running number one of 2003. It also topped the charts in several Latin American markets. In October 2005, Martin released his third English album, Life. He commented on the album: "I was really in touch with my emotions. I think this album is very multi-layered, just like life is. It's about feeling anger. It's about feeling joy. It's about feeling uncertainty. It's about feeling. And all my emotions are part of this production". To promote Life, Martin embarked on the worldwide One Night Only with Ricky Martin tour. 2006–2012: MTV Unplugged, Música + Alma + Sexo, and Evita Although Martin's team and MTV had discussed an MTV Unplugged for years, but it became more serious after Martin's the One Night Only tour, which featured an acoustic segment. Finally, Martin taped his MTV Unplugged set in Miami in August 2006, performing both romantic ballads and up-tempo tropical dance songs. During the performance, he debuted three new tracks, including "Tu Recuerdo" (), which was released to radio stations as the lead single from his debut live album MTV Unplugged (2006). The album debuted at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart and sold over two million copies worldwide, marking his highest-certified album in Mexico. It won two Latin Grammy awards and was nominated for Album of the Year. "Tu Recuerdo" reached number one in five countries, as well as the Billboards Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts. The track was certified quadruple platinum in Mexico and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The artist then embarked on the Black and White Tour in 2007, including four sold-out shows at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico. The concerts in Puerto Rico were compiled into his second live album Ricky Martin... Live Black & White Tour (2007). Later that year, he released his first Italian song, "Non siamo soli" () as a duet with Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti. The song debuted at number one in Italy and spent eleven consecutive weeks atop the chart. In January 2011, Martin launched his ninth studio album, Música + Alma + Sexo (). The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the highest-charting primarily-Spanish language set since Dreaming of You (1995) by American singer Selena. It holds the record as the highest-charting Latin album of the 2010s, and represents the highest-ever chart debut on the Billboard 200 for a Sony Music Latin release. Música + Alma + Sexo also peaked at number one in Argentina and Venezuela, as well as Billboards Top Latin Albums. Its lead single, "Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tú" (English: "The Best Thing About Me Is You") reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video at the 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour in 2011. In February 2012, he appeared as Spanish teacher David Martinez on the twelfth episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, The Spanish Teacher. Martin starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita from March 2012 to January 2013. The show became a hit, breaking the theatre's box-office sales record after only six performances. Since then, it broke its own record six times and was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical at the 66th Tony Awards. The show's soundtrack album debuted at number one on Billboards cast album chart. 2013–2018: The Voice, A Quien Quiera Escuchar, and The Assassination of Gianni Versace Martin served as a coach on the second season of the Australian singing competition television series The Voice in 2013. In the same year, he released a compilation album, entitled Greatest Hits: Souvenir Edition, which reached number two in Australia, as well as a new single, entitled "Come with Me", which debuted at number three in the country. The artist then embarked on the Ricky Martin Live tour in Australia in October 2013. He continued serving as a coach on both the third and fourth seasons of The Voice Australia in 2014 and 2015, respectively. In 2014, Lars Brandle from Billboard stated in an article: "Through his high-profile slot on The Voice, Ricky's profile in Australia has never been as big as it is right now." On February 25, 2014, Wisin released a song titled "Adrenalina" () from his album El Regreso del Sobreviviente (), which featured Jennifer Lopez and Martin, and became the Univision's 2014 World Cup song. It received commercial success, peaking in the top-five of Bulgaria, Mexico, Spain, and Billboards Hot Latin Songs chart. Its accompanying music video has accumulated over 850 million views on YouTube. Later that year, Martin released his single "Vida" () for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The song reached the top five in Spain and on the US Hot Latin Songs chart. Also in 2014, he served as a coach on the fourth season of The Voice Mexico, and embarked on the Live in Mexico tour. In February 2015, Martin released his tenth studio album, A Quien Quiera Escuchar (). The album debuted at number one on Billboards Top Latin Albums chart and peaked at number one in Argentina. It won the award for Best Latin Pop Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and Album of the Year at the 1st Latin American Music Awards. The album spawned three Hot Latin Songs top-10 hits: "Adiós" (), "Disparo al Corazón" (), and "La Mordidita" (). "Disparo al Corazón" was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "La Mordidita" experienced huge commercial success, being certified 15× Latin platinum in the United States. Its accompanying music video has received over 1.2 billion views on YouTube. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the One World Tour from 2015 to 2017. He served as an executive producer and a judge on the American singing competition series La Banda (), which premiered in 2015 and 2016 on Univision. The first season was "looking for the next Latin boy band", while the second season was looking for a Latin girl band. The contestants would compete for a recording deal with Sony Music Latin and Syco Music. CNCO, known as the first boy band to make reggaeton, was the winner of the first season. Martin became their manager and produced the band's debut album, Primera Cita () (2016), along with Wisin; the album debuted at number one on Top Latin Albums and featured the hit single "Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)" (). CNCO opened many dates on One World Tour in 2016. In 2020, Leila Cobo from Billboard compared the group with Menudo, noting: "Not since Menudo had a Latin boy band melted our hearts or made us dance quite like CNCO". On September 23, 2016, Martin released a song called "Vente Pa' Ca" (), featuring Colombian singer Maluma. The song became one of the biggest Spanish-language songs of 2016, reaching number one in seven countries, as well as Billboards Latin Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, and Tropical Airplay charts. It also reached top five in Spain and on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs, being certified quadruple platinum in Spain and diamond in Mexico. The track was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The accompanying music video has received over 1.75 billion views on YouTube. Martin signed a concert residency, named All In, to perform at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas in 2017 and 2018. He portrayed fashion designer Gianni Versace's partner Antonio D'Amico in the FX true crime anthology television series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, marking "the acting opportunity of his career". The role garnered him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. Running from January to March 2018, The Assassination of Gianni Versace received generally favorable reviews and numerous awards and nominations, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Creative Arts Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In February 2018, Martin released a song titled "Fiebre" (), featuring Wisin & Yandel. The song was commercially successful in Latin America, reaching number one in Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uruguay. It also reached the summit of the Billboard Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts. 2019–present: Amici di Maria De Filippi, PausaPlay, and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Martin performed "Havana", "Pégate" (), and "Mi Gente" (), alongside Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Young Thug, and Arturo Sandoval, as the opening performance. Martin served as a coach on the eighteenth season of the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi () in 2019. In the same year, Maluma released a song called "No Se Me Quita" () from his album 11:11, which featured Martin. The song reached number one in Mexico and was certified quadruple platinum in the country. Martin hosted the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in November 2019, along with Roselyn Sánchez and Paz Vega. The artist started recording his eleventh studio album, initially titled Movimiento (), in the second half of 2019, inspired by the 2019 political protests in Puerto Rico. He embarked on the Movimiento Tour in 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent personal experiences, he decided to split the tour's associated album in two extended plays, Pausa () and Play; the former was released in May 2020, while the latter is set to release in May 2022. Pausa was nominated for Album of the Year and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The second single from the EP, "Tiburones" () reached number one in Argentina and Puerto Rico, and was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Martin starred as the voice of villainous miniature figure Don Juan Diego in the American Christmas musical fantasy film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. The film was released on Netflix on November 13, 2020, and received generally favorable reviews. In April 2021, Martin released his hit single "Canción Bonita" () with Colombian singer Carlos Vives, which experienced huge commercial success in Latin America, reaching number one in 12 countries. It was also nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Song at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Later that year, he embarked on his first co-headlining tour, the Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert alongside Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias. Martin released Play on July 13, 2022. The EP included singles "Otra Noche en L.A." and "A Veces Bien Y A Veces Mal"; the former reached number one in four countries. Artistry Influences As a child, Martin used to sing songs by Menudo and rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon, which were what his "older siblings were listening to at the time". While Martin and his brothers spent their time listening to classic rock, their mother would interrupt them to make them listen to Latin music. She brought him CDs of Fania All-Stars, Celia Cruz, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, and Gilberto Santa Rosa that slowly made him appreciate the richness of Puerto Rican culture. Also, she once took them to a Fania All-Stars concert, which Martin is "beyond grateful" for it. He expresses that thanks to her mother, those influences had a "profound effect" on his musical career. Martin has also cited Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Madonna for teaching him "the beauty of pop". He stated about Madonna: "I was very influenced by her and her music. I know every choreography of Madonna." Additionally, he mentions Carlos Santana, José Feliciano, Celia Cruz, and Gloria Estefan as the artists who paved the way for him, naming Feliciano as one of the people who inspired him when he was a teenager: "I was always fascinated with his music." In addition to the musical influences, Martin is inspired by David Bowie's "ambiguous sexuality". While growing up, he used to ask himself if he wanted to be like the openly gay singer Elton John or he just liked him, admiring his music, colors, and wigs. He has also cited Barbra Streisand as an entertainer he wants to be like: "I want to be an entertainer, not just a singer." Musical styles and themes Considered to be a versatile artist, Martin describes his music as Latin pop, saying: "When you say 'Latin pop', the spectrum is so broad, It's inevitable to not be influenced by everything that's happening in the industry, but always keeping your identity firm by knowing who you are." He has also described his music as fusion, while noting that he does not "ride the waves that are in fashion at the moment". Music critics have described his songs to be influenced by Latin pop, pop, dance, adult contemporary, ballad, reggaeton, Latin, African, Caribbean, rock, salsa, flamenco, mariachi, urban, tropical, samba, cumbia, bachata, merengue, dembow, rumba, banda, descarga, funk, bomba, plena, folk, batucada, ranchera, vallenato, reggae, dancehall, jíbaro, bolero, mambo, Europop, house, disco, EDM, dance-pop, electro, house, techno, dubstep, world music, Middle Eastern, Brazilian funk, folk-pop, burlesque, waltz, ambient, downtempo, fusion, crossover, bossa nova, alternative rock, pop rock, soft pop, soft rock, hardcore punk, heavy metal, R&B, religious, jazz, swing, blues, soul, big band, trap, hip-hop, country, acoustic, electronic, tropical, doo-wop, surf, tango, ska, and rock and roll. Martin sings in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, and French. About his lyrics, Martin has emphasized that although his music will always make the listener dance, it does not mean his lyrics "have to be meaningless" and he sings about love and heartbreak, as well as "things that are good for a society", such as "freedom, freedom of expression, and social justice". He has also declared that as a Latino, he is not afraid of sexuality and sings about sexuality and sensuality, bringing his culture with him onstage. Voice Martin possesses a dramatic tenor vocal range. Peter Gilstrap from Variety commented that his "powerful voice" is "capable of belt or lilt", while The Jerusalem Posts Noa Amouyal described his voice as "soulful" and "very powerful". In 1995, Enrique Lopetegui of the Los Angeles Times noted Martin's "improved vocal skills" on A Medio Vivir. Also from the Los Angeles Times, Ernesto Lechner later praised his vocal for being "charismatic enough to handle both ballads and up-tempo tunes". Similarly, Billboards Chuck Taylor expressed "She's All I Ever Had" boasts "a versatility that contrasts nicely" with Martin's previous single, "Livin' la Vida Loca", labeling his vocal on the former "tender and heartfelt". Steve Gerrard of the Montreal Rocks complimented "his vocal maturity" on A Quien Quiera Escuchar. Music videos and performances Billboard labeled Martin "a video icon", and ranked him as the 79th Greatest Music Video Artist of All Time in 2020, stating: "From the moment he sashayed up to the mic in 'Livin La Vida Loca' all dressed in black, and gave us that look, the Menudo alum became the most memorable and watchable drop-dead handsome guy in pop music." He has collaborated with various directors to produce his music videos, including Carlos Perez, Wayne Isham, Jessy Terrero, Simón Brand, Gustavo Garzón, Nigel Dick, Kacho Lopez, and Memo del Bosque. "Livin' la Vida Loca" was nominated for Video of the Year at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, making Martin the first Latin artist in history to receive a nomination in this category. It won a total of five awards at the ceremony, making it rank among the videos with most wins in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. The explicit sexual scenes of the music video for "She Bangs" were met with criticism from the audience; several American television stations cut the scenes when airing the video. According to the Daily Records John Dingwall, with the visual, Martin ditched his teen idol image by transforming to a more mature one. It was consequently banned in several Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic. Martin told MTV News that the video represented freedom rather than his sexuality. The video was awarded Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Best Clip of the Year — Latin at the 2001 Billboard Music Video Awards, and Video of the Year at the 13th Lo Nuestro Awards. Martin has been noticed for "dance moves of his own" and his "bon-bon shaking dance moves". Carol Sandoval from VIX named him the "best dancer on any stage worldwide", highlighting his hips movement and "successful turns". He was ranked as the ninth best male dancer by the Evening Standard and the tenth Male Singer Who Can Dance by WatchMojo, being the only Latin entertainer on both lists. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "an incredible dancer". Billboards Jessica Roiz labeled him "a true showman", noting his "many outfit changes", "various dance performances", and "different stage set for each song". Jon Pareles of The New York Times described him as "an all-around showman" and Varietys Peter Gilstrap called him "every inch the showman", both recognizing his vocal abilities, while the former also commented he is "a dancer as muscular and hard-working as anyone in his troupe", mentioning his "likable, good-hearted character" and "steadfast Puerto Rican pride". Music critics have mostly praised his concerts for the choreographies, video screens, visual effects, stage, Latin influences, and Martin's vocals, costume changes, energy, sensuality, dance moves, and gestures, while the quality of sounds and sound mixes have received mixed reviews. Billboards Marjua Estevez described Martin's performance of "La Copa de la Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards as "the most memorable Latin performance at a Grammy Awards show", and the publication ranked it as the 54th Greatest Award Show Performance of All Time on their 2017 list. The performance was additionally placed on a 2017 unranked list of "Top 20 Best Grammy Performances of All Time" by Gold Derby, and on a 2019 list of "The Most Unforgettable Grammys Performances of All Time" by InStyle. In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked it as the 15th Greatest Grammy Performance of All Time, naming it "easily the biggest star-making moment in Grammy history". Public image Martin became a teen idol with his debut as a member of Menudo, and a pop icon following global fame as a solo artist. Journalists have written about his humble personality and "beautiful soul". Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "one of the most acclaimed and admired creative artists ever". La República staff described him as "one of the most admired and desired singers", while authors of ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most respected Latin stars in the world", "one of the most prodigious voices in music in Spanish", and "one of the most beloved talents in the entertainment industry worldwide". Also from ¡Hola!, Cristina Noé named him "one of the most loved artists in the world", while a writer of Clarín named him "one of the most applauded Latin singers on the planet". Metro Puerto Rico stated that he "raised the name of Puerto Rico internationally". He was ranked as one of the top-10 "emerging personalities" of 2010 by Google Zeitgeist, and was the eighth most searched musician on Google in 2022. In 2014, Gay Star News referred to Martin as "the most famous Latin pop star in the world", while Variety described him as "Puerto Rico's arguably most famous son" in 2021. He is ranked as the most famous Latin music artist in the United States, according to YouGov surveys in 2023. During the 2000s, Martin was known for "guarding his private life" and being "uncomfortable discussing intimate aspects of his personal life"; he used to insist on asking public to focus on his music and "steered interviewers away from his personal life". However, he chose to live both his "professional and personal life", making his private life public since the early 2010s. In 2021, he went on the cover of People with the title "No More Secrets" and told the magazine that he is "a man with no secrets", stating that he is "more comfortable in his own skin than ever before". Martin is one of the most followed celebrities on social media, with accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. He stated about social media that he wishes he had "something as powerful as" them since his debut: "Obviously I like to have direct contact with the public, with the media. It's extremely important, but today, from my home, I can talk to millions of people and see their immediate reaction." He is noticed for his friendly interactions with his fans, who are called "Sexy Souls". Wax statues of Martin are on display at the Madame Tussauds wax museums in San Francisco, Sydney, and Orlando. The last one was moved from Las Vegas to Orlando for the opening of the museum in spring 2015. Fashion Martin is considered to be a sex symbol, and journalists describe him as "the Latin heartthrob". His fashion and style evolution, from "as '80s as you'd expect" during his time with Menudo to "a style groove, often opting for sharp, tailored suits with clean lines" since 2009, has been noticed by the media. Natalia Trejo from ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most stylish Latin men in the entertainment industry", highlighting his "baggy leather pants", "tailored suits", and "color-block blazers" that have marked "some of the noteworthy trends of each decade". The reviewer also commented that Martin is "an example of mixing business with casual" and has "always had a personal sense of style". JD Institute of Fashion Technology views Martin as a fashion icon, praising him for "pushing the fashion boundaries with every new look". In 1997, he went on the cover of People en Españols first edition of 25 Most Beautiful; he has since "been a constant presence" on their 25 or 50 Most Beautiful lists. Two years later, he was featured on the cover of both Rolling Stone and Time magazines. Martin is considered to be one of the sexiest men in the world, according to various publications. In 2012, he was voted the sexiest man alive on Broadway.com. The following year, VH1 ranked him as the 28th Sexiest Artist of All Time, stating: "Ricky looks like the model in the magazine ads you stare at in awe thinking, 'There's no way he's that perfect in person'." In 2014, Entertainment Tonight listed him among the Sexiest Men Alive, while Revista Estilo placed him on the list of "the 10 Sexiest Singers" in 2016. He was ranked at number 16 on the list of "the 50 Hottest Men of All Time" by Harper's Bazaar in 2018, being the only Latin man on their list. In 2019, TN described Martin as "the sexiest man in the world". He has been noted for looking younger than his age, with Billboards Chris Payne describing him as "ageless". The singer has attended several fashion shows, including the Giorgio Armani show at Milan Fashion Week in 2011, the Marc Jacobs show in 2013, the Berluti menswear spring-summer 2020 show at Paris Fashion Week, the Dior men's pre-fall 2020 show, and the Virgil Abloh Spring-Summer 2022 show held by Louis Vuitton. Personal life Sexual orientation and early relationships According to an interview with Rolling Stone in 1999, Martin experienced his first kiss at age thirteen and lost his virginity at fourteen in Argentina. In 1990, shortly after he had arrived in Mexico to star in Mamá Ama el Rock, he met a woman, who was the host of a television show. They began dating quickly and broke up a few months later. In 1992, he fell in love with Mexican singer Alejandra Guzmán, who was separated from her husband at the time. They began dating until Guzmán returned to her husband and pretended Martin was her assistant on a phone call, while she was sleeping with her husband. In an interview with Univision, Martin admitted that she broke his heart. In the same year, Martin was rumored to be in a relationship with Argentine tennis player Gabriela Sabatini. Sabatini's sister-in-law, Catherine Fulop, confirmed the rumor in 2020. During the time he was playing in General Hospital, he met a "very handsome" man at a radio station, "stopped fearing [his] sexuality", and began dating him. Martin's mother supported him when she discovered that he was in love with a man, saying: "I love you, my son, I'm so happy for you. Bring it on. I'm right behind you." However, after the relationship ended, Martin "locked [his] feelings even deeper inside" and began dating women again. He recalls: "I already felt it was hard to be a Latino in Hollywood; what could have been more difficult than being Latino and gay?" Martin began dating Mexican television host Rebecca de Alba in 1994; they were in an on-and-off relationship until 2005. De Alba later revealed that she became pregnant several times in her life, but lost all of the pregnancies, expressing that one of them was by Martin. Martin also had relationships with Lilly Melgar, Adriana Biega, Maital Saban, and Inés Misan during his breakup times with de Alba in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He declared that "there was chemistry with them" and he "wasn't fooling anyone". In August 2008, Martin became a father to twin boys named Matteo and Valentino, born via gestational surrogacy. He explained that he chose surrogacy to become a parent for being "intriguing and faster" than adoption, which was complicated and could take a long time. In March 2010, Martin publicly came out as gay via a message on his website, stating: "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am." Years later, he revealed that although his music was "heard all over the world" and he "could high five God" in 1999, he "wasn't living to the fullest" and was sad and depressed. He kept asking himself, "Am I gay? Am I bisexual? Am I confused? What am I?", explaining: "Sexuality is one complicated thing. It's not black and white. It's filled with colors. When I was dating women, I was in love with women. It felt right, it felt beautiful." In an interview with Vanity Fair, he declared: "There was love, passion. I do not regret anything, any of the relationships I lived, they taught me a lot, both men and women." Martin also told Fama!: "I know that I like both men and women, I'm against sexual labels, we are simply human beings with emotional and sexual needs. I like to enjoy sex in total freedom, so I'm open to having sex with a woman if I feel desire." Despite this, he expressed that he would not be interested in "an ongoing relationship with a woman", stating: "Men are my thing". In 2000, American broadcast journalist Barbara Walters asked Martin about his sexuality on national television: "You could stop these rumors. You could say, 'Yes I am gay or no I'm not.'" Martin, who answered with "I just don't feel like it" at the time, later revealed that her question had made him feel "violated", since he "was just not ready to come out" and was "very afraid"; he said that it resulted in "a little PTSD" that "still haunts him". Martin dated Puerto Rican economist Carlos González Abella from 2010 to 2014, as his first relationship with a man after coming out as gay. Marriage Syrian-Swedish painter Jwan Yosef shared a photo of himself and Martin on Instagram on March 30, 2016, with the caption: "Obviously we're starting a band." Soon it was rumored that Yosef was Martin's new boyfriend. Martin confirmed their relationship on April 18, 2016, and they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the amfAR Inspiration Gala. Martin later revealed that he met Yosef on Instagram and they "were talking for like six months without [him] hearing his voice". Subsequently, Martin went to London, where Yosef was living, and they met each other. On November 16, 2016, during an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, he announced that he has proposed to Yosef and they are engaged. In January 2018, Martin confirmed that he has secretly married Yosef: "I'm a husband, but we're doing a heavy party in a couple of months, I'll let you know." On December 31, 2018, they announced that they have welcomed their first daughter together, named Lucia Martin-Yosef. Martin later explained that Lucia was born on December 24, coinciding with his 47th birthday. In September 2019, while accepting an award at the 23rd annual Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National Dinner, he announced that they are expecting their fourth child. On October 29, 2019, he shared a photo of himself, Yosef, and their newborn son, named Renn Martin-Yosef, with the caption: "Our son Renn Martin-Yosef has been born." Beliefs and religion During an interview with People in 2002, Martin expressed that he believes in "love", "the power of healing", and "God", thanks to his parents. The name he chose for his son Matteo means "gift from God". According to his statements in a 2021 interview, he still believes in God. He was raised Catholic but he said is not "the person who would ever look down upon one religion". He expressed that he also admires and likes Buddhist philosophy, but does not subscribe to the religion, since if he does, he cannot "be of anything else"; he does not want to be limited in certain aspects and follow a religion's specific rules. He tries to remain "open to everything" and makes "a concerted effort to always find new teachings and new paths" everywhere he goes and in every situation he finds himself in. Martin believes that everyone can "decide what makes them happy" and although "everyone needs to accept the life they were given", it does not mean they "should not live it as fully as possible". Health and sports Martin began practicing yoga after a trip to Thailand in 1997. He also began practicing meditation following a trip to India. In 2021, he explained that he gets up, before his family, every morning at 5:30 and puts himself in a lotus position and oxygenates his body. He also expressed that he has a gym in his house, saying: "If I have space to see myself in the mirror and put on my products, then I also have to have space for my body." During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in 2017, Martin revealed that he "was diagnosed with high cholesterol" at age eighteen. Although he did not pay attention to the high cholesterol at the time, it made him decide to become a vegetarian since 2013 to reduce cholesterol, despite loving meat as "a Latin man". In 2020, he opened up that he suffered from anxiety for the first time in his life, following the COVID-19 lockdowns, stating that making music became his "medicine". Real estate In March 2001, Martin purchased a 7,082-square-foot house in Miami Beach for $6.4 million; he sold the unit for $10.6 million in 2005. In September 2004, he paid $11.9 million for an 11,000-square-foot Mediterranean-style villa in Los Angeles, which he sold in 2006 for $15 million. In May 2005, he purchased a 9,491-square-foot house in Miami Beach for $10 million; he sold the villa for $10.6 million in 2012. In 2007, he paid $16.2 million for a mansion in Golden Beach. He sold the property in 2012 for $12.8 million, incurring a loss. In the same year, he bought a 3,147-square-foot condominium in New York City for $5.9 million; he sold the condo for $7.1 million in 2017. In 2014, he rented a 900-square-metre mansion in Sydney, which became famous as "the Bronte Wave House" and was sold for $16 million in May 2015, marking one of the most expensive properties sold in the city that year. In December 2016, he purchased an 11,300-square-foot mansion in Beverly Hills. The estate, which is Martin's current house, has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms with outdoor seating areas scattered throughout 33,000 square feet. It is a "private getaway in the middle of the city", located up the street from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Martin also owns a property in Puerto Rico and a private 19.7-acre island in Brazil. He purchased the latter for $8 million in 2008. Legacy Martin has been regarded as the "King of Latin Pop" by various publications, such as the Grammy Awards, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Time, People, Vogue, The Independent, Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Tonight Canada, NBC News, and ABC News. Additionally, he has been referred to as the "King of Latin Music", the "Latin Pop God", the "Latin King of Pop", the "Latin American King of Pop", the "Latin King", the "Crossover Latin King", the "Puerto Rican Pop King", the "Salsa-Pop King", and the "King of World Cup". Martin is known as one of the most influential artists in the world. Billboard ranked him as one of the 30 Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time, while NBC News introduced him as an "influential Latin celebrity". In 2014, he won the award for the most influential international artist at the 18th China Music Awards. He was ranked among "25 musicians who broke barriers" by Stacker in 2019, while in 2020, Spin ranked him at number 27 on the list of "most influential artists of the past 35 years", as the only Latin artist on their list. In 2022, Show News named him "the most influential global artist in history". Martin's song "María (Pablo Flores Remix)", which was ranked among the "Greatest Latin Pop Song of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and "11 remixes of classic Latin hits" by Billboard, "launched the Latin and dance music crossover of the '90s", according to the latter. Olivier Pérou from Le Point commented that "some have even learned, thanks to him, to count to three in Spanish" following the popularity of the song. "La Copa de la Vida", which has been hailed as the Best World Cup Anthem of All-Time by multiple sources, became a "musical template" for World Cup anthems, and Martin's Latin and dance crossover style has been much copied in the anthems, as well as soccer chant "Ole! Ole! Ole!" in the lyrics, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As believed by Esquire, the song "inaugurated this musical subgenre" of Latin. In his review for Pitchfork, Corban Goble wrote that if World Cup anthems someday would be "given their own textbook", "La Copa de la Vida" would be "the standard-bearer for the whole genre". Martin is known as the pioneer in getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition. Following his performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys, and the success of "Livin' la Vida Loca" and Ricky Martin (1999), he opened the gates for many Latin artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Santana, and Enrique Iglesias who released their crossover albums and followed him onto the top of the charts. His performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys not only changed the course of his career, but also altered how people regard Latin music in America. It has been known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide, that effectively ushered in the "Latin explosion". Then-United Talent Agency head Rob Prinz described the rendition as "the single biggest game changing moment for any artist in the history of the Grammys". According to Billboard, it has been cited as the beginning of the "Latin Pop invasion", which powerfully affected the US mainstream. According to Entertainment Tonight, "Livin' la Vida Loca" paved the way for a large number of other Latin artists, and is "credited as the song that helped other Latin artists break through to English-speaking markets". According to The Independent, the single is "widely regarded as the song that began the first Latin pop explosion", while Peoples Jason Sheeler credited it as the song that "led the way for the late-'90s so-called 'Latin explosion' that dominated pop music into the new century: Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, and Jennifer Lopez". Angie Romero from Billboard wrote: "If you look up 'crossover' in the dictionary, there should be a photo of Ricky shaking his bon bon and/or 'Livin' la Vida Loca'." Jim Farber from Daily News noted that Ricky Martin "provides a textbook example of how to mix Latin beats with pop tunes and rock intonations". St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Kevin C. Johnson stated that Martin took "the music to places Jon Secada, Selena and Santana never could". He also mentioned that even "Gloria Estefan at her peak, failed to muster up the kind of hype and hoopla surrounding Martin". Celia San Miguel of Tidal Magazine stated that Martin "highlighted the public's thirst for a different kind of pop" in 1999, crediting "Martin and the paths he created" responsible for the Latin music and Spanish and Spanglish lyrics being "a commonplace phenomenon on English-language radio" in 2019. In her review for Grammy.com, Ana Monroy Yglesias said Martin led a "major music moment in 1999" with Ricky Martin, and along with him, "the first major boom of Spanish-language artists", such as Shakira and Lopez, came into the "U.S. pop landscape". The late 1990s Latin explosion also resulted in the launch of the Latin Recording Academy. Gabriel Abaroa Jr., the president and chief executive officer of the Latin Recording Academy, expressed that the plan of its launch was "immediately after the Ricky Martin success". Cuban American musician and producer Emilio Estefan added: "After the success with Ricky Martin, everybody opened their eyes and realized how important it was to bring diversity and multiethnic elements into [mainstream American] music." Many artists have cited Martin as an influence, declared themselves as his fan, or have admired respect and recognition for him as a musician including Abraham Mateo, Bad Bunny, Camila Cabello, Camilo, Carla Morrison, Christian Chávez, CNCO, Danna Paola, Enrique Iglesias, J Balvin, J-Hope, Jimin, Karol G, India Martínez, Luis Fonsi, Maite Perroni, Maluma, Neha Mahajan, Pedro Capó, Prince Royce, Rauw Alejandro, Reik, Romeo Santos, Rosalía, Sebastián Ligarde, Sebastián Yatra, Shakira, Tini, Vadhir Derbez, William Hung, Wisin, and Ximena Sariñana. Both Maluma and J Balvin have described Martin as a "teacher" and credited him as an artist who "opened the doors" for them, while Maluma has also expressed: "Ricky Martin is one of the artists I wanted to be growing up. He's my idol in the industry."Citations regarding J Balvin's statements about Martin: Spanish singer Rosalía also cited Martin as a "teacher". Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny talked about Martin's legacy during an episode of Behind the Music: "There's no doubt that he opened the door for an entire generation of Latin artists. I am doing great things today in the music industry thanks to those doors that he opened." He also mentioned that he is inspired by Martin's coming out as gay: "You don't have to be gay to be inspired by that action of honesty and freedom, of being yourself against the world despite everything you deserve. I look at it like a very inspiring moment for anybody. At least for me, it's very inspirational." Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta explained to The Guardian that "some Latin stars such as Maluma and Bad Bunny sing in their native language" and do not need to sing in English to get noticed, because they already had representatives like Shakira, Martin, and Jennifer Lopez, but since her country "hasn't had a major international pop star before", she uses "whatever language will get the market's attention". Portrayal in television In July 2019, SOMOS Productions, Endemol Shine Boomdog, and Piñolywood Studios announced the production of a biographical web television series about Menudo, titled Subete a Mi Moto. Consisting of 15 episodes of 60 minutes each, the series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on October 9, 2020, in Mexico, Latin America, and Spain. It was filmed in Mexico and Puerto Rico, and Martin was portrayed by actors Felipe Albors and Ethan Schwartz. The series premiered in the United States on February 14, 2021, on Estrella TV. On the review aggregation website Tomatazos, the first season has a positive score of 75%. The website's critical consensus summary states, "A good trip to the past that recalls a band that defined the youth of a certain public, but that doesn't ignore the darkest moments in the lives of its members." Other ventures Books On August 19, 2010, Martin announced that he had been working on his memoir, mentioning its title as Me and publish date as November 2, 2010. He expressed that writing the book was "one of the reasons" he decided to come out earlier that year. The book also had a Spanish edition title Yo (), which was published simultaneously by Celebra. He stated that writing his memoir allowed him "to explore the different paths and experiences" that have led him to be who he is, noting that it "was not easy but allowed for an incredible spiritual journey". Me spent several weeks at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. In 2019, ¡Hola! staff ranked the book among "12 Books by Celebrities to Inspire and Motivate You", while Book Riot placed it on an unranked list of the "Best Celebrity Books You Should Read This Year" in 2020. Martin's first children's book Santiago the Dreamer in Land Among the Stars was published by Celebra and illustrated by Patricia Castelao in November 2013 for ages between five and nine. Its Spanish-language edition, Santiago El Soñador en Entre Las Estrellas, was published simultaneously. Martin expressed that the book was inspired by his "personal life, with fantasy added to it", as well as "a lot of cartoons". Products and endorsements Martin endorsed the 2012 Viva Glam campaign with rapper Nicki Minaj, which raised $270 million for the Mac AIDS Fund. In October 2020, Martin announced that he would launch his company, Martin Music Lab in partnership with music engineers Jaycen Joshua and Michael Seaberg. The company is centered around a new audio technique called "Orbital Audio", that "creates a new type of immersive, headphone listening experience". Martin used the technique on his EP Pausa, while several artists including Bad Bunny, Residente, Myke Towers, and A$AP Rocky are going to work with the company. The latter plans to release his whole upcoming studio album, using "Orbital Audio". Martin is going to expand the technique "beyond the music industry and tap into the movies, sports and, most notably, the wellness and meditation space". In 2021, Martin partnered with skin care company Kumiko. The skincare line, created by Chilean cosmetologist Catalina Aguirre, is the first to combine "mesotherapy, matcha, and cutting-edge European technology into unique multi-action formulas that penetrate the dermis with powerful anti-aging properties and lifting benefits". Activism Philanthropy While on a trip to India in 2002, Martin witnessed three minor girls who were about to be sold into prostitution and rescued them. The following year, he became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and then met with activists and decided to fight against human trafficking, which is the second-most lucrative crime in the world. In 2004, Martin launched the Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's "existence through research and community initiatives, anchored in the defense of children and youth rights". In the same year, he appealed to the United Nations for international help to fight against sex tourism. In January 2005, following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Martin visited Thailand to assess the needs of the minor survivors who were "extremely vulnerable to traffickers". Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation signed an alliance in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to construct 224 homes for the tsunami-affected families. The project was completed in December 2006. In March 2006, the foundation collaborated with the International Organization for Migration in the Llama y Vive () campaign, which focuses on facilitating "the prevention of human trafficking and the protection of young people, victims of child trafficking and prosecution of traffickers". In January 2010, along with many celebrities, Martin operated the charity telethon Hope for Haiti Now to raise donations for the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation created the first program of community social action against child trafficking in Martin's native Puerto Rico, titled "Se Trata" (). In 2012, the foundation participated in the making of the Child Protection Model Law on the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. In 2016, Martin visited Syrian refugees in Lebanon and played with the children and talked to them in an informal refugee camp. Following the Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017, the Ricky Martin Foundation helped people and handed over homes that were rebuilt after the losses; Martin launched a viral campaign of selling a black T-shirt with the Puerto Rican flag stamped on it in order to raise the funds. The T-shirts were designed by Martin's twin boys Matteo and Valentino, while many celebrities including Will Smith, Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, and Maluma supported the campaign. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin created a campaign to help health care workers through the non-profit organization Project Hope. He expressed: "As you know, health care professionals are extremely vulnerable and professionals around the world don't have personal protection equipment they need to prevent them getting infected." In February 2021, Martin collaborated with Antonia Novello to launch mass vaccination events in Puerto Rico. Following the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Martin honored an effort called "Black Out Tuesday" and launched the hashtag #knowthestruggle, giving his social media to the voices of the community that are "looking for justice", to learn more about what is happening. For his humanitarian efforts and fighting against human trafficking, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the Peace Summit Award by the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, the TIP Report Hero Award by the United States Department of State, the Spirit of Hope Award by Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Award, the Award of Inspiration by amfAR Gala, the Leader of Change Award by the Foundation for Social Change, the Humanitarian Award by the Global Gift Foundation, the Humanitarian Award by the Hispanic Federation, the Corazón Latino Award by the iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, the International Humanitarian Award by the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Agent of Change Award by the International Peace Honors, the PODER Social Leadership Awards, and the Agent of Change Award by the Premios Juventud. Politics On January 20, 2001, during the first inauguration of George W. Bush, Martin performed "The Cup of Life" and danced with him. Martin's view of Bush changed over the Iraq War, as expressed in his declaration to BBC News that he will "always condemn war and those who promulgate it". He also stuck up his middle finger while singing the president's name in his 2003 song "Asignatura Pendiente" at a concert. At the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards, Martin expressed his disagreement with the Arizona SB 1070 bill, a proposed law that would have required police officers to request documents from individuals whom they suspected to be illegal immigrants. Martin campaigned for the 44th president of the United States Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and thanked him for an "outstanding presidency" in 2016, while calling him "an amazing leader". Also in 2016, he was an active ally to the Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton campaign, while condemning Donald Trump's hateful comments about immigrants. He also performed his hits during the "Hillary Clinton: She's With Us" concert at the Greek Theatre on June 6, 2016. Telegramgate, also known as Chatgate, was a political scandal involving Ricardo Rosselló, then Governor of Puerto Rico, which began on July 8, 2019, with the leak of hundreds of pages of a group chat on the messaging application Telegram between Rosselló and members of his cabinet. The messages were considered vulgar, misogynistic, and homophobic toward several individuals and groups, including Martin. Therefore, Martin, Bad Bunny, Residente and several other artists, and more than half a million Puerto Ricans led the call to take to the streets of Puerto Rico, demanding Rosselló's resignation. In September 2020, Martin, Luis Fonsi, and actress Eva Longoria attended a campaign event in Kissimmee, Florida to support the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for the 2020 United States presidential election. During an interview with Variety, Martin stated: "I've been supporting Biden forever, I think he is the only option we have and he is great and he has been in politics all his life. This is the moment. We all need to get together and be loud about the course of this nation." Following the election of Biden as 46th president of the United States, Martin said "Bye-bye" to Trump on social media, and shared a photo of himself along with Biden on Instagram. In May 2021, Martin demonstrated his support for the Ni una menos movement, condemning femicides and violence against women in Puerto Rico, while calling authorities to protect women. He further expressed that no woman should fear for her safety and urged authorities to take steps in order to prevent these acts. In the same month, he supported the 2021 Colombian protests. Later that year, the singer raised his voice in support of the 2021 Cuban protests against the Castro regime for the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, stating: "This is very important. Our brothers and sisters in Cuba need us to inform the world what they are experiencing today. Let's fill the networks before they remove the internet in the country. Humanitarian aid for Cuba NOW." LGBT advocacy As a gay man, Martin actively supports LGBT rights worldwide since his coming out in 2010. Even before coming out, he was noted by the mainstream media for being popular among gay men and having a large gay fan base. He also went on the cover of the American LGBT-interest magazine The Advocate in July 1999. Despite this, he admitted that he felt homosexuality was evil since he was raised as a Catholic and targeted his anger toward others, especially gay men: "I was very angry, very rebellious. I used to look at gay men and think, 'I'm not like that, I don't want to be like that, that's not me.' I was ashamed." He added that he "had internalized homophobia" back then. He is currently considered to be a gay icon, with PinkNews labeling him "a strong advocate of LGBT rights" who "expressed support for equal marriage" since coming out. As the first mainstream Latin music artist to come out, Martin's coming out was a game-changer for "Latin Pride". Billboards Lucas Villa stated: "With Martin's announcement, gay artists, who had long kept their sexual identities a secret, finally had a beacon of hope. If Martin could come out with his career unscathed, there was hope for other artists in Latin music to start doing the same." He added that since then, "a growing number of Latin artists have either come out after years in the spotlight, or many have simply started their careers by embracing their gay identities". In 2010, GLAAD then-president Jarrett Barrios expressed that Martin's coming out as gay leads "hundreds of millions of people" to have "a cultural connection with an artist, a celebrity and, perhaps most importantly, a father who happens to be gay", adding that "his decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in U.S., in Latin America and worldwide". In 2019, Human Rights Campaign then-president Alphonso David expressed that Martin "has used his international stage to advocate for LGBTQ people around the world" with his "unique voice and passionate activism". The following year, Suzy Exposito from Rolling Stone argued that with risking his career and coming out, Martin "set the scene for Bad Bunny to be free in many ways that, during his own breakthrough moment, he could not". Martin expressed support for same-sex marriage during an interview on Larry King Live in 2010. He has then delivered speeches about LGBT rights at the United Nations Homophobia Conference, the GLAAD Media Awards, and the Human Rights Campaign. He also raised his voice to support gay marriage in Puerto Rico before its legalization in 2015. In March 2016, Martin met with Chilean LGBT rights group Fundación Iguales to learn about the challenges LGBT citizens face there. AT the meeting, he said that he wants "equal marriage rights for Chile" and he wants his sons to grow up in a world where "there are no second-class citizens". Following the Colombia's highest court voting against an anti same-sex marriage proposal in April 2016, Martin tweeted: "Love and equality win, Colombia says YES to same-sex marriage." During an interview with Vulture, Martin talked about his role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace and how he wanted his portrayal to help "normalize open relationships". In June 2019, he published an open letter slamming a religious liberty bill, saying: "As a defender of human rights and a member of the LGBTT community, I am vehemently opposed to the proposed measure imposed upon us under the guise of religious freedom, that projects us to the world as a backwards country." Puerto Rico's then-governor backed down and withdrew his support of the bill following Martin's statement. In June 2020, Martin performed his song "Recuerdo" with Carla Morrison for a virtual event, Can't Cancel Pride: Helping LGBTQ+ People in Need, to raise visibility and funds for LGBTQ+ communities. He appeared at the virtual event in the following year as well. In February 2021, Martin was named national spokesperson for the onePULSE Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on managing "the design and construction of the permanent national memorial and museum dedicated to the Pulse nightclub tragedy". Later that year, he expressed that he wants to "normalize families like" his, in an interview with People. Several of Martin's music videos feature diversity in sexual orientations and same-sex couples, including "The Best Thing About Me Is You", "Disparo al Corazón", "Fiebre", and "Tiburones". For his activism and advocacy for LGBTQ community, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the GLAAD Vito Russo Award, the Gala Vanguard Award by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the International Icon Award by the British LGBT Awards, the National Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign, the Trailblazer Award by the LGBT Center Dinner, the Celebrity Activist of the Year by LGBTQ Nation, and the Legacy Award by Attitude Awards. Achievements Throughout his career, Martin has won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, three Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, a Billboard Music Video Award, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards (including the Excellence Award), and a Guinness World Record. As an actor, he was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2007, Martin was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. Martin is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time and the Greatest Hot Latin Songs Artists of All Time by Billboard, while his album Vuelve was placed at number five on Billboards Top 20 Latin Albums Of All Time in 2018. In 1998, his song, "Perdido Sin Ti" reached the top of the Latin Pop Airplay chart, displacing Martin's own "Vuelve", making him the first artist on the chart's history to replace himself. His song "Livin' la Vida Loca" became the first number-one song on Billboard Hot 100, which was made entirely in Pro Tools, and achieved the first number one hit for his label, Columbia. It also became the first song in history to top Billboards Adult Pop Airplay, Pop Airplay, and Rhythmic Airplay charts, holding its record as the only song to do so for 14 years. On May 15, 1999, it became the first single ever to rule four different Billboard charts and made Martin the first act to simultaneously scale a pop, Latin, and dance chart. Two weeks later, he became the first artist to simultaneously top the Billboard 200, Hot Latin Tracks, Hot Dance Music/Club Play, Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, Top 40 Tracks, and the Billboard Hot 100. His song "Tal Vez" (2003) marked the first number one debut on Billboard Hot Latin Songs in the 21st century. Martin is the first and only artist with Spanish-language entries on Billboard Hot 100 in three decades. In 2020, he became the first and only artist in history to enter the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart across five decades, including his work as part of Menudo. The following year, he became the first male Latin artist in history to have 4 songs from different decades to have over 100 million streams on Spotify. He owns the record as the artist with most top 20s on the US Latin Pop Airplay chart, with 51 songs, and is the runner-up of most top 10s. He is the fourth artist with the most number one songs in the history of the Hot Latin Songs chart. Additionally, he holds the record as the most Spanish-language entries on ARIA top 50 singles chart, with three. On October 11, 2007, then-mayor of Miami Beach, Florida David Dermer awarded him the key to the city of Miami Beach. Puerto Rico named August 31 the "International Ricky Martin Day" in 2008. The Government of Spain granted Spanish nationality to Martin in 2011, for being "recognized in different artistic facets". In 2018, in recognition of "his dedication to the island and people of Puerto Rico, his philanthropic work to eliminate human trafficking across the Caribbean, and his commitment to the arts", the singer received a proclamation naming June 7 the "Ricky Martin Day" in New York City. Throughout his career, Martin has sold over 70 million records making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. In 2022, La Nación estimated his net worth at US$130 million. Discography Ricky Martin (1991) Me Amaras (1993) A Medio Vivir (1995) Vuelve (1998) Ricky Martin (1999) Sound Loaded (2000) Almas del Silencio (2003) Life (2005) Música + Alma + Sexo (2011) A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015) Filmography Mas Que Alcanzar una estrella (1992) Hercules – Latin American dub (1997) Idle Hands (1999) Ricky Martin: One Night Only (1999) Minions – Latin American dub (2015) The Latin Explosion: A New America (2015) Ricky Martin: Behind the Vegas Residency (2017) Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) El cuartito (2021) Theatre Les Misérables (1996), Broadway – Marius Pontmercy Evita (2012), Broadway – Ché Tours and residenciesHeadlining tours Ricky Martin Tour (1992) Me Amaras Tour (1993–1994) A Medio Vivir Tour (1995–1997) Vuelve World Tour (1998) Livin' la Vida Loca Tour (1999–2000) One Night Only with Ricky Martin (2005–2006) Black and White Tour (2007) Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour (2011) Ricky Martin Live (2013–2014) Live in Mexico (2014) One World Tour (2015–2018) Ricky Martin en Concierto (2018-2019) Movimiento Tour (2020-2022) Sinfónico Tour (2022-2023)Co-headlining tours Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert (with Enrique Iglesias) (2021) The Trilogy Tour (with Enrique Iglesias & Pitbull) (2023)Residency' All In (2017–2018) See also Honorific nicknames in popular music List of artists who reached number one in the United States List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart List of Latin pop artists List of multilingual bands and artists List of Puerto Rican Grammy Award winners and nominees List of Puerto Ricans List of Urbano artists Notes References Book sources External links Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century Puerto Rican LGBT people Category:20th-century Puerto Rican male actors Category:20th-century Puerto Rican male singers Category:21st-century Puerto Rican LGBT people Category:21st-century Puerto Rican male actors Category:21st-century Puerto Rican male singers Category:Puerto Rican gay actors Category:Puerto Rican gay musicians Category:Puerto Rican gay writers Category:Gay singers Category:Gay songwriters Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Echo (music award) winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hispanic and Latino American male actors Category:Hispanic and Latino American musicians Category:Latin Grammy Award winners Category:Latin music songwriters Category:Latin pop singers Category:Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year honorees Category:Puerto Rican LGBT singers Category:Puerto Rican LGBT songwriters Category:LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people Category:LGBT people in Latin music Category:LGBT record producers Category:Male actors from San Juan, Puerto Rico Category:Menudo (band) members Category:MTV Europe Music Award winners Category:Naturalised citizens of Spain Category:Puerto Rican activists Category:Puerto Rican expatriates in Australia Category:Puerto Rican expatriates in Mexico Category:Puerto Rican expatriates in Spain Category:Puerto Rican male film actors Category:Puerto Rican male soap opera actors Category:Puerto Rican male television actors Category:Puerto Rican people of Basque descent Category:Puerto Rican people of Canarian descent Category:Puerto Rican people of Corsican descent Category:Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Category:Puerto Rican philanthropists Category:Puerto Rican pop singers Category:Puerto Rican record producers Category:Puerto Rican male singer-songwriters Category:Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Category:Sony Music Latin artists Category:Sony Music Spain artists Category:Spanish-language singers of the United States Category:UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors Category:World Music Awards winners Category:FIFA World Cup ceremonies performers

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Walter O'Malley

Walter Francis O'Malley (October 9, 1903 - August 9, 1979) was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1979. In 1958, as owner of the Dodgers, he brought major league baseball to the West Coast, moving the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles despite the Dodgers being the 2nd most profitable team in baseball from 1946-1956, and coordinating the move of the New York Giants to San Francisco at a time when there were no teams west of Kansas City, Missouri. For this, he was long vilified by Brooklyn Dodgers fans. However, Pro-O'Malley parties describe him as a visionary for the same business action, and many authorities cite him as one of the most influential sportsmen of the 20th century.

Death and legacy

O'Malley was diagnosed with cancer, and he sought treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He died of congestive heart failure on August 9, 1979 at the Methodist Hospital in Rochester, and was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. His wife Kay had died a few weeks earlier. At one time, Brooklyn Dodgers fans hated O'Malley so much for moving their beloved team that he was routinely mentioned along with Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin as the most villainous 20th-century men; one version of a joke went, "If a Brooklyn man finds himself in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and O'Malley, but has only two bullets, what does he do? Shoot O'Malley twice." Some still consider him among the worst three men of the 20th century. Much of the animosity was not just for moving the team, but robbing Brooklyn of the sense of a cohesive cultural and social identity that a major sports franchise provides. Despite the long-standing animosity of Brooklyn fans and their supporters in baseball, O'Malley was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008 after having been elected by the Veterans Committee with the minimum number of votes necessary for acceptance. His legacy is that of changing the mindset of a league that for a long time had had the St. Louis Cardinals as its southernmost and westernmost team (American League Kansas City Athletics had moved west 3 years earlier from Philadelphia). Tommy Lasorda said upon hearing of his election to the Hall, "He's a pioneer. He made a tremendous change in the game, opening up the West Coast to Major League Baseball." When asked how he wanted to be remembered, O'Malley said, "for planting a tree." The tree provided the branches to open up the West Coast to baseball, but O'Malley's son remembers his father's 28 years on Major League Baseball's executive council as service that "was instrumental in the early stages of the game's international growth." His contributions to baseball were widely recognized even before his Hall of Fame election: he was ranked 8th and 11th respectively by ABC Sports and The Sporting News in their lists of the most influential sports figures of the 20th century. On July 7, 2009, Walter O'Malley was inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame along with two other Dodger icons: slugger Steve Garvey and announcer Vin Scully. "Over the years, we have learned more of his decade-long quest to build a new stadium in Brooklyn and about how those efforts were thwarted by city officials. Perhaps this induction will inspire fans who themselves started new lives outside the borough to reconsider their thoughts about Walter O'Malley", said John Mooney, curator of the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame. "He privately built one of baseball's more beautiful ballparks, Dodger Stadium, and set attendance records annually. While New York is the home of the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame, it seeks to honor inductees whose impact was and is national." O'Malley's detractors say that he was not a visionary for taking baseball west. They say the game was naturally heading toward geographical expansion and O'Malley just an opportunist. Rather than truly being a leader these detractors say his leadership was a manifestation of making the most money. CANNOTANSWER

Walter Francis O'Malley (October 9, 1903 – August 9, 1979) was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1979. In 1958, as owner of the Dodgers, he brought major league baseball to the West Coast, moving the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles despite the Dodgers being the second most profitable team in baseball from 1946 to 1956, and coordinating the move of the New York Giants to San Francisco at a time when there were no teams west of Kansas City, Missouri. For this, he was long vilified by Brooklyn Dodgers fans. However, Pro-O'Malley parties describe him as a visionary for the same business action, and many authorities cite him as one of the most influential sportsmen of the 20th century. Other observers say that he was not a visionary, but instead a man who was in the right place at the right time, and regard him as the most powerful and influential owner in baseball after moving the team. O'Malley was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame for his contributions to and influence on the game of baseball in 2008. O'Malley's father, Edwin Joseph O'Malley, was politically connected. Walter, a University of Pennsylvania salutatorian, went on to obtain a Juris Doctor, and he used the combination of his family connections, his personal contacts, and both his educational and vocational skills to rise to prominence. First, he became an entrepreneur involved in public works contracting, and then he became an executive with the Dodgers. He progressed from being a team lawyer to being both the Dodgers' owner and president, and he eventually made the business decision to relocate the Dodgers franchise. Although he moved the franchise, O'Malley is known as a businessman whose major philosophy was stability through loyalty to and from his employees. O'Malley ceded the team presidency to his son, Peter, in 1970 but retained the titles of owner and chairman of the Dodgers until his death in 1979. During the 1975 season, the Dodgers' inability to negotiate a contract with Andy Messersmith led to the Seitz decision, which limited the baseball reserve clause and paved the way for modern free agency. He bequeathed the team to his children Peter O'Malley and Therese O'Malley Seidler upon his death in 1979. Early years Walter O'Malley was the only child of Edwin Joseph O'Malley (1881–1953), who worked as a cotton goods salesman in the Bronx in 1903. Edwin O'Malley later became the Commissioner of Public Markets for New York City. Walter's mother was Alma Feltner (1882–1940). Walter was 3rd generation Irish American. His grandfather was born in County Mayo, Ireland. O'Malley grew up as a Bronx-born New York Giants fan. He frequently attended Giants games at the Polo Grounds with his uncle Clarence. O'Malley was a Boy Scout who rose to the rank of Star Scout. O'Malley attended Jamaica High School in Queens from 1918 to 1920 and then the Culver Academy (the eventual high school alma mater of future New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner) in Indiana. He managed both the baseball and tennis teams, served on the executive staff of the student newspaper, was a member of the Hospital Visitation Committee as well as the debate team, Bible Discipline Committee and the YMCA. At Culver, his baseball career was ended with a baseball that hit him on the nose. Later, he attended the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and graduated in 1926 as the senior class Salutatorian. At Penn, he was initiated into Theta Delta Chi, and he also served as president of the Phi Deuteron Charge. Upon his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science his father gave him a cabin cruiser that slept eight. He was also Junior and Senior class president. O'Malley originally enrolled at Columbia University in New York City for law school, but after his family lost their money in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, he switched from Columbia Law School to night school at Fordham University. Edwin O'Malley's dry goods business was failing and Walter had to help run the business. Personal life On September 5, 1931, he married Katherine Elizabeth "Kay" Hanson (1907–79), whom he had dated since high school, at Saint Malachy's Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan. Kay had been diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in 1927 before the engagement and had to have her larynx removed. She was unable to speak above a whisper the rest of her life. Edwin O'Malley encouraged Walter to break off his engagement, and after Walter refused his parents did not attend the wedding. The couple had two children: Therese O'Malley Seidler (born 1933) and Peter O'Malley (born 1937). In 1944, he remodelled his parents' summer house in Amityville, New York and relocated his family there from Brooklyn. The house was next door to the house Kay had grown up and where her parents lived. O'Malley was a smoker, who golfed occasionally, but more commonly gardened for recreation. As a family man, he attended church regularly, attended Peter's football games at LaSalle Academy, and chaperoned his daughter's dances. On summer weekends, he took the family sailing on his boat, which was named Dodger. Pre-baseball career After he completed his law degree in 1930 at Fordham Law, he worked as an assistant engineer for the New York City Subway. After earning his law degree he needed to obtain a clerkship, but it was during the depression and no one could afford to hire him. He allowed a struggling lawyer to use space in his office and paid for his own clerkship. After working for the Subway, he worked for Thomas F. Riley, who owned the Riley Drilling Company, and they formed the partnership of Riley and O'Malley. With the help of Edwin O'Malley's political connections, Walter's company received contracts from the New York Telephone Company and the New York City Board of Education to perform geological surveys. Subsequently, Walter started the Walter F. O'Malley Engineering Company and published the Subcontractors Register with his uncle, Joseph O'Malley (1893–1985). Walter eventually concentrated on the field of law, starting with work on wills and deeds. By 1933, he was senior partner in a 20-man Midtown Manhattan law firm. He developed the business habits of smoking cigars and of answering questions only after taking two puffs. During the Great Depression, O'Malley represented bankrupt companies and enriched himself, while building his thriving law practice. He invested wisely in firms such as the Long Island Rail Road, Brooklyn Borough Gas Company, the New York Subways Advertising Company, a building materials firm, a beer firm and some hotels. His success begot both influence and attention. The Brooklyn Democratic Machine powers such as judge Henry Ughetta and Brooklyn Trust Company president George Vincent McLaughlin were among those who noticed the rising O'Malley. Dodgers McLaughlin had been New York City Police Commissioner in 1926, knew O'Malley's father, and had attended Philadelphia Athletics games with O'Malley when O'Malley was still at the University of Pennsylvania. McLaughlin hired O'Malley to administer mortgage foreclosures against failing businesses for the Trust Company. O'Malley earned McLaughlin's confidence by acting in numerous capacities including bodyguard, valet, chauffeur, adopted son, confidant and right-hand man. The trust company owned the estate of Charles Ebbets, who had died in 1925 and owned half of the Brooklyn Dodgers. It was 1933 when Walter again met George V. McLaughlin, president of the Brooklyn Trust Company. O'Malley was chosen to protect the company's financial interests in the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1933. O'Malley also served as designated driver for the hard drinking McLaughlin. It was through McLaughlin that Walter was brought into the financial arrangements for Ebbets Field in 1940. In 1942, when Larry MacPhail resigned as general manager to serve in the United States Army as a lieutenant colonel, O'Malley was appointed the attorney for the Dodgers, and he obtained a minority ownership interest on November 1, 1944. He purchased 25% as did Branch Rickey and John L. Smith (president of Pfizer Chemical), while the heirs of Stephen McKeever retained the final quarter. In 1943, he replaced Wendell Willkie as chief legal counsel. Branch Rickey, who had built the St. Louis Cardinals into champions, replaced MacPhail, and O'Malley began to accumulate stock in the Dodgers. Rickey was a teetotaler, while O'Malley enjoyed alcoholic beverages and tobacco. As O'Malley became more involved in affairs, he became critical of Rickey, the highest-paid individual in baseball, counting salary, attendance bonuses, and player contract sales commissions. O'Malley and Rickey had very different backgrounds and philosophies. It was O'Malley who put pressure on Rickey to fire manager Leo Durocher, who O'Malley felt was a drain on attendance. In board of directors meetings, O'Malley also opposed Rickey's extravagances. When he was with his political friends, he made fun of Rickey at every chance. Daily News columnist Jimmy Powers would deride Rickey for selling off players and for general miserliness. When Rickey asked O'Malley, the team lawyer, if he should sue, O'Malley said no. Powers' campaign became so public that after the 1946 season Rickey gave each player a new Studebaker, which gave O'Malley, a Dodgers shareholder, reason to speak ill of Rickey in the press. It got to the point where everything Rickey did was something O'Malley derided: O'Malley thought Rickey's construction of the state of the art Vero Beach spring training facility, known as Dodgertown, was extravagant; he thought Rickey's investment in the Brooklyn Dodgers of the All-America Football Conference was questionable; he fought Rickey on the team's beer sponsor; and he demanded that players return their 1947 World Series rings before receiving the new ones Rickey ordered. As team lawyer, O'Malley had a role in breaking the racial barrier as well. In particular, he had a significant role in Rickey's top-secret search for suitable ballplayers to break the color barrier and then later he had a role in assessing the ongoing legal risks to the franchise. Other accounts, however, suggest that he played a lesser role in Robinson's signing. Control When co-owner Smith died in July 1950, O'Malley convinced his widow to turn over control of the shares to the Brooklyn Trust Company, which O'Malley controlled as chief legal counsel. Rickey's contract as general manager was set to expire on October 28, 1950. Rickey's Dodgers stock was held on margin and he had fully leveraged his life insurance policy. O'Malley lowballed Rickey with an offer of $346,000 (the purchase price). Rickey demanded $1 million ($ today). O'Malley eventually pursued a complicated buyout of Rickey, who had received an outside offer from William Zeckendorf of $1 million for his interests. There were varying accounts about the sincerity of the offer because Zeckendorf and Pittsburgh Pirates owner John Galbreath were fraternity brothers, but there is a lot of evidence that he had a sincere interest in acquiring the team. The outside offer triggered a clause in the partnership agreement whereby the asking price of a third party had to be matched if a current owner wanted to retain control and the third party would be compensated $50,000. The canceled $50,000 check would later include Rickey's signature showing that Zeckendorf turned over the $50,000 to Rickey. O'Malley replaced Rickey with Buzzie Bavasi. O'Malley became the president and chief stockholder (owner) on October 26, 1950. O'Malley assumed the title of president from Rickey, who was a trailblazer in baseball both for instituting the farm system and for breaking the racial barrier with Jackie Robinson. According to pitcher Clem Labine and noted author Roger Kahn, the first thing O'Malley did when he took over was assign Bavasi to enamor himself to Dick Young of the Daily News so that O'Malley would not have to worry about ever getting bad press from the Daily News. After the ownership transfer, O'Malley's rivalry with Rickey became very public. O'Malley forbade the speaking of Rickey's name in Dodgers offices with transgressors being subjected to a fine. He abolished Rickey's title of General Manager so that no front office person could perpetuate Rickey's role. In addition, when Rickey assumed the title with the Pittsburgh Pirates, O'Malley arranged for the Dodgers to omit the Pirates from their spring training schedule. Nonetheless, after the transfer, the Dodgers remained successful under O'Malley: they won the National League pennants in 1952, 1953, 1955—the year of their first World Series championship—and 1956. Under O'Malley, the Dodgers were the most overtly political post World War II franchise. In 1951, Brooklyn native and United States Congressman Emanuel Celler's Judiciary Committee investigated whether the reserve clause was in violation of federal anti-trust laws. Celler represented half of Brooklyn in Congress and O'Malley used the local press such as the Brooklyn Eagle to pressure Celler into backing off of the issue. During the 1951 season, the Dodgers engaged former West Point varsity baseball player and U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur to lure war veterans. O'Malley attempted to entice him to take the post of Commissioner of Baseball. After the 1956 season, O'Malley sold Ebbets Field to Marvin Kratter and agreed to lease the stadium for three years. Jackie Robinson had been a Rickey protege, and O'Malley did not have the same respect for Robinson that Rickey did. O'Malley referred to him as "Rickey's prima donna". Robinson did not like O'Malley's choice for manager, Walter Alston. Robinson liked to argue with umpires, and Alston rarely did so. Robinson derided Alston in the press. In 1955, Alston played Don Hoak at third base during the exhibition season. Robinson voiced his complaints to the press. Robinson did not get along with Bavasi either, and the three seasons under Alston were uncomfortable for Robinson. Robinson announced his retirement in Look magazine after the 1956 season. The signing of Robinson brought the team international fame, making O'Malley an international baseball ambassador to celebrities such as Iraq's King Faisal II. In 1954, Dodgers scout Al Campanis signed Sandy Koufax in large part for two reasons, according to a memo to O'Malley that said "No. 1, he's a Brooklyn boy. No. 2, he's Jewish." Bavasi noted that "there were many people of the Jewish faith in Brooklyn." During the 1955 season, Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella had a medical billing controversy regarding neurosurgery services by Manhattan doctor Dr. Samuel Shenkman. Shenkman billed $9,500, an amount which Campanella forwarded to the Dodgers and the Dodgers refused to pay. O'Malley felt the doctor was overcharging: "It appears that [Dr. Shenkman] thought he was operating on Roy's bankroll..." The Dodgers had convinced Campanella to have the surgery after enduring a slump in 1954 following MVP seasons in 1951 and 1953. The surgery was intended to restore complete use of his hand. Despite having won the National League pennants in 1947, 1949, 1952 and 1953, they lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series each time, which frustrated O'Malley and all Dodgers fans. In 1955, the team won the World Series for the first time in their history. However, attendance declined from a peak of 1.7 million in 1946 and 1947 to just over one million per year in the mid-1950s. With the advent of the affordable automobile and post-war prosperity, Brooklyn's formerly heterogeneous, middle-class fan base for the Dodgers began to splinter. A large white flight took place, and Ebbets Field's shabby condition and lack of parking spaces led to the loss of fans who relocated to Long Island. O'Malley tried to raise money and get the political backing to build a new ballpark elsewhere in Brooklyn. The one person whose backing he needed was Robert Moses, a powerful figure who influenced development in New York through the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. O'Malley envisioned a domed stadium near the Long Island Rail Road station on Brooklyn's west end, and even invited R. Buckminster Fuller to design the structure; Fuller, in conjunction with graduate students from Princeton University, constructed a model of the "Dodgers' Dome". Moses did not like O'Malley and derided O'Malley's pro-Brooklyn and pro-Irish sentiments in the press. O'Malley wanted to build a new Brooklyn Dodgers stadium at Flatbush and Atlantic Avenue, but Moses wanted the Dodgers to move to Queens and play in Flushing Meadows Park (the location where the New York Mets play today). Although O'Malley lined up bipartisan political support including New York Governor W. Averell Harriman, Moses blocked the sale of the land necessary for the planned new Brooklyn stadium. O'Malley bought the Chicago Cubs minor league baseball team, the Los Angeles Angels, as well as their stadium, Wrigley Field, from Philip Wrigley in 1956 at the winter baseball meetings, and during spring training, Los Angeles Mayor Norris Poulson traveled to the Dodgers' training camp at Vero Beach, Florida in an attempt to lure the franchise. O'Malley met with Moses at Moses' home after purchasing the Angels to discuss final offers from New York to no avail. O'Malley noticed the great success of the Milwaukee Braves after their move from Boston in 1953. They had a 43,000-seat stadium, parking for 10,000 cars and an arrangement for no city or real estate taxes. He also felt the limitations of the small landlocked Ebbets Field, which held less than 32,111 fans and accommodated only 700 parking spaces. Attendance between 1950 and 1957 was between 1,020,000 in 1954 and 1,280,000 in 1951. O'Malley had sold the ballpark to Marvin Kratter for about $2,000,000 on October 31, 1956. The deal included a five-year lease that allowed the Dodgers to move out as soon as the proposed domed stadium in Downtown Brooklyn was ready for business. Ultimately, O'Malley decided to leave Brooklyn for Los Angeles in 1957. Robert Moses authority Robert Caro and other contemporaneous sports historians felt that Moses was more to blame for the Dodgers' leaving. The 1956 season had marked the end of the Jackie Robinson era in which the Dodgers won six pennants, lost two pennant series and finished as low as third only once in ten years, and the new era would begin in a new home. During the 1957 season, he negotiated a deal for the Dodgers to be viewed on an early pay TV network by the Skiatron Corporation subject to the approval of other teams and owners. The rest of baseball was not ready for the risks of such a venture and it did not pan out at the time. Move to Los Angeles O'Malley is considered by baseball experts to be "perhaps the most influential owner of baseball's early expansion era." Following the 1957 Major League Baseball season, he moved the Dodgers to Los Angeles, and New York's Dodgers fans felt betrayed. O'Malley was also influential in getting the rival New York Giants to move west to become the San Francisco Giants, thus preserving the two teams' longstanding rivalry. He needed another team to go with him, for had he moved out west alone, the St. Louis Cardinals— away— would have been the closest National League team. The joint move made West Coast road trips more economical for visiting teams. O'Malley invited San Francisco Mayor George Christopher to New York to meet with Giants owner Horace Stoneham. Stoneham was considering moving the Giants to Minnesota, but he was convinced to join O'Malley on the West Coast at the end of the 1957 campaign. Since the meetings occurred during the 1957 season and against the wishes of Commissioner of Baseball Ford Frick, there was media gamesmanship. On April 15, 1958, the Dodgers and Giants ushered in West Coast baseball at Seals Stadium. When O'Malley moved the Dodgers from Brooklyn the story transcended the world of sport and he found himself on the cover of Time. The cover art for the issue was created by sports cartoonist Willard Mullin, long noted for his caricature of the "Brooklyn Bum" that personified the team. The dual moves broke the hearts of New York's National League fans but ultimately were successful for both franchises – and for Major League Baseball as a whole. In fact, the move was an immediate success as well since the Dodgers set a major league single-game attendance record in their first home appearance with 78,672 fans. During the first year after the move, the Dodgers made $500,000 more profit than any other Major League Baseball team and paid off all of their debts. This did not assuage many Dodgers fans in New York; many years later, newspaper writers Pete Hamill and Jack Newfield each challenged the other to choose the three worst people of the 20th century. Independently, they produced identical lists: "Hitler, Stalin, O'Malley." In the years following the move of the New York clubs, Major League Baseball added two completely new teams in California, as well as two in Texas, two in Canada, two in Florida, one each in the Twin Cities, Denver, and Phoenix, and two teams at separate times in Seattle. In addition, the Athletics, who had already moved to Kansas City, moved to Oakland; Kansas City would get a new team the year after the A's moved to Oakland. The National League returned to New York with the introduction of the New York Mets four years after the Dodgers and Giants had departed for California. When he made the decision to relocate in October 1957 to Los Angeles, O'Malley did not have an established location for where the Dodgers would play in 1958. O'Malley worked out a deal with Los Angeles County and the state of California to rent the Los Angeles Coliseum for $200,000 per year for 1958 and 1959, plus 10% of the ticket revenue, and all concession profits for the first nine games of each season following an opening series with the San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers temporarily took up residence while they awaited the completion of 56,000-seat capacity Dodger Stadium, built for $23 million. The Dodgers were soon drawing more than two million fans a year. They remained successful on the field as well, winning the World Series in 1959, 1963, and 1965. The Los Angeles Angels also played in Dodger Stadium from 1962 to 1965. Controversy regarding land deal with city of Los Angeles The dealings with the city of Los Angeles after the Vero Beach meeting raised questions. The initial offer of and tax exemptions was determined to be illegal and improper. The minor league San Diego Padres owners led an opposition effort to stop the transfer of in Chavez Ravine via a referendum. O'Malley engaged in an extensive marketing and media campaign that helped the referendum pass, but there were extensive subsequent taxpayer lawsuits. The plaintiffs initially prevailed in some of these suits. Finally, during the middle of the 1959 season, the Los Angeles City Council was able to approve the final parcel for the stadium. One legendary negotiation with the city over concession revenue is that in O'Malley's move to the Coliseum he agreed to accept concession revenues from only half the team's games—the home half. The land was eventually transferred by the Los Angeles city government to O'Malley by an agreement which required O'Malley and the Dodgers to design, build, privately finance and maintain a 50,000-seat stadium; develop a youth recreation center on the land. O'Malley was to pay $500,000 initially, plus annual payments of $60,000 for 20 years; and pay $345,000 in property taxes starting in 1962, putting the land on the tax rolls. Also, the Dodgers would transfer team-owned Wrigley Field, then appraised at $2.2 million, to the city. The city exchanged "300 acres, more or less, in the Chavez Ravine area", while L.A. County Supervisors unanimously agreed to provide $2.74 million for access roads. In addition, the Dodgers also had to pay $450,000 for territorial rights to the Pacific Coast League, whose Los Angeles Angels and Hollywood Stars suspended play. Management philosophy His son, Peter O'Malley, described his management style as follows: "As president, the way he ran the business, he believed in stability and very little turnover. It was the strength of the organization. The management team worked as well as the team on the field." This is evidenced in many ways, including the long tenure of both Walter Alston and Tommy Lasorda as Dodgers managers and Vin Scully, the broadcast voice of the Dodgers. Alston was repeatedly rehired to consecutive one-year contracts from 1954–1976 until he retired. Then Lasorda, who had been a long-time employee in as a coach and minor league baseball manager, took over as manager for another 20 years. Scully was the voice of the Dodgers for 67 seasons until his retirement in 2016, the infield of first baseman Steve Garvey, second baseman Davey Lopes, shortstop Bill Russell and third baseman Ron Cey was the longest-running intact infield in major league history. Furthermore, O'Malley is said to have kept Bowie Kuhn in office as the Commissioner of Baseball until O'Malley's death. O'Malley rewarded loyal employee Bavasi by allowing the San Diego Padres franchise to establish an expansion team with Bavasi as president in Southern California. Alston said O'Malley convinced him that when he signed his first one-year contract it could be a lifetime job by pointing out that "signing one-year contracts can mean a lifetime job, if you keep signing enough of them." Although O'Malley had good stories of loyalty with some employees, there were several stories of O'Malley's frugality. Although O'Malley was loyal to his employees, he did not take kindly to demands from employees such as manager Charlie Dressen's request for a three-year contract. When Dressen requested a multi-year contract after losing a second consecutive World Series to the Yankees, he was released. Then when he hired Walter Alston as a replacement, he made it clear to the press that Alston would only receive one-year contracts and would not attempt to show up the management in the national media. There were rumors that Alston even signed blank contracts in the fall and showed up in the spring to find out his salary. O'Malley also did not support those who remained friends with Rickey, which was a large factor in Red Barber quitting as Dodgers announcer. O'Malley also engaged in several high-profile salary disputes with his players. In 1960, he refused to pay right fielder Carl Furillo for the 1960 season after he was released early due to injury, which led Furillo to sue the team. Because of this, O'Malley allegedly blacklisted Furillo from any job in baseball. In 1966, Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, who employed the same lawyer, engaged in a joint contract holdout. They had earned $70,000 and $75,000 respectively during the 1965 season, during which the Dodgers won the World Series, and O'Malley offered $105,000 and $95,000 for the 1966 season. At the time, Willie Mays was Major League Baseball's highest paid player at $125,000 per year and multi-year contracts were very unusual. They demanded three-year $167,000 per year contracts and after holding out until less than two weeks before Opening Day, they received one-year $130,000 and $115,000 contracts respectively. O'Malley liked clubhouse turmoil only slightly less than free agent disloyalty. When he traded Maury Wills to the Pittsburgh Pirates following consecutive National League pennants, it was attributed to Wills having quit during the middle of the Dodgers' post-season tour of Japan. Retirement from presidency On March 17, 1970, Walter turned over the presidency of the team to his son Peter, remaining as Chairman until his death in 1979. Peter O'Malley held the position until 1998 when the team was sold to Rupert Murdoch. The team remained successful on the field under Peter and won the World Series in both 1981 and 1988. They remained successful at the box office as well: by the end of the 1980s, they had not only became the first franchise to draw three million fans, but also they had done it more times than all other franchises combined. During the 1970s, O'Malley was credited for stagemanaging Lasorda's career. Lasorda become known for his die-hard Dodgers clichés, such as describing the color of his blood by saying "Cut me, I bleed Dodger blue." It was even said that the reciprocal loyalty and respect between Lasorda and O'Malley was so high that O'Malley gave Lasorda a tombstone as a gift that had an inscription that read "TOMMY LASORDA, A DODGER". The McKeevers held their 25% interest in the Dodgers until 1975 when Dearie McKeever died. They sold out to O'Malley making him the sole owner of the Dodgers. Also during 1975, the Dodgers franchise was embroiled in the Andy Messersmith controversy that led to the Seitz decision, which struck down baseball's reserve clause and opened up the sport to modern free agency. Messersmith and the Dodgers were unable to come to contract terms in part because of a then unheard of no-trade clause demand, and Messersmith pitched the entire season without a contract under the reserve clause, which stated that team has the right to extend the prior years contract one year if a player does not agree to terms. Teams had previously had the right to continue such re-signings year after year. This gave owners the right to issue "take it or leave it" offers to the players. Although the Dodgers and Messersmith nearly hammered out a deal monetarily, they could not come to terms on the no-trade clause. Supposedly Major League Baseball instructed the Dodgers not to surrender such a clause for the good of the game. The Seitz decision limited the re-signings to one year, and since Messersmith performed quite well in 1975, winning a Gold Glove Award and leading the National League in complete games and shutouts, while finishing second in earned run average, he was a valuable talent. He earned offers from six different teams. Messersmith became the first free agent, except for Catfish Hunter who had been declared a 1974 free agent by breach of contract. O'Malley felt the price wars would be the downfall of baseball because the fans only have so much money. The scenario led to an eighteen-day lockout during spring training in 1976 over the prospect of dozens of players playing becoming free agents and the inability to redesign the reserve clause. Death and legacy O'Malley was diagnosed with cancer, and he sought treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He died of congestive heart failure on August 9, 1979, at the Methodist Hospital in Rochester. O'Malley had never returned to Brooklyn before his death. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. His wife Kay had died a few weeks earlier. Although O'Malley had later retired and had relinquished control of the Dodgers before his death, he is still hated in Brooklyn, not only for moving the Dodgers, but also for forcing out legendary general manager Branch Rickey from the team in 1950. At one time, Brooklyn Dodgers fans hated O'Malley so much that he was routinely mentioned along with Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin as the most villainous 20th-century men; one version of a joke went, "If a Brooklyn man finds himself in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and O'Malley, but has only two bullets, what does he do? Shoot O'Malley twice." Some still consider him among the worst three men of the 20th century. Much of the animosity was not just for moving the team, but robbing Brooklyn of the sense of a cohesive cultural and social identity that a major sports franchise provides. Despite the long-standing animosity of Brooklyn fans and their supporters in baseball, O'Malley was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008 after having been elected by the Veterans Committee with the minimum number of votes necessary for induction. His legacy is that of changing the mindset of a league that had the St. Louis Cardinals as its southernmost and westernmost team (the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League had moved to Kansas City just three years prior). Tommy Lasorda said upon hearing of his election to the Hall, "He's a pioneer. He made a tremendous change in the game, opening up the West Coast to Major League Baseball." When asked how he wanted to be remembered, O'Malley said, "for planting a tree." The tree provided the branches to open up the West Coast to baseball, but O'Malley's son remembers his father's 28 years on Major League Baseball's executive council as service that "was instrumental in the early stages of the game's international growth." His contributions to baseball were widely recognized even before his Hall of Fame election: he was ranked 8th and 11th respectively by ABC Sports and The Sporting News in their lists of the most influential sports figures of the 20th century. On July 7, 2009, Walter O'Malley was inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame along with two other Dodger icons: slugger Steve Garvey and announcer Vin Scully. "Over the years, we have learned more of his decade-long quest to build a new stadium in Brooklyn and about how those efforts were thwarted by city officials. Perhaps this induction will inspire fans who themselves started new lives outside the borough to reconsider their thoughts about Walter O'Malley", said John Mooney, curator of the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame. "He privately built one of baseball's more beautiful ballparks, Dodger Stadium, and set attendance records annually. While New York is the home of the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame, it seeks to honor inductees whose impact was and is national." O'Malley's detractors say that he was not a visionary for taking baseball west. They say the game was naturally heading toward geographical expansion and O'Malley was just an opportunist. Rather than truly being a leader, these detractors say his leadership was a manifestation of making the most money. Popular culture O'Malley was mentioned several times in Danny Kaye's 1962 song tribute The D-O-D-G-E-R-S Song (Oh, Really? No, O'Malley!), which spins a tale of a fantasy game between the Dodgers and the Giants. At one point, the umpire's call goes against the home team: Down in the dugout, Alston glowers Up in the booth, Vin Scully frowns; Out in the stands, O'Malley grins... Attendance 50,000! So ....what does O'Malley do? CHARGE!! O'Malley was featured prominently in the HBO documentary film Brooklyn Dodgers: Ghosts of Flatbush, which chronicled his executive management of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers. The documentary focuses on the post World War II glory years of the franchise and presents a compelling case that O'Malley truly wanted to keep the Dodgers in Brooklyn in a stadium near the Long Island Rail Road's Atlantic Terminal, but he was unable to get the proper support from Moses. References Further reading , accessed online at google books on 2008-01-24 Stout, Glenn (Richard A. Johnson photos and editing), The Dodgers: 120 Years of Dodgers Baseball, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004, Boston/New York, . External links Walter O'Malley at the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR BioProject) Category:1903 births Category:1979 deaths Category:American sports businesspeople Category:Brooklyn Dodgers executives Category:Brooklyn Dodgers owners Category:Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City Category:Columbia Law School alumni Category:Fordham University School of Law alumni Category:Los Angeles Dodgers executives Category:Los Angeles Dodgers owners Category:Major League Baseball executives Category:Major League Baseball owners Category:Major League Baseball team presidents Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Walter Category:People from the Bronx Category:People from Amityville, New York Category:University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Category:Catholics from New York (state) Category:Culver Academies alumni Category:20th-century American people

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Walter O'Malley

Walter Francis O'Malley (October 9, 1903 - August 9, 1979) was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1979. In 1958, as owner of the Dodgers, he brought major league baseball to the West Coast, moving the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles despite the Dodgers being the 2nd most profitable team in baseball from 1946-1956, and coordinating the move of the New York Giants to San Francisco at a time when there were no teams west of Kansas City, Missouri. For this, he was long vilified by Brooklyn Dodgers fans. However, Pro-O'Malley parties describe him as a visionary for the same business action, and many authorities cite him as one of the most influential sportsmen of the 20th century.

Early years

Walter O'Malley was the only child of Edwin Joseph O'Malley (1883-1955), who worked as a cotton goods salesman in the Bronx in 1903. Edwin O'Malley later became the Commissioner of Public Markets for New York City. Walter's mother was Alma Feltner (1882-1940). O'Malley grew up as a Bronx-born New York Giants fan. He frequently attended Giants games at the Polo Grounds with his uncle Clarence. O'Malley was a Boy Scout who rose to the rank of Star. O'Malley attended Jamaica High School in Queens from 1918 to 1920 and then the Culver Academy (the eventual high school alma mater of future New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner) in Indiana. He managed both the baseball and tennis teams, served on the executive staff of the student newspaper, was a member of the Hospital Visitation Committee as well as the debate team, Bible Discipline Committee and the YMCA. At Culver, his baseball career was ended with a baseball that hit him on the nose. Later, he attended the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and graduated in 1926 as the senior class Salutatorian. At Penn, he was initiated into Theta Delta Chi, and he also served as president of the Phi Deuteron Charge. Upon his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science his father gave him a cabin cruiser that slept eight. He was also Junior and Senior class president. O'Malley originally enrolled at Columbia University in New York City for law school, but after his family lost their money in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, he switched from Columbia Law School to night school at Fordham University. Edwin O'Malley's dry goods business was failing and Walter had to help run the business. CANNOTANSWER

Walter Francis O'Malley (October 9, 1903 – August 9, 1979) was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1979. In 1958, as owner of the Dodgers, he brought major league baseball to the West Coast, moving the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles despite the Dodgers being the second most profitable team in baseball from 1946 to 1956, and coordinating the move of the New York Giants to San Francisco at a time when there were no teams west of Kansas City, Missouri. For this, he was long vilified by Brooklyn Dodgers fans. However, Pro-O'Malley parties describe him as a visionary for the same business action, and many authorities cite him as one of the most influential sportsmen of the 20th century. Other observers say that he was not a visionary, but instead a man who was in the right place at the right time, and regard him as the most powerful and influential owner in baseball after moving the team. O'Malley was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame for his contributions to and influence on the game of baseball in 2008. O'Malley's father, Edwin Joseph O'Malley, was politically connected. Walter, a University of Pennsylvania salutatorian, went on to obtain a Juris Doctor, and he used the combination of his family connections, his personal contacts, and both his educational and vocational skills to rise to prominence. First, he became an entrepreneur involved in public works contracting, and then he became an executive with the Dodgers. He progressed from being a team lawyer to being both the Dodgers' owner and president, and he eventually made the business decision to relocate the Dodgers franchise. Although he moved the franchise, O'Malley is known as a businessman whose major philosophy was stability through loyalty to and from his employees. O'Malley ceded the team presidency to his son, Peter, in 1970 but retained the titles of owner and chairman of the Dodgers until his death in 1979. During the 1975 season, the Dodgers' inability to negotiate a contract with Andy Messersmith led to the Seitz decision, which limited the baseball reserve clause and paved the way for modern free agency. He bequeathed the team to his children Peter O'Malley and Therese O'Malley Seidler upon his death in 1979. Early years Walter O'Malley was the only child of Edwin Joseph O'Malley (1881–1953), who worked as a cotton goods salesman in the Bronx in 1903. Edwin O'Malley later became the Commissioner of Public Markets for New York City. Walter's mother was Alma Feltner (1882–1940). Walter was 3rd generation Irish American. His grandfather was born in County Mayo, Ireland. O'Malley grew up as a Bronx-born New York Giants fan. He frequently attended Giants games at the Polo Grounds with his uncle Clarence. O'Malley was a Boy Scout who rose to the rank of Star Scout. O'Malley attended Jamaica High School in Queens from 1918 to 1920 and then the Culver Academy (the eventual high school alma mater of future New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner) in Indiana. He managed both the baseball and tennis teams, served on the executive staff of the student newspaper, was a member of the Hospital Visitation Committee as well as the debate team, Bible Discipline Committee and the YMCA. At Culver, his baseball career was ended with a baseball that hit him on the nose. Later, he attended the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and graduated in 1926 as the senior class Salutatorian. At Penn, he was initiated into Theta Delta Chi, and he also served as president of the Phi Deuteron Charge. Upon his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science his father gave him a cabin cruiser that slept eight. He was also Junior and Senior class president. O'Malley originally enrolled at Columbia University in New York City for law school, but after his family lost their money in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, he switched from Columbia Law School to night school at Fordham University. Edwin O'Malley's dry goods business was failing and Walter had to help run the business. Personal life On September 5, 1931, he married Katherine Elizabeth "Kay" Hanson (1907–79), whom he had dated since high school, at Saint Malachy's Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan. Kay had been diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in 1927 before the engagement and had to have her larynx removed. She was unable to speak above a whisper the rest of her life. Edwin O'Malley encouraged Walter to break off his engagement, and after Walter refused his parents did not attend the wedding. The couple had two children: Therese O'Malley Seidler (born 1933) and Peter O'Malley (born 1937). In 1944, he remodelled his parents' summer house in Amityville, New York and relocated his family there from Brooklyn. The house was next door to the house Kay had grown up and where her parents lived. O'Malley was a smoker, who golfed occasionally, but more commonly gardened for recreation. As a family man, he attended church regularly, attended Peter's football games at LaSalle Academy, and chaperoned his daughter's dances. On summer weekends, he took the family sailing on his boat, which was named Dodger. Pre-baseball career After he completed his law degree in 1930 at Fordham Law, he worked as an assistant engineer for the New York City Subway. After earning his law degree he needed to obtain a clerkship, but it was during the depression and no one could afford to hire him. He allowed a struggling lawyer to use space in his office and paid for his own clerkship. After working for the Subway, he worked for Thomas F. Riley, who owned the Riley Drilling Company, and they formed the partnership of Riley and O'Malley. With the help of Edwin O'Malley's political connections, Walter's company received contracts from the New York Telephone Company and the New York City Board of Education to perform geological surveys. Subsequently, Walter started the Walter F. O'Malley Engineering Company and published the Subcontractors Register with his uncle, Joseph O'Malley (1893–1985). Walter eventually concentrated on the field of law, starting with work on wills and deeds. By 1933, he was senior partner in a 20-man Midtown Manhattan law firm. He developed the business habits of smoking cigars and of answering questions only after taking two puffs. During the Great Depression, O'Malley represented bankrupt companies and enriched himself, while building his thriving law practice. He invested wisely in firms such as the Long Island Rail Road, Brooklyn Borough Gas Company, the New York Subways Advertising Company, a building materials firm, a beer firm and some hotels. His success begot both influence and attention. The Brooklyn Democratic Machine powers such as judge Henry Ughetta and Brooklyn Trust Company president George Vincent McLaughlin were among those who noticed the rising O'Malley. Dodgers McLaughlin had been New York City Police Commissioner in 1926, knew O'Malley's father, and had attended Philadelphia Athletics games with O'Malley when O'Malley was still at the University of Pennsylvania. McLaughlin hired O'Malley to administer mortgage foreclosures against failing businesses for the Trust Company. O'Malley earned McLaughlin's confidence by acting in numerous capacities including bodyguard, valet, chauffeur, adopted son, confidant and right-hand man. The trust company owned the estate of Charles Ebbets, who had died in 1925 and owned half of the Brooklyn Dodgers. It was 1933 when Walter again met George V. McLaughlin, president of the Brooklyn Trust Company. O'Malley was chosen to protect the company's financial interests in the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1933. O'Malley also served as designated driver for the hard drinking McLaughlin. It was through McLaughlin that Walter was brought into the financial arrangements for Ebbets Field in 1940. In 1942, when Larry MacPhail resigned as general manager to serve in the United States Army as a lieutenant colonel, O'Malley was appointed the attorney for the Dodgers, and he obtained a minority ownership interest on November 1, 1944. He purchased 25% as did Branch Rickey and John L. Smith (president of Pfizer Chemical), while the heirs of Stephen McKeever retained the final quarter. In 1943, he replaced Wendell Willkie as chief legal counsel. Branch Rickey, who had built the St. Louis Cardinals into champions, replaced MacPhail, and O'Malley began to accumulate stock in the Dodgers. Rickey was a teetotaler, while O'Malley enjoyed alcoholic beverages and tobacco. As O'Malley became more involved in affairs, he became critical of Rickey, the highest-paid individual in baseball, counting salary, attendance bonuses, and player contract sales commissions. O'Malley and Rickey had very different backgrounds and philosophies. It was O'Malley who put pressure on Rickey to fire manager Leo Durocher, who O'Malley felt was a drain on attendance. In board of directors meetings, O'Malley also opposed Rickey's extravagances. When he was with his political friends, he made fun of Rickey at every chance. Daily News columnist Jimmy Powers would deride Rickey for selling off players and for general miserliness. When Rickey asked O'Malley, the team lawyer, if he should sue, O'Malley said no. Powers' campaign became so public that after the 1946 season Rickey gave each player a new Studebaker, which gave O'Malley, a Dodgers shareholder, reason to speak ill of Rickey in the press. It got to the point where everything Rickey did was something O'Malley derided: O'Malley thought Rickey's construction of the state of the art Vero Beach spring training facility, known as Dodgertown, was extravagant; he thought Rickey's investment in the Brooklyn Dodgers of the All-America Football Conference was questionable; he fought Rickey on the team's beer sponsor; and he demanded that players return their 1947 World Series rings before receiving the new ones Rickey ordered. As team lawyer, O'Malley had a role in breaking the racial barrier as well. In particular, he had a significant role in Rickey's top-secret search for suitable ballplayers to break the color barrier and then later he had a role in assessing the ongoing legal risks to the franchise. Other accounts, however, suggest that he played a lesser role in Robinson's signing. Control When co-owner Smith died in July 1950, O'Malley convinced his widow to turn over control of the shares to the Brooklyn Trust Company, which O'Malley controlled as chief legal counsel. Rickey's contract as general manager was set to expire on October 28, 1950. Rickey's Dodgers stock was held on margin and he had fully leveraged his life insurance policy. O'Malley lowballed Rickey with an offer of $346,000 (the purchase price). Rickey demanded $1 million ($ today). O'Malley eventually pursued a complicated buyout of Rickey, who had received an outside offer from William Zeckendorf of $1 million for his interests. There were varying accounts about the sincerity of the offer because Zeckendorf and Pittsburgh Pirates owner John Galbreath were fraternity brothers, but there is a lot of evidence that he had a sincere interest in acquiring the team. The outside offer triggered a clause in the partnership agreement whereby the asking price of a third party had to be matched if a current owner wanted to retain control and the third party would be compensated $50,000. The canceled $50,000 check would later include Rickey's signature showing that Zeckendorf turned over the $50,000 to Rickey. O'Malley replaced Rickey with Buzzie Bavasi. O'Malley became the president and chief stockholder (owner) on October 26, 1950. O'Malley assumed the title of president from Rickey, who was a trailblazer in baseball both for instituting the farm system and for breaking the racial barrier with Jackie Robinson. According to pitcher Clem Labine and noted author Roger Kahn, the first thing O'Malley did when he took over was assign Bavasi to enamor himself to Dick Young of the Daily News so that O'Malley would not have to worry about ever getting bad press from the Daily News. After the ownership transfer, O'Malley's rivalry with Rickey became very public. O'Malley forbade the speaking of Rickey's name in Dodgers offices with transgressors being subjected to a fine. He abolished Rickey's title of General Manager so that no front office person could perpetuate Rickey's role. In addition, when Rickey assumed the title with the Pittsburgh Pirates, O'Malley arranged for the Dodgers to omit the Pirates from their spring training schedule. Nonetheless, after the transfer, the Dodgers remained successful under O'Malley: they won the National League pennants in 1952, 1953, 1955—the year of their first World Series championship—and 1956. Under O'Malley, the Dodgers were the most overtly political post World War II franchise. In 1951, Brooklyn native and United States Congressman Emanuel Celler's Judiciary Committee investigated whether the reserve clause was in violation of federal anti-trust laws. Celler represented half of Brooklyn in Congress and O'Malley used the local press such as the Brooklyn Eagle to pressure Celler into backing off of the issue. During the 1951 season, the Dodgers engaged former West Point varsity baseball player and U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur to lure war veterans. O'Malley attempted to entice him to take the post of Commissioner of Baseball. After the 1956 season, O'Malley sold Ebbets Field to Marvin Kratter and agreed to lease the stadium for three years. Jackie Robinson had been a Rickey protege, and O'Malley did not have the same respect for Robinson that Rickey did. O'Malley referred to him as "Rickey's prima donna". Robinson did not like O'Malley's choice for manager, Walter Alston. Robinson liked to argue with umpires, and Alston rarely did so. Robinson derided Alston in the press. In 1955, Alston played Don Hoak at third base during the exhibition season. Robinson voiced his complaints to the press. Robinson did not get along with Bavasi either, and the three seasons under Alston were uncomfortable for Robinson. Robinson announced his retirement in Look magazine after the 1956 season. The signing of Robinson brought the team international fame, making O'Malley an international baseball ambassador to celebrities such as Iraq's King Faisal II. In 1954, Dodgers scout Al Campanis signed Sandy Koufax in large part for two reasons, according to a memo to O'Malley that said "No. 1, he's a Brooklyn boy. No. 2, he's Jewish." Bavasi noted that "there were many people of the Jewish faith in Brooklyn." During the 1955 season, Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella had a medical billing controversy regarding neurosurgery services by Manhattan doctor Dr. Samuel Shenkman. Shenkman billed $9,500, an amount which Campanella forwarded to the Dodgers and the Dodgers refused to pay. O'Malley felt the doctor was overcharging: "It appears that [Dr. Shenkman] thought he was operating on Roy's bankroll..." The Dodgers had convinced Campanella to have the surgery after enduring a slump in 1954 following MVP seasons in 1951 and 1953. The surgery was intended to restore complete use of his hand. Despite having won the National League pennants in 1947, 1949, 1952 and 1953, they lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series each time, which frustrated O'Malley and all Dodgers fans. In 1955, the team won the World Series for the first time in their history. However, attendance declined from a peak of 1.7 million in 1946 and 1947 to just over one million per year in the mid-1950s. With the advent of the affordable automobile and post-war prosperity, Brooklyn's formerly heterogeneous, middle-class fan base for the Dodgers began to splinter. A large white flight took place, and Ebbets Field's shabby condition and lack of parking spaces led to the loss of fans who relocated to Long Island. O'Malley tried to raise money and get the political backing to build a new ballpark elsewhere in Brooklyn. The one person whose backing he needed was Robert Moses, a powerful figure who influenced development in New York through the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. O'Malley envisioned a domed stadium near the Long Island Rail Road station on Brooklyn's west end, and even invited R. Buckminster Fuller to design the structure; Fuller, in conjunction with graduate students from Princeton University, constructed a model of the "Dodgers' Dome". Moses did not like O'Malley and derided O'Malley's pro-Brooklyn and pro-Irish sentiments in the press. O'Malley wanted to build a new Brooklyn Dodgers stadium at Flatbush and Atlantic Avenue, but Moses wanted the Dodgers to move to Queens and play in Flushing Meadows Park (the location where the New York Mets play today). Although O'Malley lined up bipartisan political support including New York Governor W. Averell Harriman, Moses blocked the sale of the land necessary for the planned new Brooklyn stadium. O'Malley bought the Chicago Cubs minor league baseball team, the Los Angeles Angels, as well as their stadium, Wrigley Field, from Philip Wrigley in 1956 at the winter baseball meetings, and during spring training, Los Angeles Mayor Norris Poulson traveled to the Dodgers' training camp at Vero Beach, Florida in an attempt to lure the franchise. O'Malley met with Moses at Moses' home after purchasing the Angels to discuss final offers from New York to no avail. O'Malley noticed the great success of the Milwaukee Braves after their move from Boston in 1953. They had a 43,000-seat stadium, parking for 10,000 cars and an arrangement for no city or real estate taxes. He also felt the limitations of the small landlocked Ebbets Field, which held less than 32,111 fans and accommodated only 700 parking spaces. Attendance between 1950 and 1957 was between 1,020,000 in 1954 and 1,280,000 in 1951. O'Malley had sold the ballpark to Marvin Kratter for about $2,000,000 on October 31, 1956. The deal included a five-year lease that allowed the Dodgers to move out as soon as the proposed domed stadium in Downtown Brooklyn was ready for business. Ultimately, O'Malley decided to leave Brooklyn for Los Angeles in 1957. Robert Moses authority Robert Caro and other contemporaneous sports historians felt that Moses was more to blame for the Dodgers' leaving. The 1956 season had marked the end of the Jackie Robinson era in which the Dodgers won six pennants, lost two pennant series and finished as low as third only once in ten years, and the new era would begin in a new home. During the 1957 season, he negotiated a deal for the Dodgers to be viewed on an early pay TV network by the Skiatron Corporation subject to the approval of other teams and owners. The rest of baseball was not ready for the risks of such a venture and it did not pan out at the time. Move to Los Angeles O'Malley is considered by baseball experts to be "perhaps the most influential owner of baseball's early expansion era." Following the 1957 Major League Baseball season, he moved the Dodgers to Los Angeles, and New York's Dodgers fans felt betrayed. O'Malley was also influential in getting the rival New York Giants to move west to become the San Francisco Giants, thus preserving the two teams' longstanding rivalry. He needed another team to go with him, for had he moved out west alone, the St. Louis Cardinals— away— would have been the closest National League team. The joint move made West Coast road trips more economical for visiting teams. O'Malley invited San Francisco Mayor George Christopher to New York to meet with Giants owner Horace Stoneham. Stoneham was considering moving the Giants to Minnesota, but he was convinced to join O'Malley on the West Coast at the end of the 1957 campaign. Since the meetings occurred during the 1957 season and against the wishes of Commissioner of Baseball Ford Frick, there was media gamesmanship. On April 15, 1958, the Dodgers and Giants ushered in West Coast baseball at Seals Stadium. When O'Malley moved the Dodgers from Brooklyn the story transcended the world of sport and he found himself on the cover of Time. The cover art for the issue was created by sports cartoonist Willard Mullin, long noted for his caricature of the "Brooklyn Bum" that personified the team. The dual moves broke the hearts of New York's National League fans but ultimately were successful for both franchises – and for Major League Baseball as a whole. In fact, the move was an immediate success as well since the Dodgers set a major league single-game attendance record in their first home appearance with 78,672 fans. During the first year after the move, the Dodgers made $500,000 more profit than any other Major League Baseball team and paid off all of their debts. This did not assuage many Dodgers fans in New York; many years later, newspaper writers Pete Hamill and Jack Newfield each challenged the other to choose the three worst people of the 20th century. Independently, they produced identical lists: "Hitler, Stalin, O'Malley." In the years following the move of the New York clubs, Major League Baseball added two completely new teams in California, as well as two in Texas, two in Canada, two in Florida, one each in the Twin Cities, Denver, and Phoenix, and two teams at separate times in Seattle. In addition, the Athletics, who had already moved to Kansas City, moved to Oakland; Kansas City would get a new team the year after the A's moved to Oakland. The National League returned to New York with the introduction of the New York Mets four years after the Dodgers and Giants had departed for California. When he made the decision to relocate in October 1957 to Los Angeles, O'Malley did not have an established location for where the Dodgers would play in 1958. O'Malley worked out a deal with Los Angeles County and the state of California to rent the Los Angeles Coliseum for $200,000 per year for 1958 and 1959, plus 10% of the ticket revenue, and all concession profits for the first nine games of each season following an opening series with the San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers temporarily took up residence while they awaited the completion of 56,000-seat capacity Dodger Stadium, built for $23 million. The Dodgers were soon drawing more than two million fans a year. They remained successful on the field as well, winning the World Series in 1959, 1963, and 1965. The Los Angeles Angels also played in Dodger Stadium from 1962 to 1965. Controversy regarding land deal with city of Los Angeles The dealings with the city of Los Angeles after the Vero Beach meeting raised questions. The initial offer of and tax exemptions was determined to be illegal and improper. The minor league San Diego Padres owners led an opposition effort to stop the transfer of in Chavez Ravine via a referendum. O'Malley engaged in an extensive marketing and media campaign that helped the referendum pass, but there were extensive subsequent taxpayer lawsuits. The plaintiffs initially prevailed in some of these suits. Finally, during the middle of the 1959 season, the Los Angeles City Council was able to approve the final parcel for the stadium. One legendary negotiation with the city over concession revenue is that in O'Malley's move to the Coliseum he agreed to accept concession revenues from only half the team's games—the home half. The land was eventually transferred by the Los Angeles city government to O'Malley by an agreement which required O'Malley and the Dodgers to design, build, privately finance and maintain a 50,000-seat stadium; develop a youth recreation center on the land. O'Malley was to pay $500,000 initially, plus annual payments of $60,000 for 20 years; and pay $345,000 in property taxes starting in 1962, putting the land on the tax rolls. Also, the Dodgers would transfer team-owned Wrigley Field, then appraised at $2.2 million, to the city. The city exchanged "300 acres, more or less, in the Chavez Ravine area", while L.A. County Supervisors unanimously agreed to provide $2.74 million for access roads. In addition, the Dodgers also had to pay $450,000 for territorial rights to the Pacific Coast League, whose Los Angeles Angels and Hollywood Stars suspended play. Management philosophy His son, Peter O'Malley, described his management style as follows: "As president, the way he ran the business, he believed in stability and very little turnover. It was the strength of the organization. The management team worked as well as the team on the field." This is evidenced in many ways, including the long tenure of both Walter Alston and Tommy Lasorda as Dodgers managers and Vin Scully, the broadcast voice of the Dodgers. Alston was repeatedly rehired to consecutive one-year contracts from 1954–1976 until he retired. Then Lasorda, who had been a long-time employee in as a coach and minor league baseball manager, took over as manager for another 20 years. Scully was the voice of the Dodgers for 67 seasons until his retirement in 2016, the infield of first baseman Steve Garvey, second baseman Davey Lopes, shortstop Bill Russell and third baseman Ron Cey was the longest-running intact infield in major league history. Furthermore, O'Malley is said to have kept Bowie Kuhn in office as the Commissioner of Baseball until O'Malley's death. O'Malley rewarded loyal employee Bavasi by allowing the San Diego Padres franchise to establish an expansion team with Bavasi as president in Southern California. Alston said O'Malley convinced him that when he signed his first one-year contract it could be a lifetime job by pointing out that "signing one-year contracts can mean a lifetime job, if you keep signing enough of them." Although O'Malley had good stories of loyalty with some employees, there were several stories of O'Malley's frugality. Although O'Malley was loyal to his employees, he did not take kindly to demands from employees such as manager Charlie Dressen's request for a three-year contract. When Dressen requested a multi-year contract after losing a second consecutive World Series to the Yankees, he was released. Then when he hired Walter Alston as a replacement, he made it clear to the press that Alston would only receive one-year contracts and would not attempt to show up the management in the national media. There were rumors that Alston even signed blank contracts in the fall and showed up in the spring to find out his salary. O'Malley also did not support those who remained friends with Rickey, which was a large factor in Red Barber quitting as Dodgers announcer. O'Malley also engaged in several high-profile salary disputes with his players. In 1960, he refused to pay right fielder Carl Furillo for the 1960 season after he was released early due to injury, which led Furillo to sue the team. Because of this, O'Malley allegedly blacklisted Furillo from any job in baseball. In 1966, Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, who employed the same lawyer, engaged in a joint contract holdout. They had earned $70,000 and $75,000 respectively during the 1965 season, during which the Dodgers won the World Series, and O'Malley offered $105,000 and $95,000 for the 1966 season. At the time, Willie Mays was Major League Baseball's highest paid player at $125,000 per year and multi-year contracts were very unusual. They demanded three-year $167,000 per year contracts and after holding out until less than two weeks before Opening Day, they received one-year $130,000 and $115,000 contracts respectively. O'Malley liked clubhouse turmoil only slightly less than free agent disloyalty. When he traded Maury Wills to the Pittsburgh Pirates following consecutive National League pennants, it was attributed to Wills having quit during the middle of the Dodgers' post-season tour of Japan. Retirement from presidency On March 17, 1970, Walter turned over the presidency of the team to his son Peter, remaining as Chairman until his death in 1979. Peter O'Malley held the position until 1998 when the team was sold to Rupert Murdoch. The team remained successful on the field under Peter and won the World Series in both 1981 and 1988. They remained successful at the box office as well: by the end of the 1980s, they had not only became the first franchise to draw three million fans, but also they had done it more times than all other franchises combined. During the 1970s, O'Malley was credited for stagemanaging Lasorda's career. Lasorda become known for his die-hard Dodgers clichés, such as describing the color of his blood by saying "Cut me, I bleed Dodger blue." It was even said that the reciprocal loyalty and respect between Lasorda and O'Malley was so high that O'Malley gave Lasorda a tombstone as a gift that had an inscription that read "TOMMY LASORDA, A DODGER". The McKeevers held their 25% interest in the Dodgers until 1975 when Dearie McKeever died. They sold out to O'Malley making him the sole owner of the Dodgers. Also during 1975, the Dodgers franchise was embroiled in the Andy Messersmith controversy that led to the Seitz decision, which struck down baseball's reserve clause and opened up the sport to modern free agency. Messersmith and the Dodgers were unable to come to contract terms in part because of a then unheard of no-trade clause demand, and Messersmith pitched the entire season without a contract under the reserve clause, which stated that team has the right to extend the prior years contract one year if a player does not agree to terms. Teams had previously had the right to continue such re-signings year after year. This gave owners the right to issue "take it or leave it" offers to the players. Although the Dodgers and Messersmith nearly hammered out a deal monetarily, they could not come to terms on the no-trade clause. Supposedly Major League Baseball instructed the Dodgers not to surrender such a clause for the good of the game. The Seitz decision limited the re-signings to one year, and since Messersmith performed quite well in 1975, winning a Gold Glove Award and leading the National League in complete games and shutouts, while finishing second in earned run average, he was a valuable talent. He earned offers from six different teams. Messersmith became the first free agent, except for Catfish Hunter who had been declared a 1974 free agent by breach of contract. O'Malley felt the price wars would be the downfall of baseball because the fans only have so much money. The scenario led to an eighteen-day lockout during spring training in 1976 over the prospect of dozens of players playing becoming free agents and the inability to redesign the reserve clause. Death and legacy O'Malley was diagnosed with cancer, and he sought treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He died of congestive heart failure on August 9, 1979, at the Methodist Hospital in Rochester. O'Malley had never returned to Brooklyn before his death. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. His wife Kay had died a few weeks earlier. Although O'Malley had later retired and had relinquished control of the Dodgers before his death, he is still hated in Brooklyn, not only for moving the Dodgers, but also for forcing out legendary general manager Branch Rickey from the team in 1950. At one time, Brooklyn Dodgers fans hated O'Malley so much that he was routinely mentioned along with Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin as the most villainous 20th-century men; one version of a joke went, "If a Brooklyn man finds himself in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and O'Malley, but has only two bullets, what does he do? Shoot O'Malley twice." Some still consider him among the worst three men of the 20th century. Much of the animosity was not just for moving the team, but robbing Brooklyn of the sense of a cohesive cultural and social identity that a major sports franchise provides. Despite the long-standing animosity of Brooklyn fans and their supporters in baseball, O'Malley was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008 after having been elected by the Veterans Committee with the minimum number of votes necessary for induction. His legacy is that of changing the mindset of a league that had the St. Louis Cardinals as its southernmost and westernmost team (the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League had moved to Kansas City just three years prior). Tommy Lasorda said upon hearing of his election to the Hall, "He's a pioneer. He made a tremendous change in the game, opening up the West Coast to Major League Baseball." When asked how he wanted to be remembered, O'Malley said, "for planting a tree." The tree provided the branches to open up the West Coast to baseball, but O'Malley's son remembers his father's 28 years on Major League Baseball's executive council as service that "was instrumental in the early stages of the game's international growth." His contributions to baseball were widely recognized even before his Hall of Fame election: he was ranked 8th and 11th respectively by ABC Sports and The Sporting News in their lists of the most influential sports figures of the 20th century. On July 7, 2009, Walter O'Malley was inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame along with two other Dodger icons: slugger Steve Garvey and announcer Vin Scully. "Over the years, we have learned more of his decade-long quest to build a new stadium in Brooklyn and about how those efforts were thwarted by city officials. Perhaps this induction will inspire fans who themselves started new lives outside the borough to reconsider their thoughts about Walter O'Malley", said John Mooney, curator of the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame. "He privately built one of baseball's more beautiful ballparks, Dodger Stadium, and set attendance records annually. While New York is the home of the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame, it seeks to honor inductees whose impact was and is national." O'Malley's detractors say that he was not a visionary for taking baseball west. They say the game was naturally heading toward geographical expansion and O'Malley was just an opportunist. Rather than truly being a leader, these detractors say his leadership was a manifestation of making the most money. Popular culture O'Malley was mentioned several times in Danny Kaye's 1962 song tribute The D-O-D-G-E-R-S Song (Oh, Really? No, O'Malley!), which spins a tale of a fantasy game between the Dodgers and the Giants. At one point, the umpire's call goes against the home team: Down in the dugout, Alston glowers Up in the booth, Vin Scully frowns; Out in the stands, O'Malley grins... Attendance 50,000! So ....what does O'Malley do? CHARGE!! O'Malley was featured prominently in the HBO documentary film Brooklyn Dodgers: Ghosts of Flatbush, which chronicled his executive management of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers. The documentary focuses on the post World War II glory years of the franchise and presents a compelling case that O'Malley truly wanted to keep the Dodgers in Brooklyn in a stadium near the Long Island Rail Road's Atlantic Terminal, but he was unable to get the proper support from Moses. References Further reading , accessed online at google books on 2008-01-24 Stout, Glenn (Richard A. Johnson photos and editing), The Dodgers: 120 Years of Dodgers Baseball, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004, Boston/New York, . External links Walter O'Malley at the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR BioProject) Category:1903 births Category:1979 deaths Category:American sports businesspeople Category:Brooklyn Dodgers executives Category:Brooklyn Dodgers owners Category:Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City Category:Columbia Law School alumni Category:Fordham University School of Law alumni Category:Los Angeles Dodgers executives Category:Los Angeles Dodgers owners Category:Major League Baseball executives Category:Major League Baseball owners Category:Major League Baseball team presidents Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Walter Category:People from the Bronx Category:People from Amityville, New York Category:University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Category:Catholics from New York (state) Category:Culver Academies alumni Category:20th-century American people

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Ricky Martin

Enrique Martin Morales (born December 24, 1971), commonly known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, actor and author. Martin began his career at age 12 with the all-boy pop group Menudo. After five years with the group, he released several Spanish-language solo albums throughout the 1990s. He also acted on stage and on TV in Mexico, where he achieved modest stardom.

1983-1990: Menudo

After achieving modest fame in Puerto Rico for his work in television commercials, Martin auditioned for membership in the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. Although the executives enjoyed his dancing and singing at his first two auditions, Martin was rejected because he was too short. By the third audition, his persistence impressed executives, and in 1984, 12-year-old Martin became a member. A month after joining Menudo, he made his debut performance with the group at the Luis A. Ferre Performing Arts Center in San Juan. During this performance, he inadvertently disobeyed the choreography by walking around the stage, when it was planned that he would stay still, and was chastised by the band manager after the show: "The mistake was such a big deal that from that moment on, never again did I move when I wasn't supposed to move...That was the discipline of Menudo: You either did things the way you were told or you were not part of the group." The song "Asignatura Pendiente" from Almas del Silencio (2003) was inspired by the first time Martin left Puerto Rico to tour with Menudo. Although Martin enjoyed traveling and performing onstage with Menudo, he found the band's busy schedule and strict management exhausting, and later reflected that the experience "cost" him his childhood. He considered leaving the group while on tour in Brazil, but ultimately decided to stay out of fear of media backlash and being sued for breach of contract. Martin also began struggling with his sexuality, noting the stark contrast between his status as a sex symbol and his own emotions. Despite this, Martin acknowledged his "opportunity to have so many amazing experiences with so many amazing people" during his time with the group. He developed an interest in philanthropy when the group became UNICEF ambassadors, often working with impoverished children in third world countries. His experiences as an ambassador affected him greatly and inspired him to continue working with charities later in life. By 1987, Menudo's record sales began to decline, and the group changed its image, adopting an edgier look and performing more rock-influenced songs. The band released the album Somos Los Hijos del Rock in Spanish, and to appeal to the Menudo's Filipino fanbase, the group released In Action, recording songs in both English and Tagalog. After recording 11 albums with the group, Martin left Menudo in July 1989, at age 17, hoping to rest and evaluate his career path. He performed his final show with the group at the same venue where he'd performed his first performance as a member. Martin returned to Puerto Rico to graduate from high school, and 13 days after turning 18, he moved to New York City to celebrate his financial independence; since he was a minor during his time as a member of Menudo, Martin was not allowed to access his own bank accounts. He was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, but months before classes began, Martin dropped out and moved to Mexico City to perform in the play Mama Ama el Rock (Mom Loves Rock). CANNOTANSWER

Enrique Ricky Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971) is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is best known for his musical versatility, with his discography incorporating a wide variety of many elements, such as Latin pop, pop, dance, reggaeton, salsa, and other genres. Dubbed the "King of Latin Pop", the "King of Latin Music", and the "Latin Pop God", he is regarded as one of the most influential artists in the world. Born in San Juan, Martin began appearing in television commercials at age nine and began his musical career at twelve, as a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. He began his solo career in 1991 while in Sony Music Mexico, gaining recognition in Latin America with the release of his first two studio albums, Ricky Martin (1991) and Me Amaras (1993), both of which were focused on ballads. Martin's third album, A Medio Vivir (1995), helped him rise to prominence in European countries. The chart-topping single "María", incorporated a mixture of Latin music genres and became his first international hit. His international success was further solidified with his fourth album, Vuelve (1998). The album, which earned Martin his first Grammy Award, spawned chart-topping songs "Vuelve" and "La Copa de la Vida". Martin performed the latter at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and is known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide. His first English album, Ricky Martin (1999) became his first US Billboard 200 number one. The lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Martin's success in the late 1990s is generally seen as the beginning of the "Latin explosion". He has been credited for propelling the Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition, paving the way for a large number of Latin artists to achieve global success. Martin has since established his status as a pop icon and a sex symbol, releasing several successful albums, including all-time Latin bestsellers Almas del Silencio (2003) and MTV Unplugged (2006), as well as Grammy Award winner A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015). He has also amassed many successful singles and chart-toppers, including "She Bangs", "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely", "Tal Vez", "Tu Recuerdo", "La Mordidita", "Vente Pa' Ca", and "Canción Bonita". As an actor, Martin gained popularity and stardom for his role in the hit soap opera General Hospital (1994–1996), while his portrayal of Antonio D'Amico in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018) marked the acting opportunity of his career, garnering him an Emmy nomination. He also starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita in 2012, which broke the theater's box-office sales record seven times. Martin is one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time, having sold over 70 million records worldwide. He has scored 11 Billboard Hot Latin Songs number-one songs, and won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, three Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards, a Guinness World Record, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time, the Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time, and the Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time by Billboard. His philanthropy and activism focus on LGBT rights and fighting against human trafficking; in 2004, he founded The Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's existence. Early life Enrique Martín Morales was born on December 24, 1971, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His mother, Doña Nereida Morales, is a former accountant; his father, Enrique Martín Negroni, is a former psychologist who previously worked as a regional supervisor for a Puerto Rican mental-health agency. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and although his mother had custody of Martin, he could also move freely between his father's house in the middle-class suburb of University Gardens in San Juan, and his paternal grandmother's house nearby. In an interview with People, he told the magazine that he "never had to make decisions" about who he loved more, and he was "always happy". Martin has two older maternal half-brothers, Fernando and Ángel Fernández, two younger paternal half-brothers, Eric and Daniel Martín, and a younger paternal half-sister, Vanessa Martín. Martin has Spanish heritage of Basque and Canarian descent. As he explained to ABC, the Martins traveled from Spain to Puerto Rico in 1779. He also has some Corsican origin through his paternal grandmother. Martin grew up Catholic. The people closest to him called him "Kiki" (a nickname that comes from Enrique). He began singing at age six, using wooden kitchen spoons as make-believe microphones; he often sang songs by Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, as well as English-language rock groups such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon. His mother's side of the family was musically inclined and his maternal grandfather was a poet. Martin later reflected on his time spent with his family as a child: "Every time I find myself in front of an audience, be it twenty people or one hundred thousand, once again I feel the energy that consumed me back at the family gatherings of my youth." He attended Colegio Sagrado Corazón, a bilingual Catholic grade school in University Gardens since fourth grade and was an "average" student there. When he was nine years old, he began appearing in television commercials for products such as soft drinks, toothpaste, and fast food restaurants, including Orange Crush and Burger King. In a year and a half, he starred in 11 commercials. Career 1983–1989: Menudo After achieving moderate fame in his country for his appearances in television commercials, Martin auditioned for membership in Menudo. Formed in Puerto Rico in 1977, Menudo members were usually replaced when they hit 16 in order to keep the band "full of fresh-faced members". Although the executives enjoyed his dancing and singing at his first two auditions, Martin was rejected because he was too short. By the third audition, his persistence impressed executives, and in 1984, 12-year-old Martin became a member. A month after joining Menudo, he made his debut performance with the group at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan. During this performance, he inadvertently disobeyed the choreography by walking around the stage, when it was planned that he would stay still, and was chastised by the band manager after the show: "The mistake was such a big deal that from that moment on, never again did I move when I wasn't supposed to move. That was the discipline of Menudo: You either did things the way you were told or you were not part of the group." Although Martin enjoyed traveling and performing onstage with Menudo, he found the band's busy schedule and strict management exhausting, and later reflected that the experience "cost" him his childhood. Despite this, Martin acknowledged his "opportunity to have so many amazing experiences with so many amazing people" during his time with the group. During his time with Menudo, he became a "key-member of the group" and a "fan-favorite", while the band released 11 albums, including the Grammy-nominated Evolución () (1984) and their highest-charting and longest-running album on the US Billboard 200, Menudo (1985). The former featured Martin's debut single, "Rayo de Luna" () and the latter included the hit single "Hold Me". "Hold Me" became the group's first and only entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 62. It was ranked among the "100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Billboard, the "75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and the "30 Best Boy Band Songs" by Complex. Besides the musical career, Martin appeared with other members of Menudo in the American romantic comedy/drama television series, The Love Boat (1985), and the Argentine soap opera, Por Siempre Amigos (1987). He also developed an interest in philanthropy when the group became UNICEF ambassadors, often working with impoverished children in third world countries. His experiences as an ambassador affected him greatly and inspired him to continue working with charities later in his life. Finally, Martin left the band in July 1989, at age 17, hoping to rest and evaluate his career path; he stayed a few extra months after his "age-mandated retirement" came around. He performed his final show with the group at the same venue where he had performed his first performance as a member. Referred to as the "Most Iconic Latino Pop Music Band", Menudo was ranked as one of the Biggest Boy Bands of All Time by Us Weekly in 2021. The group has sold around 20 million records worldwide, and has been acknowledged as the "Most Successful Latin Boy Band of All Time" by Billboard. Martin returned to Puerto Rico to "get a break from the pressures of the group, the promotional tours, and the constant stress of work", but although his parents' divorce had not affected him before, suddenly began to affect him; his parents "began fighting more than ever" and they were forcing him to "choose between the two people in the world" he loved most. As he understood they did this because they loved him and wanted the best for him, he "forgave all of the pain and anger they caused" him. He graduated from the high school, and 13 days after turning 18, he moved to New York City to celebrate his financial independence; since he was a minor during his time with Menudo, Martin was not allowed to access his own bank accounts. 1990–1994: Acting and first solo albums Martin was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1990, but before classes began, his friend invited him to Mexico City. He attended the musical comedy play, Mama Ama el Rock () there, and was offered to stay and replace one of the actors. He accepted the offer, dropped out the university and moved from New York to Mexico City to perform in the play. While he was performing onstage in Mama Ama el Rock, a producer in the audience took notice of Martin's acting and offered him a role in the Mexican telenovela Alcanzar una estrella () (1990). Martin also joined the cast for the second season of the show, titled Alcanzar una estrella II (1991). A film based on the TV series, titled Más que alcanzar una estrella () (1992), was also produced in which Martin starred, and earned him an El Heraldo Award for his role. A Sony Discos executive noticed Martin's acting in the soap operas and offered him his first solo music recording contract. Eager to record his first solo album and hustled by the executive, Martin signed the contract without reading its conditions and inadvertently signed a deal in which he would only be paid one cent for each album sold. Despite viewing the contract as unfair, Martin referred to the record as "the start of something phenomenal" for him. After working "around the clock" to finish filming Alcanzar una estrella II and recording music, he released his debut solo album, Ricky Martin, on November 26, 1991. The album peaked at number five on the US Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart and spent a total of 41 weeks on the list. It sold over 500,000 copies worldwide, was certified gold in several countries, and spawned his first solo hit singles, "Fuego Contra Fuego" (), "El Amor de Mi Vida" (), and "Dime Que Me Quieres" (). Both "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida" reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks. To promote the album, Martin embarked on a successful Latin American tour, breaking box office records, which the singer referred to as "an indescribable feeling, almost like coming home". After the success of Ricky Martin and its subsequent tour, Martin's record company met him with the Spanish musician Juan Carlos Calderón to work on his second studio album, Me Amaras () (1993). Although Martin felt "very grateful" for the opportunity to work with Calderón, he noted, "I always felt that that record was more his than mine." The album sold over one million copies worldwide and was certified triple-platinum in Chile. In 1994, Martin's agent encouraged him to move to Los Angeles to act in an American sitcom called Getting By. The show was canceled after two seasons, but soon afterward, Martin was given the role of Miguel Morez on the popular hit soap opera General Hospital; Morez, a bartender and singer, known for his long and flowing hair, was a Puerto Rican citizen hiding in the United States from his lover's criminal mastermind father and created a love triangle with his fiancé Lily Rivera and Brenda. Martin portrayed the role for two years and gained huge popularity and stardom, becoming "one of the most-talked about actors on the soap opera". Despite this, Martin felt he lacked chemistry with the rest of the General Hospital cast and observed that people treated him differently because of his Puerto Rican accent. At the time, it was relatively uncommon for Latin actors to appear on American television, and people suggested that he take accent reduction classes, which he refused. 1995–1997: Breakthrough with A Medio Vivir In 1995, Martin refocused on his music career, and began working on his third studio album, A Medio Vivir (). The album was released in September 1995, and became a huge success; it sold over three million copies worldwide. being certified gold in the United States, platinum in France, 4× platinum in Spain, as well as many other certifications in Latin American countries. It spawned several successful hits, including "Te Extraño, Te Olvido, Te Amo" (), "María", and "Volverás" (). On "María", which was released as the second single from the album, Martin allowed himself "to go into a very Latin, African sound". He created a mix of different Latin music genres instead of singing a romantic ballad, the style that he focused on it in his first two albums, while Latin pop music in general was mainly made up of it at the time. Although Martin was satisfied with the track and he describes it as a song that he is "extremely proud of", the first time he played it for a record label executive, the man said: "Are you crazy? You have ruined your career! I can't believe you are showing me this. You're finished — this is going to be your last album." Despite this, the track became Martin's breakthrough song and his first international hit. It topped the charts in 20 countries, and has sold over five million physical copies worldwide. As a result, the song was featured in the 1999 edition of The Guinness Book of Records as the biggest Latin hit. In Australia, "María" spent six weeks at number one, topped the country's year-end chart in 1998, and was certified platinum. The song also spent nine weeks at number one in France, and was certified diamond, selling over 1.4 million copies there. Additionally, the track reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, and became Martin's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. To promote A Medio Vivir, he embarked on the worldwide A Medio Vivir Tour, that lasted for more than two years, through which he performed 63 shows and visited Europe, Latin America and the United States. During an interview with The Miami Herald in 1996, Martin expressed an interest in performing on Broadway. In a few days, he received a phone call from producer Richard Jay-Alexander, and was offered the role of Marius Pontmercy in the play Les Misérables. After the conclusion of the A Medio Vivir Tour in Latin America, Martin returned to New York to appear in the play in an eleven-week run. He greatly enjoyed the experience, calling his time in the play an "honor" and "the role of [his] life". Martin continued to tour after the conclusion of the show's run, and noted that his audiences were growing in both size and enthusiasm. 1998–1999: Vuelve While the A Medio Vivir Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his fourth album Vuelve (). He called the experience of touring and recording at the same time "brutal and incredibly intense". As he was finishing the record in 1997, "María" caught the attention of FIFA. They contacted Martin and asked him to create a song as the 1998 FIFA World Cup anthem. He stated about the request: "I have to admit that the challenge made me a bit nervous, but the massive growth potential for my career was such that I decided to accept." Following his acceptance, musicians K.C. Porter, Robi Rosa, and Desmond Child joined him and they started working on a song titled "La Copa de la Vida" (English: "The Cup of Life"). Martin wrote about the recording: "La Copa de la Vida" was included on Vuelve, released February 12, 1998. The album became a huge success; it sold over eight million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling Spanish-language album in history, according to his label. Also, some sources have reported the album's sales as six million copies worldwide. It spent 26 weeks atop the US Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Canada, the album peaked at number three and was certified double platinum. Vuelve spawned big hits, including the title track, "La Copa de la Vida", "Perdido Sin Ti" (), and "La Bomba" (). "La Copa de la Vida" grew to be an international success, appearing on the charts in more than 60 countries, and reaching number one in 30 countries, Both "Vuelve" and "Perdido Sin Ti" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart; the former also reached number one in eight countries. On July 12, 1998, Martin performed "La Copa de la Vida" as the official anthem at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final in France, in front of more than a billion TV viewers around the world. To promote Vuelve, Martin embarked on the worldwide Vuelve Tour; he performed in Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South America, and the United States. Although Latin music was not important to the Recording Academy or the mainstream music industry at the time, Tommy Mottola, then-chief of Columbia Records, was certain about Martin's stardom and pushed hard to have him on the Grammy Awards ceremony. During an interview with Billboard, Mottola told the magazine about it: "There was tremendous resistance from the Grammys. They did not want an 'unknown' to perform, yet we he had already sold 10 million copies of Vuelve worldwide. To me, that was absolutely UNACCEPTABLE." Finally, on February 24, 1999, cavorting with a 15-piece band alongside and a large number of dancers and percussionists, Martin performed a bilingual version of "La Copa de La Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and met with acclaim from music critics. At the same night, Vuelve earned Martin his first Grammy award, for Best Latin Pop Performance. 1999–2000: Crossover to English In October 1998, CNN confirmed that Martin has been working on his first English language album, following the huge success of Vuelve. The album was titled Ricky Martin and was released on May 11, 1999, two weeks ahead of schedule, because of the huge interest in the disc, following Martin's performance at the Grammy Awards. Tim Devin, the general manager of Tower Records stated about Martin: "He's always been one of our strongest Latin artists, but interest in him has picked up considerably since that performance." Ricky Martin debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 661,000 copies, becoming the largest sales week by any album in 1999. It also broke the record as the largest first-week sales for any pop or Latin artist in history, as well as any Columbia Records artist during the SoundScan era. With this album, Martin became the first male Latin act in history to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was certified 7× platinum by RIAA, denoting shipments of over seven million copies in the US and breaking the record as the best-selling album by a Latin artist in the country. Only within three months, Ricky Martin became the best-selling album ever by a Latin artist. According to different sources, the album has sold over 15 million copies or even 17 million copies worldwide. It was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. The album's lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" () topped the charts in more than 20 countries and is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, and one of the best-selling singles of all time. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Martin's first number one single on the chart. Additionally, it broke several records on Billboard charts. It also spent eight consecutive weeks atop the Canada Top Singles chart and topped the country's year-end chart. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number one and stayed there for three weeks, making Martin the first Puerto Rican artist in history to hit number one. The track was ranked as the best '90s pop song by Elle, and was listed among the Best Latin Songs of All Time by Billboard. It was nominated for four categories at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Its Spanish version reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart, and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 1st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "She's All I Ever Had" was released as the second single from the album in June 1999. It peaked at numbers two and three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canada Top Singles charts, respectively. The Spanish version, "Bella" () topped the charts in five countries, as well as Billboards Hot Latin Tracks chart. To further promote Ricky Martin, he embarked on the worldwide Livin' la Vida Loca Tour, which was the highest-grossing tour of 2000 by a Latin artist in the US. 2000–2005: Sound Loaded, Almas del Silencio, and Life While the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded. The album was released on November 14, 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 318,000 copies. The album has sold over seven million copies or even eight million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified double platinum in the US. The album featured two hit singles, "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely". The former reached number one in seven countries, including Italy and Sweden, as well as the top five in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. It was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards. The Spanish-language version of "She Bangs" reached the summit of the Hot Latin Tracks chart and won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" was re-recorded along with American singer Christina Aguilera, peaking at number one in five countries, as well as the top five in Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, among others. It was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. The solo Spanish version, entitled "Sólo Quiero Amarte" topped the Hot Latin Tracks chart. Both "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" are certified silver in the UK. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish compilation album entitled La Historia (), which spent five weeks at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart, topped the charts in Argentina and Sweden, and was certified quadruple Latin platinum in the United States. Following the success of Ricky Martin and Sound Loaded, he initially planned to release the third English-language album as his seventh studio album, which was supposed to be his first complete work in the field of songwriting. Despite Sony Music Entertainment's original plan, he decided to release a Spanish-language album: "I woke up five months ago, and I said 'We're doing an album in Spanish.' Everyone went nuts. They said, 'You don't have time; you have to release an album in English because of timing issues with your career.' And that's fine. But I told them, 'In five months, you'll have a kick-ass album' [in Spanish]. Martin's seventh studio album, Almas del Silencio () was released in May 2003. It debuted atop the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart with first-week sales of 65,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, breaking the record as the largest first-week sales for a Spanish-language album in the US. The album also debuted at number 12 on Billboard 200, tying the 2002 album, Quizás () as the chart's highest Spanish-language debut. The album also debuted at number one in "at least 13 Latin American markets" and sold over two million copies worldwide. Almas del Silencio spawned three Hot Latin Tracks chart-topper hits: "Tal Vez" (), "Jaleo", and "Y Todo Queda en Nada" (). "Tal Vez" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart on the week of April 12, 2003, marking the first number one debut since February 1998, and becoming the sixth song overall in the chart's history to do so. It spent a total of 11 weeks at this position, surpassing "Livin' la Vida Loca" as Martin's longest number-one single on the chart, and was the longest-running number one of 2003. It also topped the charts in several Latin American markets. In October 2005, Martin released his third English album, Life. He commented on the album: "I was really in touch with my emotions. I think this album is very multi-layered, just like life is. It's about feeling anger. It's about feeling joy. It's about feeling uncertainty. It's about feeling. And all my emotions are part of this production". To promote Life, Martin embarked on the worldwide One Night Only with Ricky Martin tour. 2006–2012: MTV Unplugged, Música + Alma + Sexo, and Evita Although Martin's team and MTV had discussed an MTV Unplugged for years, but it became more serious after Martin's the One Night Only tour, which featured an acoustic segment. Finally, Martin taped his MTV Unplugged set in Miami in August 2006, performing both romantic ballads and up-tempo tropical dance songs. During the performance, he debuted three new tracks, including "Tu Recuerdo" (), which was released to radio stations as the lead single from his debut live album MTV Unplugged (2006). The album debuted at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart and sold over two million copies worldwide, marking his highest-certified album in Mexico. It won two Latin Grammy awards and was nominated for Album of the Year. "Tu Recuerdo" reached number one in five countries, as well as the Billboards Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts. The track was certified quadruple platinum in Mexico and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The artist then embarked on the Black and White Tour in 2007, including four sold-out shows at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico. The concerts in Puerto Rico were compiled into his second live album Ricky Martin... Live Black & White Tour (2007). Later that year, he released his first Italian song, "Non siamo soli" () as a duet with Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti. The song debuted at number one in Italy and spent eleven consecutive weeks atop the chart. In January 2011, Martin launched his ninth studio album, Música + Alma + Sexo (). The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the highest-charting primarily-Spanish language set since Dreaming of You (1995) by American singer Selena. It holds the record as the highest-charting Latin album of the 2010s, and represents the highest-ever chart debut on the Billboard 200 for a Sony Music Latin release. Música + Alma + Sexo also peaked at number one in Argentina and Venezuela, as well as Billboards Top Latin Albums. Its lead single, "Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tú" (English: "The Best Thing About Me Is You") reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video at the 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour in 2011. In February 2012, he appeared as Spanish teacher David Martinez on the twelfth episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, The Spanish Teacher. Martin starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita from March 2012 to January 2013. The show became a hit, breaking the theatre's box-office sales record after only six performances. Since then, it broke its own record six times and was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical at the 66th Tony Awards. The show's soundtrack album debuted at number one on Billboards cast album chart. 2013–2018: The Voice, A Quien Quiera Escuchar, and The Assassination of Gianni Versace Martin served as a coach on the second season of the Australian singing competition television series The Voice in 2013. In the same year, he released a compilation album, entitled Greatest Hits: Souvenir Edition, which reached number two in Australia, as well as a new single, entitled "Come with Me", which debuted at number three in the country. The artist then embarked on the Ricky Martin Live tour in Australia in October 2013. He continued serving as a coach on both the third and fourth seasons of The Voice Australia in 2014 and 2015, respectively. In 2014, Lars Brandle from Billboard stated in an article: "Through his high-profile slot on The Voice, Ricky's profile in Australia has never been as big as it is right now." On February 25, 2014, Wisin released a song titled "Adrenalina" () from his album El Regreso del Sobreviviente (), which featured Jennifer Lopez and Martin, and became the Univision's 2014 World Cup song. It received commercial success, peaking in the top-five of Bulgaria, Mexico, Spain, and Billboards Hot Latin Songs chart. Its accompanying music video has accumulated over 850 million views on YouTube. Later that year, Martin released his single "Vida" () for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The song reached the top five in Spain and on the US Hot Latin Songs chart. Also in 2014, he served as a coach on the fourth season of The Voice Mexico, and embarked on the Live in Mexico tour. In February 2015, Martin released his tenth studio album, A Quien Quiera Escuchar (). The album debuted at number one on Billboards Top Latin Albums chart and peaked at number one in Argentina. It won the award for Best Latin Pop Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and Album of the Year at the 1st Latin American Music Awards. The album spawned three Hot Latin Songs top-10 hits: "Adiós" (), "Disparo al Corazón" (), and "La Mordidita" (). "Disparo al Corazón" was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "La Mordidita" experienced huge commercial success, being certified 15× Latin platinum in the United States. Its accompanying music video has received over 1.2 billion views on YouTube. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the One World Tour from 2015 to 2017. He served as an executive producer and a judge on the American singing competition series La Banda (), which premiered in 2015 and 2016 on Univision. The first season was "looking for the next Latin boy band", while the second season was looking for a Latin girl band. The contestants would compete for a recording deal with Sony Music Latin and Syco Music. CNCO, known as the first boy band to make reggaeton, was the winner of the first season. Martin became their manager and produced the band's debut album, Primera Cita () (2016), along with Wisin; the album debuted at number one on Top Latin Albums and featured the hit single "Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)" (). CNCO opened many dates on One World Tour in 2016. In 2020, Leila Cobo from Billboard compared the group with Menudo, noting: "Not since Menudo had a Latin boy band melted our hearts or made us dance quite like CNCO". On September 23, 2016, Martin released a song called "Vente Pa' Ca" (), featuring Colombian singer Maluma. The song became one of the biggest Spanish-language songs of 2016, reaching number one in seven countries, as well as Billboards Latin Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, and Tropical Airplay charts. It also reached top five in Spain and on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs, being certified quadruple platinum in Spain and diamond in Mexico. The track was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The accompanying music video has received over 1.75 billion views on YouTube. Martin signed a concert residency, named All In, to perform at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas in 2017 and 2018. He portrayed fashion designer Gianni Versace's partner Antonio D'Amico in the FX true crime anthology television series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, marking "the acting opportunity of his career". The role garnered him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. Running from January to March 2018, The Assassination of Gianni Versace received generally favorable reviews and numerous awards and nominations, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Creative Arts Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In February 2018, Martin released a song titled "Fiebre" (), featuring Wisin & Yandel. The song was commercially successful in Latin America, reaching number one in Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uruguay. It also reached the summit of the Billboard Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts. 2019–present: Amici di Maria De Filippi, PausaPlay, and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Martin performed "Havana", "Pégate" (), and "Mi Gente" (), alongside Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Young Thug, and Arturo Sandoval, as the opening performance. Martin served as a coach on the eighteenth season of the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi () in 2019. In the same year, Maluma released a song called "No Se Me Quita" () from his album 11:11, which featured Martin. The song reached number one in Mexico and was certified quadruple platinum in the country. Martin hosted the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in November 2019, along with Roselyn Sánchez and Paz Vega. The artist started recording his eleventh studio album, initially titled Movimiento (), in the second half of 2019, inspired by the 2019 political protests in Puerto Rico. He embarked on the Movimiento Tour in 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent personal experiences, he decided to split the tour's associated album in two extended plays, Pausa () and Play; the former was released in May 2020, while the latter is set to release in May 2022. Pausa was nominated for Album of the Year and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The second single from the EP, "Tiburones" () reached number one in Argentina and Puerto Rico, and was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Martin starred as the voice of villainous miniature figure Don Juan Diego in the American Christmas musical fantasy film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. The film was released on Netflix on November 13, 2020, and received generally favorable reviews. In April 2021, Martin released his hit single "Canción Bonita" () with Colombian singer Carlos Vives, which experienced huge commercial success in Latin America, reaching number one in 12 countries. It was also nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Song at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Later that year, he embarked on his first co-headlining tour, the Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert alongside Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias. Martin released Play on July 13, 2022. The EP included singles "Otra Noche en L.A." and "A Veces Bien Y A Veces Mal"; the former reached number one in four countries. Artistry Influences As a child, Martin used to sing songs by Menudo and rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon, which were what his "older siblings were listening to at the time". While Martin and his brothers spent their time listening to classic rock, their mother would interrupt them to make them listen to Latin music. She brought him CDs of Fania All-Stars, Celia Cruz, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, and Gilberto Santa Rosa that slowly made him appreciate the richness of Puerto Rican culture. Also, she once took them to a Fania All-Stars concert, which Martin is "beyond grateful" for it. He expresses that thanks to her mother, those influences had a "profound effect" on his musical career. Martin has also cited Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Madonna for teaching him "the beauty of pop". He stated about Madonna: "I was very influenced by her and her music. I know every choreography of Madonna." Additionally, he mentions Carlos Santana, José Feliciano, Celia Cruz, and Gloria Estefan as the artists who paved the way for him, naming Feliciano as one of the people who inspired him when he was a teenager: "I was always fascinated with his music." In addition to the musical influences, Martin is inspired by David Bowie's "ambiguous sexuality". While growing up, he used to ask himself if he wanted to be like the openly gay singer Elton John or he just liked him, admiring his music, colors, and wigs. He has also cited Barbra Streisand as an entertainer he wants to be like: "I want to be an entertainer, not just a singer." Musical styles and themes Considered to be a versatile artist, Martin describes his music as Latin pop, saying: "When you say 'Latin pop', the spectrum is so broad, It's inevitable to not be influenced by everything that's happening in the industry, but always keeping your identity firm by knowing who you are." He has also described his music as fusion, while noting that he does not "ride the waves that are in fashion at the moment". Music critics have described his songs to be influenced by Latin pop, pop, dance, adult contemporary, ballad, reggaeton, Latin, African, Caribbean, rock, salsa, flamenco, mariachi, urban, tropical, samba, cumbia, bachata, merengue, dembow, rumba, banda, descarga, funk, bomba, plena, folk, batucada, ranchera, vallenato, reggae, dancehall, jíbaro, bolero, mambo, Europop, house, disco, EDM, dance-pop, electro, house, techno, dubstep, world music, Middle Eastern, Brazilian funk, folk-pop, burlesque, waltz, ambient, downtempo, fusion, crossover, bossa nova, alternative rock, pop rock, soft pop, soft rock, hardcore punk, heavy metal, R&B, religious, jazz, swing, blues, soul, big band, trap, hip-hop, country, acoustic, electronic, tropical, doo-wop, surf, tango, ska, and rock and roll. Martin sings in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, and French. About his lyrics, Martin has emphasized that although his music will always make the listener dance, it does not mean his lyrics "have to be meaningless" and he sings about love and heartbreak, as well as "things that are good for a society", such as "freedom, freedom of expression, and social justice". He has also declared that as a Latino, he is not afraid of sexuality and sings about sexuality and sensuality, bringing his culture with him onstage. Voice Martin possesses a dramatic tenor vocal range. Peter Gilstrap from Variety commented that his "powerful voice" is "capable of belt or lilt", while The Jerusalem Posts Noa Amouyal described his voice as "soulful" and "very powerful". In 1995, Enrique Lopetegui of the Los Angeles Times noted Martin's "improved vocal skills" on A Medio Vivir. Also from the Los Angeles Times, Ernesto Lechner later praised his vocal for being "charismatic enough to handle both ballads and up-tempo tunes". Similarly, Billboards Chuck Taylor expressed "She's All I Ever Had" boasts "a versatility that contrasts nicely" with Martin's previous single, "Livin' la Vida Loca", labeling his vocal on the former "tender and heartfelt". Steve Gerrard of the Montreal Rocks complimented "his vocal maturity" on A Quien Quiera Escuchar. Music videos and performances Billboard labeled Martin "a video icon", and ranked him as the 79th Greatest Music Video Artist of All Time in 2020, stating: "From the moment he sashayed up to the mic in 'Livin La Vida Loca' all dressed in black, and gave us that look, the Menudo alum became the most memorable and watchable drop-dead handsome guy in pop music." He has collaborated with various directors to produce his music videos, including Carlos Perez, Wayne Isham, Jessy Terrero, Simón Brand, Gustavo Garzón, Nigel Dick, Kacho Lopez, and Memo del Bosque. "Livin' la Vida Loca" was nominated for Video of the Year at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, making Martin the first Latin artist in history to receive a nomination in this category. It won a total of five awards at the ceremony, making it rank among the videos with most wins in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. The explicit sexual scenes of the music video for "She Bangs" were met with criticism from the audience; several American television stations cut the scenes when airing the video. According to the Daily Records John Dingwall, with the visual, Martin ditched his teen idol image by transforming to a more mature one. It was consequently banned in several Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic. Martin told MTV News that the video represented freedom rather than his sexuality. The video was awarded Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Best Clip of the Year — Latin at the 2001 Billboard Music Video Awards, and Video of the Year at the 13th Lo Nuestro Awards. Martin has been noticed for "dance moves of his own" and his "bon-bon shaking dance moves". Carol Sandoval from VIX named him the "best dancer on any stage worldwide", highlighting his hips movement and "successful turns". He was ranked as the ninth best male dancer by the Evening Standard and the tenth Male Singer Who Can Dance by WatchMojo, being the only Latin entertainer on both lists. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "an incredible dancer". Billboards Jessica Roiz labeled him "a true showman", noting his "many outfit changes", "various dance performances", and "different stage set for each song". Jon Pareles of The New York Times described him as "an all-around showman" and Varietys Peter Gilstrap called him "every inch the showman", both recognizing his vocal abilities, while the former also commented he is "a dancer as muscular and hard-working as anyone in his troupe", mentioning his "likable, good-hearted character" and "steadfast Puerto Rican pride". Music critics have mostly praised his concerts for the choreographies, video screens, visual effects, stage, Latin influences, and Martin's vocals, costume changes, energy, sensuality, dance moves, and gestures, while the quality of sounds and sound mixes have received mixed reviews. Billboards Marjua Estevez described Martin's performance of "La Copa de la Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards as "the most memorable Latin performance at a Grammy Awards show", and the publication ranked it as the 54th Greatest Award Show Performance of All Time on their 2017 list. The performance was additionally placed on a 2017 unranked list of "Top 20 Best Grammy Performances of All Time" by Gold Derby, and on a 2019 list of "The Most Unforgettable Grammys Performances of All Time" by InStyle. In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked it as the 15th Greatest Grammy Performance of All Time, naming it "easily the biggest star-making moment in Grammy history". Public image Martin became a teen idol with his debut as a member of Menudo, and a pop icon following global fame as a solo artist. Journalists have written about his humble personality and "beautiful soul". Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "one of the most acclaimed and admired creative artists ever". La República staff described him as "one of the most admired and desired singers", while authors of ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most respected Latin stars in the world", "one of the most prodigious voices in music in Spanish", and "one of the most beloved talents in the entertainment industry worldwide". Also from ¡Hola!, Cristina Noé named him "one of the most loved artists in the world", while a writer of Clarín named him "one of the most applauded Latin singers on the planet". Metro Puerto Rico stated that he "raised the name of Puerto Rico internationally". He was ranked as one of the top-10 "emerging personalities" of 2010 by Google Zeitgeist, and was the eighth most searched musician on Google in 2022. In 2014, Gay Star News referred to Martin as "the most famous Latin pop star in the world", while Variety described him as "Puerto Rico's arguably most famous son" in 2021. He is ranked as the most famous Latin music artist in the United States, according to YouGov surveys in 2023. During the 2000s, Martin was known for "guarding his private life" and being "uncomfortable discussing intimate aspects of his personal life"; he used to insist on asking public to focus on his music and "steered interviewers away from his personal life". However, he chose to live both his "professional and personal life", making his private life public since the early 2010s. In 2021, he went on the cover of People with the title "No More Secrets" and told the magazine that he is "a man with no secrets", stating that he is "more comfortable in his own skin than ever before". Martin is one of the most followed celebrities on social media, with accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. He stated about social media that he wishes he had "something as powerful as" them since his debut: "Obviously I like to have direct contact with the public, with the media. It's extremely important, but today, from my home, I can talk to millions of people and see their immediate reaction." He is noticed for his friendly interactions with his fans, who are called "Sexy Souls". Wax statues of Martin are on display at the Madame Tussauds wax museums in San Francisco, Sydney, and Orlando. The last one was moved from Las Vegas to Orlando for the opening of the museum in spring 2015. Fashion Martin is considered to be a sex symbol, and journalists describe him as "the Latin heartthrob". His fashion and style evolution, from "as '80s as you'd expect" during his time with Menudo to "a style groove, often opting for sharp, tailored suits with clean lines" since 2009, has been noticed by the media. Natalia Trejo from ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most stylish Latin men in the entertainment industry", highlighting his "baggy leather pants", "tailored suits", and "color-block blazers" that have marked "some of the noteworthy trends of each decade". The reviewer also commented that Martin is "an example of mixing business with casual" and has "always had a personal sense of style". JD Institute of Fashion Technology views Martin as a fashion icon, praising him for "pushing the fashion boundaries with every new look". In 1997, he went on the cover of People en Españols first edition of 25 Most Beautiful; he has since "been a constant presence" on their 25 or 50 Most Beautiful lists. Two years later, he was featured on the cover of both Rolling Stone and Time magazines. Martin is considered to be one of the sexiest men in the world, according to various publications. In 2012, he was voted the sexiest man alive on Broadway.com. The following year, VH1 ranked him as the 28th Sexiest Artist of All Time, stating: "Ricky looks like the model in the magazine ads you stare at in awe thinking, 'There's no way he's that perfect in person'." In 2014, Entertainment Tonight listed him among the Sexiest Men Alive, while Revista Estilo placed him on the list of "the 10 Sexiest Singers" in 2016. He was ranked at number 16 on the list of "the 50 Hottest Men of All Time" by Harper's Bazaar in 2018, being the only Latin man on their list. In 2019, TN described Martin as "the sexiest man in the world". He has been noted for looking younger than his age, with Billboards Chris Payne describing him as "ageless". The singer has attended several fashion shows, including the Giorgio Armani show at Milan Fashion Week in 2011, the Marc Jacobs show in 2013, the Berluti menswear spring-summer 2020 show at Paris Fashion Week, the Dior men's pre-fall 2020 show, and the Virgil Abloh Spring-Summer 2022 show held by Louis Vuitton. Personal life Sexual orientation and early relationships According to an interview with Rolling Stone in 1999, Martin experienced his first kiss at age thirteen and lost his virginity at fourteen in Argentina. In 1990, shortly after he had arrived in Mexico to star in Mamá Ama el Rock, he met a woman, who was the host of a television show. They began dating quickly and broke up a few months later. In 1992, he fell in love with Mexican singer Alejandra Guzmán, who was separated from her husband at the time. They began dating until Guzmán returned to her husband and pretended Martin was her assistant on a phone call, while she was sleeping with her husband. In an interview with Univision, Martin admitted that she broke his heart. In the same year, Martin was rumored to be in a relationship with Argentine tennis player Gabriela Sabatini. Sabatini's sister-in-law, Catherine Fulop, confirmed the rumor in 2020. During the time he was playing in General Hospital, he met a "very handsome" man at a radio station, "stopped fearing [his] sexuality", and began dating him. Martin's mother supported him when she discovered that he was in love with a man, saying: "I love you, my son, I'm so happy for you. Bring it on. I'm right behind you." However, after the relationship ended, Martin "locked [his] feelings even deeper inside" and began dating women again. He recalls: "I already felt it was hard to be a Latino in Hollywood; what could have been more difficult than being Latino and gay?" Martin began dating Mexican television host Rebecca de Alba in 1994; they were in an on-and-off relationship until 2005. De Alba later revealed that she became pregnant several times in her life, but lost all of the pregnancies, expressing that one of them was by Martin. Martin also had relationships with Lilly Melgar, Adriana Biega, Maital Saban, and Inés Misan during his breakup times with de Alba in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He declared that "there was chemistry with them" and he "wasn't fooling anyone". In August 2008, Martin became a father to twin boys named Matteo and Valentino, born via gestational surrogacy. He explained that he chose surrogacy to become a parent for being "intriguing and faster" than adoption, which was complicated and could take a long time. In March 2010, Martin publicly came out as gay via a message on his website, stating: "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am." Years later, he revealed that although his music was "heard all over the world" and he "could high five God" in 1999, he "wasn't living to the fullest" and was sad and depressed. He kept asking himself, "Am I gay? Am I bisexual? Am I confused? What am I?", explaining: "Sexuality is one complicated thing. It's not black and white. It's filled with colors. When I was dating women, I was in love with women. It felt right, it felt beautiful." In an interview with Vanity Fair, he declared: "There was love, passion. I do not regret anything, any of the relationships I lived, they taught me a lot, both men and women." Martin also told Fama!: "I know that I like both men and women, I'm against sexual labels, we are simply human beings with emotional and sexual needs. I like to enjoy sex in total freedom, so I'm open to having sex with a woman if I feel desire." Despite this, he expressed that he would not be interested in "an ongoing relationship with a woman", stating: "Men are my thing". In 2000, American broadcast journalist Barbara Walters asked Martin about his sexuality on national television: "You could stop these rumors. You could say, 'Yes I am gay or no I'm not.'" Martin, who answered with "I just don't feel like it" at the time, later revealed that her question had made him feel "violated", since he "was just not ready to come out" and was "very afraid"; he said that it resulted in "a little PTSD" that "still haunts him". Martin dated Puerto Rican economist Carlos González Abella from 2010 to 2014, as his first relationship with a man after coming out as gay. Marriage Syrian-Swedish painter Jwan Yosef shared a photo of himself and Martin on Instagram on March 30, 2016, with the caption: "Obviously we're starting a band." Soon it was rumored that Yosef was Martin's new boyfriend. Martin confirmed their relationship on April 18, 2016, and they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the amfAR Inspiration Gala. Martin later revealed that he met Yosef on Instagram and they "were talking for like six months without [him] hearing his voice". Subsequently, Martin went to London, where Yosef was living, and they met each other. On November 16, 2016, during an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, he announced that he has proposed to Yosef and they are engaged. In January 2018, Martin confirmed that he has secretly married Yosef: "I'm a husband, but we're doing a heavy party in a couple of months, I'll let you know." On December 31, 2018, they announced that they have welcomed their first daughter together, named Lucia Martin-Yosef. Martin later explained that Lucia was born on December 24, coinciding with his 47th birthday. In September 2019, while accepting an award at the 23rd annual Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National Dinner, he announced that they are expecting their fourth child. On October 29, 2019, he shared a photo of himself, Yosef, and their newborn son, named Renn Martin-Yosef, with the caption: "Our son Renn Martin-Yosef has been born." Beliefs and religion During an interview with People in 2002, Martin expressed that he believes in "love", "the power of healing", and "God", thanks to his parents. The name he chose for his son Matteo means "gift from God". According to his statements in a 2021 interview, he still believes in God. He was raised Catholic but he said is not "the person who would ever look down upon one religion". He expressed that he also admires and likes Buddhist philosophy, but does not subscribe to the religion, since if he does, he cannot "be of anything else"; he does not want to be limited in certain aspects and follow a religion's specific rules. He tries to remain "open to everything" and makes "a concerted effort to always find new teachings and new paths" everywhere he goes and in every situation he finds himself in. Martin believes that everyone can "decide what makes them happy" and although "everyone needs to accept the life they were given", it does not mean they "should not live it as fully as possible". Health and sports Martin began practicing yoga after a trip to Thailand in 1997. He also began practicing meditation following a trip to India. In 2021, he explained that he gets up, before his family, every morning at 5:30 and puts himself in a lotus position and oxygenates his body. He also expressed that he has a gym in his house, saying: "If I have space to see myself in the mirror and put on my products, then I also have to have space for my body." During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in 2017, Martin revealed that he "was diagnosed with high cholesterol" at age eighteen. Although he did not pay attention to the high cholesterol at the time, it made him decide to become a vegetarian since 2013 to reduce cholesterol, despite loving meat as "a Latin man". In 2020, he opened up that he suffered from anxiety for the first time in his life, following the COVID-19 lockdowns, stating that making music became his "medicine". Real estate In March 2001, Martin purchased a 7,082-square-foot house in Miami Beach for $6.4 million; he sold the unit for $10.6 million in 2005. In September 2004, he paid $11.9 million for an 11,000-square-foot Mediterranean-style villa in Los Angeles, which he sold in 2006 for $15 million. In May 2005, he purchased a 9,491-square-foot house in Miami Beach for $10 million; he sold the villa for $10.6 million in 2012. In 2007, he paid $16.2 million for a mansion in Golden Beach. He sold the property in 2012 for $12.8 million, incurring a loss. In the same year, he bought a 3,147-square-foot condominium in New York City for $5.9 million; he sold the condo for $7.1 million in 2017. In 2014, he rented a 900-square-metre mansion in Sydney, which became famous as "the Bronte Wave House" and was sold for $16 million in May 2015, marking one of the most expensive properties sold in the city that year. In December 2016, he purchased an 11,300-square-foot mansion in Beverly Hills. The estate, which is Martin's current house, has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms with outdoor seating areas scattered throughout 33,000 square feet. It is a "private getaway in the middle of the city", located up the street from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Martin also owns a property in Puerto Rico and a private 19.7-acre island in Brazil. He purchased the latter for $8 million in 2008. Legacy Martin has been regarded as the "King of Latin Pop" by various publications, such as the Grammy Awards, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Time, People, Vogue, The Independent, Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Tonight Canada, NBC News, and ABC News. Additionally, he has been referred to as the "King of Latin Music", the "Latin Pop God", the "Latin King of Pop", the "Latin American King of Pop", the "Latin King", the "Crossover Latin King", the "Puerto Rican Pop King", the "Salsa-Pop King", and the "King of World Cup". Martin is known as one of the most influential artists in the world. Billboard ranked him as one of the 30 Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time, while NBC News introduced him as an "influential Latin celebrity". In 2014, he won the award for the most influential international artist at the 18th China Music Awards. He was ranked among "25 musicians who broke barriers" by Stacker in 2019, while in 2020, Spin ranked him at number 27 on the list of "most influential artists of the past 35 years", as the only Latin artist on their list. In 2022, Show News named him "the most influential global artist in history". Martin's song "María (Pablo Flores Remix)", which was ranked among the "Greatest Latin Pop Song of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and "11 remixes of classic Latin hits" by Billboard, "launched the Latin and dance music crossover of the '90s", according to the latter. Olivier Pérou from Le Point commented that "some have even learned, thanks to him, to count to three in Spanish" following the popularity of the song. "La Copa de la Vida", which has been hailed as the Best World Cup Anthem of All-Time by multiple sources, became a "musical template" for World Cup anthems, and Martin's Latin and dance crossover style has been much copied in the anthems, as well as soccer chant "Ole! Ole! Ole!" in the lyrics, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As believed by Esquire, the song "inaugurated this musical subgenre" of Latin. In his review for Pitchfork, Corban Goble wrote that if World Cup anthems someday would be "given their own textbook", "La Copa de la Vida" would be "the standard-bearer for the whole genre". Martin is known as the pioneer in getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition. Following his performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys, and the success of "Livin' la Vida Loca" and Ricky Martin (1999), he opened the gates for many Latin artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Santana, and Enrique Iglesias who released their crossover albums and followed him onto the top of the charts. His performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys not only changed the course of his career, but also altered how people regard Latin music in America. It has been known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide, that effectively ushered in the "Latin explosion". Then-United Talent Agency head Rob Prinz described the rendition as "the single biggest game changing moment for any artist in the history of the Grammys". According to Billboard, it has been cited as the beginning of the "Latin Pop invasion", which powerfully affected the US mainstream. According to Entertainment Tonight, "Livin' la Vida Loca" paved the way for a large number of other Latin artists, and is "credited as the song that helped other Latin artists break through to English-speaking markets". According to The Independent, the single is "widely regarded as the song that began the first Latin pop explosion", while Peoples Jason Sheeler credited it as the song that "led the way for the late-'90s so-called 'Latin explosion' that dominated pop music into the new century: Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, and Jennifer Lopez". Angie Romero from Billboard wrote: "If you look up 'crossover' in the dictionary, there should be a photo of Ricky shaking his bon bon and/or 'Livin' la Vida Loca'." Jim Farber from Daily News noted that Ricky Martin "provides a textbook example of how to mix Latin beats with pop tunes and rock intonations". St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Kevin C. Johnson stated that Martin took "the music to places Jon Secada, Selena and Santana never could". He also mentioned that even "Gloria Estefan at her peak, failed to muster up the kind of hype and hoopla surrounding Martin". Celia San Miguel of Tidal Magazine stated that Martin "highlighted the public's thirst for a different kind of pop" in 1999, crediting "Martin and the paths he created" responsible for the Latin music and Spanish and Spanglish lyrics being "a commonplace phenomenon on English-language radio" in 2019. In her review for Grammy.com, Ana Monroy Yglesias said Martin led a "major music moment in 1999" with Ricky Martin, and along with him, "the first major boom of Spanish-language artists", such as Shakira and Lopez, came into the "U.S. pop landscape". The late 1990s Latin explosion also resulted in the launch of the Latin Recording Academy. Gabriel Abaroa Jr., the president and chief executive officer of the Latin Recording Academy, expressed that the plan of its launch was "immediately after the Ricky Martin success". Cuban American musician and producer Emilio Estefan added: "After the success with Ricky Martin, everybody opened their eyes and realized how important it was to bring diversity and multiethnic elements into [mainstream American] music." Many artists have cited Martin as an influence, declared themselves as his fan, or have admired respect and recognition for him as a musician including Abraham Mateo, Bad Bunny, Camila Cabello, Camilo, Carla Morrison, Christian Chávez, CNCO, Danna Paola, Enrique Iglesias, J Balvin, J-Hope, Jimin, Karol G, India Martínez, Luis Fonsi, Maite Perroni, Maluma, Neha Mahajan, Pedro Capó, Prince Royce, Rauw Alejandro, Reik, Romeo Santos, Rosalía, Sebastián Ligarde, Sebastián Yatra, Shakira, Tini, Vadhir Derbez, William Hung, Wisin, and Ximena Sariñana. Both Maluma and J Balvin have described Martin as a "teacher" and credited him as an artist who "opened the doors" for them, while Maluma has also expressed: "Ricky Martin is one of the artists I wanted to be growing up. He's my idol in the industry."Citations regarding J Balvin's statements about Martin: Spanish singer Rosalía also cited Martin as a "teacher". Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny talked about Martin's legacy during an episode of Behind the Music: "There's no doubt that he opened the door for an entire generation of Latin artists. I am doing great things today in the music industry thanks to those doors that he opened." He also mentioned that he is inspired by Martin's coming out as gay: "You don't have to be gay to be inspired by that action of honesty and freedom, of being yourself against the world despite everything you deserve. I look at it like a very inspiring moment for anybody. At least for me, it's very inspirational." Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta explained to The Guardian that "some Latin stars such as Maluma and Bad Bunny sing in their native language" and do not need to sing in English to get noticed, because they already had representatives like Shakira, Martin, and Jennifer Lopez, but since her country "hasn't had a major international pop star before", she uses "whatever language will get the market's attention". Portrayal in television In July 2019, SOMOS Productions, Endemol Shine Boomdog, and Piñolywood Studios announced the production of a biographical web television series about Menudo, titled Subete a Mi Moto. Consisting of 15 episodes of 60 minutes each, the series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on October 9, 2020, in Mexico, Latin America, and Spain. It was filmed in Mexico and Puerto Rico, and Martin was portrayed by actors Felipe Albors and Ethan Schwartz. The series premiered in the United States on February 14, 2021, on Estrella TV. On the review aggregation website Tomatazos, the first season has a positive score of 75%. The website's critical consensus summary states, "A good trip to the past that recalls a band that defined the youth of a certain public, but that doesn't ignore the darkest moments in the lives of its members." Other ventures Books On August 19, 2010, Martin announced that he had been working on his memoir, mentioning its title as Me and publish date as November 2, 2010. He expressed that writing the book was "one of the reasons" he decided to come out earlier that year. The book also had a Spanish edition title Yo (), which was published simultaneously by Celebra. He stated that writing his memoir allowed him "to explore the different paths and experiences" that have led him to be who he is, noting that it "was not easy but allowed for an incredible spiritual journey". Me spent several weeks at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. In 2019, ¡Hola! staff ranked the book among "12 Books by Celebrities to Inspire and Motivate You", while Book Riot placed it on an unranked list of the "Best Celebrity Books You Should Read This Year" in 2020. Martin's first children's book Santiago the Dreamer in Land Among the Stars was published by Celebra and illustrated by Patricia Castelao in November 2013 for ages between five and nine. Its Spanish-language edition, Santiago El Soñador en Entre Las Estrellas, was published simultaneously. Martin expressed that the book was inspired by his "personal life, with fantasy added to it", as well as "a lot of cartoons". Products and endorsements Martin endorsed the 2012 Viva Glam campaign with rapper Nicki Minaj, which raised $270 million for the Mac AIDS Fund. In October 2020, Martin announced that he would launch his company, Martin Music Lab in partnership with music engineers Jaycen Joshua and Michael Seaberg. The company is centered around a new audio technique called "Orbital Audio", that "creates a new type of immersive, headphone listening experience". Martin used the technique on his EP Pausa, while several artists including Bad Bunny, Residente, Myke Towers, and A$AP Rocky are going to work with the company. The latter plans to release his whole upcoming studio album, using "Orbital Audio". Martin is going to expand the technique "beyond the music industry and tap into the movies, sports and, most notably, the wellness and meditation space". In 2021, Martin partnered with skin care company Kumiko. The skincare line, created by Chilean cosmetologist Catalina Aguirre, is the first to combine "mesotherapy, matcha, and cutting-edge European technology into unique multi-action formulas that penetrate the dermis with powerful anti-aging properties and lifting benefits". Activism Philanthropy While on a trip to India in 2002, Martin witnessed three minor girls who were about to be sold into prostitution and rescued them. The following year, he became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and then met with activists and decided to fight against human trafficking, which is the second-most lucrative crime in the world. In 2004, Martin launched the Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's "existence through research and community initiatives, anchored in the defense of children and youth rights". In the same year, he appealed to the United Nations for international help to fight against sex tourism. In January 2005, following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Martin visited Thailand to assess the needs of the minor survivors who were "extremely vulnerable to traffickers". Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation signed an alliance in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to construct 224 homes for the tsunami-affected families. The project was completed in December 2006. In March 2006, the foundation collaborated with the International Organization for Migration in the Llama y Vive () campaign, which focuses on facilitating "the prevention of human trafficking and the protection of young people, victims of child trafficking and prosecution of traffickers". In January 2010, along with many celebrities, Martin operated the charity telethon Hope for Haiti Now to raise donations for the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation created the first program of community social action against child trafficking in Martin's native Puerto Rico, titled "Se Trata" (). In 2012, the foundation participated in the making of the Child Protection Model Law on the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. In 2016, Martin visited Syrian refugees in Lebanon and played with the children and talked to them in an informal refugee camp. Following the Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017, the Ricky Martin Foundation helped people and handed over homes that were rebuilt after the losses; Martin launched a viral campaign of selling a black T-shirt with the Puerto Rican flag stamped on it in order to raise the funds. The T-shirts were designed by Martin's twin boys Matteo and Valentino, while many celebrities including Will Smith, Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, and Maluma supported the campaign. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin created a campaign to help health care workers through the non-profit organization Project Hope. He expressed: "As you know, health care professionals are extremely vulnerable and professionals around the world don't have personal protection equipment they need to prevent them getting infected." In February 2021, Martin collaborated with Antonia Novello to launch mass vaccination events in Puerto Rico. Following the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Martin honored an effort called "Black Out Tuesday" and launched the hashtag #knowthestruggle, giving his social media to the voices of the community that are "looking for justice", to learn more about what is happening. For his humanitarian efforts and fighting against human trafficking, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the Peace Summit Award by the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, the TIP Report Hero Award by the United States Department of State, the Spirit of Hope Award by Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Award, the Award of Inspiration by amfAR Gala, the Leader of Change Award by the Foundation for Social Change, the Humanitarian Award by the Global Gift Foundation, the Humanitarian Award by the Hispanic Federation, the Corazón Latino Award by the iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, the International Humanitarian Award by the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Agent of Change Award by the International Peace Honors, the PODER Social Leadership Awards, and the Agent of Change Award by the Premios Juventud. Politics On January 20, 2001, during the first inauguration of George W. Bush, Martin performed "The Cup of Life" and danced with him. Martin's view of Bush changed over the Iraq War, as expressed in his declaration to BBC News that he will "always condemn war and those who promulgate it". He also stuck up his middle finger while singing the president's name in his 2003 song "Asignatura Pendiente" at a concert. At the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards, Martin expressed his disagreement with the Arizona SB 1070 bill, a proposed law that would have required police officers to request documents from individuals whom they suspected to be illegal immigrants. Martin campaigned for the 44th president of the United States Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and thanked him for an "outstanding presidency" in 2016, while calling him "an amazing leader". Also in 2016, he was an active ally to the Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton campaign, while condemning Donald Trump's hateful comments about immigrants. He also performed his hits during the "Hillary Clinton: She's With Us" concert at the Greek Theatre on June 6, 2016. Telegramgate, also known as Chatgate, was a political scandal involving Ricardo Rosselló, then Governor of Puerto Rico, which began on July 8, 2019, with the leak of hundreds of pages of a group chat on the messaging application Telegram between Rosselló and members of his cabinet. The messages were considered vulgar, misogynistic, and homophobic toward several individuals and groups, including Martin. Therefore, Martin, Bad Bunny, Residente and several other artists, and more than half a million Puerto Ricans led the call to take to the streets of Puerto Rico, demanding Rosselló's resignation. In September 2020, Martin, Luis Fonsi, and actress Eva Longoria attended a campaign event in Kissimmee, Florida to support the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for the 2020 United States presidential election. During an interview with Variety, Martin stated: "I've been supporting Biden forever, I think he is the only option we have and he is great and he has been in politics all his life. This is the moment. We all need to get together and be loud about the course of this nation." Following the election of Biden as 46th president of the United States, Martin said "Bye-bye" to Trump on social media, and shared a photo of himself along with Biden on Instagram. In May 2021, Martin demonstrated his support for the Ni una menos movement, condemning femicides and violence against women in Puerto Rico, while calling authorities to protect women. He further expressed that no woman should fear for her safety and urged authorities to take steps in order to prevent these acts. In the same month, he supported the 2021 Colombian protests. Later that year, the singer raised his voice in support of the 2021 Cuban protests against the Castro regime for the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, stating: "This is very important. Our brothers and sisters in Cuba need us to inform the world what they are experiencing today. Let's fill the networks before they remove the internet in the country. Humanitarian aid for Cuba NOW." LGBT advocacy As a gay man, Martin actively supports LGBT rights worldwide since his coming out in 2010. Even before coming out, he was noted by the mainstream media for being popular among gay men and having a large gay fan base. He also went on the cover of the American LGBT-interest magazine The Advocate in July 1999. Despite this, he admitted that he felt homosexuality was evil since he was raised as a Catholic and targeted his anger toward others, especially gay men: "I was very angry, very rebellious. I used to look at gay men and think, 'I'm not like that, I don't want to be like that, that's not me.' I was ashamed." He added that he "had internalized homophobia" back then. He is currently considered to be a gay icon, with PinkNews labeling him "a strong advocate of LGBT rights" who "expressed support for equal marriage" since coming out. As the first mainstream Latin music artist to come out, Martin's coming out was a game-changer for "Latin Pride". Billboards Lucas Villa stated: "With Martin's announcement, gay artists, who had long kept their sexual identities a secret, finally had a beacon of hope. If Martin could come out with his career unscathed, there was hope for other artists in Latin music to start doing the same." He added that since then, "a growing number of Latin artists have either come out after years in the spotlight, or many have simply started their careers by embracing their gay identities". In 2010, GLAAD then-president Jarrett Barrios expressed that Martin's coming out as gay leads "hundreds of millions of people" to have "a cultural connection with an artist, a celebrity and, perhaps most importantly, a father who happens to be gay", adding that "his decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in U.S., in Latin America and worldwide". In 2019, Human Rights Campaign then-president Alphonso David expressed that Martin "has used his international stage to advocate for LGBTQ people around the world" with his "unique voice and passionate activism". The following year, Suzy Exposito from Rolling Stone argued that with risking his career and coming out, Martin "set the scene for Bad Bunny to be free in many ways that, during his own breakthrough moment, he could not". Martin expressed support for same-sex marriage during an interview on Larry King Live in 2010. He has then delivered speeches about LGBT rights at the United Nations Homophobia Conference, the GLAAD Media Awards, and the Human Rights Campaign. He also raised his voice to support gay marriage in Puerto Rico before its legalization in 2015. In March 2016, Martin met with Chilean LGBT rights group Fundación Iguales to learn about the challenges LGBT citizens face there. AT the meeting, he said that he wants "equal marriage rights for Chile" and he wants his sons to grow up in a world where "there are no second-class citizens". Following the Colombia's highest court voting against an anti same-sex marriage proposal in April 2016, Martin tweeted: "Love and equality win, Colombia says YES to same-sex marriage." During an interview with Vulture, Martin talked about his role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace and how he wanted his portrayal to help "normalize open relationships". In June 2019, he published an open letter slamming a religious liberty bill, saying: "As a defender of human rights and a member of the LGBTT community, I am vehemently opposed to the proposed measure imposed upon us under the guise of religious freedom, that projects us to the world as a backwards country." Puerto Rico's then-governor backed down and withdrew his support of the bill following Martin's statement. In June 2020, Martin performed his song "Recuerdo" with Carla Morrison for a virtual event, Can't Cancel Pride: Helping LGBTQ+ People in Need, to raise visibility and funds for LGBTQ+ communities. He appeared at the virtual event in the following year as well. In February 2021, Martin was named national spokesperson for the onePULSE Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on managing "the design and construction of the permanent national memorial and museum dedicated to the Pulse nightclub tragedy". Later that year, he expressed that he wants to "normalize families like" his, in an interview with People. Several of Martin's music videos feature diversity in sexual orientations and same-sex couples, including "The Best Thing About Me Is You", "Disparo al Corazón", "Fiebre", and "Tiburones". For his activism and advocacy for LGBTQ community, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the GLAAD Vito Russo Award, the Gala Vanguard Award by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the International Icon Award by the British LGBT Awards, the National Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign, the Trailblazer Award by the LGBT Center Dinner, the Celebrity Activist of the Year by LGBTQ Nation, and the Legacy Award by Attitude Awards. Achievements Throughout his career, Martin has won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, three Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, a Billboard Music Video Award, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards (including the Excellence Award), and a Guinness World Record. As an actor, he was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2007, Martin was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. Martin is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time and the Greatest Hot Latin Songs Artists of All Time by Billboard, while his album Vuelve was placed at number five on Billboards Top 20 Latin Albums Of All Time in 2018. In 1998, his song, "Perdido Sin Ti" reached the top of the Latin Pop Airplay chart, displacing Martin's own "Vuelve", making him the first artist on the chart's history to replace himself. His song "Livin' la Vida Loca" became the first number-one song on Billboard Hot 100, which was made entirely in Pro Tools, and achieved the first number one hit for his label, Columbia. It also became the first song in history to top Billboards Adult Pop Airplay, Pop Airplay, and Rhythmic Airplay charts, holding its record as the only song to do so for 14 years. On May 15, 1999, it became the first single ever to rule four different Billboard charts and made Martin the first act to simultaneously scale a pop, Latin, and dance chart. Two weeks later, he became the first artist to simultaneously top the Billboard 200, Hot Latin Tracks, Hot Dance Music/Club Play, Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, Top 40 Tracks, and the Billboard Hot 100. His song "Tal Vez" (2003) marked the first number one debut on Billboard Hot Latin Songs in the 21st century. Martin is the first and only artist with Spanish-language entries on Billboard Hot 100 in three decades. In 2020, he became the first and only artist in history to enter the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart across five decades, including his work as part of Menudo. The following year, he became the first male Latin artist in history to have 4 songs from different decades to have over 100 million streams on Spotify. He owns the record as the artist with most top 20s on the US Latin Pop Airplay chart, with 51 songs, and is the runner-up of most top 10s. He is the fourth artist with the most number one songs in the history of the Hot Latin Songs chart. Additionally, he holds the record as the most Spanish-language entries on ARIA top 50 singles chart, with three. On October 11, 2007, then-mayor of Miami Beach, Florida David Dermer awarded him the key to the city of Miami Beach. Puerto Rico named August 31 the "International Ricky Martin Day" in 2008. The Government of Spain granted Spanish nationality to Martin in 2011, for being "recognized in different artistic facets". In 2018, in recognition of "his dedication to the island and people of Puerto Rico, his philanthropic work to eliminate human trafficking across the Caribbean, and his commitment to the arts", the singer received a proclamation naming June 7 the "Ricky Martin Day" in New York City. Throughout his career, Martin has sold over 70 million records making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. In 2022, La Nación estimated his net worth at US$130 million. Discography Ricky Martin (1991) Me Amaras (1993) A Medio Vivir (1995) Vuelve (1998) Ricky Martin (1999) Sound Loaded (2000) Almas del Silencio (2003) Life (2005) Música + Alma + Sexo (2011) A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015) Filmography Mas Que Alcanzar una estrella (1992) Hercules – Latin American dub (1997) Idle Hands (1999) Ricky Martin: One Night Only (1999) Minions – Latin American dub (2015) The Latin Explosion: A New America (2015) Ricky Martin: Behind the Vegas Residency (2017) Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) El cuartito (2021) Theatre Les Misérables (1996), Broadway – Marius Pontmercy Evita (2012), Broadway – Ché Tours and residenciesHeadlining tours Ricky Martin Tour (1992) Me Amaras Tour (1993–1994) A Medio Vivir Tour (1995–1997) Vuelve World Tour (1998) Livin' la Vida Loca Tour (1999–2000) One Night Only with Ricky Martin (2005–2006) Black and White Tour (2007) Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour (2011) Ricky Martin Live (2013–2014) Live in Mexico (2014) One World Tour (2015–2018) Ricky Martin en Concierto (2018-2019) Movimiento Tour (2020-2022) Sinfónico Tour (2022-2023)Co-headlining tours Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert (with Enrique Iglesias) (2021) The Trilogy Tour (with Enrique Iglesias & Pitbull) (2023)Residency' All In (2017–2018) See also Honorific nicknames in popular music List of artists who reached number one in the United States List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart List of Latin pop artists List of multilingual bands and artists List of Puerto Rican Grammy Award winners and nominees List of Puerto Ricans List of Urbano artists Notes References Book sources External links Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century Puerto Rican LGBT people Category:20th-century Puerto Rican male actors Category:20th-century Puerto Rican male singers Category:21st-century Puerto Rican LGBT people Category:21st-century Puerto Rican male actors Category:21st-century Puerto Rican male singers Category:Puerto Rican gay actors Category:Puerto Rican gay musicians Category:Puerto Rican gay writers Category:Gay singers Category:Gay songwriters Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Echo (music award) winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hispanic and Latino American male actors Category:Hispanic and Latino American musicians Category:Latin Grammy Award winners Category:Latin music songwriters Category:Latin pop singers Category:Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year honorees Category:Puerto Rican LGBT singers Category:Puerto Rican LGBT songwriters Category:LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people Category:LGBT people in Latin music Category:LGBT record producers Category:Male actors from San Juan, Puerto Rico Category:Menudo (band) members Category:MTV Europe Music Award winners Category:Naturalised citizens of Spain Category:Puerto Rican activists Category:Puerto Rican expatriates in Australia Category:Puerto Rican expatriates in Mexico Category:Puerto Rican expatriates in Spain Category:Puerto Rican male film actors Category:Puerto Rican male soap opera actors Category:Puerto Rican male television actors Category:Puerto Rican people of Basque descent Category:Puerto Rican people of Canarian descent Category:Puerto Rican people of Corsican descent Category:Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Category:Puerto Rican philanthropists Category:Puerto Rican pop singers Category:Puerto Rican record producers Category:Puerto Rican male singer-songwriters Category:Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Category:Sony Music Latin artists Category:Sony Music Spain artists Category:Spanish-language singers of the United States Category:UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors Category:World Music Awards winners Category:FIFA World Cup ceremonies performers

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Chuck Noll

Charles Henry "Chuck" Noll (January 5, 1932 - June 13, 2014) was a professional American football player, assistant coach and head coach. His sole head coaching position was for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1991. When Noll retired after 23 years, only three other head coaches in NFL history had longer tenures with one team. After a six-year playing career that included two NFL Championships as a member of his hometown Cleveland Browns, and several years as an assistant coach with various teams, in 1969 Noll took the helm of the then moribund Steelers (which had played in only one post-season game in its previous 36 years, a 21-0 loss), and turned it into a perennial contender.

Legacy

Noll's legacy includes providing opportunities for African Americans. Under Noll, Joe Gilliam became the league's first African American starting quarterback just a few seasons after the AFL started Marlin Briscoe, and James Harris (Gilliam started ahead of Terry Bradshaw briefly during the 1974 season). In 1975, Franco Harris became the first African American to win the Super Bowl MVP award. During the 1980s, Tony Dungy (who briefly played under Noll in the late 1970s) got his start as an NFL assistant coach, initially as the Steelers' Defensive Backs Coach, and later he became the first African-American Coordinator in the NFL. Noll strongly promoted Dungy as a well-qualified head coaching candidate, but it did not happen for Dungy with the Steelers when Noll retired after the 1991 season. However Dungy did become head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and later became the first African American coach to win a Super Bowl (XLI) with the Indianapolis Colts. On August 2, 2007, the field at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania was dedicated and renamed Chuck Noll Field in honor of the former coach. For more than 40 years the Steelers have held their summer camp at St. Vincent College, as it was Noll's idea to take the team away from the distractions in the city to prepare for the season each year. Chuck Noll was honored on October 7, 2007 at Heinz Field during the pre-game ceremonies. On September 30, 2011, Pittsburgh honored Noll by naming a new street after him. Chuck Noll Way connects North Shore Drive to West General Robinson St. The street runs along Stage AE, on the North Shore of Pittsburgh. CANNOTANSWER

Charles Henry Noll (January 5, 1932 – June 13, 2014) was an American professional football player and head coach. Regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, his sole head coaching position was for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1991. When Noll retired after 23 years, only three other head coaches in NFL history had longer tenures with one team. After a seven-year playing career that included two NFL Championships as a member of his hometown Cleveland Browns and several years as an assistant coach with various teams, in 1969 Noll took the helm of the then moribund Steelers (which had played in only one post-season game in its previous 36 years, a 21–0 loss), and turned it into a perennial contender. As a head coach, Noll won four Super Bowls, four AFC titles and nine Central Division championships, compiled a overall record, a 16–8 playoff record and had winning records in 15 of his final 20 seasons. His four Super Bowl victories rank second behind Bill Belichick for the most of any head coach in NFL history. His four Super Bowl wins are the most ever by a coach without a Super Bowl loss. Between his playing and coaching tenures, Noll won a total of seven NFL Championships as well as one AFL Championship and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility. Noll built the team through astute drafting and meticulous tutoring. During his career, he was notable for the opportunities he gave African Americans, starting the first black quarterback in franchise history and hiring one of the first black assistant coaches in league history. He was often credited with maintaining the morale of the Western Pennsylvania region despite its steep economic decline by creating a team of champions in the image of its blue-collar fan base. Biography Early life Childhood Noll was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the youngest of three siblings (by eight years) of William Noll (a butcher, frequently unable to work owing to Parkinson's disease) and Katherine Steigerwald Noll (who worked for a florist). The family lived in the house Noll's mother grew up in with her 12 siblings, near East 74th Street, in a neighborhood with a large African-American population, a fact that helps account for Noll's early championing of opportunity for African Americans in the NFL (both players from traditionally black colleges and later as coaches). On a local youth football team Noll played with Harold Owens, the nephew of Olympic star Jesse Owens. High school/Middle School Noll attended Benedictine High School. He began working in seventh grade and by the time he entered high school, he had saved enough for two-year's worth of the $150 tuition. Throughout high school he continued to work, making 55-cent an hour at Fisher Brothers meat market after school. Education was always important to him, so despite the schedule, he studied enough to graduate 28th in a class of 252. He played running back and tackle on the high school football team, winning All-State honors. During his senior year, he was named to the All Catholic Universe Bulletin team by the Diocese of Cleveland newspaper. Noll was also a wrestler while in high school. College Noll planned to attend Notre Dame, but during a practice before his freshman year he suffered an epileptic seizure on the field. Notre Dame coach Frank Leahy refused to take the risk of allowing Noll to play there and so Noll accepted a football scholarship to the University of Dayton. Noll graduated with a degree in secondary education. As a member of the Flyers, he was a lineman, linebacker and a co-captain, and acquired the nickname, the "Pope," for his "'infallible' grasp of the game." Player for Cleveland Browns Noll was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 20th round of the 1953 NFL Draft (239th overall). During his first year, the Browns lost to the Detroit Lions in the NFL championship. The next two years the Browns were NFL champions. Noll finished his NFL career with 8 interceptions, 3 fumble recoveries, and a touchdown on one of each. Although the undersized Noll was drafted as a linebacker, Coach Paul Brown used him as one of his "messenger guards" to send play calls to the quarterback (beginning with Otto Graham). Brown recalled that Noll soon "could have called the plays himself without any help from the bench. That's how smart he was." According to Art Rooney, Jr. (director of scouting for the Steelers before and during most of Noll's tenure), however, Noll felt demeaned by Brown's use of him in that way and "disliked the term 'messenger boy' so much that as coach of the Steelers he entrusted all the play calling to his quarterbacks." Noll was paid only $5,000 per season with the Browns and so while there he acted as substitute teacher at Holy Name High School and sold insurance on the side. During that period Noll also attended Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at night. He told Dan Rooney that he decided against becoming a lawyer because "he didn't really like the constant confrontation and arguments that come with being a lawyer." Instead, when Noll lost the starting guard position to John Wooten, he chose to retire at age 27 expecting to begin his coaching career at his alma mater. He was surprised, however, when he was not offered an open position on the University of Dayton coaching staff. He was offered a position by Sid Gillman on the staff of the Los Angeles Chargers, during its inaugural season. Coaching career Assistant coaching career Noll was an assistant coach for the American Football League's then Los Angeles and later San Diego Chargers from 1960 to 1965. He then became assistant to head coach Don Shula of the NFL Baltimore Colts from 1965 to 1968, when he was selected as the Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach. Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers Noll is considered part of Sid Gillman's coaching tree. He later remembered Gillman as "one of the game's prime researchers and offensive specialists. In six years, I had more exposure to football than I normally would have received in 12 years." During Noll's six-year tenure with the Chargers, where he was defensive line coach, the defensive backfield coach and defensive coordinator, the team appeared in five AFL championship games. Gillman said that Noll "had a great way with players," specifically "If a guy didn't do the job expected, Chuck could climb on his back." Massive defensive tackle Ernie Ladd said that Noll was a "fiery guy" but also "the best teacher I ever played under." "He and I were always fighting, always squabbling, but he had a great way of teaching. I take my hat off to Chuck. He was one of the main reasons for our success." The defensive line under Noll became known as the "Fearsome Foursome," and during 1961 defensive end Earl Faison was named AFL rookie of the year. During Noll's time at Chargers, Al Davis was also an assistant and scout. Davis would later become coach and general manager of the Oakland Raiders, the principal AFC rival of the Steelers' in the 1970s. Baltimore Colts With the Colts, Noll was defensive backfield coach and later defensive coordinator. Together with assistant coach Bill Arnsparger the Colts employed shifting alignments of rotating zone and maximum blitz defensive packages. In 1968, Noll's last season as defensive coordinator, the Baltimore Colts compiled a 13–1 record in the regular season and tied the NFL season record for fewest points allowed (144). Shula was impressed by Noll's approach: "He explained how to do things and wrote up the technique. He was one of the first coaches I was around that wrote up in great detail all of the techniques used by players—for example, the backpedal and the defensive back's position on the receiver. He was like a classroom teacher." The Colts won the NFL championship by routing the Cleveland Browns 34–0 in Cleveland, but were shocked by the upstart AFL champion New York Jets, 16–7, in Super Bowl III at the Orange Bowl in Miami. The next day, Noll interviewed for the head coach position in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Steelers At age 37, Noll was named the 14th head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers on January 27, , after Penn State coach Joe Paterno turned down an offer for the position. At the time of his hiring, he was the youngest head coach in the NFL. Steelers owner Art Rooney would later credit Don Shula as the person who recommended Noll as a head coach. Noll implemented a defensive system in Pittsburgh that became the legendary "Steel Curtain" defense. His coaching style earned him the nickname of The Emperor Chaz by sports announcer Myron Cope. Noll was the first head coach to win four Super Bowls (IX, X, XIII, XIV). The key to Noll's coaching success during this run was the Steelers' skill in selecting outstanding players in the NFL college player draft. Noll's first round-one pick was Joe Greene, a defensive tackle from North Texas State, who went on to become a perennial All-Pro and anchor the defensive line. During the next few years, the Steelers drafted quarterback Terry Bradshaw (Louisiana Tech) and running back Franco Harris (Penn State) as round one picks. In the 1974 draft, Noll and the Steelers achieved a level of drafting success never seen before or since, when they selected four future Hall of Fame players with their first five picks: wide receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, middle linebacker Jack Lambert, and center Mike Webster. To this day, no other draft by any team has included more than two future Hall of Famers. A meticulous coach, Noll was known during practice to dwell on fundamentals—such as the three-point stance—things that professional players were expected to know. For instance, Andy Russell, already a Pro Bowl linebacker before Noll arrived and one of the few players Noll kept after purging the roster his first year, was told by Noll that he didn't have his feet positioned right. As a result of Noll's attention to detail, Russell went on to become a key member for the first two Super Bowl teams and started the linebacker tradition that continues today in Pittsburgh. Noll was a well-read man who valued education and expected likewise from his team, so he sought players who studied useful or practical subjects in college and had interests outside of football. "I didn't want to pick guys who just took wood shop or some other easy course they could breeze through to play football." he explained. While most of his contemporaries, as well as current NFL head coaches, enforced strict curfew rules on its players, Noll was very lax on off-the-field behavior. This was shown at Super Bowl IX. While Noll's counterpart – Minnesota Vikings head coach Bud Grant – strictly kept his team in their hotel rooms except for practice before the game, Noll told his team upon arriving in New Orleans to go out on Bourbon Street "and get the partying out of your system now." The hallmark of the team during the 1970s was a stifling defense known as the Steel Curtain. Linemen L. C. Greenwood, Joe Greene, as well as Ernie Holmes and Dwight White, linebackers Jack Ham, and Jack Lambert had a collective level of talent unseen before in the NFL. The teams that won Super Bowls IX and X used a run-oriented offense, primarily featuring Franco Harris and blocking back Rocky Bleier. Over the next few years, Terry Bradshaw matured into an outstanding passer, and the teams that won Super Bowls XIII and XIV fully utilized the receiving tandem of Lynn Swann and John Stallworth. Noll was notoriously shy and did not like the media or give many interviews. His 1970s teams were so talented that his contributions as head coach (and architect of the team) often were overlooked. The first half of the 1980s would see the team continue their excellence (making the playoffs for three straight years from 1982 to 1984), even as they failed to reach the Super Bowl, but as the team, facing a spate of injuries and departures to their Super Bowl-winning teams by the decade's second half, began to skid and would see three losing seasons from the years 1985 to 1989. In 1989, Noll finally achieved some recognition as NFL Coach of the Year, when he guided the Steelers into the second round of the playoffs. The team was not especially talented and lost its first two regular-season games by scores of 51–0 and 41–10. However, Noll did a remarkable job in keeping the team focused and steadily improving its play as they made the playoffs and played competitively in two playoff games; Noll went a combined 16–16 in his last two seasons at the helm of the Steelers. Post-coaching life Noll retired as Steelers head coach after the 1991 season with a record of 209–156–1, regular season and postseason combined. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. The last team he coached gave him a gift of a stationary bicycle, which he avidly used. Noll maintained a residence in suburban Pittsburgh, however, he spent some time at his Florida home. His mobility was limited by chronic back problems. Noll held the ceremonial title of Administration Adviser in the Pittsburgh Steelers' front office but had no real role in the team's operations after his retirement. He spent about half the year in Pittsburgh with his wife Marianne. Their son, Chris, is a teacher in a private high school in Connecticut. Noll died of natural causes in his suburban Pittsburgh condo on June 13, 2014, having suffered for years from Alzheimer's disease, a heart condition and back problems. Noll's funeral was held on June 17, 2014 at St. Paul's Cathedral in Pittsburgh. Legacy Noll's legacy includes providing opportunities for African Americans. Under Noll, Joe Gilliam became the league's first African American starting quarterback just a few seasons after the AFL started Marlin Briscoe, and James Harris (Gilliam started ahead of Terry Bradshaw briefly during the 1974 season). In 1975, Franco Harris became the first African American to win the Super Bowl MVP award. During the 1980s, Tony Dungy (who briefly played under Noll in the late 1970s) got his start as an NFL assistant coach, initially as the Steelers' Defensive Backs Coach, and later he became the first African-American Coordinator in the NFL. Noll strongly promoted Dungy as a well-qualified head coaching candidate, but it did not happen for Dungy with the Steelers when Noll retired after the 1991 season. However, Dungy did become head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and later became the first African American coach to win a Super Bowl (XLI) with the Indianapolis Colts. On August 2, 2007, the field at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania was dedicated and renamed Chuck Noll Field in honor of the former coach. For more than 40 years the Steelers have held their summer camp at St. Vincent College, as it was Noll's idea to take the team away from the distractions in the city to prepare for the season each year. Chuck Noll was honored on October 7, 2007, at Heinz Field during the pre-game ceremonies. On September 30, 2011, Pittsburgh honored Noll by naming a new street after him. Chuck Noll Way connects North Shore Drive to West General Robinson St. The street runs along Stage AE, on the North Shore of Pittsburgh. Head coaching record Coaching tree Assistants under Chuck Noll who became college or professional head coaches: Rollie Dotsch: Birmingham Stallions (1983–1985) George Perles: Michigan State Spartans (1983–1994) Lionel Taylor: Texas Southern University (1984–1988), England Monarchs (1998) Woody Widenhofer: Oklahoma Outlaws (1984), Missouri Tigers (1985–1988), Vanderbilt Commodores (1997–2001) Bud Carson: Cleveland Browns (1989–1990) Rod Rust: New England Patriots (1990), Montreal Alouettes (2001) Joe Walton: New York Jets (1983–1989), Robert Morris College (1994–2013) Tony Dungy: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1996–2001), Indianapolis Colts (2002–2008) Hal Hunter: Louisiana State University (1999) John Fox: Carolina Panthers (2002–2010), Denver Broncos (2011–2014), Chicago Bears (2015–2017) See also List of National Football League head coaches with 50 wins List of professional gridiron football coaches with 200 wins List of Super Bowl head coaches List of American Football League players References External links Category:1932 births Category:2014 deaths Category:Dayton Flyers football players Category:American football offensive guards Category:American football linebackers Category:Cleveland Browns players Category:Los Angeles Chargers coaches Category:San Diego Chargers coaches Category:Baltimore Colts coaches Category:Pittsburgh Steelers head coaches Category:Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:Sportspeople from Cleveland Category:Super Bowl-winning head coaches Category:Players of American football from Cleveland

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Chuck Noll

Charles Henry "Chuck" Noll (January 5, 1932 - June 13, 2014) was a professional American football player, assistant coach and head coach. His sole head coaching position was for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1991. When Noll retired after 23 years, only three other head coaches in NFL history had longer tenures with one team. After a six-year playing career that included two NFL Championships as a member of his hometown Cleveland Browns, and several years as an assistant coach with various teams, in 1969 Noll took the helm of the then moribund Steelers (which had played in only one post-season game in its previous 36 years, a 21-0 loss), and turned it into a perennial contender.

Player for Cleveland Browns

Noll was drafted by the Cleveland Browns with the 239th pick in the 1953 NFL draft. During his first year, the Browns lost to the Detroit Lions in the NFL championship. The next two years the Browns were NFL champions. Although drafted as a linebacker, Coach Paul Brown used the undersized Noll as one of his "messenger guards" to send play calls to the quarterback (beginning with Otto Graham). Brown recalled that Noll soon "could have called the plays himself without any help from the bench. That's how smart he was." According to Art Rooney, Jr. (director of scouting for the Steelers before and during most of Noll's tenure), however, Noll felt demeaned by Brown's use of him in that way and "disliked the term 'messenger boy' so much that as coach of the Steelers he entrusted all the play calling to his quarterbacks." Noll was paid only $5,000 per season with the Browns and so while there he acted as substitute teacher at Holy Name High School and sold insurance on the side. During that period Noll also attended Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at night. He told Dan Rooney that he decided against becoming a lawyer because "he didn't really like the constant confrontation and arguments that come with being a lawyer." Instead, when Noll lost the starting guard position to John Wooten, he chose to retire at age 27 expecting to begin his coaching career at his alma mater. He was surprised, however, when he was not offered an open position on the University of Dayton coaching staff. Fortunately, he was offered a position by Sid Gillman on the staff of the Los Angeles Chargers, during its inaugural season. CANNOTANSWER

Charles Henry Noll (January 5, 1932 – June 13, 2014) was an American professional football player and head coach. Regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, his sole head coaching position was for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1991. When Noll retired after 23 years, only three other head coaches in NFL history had longer tenures with one team. After a seven-year playing career that included two NFL Championships as a member of his hometown Cleveland Browns and several years as an assistant coach with various teams, in 1969 Noll took the helm of the then moribund Steelers (which had played in only one post-season game in its previous 36 years, a 21–0 loss), and turned it into a perennial contender. As a head coach, Noll won four Super Bowls, four AFC titles and nine Central Division championships, compiled a overall record, a 16–8 playoff record and had winning records in 15 of his final 20 seasons. His four Super Bowl victories rank second behind Bill Belichick for the most of any head coach in NFL history. His four Super Bowl wins are the most ever by a coach without a Super Bowl loss. Between his playing and coaching tenures, Noll won a total of seven NFL Championships as well as one AFL Championship and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility. Noll built the team through astute drafting and meticulous tutoring. During his career, he was notable for the opportunities he gave African Americans, starting the first black quarterback in franchise history and hiring one of the first black assistant coaches in league history. He was often credited with maintaining the morale of the Western Pennsylvania region despite its steep economic decline by creating a team of champions in the image of its blue-collar fan base. Biography Early life Childhood Noll was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the youngest of three siblings (by eight years) of William Noll (a butcher, frequently unable to work owing to Parkinson's disease) and Katherine Steigerwald Noll (who worked for a florist). The family lived in the house Noll's mother grew up in with her 12 siblings, near East 74th Street, in a neighborhood with a large African-American population, a fact that helps account for Noll's early championing of opportunity for African Americans in the NFL (both players from traditionally black colleges and later as coaches). On a local youth football team Noll played with Harold Owens, the nephew of Olympic star Jesse Owens. High school/Middle School Noll attended Benedictine High School. He began working in seventh grade and by the time he entered high school, he had saved enough for two-year's worth of the $150 tuition. Throughout high school he continued to work, making 55-cent an hour at Fisher Brothers meat market after school. Education was always important to him, so despite the schedule, he studied enough to graduate 28th in a class of 252. He played running back and tackle on the high school football team, winning All-State honors. During his senior year, he was named to the All Catholic Universe Bulletin team by the Diocese of Cleveland newspaper. Noll was also a wrestler while in high school. College Noll planned to attend Notre Dame, but during a practice before his freshman year he suffered an epileptic seizure on the field. Notre Dame coach Frank Leahy refused to take the risk of allowing Noll to play there and so Noll accepted a football scholarship to the University of Dayton. Noll graduated with a degree in secondary education. As a member of the Flyers, he was a lineman, linebacker and a co-captain, and acquired the nickname, the "Pope," for his "'infallible' grasp of the game." Player for Cleveland Browns Noll was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 20th round of the 1953 NFL Draft (239th overall). During his first year, the Browns lost to the Detroit Lions in the NFL championship. The next two years the Browns were NFL champions. Noll finished his NFL career with 8 interceptions, 3 fumble recoveries, and a touchdown on one of each. Although the undersized Noll was drafted as a linebacker, Coach Paul Brown used him as one of his "messenger guards" to send play calls to the quarterback (beginning with Otto Graham). Brown recalled that Noll soon "could have called the plays himself without any help from the bench. That's how smart he was." According to Art Rooney, Jr. (director of scouting for the Steelers before and during most of Noll's tenure), however, Noll felt demeaned by Brown's use of him in that way and "disliked the term 'messenger boy' so much that as coach of the Steelers he entrusted all the play calling to his quarterbacks." Noll was paid only $5,000 per season with the Browns and so while there he acted as substitute teacher at Holy Name High School and sold insurance on the side. During that period Noll also attended Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at night. He told Dan Rooney that he decided against becoming a lawyer because "he didn't really like the constant confrontation and arguments that come with being a lawyer." Instead, when Noll lost the starting guard position to John Wooten, he chose to retire at age 27 expecting to begin his coaching career at his alma mater. He was surprised, however, when he was not offered an open position on the University of Dayton coaching staff. He was offered a position by Sid Gillman on the staff of the Los Angeles Chargers, during its inaugural season. Coaching career Assistant coaching career Noll was an assistant coach for the American Football League's then Los Angeles and later San Diego Chargers from 1960 to 1965. He then became assistant to head coach Don Shula of the NFL Baltimore Colts from 1965 to 1968, when he was selected as the Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach. Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers Noll is considered part of Sid Gillman's coaching tree. He later remembered Gillman as "one of the game's prime researchers and offensive specialists. In six years, I had more exposure to football than I normally would have received in 12 years." During Noll's six-year tenure with the Chargers, where he was defensive line coach, the defensive backfield coach and defensive coordinator, the team appeared in five AFL championship games. Gillman said that Noll "had a great way with players," specifically "If a guy didn't do the job expected, Chuck could climb on his back." Massive defensive tackle Ernie Ladd said that Noll was a "fiery guy" but also "the best teacher I ever played under." "He and I were always fighting, always squabbling, but he had a great way of teaching. I take my hat off to Chuck. He was one of the main reasons for our success." The defensive line under Noll became known as the "Fearsome Foursome," and during 1961 defensive end Earl Faison was named AFL rookie of the year. During Noll's time at Chargers, Al Davis was also an assistant and scout. Davis would later become coach and general manager of the Oakland Raiders, the principal AFC rival of the Steelers' in the 1970s. Baltimore Colts With the Colts, Noll was defensive backfield coach and later defensive coordinator. Together with assistant coach Bill Arnsparger the Colts employed shifting alignments of rotating zone and maximum blitz defensive packages. In 1968, Noll's last season as defensive coordinator, the Baltimore Colts compiled a 13–1 record in the regular season and tied the NFL season record for fewest points allowed (144). Shula was impressed by Noll's approach: "He explained how to do things and wrote up the technique. He was one of the first coaches I was around that wrote up in great detail all of the techniques used by players—for example, the backpedal and the defensive back's position on the receiver. He was like a classroom teacher." The Colts won the NFL championship by routing the Cleveland Browns 34–0 in Cleveland, but were shocked by the upstart AFL champion New York Jets, 16–7, in Super Bowl III at the Orange Bowl in Miami. The next day, Noll interviewed for the head coach position in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Steelers At age 37, Noll was named the 14th head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers on January 27, , after Penn State coach Joe Paterno turned down an offer for the position. At the time of his hiring, he was the youngest head coach in the NFL. Steelers owner Art Rooney would later credit Don Shula as the person who recommended Noll as a head coach. Noll implemented a defensive system in Pittsburgh that became the legendary "Steel Curtain" defense. His coaching style earned him the nickname of The Emperor Chaz by sports announcer Myron Cope. Noll was the first head coach to win four Super Bowls (IX, X, XIII, XIV). The key to Noll's coaching success during this run was the Steelers' skill in selecting outstanding players in the NFL college player draft. Noll's first round-one pick was Joe Greene, a defensive tackle from North Texas State, who went on to become a perennial All-Pro and anchor the defensive line. During the next few years, the Steelers drafted quarterback Terry Bradshaw (Louisiana Tech) and running back Franco Harris (Penn State) as round one picks. In the 1974 draft, Noll and the Steelers achieved a level of drafting success never seen before or since, when they selected four future Hall of Fame players with their first five picks: wide receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, middle linebacker Jack Lambert, and center Mike Webster. To this day, no other draft by any team has included more than two future Hall of Famers. A meticulous coach, Noll was known during practice to dwell on fundamentals—such as the three-point stance—things that professional players were expected to know. For instance, Andy Russell, already a Pro Bowl linebacker before Noll arrived and one of the few players Noll kept after purging the roster his first year, was told by Noll that he didn't have his feet positioned right. As a result of Noll's attention to detail, Russell went on to become a key member for the first two Super Bowl teams and started the linebacker tradition that continues today in Pittsburgh. Noll was a well-read man who valued education and expected likewise from his team, so he sought players who studied useful or practical subjects in college and had interests outside of football. "I didn't want to pick guys who just took wood shop or some other easy course they could breeze through to play football." he explained. While most of his contemporaries, as well as current NFL head coaches, enforced strict curfew rules on its players, Noll was very lax on off-the-field behavior. This was shown at Super Bowl IX. While Noll's counterpart – Minnesota Vikings head coach Bud Grant – strictly kept his team in their hotel rooms except for practice before the game, Noll told his team upon arriving in New Orleans to go out on Bourbon Street "and get the partying out of your system now." The hallmark of the team during the 1970s was a stifling defense known as the Steel Curtain. Linemen L. C. Greenwood, Joe Greene, as well as Ernie Holmes and Dwight White, linebackers Jack Ham, and Jack Lambert had a collective level of talent unseen before in the NFL. The teams that won Super Bowls IX and X used a run-oriented offense, primarily featuring Franco Harris and blocking back Rocky Bleier. Over the next few years, Terry Bradshaw matured into an outstanding passer, and the teams that won Super Bowls XIII and XIV fully utilized the receiving tandem of Lynn Swann and John Stallworth. Noll was notoriously shy and did not like the media or give many interviews. His 1970s teams were so talented that his contributions as head coach (and architect of the team) often were overlooked. The first half of the 1980s would see the team continue their excellence (making the playoffs for three straight years from 1982 to 1984), even as they failed to reach the Super Bowl, but as the team, facing a spate of injuries and departures to their Super Bowl-winning teams by the decade's second half, began to skid and would see three losing seasons from the years 1985 to 1989. In 1989, Noll finally achieved some recognition as NFL Coach of the Year, when he guided the Steelers into the second round of the playoffs. The team was not especially talented and lost its first two regular-season games by scores of 51–0 and 41–10. However, Noll did a remarkable job in keeping the team focused and steadily improving its play as they made the playoffs and played competitively in two playoff games; Noll went a combined 16–16 in his last two seasons at the helm of the Steelers. Post-coaching life Noll retired as Steelers head coach after the 1991 season with a record of 209–156–1, regular season and postseason combined. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. The last team he coached gave him a gift of a stationary bicycle, which he avidly used. Noll maintained a residence in suburban Pittsburgh, however, he spent some time at his Florida home. His mobility was limited by chronic back problems. Noll held the ceremonial title of Administration Adviser in the Pittsburgh Steelers' front office but had no real role in the team's operations after his retirement. He spent about half the year in Pittsburgh with his wife Marianne. Their son, Chris, is a teacher in a private high school in Connecticut. Noll died of natural causes in his suburban Pittsburgh condo on June 13, 2014, having suffered for years from Alzheimer's disease, a heart condition and back problems. Noll's funeral was held on June 17, 2014 at St. Paul's Cathedral in Pittsburgh. Legacy Noll's legacy includes providing opportunities for African Americans. Under Noll, Joe Gilliam became the league's first African American starting quarterback just a few seasons after the AFL started Marlin Briscoe, and James Harris (Gilliam started ahead of Terry Bradshaw briefly during the 1974 season). In 1975, Franco Harris became the first African American to win the Super Bowl MVP award. During the 1980s, Tony Dungy (who briefly played under Noll in the late 1970s) got his start as an NFL assistant coach, initially as the Steelers' Defensive Backs Coach, and later he became the first African-American Coordinator in the NFL. Noll strongly promoted Dungy as a well-qualified head coaching candidate, but it did not happen for Dungy with the Steelers when Noll retired after the 1991 season. However, Dungy did become head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and later became the first African American coach to win a Super Bowl (XLI) with the Indianapolis Colts. On August 2, 2007, the field at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania was dedicated and renamed Chuck Noll Field in honor of the former coach. For more than 40 years the Steelers have held their summer camp at St. Vincent College, as it was Noll's idea to take the team away from the distractions in the city to prepare for the season each year. Chuck Noll was honored on October 7, 2007, at Heinz Field during the pre-game ceremonies. On September 30, 2011, Pittsburgh honored Noll by naming a new street after him. Chuck Noll Way connects North Shore Drive to West General Robinson St. The street runs along Stage AE, on the North Shore of Pittsburgh. Head coaching record Coaching tree Assistants under Chuck Noll who became college or professional head coaches: Rollie Dotsch: Birmingham Stallions (1983–1985) George Perles: Michigan State Spartans (1983–1994) Lionel Taylor: Texas Southern University (1984–1988), England Monarchs (1998) Woody Widenhofer: Oklahoma Outlaws (1984), Missouri Tigers (1985–1988), Vanderbilt Commodores (1997–2001) Bud Carson: Cleveland Browns (1989–1990) Rod Rust: New England Patriots (1990), Montreal Alouettes (2001) Joe Walton: New York Jets (1983–1989), Robert Morris College (1994–2013) Tony Dungy: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1996–2001), Indianapolis Colts (2002–2008) Hal Hunter: Louisiana State University (1999) John Fox: Carolina Panthers (2002–2010), Denver Broncos (2011–2014), Chicago Bears (2015–2017) See also List of National Football League head coaches with 50 wins List of professional gridiron football coaches with 200 wins List of Super Bowl head coaches List of American Football League players References External links Category:1932 births Category:2014 deaths Category:Dayton Flyers football players Category:American football offensive guards Category:American football linebackers Category:Cleveland Browns players Category:Los Angeles Chargers coaches Category:San Diego Chargers coaches Category:Baltimore Colts coaches Category:Pittsburgh Steelers head coaches Category:Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:Sportspeople from Cleveland Category:Super Bowl-winning head coaches Category:Players of American football from Cleveland

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Friedrich Hölderlin

Johann Christian Friedrich Holderlin (German: ['jo:han 'kRIsti.a:n 'fRi:

Career

After obtaining his magister degree in 1793, his mother expected him to enter the ministry. However, Holderlin found no satisfaction in the prevailing Protestant theology, and worked instead as a private tutor. In 1794, he met Friedrich Schiller and Johann Wolfgang Goethe and began writing his epistolary novel Hyperion. In 1795 he enrolled for a while at the University of Jena where he attended Johann Gottlieb Fichte's classes and met Novalis. There is a seminal manuscript, dated 1797, now known as the Das alteste Systemprogramm des deutschen Idealismus ("The Oldest Systematic Program of German Idealism"). Although the document is in Hegel's handwriting, it is thought to have been written by either Hegel, Schelling, Holderlin, or an unknown fourth person. As a tutor in Frankfurt am Main from 1796 to 1798 he fell in love with Susette Gontard, the wife of his employer, the banker Jakob Gontard. The feeling was mutual, and this relationship became the most important in Holderlin's life. After a while, their affair was discovered, and Holderlin was harshly dismissed. He then lived in Homburg from 1798 to 1800, meeting Susette in secret once a month and attempting to establish himself as a poet, but his life was plagued by financed worries and had to accept a small allowance from his mother. His mandated separation from Susette Gontard also worsened Holderlin's doubts about himself and his value as a poet; he wished to transform German culture but did not have the influence he needed. From 1797 to 1800, he produced three versions--all unfinished--of a tragedy in the Greek manner, The Death of Empedocles, and composed odes in the vein of the Ancient Greeks Alcaeus and Asclepiades of Samos. CANNOTANSWER

Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticism. Particularly due to his early association with and philosophical influence on Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, he was also an important thinker in the development of German Idealism. Born in Lauffen am Neckar, Hölderlin had a childhood marked by bereavement. His mother intended for him to enter the Lutheran ministry, and he attended the Tübinger Stift, where he was friends with Hegel and Schelling. He graduated in 1793 but could not devote himself to the Christian faith, instead becoming a tutor. Two years later, he briefly attended the University of Jena, where he interacted with Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Novalis, before resuming his career as a tutor. He struggled to establish himself as a poet, and was plagued by mental illness. He was sent to a clinic in 1806 but deemed incurable and instead given lodging by a carpenter, Ernst Zimmer. He spent the final 36 years of his life in Zimmer's residence, and died in 1843 at the age of 73. Hölderlin followed the tradition of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller as an admirer of Greek mythology and Ancient Greek poets such as Pindar and Sophocles, and melded Christian and Hellenic themes in his works. Martin Heidegger, upon whom Hölderlin had a great influence, said: "Hölderlin is one of our greatest, that is, most impending thinkers because he is our greatest poet." Biography Early life Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin was born on 20 March 1770 in Lauffen am Neckar, then a part of the Duchy of Württemberg. He was the first child of Johanna Christiana Heyn and Heinrich Friedrich Hölderlin. His father, the manager of a church estate, died when he was two years old, and Friedrich and his sister, Heinrike, were brought up by their mother. In 1774, his mother moved the family to Nürtingen when she married Johann Christoph Gok. Two years later, Johann Gok became the burgomaster of Nürtingen, and Hölderlin's half-brother, Karl Christoph Friedrich Gok, was born. In 1779, Johann Gok died at the age of 30. Hölderlin later expressed how his childhood was scarred by grief and sorrow, writing in a 1799 correspondence with his mother: Education Hölderlin began his education in 1776, and his mother planned for him to join the Lutheran church. In preparation for entrance exams into a monastery, he received additional instruction in Greek, Hebrew, Latin and rhetoric, starting in 1782. During this time, he struck a friendship with Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, who was five years Hölderlin's junior. On account of the age difference, Schelling was "subjected to universal teasing" and Hölderlin protected him from abuse by older students. Also during this time, Hölderlin began playing the piano and developed an interest in travel literature through exposure to Georg Forster's A Voyage Round the World. In 1784, Hölderlin entered the Lower Monastery in Denkendorf and started his formal training for entry into the Lutheran ministry. At Denkendorf, he discovered the poetry of Friedrich Schiller and Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, and took tentative steps in composing his own verses. The earliest known letter of Hölderlin's is dated 1784 and addressed to his former tutor Nathanael Köstlin. In the letter, Hölderlin hinted at his wavering faith in Christianity and anxiety about his mental state. Hölderlin progressed to the Higher Monastery at Maulbronn in 1786. There he fell in love with Luise Nast, the daughter of the monastery's administrator, and began to doubt his desire to join the ministry; he composed Mein Vorsatz in 1787, in which he states his intention to attain "Pindar's light" and reach "Klopstock-heights". In 1788, he read Schiller's Don Carlos on Luise Nast's recommendation. Hölderlin later wrote a letter to Schiller regarding Don Carlos, stating: "It won't be easy to study Carlos in a rational way, since he was for so many years the magic cloud in which the good god of my youth enveloped me so that I would not see too soon the pettiness and barbarity of the world." In October 1788, Hölderlin began his theological studies at the Tübinger Stift, where his fellow students included Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Isaac von Sinclair and Schelling. It has been speculated that it was Hölderlin who, during their time in Tübingen, brought to Hegel's attention the ideas of Heraclitus regarding the unity of opposites, which Hegel would later develop into his concept of dialectics. In 1789, Hölderlin broke off his engagement with Luise Nast, writing to her: "I wish you happiness if you choose one more worthy than me, and then surely you will understand that you could never have been happy with your morose, ill-humoured, and sickly friend," and expressed his desire to transfer out and study law but succumbed to pressure from his mother to remain in the Stift. Along with Hegel and Schelling and his other peers during his time in the Stift, Hölderlin was an enthusiastic supporter of the French Revolution. Although he rejected the violence of the Reign of Terror, his commitment to the principles of 1789 remained intense. Hölderlin's republican sympathies influenced many of his most famous works such as Hyperion and The Death of Empedocles. Career After he obtained his magister degree in 1793, his mother expected him to enter the ministry. However, Hölderlin found no satisfaction in the prevailing Protestant theology, and worked instead as a private tutor. In 1794, he met Friedrich Schiller and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and began writing his epistolary novel Hyperion. In 1795 he enrolled for a while at the University of Jena where he attended Johann Gottlieb Fichte's classes and met Novalis. There is a seminal manuscript, dated 1797, now known as the Das älteste Systemprogramm des deutschen Idealismus ("The Oldest Systematic Program of German Idealism"). Although the document is in Hegel's handwriting, it is thought to have been written by Hegel, Schelling, Hölderlin, or an unknown fourth person. As a tutor in Frankfurt am Main from 1796 to 1798, he fell in love with Susette Gontard, the wife of his employer, the banker Jakob Gontard. The feeling was mutual, and this relationship became the most important in Hölderlin's life. After a while, their affair was discovered, and Hölderlin was harshly dismissed. He then lived in Homburg from 1798 to 1800, meeting Susette in secret once a month and attempting to establish himself as a poet, but his life was plagued by financial worries and he had to accept a small allowance from his mother. His mandated separation from Susette Gontard also worsened Hölderlin's doubts about himself and his value as a poet; he wished to transform German culture but did not have the influence he needed. From 1797 to 1800, he produced three versions—all unfinished—of a tragedy in the Greek manner, The Death of Empedocles, and composed odes in the vein of the Ancient Greeks Alcaeus and Asclepiades of Samos. Mental breakdown In the late 1790s, Hölderlin was diagnosed with schizophrenia, then referred to as "hypochondrias", a condition that would worsen after his last meeting with Susette Gontard in 1800. After a sojourn in Stuttgart at the end of 1800, likely to work on his translations of Pindar, he found further employment as a tutor in Hauptwyl, Switzerland and then at the household of the Hamburg consul in Bordeaux, in 1802. His stay in the French city is celebrated in Andenken ("Remembrance"), one of his greatest poems. In a few months, however, he returned home on foot via Paris (where he saw authentic Greek sculptures, as opposed to Roman or modern copies, for the only time in his life). He arrived at his home in Nürtingen both physically and mentally exhausted in late 1802, and learned that Susette Gontard had died from influenza in Frankfurt at around the same time. At his home in Nürtingen with his mother, a devout Christian, Hölderlin melded his Hellenism with Christianity and sought to unite ancient values with modern life; in Hölderlin's elegy Brod und Wein ("Bread and Wine"), Christ is seen as sequential to the Greek gods, bringing bread from the earth and wine from Dionysus. After two years in Nürtingen, Hölderlin was taken to the court of Homburg by Isaac von Sinclair, who found a sinecure for him as court librarian, but in 1805 von Sinclair was denounced as a conspirator and tried for treason. Hölderlin was in danger of being tried too but was declared mentally unfit to stand trial. On 11 September 1806, Hölderlin was delivered into the clinic at Tübingen run by Dr. Johann Heinrich Ferdinand von Autenrieth, the inventor of a mask for the prevention of screaming in the mentally ill. The clinic was attached to the University of Tübingen and the poet Justinus Kerner, then a student of medicine, was assigned to look after Hölderlin. The following year Hölderlin was discharged as incurable and given three years to live, but was taken in by the carpenter Ernst Zimmer (a cultured man, who had read Hyperion) and given a room in his house in Tübingen, which had been a tower in the old city wall with a view across the Neckar river. The tower would later be named the Hölderlinturm, after the poet's 36-year-long stay in the room. His residence in the building made up the second half of his life and is also referred to as the Turmzeit (or "Tower period"). Later life and death In the tower, Hölderlin continued to write poetry of a simplicity and formality quite unlike what he had been writing up to 1805. As time went on he became a minor tourist attraction and was visited by curious travelers and autograph-hunters. Often he would play the piano or spontaneously write short verses for such visitors, pure in versification but almost empty of affect—although a few of these (such as the famous Die Linien des Lebens ("The Lines of Life"), which he wrote out for his carer Zimmer on a piece of wood) have a piercing beauty and have been set to music by many composers. Hölderlin's own family did not financially support him but petitioned successfully for his upkeep to be paid by the state. His mother and sister never visited him, and his stepbrother did so only once. His mother died in 1828: his sister and stepbrother quarreled over the inheritance, arguing that too large a share had been allotted to Hölderlin, and unsuccessfully tried to have the will overturned in court. Neither of them attended his funeral in 1843 nor did his childhood friends, Hegel (as he had died roughly a decade prior) and Schelling, who had long since ignored him; the Zimmer family were his only mourners. His inheritance, including the patrimony left to him by his father when he was two, had been kept from him by his mother and was untouched and continually accruing interest. He died a rich man, but did not know it. Works The poetry of Hölderlin, widely recognized today as one of the highest points of German literature, was little known or understood during his lifetime, and slipped into obscurity shortly after his death; his illness and reclusion made him fade from his contemporaries' consciousness—and, even though selections of his work were published by his friends during his lifetime, it was largely ignored for the rest of the 19th century. Like Goethe and Schiller, his older contemporaries, Hölderlin was a fervent admirer of ancient Greek culture, but for him the Greek gods were not the plaster figures of conventional classicism, but wonderfully life-giving actual presences, yet at the same time terrifying. Much later, Friedrich Nietzsche would recognize Hölderlin as the poet who first acknowledged the Orphic and Dionysian Greece of the mysteries, which he would fuse with the Pietism of his native Swabia in a highly original religious experience. Hölderlin developed an early idea of cyclical history and therefore believed political radicalism and an aesthetic interest in antiquity, and, in parallel, Christianity and Paganism should be fused. He understood and sympathised with the Greek idea of the tragic fall, which he expressed movingly in the last stanza of his "Hyperions Schicksalslied" ("Hyperion's Song of Destiny"). In the great poems of his maturity, Hölderlin would generally adopt a large-scale, expansive and unrhymed style. Together with these long hymns, odes and elegies—which included "Der Archipelagus" ("The Archipelago"), "Brod und Wein" ("Bread and Wine") and "Patmos"—he also cultivated a crisper, more concise manner in epigrams and couplets, and in short poems like the famous "Hälfte des Lebens" ("The Middle of Life"). In the years after his return from Bordeaux, he completed some of his greatest poems but also, once they were finished, returned to them repeatedly, creating new and stranger versions sometimes in several layers on the same manuscript, which makes the editing of his works troublesome. Some of these later versions (and some later poems) are fragmentary, but they have astonishing intensity. He seems sometimes also to have considered the fragments, even with unfinished lines and incomplete sentence-structure, to be poems in themselves. This obsessive revising and his stand-alone fragments were once considered evidence of his mental disorder, but they were to prove very influential on later poets such as Paul Celan. In his years of madness, Hölderlin would occasionally pencil ingenuous rhymed quatrains, sometimes of a childlike beauty, which he would sign with fantastic names (most often "Scardanelli") and give fictitious dates from previous or future centuries. Dissemination and influence Hölderlin's major publication in his lifetime was his novel Hyperion, which was issued in two volumes (1797 and 1799). Various individual poems were published but attracted little attention. In 1799 he produced a periodical, Iduna. In 1804, his translations of the dramas of Sophocles were published but were generally met with derision over their apparent artificiality and difficulty, which according to his critics were caused by transposing Greek idioms into German. However, 20th-century theorists of translation such as Walter Benjamin have vindicated them, showing their importance as a new—and greatly influential—model of poetic translation. Der Rhein and Patmos, two of the longest and most densely charged of his hymns, appeared in a poetic calendar in 1808. Wilhelm Waiblinger, who visited Hölderlin in his tower repeatedly in 1822–23 and depicted him in the protagonist of his novel Phaëthon, stated the necessity of issuing an edition of his poems, and the first collection of his poetry was released by Ludwig Uhland and Christoph Theodor Schwab in 1826. However, Uhland and Schwab omitted anything they suspected might be "touched by insanity", which included much of Hölderlin's fragmented works. A copy of this collection was given to Hölderlin, but later was stolen by an autograph-hunter. A second, enlarged edition with a biographical essay appeared in 1842, the year before Hölderlin's death. Only in 1913 did Norbert von Hellingrath, a member of the literary Circle led by the German Symbolist poet Stefan George, publish the first two volumes of what eventually became a six-volume edition of Hölderlin's poems, prose and letters (the "Berlin Edition", Berliner Ausgabe). For the first time, Hölderlin's hymnic drafts and fragments were published and it became possible to gain some overview of his work in the years between 1800 and 1807, which had been only sparsely covered in earlier editions. The Berlin edition and von Hellingrath's advocacy led to Hölderlin posthumously receiving the recognition that had always eluded him in life. As a result, Hölderlin has been recognized since 1913 as one of the greatest poets ever to write in the German language. Norbert von Hellingrath enlisted in the Imperial German Army at the outbreak of World War I and was killed in action at the Battle of Verdun in 1916. The fourth volume of the Berlin edition was published posthumously. The Berlin Edition was completed after the German Revolution of 1918 by Friedrich Seebass and Ludwig von Pigenot; the remaining volumes appeared in Berlin between 1922 and 1923. Already in 1912, before the Berlin Edition began to appear, Rainer Maria Rilke composed his first two Duino Elegies whose form and spirit draw strongly on the hymns and elegies of Hölderlin. Rilke had met von Hellingrath a few years earlier and had seen some of the hymn drafts, and the Duino Elegies heralded the beginning of a new appreciation of Hölderlin's late work. Although his hymns can hardly be imitated, they have become a powerful influence on modern poetry in German and other languages, and are sometimes cited as the very crown of German lyric poetry. The Berlin Edition was to some extent superseded by the Stuttgart Edition (Grosse Stuttgarter Ausgabe), which began to be published in 1943 and eventually saw completion in 1986. This undertaking was much more rigorous in textual criticism than the Berlin Edition and solved many issues of interpretation raised by Hölderlin's unfinished and undated texts (sometimes several versions of the same poem with major differences). Meanwhile, a third complete edition, the Frankfurt Critical Edition (Frankfurter Historisch-kritische Ausgabe), began publication in 1975 under the editorship of Dietrich Sattler. Though Hölderlin's hymnic style—dependent as it is on a genuine belief in the divine—creates a deeply personal fusion of Greek mythic figures and romantic mysticism about nature, which can appear both strange and enticing, his shorter and sometimes more fragmentary poems have exerted wide influence too on later German poets, from Georg Trakl onwards. He also had an influence on the poetry of Hermann Hesse and Paul Celan. (Celan wrote a poem about Hölderlin, called "Tübingen, January" which ends with the word Pallaksch—according to Schwab, Hölderlin's favourite neologism "which sometimes meant Yes, sometimes No".) Hölderlin was also a thinker who wrote, fragmentarily, on poetic theory and philosophical matters. His theoretical works, such as the essays "Das Werden im Vergehen" ("Becoming in Dissolution") and "Urteil und Sein" ("Judgement and Being") are insightful and important if somewhat tortuous and difficult to parse. They raise many of the key problems also addressed by his Tübingen roommates Hegel and Schelling, and, though his poetry was never "theory-driven", the interpretation and exegesis of some of his more difficult poems have given rise to profound philosophical speculation by thinkers such as Martin Heidegger, Theodor Adorno, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault and Alain Badiou. Music Hölderlin's poetry has inspired many composers, generating vocal music and instrumental music. Vocal music One of the earliest settings of Hölderlin's poetry is Schicksalslied by Johannes Brahms, based on Hyperions Schicksalslied. Other composers of Hölderlin settings include Ludwig van Beethoven (An die Hoffnung - Opus 32), Peter Cornelius, Hans Pfitzner, Richard Strauss (Drei Hymnen), Max Reger ("An die Hoffnung"), Alphons Diepenbrock (Die Nacht), Walter Braunfels ("Der Tod fürs Vaterland"), Richard Wetz (Hyperion), Josef Matthias Hauer, Hermann Reutter, Margarete Schweikert, Stefan Wolpe, Paul Hindemith, Benjamin Britten (Sechs Hölderlin-Fragmente), Hans Werner Henze, Bruno Maderna (Hyperion, Stele an Diotima), Luigi Nono (Prometeo), Heinz Holliger (the Scardanelli-Zyklus), Hans Zender (Hölderlin lesen I-IV), György Kurtág (who planned an opera on Hölderlin), György Ligeti (Three Fantasies after Friedrich Hölderlin), Hanns Eisler (Hollywood Liederbuch), Viktor Ullmann, Wolfgang von Schweinitz, Walter Zimmermann (Hyperion, an epistolary opera) and Wolfgang Rihm. Siegfried Matthus composed the orchestral song cycle Hyperion-Fragmente. Carl Orff used Hölderlin's German translations of Sophocles in his operas Antigone and Oedipus der Tyrann. Wilhelm Killmayer based three song cycles, Hölderlin-Lieder, for tenor and orchestra on Hölderlin's late poems; Kaija Saariaho's Tag des Jahrs for mixed choir and electronics is based on four of these poems. In 2003, Graham Waterhouse composed a song cycle, Sechs späteste Lieder, for voice and cello based on six of Hölderlin's late poems. Lucien Posman based a concerto-cantate for clarinet, choir, piano & percussion on 3 Hölderlin poems (Teil 1. Die Eichbäume, Teil 2. Mein Eigentum, Teil 3. Da ich ein Knabe war) (2015). He also set An die Parzen to music for choir & piano (2012) and Hälfte des Lebens for choir. Several works by Georg Friedrich Haas take their titles or text from Hölderlin's writing, including Hyperion, Nacht, and the solo ensemble "... Einklang freier Wesen ..." as well as its constituent solo pieces each named "... aus freier Lust ... verbunden ...". In 2020, as part of the German celebration of Hölderlin's 250th birthday, Chris Jarrett composed his "Sechs Hölderlin Lieder" for baritone and piano. Finnish melodic death metal band Insomnium set Hölderlin's verses to music in several of their songs, and many songs of Swedish alternative rock band ALPHA 60 also contain lyrical references to Hölderlin's poetry. Instrumental music Robert Schumann's late piano suite Gesänge der Frühe was inspired by Hölderlin, as was Luigi Nono's string quartet Fragmente-Stille, an Diotima and parts of his opera Prometeo. Josef Matthias Hauer wrote many piano pieces inspired by individual lines of Hölderlin's poems. Paul Hindemith's First Piano Sonata is influenced by Hölderlin's poem Der Main. Hans Werner Henze's Seventh Symphony is partly inspired by Hölderlin. Cinema A 1981–1982 television drama, Untertänigst Scardanelli (The Loyal Scardanelli), directed by Jonatan Briel in Berlin. The 1985 film Half of Life is named after a poem of Hölderlin and deals with the secret relationship between Hölderlin and Susette Gontard. In 1986 and 1988, Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub shot two films, Der Tod des Empedokles and Schwarze Sünde, in Sicily, which were both based on the drama Empedokles (respectively for the two films they used the first and third version of the text). German director Harald Bergmann has dedicated several works to Hölderlin; these include the movies Lyrische Suite/Das untergehende Vaterland (1992), Hölderlin Comics (1994), Scardanelli (2000) and Passion Hölderlin (2003). A 2004 film, The Ister, is based on Martin Heidegger's 1942 lecture course (published as Hölderlin's Hymn "The Ister"). English translations Some Poems of Friedrich Holderlin. Trans. Frederic Prokosch. (Norfolk, CT: New Directions, 1943). Alcaic Poems. Trans. Elizabeth Henderson. (London: Wolf, 1962; New York: Unger, 1963). Friedrich Hölderlin: Poems & Fragments. Trans. Michael Hamburger. (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966; 4ed. London: Anvil Press, 2004). Friedrich Hölderlin, Eduard Mörike: Selected Poems. Trans. Christopher Middleton (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1972). Poems of Friedrich Holderlin: The Fire of the Gods Drives Us to Set Forth by Day and by Night. Trans. James Mitchell. (San Francisco: Hoddypodge, 1978; 2ed San Francisco: Ithuriel's Spear, 2004). Hymns and Fragments. Trans. Richard Sieburth. (Princeton: Princeton University, 1984). Friedrich Hölderlin: Essays and Letters on Theory. Trans. Thomas Pfau. (Albany, NY: State University of New York, 1988). Hyperion and Selected Poems. The German Library vol.22. Ed. Eric L. Santner. Trans. C. Middleton, R. Sieburth, M. Hamburger. (New York: Continuum, 1990). Friedrich Hölderlin: Selected Poems. Trans. David Constantine. (Newcastle upon Tyne: Bloodaxe, 1990; 2ed 1996) Friedrich Hölderlin: Selected Poems and Fragments. Ed. Jeremy Adler. Trans. Michael Hamburger. (London: Penguin, 1996). What I Own: Versions of Hölderlin and Mandelshtam. Trans. John Riley and Tim Longville. (Manchester: Carcanet, 1998). Holderlin's Sophocles: Oedipus and Antigone. Trans. David Constantine. (Newcastle upon Tyne: Bloodaxe, 2001). Odes and Elegies. Trans. Nick Hoff. (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan Press, 2008). Hyperion. Trans. Ross Benjamin. (Brooklyn, NY: Archipelago Books, 2008) Selected Poems of Friedrich Hölderlin. Trans. Maxine Chernoff and Paul Hoover. (Richmond, CA: Omnidawn, 2008). Essays and Letters. Trans. Jeremy Adler and Charlie Louth. (London: Penguin, 2009). The Death of Empedocles: A Mourning-Play. Trans. David Farrell Krell. (Albany, NY: State University of New York, 2009). Selected Poems. Trans. Emery George (Kylix Press, 2011) Poems at the Window / Poèmes à la Fenêtre, Hölderlin's late contemplative poems, English and French rhymed and metered translations by Claude Neuman, trilingual German-English-French edition, Editions www.ressouvenances.fr, 2017 Aeolic Odes / Odes éoliennes, English and French metered translations by Claude Neuman, trilingual German-English-French edition, Editions www.ressouvenances.fr, 2019 ; bilingual German-English edition : Edwin Mellen Press, 2022 The Elegies / Les Elegies, English and French metered translations by Claude Neuman, trilingual German-English-French edition, Editions www.ressouvenances.fr, 2020 ; bilingual German-English edition : Edwin Mellen Press, 2022 Bibliography Internationale Hölderlin-Bibliographie (IHB). Hrsg. vom Hölderlin-Archiv der Württembergischen Landesbibliothek Stuttgart. 1804–1983. Bearb. Von Maria Kohler. Stuttgart 1985. Internationale Hölderlin-Bibliographie (IHB). Hrsg. vom Hölderlin-Archiv der Württembergischen Landesbibliothek Stuttgart. Bearb. Von Werner Paul Sohnle und Marianne Schütz, online 1984 ff (after 1 January 2001: IHB online). Homepage of Hölderlin-Archiv See also The Oldest Systematic Program of German Idealism References Further reading Theodor W. Adorno, "Parataxis: On Hölderlin's Late Poetry." In Notes to Literature, Volume II. Ed. Rolf Tiedemann. Trans. Shierry Weber Nicholson. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992. pp. 109–149. Francesco Alfieri, "Il Parmenide e lo Hölderlin di Heidegger. L'"altro inizio" come alternativa al dominio della soggettività", in Aquinas 60 (2017), pp. 151–163. David Constantine, Hölderlin. Oxford: Clarendon Press 1988, corrected 1990. . Aris Fioretos (ed.) The Solid Letter: Readings of Friedrich Hölderlin. Stanford: Stanford University, 1999. . Annemarie Gethmann-Siefert, "Heidegger and Hölderlin: The Over-Usage of "Poets in an Impoverished Time"", Heidegger Studies (1990). pp. 59–88. Jennifer Anna Gosetti-Ferencei, Heidegger, Hölderlin, and the Subject of Poetic Language. New York: Fordham University, 2004. . Dieter Henrich, Der Gang des Andenkens: Beobachtungen und Gedanken zu Hölderlins Gedicht. Stuttgart: Cotta, 1986; The Course of Remembrance and Other Essays on Hölderlin. Ed. Eckart Förster. Stanford: Stanford University, 1997. . Martin Heidegger, Erläuterungen zu Hölderlins Dichtung. Frankfurt am Main: Klostermann, 1944; Elucidations of Hölderlin's Poetry. Trans. Keith Hoeller. Amherst, NY: Humanity Books, 2000. Martin Heidegger, Hölderlins Hymne "Der Ister". Frankfurt am Main: Klostermann, 1984; Hölderlin's Hymn "The Ister". Trans. William McNeill and Julia Davis. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University, 1996. – a chapter devoted to analyzing Hölderlin's relationship to German idealism and his views on magic, myth, and Paganism. David Michael Kleinberg-Levin, Gestures of Ethical Life: Reading Hölderlin's Question of Measure After Heidegger. Stanford: Stanford University, 2005. . Jean Laplanche, Hölderlin and the Question of the Father (fr: Hölderlin et la question du père, 1961), Translation: Luke Carson, Victoria, BC: ELS Editions, 2007. . Gert Lernout, The poet as thinker: Hölderlin in France. Columbia: Camden House, 1994. James Luchte, Mortal Thought: Hölderlin and Philosophy. New York & London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016. Paul de Man, "Heidegger's Exegeses of Hölderlin." Blindness and Insight. 2nd Ed. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1983, pp. 246–266. Andrzej Warminski, Readings in Interpretation: Hölderlin, Hegel, Heidegger.'' Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1987. External links Hölderlin-Archiv Hölderlin Gesellschaft (in German, links to English, French, Spanish, and Italian) Poems of Friedrich Hölderlin – English translations Poems by Friedrich Hölderlin – English translations Selective list of Hölderlin's poems in German, with linked texts – contains most of his major finished poems up to 1804, but not complete Friedrich Hölderlin, Homburger Folioheft. Diachrone Darstellung – Hölderlin's most important manuscript as online-edition, presented by Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart and A und A Kulturstiftung, Cologne (in German) Category:1770 births Category:1843 deaths Category:People from Lauffen am Neckar Category:People from the Duchy of Württemberg Category:People with schizophrenia Category:18th-century German novelists Category:19th-century German novelists Category:German-language poets Category:German male dramatists and playwrights Category:Writers from Baden-Württemberg Category:18th-century German dramatists and playwrights Category:19th-century German dramatists and playwrights Category:19th-century German male writers Category:German male novelists Category:German male poets Category:Romantic poets Category:19th-century German philosophers

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Friedrich Hölderlin

Johann Christian Friedrich Holderlin (German: ['jo:han 'kRIsti.a:n 'fRi:

Education

Holderlin began his education in 1776, and his mother planned for him to join the Lutheran church. In preparation for entrance exams into a monastery, he received additional instruction in Greek, Hebrew, Latin and rhetoric, starting in 1782. During this time, he struck a friendship with Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, who was five years Holderlin's junior. On account of the age difference, Schelling was "subjected to universal teasing" and Holderlin protected him from abuse by older students. Also during this time, Holderlin began playing the piano and developed an interest in travel literature through exposure to Georg Forster's A Voyage Round the World. In 1784, Holderlin entered the Lower Monastery in Denkendorf and started his formal training for entry into the Lutheran ministry. At Denkendotf, he discovered the poetry of Friedrich Schiller and Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, and took tentative steps in composing his own verses. The earliest known letter of Holderlin's is dated 1784 and addressed to his former tutor Nathanael Kostlin. In the letter, Holderlin hinted at his wavering faith in Christianity and anxiety about his mental state. Holderlin progressed to the Higher Monastery at Maulbronn in 1786. There he fell in love with Luise Nast, the daughter of the monastery's administrator, and began to doubt his desire to join the ministry; he composed Mein Vorsatz in 1787, in which he states his intention to attain "Pindar's light" and reach "Klopstock-heights". In 1788, he read Schiller's Don Carlos on Luise Nast's recommendation. Holderlin later wrote a letter to Schiller regarding Don Carlos, stating: "It won't be easy to study Carlos in a rational way, since he was for so many years the magic cloud in which the good god of my youth enveloped me so that I would not see too soon the pettiness and barbarity of the world." In October 1788, Holderlin began his theological studies at the Tubinger Stift, where his fellow students included Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Isaac von Sinclair and Schelling. It has been speculated that it was Holderlin who, during their time in Tubingen, brought to Hegel's attention the ideas of Heraclitus regarding the unity of opposites, which Hegel would later develop into his concept of dialectics. In 1789, Holderlin broke off his engagement with Luise Nast, writing to her: "I wish you happiness if you choose one more worthy than me, and then surely you will understand that you could never have been happy with your morose, ill-humoured, and sickly friend," and expressed his desire to transfer out and study law but succumbed to pressure from his mother to remain in the Stift. During his time in the Stift, Holderlin was an enthusiastic supporter of the French Revolution; he and some colleagues from a "republican club" planted a "Tree of Freedom" in the Tubingen market square, prompting Charles Eugene, the Duke of Wurttemberg himself, to admonish the students at the seminary. CANNOTANSWER

Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticism. Particularly due to his early association with and philosophical influence on Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, he was also an important thinker in the development of German Idealism. Born in Lauffen am Neckar, Hölderlin had a childhood marked by bereavement. His mother intended for him to enter the Lutheran ministry, and he attended the Tübinger Stift, where he was friends with Hegel and Schelling. He graduated in 1793 but could not devote himself to the Christian faith, instead becoming a tutor. Two years later, he briefly attended the University of Jena, where he interacted with Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Novalis, before resuming his career as a tutor. He struggled to establish himself as a poet, and was plagued by mental illness. He was sent to a clinic in 1806 but deemed incurable and instead given lodging by a carpenter, Ernst Zimmer. He spent the final 36 years of his life in Zimmer's residence, and died in 1843 at the age of 73. Hölderlin followed the tradition of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller as an admirer of Greek mythology and Ancient Greek poets such as Pindar and Sophocles, and melded Christian and Hellenic themes in his works. Martin Heidegger, upon whom Hölderlin had a great influence, said: "Hölderlin is one of our greatest, that is, most impending thinkers because he is our greatest poet." Biography Early life Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin was born on 20 March 1770 in Lauffen am Neckar, then a part of the Duchy of Württemberg. He was the first child of Johanna Christiana Heyn and Heinrich Friedrich Hölderlin. His father, the manager of a church estate, died when he was two years old, and Friedrich and his sister, Heinrike, were brought up by their mother. In 1774, his mother moved the family to Nürtingen when she married Johann Christoph Gok. Two years later, Johann Gok became the burgomaster of Nürtingen, and Hölderlin's half-brother, Karl Christoph Friedrich Gok, was born. In 1779, Johann Gok died at the age of 30. Hölderlin later expressed how his childhood was scarred by grief and sorrow, writing in a 1799 correspondence with his mother: Education Hölderlin began his education in 1776, and his mother planned for him to join the Lutheran church. In preparation for entrance exams into a monastery, he received additional instruction in Greek, Hebrew, Latin and rhetoric, starting in 1782. During this time, he struck a friendship with Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, who was five years Hölderlin's junior. On account of the age difference, Schelling was "subjected to universal teasing" and Hölderlin protected him from abuse by older students. Also during this time, Hölderlin began playing the piano and developed an interest in travel literature through exposure to Georg Forster's A Voyage Round the World. In 1784, Hölderlin entered the Lower Monastery in Denkendorf and started his formal training for entry into the Lutheran ministry. At Denkendorf, he discovered the poetry of Friedrich Schiller and Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, and took tentative steps in composing his own verses. The earliest known letter of Hölderlin's is dated 1784 and addressed to his former tutor Nathanael Köstlin. In the letter, Hölderlin hinted at his wavering faith in Christianity and anxiety about his mental state. Hölderlin progressed to the Higher Monastery at Maulbronn in 1786. There he fell in love with Luise Nast, the daughter of the monastery's administrator, and began to doubt his desire to join the ministry; he composed Mein Vorsatz in 1787, in which he states his intention to attain "Pindar's light" and reach "Klopstock-heights". In 1788, he read Schiller's Don Carlos on Luise Nast's recommendation. Hölderlin later wrote a letter to Schiller regarding Don Carlos, stating: "It won't be easy to study Carlos in a rational way, since he was for so many years the magic cloud in which the good god of my youth enveloped me so that I would not see too soon the pettiness and barbarity of the world." In October 1788, Hölderlin began his theological studies at the Tübinger Stift, where his fellow students included Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Isaac von Sinclair and Schelling. It has been speculated that it was Hölderlin who, during their time in Tübingen, brought to Hegel's attention the ideas of Heraclitus regarding the unity of opposites, which Hegel would later develop into his concept of dialectics. In 1789, Hölderlin broke off his engagement with Luise Nast, writing to her: "I wish you happiness if you choose one more worthy than me, and then surely you will understand that you could never have been happy with your morose, ill-humoured, and sickly friend," and expressed his desire to transfer out and study law but succumbed to pressure from his mother to remain in the Stift. Along with Hegel and Schelling and his other peers during his time in the Stift, Hölderlin was an enthusiastic supporter of the French Revolution. Although he rejected the violence of the Reign of Terror, his commitment to the principles of 1789 remained intense. Hölderlin's republican sympathies influenced many of his most famous works such as Hyperion and The Death of Empedocles. Career After he obtained his magister degree in 1793, his mother expected him to enter the ministry. However, Hölderlin found no satisfaction in the prevailing Protestant theology, and worked instead as a private tutor. In 1794, he met Friedrich Schiller and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and began writing his epistolary novel Hyperion. In 1795 he enrolled for a while at the University of Jena where he attended Johann Gottlieb Fichte's classes and met Novalis. There is a seminal manuscript, dated 1797, now known as the Das älteste Systemprogramm des deutschen Idealismus ("The Oldest Systematic Program of German Idealism"). Although the document is in Hegel's handwriting, it is thought to have been written by Hegel, Schelling, Hölderlin, or an unknown fourth person. As a tutor in Frankfurt am Main from 1796 to 1798, he fell in love with Susette Gontard, the wife of his employer, the banker Jakob Gontard. The feeling was mutual, and this relationship became the most important in Hölderlin's life. After a while, their affair was discovered, and Hölderlin was harshly dismissed. He then lived in Homburg from 1798 to 1800, meeting Susette in secret once a month and attempting to establish himself as a poet, but his life was plagued by financial worries and he had to accept a small allowance from his mother. His mandated separation from Susette Gontard also worsened Hölderlin's doubts about himself and his value as a poet; he wished to transform German culture but did not have the influence he needed. From 1797 to 1800, he produced three versions—all unfinished—of a tragedy in the Greek manner, The Death of Empedocles, and composed odes in the vein of the Ancient Greeks Alcaeus and Asclepiades of Samos. Mental breakdown In the late 1790s, Hölderlin was diagnosed with schizophrenia, then referred to as "hypochondrias", a condition that would worsen after his last meeting with Susette Gontard in 1800. After a sojourn in Stuttgart at the end of 1800, likely to work on his translations of Pindar, he found further employment as a tutor in Hauptwyl, Switzerland and then at the household of the Hamburg consul in Bordeaux, in 1802. His stay in the French city is celebrated in Andenken ("Remembrance"), one of his greatest poems. In a few months, however, he returned home on foot via Paris (where he saw authentic Greek sculptures, as opposed to Roman or modern copies, for the only time in his life). He arrived at his home in Nürtingen both physically and mentally exhausted in late 1802, and learned that Susette Gontard had died from influenza in Frankfurt at around the same time. At his home in Nürtingen with his mother, a devout Christian, Hölderlin melded his Hellenism with Christianity and sought to unite ancient values with modern life; in Hölderlin's elegy Brod und Wein ("Bread and Wine"), Christ is seen as sequential to the Greek gods, bringing bread from the earth and wine from Dionysus. After two years in Nürtingen, Hölderlin was taken to the court of Homburg by Isaac von Sinclair, who found a sinecure for him as court librarian, but in 1805 von Sinclair was denounced as a conspirator and tried for treason. Hölderlin was in danger of being tried too but was declared mentally unfit to stand trial. On 11 September 1806, Hölderlin was delivered into the clinic at Tübingen run by Dr. Johann Heinrich Ferdinand von Autenrieth, the inventor of a mask for the prevention of screaming in the mentally ill. The clinic was attached to the University of Tübingen and the poet Justinus Kerner, then a student of medicine, was assigned to look after Hölderlin. The following year Hölderlin was discharged as incurable and given three years to live, but was taken in by the carpenter Ernst Zimmer (a cultured man, who had read Hyperion) and given a room in his house in Tübingen, which had been a tower in the old city wall with a view across the Neckar river. The tower would later be named the Hölderlinturm, after the poet's 36-year-long stay in the room. His residence in the building made up the second half of his life and is also referred to as the Turmzeit (or "Tower period"). Later life and death In the tower, Hölderlin continued to write poetry of a simplicity and formality quite unlike what he had been writing up to 1805. As time went on he became a minor tourist attraction and was visited by curious travelers and autograph-hunters. Often he would play the piano or spontaneously write short verses for such visitors, pure in versification but almost empty of affect—although a few of these (such as the famous Die Linien des Lebens ("The Lines of Life"), which he wrote out for his carer Zimmer on a piece of wood) have a piercing beauty and have been set to music by many composers. Hölderlin's own family did not financially support him but petitioned successfully for his upkeep to be paid by the state. His mother and sister never visited him, and his stepbrother did so only once. His mother died in 1828: his sister and stepbrother quarreled over the inheritance, arguing that too large a share had been allotted to Hölderlin, and unsuccessfully tried to have the will overturned in court. Neither of them attended his funeral in 1843 nor did his childhood friends, Hegel (as he had died roughly a decade prior) and Schelling, who had long since ignored him; the Zimmer family were his only mourners. His inheritance, including the patrimony left to him by his father when he was two, had been kept from him by his mother and was untouched and continually accruing interest. He died a rich man, but did not know it. Works The poetry of Hölderlin, widely recognized today as one of the highest points of German literature, was little known or understood during his lifetime, and slipped into obscurity shortly after his death; his illness and reclusion made him fade from his contemporaries' consciousness—and, even though selections of his work were published by his friends during his lifetime, it was largely ignored for the rest of the 19th century. Like Goethe and Schiller, his older contemporaries, Hölderlin was a fervent admirer of ancient Greek culture, but for him the Greek gods were not the plaster figures of conventional classicism, but wonderfully life-giving actual presences, yet at the same time terrifying. Much later, Friedrich Nietzsche would recognize Hölderlin as the poet who first acknowledged the Orphic and Dionysian Greece of the mysteries, which he would fuse with the Pietism of his native Swabia in a highly original religious experience. Hölderlin developed an early idea of cyclical history and therefore believed political radicalism and an aesthetic interest in antiquity, and, in parallel, Christianity and Paganism should be fused. He understood and sympathised with the Greek idea of the tragic fall, which he expressed movingly in the last stanza of his "Hyperions Schicksalslied" ("Hyperion's Song of Destiny"). In the great poems of his maturity, Hölderlin would generally adopt a large-scale, expansive and unrhymed style. Together with these long hymns, odes and elegies—which included "Der Archipelagus" ("The Archipelago"), "Brod und Wein" ("Bread and Wine") and "Patmos"—he also cultivated a crisper, more concise manner in epigrams and couplets, and in short poems like the famous "Hälfte des Lebens" ("The Middle of Life"). In the years after his return from Bordeaux, he completed some of his greatest poems but also, once they were finished, returned to them repeatedly, creating new and stranger versions sometimes in several layers on the same manuscript, which makes the editing of his works troublesome. Some of these later versions (and some later poems) are fragmentary, but they have astonishing intensity. He seems sometimes also to have considered the fragments, even with unfinished lines and incomplete sentence-structure, to be poems in themselves. This obsessive revising and his stand-alone fragments were once considered evidence of his mental disorder, but they were to prove very influential on later poets such as Paul Celan. In his years of madness, Hölderlin would occasionally pencil ingenuous rhymed quatrains, sometimes of a childlike beauty, which he would sign with fantastic names (most often "Scardanelli") and give fictitious dates from previous or future centuries. Dissemination and influence Hölderlin's major publication in his lifetime was his novel Hyperion, which was issued in two volumes (1797 and 1799). Various individual poems were published but attracted little attention. In 1799 he produced a periodical, Iduna. In 1804, his translations of the dramas of Sophocles were published but were generally met with derision over their apparent artificiality and difficulty, which according to his critics were caused by transposing Greek idioms into German. However, 20th-century theorists of translation such as Walter Benjamin have vindicated them, showing their importance as a new—and greatly influential—model of poetic translation. Der Rhein and Patmos, two of the longest and most densely charged of his hymns, appeared in a poetic calendar in 1808. Wilhelm Waiblinger, who visited Hölderlin in his tower repeatedly in 1822–23 and depicted him in the protagonist of his novel Phaëthon, stated the necessity of issuing an edition of his poems, and the first collection of his poetry was released by Ludwig Uhland and Christoph Theodor Schwab in 1826. However, Uhland and Schwab omitted anything they suspected might be "touched by insanity", which included much of Hölderlin's fragmented works. A copy of this collection was given to Hölderlin, but later was stolen by an autograph-hunter. A second, enlarged edition with a biographical essay appeared in 1842, the year before Hölderlin's death. Only in 1913 did Norbert von Hellingrath, a member of the literary Circle led by the German Symbolist poet Stefan George, publish the first two volumes of what eventually became a six-volume edition of Hölderlin's poems, prose and letters (the "Berlin Edition", Berliner Ausgabe). For the first time, Hölderlin's hymnic drafts and fragments were published and it became possible to gain some overview of his work in the years between 1800 and 1807, which had been only sparsely covered in earlier editions. The Berlin edition and von Hellingrath's advocacy led to Hölderlin posthumously receiving the recognition that had always eluded him in life. As a result, Hölderlin has been recognized since 1913 as one of the greatest poets ever to write in the German language. Norbert von Hellingrath enlisted in the Imperial German Army at the outbreak of World War I and was killed in action at the Battle of Verdun in 1916. The fourth volume of the Berlin edition was published posthumously. The Berlin Edition was completed after the German Revolution of 1918 by Friedrich Seebass and Ludwig von Pigenot; the remaining volumes appeared in Berlin between 1922 and 1923. Already in 1912, before the Berlin Edition began to appear, Rainer Maria Rilke composed his first two Duino Elegies whose form and spirit draw strongly on the hymns and elegies of Hölderlin. Rilke had met von Hellingrath a few years earlier and had seen some of the hymn drafts, and the Duino Elegies heralded the beginning of a new appreciation of Hölderlin's late work. Although his hymns can hardly be imitated, they have become a powerful influence on modern poetry in German and other languages, and are sometimes cited as the very crown of German lyric poetry. The Berlin Edition was to some extent superseded by the Stuttgart Edition (Grosse Stuttgarter Ausgabe), which began to be published in 1943 and eventually saw completion in 1986. This undertaking was much more rigorous in textual criticism than the Berlin Edition and solved many issues of interpretation raised by Hölderlin's unfinished and undated texts (sometimes several versions of the same poem with major differences). Meanwhile, a third complete edition, the Frankfurt Critical Edition (Frankfurter Historisch-kritische Ausgabe), began publication in 1975 under the editorship of Dietrich Sattler. Though Hölderlin's hymnic style—dependent as it is on a genuine belief in the divine—creates a deeply personal fusion of Greek mythic figures and romantic mysticism about nature, which can appear both strange and enticing, his shorter and sometimes more fragmentary poems have exerted wide influence too on later German poets, from Georg Trakl onwards. He also had an influence on the poetry of Hermann Hesse and Paul Celan. (Celan wrote a poem about Hölderlin, called "Tübingen, January" which ends with the word Pallaksch—according to Schwab, Hölderlin's favourite neologism "which sometimes meant Yes, sometimes No".) Hölderlin was also a thinker who wrote, fragmentarily, on poetic theory and philosophical matters. His theoretical works, such as the essays "Das Werden im Vergehen" ("Becoming in Dissolution") and "Urteil und Sein" ("Judgement and Being") are insightful and important if somewhat tortuous and difficult to parse. They raise many of the key problems also addressed by his Tübingen roommates Hegel and Schelling, and, though his poetry was never "theory-driven", the interpretation and exegesis of some of his more difficult poems have given rise to profound philosophical speculation by thinkers such as Martin Heidegger, Theodor Adorno, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault and Alain Badiou. Music Hölderlin's poetry has inspired many composers, generating vocal music and instrumental music. Vocal music One of the earliest settings of Hölderlin's poetry is Schicksalslied by Johannes Brahms, based on Hyperions Schicksalslied. Other composers of Hölderlin settings include Ludwig van Beethoven (An die Hoffnung - Opus 32), Peter Cornelius, Hans Pfitzner, Richard Strauss (Drei Hymnen), Max Reger ("An die Hoffnung"), Alphons Diepenbrock (Die Nacht), Walter Braunfels ("Der Tod fürs Vaterland"), Richard Wetz (Hyperion), Josef Matthias Hauer, Hermann Reutter, Margarete Schweikert, Stefan Wolpe, Paul Hindemith, Benjamin Britten (Sechs Hölderlin-Fragmente), Hans Werner Henze, Bruno Maderna (Hyperion, Stele an Diotima), Luigi Nono (Prometeo), Heinz Holliger (the Scardanelli-Zyklus), Hans Zender (Hölderlin lesen I-IV), György Kurtág (who planned an opera on Hölderlin), György Ligeti (Three Fantasies after Friedrich Hölderlin), Hanns Eisler (Hollywood Liederbuch), Viktor Ullmann, Wolfgang von Schweinitz, Walter Zimmermann (Hyperion, an epistolary opera) and Wolfgang Rihm. Siegfried Matthus composed the orchestral song cycle Hyperion-Fragmente. Carl Orff used Hölderlin's German translations of Sophocles in his operas Antigone and Oedipus der Tyrann. Wilhelm Killmayer based three song cycles, Hölderlin-Lieder, for tenor and orchestra on Hölderlin's late poems; Kaija Saariaho's Tag des Jahrs for mixed choir and electronics is based on four of these poems. In 2003, Graham Waterhouse composed a song cycle, Sechs späteste Lieder, for voice and cello based on six of Hölderlin's late poems. Lucien Posman based a concerto-cantate for clarinet, choir, piano & percussion on 3 Hölderlin poems (Teil 1. Die Eichbäume, Teil 2. Mein Eigentum, Teil 3. Da ich ein Knabe war) (2015). He also set An die Parzen to music for choir & piano (2012) and Hälfte des Lebens for choir. Several works by Georg Friedrich Haas take their titles or text from Hölderlin's writing, including Hyperion, Nacht, and the solo ensemble "... Einklang freier Wesen ..." as well as its constituent solo pieces each named "... aus freier Lust ... verbunden ...". In 2020, as part of the German celebration of Hölderlin's 250th birthday, Chris Jarrett composed his "Sechs Hölderlin Lieder" for baritone and piano. Finnish melodic death metal band Insomnium set Hölderlin's verses to music in several of their songs, and many songs of Swedish alternative rock band ALPHA 60 also contain lyrical references to Hölderlin's poetry. Instrumental music Robert Schumann's late piano suite Gesänge der Frühe was inspired by Hölderlin, as was Luigi Nono's string quartet Fragmente-Stille, an Diotima and parts of his opera Prometeo. Josef Matthias Hauer wrote many piano pieces inspired by individual lines of Hölderlin's poems. Paul Hindemith's First Piano Sonata is influenced by Hölderlin's poem Der Main. Hans Werner Henze's Seventh Symphony is partly inspired by Hölderlin. Cinema A 1981–1982 television drama, Untertänigst Scardanelli (The Loyal Scardanelli), directed by Jonatan Briel in Berlin. The 1985 film Half of Life is named after a poem of Hölderlin and deals with the secret relationship between Hölderlin and Susette Gontard. In 1986 and 1988, Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub shot two films, Der Tod des Empedokles and Schwarze Sünde, in Sicily, which were both based on the drama Empedokles (respectively for the two films they used the first and third version of the text). German director Harald Bergmann has dedicated several works to Hölderlin; these include the movies Lyrische Suite/Das untergehende Vaterland (1992), Hölderlin Comics (1994), Scardanelli (2000) and Passion Hölderlin (2003). A 2004 film, The Ister, is based on Martin Heidegger's 1942 lecture course (published as Hölderlin's Hymn "The Ister"). English translations Some Poems of Friedrich Holderlin. Trans. Frederic Prokosch. (Norfolk, CT: New Directions, 1943). Alcaic Poems. Trans. Elizabeth Henderson. (London: Wolf, 1962; New York: Unger, 1963). Friedrich Hölderlin: Poems & Fragments. Trans. Michael Hamburger. (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966; 4ed. London: Anvil Press, 2004). Friedrich Hölderlin, Eduard Mörike: Selected Poems. Trans. Christopher Middleton (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1972). Poems of Friedrich Holderlin: The Fire of the Gods Drives Us to Set Forth by Day and by Night. Trans. James Mitchell. (San Francisco: Hoddypodge, 1978; 2ed San Francisco: Ithuriel's Spear, 2004). Hymns and Fragments. Trans. Richard Sieburth. (Princeton: Princeton University, 1984). Friedrich Hölderlin: Essays and Letters on Theory. Trans. Thomas Pfau. (Albany, NY: State University of New York, 1988). Hyperion and Selected Poems. The German Library vol.22. Ed. Eric L. Santner. Trans. C. Middleton, R. Sieburth, M. Hamburger. (New York: Continuum, 1990). Friedrich Hölderlin: Selected Poems. Trans. David Constantine. (Newcastle upon Tyne: Bloodaxe, 1990; 2ed 1996) Friedrich Hölderlin: Selected Poems and Fragments. Ed. Jeremy Adler. Trans. Michael Hamburger. (London: Penguin, 1996). What I Own: Versions of Hölderlin and Mandelshtam. Trans. John Riley and Tim Longville. (Manchester: Carcanet, 1998). Holderlin's Sophocles: Oedipus and Antigone. Trans. David Constantine. (Newcastle upon Tyne: Bloodaxe, 2001). Odes and Elegies. Trans. Nick Hoff. (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan Press, 2008). Hyperion. Trans. Ross Benjamin. (Brooklyn, NY: Archipelago Books, 2008) Selected Poems of Friedrich Hölderlin. Trans. Maxine Chernoff and Paul Hoover. (Richmond, CA: Omnidawn, 2008). Essays and Letters. Trans. Jeremy Adler and Charlie Louth. (London: Penguin, 2009). The Death of Empedocles: A Mourning-Play. Trans. David Farrell Krell. (Albany, NY: State University of New York, 2009). Selected Poems. Trans. Emery George (Kylix Press, 2011) Poems at the Window / Poèmes à la Fenêtre, Hölderlin's late contemplative poems, English and French rhymed and metered translations by Claude Neuman, trilingual German-English-French edition, Editions www.ressouvenances.fr, 2017 Aeolic Odes / Odes éoliennes, English and French metered translations by Claude Neuman, trilingual German-English-French edition, Editions www.ressouvenances.fr, 2019 ; bilingual German-English edition : Edwin Mellen Press, 2022 The Elegies / Les Elegies, English and French metered translations by Claude Neuman, trilingual German-English-French edition, Editions www.ressouvenances.fr, 2020 ; bilingual German-English edition : Edwin Mellen Press, 2022 Bibliography Internationale Hölderlin-Bibliographie (IHB). Hrsg. vom Hölderlin-Archiv der Württembergischen Landesbibliothek Stuttgart. 1804–1983. Bearb. Von Maria Kohler. Stuttgart 1985. Internationale Hölderlin-Bibliographie (IHB). Hrsg. vom Hölderlin-Archiv der Württembergischen Landesbibliothek Stuttgart. Bearb. Von Werner Paul Sohnle und Marianne Schütz, online 1984 ff (after 1 January 2001: IHB online). Homepage of Hölderlin-Archiv See also The Oldest Systematic Program of German Idealism References Further reading Theodor W. Adorno, "Parataxis: On Hölderlin's Late Poetry." In Notes to Literature, Volume II. Ed. Rolf Tiedemann. Trans. Shierry Weber Nicholson. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992. pp. 109–149. Francesco Alfieri, "Il Parmenide e lo Hölderlin di Heidegger. L'"altro inizio" come alternativa al dominio della soggettività", in Aquinas 60 (2017), pp. 151–163. David Constantine, Hölderlin. Oxford: Clarendon Press 1988, corrected 1990. . Aris Fioretos (ed.) The Solid Letter: Readings of Friedrich Hölderlin. Stanford: Stanford University, 1999. . Annemarie Gethmann-Siefert, "Heidegger and Hölderlin: The Over-Usage of "Poets in an Impoverished Time"", Heidegger Studies (1990). pp. 59–88. Jennifer Anna Gosetti-Ferencei, Heidegger, Hölderlin, and the Subject of Poetic Language. New York: Fordham University, 2004. . Dieter Henrich, Der Gang des Andenkens: Beobachtungen und Gedanken zu Hölderlins Gedicht. Stuttgart: Cotta, 1986; The Course of Remembrance and Other Essays on Hölderlin. Ed. Eckart Förster. Stanford: Stanford University, 1997. . Martin Heidegger, Erläuterungen zu Hölderlins Dichtung. Frankfurt am Main: Klostermann, 1944; Elucidations of Hölderlin's Poetry. Trans. Keith Hoeller. Amherst, NY: Humanity Books, 2000. Martin Heidegger, Hölderlins Hymne "Der Ister". Frankfurt am Main: Klostermann, 1984; Hölderlin's Hymn "The Ister". Trans. William McNeill and Julia Davis. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University, 1996. – a chapter devoted to analyzing Hölderlin's relationship to German idealism and his views on magic, myth, and Paganism. David Michael Kleinberg-Levin, Gestures of Ethical Life: Reading Hölderlin's Question of Measure After Heidegger. Stanford: Stanford University, 2005. . Jean Laplanche, Hölderlin and the Question of the Father (fr: Hölderlin et la question du père, 1961), Translation: Luke Carson, Victoria, BC: ELS Editions, 2007. . Gert Lernout, The poet as thinker: Hölderlin in France. Columbia: Camden House, 1994. James Luchte, Mortal Thought: Hölderlin and Philosophy. New York & London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016. Paul de Man, "Heidegger's Exegeses of Hölderlin." Blindness and Insight. 2nd Ed. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1983, pp. 246–266. Andrzej Warminski, Readings in Interpretation: Hölderlin, Hegel, Heidegger.'' Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1987. External links Hölderlin-Archiv Hölderlin Gesellschaft (in German, links to English, French, Spanish, and Italian) Poems of Friedrich Hölderlin – English translations Poems by Friedrich Hölderlin – English translations Selective list of Hölderlin's poems in German, with linked texts – contains most of his major finished poems up to 1804, but not complete Friedrich Hölderlin, Homburger Folioheft. Diachrone Darstellung – Hölderlin's most important manuscript as online-edition, presented by Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart and A und A Kulturstiftung, Cologne (in German) Category:1770 births Category:1843 deaths Category:People from Lauffen am Neckar Category:People from the Duchy of Württemberg Category:People with schizophrenia Category:18th-century German novelists Category:19th-century German novelists Category:German-language poets Category:German male dramatists and playwrights Category:Writers from Baden-Württemberg Category:18th-century German dramatists and playwrights Category:19th-century German dramatists and playwrights Category:19th-century German male writers Category:German male novelists Category:German male poets Category:Romantic poets Category:19th-century German philosophers

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Gennady Golovkin

Gennady Golovkin was born on April 8, 1982, in the city of Karaganda in the Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union (now Karagandy, Kazakhstan) to a Russian coal miner and Korean mother, who worked as an assistant in a chemical laboratory. He has three brothers, two elder named Sergey and Vadim and a twin, Max. Sergey and Vadim had encouraged Golovkin to start boxing when Golovkin was eight years old. As a youth, Golovkin would walk the streets with them, who went around picking fights for him with grown men.

Golovkin vs. Proksa, Rosado

On July 20, 2012 it was announced that Golovkin would defend his titles against European champion and The Ring's #10-rated middleweight Grzegorz Proksa (28-1, 21 KOs) on September 1 at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York. The fight was televised on HBO in the United States and Sky Sports in the UK. Golovkin put on an impressive performance in his American debut by battering Proksa to a fifth-round TKO, which was Proksa's first loss by knockout. Proksa praised Golovkin's power, "The guy hits like a hammer. I tried everything, but it did not work. You have to give him credit, because he had a good handle on the situation and it was an honor to meet him in the ring." CompuBox Stats showed that Golovkin landed 101 of 301 punches thrown (34%) and Proksa landed 38 of his 217 thrown (18%). In October, when the WBA (Super) middleweight champion Daniel Geale signed to fight Anthony Mundine in a rematch, the WBA stripped Geale of the title and named Golovkin the sole WBA champion at middleweight. On November 30, 2012 it was announced that Golovkin would next fight The Ring's #9-rated light middleweight Gabriel Rosado (21-5, 13 KO) on the HBO Salido-Garcia card in the co-main event. on January 19, 2013. It was said that Golovkin would agree a catchweight of 158 pounds, two pounds below the middleweight limit. Rosado later rejected the proposal, stating he would fight at the full 160 pound limit. Golovkin continued his stoppage-streak with a TKO victory over Rosado. The fight was halted when Rosado's corner threw in the towel to save Rosado, who was battered and bleeding heavily from his nose and left eye. At the time of the stoppage, Golovkin led on the judges' scorecards 60-54, 60-54, and 59-55. According to CompuBox Stats, Golovkin landed 208 of 492 punches thrown (42%) and Rosado landed only 76 of his 345 thrown (22%). CANNOTANSWER

Gennadiy Gennadyevich Golovkin (Cyrillic: ; also spelled Gennady; born 8 April 1982), often known by his nickname "GGG" or "Triple G", is a Kazakhstani professional boxer. He has held multiple middleweight world championships, and is a two-time former unified champion. He held the WBA (Super), WBC and IBF titles at varying points between 2014 and 2023, and challenged once for the undisputed super middleweight championship in 2022. He is also a two-time former IBO middleweight champion, having held the title twice between 2011 and 2023. Golovkin was ranked as the world's best boxer, pound for pound, from September 2017 to September 2018 by The Ring magazine. As of March 2023, he is ranked as the world's fifth best active boxer, pound for pound, by BoxRec. He is also ranked as the world's best active middleweight by The Ring, Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, ESPN, and BoxRec. In 2010, Golovkin won the WBA interim middleweight title by defeating Milton Núñez. The WBA elevated him to Regular champion status in the same year. He won the IBO title the following year. In 2014, Golovkin was elevated to the status of WBA (Super) champion and successfully defended both his titles against Daniel Geale. Later that year he defeated Marco Antonio Rubio to win WBC interim middleweight title, and defeated David Lemieux for the IBF middleweight title in 2015. After Canelo Álvarez vacated his WBC middleweight title in 2016, Golovkin was elevated to full champion and held three of the four major world titles in boxing. Golovkin lost all his titles, including his undefeated record, following a loss to Álvarez in 2018. He regained his IBF and IBO titles by defeating Sergiy Derevyanchenko in 2019, and regained his WBA (Super) title by defeating Ryōta Murata in 2022. A calculating pressure fighter, Golovkin is known for his exceptionally powerful and precise punching, balance, and methodical movement inside the ring. With a streak of 23 knockouts that spanned from 2008 to 2017, he holds the highest knockout-to-win ratio – 88.0% – in middleweight championship history. Golovkin is also said to have one of the most durable chins in boxing history, having never been knocked down or otherwise stopped in a total of 395 fights, 45 as a professional and 350 as an amateur. In his amateur career, Golovkin won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 2003 World Championships. He went on to represent Kazakhstan at the 2004 Summer Olympics, winning a middleweight silver medal. Early life Golovkin was born in the city of Karaganda in the Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union (present-day Kazakhstan) to a Russian coal miner father and an ethnic Korean mother, who worked as an assistant in a chemical laboratory. Golovkin's maternal grandfather, Sergey Pak, was an ethnic Korean living in Soviet Russia, who was forcefully moved to Kazakhstan. He has three brothers, two elder named Sergey and Vadim and a twin, Max. Sergey and Vadim had encouraged Golovkin to start boxing when Golovkin was eight years old. As a youth, Golovkin would walk the streets with them, who went around picking fights for him with grown men. When asked, "Are you afraid of him?", Golovkin would respond "No", and be told to fight. "My brothers, they were doing that from when I was in kindergarten," Golovkin said. "Every day, different guys." When Golovkin was nine years old, Golovkin's two older brothers joined the Soviet Army. In 1990, the government had informed Golovkin's family that Vadim was dead. In 1994, the government told Golovkin's family that Sergey was dead. Golovkin's first boxing gym was in Maikuduk, Karaganda, Kazakhstan, where his first boxing coach was Victor Dmitriev, whom he regards as "very good". A month after he first entered the gym, at age 10, the trainer ordered him to step into the ring to check his skills and he lost his first fight. Amateur career Golovkin began boxing competitively in 1993, age 11, winning the local Karaganda Regional tournament in the cadet division. It took several years before he was allowed to compete against seniors, and seven years before he was accepted to the Kazakhstani national boxing team, and began competing internationally. In the meantime he graduated from the Karagandy State University Athletics and Sports Department, receiving a degree and a PE teacher qualification. He became a scholarship holder with the Olympic Solidarity program in November 2002. At the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Bangkok, he won the gold medal beating future two-time champion Matvey Korobov (RUS) 19–10, Andy Lee (29–9), Lucian Bute (stoppage), Yordanis Despaigne in the semi-finals (29–26) and Oleg Mashkin in the finals. Upon his victory at the 2003 Championships, a boxing commentator calling the bout for NTV Plus Sports, said: "Golovkin. Remember that name! We sure will hear it again." He qualified for the Athens Games by winning the gold medal at the 2004 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships in Puerto Princesa, Philippines. In the final he defeated home fighter Christopher Camat. At the 2004 Summer Olympics he defeated Ahmed Ali Khan Pakistan 31–10, Ramadan Yasser 31–20 and Andre Dirrell 23–18, losing to the Russian Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov 18–28 to take the silver medal. At the World Championships in 2005 he lost to Mohamed Hikal. He finished his amateur career with a record of 345–5, with all his defeats being very close on points (like 8–+8 versus Damian Austin, or 14–15 versus Andre Dirrell), no stoppages, and the majority of all losses eventually avenged within a year. Highlights Brandenburg Cup (67 kg), Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, October 2000: 1/2: Defeated Paweł Głażewski (Poland) RSC 4 Finals: Defeated Rolandas Jasevičius (Lithuania) 10–3 (4 rds) Junior World Championships (63,5 kg), Budapest, Hungary, November 2000: 1/16: Defeated Hao Yen Kuo (Chinese Taipei) RSC 3 1/8: Defeated Alexander Renz (Germany) 26–7 (4 rds) 1/4: Defeated Benjamin Kalinovic (Croatia) 21–10 (4 rds) 1/2: Defeated Evgeny Putilov (Russia) 24–10 (4 rds) Finals: Defeated Maikel Perez (Cuba) 30–17 (4 rds) Usti Grand Prix (67 kg), Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic, March 2001: 1/4: Defeated Radzhab Shakhbanov (Russia) 10–4 (4 rds) 1/2: Defeated Petr Barvinek (Czech Republic) RSC 4 Finals: Defeated Mohamed Sabeh Taha (Israel) 20–8 (4 rds) East Asian Games (67 kg), Osaka, Japan, May 2001: 1/4: Defeated Soo-Young Kim (South Korea) RSC 3 1/2: Defeated Chi Wansong (China) RSC 3 Finals: Defeated Daniel Geale (Australia) 15–3 (4 rds) Chemistry Cup (71 kg), Halle, Germany, March 2002: 1/4: Defeated Raimondas Petrauskas (Lithuania) RSC 3 1/2: Defeated Lukas Wilaschek (Germany) 20–9 Finals: Lost to Damian Austin (Cuba) 8–+8 King's Cup (71 kg), Bangkok, Thailand, April 2002: 1/2: Defeated Vladimir Stepanets (Russia) Finals: Lost to Suriya Prasathinphimai (Thailand) 19–22 (4 rds) World Cup (71 kg), team competition, Astana, Kazakhstan, June 2002: 1/8: Defeated Javid Taghiyev (Azerbaijan) 19–8 (4 rds) 1/4: Defeated Foster Nkodo (Cameroon) RSCO 3 1/2: Defeated Andrey Balanov (Russia) 10–7 (4 rds) Finals: Defeated Damian Austin (Cuba) 6–4 (4 rds) Asian Games (71 kg), Busan, South Korea, October 2002: 1/8: Defeated Abdullah Shekib (Afghanistan) RET 1 1/4: Defeated Nagimeldin Adam (Qatar) RSCO 1 1/2: Defeated Song In Joon (South Korea) 18–12 (4 rds) Finals: Defeated Suriya Prasathinphimai (Thailand) RSCO 3 Ahmet Cömert Memorial (75 kg), Istanbul, Turkey, April 2003: 1/2: Defeated Sherzod Abdurahmonov (Uzbekistan) Finals: Defeated Javid Taghiyev (Azerbaijan) 28–10 USA—Kazakhstan duals (71 kg), Tunica, Mississippi, May 2003: Lost to Andre Dirrell (United States) 14–15 (4 rds) World Championships (75 kg), Bangkok, Thailand, July 2003: 1/16: Defeated Matvey Korobov (Russia) 19–10 (4 rds) 1/8: Defeated Andy Lee (Ireland) 29–9 (4 rds) 1/4: Defeated Lucian Bute (Romania) KO 4 1/2: Defeated Yordanis Despaigne (Cuba) 29–26 (4 rds) Finals: Defeated Oleg Mashkin (Ukraine) RSCI 2 Asian Championships (75 kg), Puerto Princesa, Philippines, January 2004: 1/4: Defeated Deok-Jin Cho (South Korea) 34–6 1/2: Defeated Kymbatbek Ryskulov (Kyrgyzstan) Finals: Defeated Christopher Camat (Philippines) RSC 2 Acropolis Cup (75 kg), Athens, Greece, May 2004: 1/8: Defeated Jamie Pittman (Australia) 28–11 (4 rds) 1/4: Defeated Khotso Motau (South Africa) 24–13 (4 rds) 1/2: Lost to Yordanis Despaigne (Cuba) 34–37 (4 rds) Golden Belt Tournament (75 kg), Bucharest, Romania, July 2004: Finals: Defeated Marian Simion (Romania) RET 4 Summer Olympics (75 kg), Athens, Greece, August 2004: 1/8: Defeated Ahmed Ali Khan (Pakistan) 31–10 (4 rds) 1/4: Defeated Ramadan Yasser (Egypt) 31–20 (4 rds) 1/2: Defeated Andre Dirrell (United States) 23–18 (4 rds) Finals: Lost to Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov (Russia) 18–28 (4 rds) Anwar Chowdry Cup (75 kg), Baku, Azerbaijan, March 2005: 1/2: Lost to Nikolay Galochkin (Russia) 9–20 Chemistry Cup (75 kg), Halle, Germany, April 2005: 1/4: Lost to Eduard Gutknecht (Germany) 13–17 World Cup (75 kg), team competition, Moscow, Russia, July 2005: 1/8: Defeated Anatoliy Kavtaradze (Georgia) RSCI 4 1/4: Defeated Nabil Kassel (Algeria) RSCO 3 1/2: Defeated Yordanis Despaigne (Cuba) 40–37 (4 rds) Finals: Kazakhstani national team did not participate in the finals Amber Gloves Tournament (75 kg), Kaliningrad, Russia, September 2005: Finals: Defeated Denis Tsaryuk (Russia) RSC 2 World Championships (75 kg), Mianyang, China, November 2005: 1/16: Defeated Nikola Sjekloća (Montenegro) 15–12 (4 rds) 1/8: Lost to Mohamed Hikal (Egypt) 21–27 (4 rds) Professional career Early career After ending his amateur career in 2005, Golovkin signed with the Universum Box-Promotion (UBP) and made his professional debut in May 2006. By the end of 2008, Golovkin's record stood at 14–0 (11 KO) and while he had few wins over boxers regarded as legitimate contenders, he was regarded as one of the best prospects in the world. Golovkin was given 4 more relatively easy bouts in 2009. In 2010, Universum started to run into financial issues after having been dropped by German television channel ZDF. This caused a number of issues for Golovkin who was effectively unable to fight in Germany, and contract disputes between the two parties got complicated. Golovkin terminated his contract with Universum in January 2010 and stated the following in an interview: "The reason for this decision is that I've always been placed behind Felix Sturm and Sebastian Zbik by Universum. Our demands to fight against Felix Sturm or Sebastian Zbik have been always rejected on absurd grounds. Universum had no real plan or concept for me, they did not even try to bring my career forward. They would rather try to prevent me from winning a title as long as Sturm and Zbik are champions. Further more, bouts against well-known and interesting opponents were held out in prospect, but nothing happened. This situation was not acceptable. It was time to move forward." After cutting ties with Universum, the WBA issued an interim title fight between Golovkin, ranked #1 at the time, and Milton Núñez. Golovkin routed Núñez, defeating him in 58 seconds to become a world champion. Golovkin was promptly upgraded to WBA (Regular) champion. He tried to fight WBA (Super) champion Felix Sturm and Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam during this time, but was unable to get them in the ring. Oleg Hermann, Golovkin's manager, said "It is very hard to find a good opponent. Everybody knows that Felix Sturm is afraid of Gennady. Strictly speaking, Sturm should get out of boxing and become a marathon runner because he is running fast and long. He has an excellent chance to become a champion in athletics." Fighting in the United States Golovkin was determined to become a worldwide name, dreaming of following in the Klitschko brothers' footsteps by fighting in Madison Square Garden and Staples Center. He signed with K2 Promotions and went into training in Big Bear, California with Abel Sanchez, the veteran trainer behind Hall of Famer Terry Norris and many other top talents. At first, Sanchez was misled by Golovkin's humble appearance: "I looked at him, I thought: 'Man! This guy is a choir boy!'." But soon he was stunned by and impressed with Golovkin's talent and attitude from their first meeting. He has since then worked to add Mexican-style aggression to Golovkin's Eastern European-style amateur discipline, thereby producing a formidable hybrid champion. "I have a chalkboard in the gym, and I wrote Ali's name, Manny Pacquiao's name and his name," Sanchez said. "I told him, 'You could be right there.' He was all sheepish, but once I felt his hands, and I saw how smart he was in the ring and how he caught on... sheesh. He's going to be the most-avoided fighter in boxing, or he's going to get the chance he deserves." Golovkin was scheduled to make his HBO debut against Dmitry Pirog (20-0, 15 KOs) in August 2012. Pirog had vacated his WBO middleweight title to face Golovkin. This was because Pirog had been mandated to fight interim champion Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam. Weeks before the fight, it was announced that Pirog had suffered a back injury—a ruptured disc—that would prevent him from fighting on the scheduled date, but Golovkin would still face another opponent on HBO. Several comeback attempts by Pirog were thwarted by ongoing back problems, effectively forcing his premature retirement. Golovkin vs. Proksa, Rosado On 20 July 2012, it was announced that Golovkin would defend his titles against European champion and The Ring's #10-rated middleweight Grzegorz Proksa (28–1, 21 KOs) on 1 September at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York. The fight was televised on HBO in the United States and Sky Sports in the UK. Golovkin put on an impressive performance in his American debut by battering Proksa to a fifth-round technical knockout (TKO), which was Proksa's first loss by knockout. Proksa praised Golovkin's power, "The guy hits like a hammer. I tried everything, but it did not work. You have to give him credit, because he had a good handle on the situation and it was an honor to meet him in the ring." CompuBox Stats showed that Golovkin landed 101 of 301 punches thrown (34%) and Proksa landed 38 of his 217 thrown (18%). In October, when the WBA (Super) middleweight champion Daniel Geale signed to fight Anthony Mundine in a rematch, the WBA stripped Geale of the title and named Golovkin the sole WBA champion at middleweight. On 30 November 2012, it was announced that Golovkin would next fight The Rings #9-rated light middleweight Gabriel Rosado (21–5, 13 KO) on the HBO Salido-Garcia card in the co-main event. On 19 January 2012, it was said that Golovkin would agree a catchweight of 158 pounds, two pounds below the middleweight limit. Rosado later rejected the proposal, stating he would fight at the full 160 pound limit. Golovkin continued his stoppage-streak with a TKO victory over Rosado. The fight was halted when Rosado's corner threw in the towel to save Rosado, who was battered and bleeding heavily from his nose and left eye. At the time of the stoppage, Golovkin led on the judges' scorecards 60–54, 60–54, and 59–55. According to CompuBox Stats, Golovkin landed 208 of 492 punches thrown (42%) and Rosado landed only 76 of his 345 thrown (22%). Golovkin vs. Ishida, Macklin It was first reported on 31 January 2013, that a deal was close for Golovkin to defend his world titles against former WBA interim super welterweight champion Nobuhiro Ishida (24–8–2, 9 KO) in Monte Carlo on 30 March. Ishida had lost his last two fights, but had never been stopped in his 13-year career. Golovkin became the first to knock out Ishida, in what was said to be a 'stay busy fight', finishing him in the third round with a vicious overhand right. The referee did not begin a count and immediately waved an end to the bout. Golovkin fought British former two-time world title challenger Matthew Macklin (29-4, 20 KOs) at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut on 29 June 2013. The fight was officially announced in April. Macklin previously lost back to back world title fights against Felix Sturm and Sergio Martinez in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Golovkin stated that he wanted to fight a further two times in 2013. This was rare to hear from a world champion as majority fight only 2 or 3 times a year. There was a total of 2,211 fans in attendance. Macklin was billed as Golovkin's toughest opponent to date. In round 1, Golovkin landed clean with his right hand and sent Macklin against the ropes, although it could have been ruled a knockdown because it appeared that only the roped kept Macklin on his feet, referee Eddie Cotton, ruled out the knockdown. Golovkin dominates the first two rounds. In the third round, Golvokin landed a right uppercut followed by a left hook to the body. Macklin, in pain, was counted out and the fight was stopped at 1 minute 22 seconds of the round. Macklin called Golovkin the best opponent he has fought in the post-fight interview. Golovkin retained his WBA and IBO world titles. CompuBox Stats showed that Golovkin landed 58 of 116 punches thrown (50%) and Macklin landed 29 of 118 (25%).He earned $350,000 compared to the $300,000 earned by Macklin. The fight averaged 1.1 million viewers. Golovkin vs. Stevens On 18 August 2013, Sports Illustrated announced that Golvokin would next defend with world titles against The Ring's #9-rated middleweight Curtis Stevens (25–3, 18 KO) at the Madison Square Garden Theater in Manhattan, New York on 2 November. At the time, Stevens was ranked #5 WBC and #6 IBF. Main Events, who promote Stevens, initially turned down a $300,000 offer. It was likely K2 promotions offered an increase to get Stevens in the ring with Golovkin. In front of 4,618, Golovkin successfully retained his titles against Stevens via an eighth-round technical knockout, methodically breaking down the latter with many ferocious punches to the head and body. Stevens went down hard in the 2nd from two left hooks to the head, and after watching their fighter absorb enormous punishment Stevens' corner called for a halt in the 8th. At the time of stoppage, Golovkin was ahead 80–71, 79–71, and 79–72. The event captured huge interest around the world, with it is broadcast in more than 100 countries worldwide, including Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, Channel 1 in Russia and Polsat TV in Poland. The win was Golovkin's 15th straight stoppage victory and further cemented his status as one of the greatest finishers in the middleweight division. After the fight, Golovkin said, "He was strong, and I was a little cautious of his strength, but I felt comfortable in there and never felt like I was in any trouble [...] I am ready to fight anybody, but, specifically, I want to fight lineal champion Sergio Martinez." CompuBox Stats showed that Golovkin landed 293 of 794 punches thrown (37%), which included 49% of power punches landed, while Stevens landed 97 of 303 thrown (32%). Golovkin's purse was $400,000 while Stevens received $290,000. The fight averaged 1.41 million viewers on HBO and peaked at 1.566 million. Golovkin's camp requested that he be awarded the WBA (Super) middleweight title in December 2013, but this was refused by the WBA, as Golovkin was already granted special permission for a fight prior to his mandatory commitment. Golovkin vs. Adama Golovkin's next title defense took place in Monte Carlo against former title challenger Osumanu Adama (22–3, 16 KO) on 1 February 2014. HBO released a statement on 22 January confirming they could not televise the bout in the US. The reason stated was because of the size of the venue Salle des Etoiles and production issues. Coming into the fight, Adama was ranked #12 by the WBA. Golovkin won via seventh-round stoppage. At the end of the 1st round, Golovkin dropped Adama with a solid jab and right hand. Golovkin went on to drop Adama again in the 6th by landing two sharp left hooks to his head, and then again in the 7th with a hard jab. Golovkin then nailed Adama with a left hook to the jaw, sending Adama staggering and forcing the referee to stop the bout. When the reporter asked Golovkin, after the fight, who he would to fight next, he replied, "I want to fight Sergio Martinez to prove who's the best middleweight." At the time of stoppage, one judge had it 60–52 and the other two at 59–53 in favor of Golovkin. A day after defeating Adama, a fight with Irish boxer Andy Lee (31-2, 22 KOs) was being discussed for 26 April, which was the next time Golovkin would appear on HBO at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. It was reported on 28 February that a deal was close to being made, however on 1 March, the fight was called off when Golovkin's father died after suffering a heart attack, aged 68. Due to beliefs, they have a 40-day mourning period, K2 director Tom Loeffler explained. Unified middleweight champion On 3 June 2014, after ten successful title defenses, the World Boxing Association officially elevated Golovkin from Regular middleweight champion to Super champion. Golovkin was also granted a special permission to defend his title against Daniel Geale. Golovkin had been previously ordered to face #2 Jarrod Fletcher. Golovkin vs. Geale K2 Promotions announced Golovkin would fight against The Ring's #2-rated middleweight Daniel Geale (30-2, 16 KOs) at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York on 26 July 2014, live on HBO. In front of 8,572 at The Theater, Golovkin successfully defended his title, defeating Geale via a third round stoppage. Golovkin dropped Geale in the second round. A right hand in the third sent Geale down again from which he never recovered completely. A staggering Geale prompted a swift stoppage from referee Michael Ortega. Geale's defeat started from a stiff Golovkin Jab, according to GGG's trainer Abel Sanchez, "Gennady hit him with a jab in the second round and that was a telling point." The accuracy of punches by both fighters were at the 29% mark by Compubox, but the effectiveness of those that connected resulted in a noteworthy win for Golovkin in his record. Golovkin earned $750,000 compared to Geale who received $600,000. The fight averaged 984,000 viewers and peaked 1.048 million viewers on HBO. This was a big dip compared to what Golovkin achieved against Stevens, the last time he appeared on HBO. Golovkin vs. Rubio On 12 August 2014, it was rumored that Golovkin would next fight former multiple time world title challenger and then Interim WBC champion Marco Antonio Rubio (59-6-1, 51 KO). On 20 August, the fight between Golovkin and Rubio was made official. K2 Promotions announced the fight would place on 18 October 2014, on HBO at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. It would mark the first time Golovkin would fight in the West Coast. Golovkin spoke to ESPN about the announcement, "I'm very excited to fight in California. I always enjoy attending fights at the StubHub Center and look forward to a Mexican-style fight against Marco Antonio Rubio." Rubio failed to make weight, weighing in at 161.8 pounds, thus losing the Interim WBC title on the scales. Rubio was given the 2 hour timescales to lose the extra weight, but decided against this. The fight still went ahead. The record attendance of 9,323 was announced. Golovkin outworked Rubio in a competitive first round, landing more punches. In the second round, Golovkin landed an overhand power left to the head of Rubio with Rubio on the ropes. Rubio then went to his back on the canvas, and took the full ten count in Spanish from referee Jack Reiss. After the knockout, Rubio got up and was motioning with a glove to the back of his head to the referee. However, the knockout blow was clean, and the count, which was given in Spanish was of normal speed. Golovkin retained his WBA (Super) and IBO middleweight titles and won the WBC Interim title which made him mandatory challenger to full titleholder Miguel Cotto. Golovkin in the post fight showed respect, "Rubio, he does not step back. He is a good fighter. I respect him. It was a very hard punch." Rubio earned $350,000 after having to forfeit $100,000 to Golovkin for not making weight, who earned a base purse of $900,000 not including any pay through his promoter. With this being Golovkin's 12th successive defense, it tied him with Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Felix Sturm for third-most in middleweight history. The number of defenses, however, is sometimes questioned as the WBA Regular belt, held by Golovkin previously, is regarded as a secondary title. ESPN reported the fight averaged 1.304 million viewers and peaked at 1.323 million. Golovkin vs. Murray On 21 February 2015, Golovkin defended his middleweight titles against British boxer Martin Murray (28-1-1, 12 KOs) in Monte Carlo. The fight was officially announced in October 2014. Murray started the fight off well defensively, but by the fourth round Golovkin began to heat up and started finding Murray consistently. Murray was knocked down twice in the fourth round, even sustaining an additional punch to the head while down on a knee. Golovkin found it much easier to land his punches on Murray in the middle-rounds. Although Murray's chin withstood a lot of Golovkin punches in those middle-rounds, he eventually went down again in round 10 after sustaining a lot of punishment. Murray came out for round 11 and therefore had lasted longer in the ring with Golovkin than any other of his opponents so far, although Murray came out with a bloodied countenance and Golovkin continued to connect with shots, the referee stopped the bout as he felt Murray was not fighting back effectively and had taken too many punches. CompuBox statistics showed Golovkin landing 292 of 816 punches (36%), and Murray connected on 131 of 469 (28%). The fight aired on HBO in the USA during the afternoon and averaged 862,000 viewers. At the time of stoppage, the three judges had their respective scorecards reading 100–87, 99–88, and 99–88 in favor of Golovkin. The fight was televised live on HBO in the US in the afternoon and averaged 862,000 viewers, peaking at 938,000 viewers. Although it was a decline in viewership for Golovkin on HBO, it was expected as it was shown during the day and not peak time. Golovkin vs. Monroe Jr. Boxing Insider reported that a deal had been agreed for Golovkin to defend his titles against American Willie Monroe Jr. (19-1, 6 KOs) at The Forum, Inglewood, California on 16 May 2015. In front of 12,372, Golovkin defeated Monroe via sixth-round TKO, to extend his KO streak to 20. In the first minute of the first round, Monroe started fast with superior movement and jabs, but after that the pace slowed with GGG cutting off the ring and outworking him. In round six, GGG came forward and quickly caught an off guard Monroe with power shots along the ropes, and Monroe went down to his knees, just beating the ten count of referee Jack Reiss. Referee Reiss was willing to give Monroe another chance, but Monroe did not wish to continue, stating, "I'm done." Reiss immediately stopped the contest. Monroe was dropped a total of three times. At the time of the stoppage, the scorecards read 50–43, 50–43, and 49–44 for Golovkin. Golovkin landed 133 of 297 punches thrown (45%), Monroe landed 87 punches of 305 thrown (29%). In the post-fight, Golovkin said, "Willie is a good fighter, a tough fighter. I feel great. My performance was special for you guys. This was a very good drama show. This was for you." He then spoke about future fights, "I stay here. I am the real champion. I want unification. Let's go, let's do it guys. Who is No. 1 right now? Bring it on. I will show you." In regards to unification and big fights, the names of Miguel Cotto, Saúl Álvarez and Andre Ward were mentioned. Golovkin received a purse of $1.5 million and Monroe earned $100,000 for the fight. The fight drew an average viewership of 1.338 million and peaked at 1.474 million viewers. Golovkin vs. Lemieux It was announced in July 2015 that Golovkin would be defending his three world titles against IBF world champion David Lemieux (34–2, 31 KOs) in a unification fight at the Madison Square Garden in New York City on 17 October 2015, live on HBO Pay-Per-View. Both boxers took to Twitter to announce the news. Lemieux won the then vacant IBF title by outpointing Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam in June 2015. Golovkin defeated Lemieux via eighth-round technical knockout to unify his WBA (Super), IBO, and WBC Interim middleweight titles with Lemieux's IBF title. Golovkin established the pace with his jab while landing his power shots in between, keeping Lemieux off-balance the entire night. Lemieux was dropped by a body shot in the fifth round and sustained an additional punch to the head after he had taken a knee. He was badly staggered in the eighth, so the referee was forced to halt the bout. Golovkin landed 280 of 549 punches thrown (51%) whilst Lemieux landed 89 of 335 (27%). The fight generated 153,000 PPV buys on HBO and generated a further $2 million live gate from the sold out arena. The fight was replayed later in the week and averaged 797,000 viewers and peaked just over 1 million viewers. Golovkin vs. Wade On 10 February 2016, it was announced that Golovkin would defend his IBF and WBA middleweight titles on HBO against IBF mandatory challenger Dominic Wade (18–0, 12 KOs) on 23 April at The Forum in Inglewood, California. This bout wasn't expected to be very competitive for Golovkin, who also stated that he wouldn't underestimate Wade and added, "I’m happy to fight again at the Forum in front of my fans and friends in Los Angeles, Dominic Wade is a very hungry and skilled middleweight who is undefeated and will be another big test for me." Wade was very thankful for getting the opportunity to fight Golovkin, "I am so grateful to be given the opportunity to fight ‘GGG’ for the IBF Middleweight Championship on April 23! I’ve worked hard my entire career to get to this point. I’m poised and ready to take on the challenge." The card was co-featured by Roman Gonzalez who successfully defended his WBC flyweight title with a unanimous points decision over McWilliams Arroyo. In front of a sellout crowd of 16,353, Golovkin successfully defended his middleweight titles with an early stoppage of Wade, his 22nd successive knockout. Wade was knocked down three times before the fight was stopped with 23 seconds remaining in round 2. According to CompuBox stats, Golovkin landed 54 of 133 punches (41%), with most being power punches. Wade managed to land 22 of his 75 thrown (29%). After the fight, when asked about Canelo Álvarez, Golovkin said, "I feel great. I'm here now, and I'm here to stay. I'm not going anywhere. Give me my belt, give me my belt! Let's fight," Golovkin reportedly earned a career high $2m for this fight compared to the $500,000 that Wade earned. The fight drew an average of 1,325,000 viewers and peaked at 3,888,000 on HBO. Golovkin vs. Álvarez negotiations Following Canelo Álvarez's victory against Miguel Cotto, talks began between the Golovkin and Álvarez camps over the future WBC title defense. In the end, an agreement was ultimately reached to allow interim bouts before the fight to, in the words of WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, "maximize the interest in their highly anticipated showdown." On 18 May 2016, Álvarez vacated the WBC middleweight title, which resulted in Golovkin being immediately awarded the title by the WBC who officially recognized him as their middleweight champion. Golovkin vs. Brook On 8 July 2016, it was announced that Golovkin would defend his world middleweight titles against undefeated British IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (36–0, 25 KOs). The fight took place on 10 September 2016, at the O2 Arena in London, England. Brook was scheduled to fight in a unification bout against Jessie Vargas, whereas there was negotiations for Golovkin to fight Chris Eubank Jr.; however, negotiations fell through and Brook agreed to move up two weight divisions to challenge Golovkin. The fight aired in the United States on HBO and on Sky Box Office pay-per-view in the United Kingdom. On 5 September, the WBA withdrew its sanction for the fight. Although they granted Golovkin a special permit to take the fight, they stated that their title would not be at stake. The reason for the withdrawal was because Brook had never competed in the middleweight division. WBA president Gilberto Mendoza Jr. said, "What I most regret is that there are no boxers at 160 pounds who will fight against 'Triple G,' and Brook has to move up two divisions to fight against him." The Golovkin camp were said to be disappointed with the decision with promoter Tom Loeffler saying, "somehow the WBA thought it was too dangerous for a welterweight to move up to middleweight to fight the biggest puncher in boxing. I guess that is a compliment to GGG as they sanctioned [Adrien] Broner moving up two divisions [from lightweight to welterweight] to fight Paulie [Malignaggi in 2013] and Roy Jones moving up two divisions [from light heavyweight to heavyweight] to fight John Ruiz [in 2003] for WBA titles, and Kell Brook is undefeated and considered a top pound-for-pound boxer." Golovkin came out aggressively, going as far as to buckle Brook's legs in the first round. He was met with stiff resistance as Brook began to fire back, connecting multiple clean combinations on Golovkin, none of which were able to faze him. In the second round Brook had his greatest success of the fight, but in the process had his right eye socket broken. Over the next three rounds, Golovkin began to break Brook down. The Englishman showed courage, determination and a great chin as he absorbed the bulk of a Golovkin onslaught. Despite the fight being even on two judges' scorecards, and one judge having Brook ahead by a point, the latter's corner threw in the towel to protect their fighter's damaged right eye, ending the fight in round 5 with both boxers still standing. Speaking after the fight, Golovkin said, "I promised to bring 'Big Drama Show,' like street fight. I don't feel his power. I feel his distance. He has great distance. He feels [my power], and after second round I understand that it's not boxing. I need street fight. Just broke him. That's it." Brook said, "I'm devastated. I expected him to be a bigger puncher. I think in the second round, he broke my eye socket. He caught me with a shot, and I was starting to settle into the fight, but I was seeing three or four of him, so it was hard to get through it. I was tricking him. His shots were coming underneath, and I was frustrating him. I was starting to settle into him, but when you see three or four of them, it is hard to carry on." Golovkin stated although Brook fought like a true champion, he was not a middleweight. According to Compubox stats, Golovkin landed 133 of his 301 punches thrown (44.2%), whilst Brook landed 85 punches, having thrown 261 (32.6%). The fight was aired live on HBO in the afternoon and drew an average of 843,000 viewers and peaked at 907,000 viewers. This was considered by HBO to be a huge success for an afternoon showing. A replay was shown later in the evening as part of the world super flyweight title fight between Roman Gonzalez and Carlos Cuadras. The replay averaged 593,000 viewers. Golovkin earned a guaranteed $5 million purse. Brook was guaranteed slightly less, around £3 million, but earned an upside of PPV revenue. Golovkin vs. Jacobs Following the win over Brook, there were immediate talks of a WBA unification fight against 'Regular' champion Daniel Jacobs (32–1, 29 KOs), as part of WBA's plan to reduce the amount of world titles in each division from three to one. Team Golovkin spoke of fighting Billy Joe Saunders after the Jacobs fight which would be a middleweight unification fight for all the belts. The date discussed initially was 10 December, which Golovkin's team had on hold for Madison Square Garden. The date was originally set by HBO for Álvarez after he defeated Liam Smith, but Canelo confirmed he would not be fighting again until 2017 after fracturing his right thumb. There was ongoing negotiations between Tom Loeffler and Al Haymon about the split in purses, if the fight goes to purse bids, it would be a 75–25 split with Golovkin taking the majority due to him being the 'Super' champion. As the negotiations continued, Jacobs wanted a better split, around 60–40. The WBA granted an extension for the negotiation period on 7 October, as the two sides originally had until 10 October to come to an arrangement or else a purse bid would be due. There was also a request to change the purse bid split to 60–40, which the WBA declined. Golovkin started his training camp for the fight on 17 October. Loeffler told the LA Times on 18 October, although the negotiations remain active, the fight will not take place on 10 December. A new date for early 2017 would need to be set, still looking at Madison Square Garden to host the fight. Golovkin prides himself on being an extremely active fighter, and this is the first year since 2012 that he has been in fewer than three fights. WBA president Gilberto Mendoza confirmed in an email to RingTV that a deal had to be made by 5pm on 7 December or a purse bid would be held on 19 December in Panama. Later that day, the WBA announced a purse bid would be scheduled with a minimum bid of $400,000, with Golovkin receiving 75% and Jacobs 25%. Although purse bids were announced, Loeffler stated he would carry on negotiations, hopeful that a deal would be reached before the purse bid. On 17 December, terms were finally agreed and it was officially announced that the fight would take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City on 18 March 2017, exclusively on HBO PPV. Golovkin tweeted the announcement whilst Jacobs uploaded a quick video on social media. At the time of the fight, both fighters had a combined 35 consecutive knockouts. It was reported that Golovkin's IBO world title would not be at stake. The IBO website later confirmed the belt would be at stake. HBO officially announced the fight on 22 December, being billed as "Middleweight Madness". Loeffler confirmed there was no rematch clause in place. At the official weigh-in, a day before the fight, Golovkin tipped the scales at 159.6 lb, while Jacobs weighed 159.8 lb. Jacobs declined to compete for the IBF title by skipping a fight-day weight check. Unlike other major sanctioning bodies, the IBF requires participants in title fights to submit to a weight check on the morning of the fight, as well as the official weigh-in the day before the fight; at the morning weight check, they can weigh no more than above the fight's weight limit. Jacobs weighed 182 lb on fight night, 12 more than Golovkin. In front of a sell out crowd of 19,939, the fight went the full 12 rounds. This was the first time that Golovkin fought 12 rounds in his professional career. Golovkin's ring control, constant forward pressure and effective jab lead to a 115–112, 115–112, and 114–113 unanimous decision victory, ending his 23 fight knockout streak which dated back to November 2008. ESPN had Golovkin winning 115–112. The opening three rounds were quiet with very little action. In the fourth round, Golovkin dropped Jacobs with a short right hand along the ropes for a flash knockdown. Jacobs recovered, but Golovkin controlled most of the middle rounds. Jacobs was effective in switching between orthodox and southpaw stance, but remained on the back foot. Both boxers were warned once in the fight by referee Charlie Fitch for rabbit punching. According to Compubox punch stats, Golovkin landed 231 of 615 punches (38%) which was more than Jacobs who landed 175 of 541 (32%). Following the fight, some doubted Golovkin did enough to win. Jacobs thought he had won the fight by two rounds and attributed the loss due to the potential big money fight that is Golovkin vs. Canelo. Jacobs also stated after being knocked down, he told Golovkin, "he'd have to kill me." In the post-fight interview, Golovkin said, "I’m a boxer, not a killer. I respect the game." Before revenue shares, it was reported that Golovkin would earn at least $2.5 million compared to Jacobs $1.75 million. On 24 March, Tom Loeffler revealed the fight generated 170,000 pay-per-view buys. A replay was shown on HBO later in the week and averaged 709,000 viewers. Lance Pugmire from LA Times reported the live gate was $3.7 million, a big increase from the Golovkin vs. Lemieux PPV which did $2 million. He also said that merchandise and sponsors were higher. Golovkin vs. Álvarez After retaining his belts against Jacobs, Golovkin stated that he wanted to unify the middleweight division and hold all the belts available. The only major belt not belonging to him was the WBO title held by British boxer Billy Joe Saunders. After defeating Jacobs, Golovkin said, "My goal is all the belts in the middleweight division. Of course, Billy Joe is the last one. It is my dream." There was rumours of the fight taking place in Golovkin's home country Kazakhstan in June during the EXPO 2017. The last time Golovkin fought in his home country was in 2010. On 20 March, Golovkin said that he would fight Saunders in his native Kazakhstan or the O2 Arena in London. Saunders tweeted on social media that although he didn't watch Golovkin's fight with Jacobs, he was ready to fight him. Saunders claimed to have signed the contract on his end and gave Golovkin a deadline to sign his. On 29 March, promoter Frank Warren also stated that Golovkin would have ten days to sign for the fight. Saunders later claimed to have moved on from Golovkin, until Warren said the deal was still in place. Over the next week, Saunders continued to insult Golovkin through social media. On 7 April, Warren told iFL TV, that Golovkin had a hand injury, which was the reason why the fight hadn't been made. In the interview, he said, "At the moment, they’re saying that Golovkin’s injured. So we’re waiting to see where this is all going. But as far as I’m concerned, we agreed [to] terms." It was also noted that he would wait until 6 May, for any updates. On 11 April, it was reported that the fight would not take place and Golovkin would ultimately focus on a September 2017 fight against Canelo Álvarez. Immediately after the Chavez fight on May 6, Canelo Álvarez announced that he would next fight Golovkin on the weekend of 16 September 2017, at a location to be determined. Golovkin, who before the fight stated he would not attend, was joined by his trainer Abel Sanchez and promoter Tom Loeffler. Golovkin joined him in the ring during the announcement to help promote their upcoming bout. Speaking through a translator, Álvarez said, "Golovkin, you are next, my friend. The fight is done. I've never feared anyone, since I was 15 fighting as a professional. When I was born, fear was gone." When Golovkin arrived in the ring, he said, "I feel very excited. Right now is a different story. In September, it will be a different style -- a big drama show. I'm ready. Tonight, first congrats to Canelo and his team. Right now, I think everyone is excited for September. Canelo looked very good tonight, and 100 percent he is the biggest challenge of my career. Good luck to Canelo in September." In the post-fight press conference, both boxers came face to face and spoke about the upcoming fight. On 9 May, Eric Gomez, president of Golden Boy Promotions told the LA Times that Álvarez had an immediate rematch clause in place on his contract, whereas Golovkin, if he loses, won't be guaranteed a rematch. Oscar De La Hoya later also revealed in an interview with ESPN the fight would take place at the full middleweight limit of 160 pounds with no re-hydration clauses, meaning Golovkin and Álvarez would be able to gain unlimited amount of weight following the weigh in. On 5 June, the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was announced as the venue of the fight, and would mark the first time Golovkin would fight in Nevada. The AT&T Stadium, Madison Square Garden and Dodger Stadium missed out on hosting the fight. Eric Gomez of Golden Boy Promotions said in a statement that Álvarez would fight for the IBF meaning he would participate in the second day weigh in, which the IBF require that each boxer weighs no more than 10 pounds over the 160 pound limit. Although he said there was no word on whether Álvarez would fight for the WBC title, Álvarez claimed that he would not be. On 7 July 2017, Golden Boy and K2 Promotions individually announced the tickets had sold out. On 15 August, Golden Boy matchmaker Robert Diaz revealed that Álvarez would indeed attend the IBF mandatory second day weigh in and fully intended to fight for the IBF title along with the WBA title. He did make it clear that whilst Golovkin would still defend the WBC and IBO title, Álvarez would not pay their sanctioning fees. On 22 August, IBF president Daryl Peoples announced that they would be dropping the mandatory second day weigh in for unification fights, meaning neither fighters are required to participate, however they would still encourage them to do so. It was reported that Álvarez would earn a base minimum $5 million and Golovkin would earn $3 million, before any shares of the revenue are added to their purses. On fight night, in front of a sold out crowd of 22,358, Golovkin and Álvarez fought to a split draw (118–110 Álvarez, 115–113 Golovkin, and 114–114). ESPN's Dan Rafael and HBO's Harold Lederman scored the fight 116–112 in favor of Golovkin. Judge Adalaide Byrd's scorecard of 118–110 in favor of Álvarez was widely ridiculed. Many observers felt that Golovkin had won a closely contested fight, and while a draw was justifiable, a card that wide in favor of Álvarez was inexcusable. Nevertheless, Bob Bennett, director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said that he had full confidence in Byrd going forward. Despite the controversy, several mainstream media outlets referred to the bout as a "classic". The fight started with both boxers finding their rhythm, Álvarez using his footwork and Golovkin establishing his jab. During the middle rounds, particularly between 4 and 8, Álvarez started each round quick, but seemed to tire out after a minute, with Golovkin taking over and doing enough to win the rounds. The championship rounds were arguably the best rounds and Álvarez started to counter more and both fighters stood toe-to-toe exchanging swings, the majority of which missed. The draw saw Golovkin make his 9th consecutive defence. CompuBox stats showed that Golovkin was the busier of the two, landing 218 of 703 thrown (31%), while Álvarez was more accurate, landing 169 of his 505 thrown (34%). Golovkin out punched Álvarez in 10 of the 12 rounds. The replay, which took place a week later on HBO averaged 726,000, peaking at 840,000 viewers. Speaking to Max Kellerman after the fight, Golovkin said, "It was a big drama show. [The scoring] is not my fault. I put pressure on him every round. Look, I still have all the belts. I am still the champion." Álvarez felt as though he won the fight, "In the first rounds, I came out to see what he had. Then I was building from there. I think I won eight rounds. I felt that I won the fight. I think I was superior in the ring. I won at least seven or eight rounds. I was able to counterpunch and made Gennady wobble at least three times. If we fight again, it's up to the people. I feel frustrated over my draw." Golovkin's trainer Abel Sanchez believed judge Byrd had her scorecard filled out before the first bell rang. Álvarez ruled out another fight in 2017, claiming he would return on Cinco de Mayo weekend in May 2018. At the post-fight press conference, Álvarez said through a translator, "Look, right now I wanna rest. Whatever the fans want, whatever the people want and ask for, we’ll do. You know that’s my style. But right now, who knows if it’s in May or September? But one thing’s for sure – this is my era, the era of Canelo." Golovkin's promoter Tom Loeffler stated that they would like an immediate rematch, but Golovkin, who prefers fighting at least three times in a calendar year, reiterated his desire to also fight in December. WBO middleweight champion Saunders said he was ready for Golovkin and looking to fight in December too. The fight surpassed Mayweather-Álvarez to achieve the third highest gate in boxing history. ESPN reported the fight generated $27,059,850 from 17,318 tickets sold. 934 complimentary tickets were given out, according to the NSAC. Mayweather vs. Álvarez sold 16,146 tickets to produce a live gate of $20,003,150. The replay, which took place a week later on HBO averaged 726,000, peaking at 840,000 viewers. The LA Times reported the fight generated 1.3 million domestic PPV buys. Although HBO didn't make an official announcement, it is believed that the revenue would exceed $100 million. Cancelled Álvarez rematch Immediately after the controversial ending, talks began for a rematch between Álvarez and Golovkin. Álvarez stated he would next fight in May 2018, whereas Golovkin was open to fighting in December 2017. ESPN reported that Álvarez, who only had the rematch clause in his contract, must activate it within three weeks of their fight. On 19 September, Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez told ESPN that everyone on their side was interested in the rematch and they would hold discussions with Tom Loeffler in the next coming days. Ringtv reported that the negotiations would begin on 22 September. On 24 September, Gomez said the rematch would likely take place in the first week of May 2018, or if a deal could be worked, we could see the fight take place as early as March. Despite ongoing negotiations for the rematch, at the 55th annual convention in Baku, Azerbaijan on 2 October, the WBC officially ordered a rematch. Golden Boy president Eric Gomez told ESPN, "Regardless of if they did or didn't order the rematch, we are going to try to make it happen. We'll do whatever it takes to make it happen." On 7 November, Eric Gomez indicated the negotiations were going well and Álvarez would make a decision in regards to the rematch in the coming weeks. It was believed that Golden Boy would wait until after David Lemieux and Billy Joe Saunders fought for the latter's WBO title on 16 December 2017, before making a decision. On 15 November, Eddie Hearn, promoter of Daniel Jacobs stated that he approached Tom Loeffler regarding a possible rematch between Golovkin and Jacobs if the Álvarez-Golovkin rematch failed to take place. On 20 December, Eric Gomez announced that the negotiations were close to being finalized after Álvarez gave Golden Boy the go-ahead to write up the contracts. On 29 January 2018, HBO finally announced the rematch would take place on 5 May on the Cinco de Mayo weekend. On 22 February, the T-Mobile Arena was again selected as the fight's venue. According to WBC, unlike the first bout, Álvarez would fight for their title. On 5 March 2018, Álvarez tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol ahead of the fight. Adding to the controversy, Golovkin's trainer Abel Sanchez claimed that Álvarez had his hands wrapped in an illegal manner for the first fight. On 23 March, the Nevada State Athletic Commission temporarily suspended Álvarez due to his two positive tests for the banned substance clenbuterol. Álvarez was required to appear at a commission hearing, either in person or via telephone, on the issue on 10 April. The commission would decide at the hearing whether the fight would be permitted to go ahead as scheduled. Tom Loeffler stated that Golovkin intended to fight on 5 May, regardless of his opponent being Álvarez or anyone else. On 26 March, former two-time light middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade (25-0, 16 KOs), who started campaigning at middleweight in 2017, put himself into the equation and offered to fight Golovkin on 5 May. On 29 March, IBF mandatory challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko's manager Keith Connolly told Boxing Scene that Derevyanchenko would be ready to replace Álvarez and fight Golovkin in his place if the fight was to get postponed on 10 April. On 28 March, MGM Resorts International, who owns the T-Mobile Arena, started to offer full refunds to anyone who had already purchased tickets for the bout. They wrote, "In the event a fan requested a refund, they could get one at the original point of sale and in full." The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported the news. Álvarez's hearing was rescheduled for 18 April, as Bob Bennett filed a complaint against Álvarez. On 3 April, Álvarez officially withdrew from the rematch. Golden Boy mentioned during a press conference it was hinted that Álvarez would likely not be cleared at the hearing and they would not have enough time to promote the fight. At the hearing, Álvarez was given a six-month suspension, backdated to his first drug test fail on 17 February, meaning the ban would end on 17 August 2018. His promoter De La Hoya then announced that Álvarez would return to the ring on the Mexican Independence Day weekend. Golovkin vs. Martirosyan On 2 April, before Álvarez withdrew from the rematch, Loeffler stated that Golovkin would fight on 5 May, regardless of whether it would be Álvarez or another boxer and the fight would take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise. On fighting, Golovkin said, "I am looking forward to returning to Las Vegas for my 20th title defense and headlining my first Cinco De Mayo event on 5 May. It is time for less drama and more fighting," On 5 April, ESPN reported that Mexican boxer, Jaime Munguia (28-0, 24 KOs), a 21 year old untested prospect who previously fought at welterweight and light middleweight was going to step in and fight Golovkin. Later that day, Lance Pugmire of LA Times stated sources close to NSAC, although Tom Loeffler hadn't submitted any names forward, if Munguia's name was mentioned, it would not be approved. Derevyanchenko's promoter, Lou DiBella petitioned to the IBF to force a mandatory. With less than a month before the scheduled fight date, the NSAC cancelled the fight, meaning it would not take place at the MGM Grand. Prior to the NSAC cancelling the bout, Lance Pugmire of LA Times reported that Golovkin would still fight on 5 May, however it would take place at the StubHub Center in Carson, California on regular HBO. Former light middleweight world title challenger and California local Vanes Martirosyan (36-3-1, 21 KOs) became a front runner to challenge Golovkin. The IBF stated they would not sanction their belt if the fight was made and Golovkin could potentially be stripped of his title. Martirosyan was criticised as an opponent as he had been a career light middleweight, he was coming off a loss and he had not fought in two years. The WBC approved Martirosyan as a late replace opponent. On 18 April, Martirosyan was confirmed as Golovkin's opponent, with the event being billed as 'Mexican Style 2' on 5 May, at the StubHub Center. A day later the IBF stated that neither Golovkin or Loeffler made any request for exception, however if and when they did, the IBF would consider the request. On 27 April, the IBF agreed to sanction the bout as long as Golovkin would make a mandatory defence against Derevyanchenko by 3 August 2018. On fight night, in front of 7,837 fans, Golovkin knocked Martirosyan out in round 2. Golovkin applied pressure immediately backing Martirosyan against the ropes and landing his jab. Martirosyan had short success at the end of round 1 when he landed a combination of punches. Again at the start of round 2, Golovkin started quick. He landed a right uppercut followed by a body shot. He then connected with nine power shots which were unanswered and eventually Martirosyan fell face first to the canvas. Referee Jack Reiss made a full 10-count. The time of stoppage was 1 minute 53 seconds. Speaking of Golovkin's power in the post-fight, Martirosyan said it felt like he was 'being hit by a train.' Golovkin said, "It feels great to get a knockout. Vanes is a very good fighter. He caught me a few times in the first round. In the second round, I came out all business after I felt him out in the first round." For the fight, Golovkin landed 36 of 84 punches thrown (43%) and Martirosyan landed 18 of his 73 thrown (25%). Golovkin's purse for the fight was $1 million and Martirosyan earned a smaller amount of $225,000. The fight averaged 1,249,000 viewers and peaked at 1,361,000 viewers, making most-watched boxing match on cable television in 2018. Golovkin vs. Álvarez II According to Golovkin on 27 April, before he defeated Martirosyan, a fight with Álvarez in the fall was still a priority. During a conference call, he stated it was the 'biggest fight in the world' and beneficial for all parties involved. Although Golovkin stated the rematch had a 10% chance of happening, Eric Gomez and Tom Loeffler agreed to meet and start negotiating after 5 May. One of the main issues preventing the rematch to take place was the purse split. Álvarez wanted 65-35 in his favor, the same terms Golovkin agreed to initially, however Golovkin wanted a straight 50-50 split. On 6 June, Golovkin was stripped of his IBF world title due to not adhering to the IBF rules. The IBF granted Golovkin an exception to fight Martirosyan although they would not sanction the fight, however told Golovkin's team to start negotiating and fight mandatory challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko by 3 August 2018. The IBF released a statement in detail. On 7 June, Golovkin's team stated they would accept a 55-45 split in favor of Álvarez. The split in the initial rematch negotiations, Golovkin accepted a 65-35 split in favor of Álvarez. On 12 June, Golden Boy gave Golovkin a 24-hour deadline to accept a 57½-42½ split in Álvarez's favor or they would explore other fights. At this time, Golden Boy were already in light negotiations with Eddie Hearn for a fight against Daniel Jacobs instead. At the same time, Loeffler was working closely with Frank Warren to match Saunders with Golovkin for the end of August. Golovkin declined the offer and De La Hoya stated there would be no rematch. Despite this, some sources indicated both sides were still negotiating after a "Hail Mary" idea came to light. Hours later, De La Hoya confirmed via his Twitter account that terms had been agreed and the fight would indeed take place on 15 September, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada. Golovkin revealed to ESPN he agreed to 45%. Álvarez started training for the bout on 14 June, and stated his intention to apply for his boxing license on 18 August. It was confirmed that both boxers would not physically come face to face with each other until the fight week. A split-screen press conference took place on 3 July. On 3 September, due to a majority vote of the panel, it was announced The Ring Magazine's vacant middleweight title would be contested for the bout. Doug Fischer wrote, "We posed the question to the Ratings Panel, which, in a landslide, voted in favor the magazine’s 160-pound championship being up for grabs when the two stars clash at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas." In front of a sell out crowd of 21,965, the fight was again not without controversy as Álvarez defeated Golovkin via majority decision after 12 rounds. Álvarez was favored by judges Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld, both scoring the bout 115–113, the third judge Glenn Feldman scored it 114–114. The result was disputed by fans, pundits and media. Of the 18 media outlets scoring the bout, 10 ruled in favor of Golovkin, 7 scored a draw, while 1 scored the bout for Álvarez. The scorecards showed how close the bout was, with the judges splitting eight rounds. After 9 rounds, all three judges had their scores reading 87–84 for Álvarez The fight was much different to the first bout in terms of action. Álvarez, who was described by Golovkin's team as a 'runner', altered his style and became more aggressive. Both boxers found use of their respective jabs from the opening round with Golovkin using his jab more as the fight went on. Big punches were landed by both fighters during the bout, with both Álvarez and Golovkin showing excellent chins. Despite the tense build up, both boxers showed each other respect after the fight. Álvarez made good use of his body attack, landing 46 compared to Golovkin's 6 landed. Compubox Stats showed that Golovkin landed 234 of 879 punches thrown (27%) and Álvarez landed 202 of his 622 punches (33%). In the 12 rounds, not once did Golovkin's back touch the ropes. Alvarez backed to the ropes twice late in the fight. In eight of the 12 rounds, Golovkin outlanded Álvarez. Harold Lederman scored this second fight, as he did the first, 116-112 in favor of Golovkin. In the post-fight interviews, through a translator, Álvarez said, "I showed my victory with facts. He was the one who was backing up. I feel satisfied because I gave a great fight. It was a clear victory." He continued, "That was a great fight. But in the end, it was a victory for Mexico. And again, it was an opportunity. And I want to shout out to my opponent, the best in the sport of boxing. I am a great fighter, and I showed it tonight. If the people want another round, I’ll do it again. But for right now, I will enjoy time with my family." Golovkin did not take part in the post fight and made his way backstage, where he received stitches for a cut over his right eye. He later responded to the defeat, "I'm not going to say who won tonight, because the victory belongs to Canelo, according to the judges. I thought it was a very good fight for the fans and very exciting. I thought I fought better than he did." Golovkin's trainer Abel Sanchez, who was very critical of Álvarez following the first fight, said, "We had a great fight, the one we expected the first time around. I had it close going into the 12th round. We had good judges, who saw it from different angles. I can’t complain about the decision, but it’s close enough to warrant a third fight. Canelo fought a great fight. Congratulations." Both fighters were open to a trilogy. The fight generated a live gate of $23,473,500 from 16,732 tickets sold. This was lower than the first bout, however the fourth largest-grossing gates in Nevada boxing history. The fight sold 1.1 million PPV buys, lower than the first bout, however due to being priced at $84.95, it generated more revenue at around $94 million. Career from 2019–2023 In January 2019, Oscar De La Hoya instructed Golden Boy president Eric Gomez to start negotiating a deal for a third fight between Golovkin and Álvarez. Golden Boy had already booked in 4 May, Cinco De Mayo weekend at the T-Mobile Arena. A few days later, Gomez posted on social media, after preliminary talks with Golovkin's team, he felt as though Golovkin did not want a third fight. On 17 January, it was announced that Álvarez would take part in a middleweight unification bout against Daniel Jacobs on 4 May 2019. On 1 February, theblast.com reported that Golovkin had filed a lawsuit against his former managers Maximilian and Oleg Hermann, seeking $3.5 million in damages. In the suit it claimed the Hermann brothers had taken advantage of Golovkin financially, taking higher percentages and 'intentionally failing to account for revenue' from previous fights. At the same time, it was reported that Golovkin was negotiating a broadcast deal with DAZN, Showtime/FOX and ESPN. On 27 February, Tom Loeffler stated Golovkin was close to securing a deal, with some reports suggesting he was going to sign with DAZN. On 8 March, DAZN announced they had signed Golovkin on a 3-year, 6-fight agreement, worth around $100 million, which would see Golovkin fight twice a year on the platform. It was revealed part of the agreement was Golovkin would earn a purse of $30 million for a trilogy fight against Álvarez. Apart from Golovkin's own fights, the agreement also included for 2-fight cards per year in 2020 and 2021 for GGG Promotions, to showcase talent from Golovkin's own promotional company. It was rumoured that Golovkin was offered equity in DAZN through his fight purses. Golovkin's first bout under the new contract was scheduled for June 2019. Golovkin praised DAZN's global vision and highlighted that as one of the key reasons he signed with them. Golovkin vs. Rolls On 21 March, Golovkin advised that he wanted to fight the best of the middleweight division, regardless of belts. He wanted to close out the remainder of his career, not chasing titles, but to only fight the best and be the best middleweight. On 16 April, Golovkin announced he would fight 35 year old Canadian boxer Steve Rolls (19-0, 10 KOs) on 8 June 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York at a catchweight of 164 pounds. Other names in the running to fight Golovkin were Brandon Adams (21-2, 13 KOs), Kamil Szeremeta (19-0, 4 KO) and former world champion Hassan N'Dam. It was then reported that Adams would challenge Jermall Charlo (28-0, 21 KOs) instead. Speaking to Fight Hub TV, Loeffler explained Rolls was chosen as Golovkin's opponent to increase subscriptions in Canada. On 24 April, Golovkin released a statement announcing he had split with longtime trainer Abel Sanchez, after nine long years. Sanchez called Golovkin 'Greedy and ungrateful', also advising ESPN, Golovkin had offered him a pay cut, which he refused. In May, during a press conference, Golovkin revealed Johnathon Banks as his new trainer. Banks was best known for having trained former world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. Golovkin weighed 163 pounds, and Rolls came in at 163¾ pounds. Golovkin's official purse was listed as $2 million, however it was reported he would earn closer to $15 million. Rolls was paid $300,000. There was an announced crowd of 12,357 in attendance. Golovkin won the bout via knockout in round 4. From round 1, Golovkin began closing the gap on Rolls and looked to hurt Rolls with body shots. Round 2 was fought in similar fashion by Golovkin, who managed to land many clean shots. Rolls also had success in round 2, landing a number of clean shots, notably a left hand to the head, which pushed Golovkin back. By round 4, Rolls was feeling Golovkin's power. Golovkin backed Rolls up against the ropes and began throwing with both hands. Golovkin landed a shot to the temple on Rolls, the same shot he knocked out Marco Antonio Rubio, causing Rolls to cover up. With Golovkin's continued attack against the ropes, he landed a left hook to Rolls' chin, dropping Rolls face first on to the canvas. Rolls tried to beat the count, but ultimately fell towards the ropes. Referee Steve Willis stopped the bout at 2 minutes and 9 seconds into round 4, declaring Golovkin the winner. After 3 rounds, Golovkin was ahead 29–28, 30–27, and 30–27 on all three judges' scorecards. During the post-fight in-ring interviews, Golovkin said, "I feel great. I feel like a new baby. Right now, I feel completely different because I came back to my knockout. I love knockouts, and I love New York. It was a great night all around [...] The fans know who they want me to fight next, I'm ready for September. I'm ready for Canelo. Just bring him, just ask him. I'm ready. If you want big drama show, please tell him." New trainer Banks was pleased with the knockout. CompuBox statistics showed that Golovkin landed 62 of 223 punches thrown (28%) and Rolls landed 38 of his 175 thrown (22%). Golovkin vs. Derevyanchenko On 5 October 2019, Golovkin defeated Ukrainian Sergiy Derevyanchenko by unanimous decision for the vacant IBF and IBO middleweight titles at Madison Square Garden, New York. After a tentative start to the opening round, which saw both fighters sizing each other up with probing jabs, Golovkin fired off a six punch combination ending with a right hook to Derevyanchenko's head, dropping the Ukrainian with 1 minute left in the first round. Derevyanchenko rose to his feet within seconds, showing no signs of being hurt. The knockdown appeared to spur Derevyanchenko into action as he began to answer Golovkin's punches with his own shots for the remainder of the round. In round two, Derevyanchenko began putting three and four punch combinations together behind a single and double jab, while Golovkin stuck to single punches, landing the occasional eye-catching hook. Towards the end of the round, Golovkin opened a cut above Derevyanchenko's right eye. The action replay appeared to show the cut was caused by a left hook, however, the New York State Athletic Commission deemed it to be the result of an accidental clash of heads, meaning if the fight was stopped due to the cut before the fourth round then the fight would be ruled a no contest, after the fourth, the result would be determined by the scorecards with a technical decision rather than a technical knockout win for Golovkin if the cut was deemed to be the result of a punch. After Golovkin started the opening seconds of the third round as the aggressor, Derevyanchenko quickly fired back to the body, appearing to hurt Golovkin as he backed up and kept his elbows tucked in close to his body to protect his mid-section. Derevyanchenko took advantage of Golovkin's defensive posture, landing several clean punches to the former champion's head. Towards the end of the round Golovkin had some success with a couple of sharp hooks to the head and a right uppercut. Golovkin was the aggressor for the majority of the fourth round, having partial success, with Derevyanchenko picking his moments to fire back with two and three punch combinations and continuing to work the body. In the last minute of the round, Derevyanchenko appeared to momentarily trouble Golovkin with a straight-left hand to the body. At the beginning of the fifth round, the ringside doctor gave the cut above Derevyanchenko's right-eye a close examination before the action resumed. Derevyanchenko controlled the pace of the round with a high punch-output, continuing with three and four punch combinations with lateral movement. Golovkin, meanwhile, stuck with single hooks and probing jabs, landing a solid uppercut halfway through the round. In the final 20 seconds, Derevyanchenko landed another body shot which again appeared to hurt Golovkin, who reeled backwards with his elbows down at his side, protecting his body. The sixth was an evenly fought round with both fighters landing several clean punches to the head, although Golovkin appeared to land the more significant blows which caught the attention of the crowd. Rounds seven, eight and nine were much of the same, back and forth engagements with Golovkin seeming to land the more eye catching blows. The tenth saw Derevyanchenko apply the pressure and back Golovkin up for the first half of the round. Golovkin had success in the last minute with left and right hooks landing on Derevyanchenko's head, only to see the Ukrainian answer with his own solid shots and back Golovkin up once again in the final 30 seconds of the round. The eleventh and twelfth were closely contested, both fighters having success, with Golovkin again appearing to land the more catching punches in the twelfth and final round. After twelve hard fought rounds, Golovkin won by unanimous decision with two judges scoring the bout 115–112 and the third scoring it 114–113, all in favour of Golovkin. According to CompuBox stats, Golovkin landed a total of 243 (33.7%) punches out of 720, with 136 (43.3%) of 314 power punches, while Derevyanchenko landed a total of 230 (31.2%) punches out of 738, with 138 (29.3%) out of 472 power punches—the most an opponent has landed on Golovkin to date. In a post fight interview, promoter Eddie Hearn, who lead the promotion of DAZN in the U.S., stated: "...he won't say it, but Gennady has been ill, basically all week", alluding to the reason Golovkin did not appear on top form during the fight. Golovkin vs. Szeremeta Golovkin faced mandatory IBF challenger Kamil Szeremeta on 18 December 2020. Quickly establishing his powerful jab, Golovkin dropped Szeremeta to the canvas at the end of the first round from an uppercut followed by a left hand. Golovkin scored another knockdown in round two from a right hand followed by two more knockdowns in rounds four and seven. Between rounds seven and eight, the referee walked to Szeremeta's corner and stopped the bout. CompuBox statistics showed that Golovkin outlanded Szeremeta 228 to 59 and outlanded in jabs 94 to 10. Golovkin landed 56% of his power punches through the fight. Golovkin vs. Murata After multiple rumors of a unification match between Golovkin and WBA (Super) champion Ryōta Murata, it was announced on 27 October 2021 that a deal had been agreed between the two to stage the bout in the latter's home country of Japan, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama on 29 December 2021. On 2 December 2021, it was announced that the bout was postponed indefinitely due to announced restrictions in response to the rising Omicron variant of Covid-19 that prohibited foreigners from visiting Japan. The fight was eventually rescheduled for 9 April 2022. On the night, Golovkin defeated Murata by ninth-round technical knockout. In his first fight in over a year, Golovkin made a slow start, with Murata landing the more meaningful punches in the early rounds, sustaining attacks to the body of Golovkin. From the fifth round onward, Golovkin settled into the fight, hurting his opponent as Murata's output dropping as the fight progressed. In the ninth round, Golovkin knocked his opponent down, prompting Murata's corner to throw in the towel. Super middleweight Golovkin vs. Álvarez III On 24 May 2022, it was announced that Golovkin would be moving up to compete in the super middleweight division for the first time in his career, to face Canelo Álvarez on 17 September at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada in a trilogy bout for the latter's undisputed super middleweight titles. Golovkin lost the fight via unanimous decision with two judges scoring the fight 115–113 and the other judge had it 116–112, all in Álvarez's favor. Vacating the middleweight titles After the loss to Álvarez, Golovkin continued to hold the WBA (Super) and IBF middleweight titles. On 8 February 2023, he vacated the IBF title after being ordered to face mandatory challenger Esquiva Falcão. On 9 March 2023, Golovkin relinquished the WBA (Super) title after being ordered to face WBA (Regular) champion Erislandy Lara. Training style Golovkin is known for his hard sparring sessions, in which he often sparred with much larger opponents. His biggest sparring partner was a heavyweight, "Vicious" Vincent Thompson, who was a 243 lb prospect with a 13–0 professional record at the time. Golovkin's other notable regular sparring partners include Darnell Boone, David Benavidez, and brothers John and Julius Jackson. He occasionally sparred with Canelo Álvarez, Julio César Chávez Jr., Sergey Kovalev, Shane Mosley, Peter Quillin, and other top-ranked boxers. According to David Imoesiri, a heavyweight who worked as a sparring partner for Alexander Povetkin and completed six different training camps in Big Bear, sparred for a total of about a hundred rounds with Golovkin. Imoesiri said Golovkin routinely dispatched heavyweights and hit harder than Povetkin. Will Clemons, a cruiserweight, who worked with both Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Golovkin, said: "You know it's an experience of a lifetime, Floyd would definitely make you work, make you think a lot. 'Triple G' make[s] you fear for your life. For real, that's the kind of power he has, and everything is hard from the jab. ... I wanted to feel that power, which I did, I got what I was asking for. Usually they make you wear rib protectors. My heart's had it I didn't wanna wear one, and then I learned my lesson. I got hit with a body shot that felt like ... it was a missile. ... It was a great experience to be in there with the hardest-hitting middleweight in history." Golovkin's ex-trainer Abel Sanchez praised him for his work ethic and humility: "He has been that way since I first got him eight years ago. He is humble and shy guy, like you see him now, and it's actually pretty pleasant to be around somebody like that, who's not just 'foam at the mouth' and trying to say who he's gonna kill next." Sanchez also stated that until 2019 Golovkin did not have a strength and conditioning coach or a nutritionist, for he prefers a traditional cuisine and training regimen, and because of Sanchez's determination to not have any assistants: "Along the track of Gennady being who he has become, I would get consistently emails, and messages, and letters from coaches, and nutritionists, and strength and conditioning coaches, that would tell me that if I use them, and if I bring them in, they promised me that they can make Gennady 50% better than he is right now. Could you imagine that? We couldn't get fights before! If he was 50% better we wouldn't be able to get any fights! He would be destroying everybody, there would be nobody that he could fight." Personal life In 2006, Golovkin moved from his native Kazakhstan to Stuttgart, Germany, and then in 2013 to train with Abel Sanchez at Big Bear, California. In 2014, he moved to Santa Monica, California, where he lives with his family. He trains in Big Bear, California. He and his wife Alina have a son who is in primary school, and a daughter who was born days before his first fight with Canelo Álvarez. Golovkin speaks four languages: Kazakh, Russian, German, and English. His fraternal twin brother Maxim, an amateur boxer, joined Gennady's camp and team in 2012. Golovkin said he wanted his son to attend school in California because his training camp, team and promotions are based in California, he has many friends there and he considers it a beautiful place. Golovkin's favorite food is beef. Golovkin enjoys playing games with his son and spending time with his family. In an interview with Kazakh media, Golovkin said that he was frequently approached in the U.S. by ad- and film-making people, who asked him to make guest appearances, co-star in movies or appear in other media. Though he described himself as a media-friendly person, he added, "I avoid starring in movies, appear on magazine covers. I love boxing, and I don't want to divert from it. Right now my sports career is more important for me." Professional boxing record Pay-per-view bouts Professional boxingTotals (approximate)': 3,475,000 buys and $268,000,000 in revenue. References Video references External links Gennadiy Golovkin Partial Record from Amateur Boxing Results Gennadiy Golovkin record from Sportenote.com Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:Kazakhstani people of Korean descent Category:Kazakhstani people of Russian descent Category:Koryo-saram Category:Kazakhstani male boxers Category:Kazakhstani twins Category:Boxers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic boxers for Kazakhstan Category:Olympic silver medalists for Kazakhstan Category:Olympic medalists in boxing Category:Asian Games medalists in boxing Category:World boxing champions Category:Boxers at the 2002 Asian Games Category:Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Astana Presidential Club Category:Russian male boxers Category:AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Category:World Boxing Association champions Category:World Boxing Council champions Category:International Boxing Federation champions Category:International Boxing Organization champions Category:Asian Games gold medalists for Kazakhstan Category:Light-middleweight boxers Category:Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Category:People from Big Bear Lake, California Category:World middleweight boxing champions Category:Kazakhstani expatriate sportspeople in the United States Category:Sportspeople from Karaganda

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Matthew Boulton

Matthew Boulton (; 3 September 1728 - 17 August 1809) was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century, the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines, which were a great advance on the state of the art, making possible the mechanisation of factories and mills. Boulton applied modern techniques to the minting of coins, striking millions of pieces for Britain and other countries, and supplying the Royal Mint with up-to-date equipment.

Community work

Boulton was widely involved in civic activities in Birmingham. His friend Dr John Ash had long sought to build a hospital in the town. A great fan of the music of Handel, Boulton conceived of the idea to hold a music festival in Birmingham to raise funds for the hospital. The festival took place in September 1768, the first of a series stretching well into the twentieth century. The hospital opened in 1779. Boulton also helped build the General Dispensary, where outpatient treatment could be obtained. A firm supporter of the Dispensary, he served as treasurer, and wrote, "If the funds of the institution are not sufficient for its support, I will make up the deficiency." The Dispensary soon outgrew its original quarters, and a new building in Temple Row was opened in 1808, shortly before Boulton's death. Boulton helped found the New Street Theatre in 1774, and later wrote that having a theatre encouraged well-to-do visitors to come to Birmingham, and to spend more money than they would have otherwise. Boulton attempted to have the theatre recognised as a patent theatre with a Royal Patent, entitled to present serious drama; he failed in 1779 but succeeded in 1807. He also supported Birmingham's Oratorio Choral Society, and collaborated with button maker and amateur musical promoter Joseph Moore to put on a series of private concerts in 1799. He maintained a pew at St Paul's Church, Birmingham, a centre of musical excellence. When performances of the Messiah were organised at Westminster Abbey in 1784 in the (incorrect) belief it was the centennial of Handel's birth and the (correct) belief that it was the 25th anniversary of his death, Boulton attended and wrote, "I scarcely know which was grandest, the sounds or the scene. Both was transcendibly fine that it is not in my power of words to describe. In the grand Halleluja my soul almost ascended from my body." Concerned about the level of crime in Birmingham, Boulton complained, "The streets are infested from Noon Day to midnight with prostitutes." In an era prior to the establishment of the police, Boulton served on a committee to organise volunteers to patrol the streets at night and reduce crime. He supported the local militia, providing money for weapons. In 1794 he was elected High Sheriff of Staffordshire, his county of residence. Besides seeking to improve local life, Boulton took an interest in world affairs. Initially sympathetic to the cause of the rebellious American colonists, Boulton changed his view once he realised that an independent America might be a threat to British trade, and in 1775 organised a petition urging the government to take a hard line with the Americans--though when the revolution proved successful, he resumed trade with the former colonies. He was more sympathetic to the cause of the French Revolution, believing it justified, though he expressed his horror at the bloody excesses of the Revolutionary government. When war with France broke out, he paid for weapons for a company of volunteers, sworn to resist any French invasion. CANNOTANSWER

Matthew Boulton ( ; 3 September 172817 August 1809) was an English businessman, inventor, mechanical engineer, and silversmith. He was a business partner of the Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century, the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines, which were a great advance on the state of the art, making possible the mechanisation of factories and mills. Boulton applied modern techniques to the minting of coins, striking millions of pieces for Britain and other countries, and supplying the Royal Mint with up-to-date equipment. Born in Birmingham, he was the son of a Birmingham manufacturer of small metal products who died when Boulton was 31. By then Boulton had managed the business for several years, and thereafter expanded it considerably, consolidating operations at the Soho Manufactory, built by him near Birmingham. At Soho, he adopted the latest techniques, branching into silver plate, ormolu ("gilt bronze") and other decorative arts. He became associated with James Watt when Watt's business partner, John Roebuck, was unable to pay a debt to Boulton, who accepted Roebuck's share of Watt's patent as settlement. He then successfully lobbied Parliament to extend Watt's patent for an additional 17 years, enabling the firm to market Watt's steam engine. The firm installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines in Britain and abroad, initially in mines and then in factories. Boulton was a key member of the Lunar Society, a group of Birmingham-area men prominent in the arts, sciences, and theology. Members included Watt, Erasmus Darwin, Josiah Wedgwood and Joseph Priestley. The Society met each month near the full moon. Members of the Society have been given credit for developing concepts and techniques in science, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transport that laid the groundwork for the Industrial Revolution. Boulton founded the Soho Mint, to which he soon adapted steam power. He sought to improve the poor state of Britain's coinage, and after several years of effort obtained a contract in 1797 to produce the first British copper coinage in a quarter century. His "cartwheel" pieces were well-designed and difficult to counterfeit, and included the first striking of the large copper British penny, which continued to be coined until decimalisation in 1971. He retired in 1800, though continuing to run his mint, and died in 1809. His image appears alongside his partner James Watt on the Bank of England's current Series F £50 note. Background Birmingham had long been a centre of the ironworking industry. In the early 18th century the town entered a period of expansion as iron working became easier and cheaper with the transition (beginning in 1709) from charcoal to coke as a means of smelting iron. Scarcity of wood in increasingly deforested England and discoveries of large quantities of coal in Birmingham's county of Warwickshire and the adjacent county of Staffordshire speeded the transition. Much of the iron was forged in small foundries near Birmingham, especially in the Black Country, including nearby towns such as Smethwick and West Bromwich. The resultant thin iron sheets were transported to factories in and around Birmingham. With the town far from the sea and great rivers and with canals not yet built, metalworkers concentrated on producing small, relatively valuable pieces, especially buttons and buckles. Frenchman Alexander wrote that while he had seen excellent cane heads, snuff boxes and other metal objects in Milan, "the same can be had cheaper and better in Birmingham". These small objects came to be known as "toys", and their manufacturers as "toymakers". Boulton was a descendant of families from around Lichfield, his great-great-great-great grandfather, Rev. Zachary Babington, having been Chancellor of Lichfield. Boulton's father, also named Matthew and born in 1700, moved to Birmingham from Lichfield to serve an apprenticeship, and in 1723 he married Christiana Piers. The elder Boulton was a toymaker with a small workshop specialising in buckles. Matthew Boulton was born in 1728, their third child and the second of that name, the first Matthew having died at the age of two in 1726. Early and family life The elder Boulton's business prospered after young Matthew's birth, and the family moved to the Snow Hill area of Birmingham, then a well-to-do neighbourhood of new houses. As the local grammar school was in disrepair Boulton was sent to an academy in Deritend, on the other side of Birmingham. At the age of 15 he left school, and by 17 he had invented a technique for inlaying enamels in buckles that proved so popular that the buckles were exported to France, then reimported to Britain and billed as the latest French developments. On 3 March 1749 Boulton married Mary Robinson, a distant cousin and the daughter of a successful mercer, and wealthy in her own right. They lived briefly with the bride's mother in Lichfield, and then moved to Birmingham, where the elder Matthew Boulton made his son a partner at the age of 21. Though the son signed business letters "from father and self", by the mid-1750s he was effectively running the business. The elder Boulton retired in 1757 and died in 1759. The Boultons had three daughters in the early 1750s, but all died in infancy. Mary Boulton's health deteriorated, and she died in August 1759. Not long after her death Boulton began to woo her sister Anne. Marriage with a deceased wife's sister was forbidden by ecclesiastical law, though permitted by common law. Nonetheless, they married on 25 June 1760 at St. Mary's Church, Rotherhithe. Eric Delieb, who wrote a book on Boulton's silver, with a biographical sketch, suggests that the marriage celebrant, Rev. James Penfold, an impoverished curate, was probably bribed. Boulton later advised another man who was seeking to wed his late wife's sister: "I advise you to say nothing of your intentions but to go quickly and snugly to Scotland or some obscure corner of London, suppose Wapping, and there take lodgings to make yourself a parishioner. When the month is expired and the Law fulfilled, live and be happy ... I recommend silence, secrecy, and Scotland." The union was opposed by Anne's brother Luke, who feared Boulton would control (and possibly dissipate) much of the Robinson family fortune. In 1764 Luke Robinson died, and his estate passed to his sister Anne and thus into Matthew Boulton's control. The Boultons had two children, Matthew Robinson Boulton and Anne Boulton. Matthew Robinson in turn had six children with two wives. His eldest son Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, broadly educated and also a man of science, gained some fame posthumously for his invention of the important aeronautical flight control, the aileron. As his father before him, he also had two wives and six children. Innovator Expansion of the business After the death of his father in 1759, Boulton took full control of the family toymaking business. He spent much of his time in London and elsewhere, promoting his wares. He arranged for a friend to present a sword to Prince Edward, and the gift so interested the Prince's older brother, George, Prince of Wales, the future King George III, that he ordered one for himself. With capital accumulated from his two marriages and his inheritance from his father, Boulton sought a larger site to expand his business. In 1761 he leased at Soho, then just in Staffordshire, with a residence, Soho House, and a rolling mill. Soho House was at first occupied by Boulton relatives, and then by his first partner, John Fothergill. In 1766 Boulton required Fothergill to vacate Soho House, and lived there himself with his family. Both husband and wife died there, Anne Boulton of an apparent stroke in 1783 and her husband after a long illness in 1809. The at Soho included common land that Boulton enclosed, later decrying what he saw as the "idle beggarly" condition of the people who had used it. By 1765 his Soho Manufactory had been erected. The warehouse, or "principal building", had a Palladian front and 19 bays for loading and unloading, and had quarters for clerks and managers on the upper storeys. The structure was designed by local architect William Wyatt at a time when industrial buildings were commonly designed by engineers. Other buildings contained workshops. Boulton and Fothergill invested in the most advanced metalworking equipment, and the complex was admired as a modern industrial marvel. Although the cost of the principal building alone had been estimated at £2,000 (about £276,000 today); the final cost was five times that amount. The partnership spent over £20,000 in building and equipping the premises. The partners' means were not equal to the total costs, which were met only by heavy borrowing and by artful management of creditors. Among the products Boulton sought to make in his new facility were sterling silver plate for those able to afford it, and Sheffield plate, silver-plated copper, for those less well off. Boulton and his father had long made small silver items, but there is no record of large items in either silver or Sheffield plate being made in Birmingham before Boulton did so. To make items such as candlesticks more cheaply than the London competition, the firm made many items out of thin, die-stamped sections, which were shaped and joined together. One impediment to Boulton's work was the lack of an assay office in Birmingham. The silver toys long made by the family firm were generally too light to require assaying, but heavier items had to be sent over to the nearest assay office, at Chester, to be assayed and hallmarked, with the attendant risks of damage and loss. Alternatively they could be sent to London, but this exposed them to the risk of being copied by competitors. Boulton wrote in 1771, "I am very desirous of becoming a great silversmith, yet I am determined not to take up that branch in the large way I intended, unless powers can be obtained to have a marking hall [assay office] at Birmingham." Boulton petitioned Parliament for the establishment of an assay office in Birmingham. Though the petition was bitterly opposed by London goldsmiths, he was successful in getting Parliament to pass an act establishing assay offices in Birmingham and Sheffield, whose silversmiths had faced similar difficulties in transporting their wares. The silver business proved not to be profitable due to the opportunity cost of keeping a large amount of capital tied up in the inventory of silver. The firm continued to make large quantities of Sheffield plate, but Boulton delegated responsibility for this enterprise to trusted subordinates, involving himself little in it. As part of Boulton's efforts to market to the wealthy, he started to sell vases decorated with ormolu, previously a French speciality. Ormolu was milled gold (from the French or moulu) amalgamated with mercury, and applied to the item, which was then heated to drive off the mercury, leaving the gold decoration. In the late 1760s and early 1770s there was a fashion among the wealthy for decorated vases, and he sought to cater to this craze. He initially ordered ceramic vases from his friend and fellow Lunar Society member Josiah Wedgwood, but ceramic proved unable to bear the weight of the decorations and Boulton chose marble and other decorative stone as the material for his vases. Boulton copied vase designs from classical Greek works and borrowed works of art from collectors, merchants, and sculptors. Fothergill and others searched Europe for designs for these creations. In March 1770 Boulton visited the Royal Family and sold several vases to Queen Charlotte, George III's wife. He ran annual sales at Christie's in 1771 and 1772. The Christie's exhibition succeeded in publicising Boulton and his products, which were highly praised, but the sales were not financially successful with many works left unsold or sold below cost. When the craze for vases ended in the early 1770s, the partnership was left with a large stock on its hands, and disposed of much of it in a single massive sale to Catherine the Great of Russia—the Empress described the vases as superior to French ormolu, and cheaper as well. Boulton continued to solicit orders, though "ormolu" was dropped from the firm's business description from 1779, and when the Boulton-Fothergill partnership was dissolved by the latter's 1782 death there were only 14 items of ormolu in the "toy room". Among Boulton's most successful products were mounts for small Wedgwood products such as plaques, cameo brooches and buttons in the distinctive ceramics, notably jasper ware, for which Wedgwood's firm remains well known. The mounts of these articles, many of which have survived, were made of ormolu or cut steel, which had a jewel-like gleam. Boulton and Wedgwood were friends, alternately co-operating and competing, and Wedgwood wrote of Boulton, "It doubles my courage to have the first Manufacturer in England to encounter with—The match likes me well—I like the Man, I like his spirit." In the 1770s Boulton introduced an insurance system for his workers that served as the model for later schemes, allowing his workers compensation in the event of injury or illness. The first of its kind in any large establishment, employees paid one-sixtieth of their wages into the Soho Friendly Society, membership in which was mandatory. The firm's apprentices were poor or orphaned boys, trainable into skilled workmen; he declined to hire the sons of gentlemen as apprentices, stating that they would be "out of place" among the poorer boys. Not all of Boulton's innovations proved successful. Together with painter Francis Eginton, he created a process for the mechanical reproduction of paintings for middle-class homes, but eventually abandoned the procedure. Boulton and James Keir produced an alloy called "Eldorado metal" that they claimed would not corrode in water and could be used for sheathing wooden ships. After sea trials the Admiralty rejected their claims, and the metal was used for fanlights and sash windows at Soho House. Boulton feared that construction of a nearby canal would damage his water supply, but this did not prove to be the case, and in 1779 he wrote, "Our navigation goes on prosperously; the junction with the Wolverhampton Canal is complete, and we already sail to Bristol and to Hull." Partnership with Watt Boulton's Soho site proved to have insufficient hydropower for his needs, especially in the summer when the millstream's flow was greatly reduced. He realised that using a steam engine either to pump water back up to the millpond or to drive equipment directly would help to provide the necessary power. He began to correspond with Watt in 1766, and first met him two years later. In 1769 Watt patented an engine with the innovation of a separate condenser, making it far more efficient than earlier engines. Boulton realised not only that this engine could power his manufactory, but also that its production might be a profitable business venture. After receiving the patent, Watt did little to develop the engine into a marketable invention, turning to other work. In 1772, Watt's partner, Dr. John Roebuck, ran into financial difficulties, and Boulton, to whom he owed £1,200, accepted his two-thirds share in Watt's patent as satisfaction of the debt. Boulton's partner Fothergill refused to have any part in the speculation, and accepted cash for his share. Boulton's share was worth little without Watt's efforts to improve his invention. At the time, the principal use of steam engines was to pump water out of mines. The engine commonly in use was the Newcomen steam engine, which consumed large amounts of coal and, as mines became deeper, proved incapable of keeping them clear of water. Watt's work was well known, and a number of mines that needed engines put off purchasing them in the hope that Watt would soon market his invention. Boulton boasted about Watt's talents, leading to an employment offer from the Russian government, which Boulton had to persuade Watt to turn down. In 1774 he was able to convince Watt to move to Birmingham, and they entered into a partnership the following year. By 1775 six of the 14 years of Watt's original patent had elapsed, but thanks to Boulton's lobbying Parliament passed an act extending Watt's patent until 1800. Boulton and Watt began work improving the engine. With the assistance of iron master John Wilkinson (brother-in-law of Lunar Society member Joseph Priestley), they succeeded in making the engine commercially viable. In 1776 the partnership erected two engines, one for Wilkinson and one at a mine in Tipton in the Black Country. Both engines were successfully installed, leading to favourable publicity for the partnership. Boulton and Watt began to install engines elsewhere. The firm rarely produced the engine itself: it had the purchaser buy parts from a number of suppliers and then assembled the engine on-site under the supervision of a Soho engineer. The company made its profit by comparing the amount of coal used by the machine with that used by an earlier, less efficient Newcomen engine, and required payments of one-third of the savings annually for the next 25 years. This pricing scheme led to disputes, as many mines fuelled the engines using coal of unmarketable quality that cost the mine owners only the expense of extraction. Mine owners were also reluctant to make the annual payments, viewing the engines as theirs once erected, and threatened to petition Parliament to repeal Watt's patent. The county of Cornwall was a major market for the firm's engines. It was mineral-rich and had many mines. However, the special problems for mining there, including local rivalries and high prices for coal, which had to be imported from Wales, forced Watt and later Boulton to spend several months a year in Cornwall overseeing installations and resolving problems with the mineowners. In 1779 the firm hired engineer William Murdoch, who was able to take over the management of most of the on-site installation problems, allowing Watt and Boulton to remain in Birmingham. The pumping engine for use in mines was a great success. In 1782 the firm sought to modify Watt's invention so that the engine had a rotary motion, making it suitable for use in mills and factories. On a 1781 visit to Wales Boulton had seen a powerful copper-rolling mill driven by water, and when told it was often inoperable in the summer due to drought suggested that a steam engine would remedy that defect. Boulton wrote to Watt urging the modification of the engine, warning that they were reaching the limits of the pumping engine market: "There is no other Cornwall to be found, and the most likely line for increasing the consumption of our engines is the application of them to mills, which is certainly an extensive field." Watt spent much of 1782 on the modification project, and though he was concerned that few orders would result, completed it at the end of the year. One order was received in 1782, and several others from mills and breweries soon after. George III toured the Whitbread brewery in London, and was impressed by the engine there (now preserved at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia). As a demonstration, Boulton used two engines to grind wheat at the rate of 150 bushels per hour in his new Albion Mill in London. While the mill was not financially successful, according to historian Jenny Uglow it served as a "publicity stunt par excellence" for the firm's latest innovation. Before its 1791 destruction by fire, the mill's fame, according to early historian Samuel Smiles, "spread far and wide", and orders for rotative engines poured in not only from Britain but from the United States and the West Indies. Between 1775 and 1800 the firm produced approximately 450 engines. It did not let other manufacturers produce engines with separate condensers, and approximately 1,000 Newcomen engines, less efficient but cheaper and not subject to the restrictions of Watt's patent, were produced in Britain during that time. Boulton boasted to James Boswell when the diarist toured Soho, "I sell here, sir, what all the world desires to have—POWER." The development of an efficient steam engine allowed large-scale industry to be developed, and the industrial city, such as Manchester became, to exist. Involvement with coinage By 1786, two-thirds of the coins in circulation in Britain were counterfeit, and the Royal Mint responded by shutting itself down, worsening the situation. Few of the silver coins being passed were genuine. Even the copper coins were melted down and replaced with lightweight fakes. The Royal Mint struck no copper coins for 48 years, from 1773 until 1821. The resultant gap was filled with copper tokens that approximated the size of the halfpenny, struck on behalf of merchants. Boulton struck millions of these merchant pieces. On the rare occasions when the Royal Mint did strike coins, they were relatively crude, with quality control nonexistent. Boulton had turned his attention to coinage in the mid-1780s; they were just another small metal product like those he manufactured. He also had shares in several Cornish copper mines, and had a large personal stock of copper, purchased when the mines were unable to dispose of it elsewhere. However, when orders for counterfeit money were sent to him, he refused them: "I will do anything, short of being a common informer against particular persons, to stop the malpractices of the Birmingham coiners." In 1788 he established the Soho Mint as part of his industrial plant. The mint included eight steam-driven presses, each striking between 70 and 84 coins per minute. The firm had little immediate success getting a licence to strike British coins, but was soon engaged in striking coins for the British East India Company for use in India. The coin crisis in Britain continued. In a letter to the Master of the Mint, Lord Hawkesbury (whose son would become Prime Minister as Earl of Liverpool) on 14 April 1789, Boulton wrote: In the course of my journeys, I observe that I receive upon an average two-thirds counterfeit halfpence for change at toll-gates, etc. and I believe the evil is daily increasing, as the spurious money is carried into circulation by the lowest class of manufacturers, who pay with it the principal part of the wages of the poor people they employ. They purchase from the subterraneous coiners 36 shillings'-worth of copper (in nominal value) for 20 shillings, so that the profit derived from the cheating is very large. Boulton offered to strike new coins at a cost "not exceeding half the expense which the common copper coin hath always cost at his Majesty's Mint". He wrote to his friend, Sir Joseph Banks, describing the advantages of his coinage presses: It will coin much faster, with greater ease, with fewer persons, for less expense, and more beautiful than any other machinery ever used for coining ... Can lay the pieces or blanks upon the die quite true and without care or practice and as fast as wanted. Can work night and day without fatigue by two setts of boys. The machine keeps an account of the number of pieces struck which cannot be altered from the truth by any of the persons employed. The apparatus strikes an inscription upon the edge with the same blow that strikes the two faces. It strikes the [back]ground of the pieces brighter than any other coining press can do. It strikes the pieces perfectly round, all of equal diameter, and exactly concentric with the edge, which cannot be done by any other machinery now in use. Boulton spent much time in London lobbying for a contract to strike British coins, but in June 1790 the Pitt Government postponed a decision on recoinage indefinitely. Meanwhile, the Soho Mint struck coins for the East India Company, Sierra Leone and Russia, while producing high-quality planchets, or blank coins, to be struck by national mints elsewhere. The firm sent over 20 million blanks to Philadelphia, to be struck into cents and half-cents by the United States Mint—Mint Director Elias Boudinot found them to be "perfect and beautifully polished". The high-technology Soho Mint gained increasing and somewhat unwelcome attention: rivals attempted industrial espionage, while lobbying for Boulton's mint to be shut down. The national financial crisis reached its nadir in February 1797, when the Bank of England stopped redeeming its bills for gold. In an effort to get more money into circulation, the Government adopted a plan to issue large quantities of copper coins, and Lord Hawkesbury summoned Boulton to London on 3 March 1797, informing him of the Government's plan. Four days later, Boulton attended a meeting of the Privy Council, and was awarded a contract at the end of the month. According to a proclamation dated 26 July 1797, King George III was "graciously pleased to give directions that measures might be taken for an immediate supply of such copper coinage as might be best adapted to the payment of the laborious poor in the present exigency ... which should go and pass for one penny and two pennies". The proclamation required that the coins weigh one and two ounces respectively, bringing the intrinsic value of the coins close to their face value. Boulton made efforts to frustrate counterfeiters. Designed by Heinrich Küchler, the coins featured a raised rim with incuse or sunken letters and numbers, features difficult for counterfeiters to match. The twopenny coins measured exactly an inch and a half across; 16 pennies lined up would reach two feet. The exact measurements and weights made it easy to detect lightweight counterfeits. Küchler also designed proportionate halfpennies and farthings; these were not authorised by the proclamation, and though pattern pieces were struck, they never officially entered circulation. The halfpenny measured ten to a foot, the farthing 12 to a foot. The coins were nicknamed "cartwheels", both because of the size of the twopenny coin and in reference to the broad rims of both denominations. The penny was the first of its denomination to be struck in copper. The new coins were issued at the Soho Mint and by Charlotte Matthews who was the banker and business advisor to Watt and Boulton. The cartwheel twopenny coin was not struck again; much of the mintage was melted down in 1800 when the price of copper increased and it had proved too heavy for commerce and was difficult to strike. Much to Boulton's chagrin, the new coins were being counterfeited in copper-covered lead within a month of issuance. Boulton was awarded additional contracts in 1799 and 1806, each for the lower three copper denominations. Though the cartwheel design was used again for the 1799 penny (struck with the date 1797), all other strikings used lighter planchets to reflect the rise in the price of copper, and featured more conventional designs. Boulton greatly reduced the counterfeiting problem by adding lines to the coin edges, and striking slightly concave planchets. Counterfeiters turned their sights to easier targets, the pre-Soho pieces, which were not withdrawn, due to the expense, until a gradual withdrawal took place between 1814 and 1817. Watt, in his eulogy after Boulton's death in 1809, stated: In short, had Mr. Boulton done nothing more in the world than he has accomplished in improving the coinage, his name would deserve to be immortalised; and if it be considered that this was done in the midst of various other important avocations, and at enormous expense,— for which, at the time, he could have had no certainty of an adequate return,—we shall be at a loss whether most to admire his ingenuity, his perseverance, or his munificence. He has conducted the whole more like a sovereign than a private manufacturer; and the love of fame has always been to him a greater stimulus than the love of gain. Yet it is to be hoped that, even in the latter point of view, the enterprise answered its purpose. Activities and views Scientific studies and the Lunar Society Boulton never had any formal schooling in science. His associate and fellow Lunar Society member James Keir eulogised him after his death: Mr. [Boulton] is proof of how much scientific knowledge may be acquired without much regular study, by means of a quick & just apprehension, much practical application, and nice mechanical feelings. He had very correct notions of the several branches of natural philosophy, was master of every metallic art & possessed all the chemistry that had any relations to the object of his various manufactures. Electricity and astronomy were at one time among his favourite amusements. From an early age, Boulton had interested himself in the scientific advances of his times. He discarded theories that electricity was a manifestation of the human soul, writing "we know tis matter & tis wrong to call it Spirit". He called such theories "Cymeras [chimeras] of each others Brain". His interest brought him into contact with other enthusiasts such as John Whitehurst, who also became a member of the Lunar Society. In 1758 the Pennsylvania printer Benjamin Franklin, the leading experimenter in electricity, journeyed to Birmingham during one of his lengthy stays in Britain; Boulton met him, and introduced him to his friends. Boulton worked with Franklin in efforts to contain electricity within a Leyden jar, and when the printer needed new glass for his "glassychord" (a mechanised version of musical glasses) he obtained it from Boulton. Despite time constraints imposed on him by the expansion of his business, Boulton continued his "philosophical" work (as scientific experimentation was then called). He wrote in his notebooks observations on the freezing and boiling point of mercury, on people's pulse rates at different ages, on the movements of the planets, and on how to make sealing wax and disappearing ink. However, Erasmus Darwin, another fellow enthusiast who became a member of the Lunar Society, wrote to him in 1763, "As you are now become a sober plodding Man of Business, I scarcely dare trouble you to do me a favour in the ... philosophical way." The Birmingham enthusiasts, including Boulton, Whitehurst, Keir, Darwin, Watt (after his move to Birmingham), potter Josiah Wedgwood and clergyman and chemist Joseph Priestley began to meet informally in the late 1750s. This evolved into a monthly meeting near the full moon, providing light to journey home afterwards, a pattern common for clubs in Britain at the time. The group eventually dubbed itself the "Lunar Society", and following the death of member Dr William Small in 1775, who had informally co-ordinated communication between the members, Boulton took steps to put the Society on a formal footing. They met on Sundays, beginning with dinner at 2 pm, and continuing with discussions until at least 8. While not a formal member of the Lunar Society, Sir Joseph Banks was active in it. In 1768 Banks sailed with Captain James Cook to the South Pacific, and took with him green glass earrings made at Soho to give to the natives. In 1776 Captain Cook ordered an instrument from Boulton, most likely for use in navigation. Boulton generally preferred not to take on lengthy projects, and he warned Cook that its completion might take years. In June 1776 Cook left on the voyage on which he was killed almost three years later, and Boulton's records show no further mention of the instrument. In addition to the scientific discussions and experiments conducted by the group, Boulton had a business relationship with some of the members. Watt and Boulton were partners for a quarter century. Boulton purchased vases from Wedgwood's pottery to be decorated with ormolu, and contemplated a partnership with him. Keir was a long-time supplier and associate of Boulton, though Keir never became his partner as he hoped. In 1785 both Boulton and Watt were elected as Fellows of the Royal Society. According to Whitehurst, who wrote to congratulate Boulton, not a single vote was cast against him. Though Boulton hoped his activities for the Lunar Society would "prevent the decline of a Society which I hope will be lasting", as members died or moved away they were not replaced. In 1813, four years after his death, the Society was dissolved and a lottery was held to dispose of its assets. Since there were no minutes of meetings, few details of the gatherings remain. Historian Jenny Uglow wrote of the lasting impact of the Society: The Lunar Society['s] ... members have been called the fathers of the Industrial Revolution ... [T]he importance of this particular Society stems from its pioneering work in experimental chemistry, physics, engineering, and medicine, combined with leadership in manufacturing and commerce, and with political and social ideals. Its members were brilliant representatives of the informal scientific web which cut across class, blending the inherited skills of craftsmen with the theoretical advances of scholars, a key factor in Britain's leap ahead of the rest of Europe. Community work Boulton was widely involved in civic activities in Birmingham. His friend Dr John Ash had long sought to build a hospital in the town. A great fan of the music of Handel, Boulton conceived of the idea to hold a music festival in Birmingham to raise funds for the hospital. The festival took place in September 1768, the first of a series that lasted until 1912. The hospital, Birmingham General, opened in 1779. Boulton also helped build the General Dispensary, where outpatient treatment could be obtained. A firm supporter of the Dispensary, he served as treasurer, and wrote, "If the funds of the institution are not sufficient for its support, I will make up the deficiency." The Dispensary soon outgrew its original quarters, and a new building in Temple Row was opened in 1808, shortly before Boulton's death. Boulton helped found the New Street Theatre in 1774, and later wrote that having a theatre encouraged well-to-do visitors to come to Birmingham, and to spend more money than they would have otherwise. Boulton attempted to have the theatre recognised as a patent theatre with a Royal Patent, entitled to present serious drama; he failed in 1779 but succeeded in 1807. He also supported Birmingham's Oratorio Choral Society, and collaborated with button maker and amateur musical promoter Joseph Moore to put on a series of private concerts in 1799. He maintained a pew at St Paul's Church, Birmingham, a centre of musical excellence. When performances of the Messiah were organised at Westminster Abbey in 1784 in the (incorrect) belief it was the centennial of Handel's birth and the (correct) belief that it was the 25th anniversary of his death, Boulton attended and wrote, "I scarcely know which was grandest, the sounds or the scene. Both was transcendibly fine that it is not in my power of words to describe. In the grand Halleluja my soul almost ascended from my body." Concerned about the level of crime in Birmingham, Boulton complained, "The streets are infested from Noon Day to midnight with prostitutes." In an era prior to the establishment of the police, Boulton served on a committee to organise volunteers to patrol the streets at night and reduce crime. He supported the local militia, providing money for weapons. In 1794 he was elected High Sheriff of Staffordshire, his county of residence. Besides seeking to improve local life, Boulton took an interest in world affairs. Initially sympathetic to the cause of the rebellious American colonists, Boulton changed his view once he realised that an independent America might be damaging towards British trade, and in 1775 organised a petition urging the government to adopt a firmer stance with the Americans—though when the revolution proved successful, he resumed trade with the former colonies. He was more sympathetic to the cause of the French Revolution, believing it justified, though he expressed his horror at the bloody excesses of the Revolutionary government. When war with France broke out, he paid for weapons for a company of volunteers, sworn to resist any French invasion. Family and later life, death, and memorials When Boulton was widowed in 1783 he was left with the care of his two teenage children. Neither his son Matthew Robinson Boulton nor his daughter Anne enjoyed robust health; the younger Matthew was often ill and was a poor student who was shuttled from school to school until he joined his father's business in 1790; Anne suffered from a diseased leg that prevented her from enjoying a full life. Despite his lengthy absences on business, Boulton cared deeply for his family. He wrote to his wife in January 1780, Nothing could in the least palliate this long, this cold, this very distant separation from my dearest wife and children but the certain knowledge that I am preparing for their ease, happiness and prosperity, and when that is the prise, I know no hardships that I would not encounter with, to obtain it. With the expiry of the patent in 1800 both Boulton and Watt retired from the partnership, each turning over his role to his namesake son. The two sons made changes, quickly ending public tours of the Soho Manufactory in which the elder Boulton had taken pride throughout his time in Soho. In retirement Boulton remained active, continuing to run the Soho Mint. When a new Royal Mint was built on Tower Hill in 1805, Boulton was awarded the contract to equip it with modern machinery. His continued activity distressed Watt, who had entirely retired from Soho, and who wrote to Boulton in 1804, "[Y]our friends fear much that your necessary attention to the operation of the coinage may injure your health". Boulton helped deal with the shortage of silver, persuading the Government to let him overstrike the Bank of England's large stock of Spanish dollars with an English design. The Bank had attempted to circulate the dollars by countermarking the coins on the side showing the Spanish king with a small image of George III, but the public was reluctant to accept them, in part due to counterfeiting. This attempt inspired the couplet, "The Bank to make their Spanish Dollars pass/Stamped the head of a fool on the neck of an ass." Boulton obliterated the old design in his restriking. Though Boulton was not as successful in defeating counterfeiters as he hoped (high quality fakes arrived at the Bank's offices within days of the issuance), these coins circulated until the Royal Mint again struck large quantities of silver coin in 1816, when Boulton's were withdrawn. He oversaw the final issue of his coppers for Britain in 1806, and a major issue of coppers to circulate only in Ireland. Even as his health failed, he had his servants carry him from Soho House to the Soho Mint, and he sat and watched the machinery,which was kept exceptionally busy in 1808 by the striking of almost 90,000,000 pieces for the East India Company. He wrote, "Of all the mechanical subjects I ever entered upon, there is none in which I ever engaged with so much ardour as that of bringing to perfection the art of coining." By early 1809 he was seriously ill. He had long suffered from kidney stones, which also lodged in the bladder, causing him great pain. He died at Soho House on 17 August 1809. He was buried in the graveyard of St. Mary's Church, Handsworth, in Birmingham – the church was later extended over the site of his grave. Inside the church, on the north wall of the sanctuary, is a large marble monument to him, commissioned by his son, sculpted by the sculptor John Flaxman. It includes a marble bust of Boulton, set in a circular opening above two putti, one holding an engraving of the Soho Manufactory. Boulton is recognised by several memorials and other commemorations in and around Birmingham. Soho House, his home from 1766 until his death, is now a museum, as is his first workshop, Sarehole Mill. The Soho archives are part of the Birmingham City Archives, at the Library of Birmingham. He is recognised by blue plaques at his Steelhouse Lane birthplace and at Soho House. A gilded bronze statue of Boulton, Watt and Murdoch (1956) by William Bloye stands opposite Centenary Square in central Birmingham. Matthew Boulton College was named in his honour in 1957. The two-hundredth anniversary of his death, in 2009, resulted in a number of tributes. Birmingham City Council promoted "a year long festival celebrating the life, work and legacy of Matthew Boulton". On 29 May 2009 the Bank of England announced that Boulton and Watt would appear on a new £50 note. The design is the first to feature a dual portrait on a Bank of England note, and presents the two industrialists side by side with images of a steam engine and Boulton's Soho Manufactory. Quotes attributed to each of the men are inscribed on the note: "I sell here, sir, what all the world desires to have—POWER" (Boulton) and "I can think of nothing else but this machine" (Watt). The notes entered circulation on 2 November 2011. In March 2009, Boulton was honoured with the issue of a Royal Mail postage stamp. On 17 October 2014 a bronze memorial plaque to Boulton was unveiled in the Chapel of St Paul, Westminster Abbey, beside the plaque to his business partner James Watt. Notes References Citations Bibliography Further reading External links Matthew Boulton Bicentenary Celebrations 2009 on Birmingham Assay Office's website Archives at Birmingham Central Library Revolutionary Players website Cornwall Record Office Boulton & Watt letters Soho Mint website, celebrating Matthew Boulton, his mint and its products Soho House Museum, Matthew Boulton's home from 1766 till his death in 1809, became a Museum in 1995 Category:1728 births Category:1809 deaths Category:18th-century British businesspeople Category:18th-century British engineers Category:18th-century British inventors Category:British businesspeople in retailing Category:English businesspeople Category:English business theorists Category:English mechanical engineers Category:English silversmiths Category:Fellows of the Royal Society Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Category:High Sheriffs of Staffordshire Category:Industrial Revolution in England Category:Members of the Lunar Society of Birmingham Category:People from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:People of the Industrial Revolution

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The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential music band. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later experimented with several musical styles, ranging from pop ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock, often incorporating classical elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways. In 1963 their enormous popularity first emerged as "Beatlemania"; as the group's music grew in sophistication, led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the band were integral to pop music's evolution into an art form and to the development of the counterculture of the 1960s.

Musical style and development

In Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever, Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz describe the Beatles' musical evolution: In their initial incarnation as cheerful, wisecracking moptops, the Fab Four revolutionised the sound, style, and attitude of popular music and opened rock and roll's doors to a tidal wave of British rock acts. Their initial impact would have been enough to establish the Beatles as one of their era's most influential cultural forces, but they didn't stop there. Although their initial style was a highly original, irresistibly catchy synthesis of early American rock and roll and R&B, the Beatles spent the rest of the 1960s expanding rock's stylistic frontiers, consistently staking out new musical territory on each release. The band's increasingly sophisticated experimentation encompassed a variety of genres, including folk-rock, country, psychedelia, and baroque pop, without sacrificing the effortless mass appeal of their early work. In The Beatles as Musicians, Walter Everett describes Lennon and McCartney's contrasting motivations and approaches to composition: "McCartney may be said to have constantly developed - as a means to entertain - a focused musical talent with an ear for counterpoint and other aspects of craft in the demonstration of a universally agreed-upon common language that he did much to enrich. Conversely, Lennon's mature music is best appreciated as the daring product of a largely unconscious, searching but undisciplined artistic sensibility." Ian MacDonald describes McCartney as "a natural melodist - a creator of tunes capable of existing apart from their harmony". His melody lines are characterised as primarily "vertical", employing wide, consonant intervals which express his "extrovert energy and optimism". Conversely, Lennon's "sedentary, ironic personality" is reflected in a "horizontal" approach featuring minimal, dissonant intervals and repetitive melodies which rely on their harmonic accompaniment for interest: "Basically a realist, he instinctively kept his melodies close to the rhythms and cadences of speech, colouring his lyrics with bluesy tone and harmony rather than creating tunes that made striking shapes of their own." MacDonald praises Harrison's lead guitar work for the role his "characterful lines and textural colourings" play in supporting Lennon and McCartney's parts, and describes Starr as "the father of modern pop/rock drumming". CANNOTANSWER

The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways; the band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements. Led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the Beatles evolved from Lennon's previous group, the Quarrymen, and built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over three years from 1960, initially with Stuart Sutcliffe playing bass. The core trio of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, together since 1958, went through a succession of drummers, including Pete Best, before asking Starr to join them in 1962. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, greatly expanding their domestic success after signing to EMI Records and achieving their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. As their popularity grew into the intense fan frenzy dubbed "Beatlemania", the band acquired the nickname "the Fab Four", with Epstein, Martin or another member of the band's entourage sometimes informally referred to as a "fifth Beatle". By early 1964, the Beatles were international stars and had achieved unprecedented levels of critical and commercial success. They became a leading force in Britain's cultural resurgence, ushering in the British Invasion of the United States pop market, and soon made their film debut with A Hard Day's Night (1964). A growing desire to refine their studio efforts, coupled with the untenable nature of their concert tours, led to the band's retirement from live performances in 1966. At this time, they produced records of greater sophistication, including the albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966) and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), and enjoyed further commercial success with The Beatles (also known as "the White Album", 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). The success of these records heralded the album era, as albums became the dominant form of record consumption over singles; they also increased public interest in psychedelic drugs and Eastern spirituality, and furthered advancements in electronic music, album art and music videos. In 1968, they founded Apple Corps, a multi-armed multimedia corporation that continues to oversee projects related to the band's legacy. After the group's break-up in 1970, all principal former members enjoyed success as solo artists and some partial reunions have occurred. Lennon was murdered in 1980 and Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001. McCartney and Starr remain musically active. The Beatles are the best-selling music act of all time, with estimated sales of 600 million units worldwide. They are the most successful act in the history of the US Billboard charts. They hold the record for most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart (15), most number-one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart (20), and most singles sold in the UK (21.9 million). The band received many accolades, including seven Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award (for Best Original Song Score for the 1970 documentary film Let It Be) and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and each principal member was inducted individually between 1994 and 2015. In 2004 and 2011, the group topped Rolling Stones lists of the greatest artists in history. Time magazine named them among the 20th century's 100 most important people. History 1956–1963: formation The Quarrymen and name changes In November 1956, sixteen-year-old John Lennon formed a skiffle group with several friends from Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool. They briefly called themselves the Blackjacks, before changing their name to the Quarrymen after discovering that another local group were already using the name. Fifteen-year-old Paul McCartney met Lennon on 6 July 1957, and joined as a rhythm guitarist shortly after. In February 1958, McCartney invited his friend George Harrison, then aged fifteen, to watch the band. Harrison auditioned for Lennon, impressing him with his playing, but Lennon initially thought Harrison was too young. After a month's persistence, during a second meeting (arranged by McCartney), Harrison performed the lead guitar part of the instrumental song "Raunchy" on the upper deck of a Liverpool bus, and they enlisted him as lead guitarist. By January 1959, Lennon's Quarry Bank friends had left the group, and he began his studies at the Liverpool College of Art. The three guitarists, billing themselves as Johnny and the Moondogs, were playing rock and roll whenever they could find a drummer. Lennon's art school friend Stuart Sutcliffe, who had just sold one of his paintings and was persuaded to purchase a bass guitar with the proceeds, joined in January 1960. He suggested changing the band's name to Beatals, as a tribute to Buddy Holly and the Crickets. They used this name until May, when they became the Silver Beetles, before undertaking a brief tour of Scotland as the backing group for pop singer and fellow Liverpudlian Johnny Gentle. By early July, they had refashioned themselves as the Silver Beatles, and by the middle of August simply the Beatles. Early residencies and UK popularity Allan Williams, the Beatles' unofficial manager, arranged a residency for them in Hamburg. They auditioned and hired drummer Pete Best in mid-August 1960. The band, now a five-piece, departed Liverpool for Hamburg four days later, contracted to club owner Bruno Koschmider for what would be a -month residency. Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn writes: "They pulled into Hamburg at dusk on 17 August, the time when the red-light area comes to life ... flashing neon lights screamed out the various entertainment on offer, while scantily clad women sat unabashed in shop windows waiting for business opportunities." Koschmider had converted a couple of strip clubs in the district into music venues, and he initially placed the Beatles at the Indra Club. After closing Indra due to noise complaints, he moved them to the Kaiserkeller in October. When he learned they had been performing at the rival Top Ten Club in breach of their contract, he gave them one month's termination notice, and reported the underage Harrison, who had obtained permission to stay in Hamburg by lying to the German authorities about his age. The authorities arranged for Harrison's deportation in late November. One week later, Koschmider had McCartney and Best arrested for arson after they set fire to a condom in a concrete corridor; the authorities deported them. Lennon returned to Liverpool in early December, while Sutcliffe remained in Hamburg until late February with his German fiancée Astrid Kirchherr, who took the first semi-professional photos of the Beatles. During the next two years, the Beatles were resident for periods in Hamburg, where they used Preludin both recreationally and to maintain their energy through all-night performances. In 1961, during their second Hamburg engagement, Kirchherr cut Sutcliffe's hair in the "exi" (existentialist) style, later adopted by the other Beatles. Later on, Sutcliffe decided to leave the band early that year and resume his art studies in Germany. McCartney took over bass. Producer Bert Kaempfert contracted what was now a four-piece group until June 1962, and he used them as Tony Sheridan's backing band on a series of recordings for Polydor Records. As part of the sessions, the Beatles were signed to Polydor for one year. Credited to "Tony Sheridan & the Beat Brothers", the single "My Bonnie", recorded in June 1961 and released four months later, reached number 32 on the Musikmarkt chart. After the Beatles completed their second Hamburg residency, they enjoyed increasing popularity in Liverpool with the growing Merseybeat movement. However, they were growing tired of the monotony of numerous appearances at the same clubs night after night. In November 1961, during one of the group's frequent performances at the Cavern Club, they encountered Brian Epstein, a local record-store owner and music columnist. He later recalled: "I immediately liked what I heard. They were fresh, and they were honest, and they had what I thought was a sort of presence ... [a] star quality." First EMI recordings Epstein courted the band over the next couple of months, and they appointed him as their manager in January 1962. Throughout early and mid-1962, Epstein sought to free the Beatles from their contractual obligations to Bert Kaempfert Productions. He eventually negotiated a one-month early release in exchange for one last recording session in Hamburg. On their return to Germany in April, a distraught Kirchherr met them at the airport with news of Sutcliffe's death the previous day from a brain haemorrhage. Epstein began negotiations with record labels for a recording contract. To secure a UK record contract, Epstein negotiated an early end to the band's contract with Polydor, in exchange for more recordings backing Tony Sheridan. After a New Year's Day audition, Decca Records rejected the band, saying, "Guitar groups are on the way out, Mr. Epstein." However, three months later, producer George Martin signed the Beatles to EMI's Parlophone label. Martin's first recording session with the Beatles took place at EMI Recording Studios (later Abbey Road Studios) in London on 6 June 1962. He immediately complained to Epstein about Best's drumming and suggested they use a session drummer in his place. Already contemplating Best's dismissal, the Beatles replaced him in mid-August with Ringo Starr, who left Rory Storm and the Hurricanes to join them. A 4 September session at EMI yielded a recording of "Love Me Do" featuring Starr on drums, but a dissatisfied Martin hired drummer Andy White for the band's third session a week later, which produced recordings of "Love Me Do", "Please Please Me" and "P.S. I Love You". Martin initially selected the Starr version of "Love Me Do" for the band's first single, though subsequent re-pressings featured the White version, with Starr on tambourine. Released in early October, "Love Me Do" peaked at number seventeen on the Record Retailer chart. Their television debut came later that month with a live performance on the regional news programme People and Places. After Martin suggested rerecording "Please Please Me" at a faster tempo, a studio session in late November yielded that recording, of which Martin accurately predicted, "You've just made your first No. 1." In December 1962, the Beatles concluded their fifth and final Hamburg residency. By 1963, they had agreed that all four band members would contribute vocals to their albums – including Starr, despite his restricted vocal range, to validate his standing in the group. Lennon and McCartney had established a songwriting partnership, and as the band's success grew, their dominant collaboration limited Harrison's opportunities as a lead vocalist. Epstein, to maximise the Beatles' commercial potential, encouraged them to adopt a professional approach to performing. Lennon recalled him saying, "Look, if you really want to get in these bigger places, you're going to have to change – stop eating on stage, stop swearing, stop smoking ...." 1963–1966: Beatlemania and touring years Please Please Me and With the Beatles On 11 February 1963, the Beatles recorded ten songs during a single studio session for their debut LP, Please Please Me. It was supplemented by the four tracks already released on their first two singles. Martin considered recording the LP live at The Cavern Club, but after deciding that the building's acoustics were inadequate, he elected to simulate a "live" album with minimal production in "a single marathon session at Abbey Road". After the moderate success of "Love Me Do", the single "Please Please Me" was released in January 1963, two months ahead of the album. It reached number one on every UK chart except Record Retailer, where it peaked at number two. Recalling how the Beatles "rushed to deliver a debut album, bashing out Please Please Me in a day", AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "Decades after its release, the album still sounds fresh, precisely because of its intense origins." Lennon said little thought went into composition at the time; he and McCartney were "just writing songs à la Everly Brothers, à la Buddy Holly, pop songs with no more thought of them than that – to create a sound. And the words were almost irrelevant." Released in March 1963, Please Please Me was the first of eleven consecutive Beatles albums released in the United Kingdom to reach number one. The band's third single, "From Me to You", came out in April and began an almost unbroken string of seventeen British number-one singles, including all but one of the eighteen they released over the next six years. Issued in August, their fourth single, "She Loves You", achieved the fastest sales of any record in the UK up to that time, selling three-quarters of a million copies in under four weeks. It became their first single to sell a million copies, and remained the biggest-selling record in the UK until 1978. The success brought increased media exposure, to which the Beatles responded with an irreverent and comical attitude that defied the expectations of pop musicians at the time, inspiring even more interest. The band toured the UK three times in the first half of the year: a four-week tour that began in February, the Beatles' first nationwide, preceded three-week tours in March and May–June. As their popularity spread, a frenzied adulation of the group took hold. On 13 October, the Beatles starred on Sunday Night at the London Palladium, the UK's top variety show. Their performance was televised live and watched by 15 million viewers. One national paper's headlines in the following days coined the term "Beatlemania" to describe the riotous enthusiasm by screaming fans who greeted the band – and it stuck. Although not billed as tour leaders, the Beatles overshadowed American acts Tommy Roe and Chris Montez during the February engagements and assumed top billing "by audience demand", something no British act had previously accomplished while touring with artists from the US. A similar situation arose during their May–June tour with Roy Orbison. In late October, the Beatles began a five-day tour of Sweden, their first time abroad since the final Hamburg engagement of December 1962. On their return to the UK on 31 October, several hundred screaming fans greeted them in heavy rain at Heathrow Airport. Around 50 to 100 journalists and photographers, as well as representatives from the BBC, also joined the airport reception, the first of more than 100 such events. The next day, the band began its fourth tour of Britain within nine months, this one scheduled for six weeks. In mid-November, as Beatlemania intensified, police resorted to using high-pressure water hoses to control the crowd before a concert in Plymouth. Please Please Me maintained the top position on the Record Retailer chart for 30 weeks, only to be displaced by its follow-up, With the Beatles, which EMI released on 22 November to record advance orders of 270,000 copies. The LP topped a half-million albums sold in one week. Recorded between July and October, With the Beatles made better use of studio production techniques than its predecessor. It held the top spot for 21 weeks with a chart life of 40 weeks. Erlewine described the LP as "a sequel of the highest order – one that betters the original". In a reversal of then standard practice, EMI released the album ahead of the impending single "I Want to Hold Your Hand", with the song excluded to maximise the single's sales. The album caught the attention of music critic William Mann of The Times, who suggested that Lennon and McCartney were "the outstanding English composers of 1963". The newspaper published a series of articles in which Mann offered detailed analyses of the music, lending it respectability. With the Beatles became the second album in UK chart history to sell a million copies, a figure previously reached only by the 1958 South Pacific soundtrack. When writing the sleeve notes for the album, the band's press officer, Tony Barrow, used the superlative the "fabulous foursome", which the media widely adopted as "the Fab Four". First visit to the United States and the British Invasion EMI's American subsidiary, Capitol Records, hindered the Beatles' releases in the United States for more than a year by initially declining to issue their music, including their first three singles. Concurrent negotiations with the independent US label Vee-Jay led to the release of some, but not all, of the songs in 1963. Vee-Jay finished preparation for the album Introducing... The Beatles, comprising most of the songs of Parlophone's Please Please Me, but a management shake-up led to the album not being released. After it emerged that the label did not report royalties on their sales, the licence that Vee-Jay had signed with EMI was voided. A new licence was granted to the Swan label for the single "She Loves You". The record received some airplay in the Tidewater area of Virginia from Gene Loving of radio station WGH and was featured on the "Rate-a-Record" segment of American Bandstand, but it failed to catch on nationally. Epstein brought a demo copy of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to Capitol's Brown Meggs, who signed the band and arranged for a $40,000 US marketing campaign. American chart success began after disc jockey Carroll James of AM radio station WWDC, in Washington, DC, obtained a copy of the British single "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in mid-December 1963 and began playing it on-air. Taped copies of the song soon circulated among other radio stations throughout the US. This caused an increase in demand, leading Capitol to bring forward the release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by three weeks. Issued on 26 December, with the band's previously scheduled debut there just weeks away, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" sold a million copies, becoming a number-one hit in the US by mid-January. In its wake Vee-Jay released Introducing... The Beatles along with Capitol's debut album, Meet the Beatles!, while Swan reactivated production of "She Loves You". On 7 February 1964, the Beatles departed from Heathrow with an estimated 4,000 fans waving and screaming as the aircraft took off. Upon landing at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, an uproarious crowd estimated at 3,000 greeted them. They gave their first live US television performance two days later on The Ed Sullivan Show, watched by approximately 73 million viewers in over 23 million households, or 34 per cent of the American population. Biographer Jonathan Gould writes that, according to the Nielsen rating service, it was "the largest audience that had ever been recorded for an American television ". The next morning, the Beatles awoke to a largely negative critical consensus in the US, but a day later at their first US concert, Beatlemania erupted at the Washington Coliseum. Back in New York the following day, the Beatles met with another strong reception during two shows at Carnegie Hall. The band flew to Florida, where they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show a second time, again before 70 million viewers, before returning to the UK on 22 February. The Beatles' first visit to the US took place when the nation was still mourning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy the previous November. Commentators often suggest that for many, particularly the young, the Beatles' performances reignited the sense of excitement and possibility that momentarily faded in the wake of the assassination, and helped pave the way for the revolutionary social changes to come later in the decade. Their hairstyle, unusually long for the era and mocked by many adults, became an emblem of rebellion to the burgeoning youth culture. The group's popularity generated unprecedented interest in British music, and many other UK acts subsequently made their American debuts, successfully touring over the next three years in what was termed the British Invasion. The Beatles' success in the US opened the door for a successive string of British beat groups and pop acts such as the Dave Clark Five, the Animals, Petula Clark, the Kinks, and the Rolling Stones to achieve success in America. During the week of 4 April 1964, the Beatles held twelve positions on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, including the top five. A Hard Day's Night Capitol Records' lack of interest throughout 1963 did not go unnoticed, and a competitor, United Artists Records, encouraged its film division to offer the Beatles a three-motion-picture deal, primarily for the commercial potential of the soundtracks in the US. Directed by Richard Lester, A Hard Day's Night involved the band for six weeks in March–April 1964 as they played themselves in a musical comedy. The film premiered in London and New York in July and August, respectively, and was an international success, with some critics drawing a comparison with the Marx Brothers. United Artists released a full soundtrack album for the North American market, combining Beatles songs and Martin's orchestral score; elsewhere, the group's third studio LP, A Hard Day's Night, contained songs from the film on side one and other new recordings on side two. According to Erlewine, the album saw them "truly coming into their own as a band. All of the disparate influences on their first two albums coalesced into a bright, joyous, original sound, filled with ringing guitars and irresistible melodies." That "ringing guitar" sound was primarily the product of Harrison's 12-string electric Rickenbacker, a prototype given to him by the manufacturer, which made its debut on the record. 1964 world tour, meeting Bob Dylan, and stand on civil rights Touring internationally in June and July, the Beatles staged 37 shows over 27 days in Denmark, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. In August and September, they returned to the US, with a 30-concert tour of 23 cities. Generating intense interest once again, the month-long tour attracted between 10,000 and 20,000 fans to each 30-minute performance in cities from San Francisco to New York. In August, journalist Al Aronowitz arranged for the Beatles to meet Bob Dylan. Visiting the band in their New York hotel suite, Dylan introduced them to cannabis. Gould points out the musical and cultural significance of this meeting, before which the musicians' respective fanbases were "perceived as inhabiting two separate subcultural worlds": Dylan's audience of "college kids with artistic or intellectual leanings, a dawning political and social idealism, and a mildly bohemian style" contrasted with their fans, "veritable 'teenyboppers' – kids in high school or grade school whose lives were totally wrapped up in the commercialised popular culture of television, radio, pop records, fan magazines, and teen fashion. To many of Dylan's followers in the folk music scene, the Beatles were seen as idolaters, not idealists." Within six months of the meeting, according to Gould, "Lennon would be making records on which he openly imitated Dylan's nasal drone, brittle strum, and introspective vocal persona"; and six months after that, Dylan began performing with a backing band and electric instrumentation, and "dressed in the height of Mod fashion". As a result, Gould continues, the traditional division between folk and rock enthusiasts "nearly evaporated", as the Beatles' fans began to mature in their outlook and Dylan's audience embraced the new, youth-driven pop culture. During the 1964 US tour, the group were confronted with racial segregation in the country at the time. When informed that the venue for their 11 September concert, the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida, was segregated, the Beatles said they would refuse to perform unless the audience was integrated. Lennon stated: "We never play to segregated audiences and we aren't going to start now ... I'd sooner lose our appearance money." City officials relented and agreed to allow an integrated show. The group also cancelled their reservations at the whites-only Hotel George Washington in Jacksonville. For their subsequent US tours in 1965 and 1966, the Beatles included clauses in contracts stipulating that shows be integrated. Beatles for Sale, Help! and Rubber Soul According to Gould, the Beatles' fourth studio LP, Beatles for Sale, evidenced a growing conflict between the commercial pressures of their global success and their creative ambitions. They had intended the album, recorded between August and October 1964, to continue the format established by A Hard Day's Night which, unlike their first two LPs, contained only original songs. They had nearly exhausted their backlog of songs on the previous album, however, and given the challenges constant international touring posed to their songwriting efforts, Lennon admitted, "Material's becoming a hell of a problem". As a result, six covers from their extensive repertoire were chosen to complete the album. Released in early December, its eight original compositions stood out, demonstrating the growing maturity of the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. In early 1965, following a dinner with Lennon, Harrison and their wives, Harrison's dentist, John Riley, secretly added LSD to their coffee. Lennon described the experience: "It was just terrifying, but it was fantastic. I was pretty stunned for a month or two." He and Harrison subsequently became regular users of the drug, joined by Starr on at least one occasion. Harrison's use of psychedelic drugs encouraged his path to meditation and Hinduism. He commented: "For me, it was like a flash. The first time I had acid, it just opened up something in my head that was inside of me, and I realised a lot of things. I didn't learn them because I already knew them, but that happened to be the key that opened the door to reveal them. From the moment I had that, I wanted to have it all the time – these thoughts about the yogis and the Himalayas, and Ravi's music." McCartney was initially reluctant to try it, but eventually did so in late 1966. He became the first Beatle to discuss LSD publicly, declaring in a magazine interview that "it opened my eyes" and "made me a better, more honest, more tolerant member of society". Controversy erupted in June 1965 when Queen Elizabeth II appointed all four Beatles Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) after Prime Minister Harold Wilson nominated them for the award. In protest – the honour was at that time primarily bestowed upon military veterans and civic leaders – some conservative MBE recipients returned their insignia. In July, the Beatles' second film, Help!, was released, again directed by Lester. Described as "mainly a relentless spoof of Bond", it inspired a mixed response among both reviewers and the band. McCartney said: "Help! was great but it wasn't our film – we were sort of guest stars. It was fun, but basically, as an idea for a film, it was a bit wrong." The soundtrack was dominated by Lennon, who wrote and sang lead on most of its songs, including the two singles: "Help!" and "Ticket to Ride". The Help! album, the group's fifth studio LP, mirrored A Hard Day's Night by featuring soundtrack songs on side one and additional songs from the same sessions on side two. The LP contained all original material save for two covers, "Act Naturally" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy"; they were the last covers the band would include on an album, except for Let It Be brief rendition of the traditional Liverpool folk song "Maggie Mae". The band expanded their use of vocal overdubs on Help! and incorporated classical instruments into some arrangements, including a string quartet on the pop ballad "Yesterday". Composed by and sung by McCartney – none of the other Beatles perform on the recording – "Yesterday" has inspired the most cover versions of any song ever written. With Help!, the Beatles became the first rock group to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The group's third US tour opened with a performance before a world-record crowd of 55,600 at New York's Shea Stadium on 15 August – "perhaps the most famous of all Beatles' concerts", in Lewisohn's description. A further nine successful concerts followed in other American cities. At a show in Atlanta, the Beatles gave one of the first live performances ever to make use of a foldback system of on-stage monitor speakers. Towards the end of the tour, they met with Elvis Presley, a foundational musical influence on the band, who invited them to his home in Beverly Hills. September 1965 saw the launch of an American Saturday-morning cartoon series, The Beatles, that echoed A Hard Day's Night slapstick antics over its two-year original run. The series was a historical milestone as the first weekly television series to feature animated versions of real, living people. In mid-October, the Beatles entered the recording studio; for the first time when making an album, they had an extended period without other major commitments. Until this time, according to George Martin, "we had been making albums rather like a collection of singles. Now we were really beginning to think about albums as a bit of art on their own." Released in December, Rubber Soul was hailed by critics as a major step forward in the maturity and complexity of the band's music. Their thematic reach was beginning to expand as they embraced deeper aspects of romance and philosophy, a development that NEMS executive Peter Brown attributed to the band members' "now habitual use of marijuana". Lennon referred to Rubber Soul as "the pot album" and Starr said: "Grass was really influential in a lot of our changes, especially with the writers. And because they were writing different material, we were playing differently." After Help!s foray into classical music with flutes and strings, Harrison's introduction of a sitar on "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" marked a further progression outside the traditional boundaries of popular music. As the lyrics grew more artful, fans began to study them for deeper meaning. While some of Rubber Souls songs were the product of Lennon and McCartney's collaborative songwriting, the album also included distinct compositions from each, though they continued to share official credit. "In My Life", of which each later claimed lead authorship, is considered a highlight of the entire Lennon–McCartney catalogue. Harrison called Rubber Soul his "favourite album", and Starr referred to it as "the departure record". McCartney has said, "We'd had our cute period, and now it was time to expand." However, recording engineer Norman Smith later stated that the studio sessions revealed signs of growing conflict within the group – "the clash between John and Paul was becoming obvious", he wrote, and "as far as Paul was concerned, George could do no right". In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Rubber Soul fifth among "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and AllMusic's Richie Unterberger describes it as "one of the classic folk-rock records". Controversies, Revolver and final tour Capitol Records, from December 1963 when it began issuing Beatles recordings for the US market, exercised complete control over format, compiling distinct US albums from the band's recordings and issuing songs of their choosing as singles. In June 1966, the Capitol LP Yesterday and Today caused an uproar with its cover, which portrayed the grinning Beatles dressed in butcher's overalls, accompanied by raw meat and mutilated plastic baby dolls. According to Beatles biographer Bill Harry, it has been incorrectly suggested that this was meant as a satirical response to the way Capitol had "butchered" the US versions of the band's albums. Thousands of copies of the LP had a new cover pasted over the original; an unpeeled "first-state" copy fetched $10,500 at a December 2005 auction. In England, meanwhile, Harrison met sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, who agreed to train him on the instrument. During a tour of the Philippines the month after the Yesterday and Today furore, the Beatles unintentionally snubbed the nation's first lady, Imelda Marcos, who had expected them to attend a breakfast reception at the Presidential Palace. When presented with the invitation, Epstein politely declined on the band members' behalf, as it had never been his policy to accept such official invitations. They soon found that the Marcos regime was unaccustomed to taking no for an answer. The resulting riots endangered the group and they escaped the country with difficulty. Immediately afterwards, the band members visited India for the first time. Almost as soon as they returned home, the Beatles faced a fierce backlash from US religious and social conservatives (as well as the Ku Klux Klan) over a comment Lennon had made in a March interview with British reporter Maureen Cleave. "Christianity will go", Lennon had said. "It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I will be proved right ... Jesus was alright but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me." His comments went virtually unnoticed in England, but when US teenage fan magazine Datebook printed them five months later, it sparked a controversy with Christians in America's conservative Bible Belt region. The Vatican issued a protest, and bans on Beatles' records were imposed by Spanish and Dutch stations and South Africa's national broadcasting service. Epstein accused Datebook of having taken Lennon's words out of context. At a press conference, Lennon pointed out, "If I'd said television was more popular than Jesus, I might have got away with it." He claimed that he was referring to how other people viewed their success, but at the prompting of reporters, he concluded: "If you want me to apologise, if that will make you happy, then okay, I'm sorry." Released in August 1966, a week before the Beatles' final tour, Revolver marked another artistic step forward for the group. The album featured sophisticated songwriting, studio experimentation, and a greatly expanded repertoire of musical styles, ranging from innovative classical string arrangements to psychedelia. Abandoning the customary group photograph, its Aubrey Beardsley-inspired cover – designed by Klaus Voormann, a friend of the band since their Hamburg days – was a monochrome collage and line drawing caricature of the group. The album was preceded by the single "Paperback Writer", backed by "Rain". Short promotional films were made for both songs; described by cultural historian Saul Austerlitz as "among the first true music videos", they aired on The Ed Sullivan Show and Top of the Pops in June. Among the experimental songs on Revolver was "Tomorrow Never Knows", the lyrics for which Lennon drew from Timothy Leary's The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Its creation involved eight tape decks distributed about the EMI building, each staffed by an engineer or band member, who randomly varied the movement of a tape loop while Martin created a composite recording by sampling the incoming data. McCartney's "Eleanor Rigby" made prominent use of a string octet; Gould describes it as "a true hybrid, conforming to no recognisable style or genre of song". Harrison's emergence as a songwriter was reflected in three of his compositions appearing on the record. Among these, "Taxman", which opened the album, marked the first example of the Beatles making a political statement through their music. In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked Revolver at #11 on their list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". As preparations were made for a tour of the US, the Beatles knew that their music would hardly be heard. Having originally used Vox AC30 amplifiers, they later acquired more powerful 100-watt amplifiers, specially designed for them by Vox, as they moved into larger venues in 1964; however, these were still inadequate. Struggling to compete with the volume of sound generated by screaming fans, the band had grown increasingly bored with the routine of performing live. Recognising that their shows were no longer about the music, they decided to make the August tour their last. The band performed none of their new songs on the tour. In Chris Ingham's description, they were very much "studio creations ... and there was no way a four-piece rock 'n' roll group could do them justice, particularly through the desensitising wall of the fans' screams. 'Live Beatles' and 'Studio Beatles' had become entirely different beasts." The band's concert at San Francisco's Candlestick Park on 29 August was their last commercial concert. It marked the end of four years dominated by almost non-stop touring that included over 1,400 concert appearances internationally. 1966–1970: studio years Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Freed from the burden of touring, the Beatles embraced an increasingly experimental approach as they recorded Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, beginning in late November 1966. According to engineer Geoff Emerick, the album's recording took over 700 hours. He recalled the band's insistence "that everything on Sgt. Pepper had to be different. We had microphones right down in the bells of brass instruments and headphones turned into microphones attached to violins. We used giant primitive oscillators to vary the speed of instruments and vocals and we had tapes chopped to pieces and stuck together upside down and the wrong way around." Parts of "A Day in the Life" featured a 40-piece orchestra. The sessions initially yielded the non-album double A-side single "Strawberry Fields Forever"/"Penny Lane" in February 1967; the Sgt. Pepper LP followed with a rush-release in May. The musical complexity of the records, created using relatively primitive four-track recording technology, astounded contemporary artists. Among music critics, acclaim for the album was virtually universal. Gould writes: In the wake of Sgt. Pepper, the underground and mainstream press widely publicised the Beatles as leaders of youth culture, as well as "lifestyle revolutionaries". The album was the first major pop/rock LP to include its complete lyrics, which appeared on the back cover. Those lyrics were the subject of critical analysis; for instance, in late 1967 the album was the subject of a scholarly inquiry by American literary critic and professor of English Richard Poirier, who observed that his students were "listening to the group's music with a degree of engagement that he, as a teacher of literature, could only envy". The elaborate cover also attracted considerable interest and study. A collage designed by pop artists Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, it depicted the group as the fictional band referred to in the album's title track standing in front of a crowd of famous people. The heavy moustaches worn by the group reflected the growing influence of hippie style, while cultural historian Jonathan Harris describes their "brightly coloured parodies of military uniforms" as a knowingly "anti-authoritarian and anti-establishment" display. Sgt. Pepper topped the UK charts for 23 consecutive weeks, with a further four weeks at number one in the period through to February 1968. With 2.5 million copies sold within three months of its release, Sgt. Peppers initial commercial success exceeded that of all previous Beatles albums. It sustained its immense popularity into the 21st century while breaking numerous sales records. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Sgt. Pepper at number one on its list of the greatest albums of all time. Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine Two Beatles film projects were conceived within weeks of completing Sgt. Pepper: Magical Mystery Tour, a one-hour television film, and Yellow Submarine, an animated feature-length film produced by United Artists. The group began recording music for the former in late April 1967, but the project then lay dormant as they focused on recording songs for the latter. On 25 June, the Beatles performed their forthcoming single "All You Need Is Love" to an estimated 350 million viewers on Our World, the first live global television link. Released a week later, during the Summer of Love, the song was adopted as a flower power anthem. The Beatles' use of psychedelic drugs was at its height during that summer. In July and August, the group pursued interests related to similar utopian-based ideology, including a week-long investigation into the possibility of starting an island-based commune off the coast of Greece. On 24 August, the group were introduced to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in London. The next day, they travelled to Bangor for his Transcendental Meditation retreat. On 27 August, their manager's assistant, Peter Brown, phoned to inform them that Epstein had died. The coroner ruled the death an accidental carbitol overdose, although it was widely rumoured to be a suicide. His death left the group disoriented and fearful about the future. Lennon recalled: "We collapsed. I knew that we were in trouble then. I didn't really have any misconceptions about our ability to do anything other than play music, and I was scared. I thought, 'We've fuckin' had it now. Harrison's then-wife Pattie Boyd remembered that "Paul and George were in complete shock. I don't think it could have been worse if they had heard that their own fathers had dropped dead." During a band meeting in September, McCartney recommended that the band proceed with Magical Mystery Tour. The Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack was released in the UK as a six-track double extended play (EP) in early December 1967. It was the first example of a double EP in the UK. The record carried on the psychedelic vein of Sgt. Pepper, however, in line with the band's wishes, the packaging reinforced the idea that the release was a film soundtrack rather than a follow-up to Sgt. Pepper. In the US, the soundtrack appeared as an identically titled LP that also included five tracks from the band's recent singles. In its first three weeks, the album set a record for the highest initial sales of any Capitol LP, and it is the only Capitol compilation later to be adopted in the band's official canon of studio albums. Magical Mystery Tour first aired on Boxing Day to an audience of approximately 15 million. Largely directed by McCartney, the film was the band's first critical failure in the UK. It was dismissed as "blatant rubbish" by the Daily Express; the Daily Mail called it "a colossal conceit"; and The Guardian labelled the film "a kind of fantasy morality play about the grossness and warmth and stupidity of the audience". Gould describes it as "a great deal of raw footage showing a group of people getting on, getting off, and riding on a bus". Although the viewership figures were respectable, its slating in the press led US television networks to lose interest in broadcasting the film. The group were less involved with Yellow Submarine, which featured the band appearing as themselves for only a short live-action segment. Premiering in July 1968, the film featured cartoon versions of the band members and a soundtrack with eleven of their songs, including four unreleased studio recordings that made their debut in the film. Critics praised the film for its music, humour and innovative visual style. A soundtrack LP was issued seven months later; it contained those four new songs, the title track (already issued on Revolver), "All You Need Is Love" (already issued as a single and on the US Magical Mystery Tour LP) and seven instrumental pieces composed by Martin. India retreat, Apple Corps and the White Album In February 1968, the Beatles travelled to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in Rishikesh, India, to take part in a three-month meditation "Guide Course". Their time in India marked one of the band's most prolific periods, yielding numerous songs, including a majority of those on their next album. However, Starr left after only ten days, unable to stomach the food, and McCartney eventually grew bored and departed a month later. For Lennon and Harrison, creativity turned to question when an electronics technician known as Magic Alex suggested that the Maharishi was attempting to manipulate them. When he alleged that the Maharishi had made sexual advances to women attendees, a persuaded Lennon left abruptly just two months into the course, bringing an unconvinced Harrison and the remainder of the group's entourage with him. In anger, Lennon wrote a scathing song titled "Maharishi", renamed "Sexy Sadie" to avoid potential legal issues. McCartney said, "We made a mistake. We thought there was more to him than there was." In May, Lennon and McCartney travelled to New York for the public unveiling of the Beatles' new business venture, Apple Corps. It was initially formed several months earlier as part of a plan to create a tax-effective business structure, but the band then desired to extend the corporation to other pursuits, including record distribution, peace activism, and education. McCartney described Apple as "rather like a Western communism". The enterprise drained the group financially with a series of unsuccessful projects handled largely by members of the Beatles' entourage, who were given their jobs regardless of talent and experience. Among its numerous subsidiaries were Apple Electronics, established to foster technological innovations with Magic Alex at the head, and Apple Retailing, which opened the short-lived Apple Boutique in London. Harrison later said, "Basically, it was chaos ... John and Paul got carried away with the idea and blew millions, and Ringo and I just had to go along with it." From late May to mid-October 1968, the group recorded what became The Beatles, a double LP commonly known as "the White Album" for its virtually featureless cover. During this time, relations between the members grew openly divisive. Starr quit for two weeks, leaving his bandmates to record "Back in the U.S.S.R." and "Dear Prudence" as a trio, with McCartney filling in on drums. Lennon had lost interest in collaborating with McCartney, whose contribution "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" he scorned as "granny music shit". Tensions were further aggravated by Lennon's romantic preoccupation with avant-garde artist Yoko Ono, whom he insisted on bringing to the sessions despite the group's well-established understanding that girlfriends were not allowed in the studio. McCartney has recalled that the album "wasn't a pleasant one to make". He and Lennon identified the sessions as the start of the band's break-up. With the record, the band executed a wider range of musical styles and broke with their recent tradition of incorporating several musical styles in one song by keeping each piece of music consistently faithful to a select genre. During the sessions, the group upgraded to an eight-track tape console, which made it easier for them to layer tracks piecemeal, while the members often recorded independently of each other, affording the album a reputation as a collection of solo recordings rather than a unified group effort. Describing the double album, Lennon later said: "Every track is an individual track; there isn't any Beatle music on it. [It's] John and the band, Paul and the band, George and the band." The sessions also produced the Beatles' longest song yet, "Hey Jude", released in August as a non-album single with "Revolution". Issued in November, the White Album was the band's first Apple Records album release, although EMI continued to own their recordings. The record attracted more than 2 million advance orders, selling nearly 4 million copies in the US in little over a month, and its tracks dominated the playlists of American radio stations. Its lyric content was the focus of much analysis by the counterculture. Despite its popularity, reviewers were largely confused by the album's content, and it failed to inspire the level of critical writing that Sgt. Pepper had. General critical opinion eventually turned in favour of the White Album, and in 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it as the tenth-greatest album of all time. Abbey Road, Let It Be and separation Although Let It Be was the Beatles' final album release, it was largely recorded before Abbey Road. The project's impetus came from an idea Martin attributes to McCartney, who suggested they "record an album of new material and rehearse it, then perform it before a live audience for the very first time – on record and on film". Originally intended for a one-hour television programme to be called Beatles at Work, in the event much of the album's content came from studio work beginning in January 1969, many hours of which were captured on film by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Martin said that the project was "not at all a happy recording experience. It was a time when relations between the Beatles were at their lowest ebb." Lennon described the largely impromptu sessions as "hell ... the most miserable ... on Earth", and Harrison, "the low of all-time". Irritated by McCartney and Lennon, Harrison walked out for five days. Upon returning, he threatened to leave the band unless they "abandon[ed] all talk of live performance" and instead focused on finishing a new album, initially titled Get Back, using songs recorded for the TV special. He also demanded they cease work at Twickenham Film Studios, where the sessions had begun, and relocate to the newly finished Apple Studio. His bandmates agreed, and it was decided to salvage the footage shot for the TV production for use in a feature film. To alleviate tensions within the band and improve the quality of their live sound, Harrison invited keyboardist Billy Preston to participate in the last nine days of sessions. Preston received label billing on the "Get Back" single – the only musician ever to receive that acknowledgment on an official Beatles release. After the rehearsals, the band could not agree on a location to film a concert, rejecting several ideas, including a boat at sea, a lunatic asylum, the Libyan desert, and the Colosseum. Ultimately, what would be their final live performance was filmed on the rooftop of the Apple Corps building at 3 Savile Row, London, on 30 January 1969. Five weeks later, engineer Glyn Johns, whom Lewisohn describes as Get Backs "uncredited producer", began work assembling an album, given "free rein" as the band "all but washed their hands of the entire project". New strains developed between the band members regarding the appointment of a financial adviser, the need for which had become evident without Epstein to manage business affairs. Lennon, Harrison and Starr favoured Allen Klein, who had managed the Rolling Stones and Sam Cooke; McCartney wanted Lee and John Eastman – father and brother, respectively, of Linda Eastman, whom McCartney married on 12 March. Agreement could not be reached, so both Klein and the Eastmans were temporarily appointed: Klein as the Beatles' business manager and the Eastmans as their lawyers. Further conflict ensued, however, and financial opportunities were lost. On 8 May, Klein was named sole manager of the band, the Eastmans having previously been dismissed as the Beatles' lawyers. McCartney refused to sign the management contract with Klein, but he was out-voted by the other Beatles. Martin stated that he was surprised when McCartney asked him to produce another album, as the Get Back sessions had been "a miserable experience" and he had "thought it was the end of the road for all of us". The primary recording sessions for Abbey Road began on 2 July. Lennon, who rejected Martin's proposed format of a "continuously moving piece of music", wanted his and McCartney's songs to occupy separate sides of the album. The eventual format, with individually composed songs on the first side and the second consisting largely of a medley, was McCartney's suggested compromise. Emerick noted that the replacement of the studio's valve-based mixing console with a transistorised one yielded a less punchy sound, leaving the group frustrated at the thinner tone and lack of impact and contributing to its "kinder, gentler" feel relative to their previous albums. On 4 July, the first solo single by a Beatle was released: Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance", credited to the Plastic Ono Band. The completion and mixing of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" on 20 August was the last occasion on which all four Beatles were together in the same studio. On 8 September, while Starr was in hospital, the other band members met to discuss recording a new album. They considered a different approach to songwriting by ending the Lennon–McCartney pretence and having four compositions apiece from Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, with two from Starr and a lead single around Christmas. On 20 September, Lennon announced his departure to the rest of the group but agreed to withhold a public announcement to avoid undermining sales of the forthcoming album. Released on 26 September, Abbey Road sold four million copies within three months and topped the UK charts for a total of seventeen weeks. Its second track, the ballad "Something", was issued as a single – the only Harrison composition that appeared as a Beatles A-side. Abbey Road received mixed reviews, although the medley met with general acclaim. Unterberger considers it "a fitting swan song for the group", containing "some of the greatest harmonies to be heard on any rock record". Musicologist and author Ian MacDonald calls the album "erratic and often hollow", despite the "semblance of unity and coherence" offered by the medley. Martin singled it out as his favourite Beatles album; Lennon said it was "competent" but had "no life in it". For the still unfinished Get Back album, one last song, Harrison's "I Me Mine", was recorded on 3 January 1970. Lennon, in Denmark at the time, did not participate. In March, rejecting the work Johns had done on the project, now retitled Let It Be, Klein gave the session tapes to American producer Phil Spector, who had recently produced Lennon's solo single "Instant Karma!" In addition to remixing the material, Spector edited, spliced and overdubbed several of the recordings that had been intended as "live". McCartney was unhappy with the producer's approach and particularly dissatisfied with the lavish orchestration on "The Long and Winding Road", which involved a fourteen-voice choir and 36-piece instrumental ensemble. McCartney's demands that the alterations to the song be reverted were ignored, and he publicly announced his departure from the band on 10 April, a week before the release of his first self-titled solo album. On 8 May 1970, Let It Be was released. Its accompanying single, "The Long and Winding Road", was the Beatles' last; it was released in the US, but not in the UK. The Let It Be documentary film followed later that month, and would win the 1970 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. Sunday Telegraph critic Penelope Gilliatt called it "a very bad film and a touching one ... about the breaking apart of this reassuring, geometrically perfect, once apparently ageless family of siblings". Several reviewers stated that some of the performances in the film sounded better than their analogous album tracks. Describing Let It Be as the "only Beatles album to occasion negative, even hostile reviews", Unterberger calls it "on the whole underrated"; he singles out "some good moments of straight hard rock in 'I've Got a Feeling' and 'Dig a Pony'", and praises "Let It Be", "Get Back", and "the folky 'Two of Us', with John and Paul harmonising together". McCartney filed suit for the dissolution of the Beatles' contractual partnership on 31 December 1970. Legal disputes continued long after their break-up, and the dissolution was not formalised until 29 December 1974, when Lennon signed the paperwork terminating the partnership while on vacation with his family at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. 1970–present: after the break-up 1970s Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr all released solo albums in 1970. Their solo records sometimes involved one or more of the other members; Starr's Ringo (1973) was the only album to include compositions and performances by all four ex-Beatles, albeit on separate songs. With Starr's participation, Harrison staged the Concert for Bangladesh in New York City in August 1971. Other than an unreleased jam session in 1974, later bootlegged as A Toot and a Snore in '74, Lennon and McCartney never recorded together again. Two double-LP sets of the Beatles' greatest hits, compiled by Klein, 1962–1966 and 1967–1970, were released in 1973, at first under the Apple Records imprint. Commonly known as the "Red Album" and "Blue Album", respectively, each has earned a Multi-Platinum certification in the US and a Platinum certification in the UK. Between 1976 and 1982, EMI/Capitol released a wave of compilation albums without input from the ex-Beatles, starting with the double-disc compilation Rock 'n' Roll Music. The only one to feature previously unreleased material was The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl (1977); the first officially issued concert recordings by the group, it contained selections from two shows they played during their 1964 and 1965 US tours. The music and enduring fame of the Beatles were commercially exploited in various other ways, again often outside their creative control. In April 1974, the musical John, Paul, George, Ringo ... and Bert, written by Willy Russell and featuring singer Barbara Dickson, opened in London. It included, with permission from Northern Songs, eleven Lennon-McCartney compositions and one by Harrison, "Here Comes the Sun". Displeased with the production's use of his song, Harrison withdrew his permission to use it. Later that year, the off-Broadway musical Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road opened. All This and World War II (1976) was an unorthodox nonfiction film that combined newsreel footage with covers of Beatles songs by performers ranging from Elton John and Keith Moon to the London Symphony Orchestra. The Broadway musical Beatlemania, an unauthorised nostalgia revue, opened in early 1977 and proved popular, spinning off five separate touring productions. In 1979, the band sued the producers, settling for several million dollars in damages. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), a musical film starring the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton, was a commercial failure and an "artistic fiasco", according to Ingham. Accompanying the wave of Beatles nostalgia and persistent reunion rumours in the US during the 1970s, several entrepreneurs made public offers to the Beatles for a reunion concert. Promoter Bill Sargent first offered the Beatles $10 million for a reunion concert in 1974. He raised his offer to $30 million in January 1976 and then to $50 million the following month. On 24 April 1976, during a broadcast of Saturday Night Live, producer Lorne Michaels jokingly offered the Beatles $3,000 to reunite on the show. Lennon and McCartney were watching the live broadcast at Lennon's apartment at the Dakota in New York, which was within driving distance of the NBC studio where the show was being broadcast. The former bandmates briefly entertained the idea of going to the studio and surprising Michaels by accepting his offer, but decided not to. 1980s In December 1980, Lennon was shot and killed outside his New York City apartment. Harrison rewrote the lyrics of his song "All Those Years Ago" in Lennon's honour. With Starr on drums and McCartney and his wife, Linda, contributing backing vocals, the song was released as a single in May 1981. McCartney's own tribute, "Here Today", appeared on his Tug of War album in April 1982. In 1984, Starr co-starred in McCartney's film Give My Regards to Broad Street, and played with McCartney on several of the songs on the soundtrack. In 1987, Harrison's Cloud Nine album included "When We Was Fab", a song about the Beatlemania era. When the Beatles' studio albums were released on CD by EMI and Apple Corps in 1987, their catalogue was standardised throughout the world, establishing a canon of the twelve original studio LPs as issued in the UK plus the US LP version of Magical Mystery Tour. All the remaining material from the singles and EPs that had not appeared on these thirteen studio albums was gathered on the two-volume compilation Past Masters (1988). Except for the Red and Blue albums, EMI deleted all its other Beatles compilations – including the Hollywood Bowl record – from its catalogue. In 1988, the Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, their first year of eligibility. Harrison and Starr attended the ceremony with Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, and his two sons, Julian and Sean. McCartney declined to attend, citing unresolved "business differences" that would make him "feel like a complete hypocrite waving and smiling with them at a fake reunion". The following year, EMI/Capitol settled a decade-long lawsuit filed by the band over royalties, clearing the way to commercially package previously unreleased material. 1990s Live at the BBC, the first official release of unissued Beatles performances in seventeen years, appeared in 1994. That same year McCartney, Harrison and Starr collaborated on the Anthology project. Anthology was the culmination of work begun in 1970, when Apple Corps director Neil Aspinall, their former road manager and personal assistant, had started to gather material for a documentary with the working title The Long and Winding Road. Documenting their history in the band's own words, the Anthology project included the release of several unissued Beatles recordings. McCartney, Harrison and Starr also added new instrumental and vocal parts to songs recorded as demos by Lennon in the late 1970s. During 1995–96, the project yielded a television miniseries, an eight-volume video set, and three two-CD/three-LP box sets featuring artwork by Klaus Voormann. Two songs based on Lennon demos, "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love", were issued as new Beatles singles. The releases were commercially successful and the television series was viewed by an estimated 400 million people. In 1999, to coincide with the re-release of the 1968 film Yellow Submarine, an expanded soundtrack album, Yellow Submarine Songtrack, was issued. 2000s The Beatles' 1, a compilation album of the band's British and American number-one hits, was released on 13 November 2000. It became the fastest-selling album of all time, with 3.6 million sold in its first week and 13 million within a month. It topped albums charts in at least 28 countries. The compilation had sold 31 million copies globally by April 2009. Harrison died from metastatic lung cancer in November 2001. McCartney and Starr were among the musicians who performed at the Concert for George, organised by Eric Clapton and Harrison's widow, Olivia. The tribute event took place at the Royal Albert Hall on the first anniversary of Harrison's death. In 2003, Let It Be... Naked, a reconceived version of the Let It Be album, with McCartney supervising production, was released. One of the main differences from the Spector-produced version was the omission of the original string arrangements. It was a top-ten hit in both Britain and America. The US album configurations from 1964 to 1965 were released as box sets in 2004 and 2006; The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 and Volume 2 included both stereo and mono versions based on the mixes that were prepared for vinyl at the time of the music's original American release. As a soundtrack for Cirque du Soleil's Las Vegas Beatles stage revue, Love, George Martin and his son Giles remixed and blended 130 of the band's recordings to create what Martin called "a way of re-living the whole Beatles musical lifespan in a very condensed period". The show premiered in June 2006, and the Love album was released that November. In April 2009, Starr performed three songs with McCartney at a benefit concert held at New York's Radio City Music Hall and organised by McCartney. On 9 September 2009, the Beatles' entire back catalogue was reissued following an extensive digital remastering process that lasted four years. Stereo editions of all twelve original UK studio albums, along with Magical Mystery Tour and the Past Masters compilation, were released on compact disc both individually and as a box set. A second collection, The Beatles in Mono, included remastered versions of every Beatles album released in true mono along with the original 1965 stereo mixes of Help! and Rubber Soul (both of which Martin had remixed for the 1987 editions). The Beatles: Rock Band, a music video game in the Rock Band series, was issued on the same day. In December 2009, the band's catalogue was officially released in FLAC and MP3 format in a limited edition of 30,000 USB flash drives. 2010s Owing to a long-running royalty disagreement, the Beatles were among the last major artists to sign deals with online music services. Residual disagreement emanating from Apple Corps' dispute with Apple, Inc., iTunes' owners, over the use of the name "Apple" was also partly responsible for the delay, although in 2008, McCartney stated that the main obstacle to making the Beatles' catalogue available online was that EMI "want[s] something we're not prepared to give them". In 2010, the official canon of thirteen Beatles studio albums, Past Masters, and the "Red" and "Blue" greatest-hits albums were made available on iTunes. In 2012, EMI's recorded music operations were sold to Universal Music Group. In order for Universal Music to acquire EMI, the European Union, for antitrust reasons, forced EMI to spin off assets including Parlophone. Universal was allowed to keep the Beatles' recorded music catalogue, managed by Capitol Records under its Capitol Music Group division. The entire original Beatles album catalogue was also reissued on vinyl in 2012; available either individually or as a box set. In 2013, a second volume of BBC recordings, On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2, was released. That December saw the release of another 59 Beatles recordings on iTunes. The set, titled The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963, had the opportunity to gain a 70-year copyright extension conditional on the songs being published at least once before the end of 2013. Apple Records released the recordings on 17 December to prevent them from going into the public domain and had them taken down from iTunes later that same day. Fan reactions to the release were mixed, with one blogger saying "the hardcore Beatles collectors who are trying to obtain everything will already have these." On 26 January 2014, McCartney and Starr performed together at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The following day, The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles television special was taped in the Los Angeles Convention Center's West Hall. It aired on 9 February, the exact date of – and at the same time, and on the same network as – the original broadcast of the Beatles' first US television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, 50 years earlier. The special included performances of Beatles songs by current artists as well as by McCartney and Starr, archival footage, and interviews with the two surviving ex-Beatles carried out by David Letterman at the Ed Sullivan Theater. In December 2015, the Beatles released their catalogue for streaming on various streaming music services including Spotify and Apple Music. In September 2016, the documentary film The Beatles: Eight Days a Week was released. Directed by Ron Howard, it chronicled the Beatles' career during their touring years from 1961 to 1966, from their performances in Liverpool's the Cavern Club in 1961 to their final concert in San Francisco in 1966. The film was released theatrically on 15 September in the UK and the US, and started streaming on Hulu on 17 September. It received several awards and nominations, including for Best Documentary at the 70th British Academy Film Awards and the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special at the 69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. An expanded, remixed and remastered version of The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl was released on 9 September, to coincide with the release of the film. On 18 May 2017, Sirius XM Radio launched a 24/7 radio channel, The Beatles Channel. A week later, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was reissued with new stereo mixes and unreleased material for the album's 50th anniversary. Similar box sets were released for The Beatles in November 2018, and Abbey Road in September 2019. On the first week of October 2019, Abbey Road returned to number one on the UK Albums Chart. The Beatles broke their own record for the album with the longest gap between topping the charts as Abbey Road hit the top spot 50 years after its original release. 2020s In November 2021, The Beatles: Get Back, a documentary directed by Peter Jackson using footage captured for the Let It Be film, was released on Disney+ as a three-part miniseries. A book also titled The Beatles: Get Back was released on 12 October, ahead of the documentary. A super deluxe version of the Let It Be album was released on 15 October. In January 2022, an album titled Get Back (Rooftop Performance), consisting of newly mixed audio of the Beatles' rooftop performance, was released on streaming services. In October 2022, a special edition of Revolver was released, featuring unreleased demos, studio outtakes, the original mono mix and a new stereo remix using de-mixing technology developed by Peter Jackson's WingNut Films. Musical style and development In Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever, Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz describe the Beatles' musical evolution: In The Beatles as Musicians, Walter Everett describes Lennon and McCartney's contrasting motivations and approaches to composition: "McCartney may be said to have constantly developed – as a means to entertain – a focused musical talent with an ear for counterpoint and other aspects of craft in the demonstration of a universally agreed-upon common language that he did much to enrich. Conversely, Lennon's mature music is best appreciated as the daring product of a largely unconscious, searching but undisciplined artistic sensibility." Ian MacDonald describes McCartney as "a natural melodist – a creator of tunes capable of existing apart from their harmony". His melody lines are characterised as primarily "vertical", employing wide, consonant intervals which express his "extrovert energy and optimism". Conversely, Lennon's "sedentary, ironic personality" is reflected in a "horizontal" approach featuring minimal, dissonant intervals and repetitive melodies which rely on their harmonic accompaniment for interest: "Basically a realist, he instinctively kept his melodies close to the rhythms and cadences of speech, colouring his lyrics with bluesy tone and harmony rather than creating tunes that made striking shapes of their own." MacDonald praises Harrison's lead guitar work for the role his "characterful lines and textural colourings" play in supporting Lennon and McCartney's parts, and describes Starr as "the father of modern pop/rock drumming". Influences The Beatles' earliest influences include Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Gene Vincent. During the Beatles' co-residency with Little Richard at the Star-Club in Hamburg, from April to May 1962, he advised them on the proper technique for performing his songs. Of Presley, Lennon said, "Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadn't been Elvis, there would not have been the Beatles." Chuck Berry was particularly influential in terms of songwriting and lyrics. Lennon noted, "He was well advanced of his time lyric-wise. We all owe a lot to him." Other early influences include Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Roy Orbison, the Everly Brothers and Jerry Lee Lewis. The Beatles continued to absorb influences long after their initial success, often finding new musical and lyrical avenues by listening to their contemporaries, including Bob Dylan, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Who, Frank Zappa, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Byrds and the Beach Boys, whose 1966 album Pet Sounds amazed and inspired McCartney. Referring to the Beach Boys' creative leader, Martin later stated: "No one made a greater impact on the Beatles than Brian [Wilson]." Ravi Shankar, with whom Harrison studied for six weeks in India in late 1966, had a significant effect on his musical development during the band's later years. Genres Originating as a skiffle group, the Beatles quickly embraced 1950s rock and roll and helped pioneer the Merseybeat genre, and their repertoire ultimately expanded to include a broad variety of pop music. Reflecting the range of styles they explored, Lennon said of Beatles for Sale, "You could call our new one a Beatles country-and-western LP", while Gould credits Rubber Soul as "the instrument by which legions of folk-music enthusiasts were coaxed into the camp of pop". Although the 1965 song "Yesterday" was not the first pop record to employ orchestral strings, it marked the group's first recorded use of classical music elements. Gould observes: "The more traditional sound of strings allowed for a fresh appreciation of their talent as composers by listeners who were otherwise allergic to the din of drums and electric guitars." They continued to experiment with string arrangements to various effect; Sgt. Peppers "She's Leaving Home", for instance, is "cast in the of a sentimental Victorian ballad", Gould writes, "its words and music filled with the clichés of musical melodrama". The band's stylistic range expanded in another direction with their 1966 B-side "Rain", described by Martin Strong as "the first overtly psychedelic Beatles record". Other psychedelic numbers followed, such as "Tomorrow Never Knows" (recorded before "Rain"), "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "I Am the Walrus". The influence of Indian classical music was evident in Harrison's "The Inner Light", "Love You To" and "Within You Without You" – Gould describes the latter two as attempts "to replicate the raga form in miniature". Innovation was the most striking feature of their creative evolution, according to music historian and pianist Michael Campbell: "'A Day in the Life' encapsulates the art and achievement of the Beatles as well as any single track can. It highlights key features of their music: the sound imagination, the persistence of tuneful melody, and the close coordination between words and music. It represents a new category of song – more sophisticated than pop ... and uniquely innovative. There literally had never before been a song – classical or vernacular – that had blended so many disparate elements so imaginatively." Philosophy professor Bruce Ellis Benson agrees: "the Beatles ... give us a wonderful example of how such far-ranging influences as Celtic music, rhythm and blues, and country and western could be put together in a new way." Author Dominic Pedler describes the way they crossed musical styles: "Far from moving sequentially from one genre to another (as is sometimes conveniently suggested) the group maintained in parallel their mastery of the traditional, catchy chart hit while simultaneously forging rock and dabbling with a wide range of peripheral influences from country to vaudeville. One of these threads was their take on folk music, which would form such essential groundwork for their later collisions with Indian music and philosophy." As the personal relationships between the band members grew increasingly strained, their individual tastes became more apparent. The minimalistic cover artwork for the White Album contrasted with the complexity and diversity of its music, which encompassed Lennon's "Revolution 9" (whose musique concrète approach was influenced by Yoko Ono), Starr's country song "Don't Pass Me By", Harrison's rock ballad "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", and the "proto-metal roar" of McCartney's "Helter Skelter". Contribution of George Martin George Martin's close involvement in his role as producer made him one of the leading candidates for the informal title of the "fifth Beatle". He applied his classical musical training in various ways, and functioned as "an informal music teacher" to the progressing songwriters, according to Gould. Martin suggested to a sceptical McCartney that the arrangement of "Yesterday" should feature a string quartet accompaniment, thereby introducing the Beatles to a "hitherto unsuspected world of classical instrumental colour", in MacDonald's description. Their creative development was also facilitated by Martin's willingness to experiment in response to their suggestions, such as adding "something baroque" to a particular recording. In addition to scoring orchestral arrangements for recordings, Martin often performed on them, playing instruments including piano, organ and brass. Collaborating with Lennon and McCartney required Martin to adapt to their different approaches to songwriting and recording. MacDonald comments, "while [he] worked more naturally with the conventionally articulate McCartney, the challenge of catering to Lennon's intuitive approach generally spurred him to his more original arrangements, of which "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" is an outstanding example." Martin said of the two composers' distinct songwriting styles and his stabilising influence: Harrison echoed Martin's description of his stabilising role: "I think we just grew through those years together, him as the straight man and us as the loonies; but he was always there for us to interpret our madness – we used to be slightly avant-garde on certain days of the week, and he would be there as the anchor person, to communicate that through the engineers and on to the tape." In the studio Making innovative use of technology while expanding the possibilities of recorded music, the Beatles urged experimentation by Martin and his recording engineers. Seeking ways to put chance occurrences to creative use, accidental guitar feedback, a resonating glass bottle, a tape loaded the wrong way round so that it played backwards – any of these might be incorporated into their music. Their desire to create new sounds on every new recording, combined with Martin's arranging abilities and the studio expertise of EMI staff engineers Norman Smith, Ken Townsend and Geoff Emerick, all contributed significantly to their records from Rubber Soul and, especially, Revolver onwards. Along with innovative studio techniques such as sound effects, unconventional microphone placements, tape loops, double tracking and vari-speed recording, the Beatles augmented their songs with instruments that were unconventional in rock music at the time. These included string and brass ensembles as well as Indian instruments such as the sitar in "Norwegian Wood" and the swarmandal in "Strawberry Fields Forever". They also used novel electronic instruments such as the Mellotron, with which McCartney supplied the flute voices on the "Strawberry Fields Forever" intro, and the clavioline, an electronic keyboard that created the unusual oboe-like sound on "Baby, You're a Rich Man". Legacy Former Rolling Stone associate editor Robert Greenfield compared the Beatles to Picasso, as "artists who broke through the constraints of their time period to come up with something that was unique and original ... [I]n the form of popular music, no one will ever be more revolutionary, more creative and more distinctive ..." The British poet Philip Larkin described their work as "an enchanting and intoxicating hybrid of Negro rock-and-roll with their own adolescent romanticism", and "the first advance in popular music since the War". The Beatles' 1964 arrival in the US is credited with initiating the album era; the music historian Joel Whitburn says that LP sales soon "exploded and eventually outpaced the sales and releases of singles" in the music industry. They not only sparked the British Invasion of the US, they became a globally influential phenomenon as well. From the 1920s, the US had dominated popular entertainment culture throughout much of the world, via Hollywood films, jazz, the music of Broadway and Tin Pan Alley and, later, the rock and roll that first emerged in Memphis, Tennessee. The Beatles are regarded as British cultural icons, with young adults from abroad naming the band among a group of people whom they most associated with UK culture. Their musical innovations and commercial success inspired musicians worldwide. Many artists have acknowledged the Beatles' influence and enjoyed chart success with covers of their songs. On radio, their arrival marked the beginning of a new era; in 1968 the programme director of New York's WABC radio station forbade his DJs from playing any "pre-Beatles" music, marking the defining line of what would be considered oldies on American radio. They helped to redefine the album as something more than just a few hits padded out with "filler", and they were primary innovators of the modern music video. The Shea Stadium show with which they opened their 1965 North American tour attracted an estimated 55,600 people, then the largest audience in concert history; Spitz describes the event as a "major breakthrough ... a giant step toward reshaping the concert business". Emulation of their clothing and especially their hairstyles, which became a mark of rebellion, had a global impact on fashion. According to Gould, the Beatles changed the way people listened to popular music and experienced its role in their lives. From what began as the Beatlemania fad, the group's popularity grew into what was seen as an embodiment of sociocultural movements of the decade. As icons of the 1960s counterculture, Gould continues, they became a catalyst for bohemianism and activism in various social and political arenas, fuelling movements such as women's liberation, gay liberation and environmentalism. According to Peter Lavezzoli, after the "more popular than Jesus" controversy in 1966, the Beatles felt considerable pressure to say the right things and "began a concerted effort to spread a message of wisdom and higher consciousness". Other commentators such as Mikal Gilmore and Todd Leopold have traced the inception of their socio-cultural impact earlier, interpreting even the Beatlemania period, particularly on their first visit to the US, as a key moment in the development of generational awareness. Referring to their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show Leopold states: "In many ways, the Sullivan appearance marked the beginning of a cultural revolution ... The Beatles were like aliens dropped into the United States of 1964." According to Gilmore: Established in 2009, Global Beatles Day is an annual holiday on 25 June each year that honours and celebrates the ideals of the Beatles. The date was chosen to commemorate the date the group participated in the BBC programme Our World in 1967, performing "All You Need Is Love" broadcast to an international audience. Awards and achievements In 1965, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). The Beatles won the 1971 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the film Let It Be (1970). The recipients of seven Grammy Awards and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards, the Beatles have six Diamond albums, as well as 20 Multi-Platinum albums, 16 Platinum albums and six Gold albums in the US. In the UK, the Beatles have four Multi-Platinum albums, four Platinum albums, eight Gold albums and one Silver album. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. The best-selling band in history, the Beatles have sold more than 600 million units . From 1991 to 2009 The Beatles have sold 57 million albums in United States according to Nielsen Soundscan. They have had more number-one albums on the UK charts, fifteen, and sold more singles in the UK, 21.9 million, than any other act. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the Beatles as the most significant and influential rock music artists of the last 50 years. They ranked number one on Billboard magazine's list of the all-time most successful Hot 100 artists, released in 2008 to celebrate the US singles chart's 50th anniversary. , they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with twenty. The Recording Industry Association of America certifies that the Beatles have sold 183 million units in the US, more than any other artist. They were collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people. In 2014, they received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. On 16 January each year, beginning in 2001, people celebrate World Beatles Day under UNESCO. This date has direct relation to the opening of the Cavern Club in 1957. In 2007, the Beatles became the first band to feature on a series of UK postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail. Earlier in 1999, the United States Postal Service issued a stamp dedicated to the Beatles and Yellow Submarine. Personnel Principal members John Lennon – vocals, guitars, keyboards, harmonica, bass (1960–1969; died 1980) Paul McCartney – vocals, bass, guitars, keyboards, drums (1960–1970) George Harrison – guitars, vocals, sitar, keyboards, bass (1960–1970; died 2001) Ringo Starr – drums, percussion, vocals (1962–1970) Early members Pete Best – drums, vocals (1960–1962) Stuart Sutcliffe – bass, vocals (1960–1961; died 1962) Chas Newby – bass (1960–1961; died 2023) Norman Chapman – drums (1960; died 1995) Tommy Moore – drums (1960; died 1981) Touring musician Jimmie Nicol – drums (1964) Timeline Discography The Beatles have a core catalogue consisting of thirteen studio albums and one compilation album. Please Please Me (1963) With the Beatles (1963) A Hard Day's Night (1964) Beatles for Sale (1964) Help! (1965) Rubber Soul (1965) Revolver (1966) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) Magical Mystery Tour (1967) The Beatles ("The White Album") (1968) Yellow Submarine (1969) Abbey Road (1969) Let It Be (1970) Past Masters (1988, compilation) Song catalogue Through 1969, the Beatles' catalogue was published almost exclusively by Northern Songs Ltd, a company formed in February 1963 by music publisher Dick James specifically for Lennon and McCartney, though it later acquired songs by other artists. The company was organised with James and his partner, Emmanuel Silver, owning a controlling interest, variously described as 51% or 50% plus one share. McCartney had 20%. Reports again vary concerning Lennon's portion – 19 or 20% – and Brian Epstein's – 9 or 10% – which he received in lieu of a 25% band management fee. In 1965, the company went public. Five million shares were created, of which the original principals retained 3.75 million. James and Silver each received 937,500 shares (18.75% of 5 million); Lennon and McCartney each received 750,000 shares (15%); and Epstein's management company, NEMS Enterprises, received 375,000 shares (7.5%). Of the 1.25 million shares put up for sale, Harrison and Starr each acquired 40,000. At the time of the stock offering, Lennon and McCartney renewed their three-year publishing contracts, binding them to Northern Songs until 1973. Harrison created Harrisongs to represent his Beatles compositions, but signed a three-year contract with Northern Songs that gave it the copyright to his work through March 1968, which included "Taxman" and "Within You Without You". The songs on which Starr received co-writing credit before 1968, such as "What Goes On" and "Flying", were also Northern Songs copyrights. Harrison did not renew his contract with Northern Songs when it ended, signing instead with Apple Publishing while retaining the copyright to his work from that point on. Harrison thus owns the rights to his later Beatles songs such as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Something". That year, as well, Starr created Startling Music, which holds the rights to his Beatles compositions, "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden". In March 1969, James arranged to sell his and his partner's shares of Northern Songs to the British broadcasting company Associated Television (ATV), founded by impresario Lew Grade, without first informing the Beatles. The band then made a bid to gain a controlling interest by attempting to work out a deal with a consortium of London brokerage firms that had accumulated a 14% holding. The deal collapsed over the objections of Lennon, who declared, "I'm sick of being fucked about by men in suits sitting on their fat arses in the City." By the end of May, ATV had acquired a majority stake in Northern Songs, controlling nearly the entire Lennon–McCartney catalogue, as well as any future material until 1973. In frustration, Lennon and McCartney sold their shares to ATV in late October 1969. In 1981, financial losses by ATV's parent company, Associated Communications Corporation (ACC), led it to attempt to sell its music division. According to authors Brian Southall and Rupert Perry, Grade contacted McCartney, offering ATV Music and Northern Songs for $30 million. According to an account McCartney gave in 1995, he met with Grade and explained he was interested solely in the Northern Songs catalogue if Grade were ever willing to "separate off" that portion of ATV Music. Soon afterwards, Grade offered to sell him Northern Songs for £20 million, giving the ex-Beatle "a week or so" to decide. By McCartney's account, he and Ono countered with a £5 million bid that was rejected. According to reports at the time, Grade refused to separate Northern Songs and turned down an offer of £21–25 million from McCartney and Ono for Northern Songs. In 1982, ACC was acquired in a takeover by Australian business magnate Robert Holmes à Court for £60 million. In 1985, Michael Jackson purchased ATV for a reported $47.5 million. The acquisition gave him control over the publishing rights to more than 200 Beatles songs, as well as 40,000 other copyrights. In 1995, in a deal that earned him a reported $110 million, Jackson merged his music publishing business with Sony, creating a new company, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, in which he held a 50% stake. The merger made the new company, then valued at over half a billion dollars, the third-largest music publisher in the world. In 2016, Sony acquired Jackson's share of Sony/ATV from the Jackson estate for $750 million. Despite the lack of publishing rights to most of their songs, Lennon's estate and McCartney continue to receive their respective shares of the writers' royalties, which together are 33% of total commercial proceeds in the US and which vary elsewhere around the world between 50 and 55%. Two of Lennon and McCartney's earliest songs – "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You" – were published by an EMI subsidiary, Ardmore & Beechwood, before they signed with James. McCartney acquired their publishing rights from Ardmore in 1978, and they are the only two Beatles songs owned by McCartney's company MPL Communications. On 18 January 2017, McCartney filed a suit in the United States district court against Sony/ATV Music Publishing seeking to reclaim ownership of his share of the Lennon–McCartney song catalogue beginning in 2018. Under US copyright law, for works published before 1978 the author can reclaim copyrights assigned to a publisher after 56 years. McCartney and Sony agreed to a confidential settlement in June 2017. Selected filmography Fictionalised A Hard Day's Night (1964) Help! (1965) Magical Mystery Tour (1967) Yellow Submarine (1968) (brief cameo) Documentaries and filmed performances The Beatles at Shea Stadium (1966) Let It Be (1970) The Compleat Beatles (1982) It Was Twenty Years Ago Today (1987) (about Sgt. Pepper) The Beatles Anthology (1995) The Beatles: 1+ (2015) (collection of digitally restored music videos) The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (2016) (about Beatlemania and touring years) The Beatles: Get Back (2021) Concert tours Headlining 1963 UK tours (winter–autumn) Autumn 1963 Sweden tour Winter 1964 North American tour Spring 1964 UK tour 1964 world tour 1964 North American tour 1965 European tour 1965 US tour 1965 UK tour 1966 tour of Germany, Japan and the Philippines 1966 US tour Co-headlining Winter 1963 Helen Shapiro Tour Spring 1963 Tommy Roe/Chris Montez UK tour Roy Orbison/The Beatles Tour See also Grammy Award records – Most Grammys won by a group Notes References Citations Sources Further reading External links The Beatles on the Internet Archive The Beatles – FBI file Category:1960 establishments in England Category:1970 disestablishments in England Category:Apple Corps Category:Apple Records artists Category:Atco Records artists Category:Beat groups Category:Brit Award winners Category:British Invasion artists Category:Capitol Records artists Category:English pop music groups Category:English psychedelic rock music groups Category:English rock music groups Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Musical groups established in 1960 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1970 Category:Musical groups from Liverpool Category:Musical quartets Category:Parlophone artists Category:Proto-prog musicians Category:Psychedelic pop music groups Category:Swan Records artists Category:United Artists Records artists Category:Vee-Jay Records artists Category:World Music Awards winners Category:World record holders

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The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential music band. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later experimented with several musical styles, ranging from pop ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock, often incorporating classical elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways. In 1963 their enormous popularity first emerged as "Beatlemania"; as the group's music grew in sophistication, led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the band were integral to pop music's evolution into an art form and to the development of the counterculture of the 1960s.

1964 world tour, meeting Bob Dylan, and stand on civil rights

Touring internationally in June and July, the Beatles staged 37 shows over 27 days in Denmark, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. In August and September they returned to the US, with a 30-concert tour of 23 cities. Generating intense interest once again, the month-long tour attracted between 10,000 and 20,000 fans to each 30-minute performance in cities from San Francisco to New York. In August, journalist Al Aronowitz arranged for the Beatles to meet Bob Dylan. Visiting the band in their New York hotel suite, Dylan introduced them to cannabis. Gould points out the musical and cultural significance of this meeting, before which the musicians' respective fanbases were "perceived as inhabiting two separate subcultural worlds": Dylan's audience of "college kids with artistic or intellectual leanings, a dawning political and social idealism, and a mildly bohemian style" contrasted with their fans, "veritable 'teenyboppers' - kids in high school or grade school whose lives were totally wrapped up in the commercialised popular culture of television, radio, pop records, fan magazines, and teen fashion. To many of Dylan's followers in the folk music scene, the Beatles were seen as idolaters, not idealists." Within six months of the meeting, according to Gould, "Lennon would be making records on which he openly imitated Dylan's nasal drone, brittle strum, and introspective vocal persona"; and six months after that, Dylan began performing with a backing band and electric instrumentation, and "dressed in the height of Mod fashion". As a result, Gould continues, the traditional division between folk and rock enthusiasts "nearly evaporated", as the Beatles' fans began to mature in their outlook and Dylan's audience embraced the new, youth-driven pop culture. During the 1964 US tour, the group were confronted with the reality of racial segregation in the country at the time, particularly in the South. When informed that the 11 September show at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida was to be held at a segregated venue, the Beatles expressed astonishment and announced that they would refuse to perform unless the show become integrated. Lennon stated: "We never play to segregated audiences and we aren't going to start now ... I'd sooner lose our appearance money." The group's stand drew controversy in the local media, but city officials relented and agreed to allow an integrated show. On the tour the group also refused to stay in segregated hotels. Documents reveal that for their subsequent US tours in 1965 and 1966, the Beatles included clauses in contracts stipulating that shows be integrated. CANNOTANSWER

The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways; the band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements. Led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the Beatles evolved from Lennon's previous group, the Quarrymen, and built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over three years from 1960, initially with Stuart Sutcliffe playing bass. The core trio of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, together since 1958, went through a succession of drummers, including Pete Best, before asking Starr to join them in 1962. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, greatly expanding their domestic success after signing to EMI Records and achieving their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. As their popularity grew into the intense fan frenzy dubbed "Beatlemania", the band acquired the nickname "the Fab Four", with Epstein, Martin or another member of the band's entourage sometimes informally referred to as a "fifth Beatle". By early 1964, the Beatles were international stars and had achieved unprecedented levels of critical and commercial success. They became a leading force in Britain's cultural resurgence, ushering in the British Invasion of the United States pop market, and soon made their film debut with A Hard Day's Night (1964). A growing desire to refine their studio efforts, coupled with the untenable nature of their concert tours, led to the band's retirement from live performances in 1966. At this time, they produced records of greater sophistication, including the albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966) and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), and enjoyed further commercial success with The Beatles (also known as "the White Album", 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). The success of these records heralded the album era, as albums became the dominant form of record consumption over singles; they also increased public interest in psychedelic drugs and Eastern spirituality, and furthered advancements in electronic music, album art and music videos. In 1968, they founded Apple Corps, a multi-armed multimedia corporation that continues to oversee projects related to the band's legacy. After the group's break-up in 1970, all principal former members enjoyed success as solo artists and some partial reunions have occurred. Lennon was murdered in 1980 and Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001. McCartney and Starr remain musically active. The Beatles are the best-selling music act of all time, with estimated sales of 600 million units worldwide. They are the most successful act in the history of the US Billboard charts. They hold the record for most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart (15), most number-one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart (20), and most singles sold in the UK (21.9 million). The band received many accolades, including seven Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award (for Best Original Song Score for the 1970 documentary film Let It Be) and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and each principal member was inducted individually between 1994 and 2015. In 2004 and 2011, the group topped Rolling Stones lists of the greatest artists in history. Time magazine named them among the 20th century's 100 most important people. History 1956–1963: formation The Quarrymen and name changes In November 1956, sixteen-year-old John Lennon formed a skiffle group with several friends from Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool. They briefly called themselves the Blackjacks, before changing their name to the Quarrymen after discovering that another local group were already using the name. Fifteen-year-old Paul McCartney met Lennon on 6 July 1957, and joined as a rhythm guitarist shortly after. In February 1958, McCartney invited his friend George Harrison, then aged fifteen, to watch the band. Harrison auditioned for Lennon, impressing him with his playing, but Lennon initially thought Harrison was too young. After a month's persistence, during a second meeting (arranged by McCartney), Harrison performed the lead guitar part of the instrumental song "Raunchy" on the upper deck of a Liverpool bus, and they enlisted him as lead guitarist. By January 1959, Lennon's Quarry Bank friends had left the group, and he began his studies at the Liverpool College of Art. The three guitarists, billing themselves as Johnny and the Moondogs, were playing rock and roll whenever they could find a drummer. Lennon's art school friend Stuart Sutcliffe, who had just sold one of his paintings and was persuaded to purchase a bass guitar with the proceeds, joined in January 1960. He suggested changing the band's name to Beatals, as a tribute to Buddy Holly and the Crickets. They used this name until May, when they became the Silver Beetles, before undertaking a brief tour of Scotland as the backing group for pop singer and fellow Liverpudlian Johnny Gentle. By early July, they had refashioned themselves as the Silver Beatles, and by the middle of August simply the Beatles. Early residencies and UK popularity Allan Williams, the Beatles' unofficial manager, arranged a residency for them in Hamburg. They auditioned and hired drummer Pete Best in mid-August 1960. The band, now a five-piece, departed Liverpool for Hamburg four days later, contracted to club owner Bruno Koschmider for what would be a -month residency. Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn writes: "They pulled into Hamburg at dusk on 17 August, the time when the red-light area comes to life ... flashing neon lights screamed out the various entertainment on offer, while scantily clad women sat unabashed in shop windows waiting for business opportunities." Koschmider had converted a couple of strip clubs in the district into music venues, and he initially placed the Beatles at the Indra Club. After closing Indra due to noise complaints, he moved them to the Kaiserkeller in October. When he learned they had been performing at the rival Top Ten Club in breach of their contract, he gave them one month's termination notice, and reported the underage Harrison, who had obtained permission to stay in Hamburg by lying to the German authorities about his age. The authorities arranged for Harrison's deportation in late November. One week later, Koschmider had McCartney and Best arrested for arson after they set fire to a condom in a concrete corridor; the authorities deported them. Lennon returned to Liverpool in early December, while Sutcliffe remained in Hamburg until late February with his German fiancée Astrid Kirchherr, who took the first semi-professional photos of the Beatles. During the next two years, the Beatles were resident for periods in Hamburg, where they used Preludin both recreationally and to maintain their energy through all-night performances. In 1961, during their second Hamburg engagement, Kirchherr cut Sutcliffe's hair in the "exi" (existentialist) style, later adopted by the other Beatles. Later on, Sutcliffe decided to leave the band early that year and resume his art studies in Germany. McCartney took over bass. Producer Bert Kaempfert contracted what was now a four-piece group until June 1962, and he used them as Tony Sheridan's backing band on a series of recordings for Polydor Records. As part of the sessions, the Beatles were signed to Polydor for one year. Credited to "Tony Sheridan & the Beat Brothers", the single "My Bonnie", recorded in June 1961 and released four months later, reached number 32 on the Musikmarkt chart. After the Beatles completed their second Hamburg residency, they enjoyed increasing popularity in Liverpool with the growing Merseybeat movement. However, they were growing tired of the monotony of numerous appearances at the same clubs night after night. In November 1961, during one of the group's frequent performances at the Cavern Club, they encountered Brian Epstein, a local record-store owner and music columnist. He later recalled: "I immediately liked what I heard. They were fresh, and they were honest, and they had what I thought was a sort of presence ... [a] star quality." First EMI recordings Epstein courted the band over the next couple of months, and they appointed him as their manager in January 1962. Throughout early and mid-1962, Epstein sought to free the Beatles from their contractual obligations to Bert Kaempfert Productions. He eventually negotiated a one-month early release in exchange for one last recording session in Hamburg. On their return to Germany in April, a distraught Kirchherr met them at the airport with news of Sutcliffe's death the previous day from a brain haemorrhage. Epstein began negotiations with record labels for a recording contract. To secure a UK record contract, Epstein negotiated an early end to the band's contract with Polydor, in exchange for more recordings backing Tony Sheridan. After a New Year's Day audition, Decca Records rejected the band, saying, "Guitar groups are on the way out, Mr. Epstein." However, three months later, producer George Martin signed the Beatles to EMI's Parlophone label. Martin's first recording session with the Beatles took place at EMI Recording Studios (later Abbey Road Studios) in London on 6 June 1962. He immediately complained to Epstein about Best's drumming and suggested they use a session drummer in his place. Already contemplating Best's dismissal, the Beatles replaced him in mid-August with Ringo Starr, who left Rory Storm and the Hurricanes to join them. A 4 September session at EMI yielded a recording of "Love Me Do" featuring Starr on drums, but a dissatisfied Martin hired drummer Andy White for the band's third session a week later, which produced recordings of "Love Me Do", "Please Please Me" and "P.S. I Love You". Martin initially selected the Starr version of "Love Me Do" for the band's first single, though subsequent re-pressings featured the White version, with Starr on tambourine. Released in early October, "Love Me Do" peaked at number seventeen on the Record Retailer chart. Their television debut came later that month with a live performance on the regional news programme People and Places. After Martin suggested rerecording "Please Please Me" at a faster tempo, a studio session in late November yielded that recording, of which Martin accurately predicted, "You've just made your first No. 1." In December 1962, the Beatles concluded their fifth and final Hamburg residency. By 1963, they had agreed that all four band members would contribute vocals to their albums – including Starr, despite his restricted vocal range, to validate his standing in the group. Lennon and McCartney had established a songwriting partnership, and as the band's success grew, their dominant collaboration limited Harrison's opportunities as a lead vocalist. Epstein, to maximise the Beatles' commercial potential, encouraged them to adopt a professional approach to performing. Lennon recalled him saying, "Look, if you really want to get in these bigger places, you're going to have to change – stop eating on stage, stop swearing, stop smoking ...." 1963–1966: Beatlemania and touring years Please Please Me and With the Beatles On 11 February 1963, the Beatles recorded ten songs during a single studio session for their debut LP, Please Please Me. It was supplemented by the four tracks already released on their first two singles. Martin considered recording the LP live at The Cavern Club, but after deciding that the building's acoustics were inadequate, he elected to simulate a "live" album with minimal production in "a single marathon session at Abbey Road". After the moderate success of "Love Me Do", the single "Please Please Me" was released in January 1963, two months ahead of the album. It reached number one on every UK chart except Record Retailer, where it peaked at number two. Recalling how the Beatles "rushed to deliver a debut album, bashing out Please Please Me in a day", AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "Decades after its release, the album still sounds fresh, precisely because of its intense origins." Lennon said little thought went into composition at the time; he and McCartney were "just writing songs à la Everly Brothers, à la Buddy Holly, pop songs with no more thought of them than that – to create a sound. And the words were almost irrelevant." Released in March 1963, Please Please Me was the first of eleven consecutive Beatles albums released in the United Kingdom to reach number one. The band's third single, "From Me to You", came out in April and began an almost unbroken string of seventeen British number-one singles, including all but one of the eighteen they released over the next six years. Issued in August, their fourth single, "She Loves You", achieved the fastest sales of any record in the UK up to that time, selling three-quarters of a million copies in under four weeks. It became their first single to sell a million copies, and remained the biggest-selling record in the UK until 1978. The success brought increased media exposure, to which the Beatles responded with an irreverent and comical attitude that defied the expectations of pop musicians at the time, inspiring even more interest. The band toured the UK three times in the first half of the year: a four-week tour that began in February, the Beatles' first nationwide, preceded three-week tours in March and May–June. As their popularity spread, a frenzied adulation of the group took hold. On 13 October, the Beatles starred on Sunday Night at the London Palladium, the UK's top variety show. Their performance was televised live and watched by 15 million viewers. One national paper's headlines in the following days coined the term "Beatlemania" to describe the riotous enthusiasm by screaming fans who greeted the band – and it stuck. Although not billed as tour leaders, the Beatles overshadowed American acts Tommy Roe and Chris Montez during the February engagements and assumed top billing "by audience demand", something no British act had previously accomplished while touring with artists from the US. A similar situation arose during their May–June tour with Roy Orbison. In late October, the Beatles began a five-day tour of Sweden, their first time abroad since the final Hamburg engagement of December 1962. On their return to the UK on 31 October, several hundred screaming fans greeted them in heavy rain at Heathrow Airport. Around 50 to 100 journalists and photographers, as well as representatives from the BBC, also joined the airport reception, the first of more than 100 such events. The next day, the band began its fourth tour of Britain within nine months, this one scheduled for six weeks. In mid-November, as Beatlemania intensified, police resorted to using high-pressure water hoses to control the crowd before a concert in Plymouth. Please Please Me maintained the top position on the Record Retailer chart for 30 weeks, only to be displaced by its follow-up, With the Beatles, which EMI released on 22 November to record advance orders of 270,000 copies. The LP topped a half-million albums sold in one week. Recorded between July and October, With the Beatles made better use of studio production techniques than its predecessor. It held the top spot for 21 weeks with a chart life of 40 weeks. Erlewine described the LP as "a sequel of the highest order – one that betters the original". In a reversal of then standard practice, EMI released the album ahead of the impending single "I Want to Hold Your Hand", with the song excluded to maximise the single's sales. The album caught the attention of music critic William Mann of The Times, who suggested that Lennon and McCartney were "the outstanding English composers of 1963". The newspaper published a series of articles in which Mann offered detailed analyses of the music, lending it respectability. With the Beatles became the second album in UK chart history to sell a million copies, a figure previously reached only by the 1958 South Pacific soundtrack. When writing the sleeve notes for the album, the band's press officer, Tony Barrow, used the superlative the "fabulous foursome", which the media widely adopted as "the Fab Four". First visit to the United States and the British Invasion EMI's American subsidiary, Capitol Records, hindered the Beatles' releases in the United States for more than a year by initially declining to issue their music, including their first three singles. Concurrent negotiations with the independent US label Vee-Jay led to the release of some, but not all, of the songs in 1963. Vee-Jay finished preparation for the album Introducing... The Beatles, comprising most of the songs of Parlophone's Please Please Me, but a management shake-up led to the album not being released. After it emerged that the label did not report royalties on their sales, the licence that Vee-Jay had signed with EMI was voided. A new licence was granted to the Swan label for the single "She Loves You". The record received some airplay in the Tidewater area of Virginia from Gene Loving of radio station WGH and was featured on the "Rate-a-Record" segment of American Bandstand, but it failed to catch on nationally. Epstein brought a demo copy of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to Capitol's Brown Meggs, who signed the band and arranged for a $40,000 US marketing campaign. American chart success began after disc jockey Carroll James of AM radio station WWDC, in Washington, DC, obtained a copy of the British single "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in mid-December 1963 and began playing it on-air. Taped copies of the song soon circulated among other radio stations throughout the US. This caused an increase in demand, leading Capitol to bring forward the release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by three weeks. Issued on 26 December, with the band's previously scheduled debut there just weeks away, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" sold a million copies, becoming a number-one hit in the US by mid-January. In its wake Vee-Jay released Introducing... The Beatles along with Capitol's debut album, Meet the Beatles!, while Swan reactivated production of "She Loves You". On 7 February 1964, the Beatles departed from Heathrow with an estimated 4,000 fans waving and screaming as the aircraft took off. Upon landing at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, an uproarious crowd estimated at 3,000 greeted them. They gave their first live US television performance two days later on The Ed Sullivan Show, watched by approximately 73 million viewers in over 23 million households, or 34 per cent of the American population. Biographer Jonathan Gould writes that, according to the Nielsen rating service, it was "the largest audience that had ever been recorded for an American television ". The next morning, the Beatles awoke to a largely negative critical consensus in the US, but a day later at their first US concert, Beatlemania erupted at the Washington Coliseum. Back in New York the following day, the Beatles met with another strong reception during two shows at Carnegie Hall. The band flew to Florida, where they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show a second time, again before 70 million viewers, before returning to the UK on 22 February. The Beatles' first visit to the US took place when the nation was still mourning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy the previous November. Commentators often suggest that for many, particularly the young, the Beatles' performances reignited the sense of excitement and possibility that momentarily faded in the wake of the assassination, and helped pave the way for the revolutionary social changes to come later in the decade. Their hairstyle, unusually long for the era and mocked by many adults, became an emblem of rebellion to the burgeoning youth culture. The group's popularity generated unprecedented interest in British music, and many other UK acts subsequently made their American debuts, successfully touring over the next three years in what was termed the British Invasion. The Beatles' success in the US opened the door for a successive string of British beat groups and pop acts such as the Dave Clark Five, the Animals, Petula Clark, the Kinks, and the Rolling Stones to achieve success in America. During the week of 4 April 1964, the Beatles held twelve positions on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, including the top five. A Hard Day's Night Capitol Records' lack of interest throughout 1963 did not go unnoticed, and a competitor, United Artists Records, encouraged its film division to offer the Beatles a three-motion-picture deal, primarily for the commercial potential of the soundtracks in the US. Directed by Richard Lester, A Hard Day's Night involved the band for six weeks in March–April 1964 as they played themselves in a musical comedy. The film premiered in London and New York in July and August, respectively, and was an international success, with some critics drawing a comparison with the Marx Brothers. United Artists released a full soundtrack album for the North American market, combining Beatles songs and Martin's orchestral score; elsewhere, the group's third studio LP, A Hard Day's Night, contained songs from the film on side one and other new recordings on side two. According to Erlewine, the album saw them "truly coming into their own as a band. All of the disparate influences on their first two albums coalesced into a bright, joyous, original sound, filled with ringing guitars and irresistible melodies." That "ringing guitar" sound was primarily the product of Harrison's 12-string electric Rickenbacker, a prototype given to him by the manufacturer, which made its debut on the record. 1964 world tour, meeting Bob Dylan, and stand on civil rights Touring internationally in June and July, the Beatles staged 37 shows over 27 days in Denmark, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. In August and September, they returned to the US, with a 30-concert tour of 23 cities. Generating intense interest once again, the month-long tour attracted between 10,000 and 20,000 fans to each 30-minute performance in cities from San Francisco to New York. In August, journalist Al Aronowitz arranged for the Beatles to meet Bob Dylan. Visiting the band in their New York hotel suite, Dylan introduced them to cannabis. Gould points out the musical and cultural significance of this meeting, before which the musicians' respective fanbases were "perceived as inhabiting two separate subcultural worlds": Dylan's audience of "college kids with artistic or intellectual leanings, a dawning political and social idealism, and a mildly bohemian style" contrasted with their fans, "veritable 'teenyboppers' – kids in high school or grade school whose lives were totally wrapped up in the commercialised popular culture of television, radio, pop records, fan magazines, and teen fashion. To many of Dylan's followers in the folk music scene, the Beatles were seen as idolaters, not idealists." Within six months of the meeting, according to Gould, "Lennon would be making records on which he openly imitated Dylan's nasal drone, brittle strum, and introspective vocal persona"; and six months after that, Dylan began performing with a backing band and electric instrumentation, and "dressed in the height of Mod fashion". As a result, Gould continues, the traditional division between folk and rock enthusiasts "nearly evaporated", as the Beatles' fans began to mature in their outlook and Dylan's audience embraced the new, youth-driven pop culture. During the 1964 US tour, the group were confronted with racial segregation in the country at the time. When informed that the venue for their 11 September concert, the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida, was segregated, the Beatles said they would refuse to perform unless the audience was integrated. Lennon stated: "We never play to segregated audiences and we aren't going to start now ... I'd sooner lose our appearance money." City officials relented and agreed to allow an integrated show. The group also cancelled their reservations at the whites-only Hotel George Washington in Jacksonville. For their subsequent US tours in 1965 and 1966, the Beatles included clauses in contracts stipulating that shows be integrated. Beatles for Sale, Help! and Rubber Soul According to Gould, the Beatles' fourth studio LP, Beatles for Sale, evidenced a growing conflict between the commercial pressures of their global success and their creative ambitions. They had intended the album, recorded between August and October 1964, to continue the format established by A Hard Day's Night which, unlike their first two LPs, contained only original songs. They had nearly exhausted their backlog of songs on the previous album, however, and given the challenges constant international touring posed to their songwriting efforts, Lennon admitted, "Material's becoming a hell of a problem". As a result, six covers from their extensive repertoire were chosen to complete the album. Released in early December, its eight original compositions stood out, demonstrating the growing maturity of the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. In early 1965, following a dinner with Lennon, Harrison and their wives, Harrison's dentist, John Riley, secretly added LSD to their coffee. Lennon described the experience: "It was just terrifying, but it was fantastic. I was pretty stunned for a month or two." He and Harrison subsequently became regular users of the drug, joined by Starr on at least one occasion. Harrison's use of psychedelic drugs encouraged his path to meditation and Hinduism. He commented: "For me, it was like a flash. The first time I had acid, it just opened up something in my head that was inside of me, and I realised a lot of things. I didn't learn them because I already knew them, but that happened to be the key that opened the door to reveal them. From the moment I had that, I wanted to have it all the time – these thoughts about the yogis and the Himalayas, and Ravi's music." McCartney was initially reluctant to try it, but eventually did so in late 1966. He became the first Beatle to discuss LSD publicly, declaring in a magazine interview that "it opened my eyes" and "made me a better, more honest, more tolerant member of society". Controversy erupted in June 1965 when Queen Elizabeth II appointed all four Beatles Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) after Prime Minister Harold Wilson nominated them for the award. In protest – the honour was at that time primarily bestowed upon military veterans and civic leaders – some conservative MBE recipients returned their insignia. In July, the Beatles' second film, Help!, was released, again directed by Lester. Described as "mainly a relentless spoof of Bond", it inspired a mixed response among both reviewers and the band. McCartney said: "Help! was great but it wasn't our film – we were sort of guest stars. It was fun, but basically, as an idea for a film, it was a bit wrong." The soundtrack was dominated by Lennon, who wrote and sang lead on most of its songs, including the two singles: "Help!" and "Ticket to Ride". The Help! album, the group's fifth studio LP, mirrored A Hard Day's Night by featuring soundtrack songs on side one and additional songs from the same sessions on side two. The LP contained all original material save for two covers, "Act Naturally" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy"; they were the last covers the band would include on an album, except for Let It Be brief rendition of the traditional Liverpool folk song "Maggie Mae". The band expanded their use of vocal overdubs on Help! and incorporated classical instruments into some arrangements, including a string quartet on the pop ballad "Yesterday". Composed by and sung by McCartney – none of the other Beatles perform on the recording – "Yesterday" has inspired the most cover versions of any song ever written. With Help!, the Beatles became the first rock group to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The group's third US tour opened with a performance before a world-record crowd of 55,600 at New York's Shea Stadium on 15 August – "perhaps the most famous of all Beatles' concerts", in Lewisohn's description. A further nine successful concerts followed in other American cities. At a show in Atlanta, the Beatles gave one of the first live performances ever to make use of a foldback system of on-stage monitor speakers. Towards the end of the tour, they met with Elvis Presley, a foundational musical influence on the band, who invited them to his home in Beverly Hills. September 1965 saw the launch of an American Saturday-morning cartoon series, The Beatles, that echoed A Hard Day's Night slapstick antics over its two-year original run. The series was a historical milestone as the first weekly television series to feature animated versions of real, living people. In mid-October, the Beatles entered the recording studio; for the first time when making an album, they had an extended period without other major commitments. Until this time, according to George Martin, "we had been making albums rather like a collection of singles. Now we were really beginning to think about albums as a bit of art on their own." Released in December, Rubber Soul was hailed by critics as a major step forward in the maturity and complexity of the band's music. Their thematic reach was beginning to expand as they embraced deeper aspects of romance and philosophy, a development that NEMS executive Peter Brown attributed to the band members' "now habitual use of marijuana". Lennon referred to Rubber Soul as "the pot album" and Starr said: "Grass was really influential in a lot of our changes, especially with the writers. And because they were writing different material, we were playing differently." After Help!s foray into classical music with flutes and strings, Harrison's introduction of a sitar on "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" marked a further progression outside the traditional boundaries of popular music. As the lyrics grew more artful, fans began to study them for deeper meaning. While some of Rubber Souls songs were the product of Lennon and McCartney's collaborative songwriting, the album also included distinct compositions from each, though they continued to share official credit. "In My Life", of which each later claimed lead authorship, is considered a highlight of the entire Lennon–McCartney catalogue. Harrison called Rubber Soul his "favourite album", and Starr referred to it as "the departure record". McCartney has said, "We'd had our cute period, and now it was time to expand." However, recording engineer Norman Smith later stated that the studio sessions revealed signs of growing conflict within the group – "the clash between John and Paul was becoming obvious", he wrote, and "as far as Paul was concerned, George could do no right". In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Rubber Soul fifth among "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and AllMusic's Richie Unterberger describes it as "one of the classic folk-rock records". Controversies, Revolver and final tour Capitol Records, from December 1963 when it began issuing Beatles recordings for the US market, exercised complete control over format, compiling distinct US albums from the band's recordings and issuing songs of their choosing as singles. In June 1966, the Capitol LP Yesterday and Today caused an uproar with its cover, which portrayed the grinning Beatles dressed in butcher's overalls, accompanied by raw meat and mutilated plastic baby dolls. According to Beatles biographer Bill Harry, it has been incorrectly suggested that this was meant as a satirical response to the way Capitol had "butchered" the US versions of the band's albums. Thousands of copies of the LP had a new cover pasted over the original; an unpeeled "first-state" copy fetched $10,500 at a December 2005 auction. In England, meanwhile, Harrison met sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, who agreed to train him on the instrument. During a tour of the Philippines the month after the Yesterday and Today furore, the Beatles unintentionally snubbed the nation's first lady, Imelda Marcos, who had expected them to attend a breakfast reception at the Presidential Palace. When presented with the invitation, Epstein politely declined on the band members' behalf, as it had never been his policy to accept such official invitations. They soon found that the Marcos regime was unaccustomed to taking no for an answer. The resulting riots endangered the group and they escaped the country with difficulty. Immediately afterwards, the band members visited India for the first time. Almost as soon as they returned home, the Beatles faced a fierce backlash from US religious and social conservatives (as well as the Ku Klux Klan) over a comment Lennon had made in a March interview with British reporter Maureen Cleave. "Christianity will go", Lennon had said. "It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I will be proved right ... Jesus was alright but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me." His comments went virtually unnoticed in England, but when US teenage fan magazine Datebook printed them five months later, it sparked a controversy with Christians in America's conservative Bible Belt region. The Vatican issued a protest, and bans on Beatles' records were imposed by Spanish and Dutch stations and South Africa's national broadcasting service. Epstein accused Datebook of having taken Lennon's words out of context. At a press conference, Lennon pointed out, "If I'd said television was more popular than Jesus, I might have got away with it." He claimed that he was referring to how other people viewed their success, but at the prompting of reporters, he concluded: "If you want me to apologise, if that will make you happy, then okay, I'm sorry." Released in August 1966, a week before the Beatles' final tour, Revolver marked another artistic step forward for the group. The album featured sophisticated songwriting, studio experimentation, and a greatly expanded repertoire of musical styles, ranging from innovative classical string arrangements to psychedelia. Abandoning the customary group photograph, its Aubrey Beardsley-inspired cover – designed by Klaus Voormann, a friend of the band since their Hamburg days – was a monochrome collage and line drawing caricature of the group. The album was preceded by the single "Paperback Writer", backed by "Rain". Short promotional films were made for both songs; described by cultural historian Saul Austerlitz as "among the first true music videos", they aired on The Ed Sullivan Show and Top of the Pops in June. Among the experimental songs on Revolver was "Tomorrow Never Knows", the lyrics for which Lennon drew from Timothy Leary's The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Its creation involved eight tape decks distributed about the EMI building, each staffed by an engineer or band member, who randomly varied the movement of a tape loop while Martin created a composite recording by sampling the incoming data. McCartney's "Eleanor Rigby" made prominent use of a string octet; Gould describes it as "a true hybrid, conforming to no recognisable style or genre of song". Harrison's emergence as a songwriter was reflected in three of his compositions appearing on the record. Among these, "Taxman", which opened the album, marked the first example of the Beatles making a political statement through their music. In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked Revolver at #11 on their list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". As preparations were made for a tour of the US, the Beatles knew that their music would hardly be heard. Having originally used Vox AC30 amplifiers, they later acquired more powerful 100-watt amplifiers, specially designed for them by Vox, as they moved into larger venues in 1964; however, these were still inadequate. Struggling to compete with the volume of sound generated by screaming fans, the band had grown increasingly bored with the routine of performing live. Recognising that their shows were no longer about the music, they decided to make the August tour their last. The band performed none of their new songs on the tour. In Chris Ingham's description, they were very much "studio creations ... and there was no way a four-piece rock 'n' roll group could do them justice, particularly through the desensitising wall of the fans' screams. 'Live Beatles' and 'Studio Beatles' had become entirely different beasts." The band's concert at San Francisco's Candlestick Park on 29 August was their last commercial concert. It marked the end of four years dominated by almost non-stop touring that included over 1,400 concert appearances internationally. 1966–1970: studio years Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Freed from the burden of touring, the Beatles embraced an increasingly experimental approach as they recorded Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, beginning in late November 1966. According to engineer Geoff Emerick, the album's recording took over 700 hours. He recalled the band's insistence "that everything on Sgt. Pepper had to be different. We had microphones right down in the bells of brass instruments and headphones turned into microphones attached to violins. We used giant primitive oscillators to vary the speed of instruments and vocals and we had tapes chopped to pieces and stuck together upside down and the wrong way around." Parts of "A Day in the Life" featured a 40-piece orchestra. The sessions initially yielded the non-album double A-side single "Strawberry Fields Forever"/"Penny Lane" in February 1967; the Sgt. Pepper LP followed with a rush-release in May. The musical complexity of the records, created using relatively primitive four-track recording technology, astounded contemporary artists. Among music critics, acclaim for the album was virtually universal. Gould writes: In the wake of Sgt. Pepper, the underground and mainstream press widely publicised the Beatles as leaders of youth culture, as well as "lifestyle revolutionaries". The album was the first major pop/rock LP to include its complete lyrics, which appeared on the back cover. Those lyrics were the subject of critical analysis; for instance, in late 1967 the album was the subject of a scholarly inquiry by American literary critic and professor of English Richard Poirier, who observed that his students were "listening to the group's music with a degree of engagement that he, as a teacher of literature, could only envy". The elaborate cover also attracted considerable interest and study. A collage designed by pop artists Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, it depicted the group as the fictional band referred to in the album's title track standing in front of a crowd of famous people. The heavy moustaches worn by the group reflected the growing influence of hippie style, while cultural historian Jonathan Harris describes their "brightly coloured parodies of military uniforms" as a knowingly "anti-authoritarian and anti-establishment" display. Sgt. Pepper topped the UK charts for 23 consecutive weeks, with a further four weeks at number one in the period through to February 1968. With 2.5 million copies sold within three months of its release, Sgt. Peppers initial commercial success exceeded that of all previous Beatles albums. It sustained its immense popularity into the 21st century while breaking numerous sales records. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Sgt. Pepper at number one on its list of the greatest albums of all time. Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine Two Beatles film projects were conceived within weeks of completing Sgt. Pepper: Magical Mystery Tour, a one-hour television film, and Yellow Submarine, an animated feature-length film produced by United Artists. The group began recording music for the former in late April 1967, but the project then lay dormant as they focused on recording songs for the latter. On 25 June, the Beatles performed their forthcoming single "All You Need Is Love" to an estimated 350 million viewers on Our World, the first live global television link. Released a week later, during the Summer of Love, the song was adopted as a flower power anthem. The Beatles' use of psychedelic drugs was at its height during that summer. In July and August, the group pursued interests related to similar utopian-based ideology, including a week-long investigation into the possibility of starting an island-based commune off the coast of Greece. On 24 August, the group were introduced to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in London. The next day, they travelled to Bangor for his Transcendental Meditation retreat. On 27 August, their manager's assistant, Peter Brown, phoned to inform them that Epstein had died. The coroner ruled the death an accidental carbitol overdose, although it was widely rumoured to be a suicide. His death left the group disoriented and fearful about the future. Lennon recalled: "We collapsed. I knew that we were in trouble then. I didn't really have any misconceptions about our ability to do anything other than play music, and I was scared. I thought, 'We've fuckin' had it now. Harrison's then-wife Pattie Boyd remembered that "Paul and George were in complete shock. I don't think it could have been worse if they had heard that their own fathers had dropped dead." During a band meeting in September, McCartney recommended that the band proceed with Magical Mystery Tour. The Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack was released in the UK as a six-track double extended play (EP) in early December 1967. It was the first example of a double EP in the UK. The record carried on the psychedelic vein of Sgt. Pepper, however, in line with the band's wishes, the packaging reinforced the idea that the release was a film soundtrack rather than a follow-up to Sgt. Pepper. In the US, the soundtrack appeared as an identically titled LP that also included five tracks from the band's recent singles. In its first three weeks, the album set a record for the highest initial sales of any Capitol LP, and it is the only Capitol compilation later to be adopted in the band's official canon of studio albums. Magical Mystery Tour first aired on Boxing Day to an audience of approximately 15 million. Largely directed by McCartney, the film was the band's first critical failure in the UK. It was dismissed as "blatant rubbish" by the Daily Express; the Daily Mail called it "a colossal conceit"; and The Guardian labelled the film "a kind of fantasy morality play about the grossness and warmth and stupidity of the audience". Gould describes it as "a great deal of raw footage showing a group of people getting on, getting off, and riding on a bus". Although the viewership figures were respectable, its slating in the press led US television networks to lose interest in broadcasting the film. The group were less involved with Yellow Submarine, which featured the band appearing as themselves for only a short live-action segment. Premiering in July 1968, the film featured cartoon versions of the band members and a soundtrack with eleven of their songs, including four unreleased studio recordings that made their debut in the film. Critics praised the film for its music, humour and innovative visual style. A soundtrack LP was issued seven months later; it contained those four new songs, the title track (already issued on Revolver), "All You Need Is Love" (already issued as a single and on the US Magical Mystery Tour LP) and seven instrumental pieces composed by Martin. India retreat, Apple Corps and the White Album In February 1968, the Beatles travelled to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in Rishikesh, India, to take part in a three-month meditation "Guide Course". Their time in India marked one of the band's most prolific periods, yielding numerous songs, including a majority of those on their next album. However, Starr left after only ten days, unable to stomach the food, and McCartney eventually grew bored and departed a month later. For Lennon and Harrison, creativity turned to question when an electronics technician known as Magic Alex suggested that the Maharishi was attempting to manipulate them. When he alleged that the Maharishi had made sexual advances to women attendees, a persuaded Lennon left abruptly just two months into the course, bringing an unconvinced Harrison and the remainder of the group's entourage with him. In anger, Lennon wrote a scathing song titled "Maharishi", renamed "Sexy Sadie" to avoid potential legal issues. McCartney said, "We made a mistake. We thought there was more to him than there was." In May, Lennon and McCartney travelled to New York for the public unveiling of the Beatles' new business venture, Apple Corps. It was initially formed several months earlier as part of a plan to create a tax-effective business structure, but the band then desired to extend the corporation to other pursuits, including record distribution, peace activism, and education. McCartney described Apple as "rather like a Western communism". The enterprise drained the group financially with a series of unsuccessful projects handled largely by members of the Beatles' entourage, who were given their jobs regardless of talent and experience. Among its numerous subsidiaries were Apple Electronics, established to foster technological innovations with Magic Alex at the head, and Apple Retailing, which opened the short-lived Apple Boutique in London. Harrison later said, "Basically, it was chaos ... John and Paul got carried away with the idea and blew millions, and Ringo and I just had to go along with it." From late May to mid-October 1968, the group recorded what became The Beatles, a double LP commonly known as "the White Album" for its virtually featureless cover. During this time, relations between the members grew openly divisive. Starr quit for two weeks, leaving his bandmates to record "Back in the U.S.S.R." and "Dear Prudence" as a trio, with McCartney filling in on drums. Lennon had lost interest in collaborating with McCartney, whose contribution "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" he scorned as "granny music shit". Tensions were further aggravated by Lennon's romantic preoccupation with avant-garde artist Yoko Ono, whom he insisted on bringing to the sessions despite the group's well-established understanding that girlfriends were not allowed in the studio. McCartney has recalled that the album "wasn't a pleasant one to make". He and Lennon identified the sessions as the start of the band's break-up. With the record, the band executed a wider range of musical styles and broke with their recent tradition of incorporating several musical styles in one song by keeping each piece of music consistently faithful to a select genre. During the sessions, the group upgraded to an eight-track tape console, which made it easier for them to layer tracks piecemeal, while the members often recorded independently of each other, affording the album a reputation as a collection of solo recordings rather than a unified group effort. Describing the double album, Lennon later said: "Every track is an individual track; there isn't any Beatle music on it. [It's] John and the band, Paul and the band, George and the band." The sessions also produced the Beatles' longest song yet, "Hey Jude", released in August as a non-album single with "Revolution". Issued in November, the White Album was the band's first Apple Records album release, although EMI continued to own their recordings. The record attracted more than 2 million advance orders, selling nearly 4 million copies in the US in little over a month, and its tracks dominated the playlists of American radio stations. Its lyric content was the focus of much analysis by the counterculture. Despite its popularity, reviewers were largely confused by the album's content, and it failed to inspire the level of critical writing that Sgt. Pepper had. General critical opinion eventually turned in favour of the White Album, and in 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it as the tenth-greatest album of all time. Abbey Road, Let It Be and separation Although Let It Be was the Beatles' final album release, it was largely recorded before Abbey Road. The project's impetus came from an idea Martin attributes to McCartney, who suggested they "record an album of new material and rehearse it, then perform it before a live audience for the very first time – on record and on film". Originally intended for a one-hour television programme to be called Beatles at Work, in the event much of the album's content came from studio work beginning in January 1969, many hours of which were captured on film by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Martin said that the project was "not at all a happy recording experience. It was a time when relations between the Beatles were at their lowest ebb." Lennon described the largely impromptu sessions as "hell ... the most miserable ... on Earth", and Harrison, "the low of all-time". Irritated by McCartney and Lennon, Harrison walked out for five days. Upon returning, he threatened to leave the band unless they "abandon[ed] all talk of live performance" and instead focused on finishing a new album, initially titled Get Back, using songs recorded for the TV special. He also demanded they cease work at Twickenham Film Studios, where the sessions had begun, and relocate to the newly finished Apple Studio. His bandmates agreed, and it was decided to salvage the footage shot for the TV production for use in a feature film. To alleviate tensions within the band and improve the quality of their live sound, Harrison invited keyboardist Billy Preston to participate in the last nine days of sessions. Preston received label billing on the "Get Back" single – the only musician ever to receive that acknowledgment on an official Beatles release. After the rehearsals, the band could not agree on a location to film a concert, rejecting several ideas, including a boat at sea, a lunatic asylum, the Libyan desert, and the Colosseum. Ultimately, what would be their final live performance was filmed on the rooftop of the Apple Corps building at 3 Savile Row, London, on 30 January 1969. Five weeks later, engineer Glyn Johns, whom Lewisohn describes as Get Backs "uncredited producer", began work assembling an album, given "free rein" as the band "all but washed their hands of the entire project". New strains developed between the band members regarding the appointment of a financial adviser, the need for which had become evident without Epstein to manage business affairs. Lennon, Harrison and Starr favoured Allen Klein, who had managed the Rolling Stones and Sam Cooke; McCartney wanted Lee and John Eastman – father and brother, respectively, of Linda Eastman, whom McCartney married on 12 March. Agreement could not be reached, so both Klein and the Eastmans were temporarily appointed: Klein as the Beatles' business manager and the Eastmans as their lawyers. Further conflict ensued, however, and financial opportunities were lost. On 8 May, Klein was named sole manager of the band, the Eastmans having previously been dismissed as the Beatles' lawyers. McCartney refused to sign the management contract with Klein, but he was out-voted by the other Beatles. Martin stated that he was surprised when McCartney asked him to produce another album, as the Get Back sessions had been "a miserable experience" and he had "thought it was the end of the road for all of us". The primary recording sessions for Abbey Road began on 2 July. Lennon, who rejected Martin's proposed format of a "continuously moving piece of music", wanted his and McCartney's songs to occupy separate sides of the album. The eventual format, with individually composed songs on the first side and the second consisting largely of a medley, was McCartney's suggested compromise. Emerick noted that the replacement of the studio's valve-based mixing console with a transistorised one yielded a less punchy sound, leaving the group frustrated at the thinner tone and lack of impact and contributing to its "kinder, gentler" feel relative to their previous albums. On 4 July, the first solo single by a Beatle was released: Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance", credited to the Plastic Ono Band. The completion and mixing of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" on 20 August was the last occasion on which all four Beatles were together in the same studio. On 8 September, while Starr was in hospital, the other band members met to discuss recording a new album. They considered a different approach to songwriting by ending the Lennon–McCartney pretence and having four compositions apiece from Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, with two from Starr and a lead single around Christmas. On 20 September, Lennon announced his departure to the rest of the group but agreed to withhold a public announcement to avoid undermining sales of the forthcoming album. Released on 26 September, Abbey Road sold four million copies within three months and topped the UK charts for a total of seventeen weeks. Its second track, the ballad "Something", was issued as a single – the only Harrison composition that appeared as a Beatles A-side. Abbey Road received mixed reviews, although the medley met with general acclaim. Unterberger considers it "a fitting swan song for the group", containing "some of the greatest harmonies to be heard on any rock record". Musicologist and author Ian MacDonald calls the album "erratic and often hollow", despite the "semblance of unity and coherence" offered by the medley. Martin singled it out as his favourite Beatles album; Lennon said it was "competent" but had "no life in it". For the still unfinished Get Back album, one last song, Harrison's "I Me Mine", was recorded on 3 January 1970. Lennon, in Denmark at the time, did not participate. In March, rejecting the work Johns had done on the project, now retitled Let It Be, Klein gave the session tapes to American producer Phil Spector, who had recently produced Lennon's solo single "Instant Karma!" In addition to remixing the material, Spector edited, spliced and overdubbed several of the recordings that had been intended as "live". McCartney was unhappy with the producer's approach and particularly dissatisfied with the lavish orchestration on "The Long and Winding Road", which involved a fourteen-voice choir and 36-piece instrumental ensemble. McCartney's demands that the alterations to the song be reverted were ignored, and he publicly announced his departure from the band on 10 April, a week before the release of his first self-titled solo album. On 8 May 1970, Let It Be was released. Its accompanying single, "The Long and Winding Road", was the Beatles' last; it was released in the US, but not in the UK. The Let It Be documentary film followed later that month, and would win the 1970 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. Sunday Telegraph critic Penelope Gilliatt called it "a very bad film and a touching one ... about the breaking apart of this reassuring, geometrically perfect, once apparently ageless family of siblings". Several reviewers stated that some of the performances in the film sounded better than their analogous album tracks. Describing Let It Be as the "only Beatles album to occasion negative, even hostile reviews", Unterberger calls it "on the whole underrated"; he singles out "some good moments of straight hard rock in 'I've Got a Feeling' and 'Dig a Pony'", and praises "Let It Be", "Get Back", and "the folky 'Two of Us', with John and Paul harmonising together". McCartney filed suit for the dissolution of the Beatles' contractual partnership on 31 December 1970. Legal disputes continued long after their break-up, and the dissolution was not formalised until 29 December 1974, when Lennon signed the paperwork terminating the partnership while on vacation with his family at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. 1970–present: after the break-up 1970s Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr all released solo albums in 1970. Their solo records sometimes involved one or more of the other members; Starr's Ringo (1973) was the only album to include compositions and performances by all four ex-Beatles, albeit on separate songs. With Starr's participation, Harrison staged the Concert for Bangladesh in New York City in August 1971. Other than an unreleased jam session in 1974, later bootlegged as A Toot and a Snore in '74, Lennon and McCartney never recorded together again. Two double-LP sets of the Beatles' greatest hits, compiled by Klein, 1962–1966 and 1967–1970, were released in 1973, at first under the Apple Records imprint. Commonly known as the "Red Album" and "Blue Album", respectively, each has earned a Multi-Platinum certification in the US and a Platinum certification in the UK. Between 1976 and 1982, EMI/Capitol released a wave of compilation albums without input from the ex-Beatles, starting with the double-disc compilation Rock 'n' Roll Music. The only one to feature previously unreleased material was The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl (1977); the first officially issued concert recordings by the group, it contained selections from two shows they played during their 1964 and 1965 US tours. The music and enduring fame of the Beatles were commercially exploited in various other ways, again often outside their creative control. In April 1974, the musical John, Paul, George, Ringo ... and Bert, written by Willy Russell and featuring singer Barbara Dickson, opened in London. It included, with permission from Northern Songs, eleven Lennon-McCartney compositions and one by Harrison, "Here Comes the Sun". Displeased with the production's use of his song, Harrison withdrew his permission to use it. Later that year, the off-Broadway musical Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road opened. All This and World War II (1976) was an unorthodox nonfiction film that combined newsreel footage with covers of Beatles songs by performers ranging from Elton John and Keith Moon to the London Symphony Orchestra. The Broadway musical Beatlemania, an unauthorised nostalgia revue, opened in early 1977 and proved popular, spinning off five separate touring productions. In 1979, the band sued the producers, settling for several million dollars in damages. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), a musical film starring the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton, was a commercial failure and an "artistic fiasco", according to Ingham. Accompanying the wave of Beatles nostalgia and persistent reunion rumours in the US during the 1970s, several entrepreneurs made public offers to the Beatles for a reunion concert. Promoter Bill Sargent first offered the Beatles $10 million for a reunion concert in 1974. He raised his offer to $30 million in January 1976 and then to $50 million the following month. On 24 April 1976, during a broadcast of Saturday Night Live, producer Lorne Michaels jokingly offered the Beatles $3,000 to reunite on the show. Lennon and McCartney were watching the live broadcast at Lennon's apartment at the Dakota in New York, which was within driving distance of the NBC studio where the show was being broadcast. The former bandmates briefly entertained the idea of going to the studio and surprising Michaels by accepting his offer, but decided not to. 1980s In December 1980, Lennon was shot and killed outside his New York City apartment. Harrison rewrote the lyrics of his song "All Those Years Ago" in Lennon's honour. With Starr on drums and McCartney and his wife, Linda, contributing backing vocals, the song was released as a single in May 1981. McCartney's own tribute, "Here Today", appeared on his Tug of War album in April 1982. In 1984, Starr co-starred in McCartney's film Give My Regards to Broad Street, and played with McCartney on several of the songs on the soundtrack. In 1987, Harrison's Cloud Nine album included "When We Was Fab", a song about the Beatlemania era. When the Beatles' studio albums were released on CD by EMI and Apple Corps in 1987, their catalogue was standardised throughout the world, establishing a canon of the twelve original studio LPs as issued in the UK plus the US LP version of Magical Mystery Tour. All the remaining material from the singles and EPs that had not appeared on these thirteen studio albums was gathered on the two-volume compilation Past Masters (1988). Except for the Red and Blue albums, EMI deleted all its other Beatles compilations – including the Hollywood Bowl record – from its catalogue. In 1988, the Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, their first year of eligibility. Harrison and Starr attended the ceremony with Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, and his two sons, Julian and Sean. McCartney declined to attend, citing unresolved "business differences" that would make him "feel like a complete hypocrite waving and smiling with them at a fake reunion". The following year, EMI/Capitol settled a decade-long lawsuit filed by the band over royalties, clearing the way to commercially package previously unreleased material. 1990s Live at the BBC, the first official release of unissued Beatles performances in seventeen years, appeared in 1994. That same year McCartney, Harrison and Starr collaborated on the Anthology project. Anthology was the culmination of work begun in 1970, when Apple Corps director Neil Aspinall, their former road manager and personal assistant, had started to gather material for a documentary with the working title The Long and Winding Road. Documenting their history in the band's own words, the Anthology project included the release of several unissued Beatles recordings. McCartney, Harrison and Starr also added new instrumental and vocal parts to songs recorded as demos by Lennon in the late 1970s. During 1995–96, the project yielded a television miniseries, an eight-volume video set, and three two-CD/three-LP box sets featuring artwork by Klaus Voormann. Two songs based on Lennon demos, "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love", were issued as new Beatles singles. The releases were commercially successful and the television series was viewed by an estimated 400 million people. In 1999, to coincide with the re-release of the 1968 film Yellow Submarine, an expanded soundtrack album, Yellow Submarine Songtrack, was issued. 2000s The Beatles' 1, a compilation album of the band's British and American number-one hits, was released on 13 November 2000. It became the fastest-selling album of all time, with 3.6 million sold in its first week and 13 million within a month. It topped albums charts in at least 28 countries. The compilation had sold 31 million copies globally by April 2009. Harrison died from metastatic lung cancer in November 2001. McCartney and Starr were among the musicians who performed at the Concert for George, organised by Eric Clapton and Harrison's widow, Olivia. The tribute event took place at the Royal Albert Hall on the first anniversary of Harrison's death. In 2003, Let It Be... Naked, a reconceived version of the Let It Be album, with McCartney supervising production, was released. One of the main differences from the Spector-produced version was the omission of the original string arrangements. It was a top-ten hit in both Britain and America. The US album configurations from 1964 to 1965 were released as box sets in 2004 and 2006; The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 and Volume 2 included both stereo and mono versions based on the mixes that were prepared for vinyl at the time of the music's original American release. As a soundtrack for Cirque du Soleil's Las Vegas Beatles stage revue, Love, George Martin and his son Giles remixed and blended 130 of the band's recordings to create what Martin called "a way of re-living the whole Beatles musical lifespan in a very condensed period". The show premiered in June 2006, and the Love album was released that November. In April 2009, Starr performed three songs with McCartney at a benefit concert held at New York's Radio City Music Hall and organised by McCartney. On 9 September 2009, the Beatles' entire back catalogue was reissued following an extensive digital remastering process that lasted four years. Stereo editions of all twelve original UK studio albums, along with Magical Mystery Tour and the Past Masters compilation, were released on compact disc both individually and as a box set. A second collection, The Beatles in Mono, included remastered versions of every Beatles album released in true mono along with the original 1965 stereo mixes of Help! and Rubber Soul (both of which Martin had remixed for the 1987 editions). The Beatles: Rock Band, a music video game in the Rock Band series, was issued on the same day. In December 2009, the band's catalogue was officially released in FLAC and MP3 format in a limited edition of 30,000 USB flash drives. 2010s Owing to a long-running royalty disagreement, the Beatles were among the last major artists to sign deals with online music services. Residual disagreement emanating from Apple Corps' dispute with Apple, Inc., iTunes' owners, over the use of the name "Apple" was also partly responsible for the delay, although in 2008, McCartney stated that the main obstacle to making the Beatles' catalogue available online was that EMI "want[s] something we're not prepared to give them". In 2010, the official canon of thirteen Beatles studio albums, Past Masters, and the "Red" and "Blue" greatest-hits albums were made available on iTunes. In 2012, EMI's recorded music operations were sold to Universal Music Group. In order for Universal Music to acquire EMI, the European Union, for antitrust reasons, forced EMI to spin off assets including Parlophone. Universal was allowed to keep the Beatles' recorded music catalogue, managed by Capitol Records under its Capitol Music Group division. The entire original Beatles album catalogue was also reissued on vinyl in 2012; available either individually or as a box set. In 2013, a second volume of BBC recordings, On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2, was released. That December saw the release of another 59 Beatles recordings on iTunes. The set, titled The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963, had the opportunity to gain a 70-year copyright extension conditional on the songs being published at least once before the end of 2013. Apple Records released the recordings on 17 December to prevent them from going into the public domain and had them taken down from iTunes later that same day. Fan reactions to the release were mixed, with one blogger saying "the hardcore Beatles collectors who are trying to obtain everything will already have these." On 26 January 2014, McCartney and Starr performed together at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The following day, The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles television special was taped in the Los Angeles Convention Center's West Hall. It aired on 9 February, the exact date of – and at the same time, and on the same network as – the original broadcast of the Beatles' first US television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, 50 years earlier. The special included performances of Beatles songs by current artists as well as by McCartney and Starr, archival footage, and interviews with the two surviving ex-Beatles carried out by David Letterman at the Ed Sullivan Theater. In December 2015, the Beatles released their catalogue for streaming on various streaming music services including Spotify and Apple Music. In September 2016, the documentary film The Beatles: Eight Days a Week was released. Directed by Ron Howard, it chronicled the Beatles' career during their touring years from 1961 to 1966, from their performances in Liverpool's the Cavern Club in 1961 to their final concert in San Francisco in 1966. The film was released theatrically on 15 September in the UK and the US, and started streaming on Hulu on 17 September. It received several awards and nominations, including for Best Documentary at the 70th British Academy Film Awards and the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special at the 69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. An expanded, remixed and remastered version of The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl was released on 9 September, to coincide with the release of the film. On 18 May 2017, Sirius XM Radio launched a 24/7 radio channel, The Beatles Channel. A week later, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was reissued with new stereo mixes and unreleased material for the album's 50th anniversary. Similar box sets were released for The Beatles in November 2018, and Abbey Road in September 2019. On the first week of October 2019, Abbey Road returned to number one on the UK Albums Chart. The Beatles broke their own record for the album with the longest gap between topping the charts as Abbey Road hit the top spot 50 years after its original release. 2020s In November 2021, The Beatles: Get Back, a documentary directed by Peter Jackson using footage captured for the Let It Be film, was released on Disney+ as a three-part miniseries. A book also titled The Beatles: Get Back was released on 12 October, ahead of the documentary. A super deluxe version of the Let It Be album was released on 15 October. In January 2022, an album titled Get Back (Rooftop Performance), consisting of newly mixed audio of the Beatles' rooftop performance, was released on streaming services. In October 2022, a special edition of Revolver was released, featuring unreleased demos, studio outtakes, the original mono mix and a new stereo remix using de-mixing technology developed by Peter Jackson's WingNut Films. Musical style and development In Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever, Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz describe the Beatles' musical evolution: In The Beatles as Musicians, Walter Everett describes Lennon and McCartney's contrasting motivations and approaches to composition: "McCartney may be said to have constantly developed – as a means to entertain – a focused musical talent with an ear for counterpoint and other aspects of craft in the demonstration of a universally agreed-upon common language that he did much to enrich. Conversely, Lennon's mature music is best appreciated as the daring product of a largely unconscious, searching but undisciplined artistic sensibility." Ian MacDonald describes McCartney as "a natural melodist – a creator of tunes capable of existing apart from their harmony". His melody lines are characterised as primarily "vertical", employing wide, consonant intervals which express his "extrovert energy and optimism". Conversely, Lennon's "sedentary, ironic personality" is reflected in a "horizontal" approach featuring minimal, dissonant intervals and repetitive melodies which rely on their harmonic accompaniment for interest: "Basically a realist, he instinctively kept his melodies close to the rhythms and cadences of speech, colouring his lyrics with bluesy tone and harmony rather than creating tunes that made striking shapes of their own." MacDonald praises Harrison's lead guitar work for the role his "characterful lines and textural colourings" play in supporting Lennon and McCartney's parts, and describes Starr as "the father of modern pop/rock drumming". Influences The Beatles' earliest influences include Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Gene Vincent. During the Beatles' co-residency with Little Richard at the Star-Club in Hamburg, from April to May 1962, he advised them on the proper technique for performing his songs. Of Presley, Lennon said, "Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadn't been Elvis, there would not have been the Beatles." Chuck Berry was particularly influential in terms of songwriting and lyrics. Lennon noted, "He was well advanced of his time lyric-wise. We all owe a lot to him." Other early influences include Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Roy Orbison, the Everly Brothers and Jerry Lee Lewis. The Beatles continued to absorb influences long after their initial success, often finding new musical and lyrical avenues by listening to their contemporaries, including Bob Dylan, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Who, Frank Zappa, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Byrds and the Beach Boys, whose 1966 album Pet Sounds amazed and inspired McCartney. Referring to the Beach Boys' creative leader, Martin later stated: "No one made a greater impact on the Beatles than Brian [Wilson]." Ravi Shankar, with whom Harrison studied for six weeks in India in late 1966, had a significant effect on his musical development during the band's later years. Genres Originating as a skiffle group, the Beatles quickly embraced 1950s rock and roll and helped pioneer the Merseybeat genre, and their repertoire ultimately expanded to include a broad variety of pop music. Reflecting the range of styles they explored, Lennon said of Beatles for Sale, "You could call our new one a Beatles country-and-western LP", while Gould credits Rubber Soul as "the instrument by which legions of folk-music enthusiasts were coaxed into the camp of pop". Although the 1965 song "Yesterday" was not the first pop record to employ orchestral strings, it marked the group's first recorded use of classical music elements. Gould observes: "The more traditional sound of strings allowed for a fresh appreciation of their talent as composers by listeners who were otherwise allergic to the din of drums and electric guitars." They continued to experiment with string arrangements to various effect; Sgt. Peppers "She's Leaving Home", for instance, is "cast in the of a sentimental Victorian ballad", Gould writes, "its words and music filled with the clichés of musical melodrama". The band's stylistic range expanded in another direction with their 1966 B-side "Rain", described by Martin Strong as "the first overtly psychedelic Beatles record". Other psychedelic numbers followed, such as "Tomorrow Never Knows" (recorded before "Rain"), "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "I Am the Walrus". The influence of Indian classical music was evident in Harrison's "The Inner Light", "Love You To" and "Within You Without You" – Gould describes the latter two as attempts "to replicate the raga form in miniature". Innovation was the most striking feature of their creative evolution, according to music historian and pianist Michael Campbell: "'A Day in the Life' encapsulates the art and achievement of the Beatles as well as any single track can. It highlights key features of their music: the sound imagination, the persistence of tuneful melody, and the close coordination between words and music. It represents a new category of song – more sophisticated than pop ... and uniquely innovative. There literally had never before been a song – classical or vernacular – that had blended so many disparate elements so imaginatively." Philosophy professor Bruce Ellis Benson agrees: "the Beatles ... give us a wonderful example of how such far-ranging influences as Celtic music, rhythm and blues, and country and western could be put together in a new way." Author Dominic Pedler describes the way they crossed musical styles: "Far from moving sequentially from one genre to another (as is sometimes conveniently suggested) the group maintained in parallel their mastery of the traditional, catchy chart hit while simultaneously forging rock and dabbling with a wide range of peripheral influences from country to vaudeville. One of these threads was their take on folk music, which would form such essential groundwork for their later collisions with Indian music and philosophy." As the personal relationships between the band members grew increasingly strained, their individual tastes became more apparent. The minimalistic cover artwork for the White Album contrasted with the complexity and diversity of its music, which encompassed Lennon's "Revolution 9" (whose musique concrète approach was influenced by Yoko Ono), Starr's country song "Don't Pass Me By", Harrison's rock ballad "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", and the "proto-metal roar" of McCartney's "Helter Skelter". Contribution of George Martin George Martin's close involvement in his role as producer made him one of the leading candidates for the informal title of the "fifth Beatle". He applied his classical musical training in various ways, and functioned as "an informal music teacher" to the progressing songwriters, according to Gould. Martin suggested to a sceptical McCartney that the arrangement of "Yesterday" should feature a string quartet accompaniment, thereby introducing the Beatles to a "hitherto unsuspected world of classical instrumental colour", in MacDonald's description. Their creative development was also facilitated by Martin's willingness to experiment in response to their suggestions, such as adding "something baroque" to a particular recording. In addition to scoring orchestral arrangements for recordings, Martin often performed on them, playing instruments including piano, organ and brass. Collaborating with Lennon and McCartney required Martin to adapt to their different approaches to songwriting and recording. MacDonald comments, "while [he] worked more naturally with the conventionally articulate McCartney, the challenge of catering to Lennon's intuitive approach generally spurred him to his more original arrangements, of which "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" is an outstanding example." Martin said of the two composers' distinct songwriting styles and his stabilising influence: Harrison echoed Martin's description of his stabilising role: "I think we just grew through those years together, him as the straight man and us as the loonies; but he was always there for us to interpret our madness – we used to be slightly avant-garde on certain days of the week, and he would be there as the anchor person, to communicate that through the engineers and on to the tape." In the studio Making innovative use of technology while expanding the possibilities of recorded music, the Beatles urged experimentation by Martin and his recording engineers. Seeking ways to put chance occurrences to creative use, accidental guitar feedback, a resonating glass bottle, a tape loaded the wrong way round so that it played backwards – any of these might be incorporated into their music. Their desire to create new sounds on every new recording, combined with Martin's arranging abilities and the studio expertise of EMI staff engineers Norman Smith, Ken Townsend and Geoff Emerick, all contributed significantly to their records from Rubber Soul and, especially, Revolver onwards. Along with innovative studio techniques such as sound effects, unconventional microphone placements, tape loops, double tracking and vari-speed recording, the Beatles augmented their songs with instruments that were unconventional in rock music at the time. These included string and brass ensembles as well as Indian instruments such as the sitar in "Norwegian Wood" and the swarmandal in "Strawberry Fields Forever". They also used novel electronic instruments such as the Mellotron, with which McCartney supplied the flute voices on the "Strawberry Fields Forever" intro, and the clavioline, an electronic keyboard that created the unusual oboe-like sound on "Baby, You're a Rich Man". Legacy Former Rolling Stone associate editor Robert Greenfield compared the Beatles to Picasso, as "artists who broke through the constraints of their time period to come up with something that was unique and original ... [I]n the form of popular music, no one will ever be more revolutionary, more creative and more distinctive ..." The British poet Philip Larkin described their work as "an enchanting and intoxicating hybrid of Negro rock-and-roll with their own adolescent romanticism", and "the first advance in popular music since the War". The Beatles' 1964 arrival in the US is credited with initiating the album era; the music historian Joel Whitburn says that LP sales soon "exploded and eventually outpaced the sales and releases of singles" in the music industry. They not only sparked the British Invasion of the US, they became a globally influential phenomenon as well. From the 1920s, the US had dominated popular entertainment culture throughout much of the world, via Hollywood films, jazz, the music of Broadway and Tin Pan Alley and, later, the rock and roll that first emerged in Memphis, Tennessee. The Beatles are regarded as British cultural icons, with young adults from abroad naming the band among a group of people whom they most associated with UK culture. Their musical innovations and commercial success inspired musicians worldwide. Many artists have acknowledged the Beatles' influence and enjoyed chart success with covers of their songs. On radio, their arrival marked the beginning of a new era; in 1968 the programme director of New York's WABC radio station forbade his DJs from playing any "pre-Beatles" music, marking the defining line of what would be considered oldies on American radio. They helped to redefine the album as something more than just a few hits padded out with "filler", and they were primary innovators of the modern music video. The Shea Stadium show with which they opened their 1965 North American tour attracted an estimated 55,600 people, then the largest audience in concert history; Spitz describes the event as a "major breakthrough ... a giant step toward reshaping the concert business". Emulation of their clothing and especially their hairstyles, which became a mark of rebellion, had a global impact on fashion. According to Gould, the Beatles changed the way people listened to popular music and experienced its role in their lives. From what began as the Beatlemania fad, the group's popularity grew into what was seen as an embodiment of sociocultural movements of the decade. As icons of the 1960s counterculture, Gould continues, they became a catalyst for bohemianism and activism in various social and political arenas, fuelling movements such as women's liberation, gay liberation and environmentalism. According to Peter Lavezzoli, after the "more popular than Jesus" controversy in 1966, the Beatles felt considerable pressure to say the right things and "began a concerted effort to spread a message of wisdom and higher consciousness". Other commentators such as Mikal Gilmore and Todd Leopold have traced the inception of their socio-cultural impact earlier, interpreting even the Beatlemania period, particularly on their first visit to the US, as a key moment in the development of generational awareness. Referring to their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show Leopold states: "In many ways, the Sullivan appearance marked the beginning of a cultural revolution ... The Beatles were like aliens dropped into the United States of 1964." According to Gilmore: Established in 2009, Global Beatles Day is an annual holiday on 25 June each year that honours and celebrates the ideals of the Beatles. The date was chosen to commemorate the date the group participated in the BBC programme Our World in 1967, performing "All You Need Is Love" broadcast to an international audience. Awards and achievements In 1965, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). The Beatles won the 1971 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the film Let It Be (1970). The recipients of seven Grammy Awards and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards, the Beatles have six Diamond albums, as well as 20 Multi-Platinum albums, 16 Platinum albums and six Gold albums in the US. In the UK, the Beatles have four Multi-Platinum albums, four Platinum albums, eight Gold albums and one Silver album. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. The best-selling band in history, the Beatles have sold more than 600 million units . From 1991 to 2009 The Beatles have sold 57 million albums in United States according to Nielsen Soundscan. They have had more number-one albums on the UK charts, fifteen, and sold more singles in the UK, 21.9 million, than any other act. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the Beatles as the most significant and influential rock music artists of the last 50 years. They ranked number one on Billboard magazine's list of the all-time most successful Hot 100 artists, released in 2008 to celebrate the US singles chart's 50th anniversary. , they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with twenty. The Recording Industry Association of America certifies that the Beatles have sold 183 million units in the US, more than any other artist. They were collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people. In 2014, they received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. On 16 January each year, beginning in 2001, people celebrate World Beatles Day under UNESCO. This date has direct relation to the opening of the Cavern Club in 1957. In 2007, the Beatles became the first band to feature on a series of UK postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail. Earlier in 1999, the United States Postal Service issued a stamp dedicated to the Beatles and Yellow Submarine. Personnel Principal members John Lennon – vocals, guitars, keyboards, harmonica, bass (1960–1969; died 1980) Paul McCartney – vocals, bass, guitars, keyboards, drums (1960–1970) George Harrison – guitars, vocals, sitar, keyboards, bass (1960–1970; died 2001) Ringo Starr – drums, percussion, vocals (1962–1970) Early members Pete Best – drums, vocals (1960–1962) Stuart Sutcliffe – bass, vocals (1960–1961; died 1962) Chas Newby – bass (1960–1961; died 2023) Norman Chapman – drums (1960; died 1995) Tommy Moore – drums (1960; died 1981) Touring musician Jimmie Nicol – drums (1964) Timeline Discography The Beatles have a core catalogue consisting of thirteen studio albums and one compilation album. Please Please Me (1963) With the Beatles (1963) A Hard Day's Night (1964) Beatles for Sale (1964) Help! (1965) Rubber Soul (1965) Revolver (1966) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) Magical Mystery Tour (1967) The Beatles ("The White Album") (1968) Yellow Submarine (1969) Abbey Road (1969) Let It Be (1970) Past Masters (1988, compilation) Song catalogue Through 1969, the Beatles' catalogue was published almost exclusively by Northern Songs Ltd, a company formed in February 1963 by music publisher Dick James specifically for Lennon and McCartney, though it later acquired songs by other artists. The company was organised with James and his partner, Emmanuel Silver, owning a controlling interest, variously described as 51% or 50% plus one share. McCartney had 20%. Reports again vary concerning Lennon's portion – 19 or 20% – and Brian Epstein's – 9 or 10% – which he received in lieu of a 25% band management fee. In 1965, the company went public. Five million shares were created, of which the original principals retained 3.75 million. James and Silver each received 937,500 shares (18.75% of 5 million); Lennon and McCartney each received 750,000 shares (15%); and Epstein's management company, NEMS Enterprises, received 375,000 shares (7.5%). Of the 1.25 million shares put up for sale, Harrison and Starr each acquired 40,000. At the time of the stock offering, Lennon and McCartney renewed their three-year publishing contracts, binding them to Northern Songs until 1973. Harrison created Harrisongs to represent his Beatles compositions, but signed a three-year contract with Northern Songs that gave it the copyright to his work through March 1968, which included "Taxman" and "Within You Without You". The songs on which Starr received co-writing credit before 1968, such as "What Goes On" and "Flying", were also Northern Songs copyrights. Harrison did not renew his contract with Northern Songs when it ended, signing instead with Apple Publishing while retaining the copyright to his work from that point on. Harrison thus owns the rights to his later Beatles songs such as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Something". That year, as well, Starr created Startling Music, which holds the rights to his Beatles compositions, "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden". In March 1969, James arranged to sell his and his partner's shares of Northern Songs to the British broadcasting company Associated Television (ATV), founded by impresario Lew Grade, without first informing the Beatles. The band then made a bid to gain a controlling interest by attempting to work out a deal with a consortium of London brokerage firms that had accumulated a 14% holding. The deal collapsed over the objections of Lennon, who declared, "I'm sick of being fucked about by men in suits sitting on their fat arses in the City." By the end of May, ATV had acquired a majority stake in Northern Songs, controlling nearly the entire Lennon–McCartney catalogue, as well as any future material until 1973. In frustration, Lennon and McCartney sold their shares to ATV in late October 1969. In 1981, financial losses by ATV's parent company, Associated Communications Corporation (ACC), led it to attempt to sell its music division. According to authors Brian Southall and Rupert Perry, Grade contacted McCartney, offering ATV Music and Northern Songs for $30 million. According to an account McCartney gave in 1995, he met with Grade and explained he was interested solely in the Northern Songs catalogue if Grade were ever willing to "separate off" that portion of ATV Music. Soon afterwards, Grade offered to sell him Northern Songs for £20 million, giving the ex-Beatle "a week or so" to decide. By McCartney's account, he and Ono countered with a £5 million bid that was rejected. According to reports at the time, Grade refused to separate Northern Songs and turned down an offer of £21–25 million from McCartney and Ono for Northern Songs. In 1982, ACC was acquired in a takeover by Australian business magnate Robert Holmes à Court for £60 million. In 1985, Michael Jackson purchased ATV for a reported $47.5 million. The acquisition gave him control over the publishing rights to more than 200 Beatles songs, as well as 40,000 other copyrights. In 1995, in a deal that earned him a reported $110 million, Jackson merged his music publishing business with Sony, creating a new company, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, in which he held a 50% stake. The merger made the new company, then valued at over half a billion dollars, the third-largest music publisher in the world. In 2016, Sony acquired Jackson's share of Sony/ATV from the Jackson estate for $750 million. Despite the lack of publishing rights to most of their songs, Lennon's estate and McCartney continue to receive their respective shares of the writers' royalties, which together are 33% of total commercial proceeds in the US and which vary elsewhere around the world between 50 and 55%. Two of Lennon and McCartney's earliest songs – "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You" – were published by an EMI subsidiary, Ardmore & Beechwood, before they signed with James. McCartney acquired their publishing rights from Ardmore in 1978, and they are the only two Beatles songs owned by McCartney's company MPL Communications. On 18 January 2017, McCartney filed a suit in the United States district court against Sony/ATV Music Publishing seeking to reclaim ownership of his share of the Lennon–McCartney song catalogue beginning in 2018. Under US copyright law, for works published before 1978 the author can reclaim copyrights assigned to a publisher after 56 years. McCartney and Sony agreed to a confidential settlement in June 2017. Selected filmography Fictionalised A Hard Day's Night (1964) Help! (1965) Magical Mystery Tour (1967) Yellow Submarine (1968) (brief cameo) Documentaries and filmed performances The Beatles at Shea Stadium (1966) Let It Be (1970) The Compleat Beatles (1982) It Was Twenty Years Ago Today (1987) (about Sgt. Pepper) The Beatles Anthology (1995) The Beatles: 1+ (2015) (collection of digitally restored music videos) The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (2016) (about Beatlemania and touring years) The Beatles: Get Back (2021) Concert tours Headlining 1963 UK tours (winter–autumn) Autumn 1963 Sweden tour Winter 1964 North American tour Spring 1964 UK tour 1964 world tour 1964 North American tour 1965 European tour 1965 US tour 1965 UK tour 1966 tour of Germany, Japan and the Philippines 1966 US tour Co-headlining Winter 1963 Helen Shapiro Tour Spring 1963 Tommy Roe/Chris Montez UK tour Roy Orbison/The Beatles Tour See also Grammy Award records – Most Grammys won by a group Notes References Citations Sources Further reading External links The Beatles on the Internet Archive The Beatles – FBI file Category:1960 establishments in England Category:1970 disestablishments in England Category:Apple Corps Category:Apple Records artists Category:Atco Records artists Category:Beat groups Category:Brit Award winners Category:British Invasion artists Category:Capitol Records artists Category:English pop music groups Category:English psychedelic rock music groups Category:English rock music groups Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Musical groups established in 1960 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1970 Category:Musical groups from Liverpool Category:Musical quartets Category:Parlophone artists Category:Proto-prog musicians Category:Psychedelic pop music groups Category:Swan Records artists Category:United Artists Records artists Category:Vee-Jay Records artists Category:World Music Awards winners Category:World record holders

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Gennady Golovkin

Gennady Golovkin was born on April 8, 1982, in the city of Karaganda in the Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union (now Karagandy, Kazakhstan) to a Russian coal miner and Korean mother, who worked as an assistant in a chemical laboratory. He has three brothers, two elder named Sergey and Vadim and a twin, Max. Sergey and Vadim had encouraged Golovkin to start boxing when Golovkin was eight years old. As a youth, Golovkin would walk the streets with them, who went around picking fights for him with grown men.

Early career

After ending his amateur career in 2005, Golovkin signed a professional deal with the Universum Box-Promotion (UBP) and made his professional debut in May 2006. By the end of 2008, Golovkin's record stood at 14-0 (11 KO) and while he had few wins over boxers regarded as legitimate contenders, he was regarded as one of the best prospects in the world. Golovkin was given 4 more relatively easy bouts in 2009. In 2010, Universum started to run into financial issues after having been dropped by German television channel ZDF. This caused a number of issues for Golovkin who was effectively unable to fight in Germany, and contract disputes between the two parties got complicated. Golovkin terminated his contract with Universum in January 2010 and stated the following in an interview: "The reason for this decision is that I've always been placed behind Felix Sturm and Sebastian Zbik by Universum. Our demands to fight against Felix Sturm or Sebastian Zbik have been always rejected on absurd grounds. Universum had no real plan or concept for me, they did not even try to bring my career forward. They would rather try to prevent me from winning a title as long as Sturm and Zbik are champions. Further more, bouts against well-known and interesting opponents were held out in prospect, but nothing happened. This situation was not acceptable. It was time to move forward." After cutting ties with Universum, the WBA issued an interim title fight between Golovkin, ranked #1 at the time, and Milton Nunez. Golovkin routed Nunez, defeating him in 58 seconds to become a world champion. Golovkin was promptly upgraded to WBA (Regular) champion. He tried to fight WBA (Super) champion Felix Sturm and Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam during this time, but was unable to get them in the ring. Oleg Hermann, Golovkin's manager, said "It is very hard to find a good opponent. Everybody knows that Felix Sturm is afraid of Gennady. Strictly speaking, Sturm should get out of boxing and become a marathon runner because he is running fast and long. He has an excellent chance to become a champion in athletics." CANNOTANSWER

Gennadiy Gennadyevich Golovkin (Cyrillic: ; also spelled Gennady; born 8 April 1982), often known by his nickname "GGG" or "Triple G", is a Kazakhstani professional boxer. He has held multiple middleweight world championships, and is a two-time former unified champion. He held the WBA (Super), WBC and IBF titles at varying points between 2014 and 2023, and challenged once for the undisputed super middleweight championship in 2022. He is also a two-time former IBO middleweight champion, having held the title twice between 2011 and 2023. Golovkin was ranked as the world's best boxer, pound for pound, from September 2017 to September 2018 by The Ring magazine. As of March 2023, he is ranked as the world's fifth best active boxer, pound for pound, by BoxRec. He is also ranked as the world's best active middleweight by The Ring, Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, ESPN, and BoxRec. In 2010, Golovkin won the WBA interim middleweight title by defeating Milton Núñez. The WBA elevated him to Regular champion status in the same year. He won the IBO title the following year. In 2014, Golovkin was elevated to the status of WBA (Super) champion and successfully defended both his titles against Daniel Geale. Later that year he defeated Marco Antonio Rubio to win WBC interim middleweight title, and defeated David Lemieux for the IBF middleweight title in 2015. After Canelo Álvarez vacated his WBC middleweight title in 2016, Golovkin was elevated to full champion and held three of the four major world titles in boxing. Golovkin lost all his titles, including his undefeated record, following a loss to Álvarez in 2018. He regained his IBF and IBO titles by defeating Sergiy Derevyanchenko in 2019, and regained his WBA (Super) title by defeating Ryōta Murata in 2022. A calculating pressure fighter, Golovkin is known for his exceptionally powerful and precise punching, balance, and methodical movement inside the ring. With a streak of 23 knockouts that spanned from 2008 to 2017, he holds the highest knockout-to-win ratio – 88.0% – in middleweight championship history. Golovkin is also said to have one of the most durable chins in boxing history, having never been knocked down or otherwise stopped in a total of 395 fights, 45 as a professional and 350 as an amateur. In his amateur career, Golovkin won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 2003 World Championships. He went on to represent Kazakhstan at the 2004 Summer Olympics, winning a middleweight silver medal. Early life Golovkin was born in the city of Karaganda in the Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union (present-day Kazakhstan) to a Russian coal miner father and an ethnic Korean mother, who worked as an assistant in a chemical laboratory. Golovkin's maternal grandfather, Sergey Pak, was an ethnic Korean living in Soviet Russia, who was forcefully moved to Kazakhstan. He has three brothers, two elder named Sergey and Vadim and a twin, Max. Sergey and Vadim had encouraged Golovkin to start boxing when Golovkin was eight years old. As a youth, Golovkin would walk the streets with them, who went around picking fights for him with grown men. When asked, "Are you afraid of him?", Golovkin would respond "No", and be told to fight. "My brothers, they were doing that from when I was in kindergarten," Golovkin said. "Every day, different guys." When Golovkin was nine years old, Golovkin's two older brothers joined the Soviet Army. In 1990, the government had informed Golovkin's family that Vadim was dead. In 1994, the government told Golovkin's family that Sergey was dead. Golovkin's first boxing gym was in Maikuduk, Karaganda, Kazakhstan, where his first boxing coach was Victor Dmitriev, whom he regards as "very good". A month after he first entered the gym, at age 10, the trainer ordered him to step into the ring to check his skills and he lost his first fight. Amateur career Golovkin began boxing competitively in 1993, age 11, winning the local Karaganda Regional tournament in the cadet division. It took several years before he was allowed to compete against seniors, and seven years before he was accepted to the Kazakhstani national boxing team, and began competing internationally. In the meantime he graduated from the Karagandy State University Athletics and Sports Department, receiving a degree and a PE teacher qualification. He became a scholarship holder with the Olympic Solidarity program in November 2002. At the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Bangkok, he won the gold medal beating future two-time champion Matvey Korobov (RUS) 19–10, Andy Lee (29–9), Lucian Bute (stoppage), Yordanis Despaigne in the semi-finals (29–26) and Oleg Mashkin in the finals. Upon his victory at the 2003 Championships, a boxing commentator calling the bout for NTV Plus Sports, said: "Golovkin. Remember that name! We sure will hear it again." He qualified for the Athens Games by winning the gold medal at the 2004 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships in Puerto Princesa, Philippines. In the final he defeated home fighter Christopher Camat. At the 2004 Summer Olympics he defeated Ahmed Ali Khan Pakistan 31–10, Ramadan Yasser 31–20 and Andre Dirrell 23–18, losing to the Russian Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov 18–28 to take the silver medal. At the World Championships in 2005 he lost to Mohamed Hikal. He finished his amateur career with a record of 345–5, with all his defeats being very close on points (like 8–+8 versus Damian Austin, or 14–15 versus Andre Dirrell), no stoppages, and the majority of all losses eventually avenged within a year. Highlights Brandenburg Cup (67 kg), Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, October 2000: 1/2: Defeated Paweł Głażewski (Poland) RSC 4 Finals: Defeated Rolandas Jasevičius (Lithuania) 10–3 (4 rds) Junior World Championships (63,5 kg), Budapest, Hungary, November 2000: 1/16: Defeated Hao Yen Kuo (Chinese Taipei) RSC 3 1/8: Defeated Alexander Renz (Germany) 26–7 (4 rds) 1/4: Defeated Benjamin Kalinovic (Croatia) 21–10 (4 rds) 1/2: Defeated Evgeny Putilov (Russia) 24–10 (4 rds) Finals: Defeated Maikel Perez (Cuba) 30–17 (4 rds) Usti Grand Prix (67 kg), Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic, March 2001: 1/4: Defeated Radzhab Shakhbanov (Russia) 10–4 (4 rds) 1/2: Defeated Petr Barvinek (Czech Republic) RSC 4 Finals: Defeated Mohamed Sabeh Taha (Israel) 20–8 (4 rds) East Asian Games (67 kg), Osaka, Japan, May 2001: 1/4: Defeated Soo-Young Kim (South Korea) RSC 3 1/2: Defeated Chi Wansong (China) RSC 3 Finals: Defeated Daniel Geale (Australia) 15–3 (4 rds) Chemistry Cup (71 kg), Halle, Germany, March 2002: 1/4: Defeated Raimondas Petrauskas (Lithuania) RSC 3 1/2: Defeated Lukas Wilaschek (Germany) 20–9 Finals: Lost to Damian Austin (Cuba) 8–+8 King's Cup (71 kg), Bangkok, Thailand, April 2002: 1/2: Defeated Vladimir Stepanets (Russia) Finals: Lost to Suriya Prasathinphimai (Thailand) 19–22 (4 rds) World Cup (71 kg), team competition, Astana, Kazakhstan, June 2002: 1/8: Defeated Javid Taghiyev (Azerbaijan) 19–8 (4 rds) 1/4: Defeated Foster Nkodo (Cameroon) RSCO 3 1/2: Defeated Andrey Balanov (Russia) 10–7 (4 rds) Finals: Defeated Damian Austin (Cuba) 6–4 (4 rds) Asian Games (71 kg), Busan, South Korea, October 2002: 1/8: Defeated Abdullah Shekib (Afghanistan) RET 1 1/4: Defeated Nagimeldin Adam (Qatar) RSCO 1 1/2: Defeated Song In Joon (South Korea) 18–12 (4 rds) Finals: Defeated Suriya Prasathinphimai (Thailand) RSCO 3 Ahmet Cömert Memorial (75 kg), Istanbul, Turkey, April 2003: 1/2: Defeated Sherzod Abdurahmonov (Uzbekistan) Finals: Defeated Javid Taghiyev (Azerbaijan) 28–10 USA—Kazakhstan duals (71 kg), Tunica, Mississippi, May 2003: Lost to Andre Dirrell (United States) 14–15 (4 rds) World Championships (75 kg), Bangkok, Thailand, July 2003: 1/16: Defeated Matvey Korobov (Russia) 19–10 (4 rds) 1/8: Defeated Andy Lee (Ireland) 29–9 (4 rds) 1/4: Defeated Lucian Bute (Romania) KO 4 1/2: Defeated Yordanis Despaigne (Cuba) 29–26 (4 rds) Finals: Defeated Oleg Mashkin (Ukraine) RSCI 2 Asian Championships (75 kg), Puerto Princesa, Philippines, January 2004: 1/4: Defeated Deok-Jin Cho (South Korea) 34–6 1/2: Defeated Kymbatbek Ryskulov (Kyrgyzstan) Finals: Defeated Christopher Camat (Philippines) RSC 2 Acropolis Cup (75 kg), Athens, Greece, May 2004: 1/8: Defeated Jamie Pittman (Australia) 28–11 (4 rds) 1/4: Defeated Khotso Motau (South Africa) 24–13 (4 rds) 1/2: Lost to Yordanis Despaigne (Cuba) 34–37 (4 rds) Golden Belt Tournament (75 kg), Bucharest, Romania, July 2004: Finals: Defeated Marian Simion (Romania) RET 4 Summer Olympics (75 kg), Athens, Greece, August 2004: 1/8: Defeated Ahmed Ali Khan (Pakistan) 31–10 (4 rds) 1/4: Defeated Ramadan Yasser (Egypt) 31–20 (4 rds) 1/2: Defeated Andre Dirrell (United States) 23–18 (4 rds) Finals: Lost to Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov (Russia) 18–28 (4 rds) Anwar Chowdry Cup (75 kg), Baku, Azerbaijan, March 2005: 1/2: Lost to Nikolay Galochkin (Russia) 9–20 Chemistry Cup (75 kg), Halle, Germany, April 2005: 1/4: Lost to Eduard Gutknecht (Germany) 13–17 World Cup (75 kg), team competition, Moscow, Russia, July 2005: 1/8: Defeated Anatoliy Kavtaradze (Georgia) RSCI 4 1/4: Defeated Nabil Kassel (Algeria) RSCO 3 1/2: Defeated Yordanis Despaigne (Cuba) 40–37 (4 rds) Finals: Kazakhstani national team did not participate in the finals Amber Gloves Tournament (75 kg), Kaliningrad, Russia, September 2005: Finals: Defeated Denis Tsaryuk (Russia) RSC 2 World Championships (75 kg), Mianyang, China, November 2005: 1/16: Defeated Nikola Sjekloća (Montenegro) 15–12 (4 rds) 1/8: Lost to Mohamed Hikal (Egypt) 21–27 (4 rds) Professional career Early career After ending his amateur career in 2005, Golovkin signed with the Universum Box-Promotion (UBP) and made his professional debut in May 2006. By the end of 2008, Golovkin's record stood at 14–0 (11 KO) and while he had few wins over boxers regarded as legitimate contenders, he was regarded as one of the best prospects in the world. Golovkin was given 4 more relatively easy bouts in 2009. In 2010, Universum started to run into financial issues after having been dropped by German television channel ZDF. This caused a number of issues for Golovkin who was effectively unable to fight in Germany, and contract disputes between the two parties got complicated. Golovkin terminated his contract with Universum in January 2010 and stated the following in an interview: "The reason for this decision is that I've always been placed behind Felix Sturm and Sebastian Zbik by Universum. Our demands to fight against Felix Sturm or Sebastian Zbik have been always rejected on absurd grounds. Universum had no real plan or concept for me, they did not even try to bring my career forward. They would rather try to prevent me from winning a title as long as Sturm and Zbik are champions. Further more, bouts against well-known and interesting opponents were held out in prospect, but nothing happened. This situation was not acceptable. It was time to move forward." After cutting ties with Universum, the WBA issued an interim title fight between Golovkin, ranked #1 at the time, and Milton Núñez. Golovkin routed Núñez, defeating him in 58 seconds to become a world champion. Golovkin was promptly upgraded to WBA (Regular) champion. He tried to fight WBA (Super) champion Felix Sturm and Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam during this time, but was unable to get them in the ring. Oleg Hermann, Golovkin's manager, said "It is very hard to find a good opponent. Everybody knows that Felix Sturm is afraid of Gennady. Strictly speaking, Sturm should get out of boxing and become a marathon runner because he is running fast and long. He has an excellent chance to become a champion in athletics." Fighting in the United States Golovkin was determined to become a worldwide name, dreaming of following in the Klitschko brothers' footsteps by fighting in Madison Square Garden and Staples Center. He signed with K2 Promotions and went into training in Big Bear, California with Abel Sanchez, the veteran trainer behind Hall of Famer Terry Norris and many other top talents. At first, Sanchez was misled by Golovkin's humble appearance: "I looked at him, I thought: 'Man! This guy is a choir boy!'." But soon he was stunned by and impressed with Golovkin's talent and attitude from their first meeting. He has since then worked to add Mexican-style aggression to Golovkin's Eastern European-style amateur discipline, thereby producing a formidable hybrid champion. "I have a chalkboard in the gym, and I wrote Ali's name, Manny Pacquiao's name and his name," Sanchez said. "I told him, 'You could be right there.' He was all sheepish, but once I felt his hands, and I saw how smart he was in the ring and how he caught on... sheesh. He's going to be the most-avoided fighter in boxing, or he's going to get the chance he deserves." Golovkin was scheduled to make his HBO debut against Dmitry Pirog (20-0, 15 KOs) in August 2012. Pirog had vacated his WBO middleweight title to face Golovkin. This was because Pirog had been mandated to fight interim champion Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam. Weeks before the fight, it was announced that Pirog had suffered a back injury—a ruptured disc—that would prevent him from fighting on the scheduled date, but Golovkin would still face another opponent on HBO. Several comeback attempts by Pirog were thwarted by ongoing back problems, effectively forcing his premature retirement. Golovkin vs. Proksa, Rosado On 20 July 2012, it was announced that Golovkin would defend his titles against European champion and The Ring's #10-rated middleweight Grzegorz Proksa (28–1, 21 KOs) on 1 September at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York. The fight was televised on HBO in the United States and Sky Sports in the UK. Golovkin put on an impressive performance in his American debut by battering Proksa to a fifth-round technical knockout (TKO), which was Proksa's first loss by knockout. Proksa praised Golovkin's power, "The guy hits like a hammer. I tried everything, but it did not work. You have to give him credit, because he had a good handle on the situation and it was an honor to meet him in the ring." CompuBox Stats showed that Golovkin landed 101 of 301 punches thrown (34%) and Proksa landed 38 of his 217 thrown (18%). In October, when the WBA (Super) middleweight champion Daniel Geale signed to fight Anthony Mundine in a rematch, the WBA stripped Geale of the title and named Golovkin the sole WBA champion at middleweight. On 30 November 2012, it was announced that Golovkin would next fight The Rings #9-rated light middleweight Gabriel Rosado (21–5, 13 KO) on the HBO Salido-Garcia card in the co-main event. On 19 January 2012, it was said that Golovkin would agree a catchweight of 158 pounds, two pounds below the middleweight limit. Rosado later rejected the proposal, stating he would fight at the full 160 pound limit. Golovkin continued his stoppage-streak with a TKO victory over Rosado. The fight was halted when Rosado's corner threw in the towel to save Rosado, who was battered and bleeding heavily from his nose and left eye. At the time of the stoppage, Golovkin led on the judges' scorecards 60–54, 60–54, and 59–55. According to CompuBox Stats, Golovkin landed 208 of 492 punches thrown (42%) and Rosado landed only 76 of his 345 thrown (22%). Golovkin vs. Ishida, Macklin It was first reported on 31 January 2013, that a deal was close for Golovkin to defend his world titles against former WBA interim super welterweight champion Nobuhiro Ishida (24–8–2, 9 KO) in Monte Carlo on 30 March. Ishida had lost his last two fights, but had never been stopped in his 13-year career. Golovkin became the first to knock out Ishida, in what was said to be a 'stay busy fight', finishing him in the third round with a vicious overhand right. The referee did not begin a count and immediately waved an end to the bout. Golovkin fought British former two-time world title challenger Matthew Macklin (29-4, 20 KOs) at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut on 29 June 2013. The fight was officially announced in April. Macklin previously lost back to back world title fights against Felix Sturm and Sergio Martinez in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Golovkin stated that he wanted to fight a further two times in 2013. This was rare to hear from a world champion as majority fight only 2 or 3 times a year. There was a total of 2,211 fans in attendance. Macklin was billed as Golovkin's toughest opponent to date. In round 1, Golovkin landed clean with his right hand and sent Macklin against the ropes, although it could have been ruled a knockdown because it appeared that only the roped kept Macklin on his feet, referee Eddie Cotton, ruled out the knockdown. Golovkin dominates the first two rounds. In the third round, Golvokin landed a right uppercut followed by a left hook to the body. Macklin, in pain, was counted out and the fight was stopped at 1 minute 22 seconds of the round. Macklin called Golovkin the best opponent he has fought in the post-fight interview. Golovkin retained his WBA and IBO world titles. CompuBox Stats showed that Golovkin landed 58 of 116 punches thrown (50%) and Macklin landed 29 of 118 (25%).He earned $350,000 compared to the $300,000 earned by Macklin. The fight averaged 1.1 million viewers. Golovkin vs. Stevens On 18 August 2013, Sports Illustrated announced that Golvokin would next defend with world titles against The Ring's #9-rated middleweight Curtis Stevens (25–3, 18 KO) at the Madison Square Garden Theater in Manhattan, New York on 2 November. At the time, Stevens was ranked #5 WBC and #6 IBF. Main Events, who promote Stevens, initially turned down a $300,000 offer. It was likely K2 promotions offered an increase to get Stevens in the ring with Golovkin. In front of 4,618, Golovkin successfully retained his titles against Stevens via an eighth-round technical knockout, methodically breaking down the latter with many ferocious punches to the head and body. Stevens went down hard in the 2nd from two left hooks to the head, and after watching their fighter absorb enormous punishment Stevens' corner called for a halt in the 8th. At the time of stoppage, Golovkin was ahead 80–71, 79–71, and 79–72. The event captured huge interest around the world, with it is broadcast in more than 100 countries worldwide, including Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, Channel 1 in Russia and Polsat TV in Poland. The win was Golovkin's 15th straight stoppage victory and further cemented his status as one of the greatest finishers in the middleweight division. After the fight, Golovkin said, "He was strong, and I was a little cautious of his strength, but I felt comfortable in there and never felt like I was in any trouble [...] I am ready to fight anybody, but, specifically, I want to fight lineal champion Sergio Martinez." CompuBox Stats showed that Golovkin landed 293 of 794 punches thrown (37%), which included 49% of power punches landed, while Stevens landed 97 of 303 thrown (32%). Golovkin's purse was $400,000 while Stevens received $290,000. The fight averaged 1.41 million viewers on HBO and peaked at 1.566 million. Golovkin's camp requested that he be awarded the WBA (Super) middleweight title in December 2013, but this was refused by the WBA, as Golovkin was already granted special permission for a fight prior to his mandatory commitment. Golovkin vs. Adama Golovkin's next title defense took place in Monte Carlo against former title challenger Osumanu Adama (22–3, 16 KO) on 1 February 2014. HBO released a statement on 22 January confirming they could not televise the bout in the US. The reason stated was because of the size of the venue Salle des Etoiles and production issues. Coming into the fight, Adama was ranked #12 by the WBA. Golovkin won via seventh-round stoppage. At the end of the 1st round, Golovkin dropped Adama with a solid jab and right hand. Golovkin went on to drop Adama again in the 6th by landing two sharp left hooks to his head, and then again in the 7th with a hard jab. Golovkin then nailed Adama with a left hook to the jaw, sending Adama staggering and forcing the referee to stop the bout. When the reporter asked Golovkin, after the fight, who he would to fight next, he replied, "I want to fight Sergio Martinez to prove who's the best middleweight." At the time of stoppage, one judge had it 60–52 and the other two at 59–53 in favor of Golovkin. A day after defeating Adama, a fight with Irish boxer Andy Lee (31-2, 22 KOs) was being discussed for 26 April, which was the next time Golovkin would appear on HBO at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. It was reported on 28 February that a deal was close to being made, however on 1 March, the fight was called off when Golovkin's father died after suffering a heart attack, aged 68. Due to beliefs, they have a 40-day mourning period, K2 director Tom Loeffler explained. Unified middleweight champion On 3 June 2014, after ten successful title defenses, the World Boxing Association officially elevated Golovkin from Regular middleweight champion to Super champion. Golovkin was also granted a special permission to defend his title against Daniel Geale. Golovkin had been previously ordered to face #2 Jarrod Fletcher. Golovkin vs. Geale K2 Promotions announced Golovkin would fight against The Ring's #2-rated middleweight Daniel Geale (30-2, 16 KOs) at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York on 26 July 2014, live on HBO. In front of 8,572 at The Theater, Golovkin successfully defended his title, defeating Geale via a third round stoppage. Golovkin dropped Geale in the second round. A right hand in the third sent Geale down again from which he never recovered completely. A staggering Geale prompted a swift stoppage from referee Michael Ortega. Geale's defeat started from a stiff Golovkin Jab, according to GGG's trainer Abel Sanchez, "Gennady hit him with a jab in the second round and that was a telling point." The accuracy of punches by both fighters were at the 29% mark by Compubox, but the effectiveness of those that connected resulted in a noteworthy win for Golovkin in his record. Golovkin earned $750,000 compared to Geale who received $600,000. The fight averaged 984,000 viewers and peaked 1.048 million viewers on HBO. This was a big dip compared to what Golovkin achieved against Stevens, the last time he appeared on HBO. Golovkin vs. Rubio On 12 August 2014, it was rumored that Golovkin would next fight former multiple time world title challenger and then Interim WBC champion Marco Antonio Rubio (59-6-1, 51 KO). On 20 August, the fight between Golovkin and Rubio was made official. K2 Promotions announced the fight would place on 18 October 2014, on HBO at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. It would mark the first time Golovkin would fight in the West Coast. Golovkin spoke to ESPN about the announcement, "I'm very excited to fight in California. I always enjoy attending fights at the StubHub Center and look forward to a Mexican-style fight against Marco Antonio Rubio." Rubio failed to make weight, weighing in at 161.8 pounds, thus losing the Interim WBC title on the scales. Rubio was given the 2 hour timescales to lose the extra weight, but decided against this. The fight still went ahead. The record attendance of 9,323 was announced. Golovkin outworked Rubio in a competitive first round, landing more punches. In the second round, Golovkin landed an overhand power left to the head of Rubio with Rubio on the ropes. Rubio then went to his back on the canvas, and took the full ten count in Spanish from referee Jack Reiss. After the knockout, Rubio got up and was motioning with a glove to the back of his head to the referee. However, the knockout blow was clean, and the count, which was given in Spanish was of normal speed. Golovkin retained his WBA (Super) and IBO middleweight titles and won the WBC Interim title which made him mandatory challenger to full titleholder Miguel Cotto. Golovkin in the post fight showed respect, "Rubio, he does not step back. He is a good fighter. I respect him. It was a very hard punch." Rubio earned $350,000 after having to forfeit $100,000 to Golovkin for not making weight, who earned a base purse of $900,000 not including any pay through his promoter. With this being Golovkin's 12th successive defense, it tied him with Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Felix Sturm for third-most in middleweight history. The number of defenses, however, is sometimes questioned as the WBA Regular belt, held by Golovkin previously, is regarded as a secondary title. ESPN reported the fight averaged 1.304 million viewers and peaked at 1.323 million. Golovkin vs. Murray On 21 February 2015, Golovkin defended his middleweight titles against British boxer Martin Murray (28-1-1, 12 KOs) in Monte Carlo. The fight was officially announced in October 2014. Murray started the fight off well defensively, but by the fourth round Golovkin began to heat up and started finding Murray consistently. Murray was knocked down twice in the fourth round, even sustaining an additional punch to the head while down on a knee. Golovkin found it much easier to land his punches on Murray in the middle-rounds. Although Murray's chin withstood a lot of Golovkin punches in those middle-rounds, he eventually went down again in round 10 after sustaining a lot of punishment. Murray came out for round 11 and therefore had lasted longer in the ring with Golovkin than any other of his opponents so far, although Murray came out with a bloodied countenance and Golovkin continued to connect with shots, the referee stopped the bout as he felt Murray was not fighting back effectively and had taken too many punches. CompuBox statistics showed Golovkin landing 292 of 816 punches (36%), and Murray connected on 131 of 469 (28%). The fight aired on HBO in the USA during the afternoon and averaged 862,000 viewers. At the time of stoppage, the three judges had their respective scorecards reading 100–87, 99–88, and 99–88 in favor of Golovkin. The fight was televised live on HBO in the US in the afternoon and averaged 862,000 viewers, peaking at 938,000 viewers. Although it was a decline in viewership for Golovkin on HBO, it was expected as it was shown during the day and not peak time. Golovkin vs. Monroe Jr. Boxing Insider reported that a deal had been agreed for Golovkin to defend his titles against American Willie Monroe Jr. (19-1, 6 KOs) at The Forum, Inglewood, California on 16 May 2015. In front of 12,372, Golovkin defeated Monroe via sixth-round TKO, to extend his KO streak to 20. In the first minute of the first round, Monroe started fast with superior movement and jabs, but after that the pace slowed with GGG cutting off the ring and outworking him. In round six, GGG came forward and quickly caught an off guard Monroe with power shots along the ropes, and Monroe went down to his knees, just beating the ten count of referee Jack Reiss. Referee Reiss was willing to give Monroe another chance, but Monroe did not wish to continue, stating, "I'm done." Reiss immediately stopped the contest. Monroe was dropped a total of three times. At the time of the stoppage, the scorecards read 50–43, 50–43, and 49–44 for Golovkin. Golovkin landed 133 of 297 punches thrown (45%), Monroe landed 87 punches of 305 thrown (29%). In the post-fight, Golovkin said, "Willie is a good fighter, a tough fighter. I feel great. My performance was special for you guys. This was a very good drama show. This was for you." He then spoke about future fights, "I stay here. I am the real champion. I want unification. Let's go, let's do it guys. Who is No. 1 right now? Bring it on. I will show you." In regards to unification and big fights, the names of Miguel Cotto, Saúl Álvarez and Andre Ward were mentioned. Golovkin received a purse of $1.5 million and Monroe earned $100,000 for the fight. The fight drew an average viewership of 1.338 million and peaked at 1.474 million viewers. Golovkin vs. Lemieux It was announced in July 2015 that Golovkin would be defending his three world titles against IBF world champion David Lemieux (34–2, 31 KOs) in a unification fight at the Madison Square Garden in New York City on 17 October 2015, live on HBO Pay-Per-View. Both boxers took to Twitter to announce the news. Lemieux won the then vacant IBF title by outpointing Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam in June 2015. Golovkin defeated Lemieux via eighth-round technical knockout to unify his WBA (Super), IBO, and WBC Interim middleweight titles with Lemieux's IBF title. Golovkin established the pace with his jab while landing his power shots in between, keeping Lemieux off-balance the entire night. Lemieux was dropped by a body shot in the fifth round and sustained an additional punch to the head after he had taken a knee. He was badly staggered in the eighth, so the referee was forced to halt the bout. Golovkin landed 280 of 549 punches thrown (51%) whilst Lemieux landed 89 of 335 (27%). The fight generated 153,000 PPV buys on HBO and generated a further $2 million live gate from the sold out arena. The fight was replayed later in the week and averaged 797,000 viewers and peaked just over 1 million viewers. Golovkin vs. Wade On 10 February 2016, it was announced that Golovkin would defend his IBF and WBA middleweight titles on HBO against IBF mandatory challenger Dominic Wade (18–0, 12 KOs) on 23 April at The Forum in Inglewood, California. This bout wasn't expected to be very competitive for Golovkin, who also stated that he wouldn't underestimate Wade and added, "I’m happy to fight again at the Forum in front of my fans and friends in Los Angeles, Dominic Wade is a very hungry and skilled middleweight who is undefeated and will be another big test for me." Wade was very thankful for getting the opportunity to fight Golovkin, "I am so grateful to be given the opportunity to fight ‘GGG’ for the IBF Middleweight Championship on April 23! I’ve worked hard my entire career to get to this point. I’m poised and ready to take on the challenge." The card was co-featured by Roman Gonzalez who successfully defended his WBC flyweight title with a unanimous points decision over McWilliams Arroyo. In front of a sellout crowd of 16,353, Golovkin successfully defended his middleweight titles with an early stoppage of Wade, his 22nd successive knockout. Wade was knocked down three times before the fight was stopped with 23 seconds remaining in round 2. According to CompuBox stats, Golovkin landed 54 of 133 punches (41%), with most being power punches. Wade managed to land 22 of his 75 thrown (29%). After the fight, when asked about Canelo Álvarez, Golovkin said, "I feel great. I'm here now, and I'm here to stay. I'm not going anywhere. Give me my belt, give me my belt! Let's fight," Golovkin reportedly earned a career high $2m for this fight compared to the $500,000 that Wade earned. The fight drew an average of 1,325,000 viewers and peaked at 3,888,000 on HBO. Golovkin vs. Álvarez negotiations Following Canelo Álvarez's victory against Miguel Cotto, talks began between the Golovkin and Álvarez camps over the future WBC title defense. In the end, an agreement was ultimately reached to allow interim bouts before the fight to, in the words of WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, "maximize the interest in their highly anticipated showdown." On 18 May 2016, Álvarez vacated the WBC middleweight title, which resulted in Golovkin being immediately awarded the title by the WBC who officially recognized him as their middleweight champion. Golovkin vs. Brook On 8 July 2016, it was announced that Golovkin would defend his world middleweight titles against undefeated British IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (36–0, 25 KOs). The fight took place on 10 September 2016, at the O2 Arena in London, England. Brook was scheduled to fight in a unification bout against Jessie Vargas, whereas there was negotiations for Golovkin to fight Chris Eubank Jr.; however, negotiations fell through and Brook agreed to move up two weight divisions to challenge Golovkin. The fight aired in the United States on HBO and on Sky Box Office pay-per-view in the United Kingdom. On 5 September, the WBA withdrew its sanction for the fight. Although they granted Golovkin a special permit to take the fight, they stated that their title would not be at stake. The reason for the withdrawal was because Brook had never competed in the middleweight division. WBA president Gilberto Mendoza Jr. said, "What I most regret is that there are no boxers at 160 pounds who will fight against 'Triple G,' and Brook has to move up two divisions to fight against him." The Golovkin camp were said to be disappointed with the decision with promoter Tom Loeffler saying, "somehow the WBA thought it was too dangerous for a welterweight to move up to middleweight to fight the biggest puncher in boxing. I guess that is a compliment to GGG as they sanctioned [Adrien] Broner moving up two divisions [from lightweight to welterweight] to fight Paulie [Malignaggi in 2013] and Roy Jones moving up two divisions [from light heavyweight to heavyweight] to fight John Ruiz [in 2003] for WBA titles, and Kell Brook is undefeated and considered a top pound-for-pound boxer." Golovkin came out aggressively, going as far as to buckle Brook's legs in the first round. He was met with stiff resistance as Brook began to fire back, connecting multiple clean combinations on Golovkin, none of which were able to faze him. In the second round Brook had his greatest success of the fight, but in the process had his right eye socket broken. Over the next three rounds, Golovkin began to break Brook down. The Englishman showed courage, determination and a great chin as he absorbed the bulk of a Golovkin onslaught. Despite the fight being even on two judges' scorecards, and one judge having Brook ahead by a point, the latter's corner threw in the towel to protect their fighter's damaged right eye, ending the fight in round 5 with both boxers still standing. Speaking after the fight, Golovkin said, "I promised to bring 'Big Drama Show,' like street fight. I don't feel his power. I feel his distance. He has great distance. He feels [my power], and after second round I understand that it's not boxing. I need street fight. Just broke him. That's it." Brook said, "I'm devastated. I expected him to be a bigger puncher. I think in the second round, he broke my eye socket. He caught me with a shot, and I was starting to settle into the fight, but I was seeing three or four of him, so it was hard to get through it. I was tricking him. His shots were coming underneath, and I was frustrating him. I was starting to settle into him, but when you see three or four of them, it is hard to carry on." Golovkin stated although Brook fought like a true champion, he was not a middleweight. According to Compubox stats, Golovkin landed 133 of his 301 punches thrown (44.2%), whilst Brook landed 85 punches, having thrown 261 (32.6%). The fight was aired live on HBO in the afternoon and drew an average of 843,000 viewers and peaked at 907,000 viewers. This was considered by HBO to be a huge success for an afternoon showing. A replay was shown later in the evening as part of the world super flyweight title fight between Roman Gonzalez and Carlos Cuadras. The replay averaged 593,000 viewers. Golovkin earned a guaranteed $5 million purse. Brook was guaranteed slightly less, around £3 million, but earned an upside of PPV revenue. Golovkin vs. Jacobs Following the win over Brook, there were immediate talks of a WBA unification fight against 'Regular' champion Daniel Jacobs (32–1, 29 KOs), as part of WBA's plan to reduce the amount of world titles in each division from three to one. Team Golovkin spoke of fighting Billy Joe Saunders after the Jacobs fight which would be a middleweight unification fight for all the belts. The date discussed initially was 10 December, which Golovkin's team had on hold for Madison Square Garden. The date was originally set by HBO for Álvarez after he defeated Liam Smith, but Canelo confirmed he would not be fighting again until 2017 after fracturing his right thumb. There was ongoing negotiations between Tom Loeffler and Al Haymon about the split in purses, if the fight goes to purse bids, it would be a 75–25 split with Golovkin taking the majority due to him being the 'Super' champion. As the negotiations continued, Jacobs wanted a better split, around 60–40. The WBA granted an extension for the negotiation period on 7 October, as the two sides originally had until 10 October to come to an arrangement or else a purse bid would be due. There was also a request to change the purse bid split to 60–40, which the WBA declined. Golovkin started his training camp for the fight on 17 October. Loeffler told the LA Times on 18 October, although the negotiations remain active, the fight will not take place on 10 December. A new date for early 2017 would need to be set, still looking at Madison Square Garden to host the fight. Golovkin prides himself on being an extremely active fighter, and this is the first year since 2012 that he has been in fewer than three fights. WBA president Gilberto Mendoza confirmed in an email to RingTV that a deal had to be made by 5pm on 7 December or a purse bid would be held on 19 December in Panama. Later that day, the WBA announced a purse bid would be scheduled with a minimum bid of $400,000, with Golovkin receiving 75% and Jacobs 25%. Although purse bids were announced, Loeffler stated he would carry on negotiations, hopeful that a deal would be reached before the purse bid. On 17 December, terms were finally agreed and it was officially announced that the fight would take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City on 18 March 2017, exclusively on HBO PPV. Golovkin tweeted the announcement whilst Jacobs uploaded a quick video on social media. At the time of the fight, both fighters had a combined 35 consecutive knockouts. It was reported that Golovkin's IBO world title would not be at stake. The IBO website later confirmed the belt would be at stake. HBO officially announced the fight on 22 December, being billed as "Middleweight Madness". Loeffler confirmed there was no rematch clause in place. At the official weigh-in, a day before the fight, Golovkin tipped the scales at 159.6 lb, while Jacobs weighed 159.8 lb. Jacobs declined to compete for the IBF title by skipping a fight-day weight check. Unlike other major sanctioning bodies, the IBF requires participants in title fights to submit to a weight check on the morning of the fight, as well as the official weigh-in the day before the fight; at the morning weight check, they can weigh no more than above the fight's weight limit. Jacobs weighed 182 lb on fight night, 12 more than Golovkin. In front of a sell out crowd of 19,939, the fight went the full 12 rounds. This was the first time that Golovkin fought 12 rounds in his professional career. Golovkin's ring control, constant forward pressure and effective jab lead to a 115–112, 115–112, and 114–113 unanimous decision victory, ending his 23 fight knockout streak which dated back to November 2008. ESPN had Golovkin winning 115–112. The opening three rounds were quiet with very little action. In the fourth round, Golovkin dropped Jacobs with a short right hand along the ropes for a flash knockdown. Jacobs recovered, but Golovkin controlled most of the middle rounds. Jacobs was effective in switching between orthodox and southpaw stance, but remained on the back foot. Both boxers were warned once in the fight by referee Charlie Fitch for rabbit punching. According to Compubox punch stats, Golovkin landed 231 of 615 punches (38%) which was more than Jacobs who landed 175 of 541 (32%). Following the fight, some doubted Golovkin did enough to win. Jacobs thought he had won the fight by two rounds and attributed the loss due to the potential big money fight that is Golovkin vs. Canelo. Jacobs also stated after being knocked down, he told Golovkin, "he'd have to kill me." In the post-fight interview, Golovkin said, "I’m a boxer, not a killer. I respect the game." Before revenue shares, it was reported that Golovkin would earn at least $2.5 million compared to Jacobs $1.75 million. On 24 March, Tom Loeffler revealed the fight generated 170,000 pay-per-view buys. A replay was shown on HBO later in the week and averaged 709,000 viewers. Lance Pugmire from LA Times reported the live gate was $3.7 million, a big increase from the Golovkin vs. Lemieux PPV which did $2 million. He also said that merchandise and sponsors were higher. Golovkin vs. Álvarez After retaining his belts against Jacobs, Golovkin stated that he wanted to unify the middleweight division and hold all the belts available. The only major belt not belonging to him was the WBO title held by British boxer Billy Joe Saunders. After defeating Jacobs, Golovkin said, "My goal is all the belts in the middleweight division. Of course, Billy Joe is the last one. It is my dream." There was rumours of the fight taking place in Golovkin's home country Kazakhstan in June during the EXPO 2017. The last time Golovkin fought in his home country was in 2010. On 20 March, Golovkin said that he would fight Saunders in his native Kazakhstan or the O2 Arena in London. Saunders tweeted on social media that although he didn't watch Golovkin's fight with Jacobs, he was ready to fight him. Saunders claimed to have signed the contract on his end and gave Golovkin a deadline to sign his. On 29 March, promoter Frank Warren also stated that Golovkin would have ten days to sign for the fight. Saunders later claimed to have moved on from Golovkin, until Warren said the deal was still in place. Over the next week, Saunders continued to insult Golovkin through social media. On 7 April, Warren told iFL TV, that Golovkin had a hand injury, which was the reason why the fight hadn't been made. In the interview, he said, "At the moment, they’re saying that Golovkin’s injured. So we’re waiting to see where this is all going. But as far as I’m concerned, we agreed [to] terms." It was also noted that he would wait until 6 May, for any updates. On 11 April, it was reported that the fight would not take place and Golovkin would ultimately focus on a September 2017 fight against Canelo Álvarez. Immediately after the Chavez fight on May 6, Canelo Álvarez announced that he would next fight Golovkin on the weekend of 16 September 2017, at a location to be determined. Golovkin, who before the fight stated he would not attend, was joined by his trainer Abel Sanchez and promoter Tom Loeffler. Golovkin joined him in the ring during the announcement to help promote their upcoming bout. Speaking through a translator, Álvarez said, "Golovkin, you are next, my friend. The fight is done. I've never feared anyone, since I was 15 fighting as a professional. When I was born, fear was gone." When Golovkin arrived in the ring, he said, "I feel very excited. Right now is a different story. In September, it will be a different style -- a big drama show. I'm ready. Tonight, first congrats to Canelo and his team. Right now, I think everyone is excited for September. Canelo looked very good tonight, and 100 percent he is the biggest challenge of my career. Good luck to Canelo in September." In the post-fight press conference, both boxers came face to face and spoke about the upcoming fight. On 9 May, Eric Gomez, president of Golden Boy Promotions told the LA Times that Álvarez had an immediate rematch clause in place on his contract, whereas Golovkin, if he loses, won't be guaranteed a rematch. Oscar De La Hoya later also revealed in an interview with ESPN the fight would take place at the full middleweight limit of 160 pounds with no re-hydration clauses, meaning Golovkin and Álvarez would be able to gain unlimited amount of weight following the weigh in. On 5 June, the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was announced as the venue of the fight, and would mark the first time Golovkin would fight in Nevada. The AT&T Stadium, Madison Square Garden and Dodger Stadium missed out on hosting the fight. Eric Gomez of Golden Boy Promotions said in a statement that Álvarez would fight for the IBF meaning he would participate in the second day weigh in, which the IBF require that each boxer weighs no more than 10 pounds over the 160 pound limit. Although he said there was no word on whether Álvarez would fight for the WBC title, Álvarez claimed that he would not be. On 7 July 2017, Golden Boy and K2 Promotions individually announced the tickets had sold out. On 15 August, Golden Boy matchmaker Robert Diaz revealed that Álvarez would indeed attend the IBF mandatory second day weigh in and fully intended to fight for the IBF title along with the WBA title. He did make it clear that whilst Golovkin would still defend the WBC and IBO title, Álvarez would not pay their sanctioning fees. On 22 August, IBF president Daryl Peoples announced that they would be dropping the mandatory second day weigh in for unification fights, meaning neither fighters are required to participate, however they would still encourage them to do so. It was reported that Álvarez would earn a base minimum $5 million and Golovkin would earn $3 million, before any shares of the revenue are added to their purses. On fight night, in front of a sold out crowd of 22,358, Golovkin and Álvarez fought to a split draw (118–110 Álvarez, 115–113 Golovkin, and 114–114). ESPN's Dan Rafael and HBO's Harold Lederman scored the fight 116–112 in favor of Golovkin. Judge Adalaide Byrd's scorecard of 118–110 in favor of Álvarez was widely ridiculed. Many observers felt that Golovkin had won a closely contested fight, and while a draw was justifiable, a card that wide in favor of Álvarez was inexcusable. Nevertheless, Bob Bennett, director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said that he had full confidence in Byrd going forward. Despite the controversy, several mainstream media outlets referred to the bout as a "classic". The fight started with both boxers finding their rhythm, Álvarez using his footwork and Golovkin establishing his jab. During the middle rounds, particularly between 4 and 8, Álvarez started each round quick, but seemed to tire out after a minute, with Golovkin taking over and doing enough to win the rounds. The championship rounds were arguably the best rounds and Álvarez started to counter more and both fighters stood toe-to-toe exchanging swings, the majority of which missed. The draw saw Golovkin make his 9th consecutive defence. CompuBox stats showed that Golovkin was the busier of the two, landing 218 of 703 thrown (31%), while Álvarez was more accurate, landing 169 of his 505 thrown (34%). Golovkin out punched Álvarez in 10 of the 12 rounds. The replay, which took place a week later on HBO averaged 726,000, peaking at 840,000 viewers. Speaking to Max Kellerman after the fight, Golovkin said, "It was a big drama show. [The scoring] is not my fault. I put pressure on him every round. Look, I still have all the belts. I am still the champion." Álvarez felt as though he won the fight, "In the first rounds, I came out to see what he had. Then I was building from there. I think I won eight rounds. I felt that I won the fight. I think I was superior in the ring. I won at least seven or eight rounds. I was able to counterpunch and made Gennady wobble at least three times. If we fight again, it's up to the people. I feel frustrated over my draw." Golovkin's trainer Abel Sanchez believed judge Byrd had her scorecard filled out before the first bell rang. Álvarez ruled out another fight in 2017, claiming he would return on Cinco de Mayo weekend in May 2018. At the post-fight press conference, Álvarez said through a translator, "Look, right now I wanna rest. Whatever the fans want, whatever the people want and ask for, we’ll do. You know that’s my style. But right now, who knows if it’s in May or September? But one thing’s for sure – this is my era, the era of Canelo." Golovkin's promoter Tom Loeffler stated that they would like an immediate rematch, but Golovkin, who prefers fighting at least three times in a calendar year, reiterated his desire to also fight in December. WBO middleweight champion Saunders said he was ready for Golovkin and looking to fight in December too. The fight surpassed Mayweather-Álvarez to achieve the third highest gate in boxing history. ESPN reported the fight generated $27,059,850 from 17,318 tickets sold. 934 complimentary tickets were given out, according to the NSAC. Mayweather vs. Álvarez sold 16,146 tickets to produce a live gate of $20,003,150. The replay, which took place a week later on HBO averaged 726,000, peaking at 840,000 viewers. The LA Times reported the fight generated 1.3 million domestic PPV buys. Although HBO didn't make an official announcement, it is believed that the revenue would exceed $100 million. Cancelled Álvarez rematch Immediately after the controversial ending, talks began for a rematch between Álvarez and Golovkin. Álvarez stated he would next fight in May 2018, whereas Golovkin was open to fighting in December 2017. ESPN reported that Álvarez, who only had the rematch clause in his contract, must activate it within three weeks of their fight. On 19 September, Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez told ESPN that everyone on their side was interested in the rematch and they would hold discussions with Tom Loeffler in the next coming days. Ringtv reported that the negotiations would begin on 22 September. On 24 September, Gomez said the rematch would likely take place in the first week of May 2018, or if a deal could be worked, we could see the fight take place as early as March. Despite ongoing negotiations for the rematch, at the 55th annual convention in Baku, Azerbaijan on 2 October, the WBC officially ordered a rematch. Golden Boy president Eric Gomez told ESPN, "Regardless of if they did or didn't order the rematch, we are going to try to make it happen. We'll do whatever it takes to make it happen." On 7 November, Eric Gomez indicated the negotiations were going well and Álvarez would make a decision in regards to the rematch in the coming weeks. It was believed that Golden Boy would wait until after David Lemieux and Billy Joe Saunders fought for the latter's WBO title on 16 December 2017, before making a decision. On 15 November, Eddie Hearn, promoter of Daniel Jacobs stated that he approached Tom Loeffler regarding a possible rematch between Golovkin and Jacobs if the Álvarez-Golovkin rematch failed to take place. On 20 December, Eric Gomez announced that the negotiations were close to being finalized after Álvarez gave Golden Boy the go-ahead to write up the contracts. On 29 January 2018, HBO finally announced the rematch would take place on 5 May on the Cinco de Mayo weekend. On 22 February, the T-Mobile Arena was again selected as the fight's venue. According to WBC, unlike the first bout, Álvarez would fight for their title. On 5 March 2018, Álvarez tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol ahead of the fight. Adding to the controversy, Golovkin's trainer Abel Sanchez claimed that Álvarez had his hands wrapped in an illegal manner for the first fight. On 23 March, the Nevada State Athletic Commission temporarily suspended Álvarez due to his two positive tests for the banned substance clenbuterol. Álvarez was required to appear at a commission hearing, either in person or via telephone, on the issue on 10 April. The commission would decide at the hearing whether the fight would be permitted to go ahead as scheduled. Tom Loeffler stated that Golovkin intended to fight on 5 May, regardless of his opponent being Álvarez or anyone else. On 26 March, former two-time light middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade (25-0, 16 KOs), who started campaigning at middleweight in 2017, put himself into the equation and offered to fight Golovkin on 5 May. On 29 March, IBF mandatory challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko's manager Keith Connolly told Boxing Scene that Derevyanchenko would be ready to replace Álvarez and fight Golovkin in his place if the fight was to get postponed on 10 April. On 28 March, MGM Resorts International, who owns the T-Mobile Arena, started to offer full refunds to anyone who had already purchased tickets for the bout. They wrote, "In the event a fan requested a refund, they could get one at the original point of sale and in full." The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported the news. Álvarez's hearing was rescheduled for 18 April, as Bob Bennett filed a complaint against Álvarez. On 3 April, Álvarez officially withdrew from the rematch. Golden Boy mentioned during a press conference it was hinted that Álvarez would likely not be cleared at the hearing and they would not have enough time to promote the fight. At the hearing, Álvarez was given a six-month suspension, backdated to his first drug test fail on 17 February, meaning the ban would end on 17 August 2018. His promoter De La Hoya then announced that Álvarez would return to the ring on the Mexican Independence Day weekend. Golovkin vs. Martirosyan On 2 April, before Álvarez withdrew from the rematch, Loeffler stated that Golovkin would fight on 5 May, regardless of whether it would be Álvarez or another boxer and the fight would take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise. On fighting, Golovkin said, "I am looking forward to returning to Las Vegas for my 20th title defense and headlining my first Cinco De Mayo event on 5 May. It is time for less drama and more fighting," On 5 April, ESPN reported that Mexican boxer, Jaime Munguia (28-0, 24 KOs), a 21 year old untested prospect who previously fought at welterweight and light middleweight was going to step in and fight Golovkin. Later that day, Lance Pugmire of LA Times stated sources close to NSAC, although Tom Loeffler hadn't submitted any names forward, if Munguia's name was mentioned, it would not be approved. Derevyanchenko's promoter, Lou DiBella petitioned to the IBF to force a mandatory. With less than a month before the scheduled fight date, the NSAC cancelled the fight, meaning it would not take place at the MGM Grand. Prior to the NSAC cancelling the bout, Lance Pugmire of LA Times reported that Golovkin would still fight on 5 May, however it would take place at the StubHub Center in Carson, California on regular HBO. Former light middleweight world title challenger and California local Vanes Martirosyan (36-3-1, 21 KOs) became a front runner to challenge Golovkin. The IBF stated they would not sanction their belt if the fight was made and Golovkin could potentially be stripped of his title. Martirosyan was criticised as an opponent as he had been a career light middleweight, he was coming off a loss and he had not fought in two years. The WBC approved Martirosyan as a late replace opponent. On 18 April, Martirosyan was confirmed as Golovkin's opponent, with the event being billed as 'Mexican Style 2' on 5 May, at the StubHub Center. A day later the IBF stated that neither Golovkin or Loeffler made any request for exception, however if and when they did, the IBF would consider the request. On 27 April, the IBF agreed to sanction the bout as long as Golovkin would make a mandatory defence against Derevyanchenko by 3 August 2018. On fight night, in front of 7,837 fans, Golovkin knocked Martirosyan out in round 2. Golovkin applied pressure immediately backing Martirosyan against the ropes and landing his jab. Martirosyan had short success at the end of round 1 when he landed a combination of punches. Again at the start of round 2, Golovkin started quick. He landed a right uppercut followed by a body shot. He then connected with nine power shots which were unanswered and eventually Martirosyan fell face first to the canvas. Referee Jack Reiss made a full 10-count. The time of stoppage was 1 minute 53 seconds. Speaking of Golovkin's power in the post-fight, Martirosyan said it felt like he was 'being hit by a train.' Golovkin said, "It feels great to get a knockout. Vanes is a very good fighter. He caught me a few times in the first round. In the second round, I came out all business after I felt him out in the first round." For the fight, Golovkin landed 36 of 84 punches thrown (43%) and Martirosyan landed 18 of his 73 thrown (25%). Golovkin's purse for the fight was $1 million and Martirosyan earned a smaller amount of $225,000. The fight averaged 1,249,000 viewers and peaked at 1,361,000 viewers, making most-watched boxing match on cable television in 2018. Golovkin vs. Álvarez II According to Golovkin on 27 April, before he defeated Martirosyan, a fight with Álvarez in the fall was still a priority. During a conference call, he stated it was the 'biggest fight in the world' and beneficial for all parties involved. Although Golovkin stated the rematch had a 10% chance of happening, Eric Gomez and Tom Loeffler agreed to meet and start negotiating after 5 May. One of the main issues preventing the rematch to take place was the purse split. Álvarez wanted 65-35 in his favor, the same terms Golovkin agreed to initially, however Golovkin wanted a straight 50-50 split. On 6 June, Golovkin was stripped of his IBF world title due to not adhering to the IBF rules. The IBF granted Golovkin an exception to fight Martirosyan although they would not sanction the fight, however told Golovkin's team to start negotiating and fight mandatory challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko by 3 August 2018. The IBF released a statement in detail. On 7 June, Golovkin's team stated they would accept a 55-45 split in favor of Álvarez. The split in the initial rematch negotiations, Golovkin accepted a 65-35 split in favor of Álvarez. On 12 June, Golden Boy gave Golovkin a 24-hour deadline to accept a 57½-42½ split in Álvarez's favor or they would explore other fights. At this time, Golden Boy were already in light negotiations with Eddie Hearn for a fight against Daniel Jacobs instead. At the same time, Loeffler was working closely with Frank Warren to match Saunders with Golovkin for the end of August. Golovkin declined the offer and De La Hoya stated there would be no rematch. Despite this, some sources indicated both sides were still negotiating after a "Hail Mary" idea came to light. Hours later, De La Hoya confirmed via his Twitter account that terms had been agreed and the fight would indeed take place on 15 September, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada. Golovkin revealed to ESPN he agreed to 45%. Álvarez started training for the bout on 14 June, and stated his intention to apply for his boxing license on 18 August. It was confirmed that both boxers would not physically come face to face with each other until the fight week. A split-screen press conference took place on 3 July. On 3 September, due to a majority vote of the panel, it was announced The Ring Magazine's vacant middleweight title would be contested for the bout. Doug Fischer wrote, "We posed the question to the Ratings Panel, which, in a landslide, voted in favor the magazine’s 160-pound championship being up for grabs when the two stars clash at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas." In front of a sell out crowd of 21,965, the fight was again not without controversy as Álvarez defeated Golovkin via majority decision after 12 rounds. Álvarez was favored by judges Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld, both scoring the bout 115–113, the third judge Glenn Feldman scored it 114–114. The result was disputed by fans, pundits and media. Of the 18 media outlets scoring the bout, 10 ruled in favor of Golovkin, 7 scored a draw, while 1 scored the bout for Álvarez. The scorecards showed how close the bout was, with the judges splitting eight rounds. After 9 rounds, all three judges had their scores reading 87–84 for Álvarez The fight was much different to the first bout in terms of action. Álvarez, who was described by Golovkin's team as a 'runner', altered his style and became more aggressive. Both boxers found use of their respective jabs from the opening round with Golovkin using his jab more as the fight went on. Big punches were landed by both fighters during the bout, with both Álvarez and Golovkin showing excellent chins. Despite the tense build up, both boxers showed each other respect after the fight. Álvarez made good use of his body attack, landing 46 compared to Golovkin's 6 landed. Compubox Stats showed that Golovkin landed 234 of 879 punches thrown (27%) and Álvarez landed 202 of his 622 punches (33%). In the 12 rounds, not once did Golovkin's back touch the ropes. Alvarez backed to the ropes twice late in the fight. In eight of the 12 rounds, Golovkin outlanded Álvarez. Harold Lederman scored this second fight, as he did the first, 116-112 in favor of Golovkin. In the post-fight interviews, through a translator, Álvarez said, "I showed my victory with facts. He was the one who was backing up. I feel satisfied because I gave a great fight. It was a clear victory." He continued, "That was a great fight. But in the end, it was a victory for Mexico. And again, it was an opportunity. And I want to shout out to my opponent, the best in the sport of boxing. I am a great fighter, and I showed it tonight. If the people want another round, I’ll do it again. But for right now, I will enjoy time with my family." Golovkin did not take part in the post fight and made his way backstage, where he received stitches for a cut over his right eye. He later responded to the defeat, "I'm not going to say who won tonight, because the victory belongs to Canelo, according to the judges. I thought it was a very good fight for the fans and very exciting. I thought I fought better than he did." Golovkin's trainer Abel Sanchez, who was very critical of Álvarez following the first fight, said, "We had a great fight, the one we expected the first time around. I had it close going into the 12th round. We had good judges, who saw it from different angles. I can’t complain about the decision, but it’s close enough to warrant a third fight. Canelo fought a great fight. Congratulations." Both fighters were open to a trilogy. The fight generated a live gate of $23,473,500 from 16,732 tickets sold. This was lower than the first bout, however the fourth largest-grossing gates in Nevada boxing history. The fight sold 1.1 million PPV buys, lower than the first bout, however due to being priced at $84.95, it generated more revenue at around $94 million. Career from 2019–2023 In January 2019, Oscar De La Hoya instructed Golden Boy president Eric Gomez to start negotiating a deal for a third fight between Golovkin and Álvarez. Golden Boy had already booked in 4 May, Cinco De Mayo weekend at the T-Mobile Arena. A few days later, Gomez posted on social media, after preliminary talks with Golovkin's team, he felt as though Golovkin did not want a third fight. On 17 January, it was announced that Álvarez would take part in a middleweight unification bout against Daniel Jacobs on 4 May 2019. On 1 February, theblast.com reported that Golovkin had filed a lawsuit against his former managers Maximilian and Oleg Hermann, seeking $3.5 million in damages. In the suit it claimed the Hermann brothers had taken advantage of Golovkin financially, taking higher percentages and 'intentionally failing to account for revenue' from previous fights. At the same time, it was reported that Golovkin was negotiating a broadcast deal with DAZN, Showtime/FOX and ESPN. On 27 February, Tom Loeffler stated Golovkin was close to securing a deal, with some reports suggesting he was going to sign with DAZN. On 8 March, DAZN announced they had signed Golovkin on a 3-year, 6-fight agreement, worth around $100 million, which would see Golovkin fight twice a year on the platform. It was revealed part of the agreement was Golovkin would earn a purse of $30 million for a trilogy fight against Álvarez. Apart from Golovkin's own fights, the agreement also included for 2-fight cards per year in 2020 and 2021 for GGG Promotions, to showcase talent from Golovkin's own promotional company. It was rumoured that Golovkin was offered equity in DAZN through his fight purses. Golovkin's first bout under the new contract was scheduled for June 2019. Golovkin praised DAZN's global vision and highlighted that as one of the key reasons he signed with them. Golovkin vs. Rolls On 21 March, Golovkin advised that he wanted to fight the best of the middleweight division, regardless of belts. He wanted to close out the remainder of his career, not chasing titles, but to only fight the best and be the best middleweight. On 16 April, Golovkin announced he would fight 35 year old Canadian boxer Steve Rolls (19-0, 10 KOs) on 8 June 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York at a catchweight of 164 pounds. Other names in the running to fight Golovkin were Brandon Adams (21-2, 13 KOs), Kamil Szeremeta (19-0, 4 KO) and former world champion Hassan N'Dam. It was then reported that Adams would challenge Jermall Charlo (28-0, 21 KOs) instead. Speaking to Fight Hub TV, Loeffler explained Rolls was chosen as Golovkin's opponent to increase subscriptions in Canada. On 24 April, Golovkin released a statement announcing he had split with longtime trainer Abel Sanchez, after nine long years. Sanchez called Golovkin 'Greedy and ungrateful', also advising ESPN, Golovkin had offered him a pay cut, which he refused. In May, during a press conference, Golovkin revealed Johnathon Banks as his new trainer. Banks was best known for having trained former world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. Golovkin weighed 163 pounds, and Rolls came in at 163¾ pounds. Golovkin's official purse was listed as $2 million, however it was reported he would earn closer to $15 million. Rolls was paid $300,000. There was an announced crowd of 12,357 in attendance. Golovkin won the bout via knockout in round 4. From round 1, Golovkin began closing the gap on Rolls and looked to hurt Rolls with body shots. Round 2 was fought in similar fashion by Golovkin, who managed to land many clean shots. Rolls also had success in round 2, landing a number of clean shots, notably a left hand to the head, which pushed Golovkin back. By round 4, Rolls was feeling Golovkin's power. Golovkin backed Rolls up against the ropes and began throwing with both hands. Golovkin landed a shot to the temple on Rolls, the same shot he knocked out Marco Antonio Rubio, causing Rolls to cover up. With Golovkin's continued attack against the ropes, he landed a left hook to Rolls' chin, dropping Rolls face first on to the canvas. Rolls tried to beat the count, but ultimately fell towards the ropes. Referee Steve Willis stopped the bout at 2 minutes and 9 seconds into round 4, declaring Golovkin the winner. After 3 rounds, Golovkin was ahead 29–28, 30–27, and 30–27 on all three judges' scorecards. During the post-fight in-ring interviews, Golovkin said, "I feel great. I feel like a new baby. Right now, I feel completely different because I came back to my knockout. I love knockouts, and I love New York. It was a great night all around [...] The fans know who they want me to fight next, I'm ready for September. I'm ready for Canelo. Just bring him, just ask him. I'm ready. If you want big drama show, please tell him." New trainer Banks was pleased with the knockout. CompuBox statistics showed that Golovkin landed 62 of 223 punches thrown (28%) and Rolls landed 38 of his 175 thrown (22%). Golovkin vs. Derevyanchenko On 5 October 2019, Golovkin defeated Ukrainian Sergiy Derevyanchenko by unanimous decision for the vacant IBF and IBO middleweight titles at Madison Square Garden, New York. After a tentative start to the opening round, which saw both fighters sizing each other up with probing jabs, Golovkin fired off a six punch combination ending with a right hook to Derevyanchenko's head, dropping the Ukrainian with 1 minute left in the first round. Derevyanchenko rose to his feet within seconds, showing no signs of being hurt. The knockdown appeared to spur Derevyanchenko into action as he began to answer Golovkin's punches with his own shots for the remainder of the round. In round two, Derevyanchenko began putting three and four punch combinations together behind a single and double jab, while Golovkin stuck to single punches, landing the occasional eye-catching hook. Towards the end of the round, Golovkin opened a cut above Derevyanchenko's right eye. The action replay appeared to show the cut was caused by a left hook, however, the New York State Athletic Commission deemed it to be the result of an accidental clash of heads, meaning if the fight was stopped due to the cut before the fourth round then the fight would be ruled a no contest, after the fourth, the result would be determined by the scorecards with a technical decision rather than a technical knockout win for Golovkin if the cut was deemed to be the result of a punch. After Golovkin started the opening seconds of the third round as the aggressor, Derevyanchenko quickly fired back to the body, appearing to hurt Golovkin as he backed up and kept his elbows tucked in close to his body to protect his mid-section. Derevyanchenko took advantage of Golovkin's defensive posture, landing several clean punches to the former champion's head. Towards the end of the round Golovkin had some success with a couple of sharp hooks to the head and a right uppercut. Golovkin was the aggressor for the majority of the fourth round, having partial success, with Derevyanchenko picking his moments to fire back with two and three punch combinations and continuing to work the body. In the last minute of the round, Derevyanchenko appeared to momentarily trouble Golovkin with a straight-left hand to the body. At the beginning of the fifth round, the ringside doctor gave the cut above Derevyanchenko's right-eye a close examination before the action resumed. Derevyanchenko controlled the pace of the round with a high punch-output, continuing with three and four punch combinations with lateral movement. Golovkin, meanwhile, stuck with single hooks and probing jabs, landing a solid uppercut halfway through the round. In the final 20 seconds, Derevyanchenko landed another body shot which again appeared to hurt Golovkin, who reeled backwards with his elbows down at his side, protecting his body. The sixth was an evenly fought round with both fighters landing several clean punches to the head, although Golovkin appeared to land the more significant blows which caught the attention of the crowd. Rounds seven, eight and nine were much of the same, back and forth engagements with Golovkin seeming to land the more eye catching blows. The tenth saw Derevyanchenko apply the pressure and back Golovkin up for the first half of the round. Golovkin had success in the last minute with left and right hooks landing on Derevyanchenko's head, only to see the Ukrainian answer with his own solid shots and back Golovkin up once again in the final 30 seconds of the round. The eleventh and twelfth were closely contested, both fighters having success, with Golovkin again appearing to land the more catching punches in the twelfth and final round. After twelve hard fought rounds, Golovkin won by unanimous decision with two judges scoring the bout 115–112 and the third scoring it 114–113, all in favour of Golovkin. According to CompuBox stats, Golovkin landed a total of 243 (33.7%) punches out of 720, with 136 (43.3%) of 314 power punches, while Derevyanchenko landed a total of 230 (31.2%) punches out of 738, with 138 (29.3%) out of 472 power punches—the most an opponent has landed on Golovkin to date. In a post fight interview, promoter Eddie Hearn, who lead the promotion of DAZN in the U.S., stated: "...he won't say it, but Gennady has been ill, basically all week", alluding to the reason Golovkin did not appear on top form during the fight. Golovkin vs. Szeremeta Golovkin faced mandatory IBF challenger Kamil Szeremeta on 18 December 2020. Quickly establishing his powerful jab, Golovkin dropped Szeremeta to the canvas at the end of the first round from an uppercut followed by a left hand. Golovkin scored another knockdown in round two from a right hand followed by two more knockdowns in rounds four and seven. Between rounds seven and eight, the referee walked to Szeremeta's corner and stopped the bout. CompuBox statistics showed that Golovkin outlanded Szeremeta 228 to 59 and outlanded in jabs 94 to 10. Golovkin landed 56% of his power punches through the fight. Golovkin vs. Murata After multiple rumors of a unification match between Golovkin and WBA (Super) champion Ryōta Murata, it was announced on 27 October 2021 that a deal had been agreed between the two to stage the bout in the latter's home country of Japan, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama on 29 December 2021. On 2 December 2021, it was announced that the bout was postponed indefinitely due to announced restrictions in response to the rising Omicron variant of Covid-19 that prohibited foreigners from visiting Japan. The fight was eventually rescheduled for 9 April 2022. On the night, Golovkin defeated Murata by ninth-round technical knockout. In his first fight in over a year, Golovkin made a slow start, with Murata landing the more meaningful punches in the early rounds, sustaining attacks to the body of Golovkin. From the fifth round onward, Golovkin settled into the fight, hurting his opponent as Murata's output dropping as the fight progressed. In the ninth round, Golovkin knocked his opponent down, prompting Murata's corner to throw in the towel. Super middleweight Golovkin vs. Álvarez III On 24 May 2022, it was announced that Golovkin would be moving up to compete in the super middleweight division for the first time in his career, to face Canelo Álvarez on 17 September at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada in a trilogy bout for the latter's undisputed super middleweight titles. Golovkin lost the fight via unanimous decision with two judges scoring the fight 115–113 and the other judge had it 116–112, all in Álvarez's favor. Vacating the middleweight titles After the loss to Álvarez, Golovkin continued to hold the WBA (Super) and IBF middleweight titles. On 8 February 2023, he vacated the IBF title after being ordered to face mandatory challenger Esquiva Falcão. On 9 March 2023, Golovkin relinquished the WBA (Super) title after being ordered to face WBA (Regular) champion Erislandy Lara. Training style Golovkin is known for his hard sparring sessions, in which he often sparred with much larger opponents. His biggest sparring partner was a heavyweight, "Vicious" Vincent Thompson, who was a 243 lb prospect with a 13–0 professional record at the time. Golovkin's other notable regular sparring partners include Darnell Boone, David Benavidez, and brothers John and Julius Jackson. He occasionally sparred with Canelo Álvarez, Julio César Chávez Jr., Sergey Kovalev, Shane Mosley, Peter Quillin, and other top-ranked boxers. According to David Imoesiri, a heavyweight who worked as a sparring partner for Alexander Povetkin and completed six different training camps in Big Bear, sparred for a total of about a hundred rounds with Golovkin. Imoesiri said Golovkin routinely dispatched heavyweights and hit harder than Povetkin. Will Clemons, a cruiserweight, who worked with both Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Golovkin, said: "You know it's an experience of a lifetime, Floyd would definitely make you work, make you think a lot. 'Triple G' make[s] you fear for your life. For real, that's the kind of power he has, and everything is hard from the jab. ... I wanted to feel that power, which I did, I got what I was asking for. Usually they make you wear rib protectors. My heart's had it I didn't wanna wear one, and then I learned my lesson. I got hit with a body shot that felt like ... it was a missile. ... It was a great experience to be in there with the hardest-hitting middleweight in history." Golovkin's ex-trainer Abel Sanchez praised him for his work ethic and humility: "He has been that way since I first got him eight years ago. He is humble and shy guy, like you see him now, and it's actually pretty pleasant to be around somebody like that, who's not just 'foam at the mouth' and trying to say who he's gonna kill next." Sanchez also stated that until 2019 Golovkin did not have a strength and conditioning coach or a nutritionist, for he prefers a traditional cuisine and training regimen, and because of Sanchez's determination to not have any assistants: "Along the track of Gennady being who he has become, I would get consistently emails, and messages, and letters from coaches, and nutritionists, and strength and conditioning coaches, that would tell me that if I use them, and if I bring them in, they promised me that they can make Gennady 50% better than he is right now. Could you imagine that? We couldn't get fights before! If he was 50% better we wouldn't be able to get any fights! He would be destroying everybody, there would be nobody that he could fight." Personal life In 2006, Golovkin moved from his native Kazakhstan to Stuttgart, Germany, and then in 2013 to train with Abel Sanchez at Big Bear, California. In 2014, he moved to Santa Monica, California, where he lives with his family. He trains in Big Bear, California. He and his wife Alina have a son who is in primary school, and a daughter who was born days before his first fight with Canelo Álvarez. Golovkin speaks four languages: Kazakh, Russian, German, and English. His fraternal twin brother Maxim, an amateur boxer, joined Gennady's camp and team in 2012. Golovkin said he wanted his son to attend school in California because his training camp, team and promotions are based in California, he has many friends there and he considers it a beautiful place. Golovkin's favorite food is beef. Golovkin enjoys playing games with his son and spending time with his family. In an interview with Kazakh media, Golovkin said that he was frequently approached in the U.S. by ad- and film-making people, who asked him to make guest appearances, co-star in movies or appear in other media. Though he described himself as a media-friendly person, he added, "I avoid starring in movies, appear on magazine covers. I love boxing, and I don't want to divert from it. Right now my sports career is more important for me." Professional boxing record Pay-per-view bouts Professional boxingTotals (approximate)': 3,475,000 buys and $268,000,000 in revenue. References Video references External links Gennadiy Golovkin Partial Record from Amateur Boxing Results Gennadiy Golovkin record from Sportenote.com Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:Kazakhstani people of Korean descent Category:Kazakhstani people of Russian descent Category:Koryo-saram Category:Kazakhstani male boxers Category:Kazakhstani twins Category:Boxers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic boxers for Kazakhstan Category:Olympic silver medalists for Kazakhstan Category:Olympic medalists in boxing Category:Asian Games medalists in boxing Category:World boxing champions Category:Boxers at the 2002 Asian Games Category:Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Astana Presidential Club Category:Russian male boxers Category:AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Category:World Boxing Association champions Category:World Boxing Council champions Category:International Boxing Federation champions Category:International Boxing Organization champions Category:Asian Games gold medalists for Kazakhstan Category:Light-middleweight boxers Category:Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Category:People from Big Bear Lake, California Category:World middleweight boxing champions Category:Kazakhstani expatriate sportspeople in the United States Category:Sportspeople from Karaganda

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Mumtaz Mahal

Mumtaz Mahal (Urdu: mumtz mHal ), ([mum'ta:z me'hel]; meaning "the Exalted One of the palace"; Arjumand Banu; 27 April 1593 - 17 June 1631) was Empress consort of the Mughal Empire from 19 January 1628 to 17 June 1631 as the chief consort of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Taj Mahal in Agra, often cited as one of the Wonders of the World, was commissioned to act as her final resting place. Mumtaz Mahal was born Arjumand Banu Begum in Agra to a family of Persian nobility.

Mughal empress

Upon his accession to the throne in 1628, Shah Jahan designated Mumtaz as his chief empress with the title of 'Malika-i-Jahan' ("Queen of the World") and 'Malika-uz-Zamani' ("Queen of the Age"). Mumtaz's tenure as empress was brief (spanning a period of only three years due to her untimely death), nonetheless Shah Jahan bestowed her with luxuries that no other empress was given before her. For example, no other empress' residence was as decorated as Khas Mahal (part of Agra Fort), where Mumtaz lived with Shah Jahan. It was decorated with pure gold and precious stones and had rose water fountains of its own. Each wife of the Mughal emperor was given regular monthly allowance for her gastos (housekeeping or travelling expenses). The highest allowance on record is 10 lakh rupees per year given to Mumtaz Mahal under Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan consulted Mumtaz in both private matters and the affairs of the state and she served as his close confidante and trusted adviser. At her intercession, he forgave enemies or commuted death sentences. His trust in her was so great that he gave her the highest honour of the land -- his imperial seal, the Mehr Uzaz, which validated imperial decrees. Mumtaz was portrayed as having no aspirations to political power, in contrast to her aunt, Empress Nur Jahan, the chief consort of Emperor Jahangir, who had wielded considerable influence in the previous reign. A great influence on him, often intervening on behalf of the poor and destitute, she also enjoyed watching elephant and combat fights performed for the court. Mumtaz also patronized a number of poets, scholars and other talented persons. A noted Sanskrit poet, Vansidhara Mishra, was the Empress' favourite. On the recommendation of her principal lady-in-waiting, Sati-un-Nissa, Mumtaz Mahal provided pensions and donations to the daughters of poor scholars, theologians, and pious men. It was quite common for women of noble birth to commission architecture in the Mughal Empire, so Mumtaz devoted some time to a riverside garden in Agra, which is now known as Zahara Bagh. It is the only architectural foundation which can be connected to her patronage. CANNOTANSWER

Mumtaz Mahal (, ; ), born Arjumand Banu Begum (29 October 1593 – 17 June 1631) was the empress consort of Mughal Empire from 19 January 1628 to 17 June 1631 as the chief consort of the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal in Agra, often cited as one of the Wonders of the World, was commissioned by her husband to act as her tomb. Mumtaz Mahal was born Arjumand Banu Begum in Agra to a family of Persian nobility. She was the daughter of Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan, a wealthy Persian noble who held high office in the Mughal Empire, and the niece of Empress Nur Jahan, the chief wife of Emperor Jahangir and the power behind the emperor. She was married at the age of 19 on 10 May 1612 or 16 June 1612 to Prince Khurram, later known by his regnal name Shah Jahan, who conferred upon her the title "Mumtaz Mahal" (Persian: the exalted one of the palace). Although betrothed to Shah Jahan since 1607, she ultimately became his second wife in 1612. Mumtaz and her husband had 14 children, including Jahanara Begum (Shah Jahan's favorite daughter), and the Crown prince Dara Shikoh, the heir-apparent, anointed by his father, who temporarily succeeded him until deposed by Mumtaz Mahal's sixth child, Aurangzeb, who ultimately succeeded his father as the sixth Mughal emperor in 1658. Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631 in Burhanpur, Deccan (present-day Madhya Pradesh), during the birth of her 14th child, a daughter named Gauhar Ara Begum. Shah Jahan had the Taj Mahal built as a tomb for her, which is considered to be a monument of undying love. As with other Mughal royal ladies, no contemporary likenesses of her are accepted, but imagined portraits were created from the 19th century onwards. Family and early life Mumtaz Mahal was born as Arjumand Banu on 29 October 1593 in Agra to Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan and his wife Diwanji Begum, the daughter of a Persian noble, Khwaja Ghias-ud-din of Qazvin. Asaf Khan was a wealthy Persian noble who held high office in the Mughal Empire. His family had come to India impoverished in 1577, when his father Mirza Ghias Beg (popularly known by his title of I'timad-ud-Daulah), was taken into the service of Emperor Akbar in Agra. Asaf Khan was also the older brother of Empress Nur Jahan, making Mumtaz a niece, and later, a step daughter-in-law of Nur Jahan, the chief consort of Emperor Jahangir, Shah Jahan's father. Her older sister, Parwar Khanum, married Sheikh Farid, the son of Nawab Qutubuddin Koka, the governor of Badaun, who was also the emperor Jahangir's foster brother. Mumtaz also had a brother, Shaista Khan, who served as the governor of Bengal and various other provinces in the empire during Shah Jahan's reign. Mumtaz was remarkable in the field of learning and was a talented and cultured lady. She was well-versed in Arabic and Persian languages and could compose poems in the latter. She was reputed to have a combination of modesty and candor, a woman warmly straightforward yet bemusedly self-possessed. Early in adolescence, she attracted the attention of important nobles of the realm. Jahangir must have heard about her, since he readily consented to Shah Jahan's engagement with her. Marriage Mumtaz Mahal was betrothed to Shah Jahan around 5 April 1607, when she was 14 years old at the time and he was 15. They were, however, married five years after the year of their betrothal on 10 May 1612 or 7 June 1612 in Agra. After their wedding celebrations, Shah Jahan, "finding her in appearance and character elect among all the women of the time", gave her the title Mumtaz Mahal (). During the intervening years between their betrothal and marriage, Shah Jahan had married his first wife, Princess Kandahari Begum in 1610 and in 1617, after marrying Mumtaz, took a third wife, Izz-un-Nissa Begum (titled Akbarabadi Mahal), the daughter of a prominent Mughal courtier. According to the official court historians, both the marriages were political alliances. By all accounts, Shah Jahan was so taken with Mumtaz that he showed little interest in exercising his polygamous rights with his two other wives, other than dutifully siring a child with each. According to the official court chronicler, Motamid Khan, as recorded in his Iqbal Namah-e-Jahangiri, the relationship with his other wives "had nothing more than the status of marriage. The intimacy, deep affection, attention and favour which Shah Jahan had for Mumtaz exceeded what he felt for his other wives." Likewise, Shah Jahan's historian Inayat Khan commented that 'his whole delight was centered on this illustrious lady [Mumtaz], to such an extent that he did not feel towards the others [i.e. his other wives] one-thousandth part of the affection that he did for her.' Mumtaz had a loving marriage with Shah Jahan. Even during her lifetime, poets would extol her beauty, grace, and compassion. Despite her frequent pregnancies, Mumtaz travelled with Shah Jahan's entourage throughout his earlier military campaigns and the subsequent rebellion against his father. She was his constant companion and trusted confidant, leading court historians to go to unheard lengths to document the intimate and erotic relationship the couple enjoyed. In their 19 years of marriage, they had 14 children together (eight sons and six daughters), seven of whom died at birth or at a very young age. Mughal empress Upon his accession to the throne in 1628 after subduing his half brother, Shahryar Mirza, Shah Jahan designated Mumtaz as his chief empress with the title of Padshah Begum '(First Lady or Queen of the Great)', 'Malika-i-Jahan' ("Queen of the World") and 'Malika-uz-Zamani' ("Queen of the Age") and 'Malika-i-Hindustan ("Queen of the Hindustan"). Mumtaz's tenure as empress was brief, spanning only three years due to her untimely death, nonetheless, Shah Jahan bestowed her with magnanimous luxuries. She was also the only wife of Shah Jahan to be addressed as " Hazrat " being the mother of the heir apparent. For example, no other empress' residence was as decorated as Khas Mahal (part of Agra Fort), where Mumtaz lived with Shah Jahan. It was decorated with pure gold and precious stones and had rose-water fountains of its own. Each wife of the Mughal emperor was given a regular monthly allowance for her gastos (housekeeping or travelling expenses); the highest such allowance on record is the one million rupees per year given to Mumtaz Mahal by Shah Jahan. Apart from this income, he gave her a lot of high-income lands and properties. Shah Jahan consulted Mumtaz in both private matters and the affairs of the state, and she served as his close confidant and trusted adviser and because of this, she had enormous political power. At her intercession, he forgave enemies or commuted death sentences. His trust in her was so great that he gave her the highest honour of the land – his imperial seal, the Mehr Uzaz, which validated imperial decrees and nothing could be done without her consent. Mumtaz was portrayed as having no aspirations to political power, in contrast to her aunt, Empress Nur Jahan, the chief consort of Emperor Jahangir, who had wielded enormous power and considerable influence in the previous reign. An uncontested and great influence on him, often intervening on behalf of the poor and destitute, she also enjoyed watching elephant and combat fights performed for the court. Mumtaz also patronized a number of poets, scholars and other talented persons. A noted Sanskrit poet, Vansidhara Mishra, was the Empress's favourite. On the recommendation of her principal lady-in-waiting, Sati-un-Nissa, Mumtaz Mahal provided pensions and donations to the daughters of poor scholars, theologians, and pious men. It was quite common for women of noble birth to commission architecture in the Mughal Empire, so Mumtaz devoted some time to a riverside garden in Agra, which is now known as Zahara Bagh. It is the only architectural foundation that can be connected to her patronage. Death and aftermath Mumtaz Mahal died from postpartum hemorrhage in Burhanpur on 17 June 1631 while giving birth to her 14th child, after a prolonged labor around 30 hours. She had been accompanying her husband while he was fighting a campaign in the Deccan Plateau. Her body was temporarily buried at Burhanpur in a walled pleasure garden known as Zainabad originally constructed by Shah Jahan's uncle Daniyal on the bank of the Tapti River. The contemporary court chroniclers paid an unusual amount of attention to Mumtaz Mahal's death and Shah Jahan's grief at her demise. In the immediate aftermath of his bereavement, the emperor was reportedly inconsolable. Apparently, after her death, he went into secluded mourning for a year. When he appeared again, his hair had turned white, his back was bent, and his face worn. Mumtaz's eldest daughter, Jahanara Begum, gradually brought her father out of grief and took her mother's place at court. Mumtaz Mahal's personal fortune (valued at 10 million rupees) was divided by Shah Jahan between Jahanara Begum, who received half, and the rest of her surviving children. Burhanpur was never intended by her husband as his wife's final resting spot. As a result, her body was disinterred in December 1631 and transported in a golden casket escorted by her son Shah Shuja, the deceased empress's head lady-in-waiting, and the distinguished courtier Wazir Khan, back to Agra. There, it was interred in a small building on the banks of the Yamuna River. Shah Jahan stayed behind in Burhanpur to conclude the military campaign that had originally brought him to the region. While there, he began planning the design and construction of a suitable mausoleum and funerary garden in Agra for his wife. It was a task that would take 22 years to complete, the Taj Mahal. Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal was commissioned by Shah Jahan to be built as a mausoleum for Mumtaz Mahal. It is seen as an embodiment of undying love and marital devotion. English poet Sir Edwin Arnold describes it as "Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passion of an emperor's love wrought in living stones." The beauty of the monument is also taken as a representation of Mumtaz Mahal's beauty and this association leads many to describe the Taj Mahal as feminine. Since Muslim tradition forbids elaborate decorations on graves, the bodies of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan are placed in a relatively plain crypt beneath the inner chamber with their faces turned to the right and towards Mecca. The Ninety Nine Names of God are found as calligraphic inscriptions on the sides of the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal in the crypt including, "O Noble, O Magnificent, O Majestic, O Unique, O Eternal, O Glorious…". There are many theories about the origin of the name of this tomb and one of them suggests that 'Taj' is an abbreviation of the name Mumtaz. European travelers, such as François Bernier, who observed its construction, were among the first to call it the Taj Mahal. Since they are unlikely to have come up with the name, they might have picked it up from the locals of Agra who called the Empress 'Taj Mahal' and thought the tomb was named after her and the name began to be used interchangeably, but no firm evidence suggests this. Shah Jahan had not intended to entomb another person in the Taj Mahal; however, Aurangzeb had Shah Jahan buried next to the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal rather than build a separate tomb for his father. This is evident from the asymmetrical placement of Shah Jahan's grave on one side of his wife's grave which is in the centre. In popular culture Astronomy A crater was named in her honour on asteroid 433 Eros, along with another one after her husband. A crater on the planet Venus is named after her. Literature A cat named after Mumtaz Mahal ("Princess Arjumand") plays a major role in Connie Willis's 1997 novel To Say Nothing of the Dog. Arjumand Banu (Mumtaz Mahal) is a principal character in Indu Sundaresan's novel The Feast of Roses (2003) and its sequel, Shadow Princess (2010), begins with her death. Mumtaz Mahal is a main character in Sonja Chandrachud's novel Trouble at the Taj (2011). She appears in the book as a ghost. In John Shors' novel Beneath a Marble Sky (2013), Mahal's daughter, Princess Jahanara, tells the extraordinary story of how the Taj Mahal came to be, describing her own life as an agent in its creation and as a witness to the fateful events surrounding its completion. Manahil Bandukwala's debut poetry collection Monument (2022) is a conversation with Mumtaz Mahal. It explores themes of love, monumentalisation, legacy, family, and empire. Films Mumtaz Mahal is a 1926 Indian silent film by Homi Master. Actress Enakshi Rama Rau played the role of Mumtaz Mahal in Shiraz (1928). Mumtaz Mahal, a 1944 Indian film was based on her life. Actress Suraiya played the role of young Mumtaz Mahal in Nanubhai Vakil's film Taj Mahal (1941). Mumtaz Mahal was portrayed by actress Nasreen in Abdul Rashid Kardar's film Shahjehan (1946). Mumtaz Mahal is a 1957 Indian Hindi-language drama film by Ram Daryani, starring Veena in the titular role. Bina Rai portrayed Mumtaz Mahal in M. Sadiq's film Taj Mahal (1963). Zeba played the role of Mumtaz Mahal in S. T. Zaidi's Taj Mahal (1968). Shahzadi Mumtaz, an Indian film starring Asokan and Shakuntala released in 1977. Purnima Patwardhan portrayed her role in the 2003 Indian historical drama film, Taj Mahal: A Monument of Love. Sonya Jehan portrayed Mumtaz Mahal in Akbar Khan's film Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story (2005). Other Mumtaz Mahal was the inspiration behind the popular Guerlain perfume Shalimar (1921). Issue Ancestry References Bibliography External links Mumtaz Mahal Category:1593 births Category:1631 deaths Category:Deaths in childbirth Category:Indian Shia Muslims Category:People from Agra Category:Taj Mahal Category:16th-century Indian women Category:17th-century Indian women Category:Indian people of Iranian descent Category:Wives of Shah Jahan Category:16th-century Iranian women Category:17th-century Iranian women Category:Mothers of Mughal emperors

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Mumtaz Mahal

Mumtaz Mahal (Urdu: mumtz mHal ), ([mum'ta:z me'hel]; meaning "the Exalted One of the palace"; Arjumand Banu; 27 April 1593 - 17 June 1631) was Empress consort of the Mughal Empire from 19 January 1628 to 17 June 1631 as the chief consort of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Taj Mahal in Agra, often cited as one of the Wonders of the World, was commissioned to act as her final resting place. Mumtaz Mahal was born Arjumand Banu Begum in Agra to a family of Persian nobility.

Marriage

Mumtaz Mahal was betrothed to Shah Jahan around 30 January 1607, when she was 14 years old at the time and he was 15. They were, however, married five years after the year of their betrothal on 30 April 1612 in Agra. The marriage was a love-match. After their wedding celebrations, Shah Jahan, "finding her in appearance and character elect among all the women of the time", gave her the title "Mumtaz Mahal" Begum ("the Exalted One of the Palace"). During the intervening years between their betrothal and marriage, Shah Jahan had gotten married to his first wife, Princess Kandahari Begum in 1609 and in 1617, after marrying Mumtaz, took a third wife, Izz-un-Nissa Begum (titled Akbarabadi Mahal), the daughter of a prominent Mughal courtier. According to the official court historians, both the marriages were political alliances. By all accounts, Shah Jahan was so taken with Mumtaz that he showed little interest in exercising his polygamous rights with his two other wives, other than dutifully siring a child with each. According to the official court chronicler, Motamid Khan, as recorded in his Iqbal Namah-e-Jahangiri, the relationship with his other wives "had nothing more than the status of marriage. The intimacy, deep affection, attention and favour which Shah Jahan had for Mumtaz exceeded what he felt for his other wives." Likewise, Shah Jahan's historian Inayat Khan commented that 'his whole delight was centered on this illustrious lady [Mumtaz], to such an extent that he did not feel towards the others [i.e. his other wives] one-thousandth part of the affection that he did for her.' Mumtaz had a loving marriage with Shah Jahan. Even during her lifetime, poets would extol her beauty, grace, and compassion. Despite her frequent pregnancies, Mumtaz travelled with Shah Jahan's entourage throughout his earlier military campaigns and the subsequent rebellion against his father. She was his constant companion and trusted confidant, leading court historians to go to unheard lengths to document the intimate and erotic relationship the couple enjoyed. In their nineteen years of marriage, they had fourteen children together (eight sons and six daughters), seven of whom died at birth or at a very young age. CANNOTANSWER

Mumtaz Mahal (, ; ), born Arjumand Banu Begum (29 October 1593 – 17 June 1631) was the empress consort of Mughal Empire from 19 January 1628 to 17 June 1631 as the chief consort of the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal in Agra, often cited as one of the Wonders of the World, was commissioned by her husband to act as her tomb. Mumtaz Mahal was born Arjumand Banu Begum in Agra to a family of Persian nobility. She was the daughter of Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan, a wealthy Persian noble who held high office in the Mughal Empire, and the niece of Empress Nur Jahan, the chief wife of Emperor Jahangir and the power behind the emperor. She was married at the age of 19 on 10 May 1612 or 16 June 1612 to Prince Khurram, later known by his regnal name Shah Jahan, who conferred upon her the title "Mumtaz Mahal" (Persian: the exalted one of the palace). Although betrothed to Shah Jahan since 1607, she ultimately became his second wife in 1612. Mumtaz and her husband had 14 children, including Jahanara Begum (Shah Jahan's favorite daughter), and the Crown prince Dara Shikoh, the heir-apparent, anointed by his father, who temporarily succeeded him until deposed by Mumtaz Mahal's sixth child, Aurangzeb, who ultimately succeeded his father as the sixth Mughal emperor in 1658. Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631 in Burhanpur, Deccan (present-day Madhya Pradesh), during the birth of her 14th child, a daughter named Gauhar Ara Begum. Shah Jahan had the Taj Mahal built as a tomb for her, which is considered to be a monument of undying love. As with other Mughal royal ladies, no contemporary likenesses of her are accepted, but imagined portraits were created from the 19th century onwards. Family and early life Mumtaz Mahal was born as Arjumand Banu on 29 October 1593 in Agra to Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan and his wife Diwanji Begum, the daughter of a Persian noble, Khwaja Ghias-ud-din of Qazvin. Asaf Khan was a wealthy Persian noble who held high office in the Mughal Empire. His family had come to India impoverished in 1577, when his father Mirza Ghias Beg (popularly known by his title of I'timad-ud-Daulah), was taken into the service of Emperor Akbar in Agra. Asaf Khan was also the older brother of Empress Nur Jahan, making Mumtaz a niece, and later, a step daughter-in-law of Nur Jahan, the chief consort of Emperor Jahangir, Shah Jahan's father. Her older sister, Parwar Khanum, married Sheikh Farid, the son of Nawab Qutubuddin Koka, the governor of Badaun, who was also the emperor Jahangir's foster brother. Mumtaz also had a brother, Shaista Khan, who served as the governor of Bengal and various other provinces in the empire during Shah Jahan's reign. Mumtaz was remarkable in the field of learning and was a talented and cultured lady. She was well-versed in Arabic and Persian languages and could compose poems in the latter. She was reputed to have a combination of modesty and candor, a woman warmly straightforward yet bemusedly self-possessed. Early in adolescence, she attracted the attention of important nobles of the realm. Jahangir must have heard about her, since he readily consented to Shah Jahan's engagement with her. Marriage Mumtaz Mahal was betrothed to Shah Jahan around 5 April 1607, when she was 14 years old at the time and he was 15. They were, however, married five years after the year of their betrothal on 10 May 1612 or 7 June 1612 in Agra. After their wedding celebrations, Shah Jahan, "finding her in appearance and character elect among all the women of the time", gave her the title Mumtaz Mahal (). During the intervening years between their betrothal and marriage, Shah Jahan had married his first wife, Princess Kandahari Begum in 1610 and in 1617, after marrying Mumtaz, took a third wife, Izz-un-Nissa Begum (titled Akbarabadi Mahal), the daughter of a prominent Mughal courtier. According to the official court historians, both the marriages were political alliances. By all accounts, Shah Jahan was so taken with Mumtaz that he showed little interest in exercising his polygamous rights with his two other wives, other than dutifully siring a child with each. According to the official court chronicler, Motamid Khan, as recorded in his Iqbal Namah-e-Jahangiri, the relationship with his other wives "had nothing more than the status of marriage. The intimacy, deep affection, attention and favour which Shah Jahan had for Mumtaz exceeded what he felt for his other wives." Likewise, Shah Jahan's historian Inayat Khan commented that 'his whole delight was centered on this illustrious lady [Mumtaz], to such an extent that he did not feel towards the others [i.e. his other wives] one-thousandth part of the affection that he did for her.' Mumtaz had a loving marriage with Shah Jahan. Even during her lifetime, poets would extol her beauty, grace, and compassion. Despite her frequent pregnancies, Mumtaz travelled with Shah Jahan's entourage throughout his earlier military campaigns and the subsequent rebellion against his father. She was his constant companion and trusted confidant, leading court historians to go to unheard lengths to document the intimate and erotic relationship the couple enjoyed. In their 19 years of marriage, they had 14 children together (eight sons and six daughters), seven of whom died at birth or at a very young age. Mughal empress Upon his accession to the throne in 1628 after subduing his half brother, Shahryar Mirza, Shah Jahan designated Mumtaz as his chief empress with the title of Padshah Begum '(First Lady or Queen of the Great)', 'Malika-i-Jahan' ("Queen of the World") and 'Malika-uz-Zamani' ("Queen of the Age") and 'Malika-i-Hindustan ("Queen of the Hindustan"). Mumtaz's tenure as empress was brief, spanning only three years due to her untimely death, nonetheless, Shah Jahan bestowed her with magnanimous luxuries. She was also the only wife of Shah Jahan to be addressed as " Hazrat " being the mother of the heir apparent. For example, no other empress' residence was as decorated as Khas Mahal (part of Agra Fort), where Mumtaz lived with Shah Jahan. It was decorated with pure gold and precious stones and had rose-water fountains of its own. Each wife of the Mughal emperor was given a regular monthly allowance for her gastos (housekeeping or travelling expenses); the highest such allowance on record is the one million rupees per year given to Mumtaz Mahal by Shah Jahan. Apart from this income, he gave her a lot of high-income lands and properties. Shah Jahan consulted Mumtaz in both private matters and the affairs of the state, and she served as his close confidant and trusted adviser and because of this, she had enormous political power. At her intercession, he forgave enemies or commuted death sentences. His trust in her was so great that he gave her the highest honour of the land – his imperial seal, the Mehr Uzaz, which validated imperial decrees and nothing could be done without her consent. Mumtaz was portrayed as having no aspirations to political power, in contrast to her aunt, Empress Nur Jahan, the chief consort of Emperor Jahangir, who had wielded enormous power and considerable influence in the previous reign. An uncontested and great influence on him, often intervening on behalf of the poor and destitute, she also enjoyed watching elephant and combat fights performed for the court. Mumtaz also patronized a number of poets, scholars and other talented persons. A noted Sanskrit poet, Vansidhara Mishra, was the Empress's favourite. On the recommendation of her principal lady-in-waiting, Sati-un-Nissa, Mumtaz Mahal provided pensions and donations to the daughters of poor scholars, theologians, and pious men. It was quite common for women of noble birth to commission architecture in the Mughal Empire, so Mumtaz devoted some time to a riverside garden in Agra, which is now known as Zahara Bagh. It is the only architectural foundation that can be connected to her patronage. Death and aftermath Mumtaz Mahal died from postpartum hemorrhage in Burhanpur on 17 June 1631 while giving birth to her 14th child, after a prolonged labor around 30 hours. She had been accompanying her husband while he was fighting a campaign in the Deccan Plateau. Her body was temporarily buried at Burhanpur in a walled pleasure garden known as Zainabad originally constructed by Shah Jahan's uncle Daniyal on the bank of the Tapti River. The contemporary court chroniclers paid an unusual amount of attention to Mumtaz Mahal's death and Shah Jahan's grief at her demise. In the immediate aftermath of his bereavement, the emperor was reportedly inconsolable. Apparently, after her death, he went into secluded mourning for a year. When he appeared again, his hair had turned white, his back was bent, and his face worn. Mumtaz's eldest daughter, Jahanara Begum, gradually brought her father out of grief and took her mother's place at court. Mumtaz Mahal's personal fortune (valued at 10 million rupees) was divided by Shah Jahan between Jahanara Begum, who received half, and the rest of her surviving children. Burhanpur was never intended by her husband as his wife's final resting spot. As a result, her body was disinterred in December 1631 and transported in a golden casket escorted by her son Shah Shuja, the deceased empress's head lady-in-waiting, and the distinguished courtier Wazir Khan, back to Agra. There, it was interred in a small building on the banks of the Yamuna River. Shah Jahan stayed behind in Burhanpur to conclude the military campaign that had originally brought him to the region. While there, he began planning the design and construction of a suitable mausoleum and funerary garden in Agra for his wife. It was a task that would take 22 years to complete, the Taj Mahal. Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal was commissioned by Shah Jahan to be built as a mausoleum for Mumtaz Mahal. It is seen as an embodiment of undying love and marital devotion. English poet Sir Edwin Arnold describes it as "Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passion of an emperor's love wrought in living stones." The beauty of the monument is also taken as a representation of Mumtaz Mahal's beauty and this association leads many to describe the Taj Mahal as feminine. Since Muslim tradition forbids elaborate decorations on graves, the bodies of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan are placed in a relatively plain crypt beneath the inner chamber with their faces turned to the right and towards Mecca. The Ninety Nine Names of God are found as calligraphic inscriptions on the sides of the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal in the crypt including, "O Noble, O Magnificent, O Majestic, O Unique, O Eternal, O Glorious…". There are many theories about the origin of the name of this tomb and one of them suggests that 'Taj' is an abbreviation of the name Mumtaz. European travelers, such as François Bernier, who observed its construction, were among the first to call it the Taj Mahal. Since they are unlikely to have come up with the name, they might have picked it up from the locals of Agra who called the Empress 'Taj Mahal' and thought the tomb was named after her and the name began to be used interchangeably, but no firm evidence suggests this. Shah Jahan had not intended to entomb another person in the Taj Mahal; however, Aurangzeb had Shah Jahan buried next to the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal rather than build a separate tomb for his father. This is evident from the asymmetrical placement of Shah Jahan's grave on one side of his wife's grave which is in the centre. In popular culture Astronomy A crater was named in her honour on asteroid 433 Eros, along with another one after her husband. A crater on the planet Venus is named after her. Literature A cat named after Mumtaz Mahal ("Princess Arjumand") plays a major role in Connie Willis's 1997 novel To Say Nothing of the Dog. Arjumand Banu (Mumtaz Mahal) is a principal character in Indu Sundaresan's novel The Feast of Roses (2003) and its sequel, Shadow Princess (2010), begins with her death. Mumtaz Mahal is a main character in Sonja Chandrachud's novel Trouble at the Taj (2011). She appears in the book as a ghost. In John Shors' novel Beneath a Marble Sky (2013), Mahal's daughter, Princess Jahanara, tells the extraordinary story of how the Taj Mahal came to be, describing her own life as an agent in its creation and as a witness to the fateful events surrounding its completion. Manahil Bandukwala's debut poetry collection Monument (2022) is a conversation with Mumtaz Mahal. It explores themes of love, monumentalisation, legacy, family, and empire. Films Mumtaz Mahal is a 1926 Indian silent film by Homi Master. Actress Enakshi Rama Rau played the role of Mumtaz Mahal in Shiraz (1928). Mumtaz Mahal, a 1944 Indian film was based on her life. Actress Suraiya played the role of young Mumtaz Mahal in Nanubhai Vakil's film Taj Mahal (1941). Mumtaz Mahal was portrayed by actress Nasreen in Abdul Rashid Kardar's film Shahjehan (1946). Mumtaz Mahal is a 1957 Indian Hindi-language drama film by Ram Daryani, starring Veena in the titular role. Bina Rai portrayed Mumtaz Mahal in M. Sadiq's film Taj Mahal (1963). Zeba played the role of Mumtaz Mahal in S. T. Zaidi's Taj Mahal (1968). Shahzadi Mumtaz, an Indian film starring Asokan and Shakuntala released in 1977. Purnima Patwardhan portrayed her role in the 2003 Indian historical drama film, Taj Mahal: A Monument of Love. Sonya Jehan portrayed Mumtaz Mahal in Akbar Khan's film Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story (2005). Other Mumtaz Mahal was the inspiration behind the popular Guerlain perfume Shalimar (1921). Issue Ancestry References Bibliography External links Mumtaz Mahal Category:1593 births Category:1631 deaths Category:Deaths in childbirth Category:Indian Shia Muslims Category:People from Agra Category:Taj Mahal Category:16th-century Indian women Category:17th-century Indian women Category:Indian people of Iranian descent Category:Wives of Shah Jahan Category:16th-century Iranian women Category:17th-century Iranian women Category:Mothers of Mughal emperors

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Buck Owens

Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 - March 25, 2006) was an American musician, singer, songwriter and band leader who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band the Buckaroos. They pioneered what came to be called the Bakersfield sound, a reference to Bakersfield, California, the city Owens called home and from which he drew inspiration for what he preferred to call American music. While Owens originally used fiddle and retained pedal steel guitar into the 1970s, his sound on records and onstage was always more stripped-down and elemental. His signature style was based on simple storylines, infectious choruses, a twangy electric guitar, an insistent rhythm supplied by a drum track placed forward in the mix, and high two-part harmonies featuring Owens and his guitarist Don Rich.

Death

Buck Owens died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack on March 25, 2006, only hours after performing at his Crystal Palace restaurant, club and museum in Bakersfield. He had successfully recovered from oral cancer in the early 1990s, but had additional health problems near the end of the 1990s and the early 2000s, including pneumonia and a minor stroke suffered in 2004. These health problems had forced him to curtail his regular weekly performances with the Buckaroos at his Crystal Palace. The Los Angeles Times interviewed longtime Owens spokesman (and Buckaroos keyboard player) Jim Shaw, who said Owens "had come to the club early and had a chicken fried steak dinner and bragged that it's his favorite meal." Afterward, Owens told band members that he wasn't feeling well and was going to skip that night's performance. Shaw said a group of fans introduced themselves while Owens was preparing to drive home; when they told him that they had traveled from Oregon to hear him perform, Owens changed his mind and took the stage anyway. Shaw recalled Owens telling the audience, "If somebody's come all that way, I'm gonna do the show and give it my best shot. I might groan and squeak, but I'll see what I can do." Shaw added, "So, he had his favorite meal, played a show and died in his sleep. We thought, that's not too bad." The front of the mausoleum where Owens is buried is inscribed "The Buck Owens Family" with the words "Buck's Place" beneath. CANNOTANSWER

Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music chart. He pioneered what came to be called the Bakersfield sound, named in honor of Bakersfield, California, Owens's adopted home and the city from which he drew inspiration for what he preferred to call "American music". While the Buckaroos originally featured a fiddle and retained pedal steel guitar into the 1970s, their sound on records and onstage was always more stripped-down and elemental. The band's signature style was based on simple story lines, infectious choruses, a twangy electric guitar, an insistent rhythm supplied by a prominent drum track, and high, two-part vocal harmonies featuring Owens and his guitarist Don Rich. From 1969 to 1986, Owens co-hosted the popular CBS television variety show Hee Haw with Roy Clark (syndicated beginning in 1971). According to Owens' son Buddy Alan, the accidental 1974 death of Don Rich, his closest friend, devastated him for years and impacted his creative efforts until he mounted a comeback in the late 1980s. Owens is a member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Biography Owens was born on a farm in Sherman, Texas, United States, to Alvis Edgar Owens Sr. and Maicie Azel (née Ellington) Owens. In the biography About Buck., Rich Kienzle writes: "'Buck' was a donkey on the Owens farm." "When Alvis Jr. was three or four years old, he walked into the house and announced that his name also was "Buck." That was fine with the family, and the boy's name became "Buck" from then on." He attended public school for grades 1–3 in Garland, Texas. Owens' family moved to Mesa, Arizona, in 1937 during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. While attending school in Arizona, Owens found that while he disliked formal schoolwork, he could often satisfy class requirements by singing or performing in school plays. As a result, he began to take part in such activities whenever he could. Early career A self-taught musician and singer, Owens became proficient on guitar, mandolin, horns, and drums. When he obtained his first electric steel guitar, he taught himself to play it after his father adapted an old radio into an amplifier. Owens quit school in the ninth grade in order to help work on his father's farm and pursue a music career. In 1945, he co-hosted a radio show called Buck and Britt. Co-host Theryl Ray Britten and Owens also played at local bars, where owners usually allowed them and a third member of their band to pass the hat during a show and keep 10% of the take. They eventually became the resident musicians at a Phoenix bar called the Romo Buffet. In the late 1940s, Owens became a truck driver, a job which took him through the San Joaquin Valley of California, where he first experienced and was impressed by the town of Bakersfield. He and his first wife eventually settled there in 1951. Soon, Owens was frequently traveling to Hollywood for session recording jobs at Capitol Records, playing backup for Tennessee Ernie Ford, Wanda Jackson, Tommy Collins, Tommy Duncan, and many others. Using the pseudonym "Corky Jones" to prevent the recording of a rock 'n' roll tune from hurting his aspiring Country Music career, Owens recorded a rockabilly record called "Hot Dog" for the Pep label. Some time in the 1950s he lived with his second wife and children in Fife, Washington, where he sang with the Dusty Rhodes band. In 1958 Owens met Don Rich in Steve's Gay 90s Restaurant in South Tacoma, Washington. Owens had observed one of Rich's shows and immediately approached him about collaborating, after which Rich began playing fiddle with Owens at local venues. They were featured on the weekly BAR-K Jamboree on KTNT-TV 11. In 1959, Owens' career took off when his song "Second Fiddle" hit No. 24 on the Billboard country chart. Soon after, "Under Your Spell Again" made it to No. 4 on the charts and Capitol Records wanted Owens to return to Bakersfield, California. Following their success, Owens tried unsuccessfully to convince Rich to accompany him to Bakersfield. Instead, Rich opted to go to become a music teacher at Centralia College. While there, he tutored on the side but continued playing local venues. In December 1960, however, he left to rejoin Owens in Bakersfield. "Above and Beyond" hit No. 3. On April 2, 1960, Owens performed the song on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee. Career peak In early 1963, the Johnny Russell song "Act Naturally" was pitched to Owens, who initially didn't like it. His guitarist and longtime collaborator Don Rich, however, enjoyed it and convinced Owens to record it with the Buckaroos. Laid down on February 12, 1963, it was released on March 11 and entered the charts of April 13. By June 15 the single began its first of four non-consecutive weeks at the No. 1 position, Owens' first top hit. The Beatles recorded a cover of it in 1965 with Ringo Starr as lead singer. Starr later recorded a duet of it with Owens in 1988. The 1966 album Carnegie Hall Concert was a smash hit and further cemented Buck Owens as a top country band. It achieved crossover success on to the pop charts, reinforced by R&B singer Ray Charles releasing cover versions of two of Owens' songs that became pop hits that year: "Crying Time" and "Together Again". In 1967, Owens and the Buckaroos toured Japan, a then-rare occurrence for a country act. The subsequent live album, Buck Owens and His Buckaroos in Japan, was an early example of a country band recording outside the United States. Owens and the Buckaroos performed at the White House for President Lyndon Johnson in 1968, which was later released as a live album. Between 1968 and 1969, pedal steel guitar player Tom Brumley and drummer Willie Cantu left the band, replaced by JayDee Maness and Jerry Wiggins. Owens and the Buckaroos had two songs reach No. 1 on the country music charts in 1969, "Tall Dark Stranger" and "Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass". In 1969, they recorded a live album, Live in London, where they premiered their rock song "A Happening In London Town" and their version of Chuck Berry's song "Johnny B. Goode". During this time Hee Haw, starring Owens and the Buckaroos, was at its height of popularity. The series, originally envisioned as a country music's version of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, went on to run in various incarnations for 231 episodes over 24 seasons. Creedence Clearwater Revival mentioned Owens by name in their 1970 single "Lookin' Out My Back Door". Also between 1968 and 1970, Owens made guest appearances on top TV variety programs, including The Dean Martin Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Jackie Gleason Show and seven times on The Jimmy Dean Show. In the early 1970s, Owens and the Buckaroos enjoyed a string of hit duets with his protege Susan Raye, who subsequently became a popular solo artist with Owens as her producer. In 1971, the Buckaroos' bass guitarist Doyle Holly left the band to pursue a solo career. Holly was known for his booming deep voice on solo ballads. His departure was a setback to the band, as Doyle had received the Bass Player of the Year award from the Academy of Country Music the year before and served as co-lead vocalist (along with Don Rich) of the Buckaroos. Holly went on to record two solo records in the early 1970s, both were top 20 hits. Owens and Rich were the only members left of the original band, and in the 1970s they struggled to top the country music charts. However, the popularity of Hee Haw was allowing them to enjoy large crowds at indoor arenas. After three years of not having a number one song Owens and the Buckaroos finally had another No. 1 hit, "Made in Japan", in 1972. The band had been without pedal steel since late in 1969 when Maness departed. In April he added pedal steel guitarist, Jerry Brightman, and Owens returned to his grassroots sound of fiddle, steel, and electric guitars, releasing a string of singles including "Arms Full of Empty", "Ain't it Amazing Gracie" and "Ain't Gonna Have Ole Buck (to Kick Around no More)". Owens' original version of "Streets of Bakersfield" was released in 1972. Death of Don Rich On July 17, 1974, Owens's best friend, the Buckaroos' guitarist Don Rich, was killed when he lost control of his motorcycle and struck a guard rail on Highway 1 in Morro Bay, where he was to have joined his family for vacation. Owens was devastated. "He was like a brother, a son and a best friend," he said in the late 1990s. "Something I never said before, maybe I couldn't, but I think my music life ended when he died. Oh yeah, I carried on and I existed, but the real joy and love, the real lightning and thunder is gone forever." Owens would never fully recover from the tragedy, either emotionally or professionally. Business ventures Before the 1960s ended, Owens and manager Jack McFadden began to concentrate on Owens' financial future. He bought several radio stations, including KNIX (AM) (later KCWW) and KNIX-FM in Phoenix and KUZZ-FM in Bakersfield. During the 1990s, Owens was co-owner of the country music network Real Country, of which, the Owens-owned station KCWW was the flagship station. In 1998, Owens sold KCWW to ABC/Disney for $8,850,000 and sold KNIX-FM to Clear Channel Communications, but he maintained ownership of KUZZ until his death. Owens established Buck Owens Enterprises and produced records by several artists. He recorded for Warner Bros. Records, but by the 1980s he was no longer recording, instead devoting his time to overseeing his business empire from Bakersfield. He left Hee Haw in 1986. Later career Country artist Dwight Yoakam was largely influenced by Owens' style of music and teamed up with him for a duet of "Streets of Bakersfield" in 1988. It was Owens' first No. 1 single in 16 years. In an interview, Yoakam described the first time he met with Owens: We sat there that day in 1987 and talked about my music to that point, my short career, and what I'd been doing and how he'd been watching me. I was really flattered and thrilled to know that this legend had been keeping an eye on me. Owens also collaborated with Cledus T. Judd on the song "The First Redneck On The Internet" in 1998, in which Owens also appears in the music video. The 1990s saw a flood of reissues of Owens' Capitol recordings on compact disc, the publishing rights to which Owens had bought back in 1974 as part of his final contract with the label. His albums had been out of print for nearly 15 years when he released a retrospective box set in 1990. Encouraged by brisk sales, Owens struck a distribution deal with Sundazed Records of New York, which specializes in reissuing obscure recordings. The bulk of his Capitol catalog was reissued on CD in 1995, 1997 and in 2005. Sometime in the 1970s, Owens had also purchased the remaining copies of his original LP albums from Capitol's distribution warehouses across the country. Many of those records (still in the shrinkwrap) were stored by Owens for decades. He often gave them away as gifts and sold them at his nightclub for a premium price some 35 years later. In August 1999, Owens brought back together the remaining members of his original Buckaroo Band to help him celebrate his 70th birthday at his Crystal Palace in Bakersfield. Owens, Doyle Holly, Tom Brumley, and Wille Cantu performed old hits from their heyday including "Tiger by the Tail" and "Act Naturally." Long before Owens became the famous co-host of Hee Haw, his band became known for their signature Bakersfield sound, later emulated by artists such as Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, and Brad Paisley. Buck inspired indie country songwriter and friend Terry Fraley, whose band "The Nudie Cowboys" possessed a similar sound. This sound was originally made possible with two trademark silver-sparkle Fender Telecaster guitars, often played simultaneously by Owens and longtime lead guitarist Don Rich. Fender had made a "Buck Owens signature Telecaster," and after his death paid tribute to him. In 2003, Paisley blended creative styles with this guitar and his own Paisley Telecaster, creating what became known as the Buck-O-Caster. Initially, only two were made; one for Paisley himself and the other presented to Owens during a New Year's celebration that Paisley attended in 2004. Following the death of Rich, Owens' latter trademark became a red, white and blue acoustic guitar, along with a 1974 Pontiac convertible "Nudiemobile", adorned with pistols and silver dollars. A similar car, created by Nudie Cohn for Elvis Presley and later won by Owens in a bet, is now enshrined behind the bar at Owens' Crystal Palace Nightclub in Bakersfield. Owens would hand out replicas of his trademark acoustic guitar to friends, acquaintances, and fans. Each would contain a gold plaque with the name of the recipient. Some of these guitars cost $1000 and up. Personal life Owens was married four times, three ending in divorce and one in annulment. He married country singer Bonnie Campbell Owens in 1948. The couple had two sons, one of whom was Buddy Alan, and separated in 1951, and later divorced. In 1956 Owens married Phyllis Buford with whom he had a third son. In the 1970s he had a relationship with Hee Haw "Honey" Lisa Todd and appeared with her as "Buck Owens and his gal Lisa" on the TV game show Tattletales. In 1977 he wed Buckaroos fiddle player Jana Jae Greif. Within a few days he filed for annulment, then changed his mind; the couple continued the on-and-off marriage for a year before divorcing. In 1979 he married Jennifer Smith. Owens had three sons: Buddy Alan (who charted several hits as a Capitol recording artist in the early 1970s and appeared with his father numerous times on Hee Haw), Johnny, who now follows in his fathers footsteps & sings at the World famous Crystal Palace In Bakersfield Ca. & travels the world keeping his dad's legacy alive through his music, and finally, Michael Owens, one of his two sons from first wife & some say love of his life-Bonnie Owens. Owens successfully recovered from oral cancer in the early 1990s, but had additional health problems near the end of the 1990s and the early 2000s, including pneumonia and a minor stroke in 2004. These health problems had forced him to curtail his regular weekly performances with the Buckaroos at his Crystal Palace. Owens died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack at his ranch just north of Bakersfield on March 25, 2006, only hours after performing at his club. He was 76 years old. Owens was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996. He was ranked No. 12 in CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music in 2003. In addition, CMT also ranked the Buckaroos No. 2 in the network's 20 Greatest Bands in 2005. He was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The stretch of US Highway 82 in Sherman, Texas, is named the Buck Owens Freeway in his honor. Biographies In November 2013, Buck Owens' posthumous autobiography Buck 'Em! The Autobiography of Buck Owens by Buck Owens with Randy Poe was released. The book has a foreword by Brad Paisley and a preface by Dwight Yoakam. In a 2007 authorized biography Buck, historian Kathryn Burke gives a positive account of Owens. In Buck Owens: The Biography (2010) investigative journalist Eileen Sisk offers a critical account of Owens and the shortcomings in his private life. Discography Covers of Owens songs Vocalist–guitarist Johnny Rivers recorded a rock version of Owens's "Under Your Spell Again" on his album Meanwhile, Back at the Whiskey A GoGo in 1965. Country music singer Emmylou Harris recorded a version of Owens's "Together Again", which was released on her 1976 album Elite Hotel. The Beatles and, later, Ringo Starr recorded versions of "Act Naturally". The Beatles recorded the song in 1965, two years after Owens released it. Starr recorded it as a duet with Owens in 1988, which received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Collaboration in 1989. After his death in 2006, a medley was played by the Buck Owens All Star Tribute, which included Billy Gibbons, Chris Hillman, Brad Paisley and Travis Barker. Country artist Dwight Yoakam has cited Owens as an early influence in his career and recorded several of Owens's songs. He recorded a duet with Owens of the song "Streets of Bakersfield", originally recorded by Owens in 1973. In 2007, Yoakam released a tribute album, Dwight Sings Buck. Mark Lanegan included a cover of "Together Again" on his 1999 cover album, I'll Take Care of You. Cake covered "Excuse Me (I Think I've Got a Heartache)" on its album B-Sides and Rarities. In 2007, Austin-San Marcos, Texas band The Derailers released Under The Influence of Buck, which featured 12 covers of Owens songs, including "Under the Influence of Love". In 2011, Ben Gibbard covered "Love's Gonna Live Here". In 2011, country singer and songwriter Brad Paisley covered "Tiger by The Tail" for his studio album This Is Country Music. Footnotes References Fenster, Mark. (1998). "Buck Owens". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 399–400. Flippo, Chet: "NASHVILLE SKYLINE: Buck Owens' Supercharged Music"' cmt.com, March 30, 2006 External links Original site of Buck Owens' studio to close on 4/1/08 BuckOwensFan Buck Owens at Country Music Hall of Fame Buck Owens Sears-sold 'American' model guitar at Silvertone World Category:1929 births Category:2006 deaths Category:American country guitarists Category:American male guitarists Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American male singer-songwriters Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Singer-songwriters from Texas Category:People from Sherman, Texas Category:Starday Records artists Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Bakersfield sound Category:Musicians from Mesa, Arizona Category:Musicians from Phoenix, Arizona Category:20th-century American singers Category:Musicians from Bakersfield, California Category:20th-century American guitarists Category:Singer-songwriters from California Category:Guitarists from Arizona Category:Guitarists from California Category:Guitarists from Texas Category:Country musicians from California Category:Country musicians from Texas Category:Country musicians from Arizona Category:20th-century American male singers Category:Singer-songwriters from Arizona

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Buck Owens

Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 - March 25, 2006) was an American musician, singer, songwriter and band leader who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band the Buckaroos. They pioneered what came to be called the Bakersfield sound, a reference to Bakersfield, California, the city Owens called home and from which he drew inspiration for what he preferred to call American music. While Owens originally used fiddle and retained pedal steel guitar into the 1970s, his sound on records and onstage was always more stripped-down and elemental. His signature style was based on simple storylines, infectious choruses, a twangy electric guitar, an insistent rhythm supplied by a drum track placed forward in the mix, and high two-part harmonies featuring Owens and his guitarist Don Rich.

Early career

Owens co-hosted a radio show called Buck and Britt in 1945. In the late 1940s he became a truck driver and drove through the San Joaquin Valley of California. He was impressed by Bakersfield, where he and his wife settled in 1951. Soon, Owens was frequently traveling to Hollywood for session recording jobs at Capitol Records, playing backup for Tennessee Ernie Ford, Wanda Jackson, Tommy Collins, Tommy Duncan, and many others. Owens recorded a rockabilly record called "Hot Dog" for the Pep label, using the pseudonym Corky Jones because he did not want the fact he recorded a rock n' roll tune to hurt his country music career. Sometime in the 1950s, he lived with his second wife and children in Fife, Washington, where he sang with the Dusty Rhodes band. In 1958 Owens met Don Rich in Steve's Gay 90's restaurant in South Tacoma, Washington. Owens had observed one of Rich's shows, and immediately went to speak with him. Rich started to play fiddle with Owens at local venues. They were featured on the weekly BAR-K Jamboree on KTNT-TV 11. Owens' career took off in 1959, when his song "Second Fiddle" hit No. 24 on the Billboard country chart. Soon after, "Under Your Spell Again" made it to No. 4 on the charts and Capitol Records wanted Owens to return to Bakersfield, California. Owens tried to convince Rich to go with him to Bakersfield, but to no avail. Rich opted to go to Centralia College so that he could become a music teacher while tutoring and playing local venues, but after a year of college, he decided to drop out and join Owens in Bakersfield in December 1960. "Above and Beyond" hit No. 3. On April 2, 1960 he performed the song on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee. CANNOTANSWER

Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music chart. He pioneered what came to be called the Bakersfield sound, named in honor of Bakersfield, California, Owens's adopted home and the city from which he drew inspiration for what he preferred to call "American music". While the Buckaroos originally featured a fiddle and retained pedal steel guitar into the 1970s, their sound on records and onstage was always more stripped-down and elemental. The band's signature style was based on simple story lines, infectious choruses, a twangy electric guitar, an insistent rhythm supplied by a prominent drum track, and high, two-part vocal harmonies featuring Owens and his guitarist Don Rich. From 1969 to 1986, Owens co-hosted the popular CBS television variety show Hee Haw with Roy Clark (syndicated beginning in 1971). According to Owens' son Buddy Alan, the accidental 1974 death of Don Rich, his closest friend, devastated him for years and impacted his creative efforts until he mounted a comeback in the late 1980s. Owens is a member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Biography Owens was born on a farm in Sherman, Texas, United States, to Alvis Edgar Owens Sr. and Maicie Azel (née Ellington) Owens. In the biography About Buck., Rich Kienzle writes: "'Buck' was a donkey on the Owens farm." "When Alvis Jr. was three or four years old, he walked into the house and announced that his name also was "Buck." That was fine with the family, and the boy's name became "Buck" from then on." He attended public school for grades 1–3 in Garland, Texas. Owens' family moved to Mesa, Arizona, in 1937 during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. While attending school in Arizona, Owens found that while he disliked formal schoolwork, he could often satisfy class requirements by singing or performing in school plays. As a result, he began to take part in such activities whenever he could. Early career A self-taught musician and singer, Owens became proficient on guitar, mandolin, horns, and drums. When he obtained his first electric steel guitar, he taught himself to play it after his father adapted an old radio into an amplifier. Owens quit school in the ninth grade in order to help work on his father's farm and pursue a music career. In 1945, he co-hosted a radio show called Buck and Britt. Co-host Theryl Ray Britten and Owens also played at local bars, where owners usually allowed them and a third member of their band to pass the hat during a show and keep 10% of the take. They eventually became the resident musicians at a Phoenix bar called the Romo Buffet. In the late 1940s, Owens became a truck driver, a job which took him through the San Joaquin Valley of California, where he first experienced and was impressed by the town of Bakersfield. He and his first wife eventually settled there in 1951. Soon, Owens was frequently traveling to Hollywood for session recording jobs at Capitol Records, playing backup for Tennessee Ernie Ford, Wanda Jackson, Tommy Collins, Tommy Duncan, and many others. Using the pseudonym "Corky Jones" to prevent the recording of a rock 'n' roll tune from hurting his aspiring Country Music career, Owens recorded a rockabilly record called "Hot Dog" for the Pep label. Some time in the 1950s he lived with his second wife and children in Fife, Washington, where he sang with the Dusty Rhodes band. In 1958 Owens met Don Rich in Steve's Gay 90s Restaurant in South Tacoma, Washington. Owens had observed one of Rich's shows and immediately approached him about collaborating, after which Rich began playing fiddle with Owens at local venues. They were featured on the weekly BAR-K Jamboree on KTNT-TV 11. In 1959, Owens' career took off when his song "Second Fiddle" hit No. 24 on the Billboard country chart. Soon after, "Under Your Spell Again" made it to No. 4 on the charts and Capitol Records wanted Owens to return to Bakersfield, California. Following their success, Owens tried unsuccessfully to convince Rich to accompany him to Bakersfield. Instead, Rich opted to go to become a music teacher at Centralia College. While there, he tutored on the side but continued playing local venues. In December 1960, however, he left to rejoin Owens in Bakersfield. "Above and Beyond" hit No. 3. On April 2, 1960, Owens performed the song on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee. Career peak In early 1963, the Johnny Russell song "Act Naturally" was pitched to Owens, who initially didn't like it. His guitarist and longtime collaborator Don Rich, however, enjoyed it and convinced Owens to record it with the Buckaroos. Laid down on February 12, 1963, it was released on March 11 and entered the charts of April 13. By June 15 the single began its first of four non-consecutive weeks at the No. 1 position, Owens' first top hit. The Beatles recorded a cover of it in 1965 with Ringo Starr as lead singer. Starr later recorded a duet of it with Owens in 1988. The 1966 album Carnegie Hall Concert was a smash hit and further cemented Buck Owens as a top country band. It achieved crossover success on to the pop charts, reinforced by R&B singer Ray Charles releasing cover versions of two of Owens' songs that became pop hits that year: "Crying Time" and "Together Again". In 1967, Owens and the Buckaroos toured Japan, a then-rare occurrence for a country act. The subsequent live album, Buck Owens and His Buckaroos in Japan, was an early example of a country band recording outside the United States. Owens and the Buckaroos performed at the White House for President Lyndon Johnson in 1968, which was later released as a live album. Between 1968 and 1969, pedal steel guitar player Tom Brumley and drummer Willie Cantu left the band, replaced by JayDee Maness and Jerry Wiggins. Owens and the Buckaroos had two songs reach No. 1 on the country music charts in 1969, "Tall Dark Stranger" and "Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass". In 1969, they recorded a live album, Live in London, where they premiered their rock song "A Happening In London Town" and their version of Chuck Berry's song "Johnny B. Goode". During this time Hee Haw, starring Owens and the Buckaroos, was at its height of popularity. The series, originally envisioned as a country music's version of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, went on to run in various incarnations for 231 episodes over 24 seasons. Creedence Clearwater Revival mentioned Owens by name in their 1970 single "Lookin' Out My Back Door". Also between 1968 and 1970, Owens made guest appearances on top TV variety programs, including The Dean Martin Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Jackie Gleason Show and seven times on The Jimmy Dean Show. In the early 1970s, Owens and the Buckaroos enjoyed a string of hit duets with his protege Susan Raye, who subsequently became a popular solo artist with Owens as her producer. In 1971, the Buckaroos' bass guitarist Doyle Holly left the band to pursue a solo career. Holly was known for his booming deep voice on solo ballads. His departure was a setback to the band, as Doyle had received the Bass Player of the Year award from the Academy of Country Music the year before and served as co-lead vocalist (along with Don Rich) of the Buckaroos. Holly went on to record two solo records in the early 1970s, both were top 20 hits. Owens and Rich were the only members left of the original band, and in the 1970s they struggled to top the country music charts. However, the popularity of Hee Haw was allowing them to enjoy large crowds at indoor arenas. After three years of not having a number one song Owens and the Buckaroos finally had another No. 1 hit, "Made in Japan", in 1972. The band had been without pedal steel since late in 1969 when Maness departed. In April he added pedal steel guitarist, Jerry Brightman, and Owens returned to his grassroots sound of fiddle, steel, and electric guitars, releasing a string of singles including "Arms Full of Empty", "Ain't it Amazing Gracie" and "Ain't Gonna Have Ole Buck (to Kick Around no More)". Owens' original version of "Streets of Bakersfield" was released in 1972. Death of Don Rich On July 17, 1974, Owens's best friend, the Buckaroos' guitarist Don Rich, was killed when he lost control of his motorcycle and struck a guard rail on Highway 1 in Morro Bay, where he was to have joined his family for vacation. Owens was devastated. "He was like a brother, a son and a best friend," he said in the late 1990s. "Something I never said before, maybe I couldn't, but I think my music life ended when he died. Oh yeah, I carried on and I existed, but the real joy and love, the real lightning and thunder is gone forever." Owens would never fully recover from the tragedy, either emotionally or professionally. Business ventures Before the 1960s ended, Owens and manager Jack McFadden began to concentrate on Owens' financial future. He bought several radio stations, including KNIX (AM) (later KCWW) and KNIX-FM in Phoenix and KUZZ-FM in Bakersfield. During the 1990s, Owens was co-owner of the country music network Real Country, of which, the Owens-owned station KCWW was the flagship station. In 1998, Owens sold KCWW to ABC/Disney for $8,850,000 and sold KNIX-FM to Clear Channel Communications, but he maintained ownership of KUZZ until his death. Owens established Buck Owens Enterprises and produced records by several artists. He recorded for Warner Bros. Records, but by the 1980s he was no longer recording, instead devoting his time to overseeing his business empire from Bakersfield. He left Hee Haw in 1986. Later career Country artist Dwight Yoakam was largely influenced by Owens' style of music and teamed up with him for a duet of "Streets of Bakersfield" in 1988. It was Owens' first No. 1 single in 16 years. In an interview, Yoakam described the first time he met with Owens: We sat there that day in 1987 and talked about my music to that point, my short career, and what I'd been doing and how he'd been watching me. I was really flattered and thrilled to know that this legend had been keeping an eye on me. Owens also collaborated with Cledus T. Judd on the song "The First Redneck On The Internet" in 1998, in which Owens also appears in the music video. The 1990s saw a flood of reissues of Owens' Capitol recordings on compact disc, the publishing rights to which Owens had bought back in 1974 as part of his final contract with the label. His albums had been out of print for nearly 15 years when he released a retrospective box set in 1990. Encouraged by brisk sales, Owens struck a distribution deal with Sundazed Records of New York, which specializes in reissuing obscure recordings. The bulk of his Capitol catalog was reissued on CD in 1995, 1997 and in 2005. Sometime in the 1970s, Owens had also purchased the remaining copies of his original LP albums from Capitol's distribution warehouses across the country. Many of those records (still in the shrinkwrap) were stored by Owens for decades. He often gave them away as gifts and sold them at his nightclub for a premium price some 35 years later. In August 1999, Owens brought back together the remaining members of his original Buckaroo Band to help him celebrate his 70th birthday at his Crystal Palace in Bakersfield. Owens, Doyle Holly, Tom Brumley, and Wille Cantu performed old hits from their heyday including "Tiger by the Tail" and "Act Naturally." Long before Owens became the famous co-host of Hee Haw, his band became known for their signature Bakersfield sound, later emulated by artists such as Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, and Brad Paisley. Buck inspired indie country songwriter and friend Terry Fraley, whose band "The Nudie Cowboys" possessed a similar sound. This sound was originally made possible with two trademark silver-sparkle Fender Telecaster guitars, often played simultaneously by Owens and longtime lead guitarist Don Rich. Fender had made a "Buck Owens signature Telecaster," and after his death paid tribute to him. In 2003, Paisley blended creative styles with this guitar and his own Paisley Telecaster, creating what became known as the Buck-O-Caster. Initially, only two were made; one for Paisley himself and the other presented to Owens during a New Year's celebration that Paisley attended in 2004. Following the death of Rich, Owens' latter trademark became a red, white and blue acoustic guitar, along with a 1974 Pontiac convertible "Nudiemobile", adorned with pistols and silver dollars. A similar car, created by Nudie Cohn for Elvis Presley and later won by Owens in a bet, is now enshrined behind the bar at Owens' Crystal Palace Nightclub in Bakersfield. Owens would hand out replicas of his trademark acoustic guitar to friends, acquaintances, and fans. Each would contain a gold plaque with the name of the recipient. Some of these guitars cost $1000 and up. Personal life Owens was married four times, three ending in divorce and one in annulment. He married country singer Bonnie Campbell Owens in 1948. The couple had two sons, one of whom was Buddy Alan, and separated in 1951, and later divorced. In 1956 Owens married Phyllis Buford with whom he had a third son. In the 1970s he had a relationship with Hee Haw "Honey" Lisa Todd and appeared with her as "Buck Owens and his gal Lisa" on the TV game show Tattletales. In 1977 he wed Buckaroos fiddle player Jana Jae Greif. Within a few days he filed for annulment, then changed his mind; the couple continued the on-and-off marriage for a year before divorcing. In 1979 he married Jennifer Smith. Owens had three sons: Buddy Alan (who charted several hits as a Capitol recording artist in the early 1970s and appeared with his father numerous times on Hee Haw), Johnny, who now follows in his fathers footsteps & sings at the World famous Crystal Palace In Bakersfield Ca. & travels the world keeping his dad's legacy alive through his music, and finally, Michael Owens, one of his two sons from first wife & some say love of his life-Bonnie Owens. Owens successfully recovered from oral cancer in the early 1990s, but had additional health problems near the end of the 1990s and the early 2000s, including pneumonia and a minor stroke in 2004. These health problems had forced him to curtail his regular weekly performances with the Buckaroos at his Crystal Palace. Owens died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack at his ranch just north of Bakersfield on March 25, 2006, only hours after performing at his club. He was 76 years old. Owens was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996. He was ranked No. 12 in CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music in 2003. In addition, CMT also ranked the Buckaroos No. 2 in the network's 20 Greatest Bands in 2005. He was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The stretch of US Highway 82 in Sherman, Texas, is named the Buck Owens Freeway in his honor. Biographies In November 2013, Buck Owens' posthumous autobiography Buck 'Em! The Autobiography of Buck Owens by Buck Owens with Randy Poe was released. The book has a foreword by Brad Paisley and a preface by Dwight Yoakam. In a 2007 authorized biography Buck, historian Kathryn Burke gives a positive account of Owens. In Buck Owens: The Biography (2010) investigative journalist Eileen Sisk offers a critical account of Owens and the shortcomings in his private life. Discography Covers of Owens songs Vocalist–guitarist Johnny Rivers recorded a rock version of Owens's "Under Your Spell Again" on his album Meanwhile, Back at the Whiskey A GoGo in 1965. Country music singer Emmylou Harris recorded a version of Owens's "Together Again", which was released on her 1976 album Elite Hotel. The Beatles and, later, Ringo Starr recorded versions of "Act Naturally". The Beatles recorded the song in 1965, two years after Owens released it. Starr recorded it as a duet with Owens in 1988, which received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Collaboration in 1989. After his death in 2006, a medley was played by the Buck Owens All Star Tribute, which included Billy Gibbons, Chris Hillman, Brad Paisley and Travis Barker. Country artist Dwight Yoakam has cited Owens as an early influence in his career and recorded several of Owens's songs. He recorded a duet with Owens of the song "Streets of Bakersfield", originally recorded by Owens in 1973. In 2007, Yoakam released a tribute album, Dwight Sings Buck. Mark Lanegan included a cover of "Together Again" on his 1999 cover album, I'll Take Care of You. Cake covered "Excuse Me (I Think I've Got a Heartache)" on its album B-Sides and Rarities. In 2007, Austin-San Marcos, Texas band The Derailers released Under The Influence of Buck, which featured 12 covers of Owens songs, including "Under the Influence of Love". In 2011, Ben Gibbard covered "Love's Gonna Live Here". In 2011, country singer and songwriter Brad Paisley covered "Tiger by The Tail" for his studio album This Is Country Music. Footnotes References Fenster, Mark. (1998). "Buck Owens". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 399–400. Flippo, Chet: "NASHVILLE SKYLINE: Buck Owens' Supercharged Music"' cmt.com, March 30, 2006 External links Original site of Buck Owens' studio to close on 4/1/08 BuckOwensFan Buck Owens at Country Music Hall of Fame Buck Owens Sears-sold 'American' model guitar at Silvertone World Category:1929 births Category:2006 deaths Category:American country guitarists Category:American male guitarists Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American male singer-songwriters Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Singer-songwriters from Texas Category:People from Sherman, Texas Category:Starday Records artists Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Bakersfield sound Category:Musicians from Mesa, Arizona Category:Musicians from Phoenix, Arizona Category:20th-century American singers Category:Musicians from Bakersfield, California Category:20th-century American guitarists Category:Singer-songwriters from California Category:Guitarists from Arizona Category:Guitarists from California Category:Guitarists from Texas Category:Country musicians from California Category:Country musicians from Texas Category:Country musicians from Arizona Category:20th-century American male singers Category:Singer-songwriters from Arizona

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Mircea Eliade

Mircea Eliade (Romanian: ['mirtSea eli'ade]; March 9 [O.S. February 24] 1907 - April 22, 1986) was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day. His theory that hierophanies form the basis of religion, splitting the human experience of reality into sacred and profane space and time, has proved influential.

Childhood

Born in Bucharest, he was the son of Romanian Land Forces officer Gheorghe Eliade (whose original surname was Ieremia) and Jeana nee Vasilescu. An Orthodox believer, Gheorghe Eliade registered his son's birth four days before the actual date, to coincide with the liturgical calendar feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. Mircea Eliade had a sister, Corina, the mother of semiologist Sorin Alexandrescu. His family moved between Tecuci and Bucharest, ultimately settling in the capital in 1914, and purchasing a house on Melodiei Street, near Piata Rosetti, where Mircea Eliade resided until late in his teens. Eliade kept a particularly fond memory of his childhood and, later in life, wrote about the impact various unusual episodes and encounters had on his mind. In one instance during the World War I Romanian Campaign, when Eliade was about ten years of age, he witnessed the bombing of Bucharest by German zeppelins and the patriotic fervor in the occupied capital at news that Romania was able to stop the Central Powers' advance into Moldavia. He described this stage in his life as marked by an unrepeatable epiphany. Recalling his entrance into a drawing room that an "eerie iridescent light" had turned into "a fairy-tale palace", he wrote, I practiced for many years [the] exercise of recapturing that epiphanic moment, and I would always find again the same plenitude. I would slip into it as into a fragment of time devoid of duration--without beginning, middle, or end. During my last years of lycee, when I struggled with profound attacks of melancholy, I still succeeded at times in returning to the golden green light of that afternoon. [...] But even though the beatitude was the same, it was now impossible to bear because it aggravated my sadness too much. By this time I knew the world to which the drawing room belonged [...] was a world forever lost. Robert Ellwood, a professor of religion who did his graduate studies under Mircea Eliade, saw this type of nostalgia as one of the most characteristic themes in Eliade's life and academic writings. CANNOTANSWER

Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day. His theory that hierophanies form the basis of religion, splitting the human experience of reality into sacred and profane space and time, has proved influential. One of his most instrumental contributions to religious studies was his theory of eternal return, which holds that myths and rituals do not simply commemorate hierophanies, but, at least in the minds of the religious, actually participate in them. His literary works belong to the fantastic and autobiographical genres. The best known are the novels Maitreyi ('La Nuit Bengali' or 'Bengal Nights'), Noaptea de Sânziene ('The Forbidden Forest'), Isabel și apele diavolului ('Isabel and the Devil's Waters'), and Romanul Adolescentului Miop ('Novel of the Nearsighted Adolescent'); the novellas Domnișoara Christina ('Miss Christina') and Tinerețe fără tinerețe ('Youth Without Youth'); and the short stories Secretul doctorului Honigberger ('The Secret of Dr. Honigberger') and La Țigănci ('With the Gypsy Girls'). Early in his life, Eliade was a journalist and essayist, a disciple of Romanian philosopher and journalist Nae Ionescu, and a member of the literary society Criterion. In the 1940s, he served as cultural attaché to the United Kingdom and Portugal. Several times during the late 1930s, Eliade publicly expressed his support for the Iron Guard, a Christian fascist political organization. His political involvement at the time, as well as his other far right connections, were frequently criticised after World War II. Noted for his vast erudition, Eliade had fluent command of five languages (Romanian, French, German, Italian, and English) and a reading knowledge of three others (Hebrew, Persian, and Sanskrit). He was elected a posthumous member of the Romanian Academy. Biography Childhood Born in Bucharest, he was the son of Romanian Land Forces officer Gheorghe Eliade (whose original surname was Ieremia) and Jeana née Vasilescu. An Orthodox believer, Gheorghe Eliade registered his son's birth four days before the actual date, to coincide with the liturgical calendar feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. Mircea Eliade had a sister, Corina, the mother of semiologist Sorin Alexandrescu. His family moved between Tecuci and Bucharest, ultimately settling in the capital in 1914, and purchasing a house on Melodiei Street, near Piața Rosetti, where Mircea Eliade resided until late in his teens. Eliade kept a particularly fond memory of his childhood and, later in life, wrote about the impact various unusual episodes and encounters had on his mind. In one instance during the World War I Romanian Campaign, when Eliade was about ten years of age, he witnessed the bombing of Bucharest by German zeppelins and the patriotic fervor in the occupied capital at news that Romania was able to stop the Central Powers' advance into Moldavia. He described this stage in his life as marked by an unrepeatable epiphany. Recalling his entrance into a drawing room that an "eerie iridescent light" had turned into "a fairy-tale palace", he wrote, I practiced for many years [the] exercise of recapturing that epiphanic moment, and I would always find again the same plenitude. I would slip into it as into a fragment of time devoid of duration—without beginning, middle, or end. During my last years of lycée, when I struggled with profound attacks of melancholy, I still succeeded at times in returning to the golden green light of that afternoon. [...] But even though the beatitude was the same, it was now impossible to bear because it aggravated my sadness too much. By this time I knew the world to which the drawing room belonged [...] was a world forever lost. Robert Ellwood, a professor of religion who did his graduate studies under Mircea Eliade, saw this type of nostalgia as one of the most characteristic themes in Eliade's life and academic writings. Adolescence and literary debut After completing his primary education at the school on Mântuleasa Street, Eliade attended the Spiru Haret National College in the same class as Arșavir Acterian, Haig Acterian, and Petre Viforeanu (and several years the senior of Nicolae Steinhardt, who eventually became a close friend of Eliade's). Among his other colleagues was future philosopher Constantin Noica and Noica's friend, future art historian Barbu Brezianu. As a child, Eliade was fascinated with the natural world, which formed the setting of his very first literary attempts, as well as with Romanian folklore and the Christian faith as expressed by peasants. Growing up, he aimed to find and record what he believed was the common source of all religious traditions. The young Eliade's interest in physical exercise and adventure led him to pursue mountaineering and sailing, and he also joined the Romanian Boy Scouts. With a group of friends, he designed and sailed a boat on the Danube, from Tulcea to the Black Sea. In parallel, Eliade grew estranged from the educational environment, becoming disenchanted with the discipline required and obsessed with the idea that he was uglier and less virile than his colleagues. In order to cultivate his willpower, he would force himself to swallow insects and only slept four to five hours a night. At one point, Eliade was failing four subjects, among which was the study of the Romanian language. Instead, he became interested in natural science and chemistry, as well as the occult, and wrote short pieces on entomological subjects. Despite his father's concern that he was in danger of losing his already weak eyesight, Eliade read passionately. One of his favorite authors was Honoré de Balzac, whose work he studied carefully. Eliade also became acquainted with the modernist short stories of Giovanni Papini and social anthropology studies by James George Frazer. His interest in the two writers led him to learn Italian and English in private, and he also began studying Persian and Hebrew. At the time, Eliade became acquainted with Saadi's poems and the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh. He was also interested in philosophy—studying, among others, Socrates, Vasile Conta, and the Stoics Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus, and read works of history—the two Romanian historians who influenced him from early on were Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu and Nicolae Iorga. His first published work was the 1921 Inamicul viermelui de mătase ("The Silkworm's Enemy"), followed by Cum am găsit piatra filosofală ("How I Found the Philosophers' Stone"). Four years later, Eliade completed work on his debut volume, the autobiographical Novel of the Nearsighted Adolescent. University studies and Indian sojourn Between 1925 and 1928, he attended the University of Bucharest's Faculty of Philosophy and Letters in 1928, earning his diploma with a study on Early Modern Italian philosopher Tommaso Campanella. In 1927, Eliade traveled to Italy, where he met Papini and collaborated with the scholar Giuseppe Tucci. It was during his student years that Eliade met Nae Ionescu, who lectured in Logic, becoming one of his disciples and friends. He was especially attracted to Ionescu's radical ideas and his interest in religion, which signified a break with the rationalist tradition represented by senior academics such as Constantin Rădulescu-Motru, Dimitrie Gusti, and Tudor Vianu (all of whom owed inspiration to the defunct literary society Junimea, albeit in varying degrees). Eliade's scholarly works began after a long period of study in British India, at the University of Calcutta. Finding that the Maharaja of Kassimbazar sponsored European scholars to study in India, Eliade applied and was granted an allowance for four years, which was later doubled by a Romanian scholarship. In autumn 1928, he sailed for Calcutta to study Sanskrit and philosophy under Surendranath Dasgupta, a Bengali Cambridge alumnus and professor at Calcutta University, the author of a five volume History of Indian Philosophy. Before reaching the Indian subcontinent, Eliade also made a brief visit to Egypt. Once in India, he visited large areas of the region, and spent a short period at a Himalayan ashram. He studied the basics of Indian philosophy, and, in parallel, learned Sanskrit, Pali and Bengali under Dasgupta's direction. At the time, he also became interested in the actions of Mahatma Gandhi and the Satyagraha as a phenomenon; later, Eliade adapted Gandhian ideas in his discourse on spirituality and Romania. In 1930, while living with Dasgupta, Eliade fell in love with his host's daughter, Maitreyi Devi, later writing a barely disguised autobiographical novel Maitreyi (also known as "La Nuit Bengali" or "Bengal Nights"), in which he claimed that he carried on a physical relationship with her. Eliade received his PhD in 1933, with a thesis on Yoga practices. The book, which was translated into French three years later, had significant impact in academia, both in Romania and abroad. He later recalled that the book was an early step for understanding not just Indian religious practices, but also Romanian spirituality. During the same period, Eliade began a correspondence with the Ceylonese-born philosopher Ananda Coomaraswamy. In 1936–1937, he functioned as honorary assistant for Ionescu's course, lecturing in Metaphysics. In 1933, Mircea Eliade had a physical relationship with the actress Sorana Țopa, while falling in love with Nina Mareș, whom he ultimately married. The latter, introduced to him by his new friend Mihail Sebastian, already had a daughter, Giza, from a man who had divorced her. Eliade subsequently adopted Giza, and the three of them moved to an apartment at 141 Dacia Boulevard. He left his residence in 1936, during a trip he made to the United Kingdom and Germany, when he first visited London, Oxford and Berlin. Criterion and Cuvântul After contributing various and generally polemical pieces in university magazines, Eliade came to the attention of journalist Pamfil Șeicaru, who invited him to collaborate on the nationalist paper Cuvântul, which was noted for its harsh tones. By then, Cuvântul was also hosting articles by Nae Ionescu. As one of the figures in the Criterion literary society (1933–1934), Eliade's initial encounter with the traditional far right was polemical: the group's conferences were stormed by members of A. C. Cuza's National-Christian Defense League, who objected to what they viewed as pacifism and addressed antisemitic insults to several speakers, including Sebastian; in 1933, he was among the signers of a manifesto opposing Nazi Germany's state-enforced racism. In 1934, at a time when Sebastian was publicly insulted by Nae Ionescu, who prefaced his book (De două mii de ani...) with thoughts on the "eternal damnation" of Jews, Mircea Eliade spoke out against this perspective, and commented that Ionescu's references to the verdict "Outside the Church there is no salvation" contradicted the notion of God's omnipotence. However, he contended that Ionescu's text was not evidence of antisemitism. In 1936, reflecting on the early history of the Romanian Kingdom and its Jewish community, he deplored the expulsion of Jewish scholars from Romania, making specific references to Moses Gaster, Heimann Hariton Tiktin and Lazăr Șăineanu. Eliade's views at the time focused on innovation—in the summer of 1933, he replied to an anti-modernist critique written by George Călinescu: All I wish for is a deep change, a complete transformation. But, for God's sake, in any direction other than spirituality. He and friends Emil Cioran and Constantin Noica were by then under the influence of Trăirism, a school of thought that was formed around the ideals expressed by Ionescu. A form of existentialism, Trăirism was also the synthesis of traditional and newer right-wing beliefs. Early on, a public polemic was sparked between Eliade and Camil Petrescu: the two eventually reconciled and later became good friends. Like Mihail Sebastian, who was himself becoming influenced by Ionescu, he maintained contacts with intellectuals from all sides of the political spectrum: their entourage included the right-wing Dan Botta and Mircea Vulcănescu, the non-political Petrescu and Ionel Jianu, and Belu Zilber, who was a member of the illegal Romanian Communist Party. The group also included Haig Acterian, Mihail Polihroniade, Petru Comarnescu, Marietta Sadova and Floria Capsali. He was also close to Marcel Avramescu, a former Surrealist writer whom he introduced to the works of René Guénon. A doctor in the Kabbalah and future Romanian Orthodox cleric, Avramescu joined Eliade in editing the short-lived esoteric magazine Memra (the only one of its kind in Romania). Among the intellectuals who attended his lectures were Mihai Şora (whom he deemed his favorite student), Eugen Schileru and Miron Constantinescu—known later as, respectively, a philosopher, an art critic, and a sociologist and political figure of the communist regime. Mariana Klein, who became Șora's wife, was one of Eliade's female students, and later authored works on his scholarship. Eliade later recounted that he had himself enlisted Zilber as a Cuvântul contributor, in order for him to provide a Marxist perspective on the issues discussed by the journal. Their relation soured in 1935, when the latter publicly accused Eliade of serving as an agent for the secret police, Siguranța Statului (Sebastian answered to the statement by alleging that Zilber was himself a secret agent, and the latter eventually retracted his claim). 1930s political transition Eliade's articles before and after his adherence to the principles of the Iron Guard (or, as it was usually known at the time, the Legionary Movement), beginning with his Itinerar spiritual ("Spiritual Itinerary", serialized in Cuvântul in 1927), center on several political ideals advocated by the far right. They displayed his rejection of liberalism and the modernizing goals of the 1848 Wallachian revolution (perceived as "an abstract apology of Mankind" and "ape-like imitation of [Western] Europe"), as well as for democracy itself (accusing it of "managing to crush all attempts at national renaissance", and later praising Benito Mussolini's Fascist Italy on the grounds that, according to Eliade, "[in Italy,] he who thinks for himself is promoted to the highest office in the shortest of times"). He approved of an ethnic nationalist state centered on the Orthodox Church (in 1927, despite his still-vivid interest in Theosophy, he recommended young intellectuals "the return to the Church"), which he opposed to, among others, the secular nationalism of Constantin Rădulescu-Motru; referring to this particular ideal as "Romanianism", Eliade was, in 1934, still viewing it as "neither fascism, nor chauvinism". Eliade was especially dissatisfied with the incidence of unemployment among intellectuals, whose careers in state-financed institutions had been rendered uncertain by the Great Depression. In 1936, Eliade was the focus of a campaign in the far right press, being targeted for having authored "pornography" in his Domnișoara Christina and Isabel și apele diavolului; similar accusations were aimed at other cultural figures, including Tudor Arghezi and Geo Bogza. Assessments of Eliade's work were in sharp contrast to one another: also in 1936, Eliade accepted an award from the Romanian Writers' Society, of which he had been a member since 1934. In summer 1937, through an official decision which came as a result of the accusations, and despite student protests, he was stripped of his position at the university. Eliade decided to sue the Ministry of Education, asking for a symbolic compensation of 1 leu. He won the trial, and regained his position as Nae Ionescu's assistant. Nevertheless, by 1937, he gave his intellectual support to the Iron Guard, in which he saw "a Christian revolution aimed at creating a new Romania", and a group able "to reconcile Romania with God". His articles of the time, published in Iron Guard papers such as Sfarmă Piatră and Buna Vestire, contain ample praises of the movement's leaders (Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, Ion Moța, Vasile Marin, and Gheorghe Cantacuzino-Grănicerul). The transition he went through was similar to that of his fellow generation members and close collaborators—among the notable exceptions to this rule were Petru Comarnescu, sociologist Henri H. Stahl and future dramatist Eugène Ionesco, as well as Sebastian. He eventually enrolled in the Totul pentru Țară ("Everything for the Fatherland" Party), the political expression of the Iron Guard, and contributed to its 1937 electoral campaign in Prahova County—as indicated by his inclusion on a list of party members with county-level responsibilities (published in Buna Vestire). Internment and diplomatic service The stance taken by Eliade resulted in his arrest on July 14, 1938, after a crackdown on the Iron Guard authorized by King Carol II. At the time of his arrest, he had just interrupted a column on Provincia și legionarismul ("The Province and Legionary Ideology") in Vremea, having been singled out by Prime Minister Armand Călinescu as an author of Iron Guard propaganda. Eliade was kept for three weeks in a cell at the Siguranța Statului Headquarters, in an attempt to have him sign a "declaration of dissociation" with the Iron Guard, but he refused to do so. In the first week of August he was transferred to a makeshift camp at Miercurea-Ciuc. When Eliade began coughing blood in October 1938, he was taken to a clinic in Moroeni. Eliade was simply released on November 12, and subsequently spent his time writing his play Iphigenia (also known as Ifigenia). In April 1940, with the help of Alexandru Rosetti, he became Cultural Attaché to the United Kingdom, a posting cut short when Romanian-British foreign relations were broken. After leaving London he was assigned the office of Counsel and Press Officer (later Cultural Attaché) to the Romanian Embassy in Portugal, where he was kept on as diplomat by the National Legionary State (the Iron Guard government) and, ultimately, by Ion Antonescu's regime. His office involved disseminating propaganda in favor of the Romanian state. In 1941, during his time in Portugal, Eliade stayed in Estoril, at the Hotel Palácio. He would later find a house in Cascais, at Rua da Saudade. In February 1941, weeks after the bloody Legionary Rebellion was crushed by Antonescu, Iphigenia was staged by the National Theater Bucharest—the play soon raised concerns that it owed inspiration to the Iron Guard's ideology, and even that its inclusion in the program was a Legionary attempt at subversion. In 1942, Eliade authored a volume in praise of the Estado Novo, established in Portugal by António de Oliveira Salazar, claiming that "The Salazarian state, a Christian and totalitarian one, is first and foremost based on love". On July 7 of the same year, he was received by Salazar himself, who assigned Eliade the task of warning Antonescu to withdraw the Romanian Army from the Eastern Front ("[In his place], I would not be grinding it in Russia"). Eliade also claimed that such contacts with the leader of a neutral country had made him the target for Gestapo surveillance, but that he had managed to communicate Salazar's advice to Mihai Antonescu, Romania's Foreign Minister. In autumn 1943, he traveled to occupied France, where he rejoined Emil Cioran, also meeting with scholar Georges Dumézil and the collaborationist writer Paul Morand. At the same time, he applied for a position of lecturer at the University of Bucharest, but withdrew from the race, leaving Constantin Noica and Ion Zamfirescu to dispute the position, in front of a panel of academics comprising Lucian Blaga and Dimitrie Gusti (Zamfirescu's eventual selection, going against Blaga's recommendation, was to be the topic of a controversy). In his private notes, Eliade wrote that he took no further interest in the office, because his visits abroad had convinced him that he had "something great to say", and that he could not function within the confines of "a minor culture". Also during the war, Eliade traveled to Berlin, where he met and conversed with controversial political theorist Carl Schmitt, and frequently visited Francoist Spain, where he notably attended the 1944 Lusitano-Spanish scientific congress in Córdoba. It was during his trips to Spain that Eliade met philosophers José Ortega y Gasset and Eugeni d'Ors. He maintained a friendship with d'Ors, and met him again on several occasions after the war. Nina Eliade fell ill with uterine cancer and died during their stay in Lisbon, in late 1944. As the widower later wrote, the disease was probably caused by an abortion procedure she had undergone at an early stage of their relationship. He came to suffer from clinical depression, which increased as Romania and her Axis allies suffered major defeats on the Eastern Front. Contemplating a return to Romania as a soldier or a monk, he was on a continuous search for effective antidepressants, medicating himself with passion flower extract, and, eventually, with methamphetamine. This was probably not his first experience with drugs: vague mentions in his notebooks have been read as indication that Mircea Eliade was taking opium during his travels to Calcutta. Later, discussing the works of Aldous Huxley, Eliade wrote that the British author's use of mescaline as a source of inspiration had something in common with his own experience, indicating 1945 as a date of reference and adding that it was "needless to explain why that is". Early exile At signs that the Romanian communist regime was about to take hold, Eliade opted not to return to the country. On September 16, 1945, he moved to France with his adopted daughter Giza. Once there, he resumed contacts with Dumézil, who helped him recover his position in academia. On Dumézil's recommendation, he taught at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris. It was estimated that, at the time, it was not uncommon for him to work 15 hours a day. Eliade married a second time, to the Romanian exile Christinel Cotescu. His second wife, the descendant of boyars, was the sister-in-law of the conductor Ionel Perlea. Together with Emil Cioran and other Romanian expatriates, Eliade rallied with the former diplomat Alexandru Busuioceanu, helping him publicize anti-communist opinion to the Western European public. He was also briefly involved in publishing a Romanian-language magazine, titled Luceafărul ("The Morning Star"), and was again in contact with Mihai Șora, who had been granted a scholarship to study in France, and with Șora's wife Mariana. In 1947, he was facing material constraints, and Ananda Coomaraswamy found him a job as a French-language teacher in the United States, at a school in Arizona; the arrangement ended upon Coomaraswamy's death in September. Beginning in 1948, he wrote for the journal Critique, edited by French philosopher Georges Bataille. The following year, he went on a visit to Italy, where he wrote the first 300 pages of his novel Noaptea de Sânziene (he visited the country a third time in 1952). He collaborated with Carl Jung and the Eranos circle after Henry Corbin recommended him in 1949, and wrote for the Antaios magazine (edited by Ernst Jünger). In 1950, Eliade began attending Eranos conferences, meeting Jung, Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn, Gershom Scholem and Paul Radin. He described Eranos as "one of the most creative cultural experiences of the modern Western world." In October 1956, he moved to the United States, settling in Chicago the following year. He had been invited by Joachim Wach to give a series of lectures at Wach's home institution, the University of Chicago. Eliade and Wach are generally admitted to be the founders of the "Chicago school" that basically defined the study of religions for the second half of the 20th century. Upon Wach's death before the lectures were delivered, Eliade was appointed as his successor, becoming, in 1964, the Sewell Avery Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions. Beginning in 1954, with the first edition of his volume on Eternal Return, Eliade also enjoyed commercial success: the book went through several editions under different titles, and sold over 100,000 copies. In 1966, Mircea Eliade became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He also worked as editor-in-chief of Macmillan Publishers' Encyclopedia of Religion, and, in 1968, lectured in religious history at the University of California, Santa Barbara. It was also during that period that Mircea Eliade completed his voluminous and influential History of Religious Ideas, which grouped together the overviews of his main original interpretations of religious history. He occasionally traveled out of the United States, attending the Congress for the History of Religions in Marburg (1960), and visiting Sweden and Norway in 1970. Final years and death Initially, Eliade was attacked with virulence by the Romanian Communist Party press, chiefly by România Liberă—which described him as "the Iron Guard's ideologue, enemy of the working class, apologist of Salazar's dictatorship". However, the regime also made secretive attempts to enlist his and Cioran's support: Haig Acterian's widow, theater director Marietta Sadova, was sent to Paris in order to re-establish contacts with the two. Although the move was planned by Romanian officials, her encounters were to be used as evidence incriminating her at a February 1960 trial for treason (where Constantin Noica and Dinu Pillat were the main defendants). Romania's secret police, the Securitate, also portrayed Eliade as a spy for the British Secret Intelligence Service and a former agent of the Gestapo. He was slowly rehabilitated at home beginning in the early 1960s, under the rule of Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej. In the 1970s, Eliade was approached by the Nicolae Ceaușescu regime in several ways, in order to have him return. The move was prompted by the officially sanctioned nationalism and Romania's claim to independence from the Eastern Bloc, as both phenomena came to see Eliade's prestige as an asset. An unprecedented event occurred with the interview that was granted by Mircea Eliade to poet Adrian Păunescu, during the latter's 1970 visit to Chicago; Eliade complimented both Păunescu's activism and his support for official tenets, expressing a belief that the youth of Eastern Europe is clearly superior to that of Western Europe. [...] I am convinced that, within ten years, the young revolutionary generation shan't be behaving as does today the noisy minority of Western contesters. [...] Eastern youth have seen the abolition of traditional institutions, have accepted it [...] and are not yet content with the structures enforced, but rather seek to improve them. Păunescu's visit to Chicago was followed by those of the nationalist official writer Eugen Barbu and by Eliade's friend Constantin Noica (who had since been released from jail). At the time, Eliade contemplated returning to Romania, but was eventually persuaded by fellow Romanian intellectuals in exile (including Radio Free Europe's Virgil Ierunca and Monica Lovinescu) to reject Communist proposals. In 1977, he joined other exiled Romanian intellectuals in signing a telegram protesting the repressive measures newly enforced by the Ceaușescu regime. Writing in 2007, Romanian anthropologist Andrei Oișteanu recounted how, around 1984, the Securitate unsuccessfully attempted to become an agent of influence in Eliade's Chicago circle. During his later years, Eliade's past was progressively exposed publicly, the stress of which probably contributed to the decline of his health. By then, his writing career was hampered by severe arthritis. The last academic honors bestowed upon him were the French Academy's Bordin Prize (1977) and the title of Doctor Honoris Causa, granted by George Washington University (1985). Mircea Eliade died at the Bernard Mitchell Hospital in April 1986. Eight days previously, he suffered a stroke while reading Emil Cioran's Exercises of Admiration, and had subsequently lost his speech function. Four months before, a fire had destroyed part of his office at the Meadville Lombard Theological School (an event which he had interpreted as an omen). Eliade's Romanian disciple Ioan Petru Culianu, who recalled the scientific community's reaction to the news, described Eliade's death as "a mahaparanirvana", thus comparing it to the passing of Gautama Buddha. His body was cremated in Chicago, and the funeral ceremony was held on University grounds, at the Rockefeller Chapel. It was attended by 1,200 people, and included a public reading of Eliade's text in which he recalled the epiphany of his childhood—the lecture was given by novelist Saul Bellow, Eliade's colleague at the university. His student and the bearer of his legacy, Charles H. Long, co-founder of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School, gave the eulogy. His grave is located in Oak Woods Cemetery. Work The general nature of religion In his work on the history of religion, Eliade is most highly regarded for his writings on Alchemy, Shamanism, Yoga and what he called the eternal return—the implicit belief, supposedly present in religious thought in general, that religious behavior is not only an imitation of, but also a participation in, sacred events, and thus restores the mythical time of origins. Eliade's thinking was in part influenced by Rudolf Otto, Gerardus van der Leeuw, Nae Ionescu and the writings of the Traditionalist School (René Guénon and Julius Evola). For instance, Eliade's The Sacred and the Profane partially builds on Otto's The Idea of the Holy to show how religion emerges from the experience of the sacred, and myths of time and nature. Eliade is known for his attempt to find broad, cross-cultural parallels and unities in religion, particularly in myths. Wendy Doniger, Eliade's colleague from 1978 until his death, has observed that "Eliade argued boldly for universals where he might more safely have argued for widely prevalent patterns." His Treatise on the History of Religions was praised by French philologist Georges Dumézil for its coherence and ability to synthesize diverse and distinct mythologies. Robert Ellwood describes Eliade's approach to religion as follows. Eliade approaches religion by imagining an ideally "religious" person, whom he calls homo religiosus in his writings. Eliade's theories basically describe how this homo religiosus would view the world. This does not mean that all religious practitioners actually think and act like homo religiosus. Instead, it means that religious behavior "says through its own language" that the world is as homo religiosus would see it, whether or not the real-life participants in religious behavior are aware of it. However, Ellwood writes that Eliade "tends to slide over that last qualification", implying that traditional societies actually thought like homo religiosus. Sacred and profane Eliade argues that "Yahweh is both kind and wrathful; the God of the Christian mystics and theologians is terrible and gentle at once." He also thought that the Indian and Chinese mystic tried to attain "a state of perfect indifference and neutrality" that resulted in a coincidence of opposites in which "pleasure and pain, desire and repulsion, cold and heat [...] are expunged from his awareness." Eliade's understanding of religion centers on his concept of hierophany (manifestation of the Sacred)—a concept that includes, but is not limited to, the older and more restrictive concept of theophany (manifestation of a god). From the perspective of religious thought, Eliade argues, hierophanies give structure and orientation to the world, establishing a sacred order. The "profane" space of nonreligious experience can only be divided up geometrically: it has no "qualitative differentiation and, hence, no orientation [is] given by virtue of its inherent structure." Thus, profane space gives man no pattern for his behavior. In contrast to profane space, the site of a hierophany has a sacred structure to which religious man conforms himself. A hierophany amounts to a "revelation of an absolute reality, opposed to the non-reality of the vast surrounding expanse." As an example of "sacred space" demanding a certain response from man, Eliade gives the story of Moses halting before Yahweh's manifestation as a burning bush (Exodus 3:5) and taking off his shoes. Origin myths and sacred time Eliade notes that, in traditional societies, myth represents the absolute truth about primordial time. According to the myths, this was the time when the Sacred first appeared, establishing the world's structure—myths claim to describe the primordial events that made society and the natural world be that which they are. Eliade argues that all myths are, in that sense, origin myths: "myth, then, is always an account of a creation." Many traditional societies believe that the power of a thing lies in its origin. If origin is equivalent to power, then "it is the first manifestation of a thing that is significant and valid" (a thing's reality and value therefore lies only in its first appearance). According to Eliade's theory, only the Sacred has value, only a thing's first appearance has value and, therefore, only the Sacred's first appearance has value. Myth describes the Sacred's first appearance; therefore, the mythical age is sacred time, the only time of value: "primitive man was interested only in the beginnings [...] to him it mattered little what had happened to himself, or to others like him, in more or less distant times." Eliade postulated this as the reason for the "nostalgia for origins" that appears in many religions, the desire to return to a primordial Paradise. Eternal return and "Terror of history" Eliade argues that traditional man attributes no value to the linear march of historical events: only the events of the mythical age have value. To give his own life value, traditional man performs myths and rituals. Because the Sacred's essence lies only in the mythical age, only in the Sacred's first appearance, any later appearance is actually the first appearance; by recounting or re-enacting mythical events, myths and rituals "re-actualize" those events. Eliade often uses the term "archetypes" to refer to the mythical models established by the Sacred, although Eliade's use of the term should be distinguished from the use of the term in Jungian psychology. Thus, argues Eliade, religious behavior does not only commemorate, but also participates in, sacred events: In imitating the exemplary acts of a god or of a mythical hero, or simply by recounting their adventures, the man of an archaic society detaches himself from profane time and magically re-enters the Great Time, the sacred time. Eliade called this concept the "eternal return" (distinguished from the philosophical concept of "eternal return"). Wendy Doniger noted that Eliade's theory of the eternal return "has become a truism in the study of religions." Eliade attributes the well-known "cyclic" vision of time in ancient thought to belief in the eternal return. For instance, the New Year ceremonies among the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians, and other Near Eastern peoples re-enacted their cosmogonic myths. Therefore, by the logic of the eternal return, each New Year ceremony was the beginning of the world for these peoples. According to Eliade, these peoples felt a need to return to the Beginning at regular intervals, turning time into a circle. Eliade argues that yearning to remain in the mythical age causes a "terror of history": traditional man desires to escape the linear succession of events (which, Eliade indicated, he viewed as empty of any inherent value or sacrality). Eliade suggests that the abandonment of mythical thought and the full acceptance of linear, historical time, with its "terror", is one of the reasons for modern man's anxieties. Traditional societies escape this anxiety to an extent, as they refuse to completely acknowledge historical time. But the return to the sources involved an apocalyptic experience. Doina Ruști, analyzing the storyThe Old Man and The Bureaucrats (Pe strada Mântuleasa), says The memories create the chaos, because "the myth makes irruption in a world in tormented birth, without memory, and transform all in a labyrinth". Coincidentia oppositorum Eliade claims that many myths, rituals, and mystical experiences involve a "coincidence of opposites," or coincidentia oppositorum. In fact, he calls the coincidentia oppositorum "the mythical pattern." Many myths, Eliade notes, "present us with a twofold revelation": they express on the one hand the diametrical opposition of two divine figures sprung from one and the same principle and destined, in many versions, to be reconciled at some illud tempus of eschatology, and on the other, the coincidentia oppositorum in the very nature of the divinity, which shows itself, by turns or even simultaneously, benevolent and terrible, creative and destructive, solar and serpentine, and so on (in other words, actual and potential). Eliade argues that "Yahweh is both kind and wrathful; the God of the Christian mystics and theologians is terrible and gentle at once." He also thought that the Indian and Chinese mystic tried to attain "a state of perfect indifference and neutrality" that resulted in a coincidence of opposites in which "pleasure and pain, desire and repulsion, cold and heat [...] are expunged from his awareness". According to Eliade, the coincidentia oppositorums appeal lies in "man's deep dissatisfaction with his actual situation, with what is called the human condition". In many mythologies, the end of the mythical age involves a "fall", a fundamental "ontological change in the structure of the World". Because the coincidentia oppositorum is a contradiction, it represents a denial of the world's current logical structure, a reversal of the "fall". Also, traditional man's dissatisfaction with the post-mythical age expresses itself as a feeling of being "torn and separate". In many mythologies, the lost mythical age was a Paradise, "a paradoxical state in which the contraries exist side by side without conflict, and the multiplications form aspects of a mysterious Unity". The coincidentia oppositorum expresses a wish to recover the lost unity of the mythical Paradise, for it presents a reconciliation of opposites and the unification of diversity: On the level of pre-systematic thought, the mystery of totality embodies man's endeavor to reach a perspective in which the contraries are abolished, the Spirit of Evil reveals itself as a stimulant of Good, and Demons appear as the night aspect of the Gods. Exceptions to the general nature Eliade acknowledges that not all religious behavior has all the attributes described in his theory of sacred time and the eternal return. The Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions embrace linear, historical time as sacred or capable of sanctification, while some Eastern traditions largely reject the notion of sacred time, seeking escape from the cycles of time. Because they contain rituals, Judaism and Christianity necessarily—Eliade argues—retain a sense of cyclic time: by the very fact that it is a religion, Christianity had to keep at least one mythical aspect—liturgical Time, that is, the periodic rediscovery of the illud tempus of the beginnings [and] an imitation of the Christ as exemplary pattern. However, Judaism and Christianity do not see time as a circle endlessly turning on itself; nor do they see such a cycle as desirable, as a way to participate in the Sacred. Instead, these religions embrace the concept of linear history progressing toward the Messianic Age or the Last Judgment, thus initiating the idea of "progress" (humans are to work for a Paradise in the future). However, Eliade's understanding of Judaeo-Christian eschatology can also be understood as cyclical in that the "end of time" is a return to God: "The final catastrophe will put an end to history, hence will restore man to eternity and beatitude." The pre-Islamic Persian religion of Zoroastrianism, which made a notable "contribution to the religious formation of the West", also has a linear sense of time; although, according to Eliade, the Hebrews' linear sense of time predates their being influenced by Zoroastrianism. In fact, Eliade identifies the Hebrews, not the Zoroastrians, as the first culture to truly "valorize" historical time, the first to see all major historical events as episodes in a continuous divine revelation. However, Eliade argues, Judaism elaborated its mythology of linear time by adding elements borrowed from Zoroastrianism—including ethical dualism, a savior figure, the future resurrection of the body, and the idea of cosmic progress toward "the final triumph of Good." The Indian religions of the East generally retain a cyclic view of time—for instance, the Hindu doctrine of kalpas. According to Eliade, most religions that accept the cyclic view of time also embrace it: they see it as a way to return to the sacred time. However, in Buddhism, Jainism, and some forms of Hinduism, the Sacred lies outside the flux of the material world (called maya, or "illusion"), and one can only reach it by escaping from the cycles of time. Because the Sacred lies outside cyclic time, which conditions humans, people can only reach the Sacred by escaping the human condition. According to Eliade, Yoga techniques aim at escaping the limitations of the body, allowing the soul (atman) to rise above maya and reach the Sacred (nirvana, moksha). Imagery of "freedom", and of death to one's old body and rebirth with a new body, occur frequently in Yogic texts, representing escape from the bondage of the temporal human condition. Eliade discusses these themes in detail in Yoga: Immortality and Freedom. Symbolism of the Center A recurrent theme in Eliade's myth analysis is the axis mundi, the Center of the World. According to Eliade, the Cosmic Center is a necessary corollary to the division of reality into the Sacred and the profane. The Sacred contains all value, and the world gains purpose and meaning only through hierophanies: In the homogeneous and infinite expanse, in which no point of reference is possible and hence no orientation is established, the hierophany reveals an absolute fixed point, a center. Because profane space gives man no orientation for his life, the Sacred must manifest itself in a hierophany, thereby establishing a sacred site around which man can orient himself. The site of a hierophany establishes a "fixed point, a center". This Center abolishes the "homogeneity and relativity of profane space", for it becomes "the central axis for all future orientation". A manifestation of the Sacred in profane space is, by definition, an example of something breaking through from one plane of existence to another. Therefore, the initial hierophany that establishes the Center must be a point at which there is contact between different planes—this, Eliade argues, explains the frequent mythical imagery of a Cosmic Tree or Pillar joining Heaven, Earth, and the underworld. Eliade noted that, when traditional societies found a new territory, they often perform consecrating rituals that reenact the hierophany that established the center and founded the world. In addition, the designs of traditional buildings, especially temples, usually imitate the mythical image of the axis mundi joining the different cosmic levels. For instance, the Babylonian ziggurats were built to resemble cosmic mountains passing through the heavenly spheres, and the rock of the Temple in Jerusalem was supposed to reach deep into the tehom, or primordial waters. According to the logic of the eternal return, the site of each such symbolic Center will actually be the Center of the World: It may be said, in general, that the majority of the sacred and ritual trees that we meet with in the history of religions are only replicas, imperfect copies of this exemplary archetype, the Cosmic Tree. Thus, all these sacred trees are thought of as situated at the Centre of the World, and all the ritual trees or posts [...] are, as it were, magically projected into the Centre of the World. According to Eliade's interpretation, religious man apparently feels the need to live not only near, but at, the mythical Center as much as possible, given that the center is the point of communication with the Sacred. Thus, Eliade argues, many traditional societies share common outlines in their mythical geographies. In the middle of the known world is the sacred Center, "a place that is sacred above all"; this Center anchors the established order. Around the sacred Center lies the known world, the realm of established order; and beyond the known world is a chaotic and dangerous realm, "peopled by ghosts, demons, [and] 'foreigners' (who are [identified with] demons and the souls of the dead)". According to Eliade, traditional societies place their known world at the Center because (from their perspective) their known world is the realm that obeys a recognizable order, and it therefore must be the realm in which the Sacred manifests itself; the regions beyond the known world, which seem strange and foreign, must lie far from the center, outside the order established by the Sacred. The High God According to some "evolutionistic" theories of religion, especially that of Edward Burnett Tylor, cultures naturally progress from animism and polytheism to monotheism. According to this view, more advanced cultures should be more monotheistic, and more primitive cultures should be more polytheistic. However, many of the most "primitive", pre-agricultural societies believe in a supreme sky-god. Thus, according to Eliade, post-19th-century scholars have rejected Tylor's theory of evolution from animism. Based on the discovery of supreme sky-gods among "primitives", Eliade suspects that the earliest humans worshiped a heavenly Supreme Being. In Patterns in Comparative Religion, he writes, "The most popular prayer in the world is addressed to 'Our Father who art in heaven.' It is possible that man's earliest prayers were addressed to the same heavenly father." However, Eliade disagrees with Wilhelm Schmidt, who thought the earliest form of religion was a strict monotheism. Eliade dismisses this theory of "primordial monotheism" (Urmonotheismus) as "rigid" and unworkable. "At most," he writes, "this schema [Schmidt's theory] renders an account of human [religious] evolution since the Paleolithic era". If an Urmonotheismus did exist, Eliade adds, it probably differed in many ways from the conceptions of God in many modern monotheistic faiths: for instance, the primordial High God could manifest himself as an animal without losing his status as a celestial Supreme Being. According to Eliade, heavenly Supreme Beings are actually less common in more advanced cultures. Eliade speculates that the discovery of agriculture brought a host of fertility gods and goddesses into the forefront, causing the celestial Supreme Being to fade away and eventually vanish from many ancient religions. Even in primitive hunter-gatherer societies, the High God is a vague, distant figure, dwelling high above the world. Often he has no cult and receives prayer only as a last resort, when all else has failed. Eliade calls the distant High God a deus otiosus ("idle god"). In belief systems that involve a deus otiosus, the distant High God is believed to have been closer to humans during the mythical age. After finishing his works of creation, the High God "forsook the earth and withdrew into the highest heaven". This is an example of the Sacred's distance from "profane" life, life lived after the mythical age: by escaping from the profane condition through religious behavior, figures such as the shaman return to the conditions of the mythical age, which include nearness to the High God ("by his flight or ascension, the shaman [...] meets the God of Heaven face to face and speaks directly to him, as man sometimes did in illo tempore"). The shamanistic behaviors surrounding the High God are a particularly clear example of the eternal return. Shamanism Eliade's scholarly work includes a study of shamanism, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, a survey of shamanistic practices in different areas. His Myths, Dreams and Mysteries also addresses shamanism in some detail. In Shamanism, Eliade argues for a restrictive use of the word shaman: it should not apply to just any magician or medicine man, as that would make the term redundant; at the same time, he argues against restricting the term to the practitioners of the sacred of Siberia and Central Asia (it is from one of the titles for this function, namely, šamán, considered by Eliade to be of Tungusic origin, that the term itself was introduced into Western languages). Eliade defines a shaman as follows: he is believed to cure, like all doctors, and to perform miracles of the fakir type, like all magicians [...] But beyond this, he is a psychopomp, and he may also be a priest, mystic, and poet. If we define shamanism this way, Eliade claims, we find that the term covers a collection of phenomena that share a common and unique "structure" and "history." (When thus defined, shamanism tends to occur in its purest forms in hunting and pastoral societies like those of Siberia and Central Asia, which revere a celestial High God "on the way to becoming a deus otiosus." Eliade takes the shamanism of those regions as his most representative example.) In his examinations of shamanism, Eliade emphasizes the shaman's attribute of regaining man's condition before the "Fall" out of sacred time: "The most representative mystical experience of the archaic societies, that of shamanism, betrays the Nostalgia for Paradise, the desire to recover the state of freedom and beatitude before 'the Fall'." This concern—which, by itself, is the concern of almost all religious behavior, according to Eliade—manifests itself in specific ways in shamanism. Death, resurrection and secondary functions According to Eliade, one of the most common shamanistic themes is the shaman's supposed death and resurrection. This occurs in particular during his initiation. Often, the procedure is supposed to be performed by spirits who dismember the shaman and strip the flesh from his bones, then put him back together and revive him. In more than one way, this death and resurrection represents the shaman's elevation above human nature. First, the shaman dies so that he can rise above human nature on a quite literal level. After he has been dismembered by the initiatory spirits, they often replace his old organs with new, magical ones (the shaman dies to his profane self so that he can rise again as a new, sanctified, being). Second, by being reduced to his bones, the shaman experiences rebirth on a more symbolic level: in many hunting and herding societies, the bone represents the source of life, so reduction to a skeleton "is equivalent to re-entering the womb of this primordial life, that is, to a complete renewal, a mystical rebirth". Eliade considers this return to the source of life essentially equivalent to the eternal return. Third, the shamanistic phenomenon of repeated death and resurrection also represents a transfiguration in other ways. The shaman dies not once but many times: having died during initiation and risen again with new powers, the shaman can send his spirit out of his body on errands; thus, his whole career consists of repeated deaths and resurrections. The shaman's new ability to die and return to life shows that he is no longer bound by the laws of profane time, particularly the law of death: "the ability to 'die' and come to life again [...] denotes that [the shaman] has surpassed the human condition." Having risen above the human condition, the shaman is not bound by the flow of history. Therefore, he enjoys the conditions of the mythical age. In many myths, humans can speak with animals; and, after their initiations, many shamans claim to be able to communicate with animals. According to Eliade, this is one manifestation of the shaman's return to "the illud tempus described to us by the paradisiac myths." The shaman can descend to the underworld or ascend to heaven, often by climbing the World Tree, the cosmic pillar, the sacred ladder, or some other form of the axis mundi. Often, the shaman will ascend to heaven to speak with the High God. Because the gods (particularly the High God, according to Eliade's deus otiosus concept) were closer to humans during the mythical age, the shaman's easy communication with the High God represents an abolition of history and a return to the mythical age. Because of his ability to communicate with the gods and descend to the land of the dead, the shaman frequently functions as a psychopomp and a medicine man. Philosophy Early contributions In addition to his political essays, the young Mircea Eliade authored others, philosophical in content. Connected with the ideology of Trăirism, they were often prophetic in tone, and saw Eliade being hailed as a herald by various representatives of his generation. When Eliade was 21 years old and publishing his Itinerar spiritual, literary critic Şerban Cioculescu described him as "the column leader of the spiritually mystical and Orthodox youth." Cioculescu discussed his "impressive erudition", but argued that it was "occasionally plethoric, poetically inebriating itself through abuse." Cioculescu's colleague Perpessicius saw the young author and his generation as marked by "the specter of war", a notion he connected to various essays of the 1920s and 30s in which Eliade threatened the world with the verdict that a new conflict was looming (while asking that young people be allowed to manifest their will and fully experience freedom before perishing). One of Eliade's noted contributions in this respect was the 1932 Soliloquii ('Soliloquies'), which explored existential philosophy. George Călinescu who saw in it "an echo of Nae Ionescu's lectures", traced a parallel with the essays of another of Ionescu's disciples, Emil Cioran, while noting that Cioran's were "of a more exulted tone and written in the aphoristic form of Kierkegaard." Călinescu recorded Eliade's rejection of objectivity, citing the author's stated indifference towards any "naïveté" or "contradictions" that the reader could possibly reproach him, as well as his dismissive thoughts of "theoretical data" and mainstream philosophy in general (Eliade saw the latter as "inert, infertile and pathogenic"). Eliade thus argued, "a sincere brain is unassailable, for it denies itself to any relationship with outside truths." The young writer was however careful to clarify that the existence he took into consideration was not the life of "instincts and personal idiosyncrasies", which he believed determined the lives of many humans, but that of a distinct set comprising "personalities". He described "personalities" as characterized by both "purpose" and "a much more complicated and dangerous alchemy." This differentiation, George Călinescu believed, echoed Ionescu's metaphor of man, seen as "the only animal who can fail at living", and the duck, who "shall remain a duck no matter what it does". According to Eliade, the purpose of personalities is infinity: "consciously and gloriously bringing [existence] to waste, into as many skies as possible, continuously fulfilling and polishing oneself, seeking ascent and not circumference." In Eliade's view, two roads await man in this process. One is glory, determined by either work or procreation, and the other the asceticism of religion or magic—both, Călinescu believed, were aimed at reaching the absolute, even in those cases where Eliade described the latter as an "abyssal experience" into which man may take the plunge. The critic pointed out that the addition of "a magical solution" to the options taken into consideration seemed to be Eliade's own original contributions to his mentor's philosophy, and proposed that it may have owed inspiration to Julius Evola and his disciples. He also recorded that Eliade applied this concept to human creation, and specifically to artistic creation, citing him describing the latter as "a magical joy, the victorious break of the iron circle" (a reflection of imitatio dei, having salvation for its ultimate goal). Philosopher of religion Anti-reductionism and the "transconscious" By profession, Eliade was a historian of religion. However, his scholarly works draw heavily on philosophical and psychological terminology. In addition, they contain a number of philosophical arguments about religion. In particular, Eliade often implies the existence of a universal psychological or spiritual "essence" behind all religious phenomena. Because of these arguments, some have accused Eliade of overgeneralization and "essentialism," or even of promoting a theological agenda under the guise of historical scholarship. However, others argue that Eliade is better understood as a scholar who is willing to openly discuss sacred experience and its consequences. In studying religion, Eliade rejects certain "reductionist" approaches. Eliade thinks a religious phenomenon cannot be reduced to a product of culture and history. He insists that, although religion involves "the social man, the economic man, and so forth", nonetheless "all these conditioning factors together do not, of themselves, add up to the life of the spirit." Using this anti-reductionist position, Eliade argues against those who accuse him of overgeneralizing, of looking for universals at the expense of particulars. Eliade admits that every religious phenomenon is shaped by the particular culture and history that produced it: When the Son of God incarnated and became the Christ, he had to speak Aramaic; he could only conduct himself as a Hebrew of his times [...] His religious message, however universal it might be, was conditioned by the past and present history of the Hebrew people. If the Son of God had been born in India, his spoken language would have had to conform itself to the structure of the Indian languages. However, Eliade argues against those he calls "historicist or existentialist philosophers" who do not recognize "man in general" behind particular men produced by particular situations (Eliade cites Immanuel Kant as the likely forerunner of this kind of "historicism".) He adds that human consciousness transcends (is not reducible to) its historical and cultural conditioning, and even suggests the possibility of a "transconscious". By this, Eliade does not necessarily mean anything supernatural or mystical: within the "transconscious," he places religious motifs, symbols, images, and nostalgias that are supposedly universal and whose causes therefore cannot be reduced to historical and cultural conditioning. Platonism and "primitive ontology" According to Eliade, traditional man feels that things "acquire their reality, their identity, only to the extent of their participation in a transcendent reality". To traditional man, the profane world is "meaningless", and a thing rises out of the profane world only by conforming to an ideal, mythical model. Eliade describes this view of reality as a fundamental part of "primitive ontology" (the study of "existence" or "reality"). Here he sees a similarity with the philosophy of Plato, who believed that physical phenomena are pale and transient imitations of eternal models or "Forms" (see Theory of forms). He argued: Plato could be regarded as the outstanding philosopher of 'primitive mentality,' that is, as the thinker who succeeded in giving philosophic currency and validity to the modes of life and behavior of archaic humanity. Eliade thinks the Platonic theory of forms is "primitive ontology" persisting in Greek philosophy. He claims that Platonism is the "most fully elaborated" version of this primitive ontology. In The Structure of Religious Knowing: Encountering the Sacred in Eliade and Lonergan, John Daniel Dadosky argues that, by making this statement, Eliade was acknowledging "indebtedness to Greek philosophy in general, and to Plato's theory of forms specifically, for his own theory of archetypes and repetition". However, Dadosky also states that "one should be cautious when trying to assess Eliade's indebtedness to Plato". Dadosky quotes Robert Segal, a professor of religion, who draws a distinction between Platonism and Eliade's "primitive ontology": for Eliade, the ideal models are patterns that a person or object may or may not imitate; for Plato, there is a Form for everything, and everything imitates a Form by the very fact that it exists. Existentialism and secularism Behind the diverse cultural forms of different religions, Eliade proposes a universal: traditional man, he claims, "always believes that there is an absolute reality, the sacred, which transcends this world but manifests itself in this world, thereby sanctifying it and making it real." Furthermore, traditional man's behavior gains purpose and meaning through the Sacred: "By imitating divine behavior, man puts and keeps himself close to the gods—that is, in the real and the significant." According to Eliade, "modern nonreligious man assumes a new existential situation." For traditional man, historical events gain significance by imitating sacred, transcendent events. In contrast, nonreligious man lacks sacred models for how history or human behavior should be, so he must decide on his own how history should proceed—he "regards himself solely as the subject and agent of history, and refuses all appeal to transcendence". From the standpoint of religious thought, the world has an objective purpose established by mythical events, to which man should conform himself: "Myth teaches [religious man] the primordial 'stories' that have constituted him existentially." From the standpoint of secular thought, any purpose must be invented and imposed on the world by man. Because of this new "existential situation," Eliade argues, the Sacred becomes the primary obstacle to nonreligious man's "freedom". In viewing himself as the proper maker of history, nonreligious man resists all notions of an externally (for instance, divinely) imposed order or model he must obey: modern man "makes himself, and he only makes himself completely in proportion as he desacralizes himself and the world. [...] He will not truly be free until he has killed the last god." Religious survivals in the secular world Eliade says that secular man cannot escape his bondage to religious thought. By its very nature, secularism depends on religion for its sense of identity: by resisting sacred models, by insisting that man make history on his own, secular man identifies himself only through opposition to religious thought: "He [secular man] recognizes himself in proportion as he 'frees' and 'purifies' himself from the 'superstitions' of his ancestors." Furthermore, modern man "still retains a large stock of camouflaged myths and degenerated rituals". For example, modern social events still have similarities to traditional initiation rituals, and modern novels feature mythical motifs and themes. Finally, secular man still participates in something like the eternal return: by reading modern literature, "modern man succeeds in obtaining an 'escape from time' comparable to the 'emergence from time' effected by myths". Eliade sees traces of religious thought even in secular academia. He thinks modern scientists are motivated by the religious desire to return to the sacred time of origins: One could say that the anxious search for the origins of Life and Mind; the fascination in the 'mysteries of Nature'; the urge to penetrate and decipher the inner structure of Matter—all these longings and drives denote a sort of nostalgia for the primordial, for the original universal matrix. Matter, Substance, represents the absolute origin, the beginning of all things. Eliade believes the rise of materialism in the 19th century forced the religious nostalgia for "origins" to express itself in science. He mentions his own field of History of Religions as one of the fields that was obsessed with origins during the 19th century: The new discipline of History of Religions developed rapidly in this cultural context. And, of course, it followed a like pattern: the positivistic approach to the facts and the search for origins, for the very beginning of religion. All Western historiography was during that time obsessed with the quest of origins. [...] This search for the origins of human institutions and cultural creations prolongs and completes the naturalist's quest for the origin of species, the biologist's dream of grasping the origin of life, the geologist's and the astronomer's endeavor to understand the origin of the Earth and the Universe. From a psychological point of view, one can decipher here the same nostalgia for the 'primordial' and the 'original'. In some of his writings, Eliade describes modern political ideologies as secularized mythology. According to Eliade, Marxism "takes up and carries on one of the great eschatological myths of the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean world, namely: the redemptive part to be played by the Just (the 'elect', the 'anointed', the 'innocent', the 'missioners', in our own days the proletariat), whose sufferings are invoked to change the ontological status of the world." Eliade sees the widespread myth of the Golden Age, "which, according to a number of traditions, lies at the beginning and the end of History", as the "precedent" for Karl Marx's vision of a classless society. Finally, he sees Marx's belief in the final triumph of the good (the proletariat) over the evil (the bourgeoisie) as "a truly messianic Judaeo-Christian ideology". Despite Marx's hostility toward religion, Eliade implies, his ideology works within a conceptual framework inherited from religious mythology. Likewise, Eliade notes that Nazism involved a pseudo-pagan mysticism based on ancient Germanic religion. He suggests that the differences between the Nazis' pseudo-Germanic mythology and Marx's pseudo-Judaeo-Christian mythology explain their differing success: In comparison with the vigorous optimism of the communist myth, the mythology propagated by the national socialists seems particularly inept; and this is not only because of the limitations of the racial myth (how could one imagine that the rest of Europe would voluntarily accept submission to the master-race?), but above all because of the fundamental pessimism of the Germanic mythology. [...] For the eschaton prophesied and expected by the ancient Germans was the ragnarok—that is, a catastrophic end of the world. Modern man and the "terror of history" According to Eliade, modern man displays "traces" of "mythological behavior" because he intensely needs sacred time and the eternal return. Despite modern man's claims to be nonreligious, he ultimately cannot find value in the linear progression of historical events; even modern man feels the "terror of history": "Here too [...] there is always the struggle against Time, the hope to be freed from the weight of 'dead Time,' of the Time that crushes and kills." This "terror of history" becomes especially acute when violent and threatening historical events confront modern man—the mere fact that a terrible event has happened, that it is part of history, is of little comfort to those who suffer from it. Eliade asks rhetorically how modern man can "tolerate the catastrophes and horrors of history—from collective deportations and massacres to atomic bombings—if beyond them he can glimpse no sign, no transhistorical meaning". He indicates that, if repetitions of mythical events provided sacred value and meaning for history in the eyes of ancient man, modern man has denied the Sacred and must therefore invent value and purpose on his own. Without the Sacred to confer an absolute, objective value upon historical events, modern man is left with "a relativistic or nihilistic view of history" and a resulting "spiritual aridity". In chapter 4 ("The Terror of History") of The Myth of the Eternal Return and chapter 9 ("Religious Symbolism and the Modern Man's Anxiety") of Myths, Dreams, and Mysteries, Eliade argues at length that the rejection of religious thought is a primary cause of modern man's anxieties. Inter-cultural dialogue and a "new humanism" Eliade argues that modern man may escape the "Terror of history" by learning from traditional cultures. For example, Eliade thinks Hinduism has advice for modern Westerners. According to many branches of Hinduism, the world of historical time is illusory, and the only absolute reality is the immortal soul or atman within man. According to Eliade, Hindus thus escape the terror of history by refusing to see historical time as the true reality. Eliade notes that a Western or Continental philosopher might feel suspicious toward this Hindu view of history: One can easily guess what a European historical and existentialist philosopher might reply [...] You ask me, he would say, to 'die to History'; but man is not, and he cannot be anything else but History, for his very essence is temporality. You are asking me, then, to give up my authentic existence and to take refuge in an abstraction, in pure Being, in the atman: I am to sacrifice my dignity as a creator of History in order to live an a-historic, inauthentic existence, empty of all human content. Well, I prefer to put up with my anxiety: at least, it cannot deprive me of a certain heroic grandeur, that of becoming conscious of, and accepting, the human condition. However, Eliade argues that the Hindu approach to history does not necessarily lead to a rejection of history. On the contrary, in Hinduism historical human existence is not the "absurdity" that many Continental philosophers see it as. According to Hinduism, history is a divine creation, and one may live contentedly within it as long as one maintains a certain degree of detachment from it: "One is devoured by Time, by History, not because one lives in them, but because one thinks them real and, in consequence, one forgets or undervalues eternity." Furthermore, Eliade argues that Westerners can learn from non-Western cultures to see something besides absurdity in suffering and death. Traditional cultures see suffering and death as a rite of passage. In fact, their initiation rituals often involve a symbolic death and resurrection, or symbolic ordeals followed by relief. Thus, Eliade argues, modern man can learn to see his historical ordeals, even death, as necessary initiations into the next stage of one's existence. Eliade even suggests that traditional thought offers relief from the vague anxiety caused by "our obscure presentiment of the end of the world, or more exactly of the end of our world, our own civilization". Many traditional cultures have myths about the end of their world or civilization; however, these myths do not succeed "in paralysing either Life or Culture". These traditional cultures emphasize cyclic time and, therefore, the inevitable rise of a new world or civilization on the ruins of the old. Thus, they feel comforted even in contemplating the end times. Eliade argues that a Western spiritual rebirth can happen within the framework of Western spiritual traditions. However, he says, to start this rebirth, Westerners may need to be stimulated by ideas from non-Western cultures. In his Myths, Dreams, and Mysteries, Eliade claims that a "genuine encounter" between cultures "might well constitute the point of departure for a new humanism, upon a world scale". Christianity and the "salvation" of History Mircea Eliade sees the Abrahamic religions as a turning point between the ancient, cyclic view of time and the modern, linear view of time, noting that, in their case, sacred events are not limited to a far-off primordial age, but continue throughout history: "time is no longer [only] the circular Time of the Eternal Return; it has become linear and irreversible Time". He thus sees in Christianity the ultimate example of a religion embracing linear, historical time. When God is born as a man, into the stream of history, "all history becomes a theophany". According to Eliade, "Christianity strives to save history". In Christianity, the Sacred enters a human being (Christ) to save humans, but it also enters history to "save" history and turn otherwise ordinary, historical events into something "capable of transmitting a trans-historical message". From Eliade's perspective, Christianity's "trans-historical message" may be the most important help that modern man could have in confronting the terror of history. In his book Mito ("Myth"), Italian researcher Furio Jesi argues that Eliade denies man the position of a true protagonist in history: for Eliade, true human experience lies not in intellectually "making history", but in man's experiences of joy and grief. Thus, from Eliade's perspective, the Christ story becomes the perfect myth for modern man. In Christianity, God willingly entered historical time by being born as Christ, and accepted the suffering that followed. By identifying with Christ, modern man can learn to confront painful historical events. Ultimately, according to Jesi, Eliade sees Christianity as the only religion that can save man from the "Terror of history". In Eliade's view, traditional man sees time as an endless repetition of mythical archetypes. In contrast, modern man has abandoned mythical archetypes and entered linear, historical time—in this context, unlike many other religions, Christianity attributes value to historical time. Thus, Eliade concludes, "Christianity incontestably proves to be the religion of 'fallen man'", of modern man who has lost "the paradise of archetypes and repetition". "Modern gnosticism", Romanticism and Eliade's nostalgia In analyzing the similarities between the "mythologists" Eliade, Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung, Robert Ellwood concluded that the three modern mythologists, all of whom believed that myths reveal "timeless truth", fulfilled the role "gnostics" had in antiquity. The diverse religious movements covered by the term "gnosticism" share the basic doctrines that the surrounding world is fundamentally evil or inhospitable, that we are trapped in the world through no fault of our own, and that we can be saved from the world only through secret knowledge (gnosis). Ellwood claimed that the three mythologists were "modern gnostics through and through", remarking, Whether in Augustan Rome or modern Europe, democracy all too easily gave way to totalitarianism, technology was as readily used for battle as for comfort, and immense wealth lay alongside abysmal poverty. [...] Gnostics past and present sought answers not in the course of outward human events, but in knowledge of the world's beginning, of what lies above and beyond the world, and of the secret places of the human soul. To all this the mythologists spoke, and they acquired large and loyal followings. According to Ellwood, the mythologists believed in gnosticism's basic doctrines (even if in a secularized form). Ellwood also believes that Romanticism, which stimulated the modern study of mythology, strongly influenced the mythologists. Because Romantics stress that emotion and imagination have the same dignity as reason, Ellwood argues, they tend to think political truth "is known less by rational considerations than by its capacity to fire the passions" and, therefore, that political truth is "very apt to be found [...] in the distant past". As modern gnostics, Ellwood argues, the three mythologists felt alienated from the surrounding modern world. As scholars, they knew of primordial societies that had operated differently from modern ones. And as people influenced by Romanticism, they saw myths as a saving gnosis that offered "avenues of eternal return to simpler primordial ages when the values that rule the world were forged". In addition, Ellwood identifies Eliade's personal sense of nostalgia as a source for his interest in, or even his theories about, traditional societies. He cites Eliade himself claiming to desire an "eternal return" like that by which traditional man returns to the mythical paradise: "My essential preoccupation is precisely the means of escaping History, of saving myself through symbol, myth, rite, archetypes". In Ellwood's view, Eliade's nostalgia was only enhanced by his exile from Romania: "In later years Eliade felt about his own Romanian past as did primal folk about mythic time. He was drawn back to it, yet he knew he could not live there, and that all was not well with it." He suggests that this nostalgia, along with Eliade's sense that "exile is among the profoundest metaphors for all human life", influenced Eliade's theories. Ellwood sees evidence of this in Eliade's concept of the "Terror of history" from which modern man is no longer shielded. In this concept, Ellwood sees an "element of nostalgia" for earlier times "when the sacred was strong and the terror of history had barely raised its head". Criticism of Eliade's scholarship Overgeneralization Eliade cites a wide variety of myths and rituals to support his theories. However, he has been accused of making overgeneralizations: many scholars think he lacks sufficient evidence to put forth his ideas as universal, or even general, principles of religious thought. According to one scholar, "Eliade may have been the most popular and influential contemporary historian of religion", but "many, if not most, specialists in anthropology, sociology, and even history of religions have either ignored or quickly dismissed" Eliade's works. The classicist G. S. Kirk criticizes Eliade's insistence that Australian Aborigines and ancient Mesopotamians had concepts of "being", "non-being", "real", and "becoming", although they lacked words for them. Kirk also believes that Eliade overextends his theories: for example, Eliade claims that the modern myth of the "noble savage" results from the religious tendency to idealize the primordial, mythical age. According to Kirk, "such extravagances, together with a marked repetitiousness, have made Eliade unpopular with many anthropologists and sociologists". In Kirk's view, Eliade derived his theory of eternal return from the functions of Australian Aboriginal mythology and then proceeded to apply the theory to other mythologies to which it did not apply. For example, Kirk argues that the eternal return does not accurately describe the functions of Native American or Greek mythology. Kirk concludes, "Eliade's idea is a valuable perception about certain myths, not a guide to the proper understanding of all of them". Even Wendy Doniger, Eliade's successor at the University of Chicago, claims (in an introduction to Eliade's own Shamanism) that the eternal return does not apply to all myths and rituals, although it may apply to many of them. However, although Doniger agrees that Eliade made overgeneralizations, she notes that his willingness to "argue boldly for universals" allowed him to see patterns "that spanned the entire globe and the whole of human history". Whether they were true or not, she argues, Eliade's theories are still useful "as starting points for the comparative study of religion". She also argues that Eliade's theories have been able to accommodate "new data to which Eliade did not have access". Lack of empirical support Several researchers have criticized Eliade's work as having no empirical support. Thus, he is said to have "failed to provide an adequate methodology for the history of religions and to establish this discipline as an empirical science", though the same critics admit that "the history of religions should not aim at being an empirical science anyway". Specifically, his claim that the sacred is a structure of human consciousness is distrusted as not being empirically provable: "no one has yet turned up the basic category sacred". Also, there has been mention of his tendency to ignore the social aspects of religion. Anthropologist Alice Kehoe is highly critical of Eliade's work on Shamanism, namely because he was not an anthropologist but a historian. She contends that Eliade never did any field work or contacted any indigenous groups that practiced Shamanism, and that his work was synthesized from various sources without being supported by direct field research. In contrast, Professor Kees W. Bolle of the University of California, Los Angeles argues that "Professor Eliade's approach, in all his works, is empirical": Bolle sets Eliade apart for what he sees as Eliade's particularly close "attention to the various particular motifs" of different myths. French researcher Daniel Dubuisson places doubt on Eliade's scholarship and its scientific character, citing the Romanian academic's alleged refusal to accept the treatment of religions in their historical and cultural context, and proposing that Eliade's notion of hierophany refers to the actual existence of a supernatural level. Ronald Inden, a historian of India and University of Chicago professor, criticized Mircea Eliade, alongside other intellectual figures (Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell among them), for encouraging a "romantic view" of Hinduism. He argued that their approach to the subject relied mainly on an Orientalist approach, and made Hinduism seem like "a private realm of the imagination and the religious which modern, Western man lacks but needs." Far-right and nationalist influences Although his scholarly work was never subordinated to his early political beliefs, the school of thought he was associated with in interwar Romania, namely Trăirism, as well as the works of Julius Evola he continued to draw inspiration from, have thematic links to fascism. Writer and academic Marcel Tolcea has argued that, through Evola's particular interpretation of Guénon's works, Eliade kept a traceable connection with far right ideologies in his academic contributions. Daniel Dubuisson singled out Eliade's concept of homo religiosus as a reflection of fascist elitism, and argued that the Romanian scholar's views of Judaism and the Old Testament, which depicted Hebrews as the enemies of an ancient cosmic religion, were ultimately the preservation of an antisemitic discourse. A piece authored in 1930 saw Eliade defining Julius Evola as a great thinker and offering praise to the controversial intellectuals Oswald Spengler, Arthur de Gobineau, Houston Stewart Chamberlain and the Nazi ideologue Alfred Rosenberg. Evola, who continued to defend the core principles of mystical fascism, once protested to Eliade about the latter's failure to cite him and Guénon. Eliade replied that his works were written for a contemporary public, and not to initiates of esoteric circles. After the 1960s, he, together with Evola, Louis Rougier, and other intellectuals, offered support to Alain de Benoist's controversial Groupement de recherche et d'études pour la civilisation européenne, part of the Nouvelle Droite intellectual trend. Notably, Eliade was also preoccupied with the cult of Thracian deity Zalmoxis and its supposed monotheism.Eliade, "Zalmoxis, The Vanishing God", in Slavic Review, Vol. 33, No. 4 (December 1974), pp. 807–809 This, like his conclusion that Romanization had been superficial inside Roman Dacia, was a view celebrated by contemporary partisans of protochronist nationalism. According to historian Sorin Antohi, Eliade may have actually encouraged protochronists such as Edgar Papu to carry out research which resulted in the claim that medieval Romanians had anticipated the Renaissance. In his study of Eliade, Jung, and Campbell, Ellwood also discusses the connection between academic theories and controversial political involvements, noting that all three mythologists have been accused of reactionary political positions. Ellwood notes the obvious parallel between the conservatism of myth, which speaks of a primordial golden age, and the conservatism of far right politics. However, Ellwood argues that the explanation is more complex than that. Wherever their political sympathies may have sometimes been, he claims, the three mythologists were often "apolitical if not antipolitical, scorning any this-worldly salvation". Moreover, the connection between mythology and politics differs for each of the mythologists in question: in Eliade's case, Ellwood believes, a strong sense of nostalgia ("for childhood, for historical times past, for cosmic religion, for paradise"), influenced not only the scholar's academic interests, but also his political views. Because Eliade stayed out of politics during his later life, Ellwood tries to extract an implicit political philosophy from Eliade's scholarly works. Ellwood argues that the later Eliade's nostalgia for ancient traditions did not make him a political reactionary, even a quiet one. He concludes that the later Eliade was, in fact, a "radical modernist". According to Ellwood, Those who see Eliade's fascination with the primordial as merely reactionary in the ordinary political or religious sense of the word do not understand the mature Eliade in a sufficiently radical way. [...] Tradition was not for him exactly Burkean 'prescription' or sacred trust to be kept alive generation after generation, for Eliade was fully aware that tradition, like men and nations, lives only by changing and even occultation. The tack is not to try fruitlessly to keep it unchanging, but to discover where it is hiding. According to Eliade, religious elements survive in secular culture, but in new, "camouflaged" forms. Thus, Ellwood believes that the later Eliade probably thought modern man should preserve elements of the past, but should not try to restore their original form through reactionary politics. He suspects that Eliade would have favored "a minimal rather than a maximalist state" that would allow personal spiritual transformation without enforcing it. Many scholars have accused Eliade of "essentialism", a type of overgeneralization in which one incorrectly attributes a common "essence" to a whole group—in this case, all "religious" or "traditional" societies. Furthermore, some see a connection between Eliade's essentialism with regard to religion and fascist essentialism with regard to races and nations. To Ellwood, this connection "seems rather tortured, in the end amounting to little more than an ad hominem argument which attempts to tar Eliade's entire [scholarly] work with the ill-repute all decent people feel for storm troopers and the Iron Guard". However, Ellwood admits that common tendencies in "mythological thinking" may have caused Eliade, as well as Jung and Campbell, to view certain groups in an "essentialist" way, and that this may explain their purported antisemitism: "A tendency to think in generic terms of peoples, races, religions, or parties, which as we shall see is undoubtedly the profoundest flaw in mythological thinking, including that of such modern mythologists as our three, can connect with nascent anti-Semitism, or the connection can be the other way." Literary works Generic traits Many of Mircea Eliade's literary works, in particular his earliest ones, are noted for their eroticism and their focus on subjective experience. Modernist in style, they have drawn comparisons to the contemporary writings of Mihail Sebastian, I. Valerian, and Ion Biberi. Alongside Honoré de Balzac and Giovanni Papini, his literary passions included Aldous Huxley and Miguel de Unamuno, as well as André Gide. Eliade also read with interest the prose of Romain Rolland, Henrik Ibsen, and the Enlightenment thinkers Voltaire and Denis Diderot. As a youth, he read the works of Romanian authors such as Liviu Rebreanu and Panait Istrati; initially, he was also interested in Ionel Teodoreanu's prose works, but later rejected them and criticized their author. Investigating the works' main characteristics, George Călinescu stressed that Eliade owed much of his style to the direct influence of French author André Gide, concluding that, alongside Camil Petrescu and a few others, Eliade was among Gide's leading disciples in Romanian literature. He commented that, like Gide, Eliade believed that the artist "does not take a stand, but experiences good and evil while setting himself free from both, maintaining an intact curiosity." A specific aspect of this focus on experience is sexual experimentation—Călinescu notes that Eliade's fiction works tend to depict a male figure "possessing all practicable women in [a given] family". He also considered that, as a rule, Eliade depicts woman as "a basic means for a sexual experience and repudiated with harsh egotism." For Călinescu, such a perspective on life culminated in "banality," leaving authors gripped by the "cult of the self" and "a contempt for literature". Polemically, Călinescu proposed that Mircea Eliade's supposed focus on "aggressive youth" served to instill his interwar Romanian writers with the idea that they had a common destiny as a generation apart. He also commented that, when set in Romania, Mircea Eliade's stories lacked the "perception of immediate reality", and, analyzing the non-traditional names the writer tended to ascribe to his Romanian characters, that they did not depict "specificity". Additionally, in Călinescu's view, Eliade's stories were often "sensationalist compositions of the illustrated magazine kind." Mircea Eliade's assessment of his own pre-1940 literary contributions oscillated between expressions of pride and the bitter verdict that they were written for "an audience of little ladies and high school students". A secondary but unifying feature present in most of Eliade's stories is their setting, a magical and part-fictional Bucharest. In part, they also serve to illustrate or allude to Eliade's own research in the field of religion, as well as to the concepts he introduced. Thus, commentators such as Matei Călinescu and Carmen Mușat have also argued that a main characteristic of Eliade's fantasy prose is a substitution between the supernatural and the mundane: in this interpretation, Eliade turns the daily world into an incomprehensible place, while the intrusive supernatural aspect promises to offer the sense of life. The notion was in turn linked to Eliade's own thoughts on transcendence, and in particular his idea that, once "camouflaged" in life or history, miracles become "unrecognizable". Oriental-themed novels Isabel și apele diavolului One of Eliade's earliest fiction writings, the controversial first-person narrative Isabel şi apele diavolului ('Isabel and the Devil's Waters'), focused on the figure of a young and brilliant academic, whose self-declared fear is that of "being common." The hero's experience is recorded in "notebooks", which are compiled to form the actual narrative, and which serve to record his unusual, mostly sexual, experiences in British India—the narrator describes himself as dominated by "a devilish indifference" towards "all things having to do with art or metaphysics", focusing instead on eroticism. The guest of a pastor, the scholar ponders sexual adventures with his host's wife, servant girl, and finally with his daughter Isabel. Persuading the pastor's adolescent son to run away from home, becoming the sexual initiator of a twelve-year-old girl and the lover of a much older woman, the character also attempts to seduce Isabel. Although she falls in love, the young woman does not give in to his pressures, but eventually allows herself to be abused and impregnated by another character, letting the object of her affection know that she had thought of him all along. Maitreyi One of Eliade's best-known works, the novel Maitreyi, dwells on Eliade's own experience, comprising camouflaged details of his relationships with Surendranath Dasgupta and Dasgupta's daughter Maitreyi Devi. The main character, Allan, is an Englishman who visits the Indian engineer Narendra Sen and courts his daughter, herself known as Maitreyi. The narrative is again built on "notebooks" to which Allan adds his comments. This technique Călinescu describes as "boring", and its result "cynical". Allan himself stands alongside Eliade's male characters, whose focus is on action, sensation and experience—his chaste contacts with Maitreyi are encouraged by Sen, who hopes for a marriage which is nonetheless abhorred by his would-be European son-in-law. Instead, Allan is fascinated to discover Maitreyi's Oriental version of Platonic love, marked by spiritual attachment more than by physical contact. However, their affair soon after turns physical, and she decides to attach herself to Allan as one would to a husband, in what is an informal and intimate wedding ceremony (which sees her vowing her love and invoking an earth goddess as the seal of union). Upon discovering this, Narendra Sen becomes enraged, rejecting their guest and keeping Maitreyi in confinement. As a result, his daughter decides to have intercourse with a lowly stranger, becoming pregnant in the hope that her parents would consequently allow her to marry her lover. However, the story also casts doubt on her earlier actions, reflecting rumors that Maitreyi was not a virgin at the time she and Allan first met, which also seems to expose her father as a hypocrite. George Călinescu objected to the narrative, arguing that both the physical affair and the father's rage seemed artificial, while commenting that Eliade placing doubt on his Indian characters' honesty had turned the plot into a piece of "ethnological humor". Noting that the work developed on a classical theme of miscegenation, which recalled the prose of François-René de Chateaubriand and Pierre Loti, the critic proposed that its main merit was in introducing the exotic novel to local literature. Șantier Mircea Eliade's other early works include Șantier ('Building Site'), a part-novel, part-diary account of his Indian sojourn. George Călinescu objected to its "monotony", and, noting that it featured a set of "intelligent observations," criticized the "banality of its ideological conversations." Șantier was also noted for its portrayal of drug addiction and intoxication with opium, both of which could have referred to Eliade's actual travel experience. Portraits of a generation Novel of the Nearsighted Adolescent In his earliest novel, titled Novel of the Nearsighted Adolescent and written in the first person, Eliade depicts his experience through high school. It is proof of the influence exercised on him by the literature of Giovanni Papini, and in particular by Papini's story Un uomo finito. Each of its chapters reads like an independent novella, and, in all, the work experiments with the limits traced between novel and diary. Literary critic Eugen Simion called it "the most valuable" among Eliade's earliest literary attempts, but noted that, being "ambitious", the book had failed to achieve "an aesthetically satisfactory format". According to Simion, the innovative intent of the Novel... was provided by its technique, by its goal of providing authenticity in depicting experiences, and by its insight into adolescent psychology. The novel notably shows its narrator practicing self-flagellation. Întoarcerea din rai Eliade's 1934 novel Întoarcerea din rai ('Return from Paradise') centers on Pavel Anicet, a young man who seeks knowledge through what Călinescu defined as "sexual excess". His search leaves him with a reduced sensitivity: right after being confronted with his father's death, Anicet breaks out in tears only after sitting through an entire dinner. The other characters, standing for Eliade's generation, all seek knowledge through violence or retreat from the world—nonetheless, unlike Anicet, they ultimately fail at imposing rigors upon themselves. Pavel himself eventually abandons his belief in sex as a means for enlightenment, and commits suicide in hopes of reaching the level of primordial unity. The solution, George Călinescu noted, mirrored the strange murder in Gide's Lafcadio's Adventures. Eliade himself indicated that the book dealt with the "loss of the beatitude, illusions, and optimism that had dominated the first twenty years of 'Greater Romania'." Robert Ellwood connected the work to Eliade's recurring sense of loss in respect to the "atmosphere of euphoria and faith" of his adolescence. Călinescu criticizes Întoarcerea din rai, describing its dialog sequences as "awkward", its narrative as "void", and its artistic interest as "non-existent", proposing that the reader could however find it relevant as the "document of a mentality". Huliganii The lengthy novel Huliganii ('The Hooligans') is intended as the fresco of a family, and, through it, that of an entire generation. The book's main protagonist, Petru Anicet, is a composer who places value in experiments; other characters include Dragu, who considers "a hooligan's experience" as "the only fertile debut into life", and the totalitarian Alexandru Pleşa, who is on the search for "the heroic life" by enlisting youth in "perfect regiments, equally intoxicated by a collective myth."Eliade, in Călinescu, pp. 958–959 Călinescu thought that the young male characters all owed inspiration to Fyodor Dostoevsky's Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov (see Crime and Punishment). Anicet, who partly shares Pleșa's vision for a collective experiment, is also prone to sexual adventures, and seduces the women of the Lecca family (who have hired him as a piano teacher). Romanian-born novelist Norman Manea called Anicet's experiment: "the paraded defiance of bourgeois conventions, in which venereal disease and lubricity dwell together." In one episode of the book, Anicet convinces Anișoara Lecca to gratuitously steal from her parents—an outrage which leads her mother to moral decay and, eventually, to suicide. George Călinescu criticized the book for inconsistencies and "excesses in Dostoyevskianism," but noted that the Lecca family portrayal was "suggestive", and that the dramatic scenes were written with "a remarkable poetic calm." Marriage in Heaven The novel Marriage in Heaven depicts the correspondence between two male friends, an artist and a common man, who complain to each other about their failures in love: the former complains about a lover who wanted his children when he did not, while the other recalls being abandoned by a woman who, despite his intentions, did not want to become pregnant by him. Eliade lets the reader understand that they are in fact talking about the same woman. Fantastic and fantasy literature Mircea Eliade's earliest works, most of which were published at later stages, belong to the fantasy genre. One of the first such literary exercises to be printed, the 1921 Cum am găsit piatra filosofală, showed its adolescent author's interest in themes that he was to explore throughout his career, in particular esotericism and alchemy. Written in the first person, it depicts an experiment which, for a moment, seems to be the discovery of the philosophers' stone. These early writings also include two sketches for novels: Minunata călătorie a celor cinci cărăbuși in țara furnicilor roșii ('The Wonderful Journey of the Five Beetles into the Land of the Red Ants') and Memoriile unui soldat de plumb ('The Memoirs of a Lead Soldier'). In the former, a company of beetle spies is sent among the red ants—their travel offers a setting for satirical commentary. Eliade himself explained that Memoriile unui soldat de plumb was an ambitious project, designed as a fresco to include the birth of the Universe, abiogenesis, human evolution, and the entire world history. Eliade's fantasy novel Domnișoara Christina, was, on its own, the topic of a scandal. The novel deals with the fate of an eccentric family, the Moscus, who are haunted by the ghost of a murdered young woman, known as Christina. The apparition shares characteristics with vampires and with strigoi: she is believed to be drinking the blood of cattle and that of a young family member. The young man Egor becomes the object of Christina's desire, and is shown to have intercourse with her. Noting that the plot and setting reminded one of horror fiction works by the German author Hanns Heinz Ewers, and defending Domnişoara Christina in front of harsher criticism, Călinescu nonetheless argued that the "international environment" in which it took place was "upsetting". He also depicted the plot as focused on "major impurity", summarizing the story's references to necrophilia, menstrual fetish and ephebophilia. Șarpele Eliade's short story Șarpele ('The Snake') was described by George Călinescu as "hermetic". While on a trip to the forest, several persons witness a feat of magic performed by the male character Andronic, who summons a snake from the bottom of a river and places it on an island. At the end of the story, Andronic and the female character Dorina are found on the island, naked and locked in a sensual embrace. Călinescu saw the piece as an allusion to Gnosticism, to the Kabbalah, and to Babylonian mythology, while linking the snake to the Greek mythological figure and major serpent symbol Ophion. He was however dissatisfied with this introduction of iconic images, describing it as "languishing".In Curte la DionisIn the relation between history and culture, „the memory acts from the event toward the creation, so that the cultural memory is the prisoner of history.” When it will liberate itself, the human will escape the labyrinth, according to a character of the In Dionysus’ Court, of which ideal is the cultural memory; but, for him, the amnesia becomes a torment because, although he forgot details of his own existence, he kept the vague impression of a decisive meeting and with the obsession that he is not knowing his place in the universe: he had forgotten the message that he had to transmit to the world. Un om mare The short story Un om mare''' ('A Big Man'), which Eliade authored during his stay in Portugal, shows a common person, the engineer Cucoanes, who grows steadily and uncontrollably, reaching immense proportions and ultimately disappearing into the wilderness of the Bucegi Mountains. Eliade himself referenced the story and Aldous Huxley's experiments in the same section of his private notes, a matter which allowed Matei Călinescu to propose that Un om mare was a direct product of its author's experience with drugs. The same commentator, who deemed Un om mare "perhaps Eliade's most memorable short story", connected it with the uriași characters present in Romanian folklore. Other writings Eliade reinterpreted the Greek mythological figure Iphigeneia in his eponymous 1941 play. Here, the maiden falls in love with Achilles, and accepts to be sacrificed on the pyre as a means to ensure both her lover's happiness (as predicted by an oracle) and her father Agamemnon's victory in the Trojan War. Discussing the association Iphigenia's character makes between love and death, Romanian theater critic Radu Albala noted that it was a possible echo of Meşterul Manole legend, in which a builder of the Curtea de Argeș Monastery has to sacrifice his wife in exchange for permission to complete work. In contrast with early renditions of the myth by authors such as Euripides and Jean Racine, Eliade's version ends with the sacrifice being carried out in full. In addition to his fiction, the exiled Eliade authored several volumes of memoirs and diaries and travel writings. They were published sporadically, and covered various stages of his life. One of the earliest such pieces was India, grouping accounts of the travels he made through the Indian subcontinent. Writing for the Spanish journal La Vanguardia, commentator Sergio Vila-Sanjuán described the first volume of Eliade's Autobiography (covering the years 1907 to 1937) as "a great book", while noting that the other main volume was "more conventional and insincere." In Vila-Sanjuán's view, the texts reveal Mircea Eliade himself as "a Dostoyevskyian character", as well as "an accomplished person, a Goethian figure". A work that drew particular interest was his Jurnal portughez ('Portuguese Diary'), completed during his stay in Lisbon and published only after its author's death. A portion of it dealing with his stay in Romania is believed to have been lost. The travels to Spain, partly recorded in Jurnal portughez, also led to a separate volume, Jurnal cordobez ('Cordoban Diary'), which Eliade compiled from various independent notebooks. Jurnal portughez shows Eliade coping with clinical depression and political crisis, and has been described by Andrei Oișteanu as "an overwhelming [read], through the immense suffering it exhales." Literary historian Paul Cernat argued that part of the volume is "a masterpiece of its time," while concluding that some 700 pages were passable for the "among others" section of Eliade's bibliography. Noting that the book featured parts where Eliade spoke of himself in eulogistic terms, notably comparing himself favorably to Goethe and Romania's national poet Mihai Eminescu, Cernat accused the writer of "egolatry", and deduced that Eliade was "ready to step over dead bodies for the sake of his spiritual 'mission' ". The same passages led philosopher and journalist Cătălin Avramescu to argue that Eliade's behavior was evidence of "megalomania". Eliade also wrote various essays of literary criticism. In his youth, alongside his study on Julius Evola, he published essays which introduced the Romanian public to representatives of modern Spanish literature and philosophy, among them Adolfo Bonilla San Martín, Miguel de Unamuno, José Ortega y Gasset, Eugeni d'Ors, Vicente Blasco Ibáñez and Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo. He also wrote an essay on the works of James Joyce, connecting it with his own theories on the eternal return ("[Joyce's literature is] saturated with nostalgia for the myth of the eternal repetition"), and deeming Joyce himself an anti-historicist "archaic" figure among the modernists. In the 1930s, Eliade edited the collected works of Romanian historian Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu. M. L. Ricketts discovered and translated into English a previously unpublished play written by Mircea Eliade in Paris 1946 Aventura Spirituală ('A Spiritual Adventure'). It was published by for the first time in Theory in Action -the journal of the Transformative Studies Institute, vol. 5 (2012): 2–58. Controversy: antisemitism and links with the Iron Guard Early statements The early years in Eliade's public career show him to have been highly tolerant of Jews in general, and of the Jewish minority in Romania in particular. His early condemnation of Nazi antisemitic policies was accompanied by his caution and moderation in regard to Nae Ionescu's various anti-Jewish attacks.Ornea, pp. 408–409, 412. Late in the 1930s, Mihail Sebastian was marginalized by Romania's antisemitic policies, and came to reflect on his Romanian friend's association with the far right. The subsequent ideological break between him and Eliade has been compared by writer Gabriela Adameșteanu with that between Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. In his Journal, published long after his 1945 death, Sebastian claimed that Eliade's actions during the 1930s show him to be an antisemite. According to Sebastian, Eliade had been friendly to him until the start of his political commitments, after which he severed all ties.Sebastian, passim Before their friendship came apart, however, Sebastian claimed that he took notes on their conversations (which he later published) during which Eliade was supposed to have expressed antisemitic views. According to Sebastian, Eliade said in 1939: The Poles' resistance in Warsaw is a Jewish resistance. Only yids are capable of the blackmail of putting women and children in the front line, to take advantage of the Germans' sense of scruple. The Germans have no interest in the destruction of Romania. Only a pro-German government can save us... What is happening on the frontier with Bukovina is a scandal, because new waves of Jews are flooding into the country. Rather than a Romania again invaded by kikes, it would be better to have a German protectorate. The friendship between Eliade and Sebastian drastically declined during the war: the latter writer, fearing for his security during the pro-Nazi Ion Antonescu regime (see Romania during World War II), hoped that Eliade, by then a diplomat, could intervene in his favor; however, upon his brief return to Romania, Eliade did not see or approach Sebastian. Later, Mircea Eliade expressed his regret at not having had the chance to redeem his friendship with Sebastian before the latter was killed in a car accident. Paul Cernat notes that Eliade's statement includes an admission that he "counted on [Sebastian's] support, in order to get back into Romanian life and culture", and proposes that Eliade may have expected his friend to vouch for him in front of hostile authorities. Some of Sebastian's late recordings in his diary show that their author was reflecting with nostalgia on his relationship with Eliade, and that he deplored the outcome. Eliade provided two distinct explanations for not having met with Sebastian: one was related to his claim of being followed around by the Gestapo, and the other, expressed in his diaries, was that the shame of representing a regime that humiliated Jews had made him avoid facing his former friend. Another take on the matter was advanced in 1972 by the Israeli magazine Toladot, which claimed that, as an official representative, Eliade was aware of Antonescu's agreement to implement the Final Solution in Romania and of how this could affect Sebastian (see Holocaust in Romania). In addition, rumors were sparked that Sebastian and Nina Mareș had a physical relationship, one which could have contributed to the clash between the two literary figures. Beyond his involvement with a movement known for its antisemitism, Eliade did not usually comment on Jewish issues. However, an article titled Piloții orbi ("The Blind Pilots"), contributed to the journal Vremea in 1936, showed that he supported at least some Iron Guard accusations against the Jewish community: Since the war [that is, World War I], Jews have occupied the villages of Maramureș and Bukovina, and gained the absolute majority in the towns and cities in Bessarabia. [...] It would be absurd to expect Jews to resign themselves in order to become a minority with certain rights and very many duties—after they have tasted the honey of power and conquered as many command positions as they have. Jews are currently fighting with all forces to maintain their positions, expecting a future offensive—and, as far as I am concerned, I understand their fight and admire their vitality, tenacity, genius. One year later, a text, accompanied by his picture, was featured as answer to an inquiry by the Iron Guard's Buna Vestire about the reasons he had for supporting the movement. A short section of it summarizes an anti-Jewish attitude: Can the Romanian nation end its life in the saddest decay witnessed by history, undermined by misery and syphilis, conquered by Jews and torn to pieces by foreigners, demoralized, betrayed, sold for a few million lei?Eliade, 1937, in Ornea, p. 413; in the Final Report, p. 49 According to the literary critic Z. Ornea, in the 1980s Eliade denied authorship of the text. He explained the use of his signature, his picture, and the picture's caption, as having been applied by the magazine's editor, Mihail Polihroniade, to a piece the latter had written after having failed to obtain Eliade's contribution; he also claimed that, given his respect for Polihroniade, he had not wished to publicize this matter previously. Polemics and exile Dumitru G. Danielopol, a fellow diplomat present in London during Eliade's stay in the city, later stated that the latter had identified himself as "a guiding light of [the Iron Guard] movement" and victim of Carol II's repression. In October 1940, as the National Legionary State came into existence, the British Foreign Office blacklisted Mircea Eliade, alongside five other Romanians, due to his Iron Guard connections and suspicions that he was prepared to spy in favor of Nazi Germany. According to various sources, while in Portugal, the diplomat was also preparing to disseminate propaganda in favor of the Iron Guard. In Jurnal portughez, Eliade defines himself as "a Legionary", and speaks of his own "Legionary climax" as a stage he had gone through during the early 1940s. The depolitisation of Eliade after the start of his diplomatic career was also mistrusted by his former close friend Eugène Ionesco, who indicated that, upon the close of World War II, Eliade's personal beliefs as communicated to his friends amounted to "all is over now that Communism has won". This forms part of Ionesco's severe and succinct review of the careers of Legionary-inspired intellectuals, many of them his friends and former friends, in a letter he sent to Tudor Vianu.Ornea, pp. 184–185 In 1946, Ionesco indicated to Petru Comarnescu that he did not want to see either Eliade or Cioran, and that he considered the two of them "Legionaries for ever"—adding "we are hyenas to one another". Eliade's former friend, the communist Belu Zilber, who was attending the Paris Conference in 1946, refused to see Eliade, arguing that, as an Iron Guard affiliate, the latter had "denounced left-wingers", and contrasting him with Cioran ("They are both Legionaries, but [Cioran] is honest"). Three years later, Eliade's political activities were brought into discussion as he was getting ready to publish a translation of his Techniques du Yoga with the left-leaning Italian company Giulio Einaudi Editore—the denunciation was probably orchestrated by Romanian officials. In August 1954, when Horia Sima, who led the Iron Guard during its exile, was rejected by a faction inside the movement, Mircea Eliade's name was included on a list of persons who supported the latter—although this may have happened without his consent. According to exiled dissident and novelist Dumitru Ţepeneag, around that date, Eliade expressed his sympathy for Iron Guard members in general, whom he viewed as "courageous". However, according to Robert Ellwood, the Eliade he met in the 1960s was entirely apolitical, remained aloof from "the passionate politics of that era in the United States", and "[r]eportedly [...] never read newspapers" (an assessment shared by Sorin Alexandrescu). Eliade's student Ioan Petru Culianu noted that journalists had come to refer to the Romanian scholar as "the great recluse". Despite Eliade's withdrawal from radical politics, Ellwood indicates, he still remained concerned with Romania's welfare. He saw himself and other exiled Romanian intellectuals as members of a circle who worked to "maintain the culture of a free Romania and, above all, to publish texts that had become unpublishable in Romania itself". Beginning in 1969, Eliade's past became the subject of public debate in Israel. At the time, historian Gershom Scholem asked Eliade to explain his attitudes, which the latter did using vague terms. As a result of this exchange, Scholem declared his dissatisfaction, and argued that Israel could not extend a welcome to the Romanian academic. During the final years of Eliade's life, his disciple Culianu exposed and publicly criticized his 1930s pro-Iron Guard activities; relations between the two soured as a result. Eliade's other Romanian disciple, Andrei Oişteanu, noted that, in the years following Eliade's death, conversations with various people who had known the scholar had made Culianu less certain of his earlier stances, and had led him to declare: "Mr. Eliade was never antisemitic, a member of the Iron Guard, or pro-Nazi. But, in any case, I am led to believe that he was closer to the Iron Guard than I would have liked to believe." At an early stage of his polemic with Culianu, Eliade complained in writing that "it is not possible to write an objective history" of the Iron Guard and its leader Corneliu Zelea Codreanu. Arguing that people "would only accept apologetics [...] or executions", he contended: "After Buchenwald and Auschwitz, even honest people cannot afford being objective". Posterity Alongside the arguments introduced by Daniel Dubuisson, criticism of Mircea Eliade's political involvement with antisemitism and fascism came from Adriana Berger, Leon Volovici, Alexandra Lagniel-Lavastine, Florin Țurcanu and others, who have attempted to trace Eliade's antisemitism throughout his work and through his associations with contemporary antisemites, such as the Italian fascist occultist Julius Evola. Volovici, for example, is critical of Eliade not only because of his support for the Iron Guard, but also for spreading antisemitism and anti-Masonry in 1930s Romania. In 1991, exiled novelist Norman Manea published an essay firmly condemning Eliade's attachment to the Iron Guard. Other scholars, like Bryan S. Rennie, have claimed that there is, to date, no evidence of Eliade's membership, active services rendered, or of any real involvement with any fascist or totalitarian movements or membership organizations, nor that there is any evidence of his continued support for nationalist ideals after their inherently violent nature was revealed. They further assert that there is no imprint of overt political beliefs in Eliade's scholarship, and also claim that Eliade's critics are following political agendas. Romanian scholar Mircea Handoca, editor of Eliade's writings, argues that the controversy surrounding Eliade was encouraged by a group of exiled writers, of whom Manea was a main representative, and believes that Eliade's association with the Guard was a conjectural one, determined by the young author's Christian values and conservative stance, as well as by his belief that a Legionary Romania could mirror Portugal's Estado Novo. Handoca opined that Eliade changed his stance after discovering that the Legionaries had turned violent, and argued that there was no evidence of Eliade's actual affiliation with the Iron Guard as a political movement. Additionally, Joaquín Garrigós, who translated Eliade's works into Spanish, claimed that none of Eliade's texts he ever encountered show him to be an antisemite. Mircea Eliade's nephew and commentator Sorin Alexandrescu himself proposed that Eliade's politics were essentially conservative and patriotic, in part motivated by a fear of the Soviet Union which he shared with many other young intellectuals. Based on Mircea Eliade's admiration for Gandhi, various other authors assess that Eliade remained committed to nonviolence. Robert Ellwood also places Eliade's involvement with the Iron Guard in relation to scholar's conservatism, and connects this aspect of Eliade's life with both his nostalgia and his study of primal societies. According to Ellwood, the part of Eliade that felt attracted to the "freedom of new beginnings suggested by primal myths" is the same part that felt attracted to the Guard, with its almost mythological notion of a new beginning through a "national resurrection". On a more basic level, Ellwood describes Eliade as an "instinctively spiritual" person who saw the Iron Guard as a spiritual movement. In Ellwood's view, Eliade was aware that the "golden age" of antiquity was no longer accessible to secular man, that it could be recalled but not re-established. Thus, a "more accessible" object for nostalgia was a "secondary silver age within the last few hundred years"—the Kingdom of Romania's 19th century cultural renaissance. To the young Eliade, the Iron Guard seemed like a path for returning to the silver age of Romania's glory, being a movement "dedicated to the cultural and national renewal of the Romanian people by appeal to their spiritual roots". Ellwood describes the young Eliade as someone "capable of being fired up by mythological archetypes and with no awareness of the evil that was to be unleashed". Because of Eliade's withdrawal from politics, and also because the later Eliade's religiosity was very personal and idiosyncratic, Ellwood believes the later Eliade probably would have rejected the "corporate sacred" of the Iron Guard. According to Ellwood, the later Eliade had the same desire for a Romanian "resurrection" that had motivated the early Eliade to support the Iron Guard, but he now channeled it apolitically through his efforts to "maintain the culture of a free Romania" abroad. In one of his writings, Eliade says, "Against the terror of History there are only two possibilities of defense: action or contemplation." According to Ellwood, the young Eliade took the former option, trying to reform the world through action, whereas the older Eliade tried to resist the terror of history intellectually. Eliade's own version of events, presenting his involvement in far right politics as marginal, was judged to contain several inaccuracies and unverifiable claims.Ornea, pp. 202, 208–211, 239–240 For instance, Eliade depicted his arrest as having been solely caused by his friendship with Nae Ionescu. On another occasion, answering Gershom Scholem's query, he is known to have explicitly denied ever having contributed to Buna Vestire. According to Sorin Antohi, "Eliade died without ever clearly expressing regret for his Iron Guard sympathies". Z. Ornea noted that, in a short section of his Autobiography where he discusses the Einaudi incident, Eliade speaks of "my imprudent acts and errors committed in youth", as "a series of malentendus that would follow me all my life." Ornea commented that this was the only instance where the Romanian academic spoke of his political involvement with a dose of self-criticism, and contrasted the statement with Eliade's usual refusal to discuss his stances "pertinently". Reviewing the arguments brought in support of Eliade, Sergio Vila-Sanjuán concluded: "Nevertheless, Eliade's pro-Legionary columns endure in the newspaper libraries, he never showed his regret for this connection [with the Iron Guard] and always, right up to his final writings, he invoked the figure of his teacher Nae Ionescu." In his Felix Culpa, Manea directly accused Eliade of having embellished his memoirs in order to minimize an embarrassing past. A secondary debate surrounding Eliade's alleged unwillingness to dissociate with the Guard took place after Jurnalul portughez saw print. Sorin Alexandrescu expressed a belief that notes in the diary show Eliade's "break with his far right past". Cătălin Avramescu defined this conclusion as "whitewashing", and, answering to Alexandrescu's claim that his uncle's support for the Guard was always superficial, argued that Jurnal portughez and other writings of the time showed Eliade's disenchantment with the Legionaries' Christian stance in tandem with his growing sympathy for Nazism and its pagan messages. Paul Cernat, who stressed that it was the only one of Eliade's autobiographical works not to have been reworked by its author, concluded that the book documented Eliade's own efforts to "camouflage" his political sympathies without rejecting them altogether. Oișteanu argued that, in old age, Eliade moved away from his earlier stances and even came to sympathize with the non-Marxist Left and the hippie youth movement. He noted that Eliade initially felt apprehensive about the consequences of hippie activism, but that the interests they shared, as well as their advocacy of communalism and free love had made him argue that hippies were "a quasi-religious movement" that was "rediscovering the sacrality of Life". Andrei Oișteanu, who proposed that Eliade's critics were divided into a "maximalist" and a "minimalist" camp (trying to, respectively, enhance or shadow the impact Legionary ideas had on Eliade), argued in favor of moderation, and indicated that Eliade's fascism needed to be correlated to the political choices of his generation. Political symbolism in Eliade's fiction Various critics have traced links between Eliade's fiction works and his political views, or Romanian politics in general. Early on, George Călinescu argued that the totalitarian model outlined in Huliganii was: "An allusion to certain bygone political movements [...], sublimated in the ever so abstruse philosophy of death as a path to knowledge." By contrast, Întoarcerea din rai partly focuses on a failed communist rebellion, which enlists the participation of its main characters.Iphigenia‍'s story of self-sacrifice, turned voluntary in Eliade's version, was taken by various commentators, beginning with Mihail Sebastian, as a favorable allusion to the Iron Guard's beliefs on commitment and death, as well as to the bloody outcome of the 1941 Legionary Rebellion. Ten years after its premiere, the play was reprinted by Legionary refugees in Argentina: on the occasion, the text was reviewed for publishing by Eliade himself. Reading Iphigenia was what partly sparked Culianu's investigation of his mentor's early political affiliations. A special debate was sparked by Un om mare. Culianu viewed it as a direct reference to Corneliu Zelea Codreanu and his rise in popularity, an interpretation partly based on the similarity between, on one hand, two monikers ascribed to the Legionary leader (by, respectively, his adversaries and his followers), and, on the other, the main character's name (Cucoanes). Matei Călinescu did not reject Culianu's version, but argued that, on its own, the piece was beyond political interpretations. Commenting on this dialog, literary historian and essayist Mircea Iorgulescu objected to the original verdict, indicating his belief that there was no historical evidence to substantiate Culianu's point of view. Alongside Eliade's main works, his attempted novel of youth, Minunata călătorie a celor cinci cărăbuși in țara furnicilor roșii, which depicts a population of red ants living in a totalitarian society and forming bands to harass the beetles, was seen as a potential allusion to the Soviet Union and to communism. Despite Eliade's ultimate reception in Communist Romania, this writing could not be published during the period, after censors singled out fragments which they saw as especially problematic. Cultural legacy Tributes An endowed chair in the History of Religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School was named after Eliade in recognition of his wide contribution to the research on this subject; the first holder of this chair is Wendy Doniger, who was succeeded by Brook Ziporyn in 2020. To evaluate the legacy of Eliade and Joachim Wach within the discipline of the history of religions, the University of Chicago chose 2006 (the intermediate year between the 50th anniversary of Wach's death and the 100th anniversary of Eliade's birth), to hold a two-day conference in order to reflect upon their academic contributions and their political lives in their social and historical contexts, as well as the relationship between their works and their lives. In 1990, after the Romanian Revolution, Eliade was elected posthumously to the Romanian Academy. In Romania, Mircea Eliade's legacy in the field of the history of religions is mirrored by the journal Archaeus (founded 1997, and affiliated with the University of Bucharest Faculty of History). The 6th European Association for the Study of Religion and International Association for the History of Religions Special Conference on Religious History of Europe and Asia took place from September 20 to September 23, 2006, in Bucharest. An important section of the Congress was dedicated to the memory of Mircea Eliade, whose legacy in the field of history of religions was scrutinized by various scholars, some of whom were his direct students at the University of Chicago. As Antohi noted, Eliade, Emil Cioran and Constantin Noica "represent in Romanian culture ultimate expressions of excellence, [Eliade and Cioran] being regarded as proof that Romania's interwar culture (and, by extension, Romanian culture as a whole) was able to reach the ultimate levels of depth, sophistication and creativity." A Romanian Television 1 poll carried out in 2006 nominated Mircea Eliade as the 7th Greatest Romanian in history; his case was argued by the journalist Dragoş Bucurenci (see 100 greatest Romanians). His name was given to a boulevard in the northern Bucharest area of Primăverii, to a street in Cluj-Napoca, and to high schools in Bucharest, Sighişoara, and Reşiţa. The Eliades' house on Melodiei Street was torn down during the communist regime, and an apartment block was raised in its place; his second residence, on Dacia Boulevard, features a memorial plaque in his honor. Eliade's image in contemporary culture also has political implications. Historian Irina Livezeanu proposed that the respect he enjoys in Romania is matched by that of other "nationalist thinkers and politicians" who "have reentered the contemporary scene largely as heroes of a pre- and anticommunist past", including Nae Ionescu and Cioran, but also Ion Antonescu and Nichifor Crainic. In parallel, according to Oişteanu (who relied his assessment on Eliade's own personal notes), Eliade's interest in the American hippie community was reciprocated by members of the latter, some of whom reportedly viewed Eliade as "a guru". Eliade has also been hailed as an inspiration by German representatives of the Neue Rechte, claiming legacy from the Conservative Revolutionary movement (among them is the controversial magazine Junge Freiheit and the essayist Karlheinz Weißmann). In 2007, Florin Ţurcanu's biographical volume on Eliade was issued in a German translation by the Antaios publishing house, which is mouthpiece for the Neue Rechte. The edition was not reviewed by the mainstream German press. Other sections of the European far right also claim Eliade as an inspiration, and consider his contacts with the Iron Guard to be a merit—among their representatives are the Italian neofascist Claudio Mutti and Romanian groups who trace their origin to the Legionary Movement. Portrayals, filmography and dramatizations Early on, Mircea Eliade's novels were the subject of satire: before the two of them became friends, Nicolae Steinhardt, using the pen name Antisthius, authored and published parodies of them. Maitreyi Devi, who strongly objected to Eliade's account of their encounter and relationship, wrote her own novel as a reply to his Maitreyi; written in Bengali, it was titled Na Hanyate ('It Does Not Die'). Several authors, including Ioan Petru Culianu, have drawn a parallel between Eugène Ionesco's Absurdist play of 1959, Rhinoceros, which depicts the population of a small town falling victim to a mass metamorphosis, and the impact fascism had on Ionesco's closest friends (Eliade included). In 2000, Saul Bellow published his controversial Ravelstein novel. Having for its setting the University of Chicago, it had among its characters Radu Grielescu, who was identified by several critics as Eliade. The latter's portrayal, accomplished through statements made by the eponymous character, is polemical: Grielescu, who is identified as a disciple of Nae Ionescu, took part in the Bucharest Pogrom, and is in Chicago as a refugee scholar, searching for the friendship of a Jewish colleague as a means to rehabilitate himself. In 2005, the Romanian literary critic and translator Antoaneta Ralian, who was an acquaintance of Bellow's, argued that much of the negative portrayal was owed to a personal choice Bellow made (after having divorced from Alexandra Bagdasar, his Romanian wife and Eliade disciple). She also mentioned that, during a 1979 interview, Bellow had expressed admiration for Eliade. The film Mircea Eliade et la redécouverte du Sacré (1987), and part of the television series Architecture et Géographie sacrées by Paul Barbă Neagră, discuss Eliade's works. Film adaptations The Bengali Night (1988), directed by Nicolas Klotz Domnişoara Christina ('Miss Christina', 1992), directed by Viorel SergoviciȘarpele ('The Snake', 1996)Eu sunt Adam! (1996), directed by Dan Pița Youth Without Youth (2007), directed by Francis Ford CoppolaDomnişoara Christina (2013)The Bengali Night, a 1988 film directed by Nicolas Klotz and based upon the French translation of Maitreyi, stars British actor Hugh Grant as Allan, the European character based on Eliade, while Supriya Pathak is Gayatri, a character based on Maitreyi Devi (who had refused to be mentioned by name). The film, considered "pornographic" by Hindu activists, was only shown once in India. Live adaptations Domnișoara Christina (1981), opera at the Romanian Radio Iphigenia (1982), play at the National Theater Bucharest La señorita Cristina (2000), opera at the Teatro Real, Madrid Cazul Gavrilescu ('The Gavrilescu Case', 2001), play at the Nottara Theater La Țigănci (2003), play at the Odeon Theater Apocalipsa după Mircea Eliade ('The Apocalypse According to Mircea Eliade', 2007) Eliade's Iphigenia was again included in theater programs during the late years of the Nicolae Ceauşescu regime: in January 1982, a new version, directed by Ion Cojar, premiered at the National Theater Bucharest, starring Mircea Albulescu, Tania Filip and Adrian Pintea in some of the main roles. has been the basis for two theater adaptations: Cazul Gavrilescu ('The Gavrilescu Case'), directed by Gelu Colceag and hosted by the Nottara Theater; and an eponymous play by director Alexandru Hausvater, first staged by the Odeon Theater in 2003, starring, among others, Adriana Trandafir, Florin Zamfirescu, and Carmen Tănase. In March 2007, on Eliade's 100th birthday, the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company hosted the Mircea Eliade Week, during which radio drama adaptations of several works were broadcast. In September of that year, director and dramatist Cezarina Udrescu staged a multimedia performance based on a number of works Mircea Eliade wrote during his stay in Portugal; titled Apocalipsa după Mircea Eliade ('The Apocalypse According to Mircea Eliade'), and shown as part of a Romanian Radio cultural campaign, it starred Ion Caramitru, Oana Pellea and Răzvan Vasilescu.Domnișoara Christina has been the subject of two operas: the first, carrying the same Romanian title, was authored by Romanian composer Șerban Nichifor and premiered in 1981 at the Romanian Radio; the second, titled La señorita Cristina, was written by Spanish composer Luis de Pablo and premiered in 2000 at the Teatro Real in Madrid. Selected bibliography A History of Religious Ideas. Vol. 1: From the Stone Age to the Eleusinian Mysteries. Trans. Willard R. Trask. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1978. (Histoire des croyances et des idées religieuses. 3 vols. 1976–83.) Images and Symbols: Studies in Religious Symbolism (trans. Philip Mairet), Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1991 Myth and Reality (trans. Willard R. Trask), Harper & Row, New York, 1963 Myths, Dreams and Mysteries (trans. Philip Mairet), Harper & Row, New York, 1967 Myths, Rites, Symbols: A Mircea Eliade Reader, Vol. 2, Ed. Wendell C. Beane and William G. Doty, Harper Colophon, New York, 1976 Patterns in Comparative Religion, Sheed & Ward, New York, 1958 Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2004 The Myth of the Eternal Return: Cosmos and History (trans. Willard R. Trask), Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1971 "The Quest for the 'Origins' of Religion", in History of Religions 4.1 (1964), p. 154–169 The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion (trans. Willard R. Trask), Harper Torchbooks, New York, 1961 ‘’Hypermnésie et évasion. Doina Ruști, „Philologica Jassyensia”, An III, Nr. 1, 2007, p. 235-241 Yoga: Immortality and Freedom (trans. Willard R. Trask), Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2009 Isabela Vasiliu-Scraba, Harismele Duhului Sfânt si fotografia "de 14 ani" (Mircea Eliade), în rev. "Acolada", Satu Mare, annul XIV, nr. 12 (157), decembrie 2020, pp. 12–13 See also Sântoaderi, supernatural entities found in Romanian folklore Notes References Citations Sources Secondary sources Final Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania, Polirom, Iași, 2004. ; retrieved October 8, 2007. Sorin Antohi, "Commuting to Castalia: Noica's 'School', Culture and Power in Communist Romania", preface to Gabriel Liiceanu, The Păltiniş Diary: A Paideic Model in Humanist Culture, Central European University Press, Budapest, 2000, pp. vii–xxiv. . George Călinescu, Istoria literaturii române de la origini până în prezent ("The History of Romanian Literature from Its Origins to Present Times"), Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1986 John Daniel Dadosky, The Structure of Religious Knowing: Encountering the Sacred in Eliade and Lonergan, State University of New York Press, Albany, 2004. Robert Ellwood, The Politics of Myth: A Study of C. G. Jung, Mircea Eliade, and Joseph Campbell, State University of New York Press, Albany, 1999. Victor Frunză, Istoria stalinismului în România ("The History of Stalinism in Romania"), Humanitas, Bucharest, 1990 Roger Griffin, The Nature of Fascism, Routledge, London, 1993. Mircea Handoca, Convorbiri cu şi despre Mircea Eliade ("Conversations with and about Mircea Eliade") on Autori ("Published Authors") page of the Humanitas publishing house Furio Jesi, Mito, Mondadori, Milan, 1980. G. S. Kirk, Myth: Its Meaning and Functions in Ancient and Other Cultures, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1973. The Nature of Greek Myths, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1974. William McGuire, Bollingen: An Adventure in Collecting the Past, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1982. . Lucian Nastasă, "Suveranii" universităţilor româneşti ("The 'Sovereigns' of Romanian Universities"), Editura Limes, Cluj-Napoca, 2007 (available online at the Romanian Academy's George Bariţ Institute of History) Andrei Oişteanu, "Angajamentul politic al lui Mircea Eliade" ("Mircea Eliade's Political Affiliation"), in 22, Nr. 891, March–April 2007; retrieved November 15, 2007; retrieved January 17, 2008. "Mircea Eliade şi mişcarea hippie" ("Mircea Eliade and the Hippie Movement"), in Dilema Veche, Vol. III, May 2006; retrieved November 7, 2007 Z. Ornea, Anii treizeci. Extrema dreaptă românească ("The 1930s: The Romanian Far Right"), Editura EST-Samuel Tastet Editeur, Bucharest, 2008 Mihail Sebastian, Journal, 1935–1944: The Fascist Years, Ivan R. Dee, Chicago, 2000. . David Leeming. "Archetypes". The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford University Press, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. UC—Irvine. 30 May 2011 Isabela Vasiliu-Scraba, Harismele Duhului Sfânt si fotografia "de 14 ani" (Mircea Eliade), în rev. "Acolada", Satu Mare, annul XIV, nr. 12 (157), decembrie 2020, pp. 12–13 Further reading English Carrasco, David and Law, Jane Marie (eds.). 1985. Waiting for the Dawn. Boulder: Westview Press. Dudley, Guilford. 1977. Religion on Trial: Mircea Eliade & His Critics. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Idinopulos, Thomas A., Yonan, Edward A. (eds.) 1994. Religion and Reductionism: Essays on Eliade, Segal, and the Challenge of the Social Sciences for the Study of Religion, Leiden: Brill Publishers. McCutcheon, Russell T. 1997. Manufacturing Religion: The Discourse on Sui Generis Religion and the Politics of Nostalgia. New York: Oxford University Press. Olson, Carl. 1992. The Theology and Philosophy of Eliade: A Search for the Centre. New York: St Martins Press. Pals, Daniel L. 1996. Seven Theories of Religion. USA: Oxford University Press. Rennie, Bryan S. 1996. Reconstructing Eliade: Making Sense of Religion. Albany: State University of New York Press. . . Simion, Eugen. 2001. Mircea Eliade: A Spirit of Amplitude. Boulder: East European Monographs. Strenski, Ivan. 1987. Four Theories of Myth in Twentieth-Century History: Cassirer, Eliade, Levi Strauss and Malinowski. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. Wasserstrom, Steven M. 1999. Religion after Religion: Gershom Scholem, Mircea Eliade, and Henry Corbin at Eranos. Princeton: Princeton University Press Wedemeyer, Christian; Doniger, Wendy (eds.). 2010. Hermeneutics, Politics, and the History of Religions: The Contested Legacies of Joachim Wach and Mircea Eliade. Oxford etc.: Oxford University Press Other languages Alexandrescu, Sorin. 2007. Mircea Eliade, dinspre Portugalia. Bucharest: Humanitas. Băicuş, Iulian, 2009, Mircea Eliade. Literator şi mitodolog. În căutarea Centrului pierdut. Bucharest: Editura Universităţii București Călinescu, Matei. 2002. Despre Ioan P. Culianu şi Mircea Eliade. Amintiri, lecturi, reflecţii. Iaşi: Polirom. Culianu, Ioan Petru. 1978. Mircea Eliade. Assisi: Cittadella Editrice; 2008 Roma: Settimo Sigillo. David, Dorin. 2010. De la Eliade la Culianu (I). Bucuresti: Eikon. David, Dorin. 2014. Mircea Eliade: la marginea labirintului: corespondenţe între opera ştiinţifică şi proza fantastică. Bucuresti: Eikon. De Martino, Marcello. 2008. Mircea Eliade esoterico. Roma: Settimo Sigillo. Dubuisson, Daniel. 2005. Impostures et pseudo-science. L'œuvre de Mircea Eliade. Villeneuve d'Ascq: Presses Universitaires du Septentrion Gorshunova, Olga. 2008. Terra Incognita of Ioan Culianu, in Ètnografičeskoe obozrenie. N° 6, pp. 94–110. .. Laignel-Lavastine, Alexandra. 2002. Cioran, Eliade, Ionesco – L'oubli du fascisme. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France-Perspectives critiques. Oişteanu, Andrei. 2007. Religie, politică şi mit. Texte despre Mircea Eliade şi Ioan Petru Culianu. Iaşi: Polirom. Posada, Mihai. 2006. Opera publicistică a lui Mircea Eliade. Bucharest: Editura Criterion. Ruşti, Doina. 1997. Dicţionar de simboluri din opera lui Mircea Eliade. Bucharest: Editura Coresi. E-book Tacou, Constantin (ed.). 1977. Cahier Eliade. Paris: L'Herne. Tolcea, Marcel. 2002. Eliade, ezotericul. Timişoara: Editura Mirton. Ţurcanu, Florin. 2003. Mircea Eliade. Le prisonnier de l'histoire. Paris: Editions La Découverte. External links Biography of Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade, From Primitives to Zen Bryan S. Rennie on Mircea Eliade Joseph G. Muthuraj, The Significance of Mircea Eliade for Christian Theology Mircea Eliade presentation on the "100 Greatest Romanians" site Archaeus magazine Eliade and symbols Claudia Guggenbühl, Mircea Eliade and Surendranath Dasgupta. 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Pete Maravich

Pete Maravich was born to Petar "Press" Maravich (1915-1987) and Helen Gravor Maravich (1925-1974) in Aliquippa, a steel town in Beaver County in western Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. Maravich amazed his family and friends with his basketball abilities from an early age. He enjoyed a close but demanding father-son relationship that motivated him toward achievement and fame in the sport. Maravich's father was the son of Serbian immigrants and a former professional player-turned-coach.

Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks selected Maravich with the third pick in the first round of the 1970 NBA draft, where he played for coach Richie Guerin. He was not a natural fit in Atlanta, as the Hawks already boasted a top-notch scorer at the guard position in Lou Hudson. In fact, Maravich's flamboyant style stood in stark contrast to the conservative play of Hudson and star center Walt Bellamy. And it did not help that many of the veteran players resented the $1.9 million contract that Maravich received from the team--a very large salary at that time. Maravich appeared in 81 games and averaged 23.2 points per contest--good enough to earn NBA All-Rookie Team honors. And he managed to blend his style with his teammates, so much so that Hudson set a career high by scoring 26.8 points per game. But the team stumbled to a 36-46 record--12 wins fewer than in the previous season. Still, the Hawks qualified for the playoffs, where they lost to the New York Knicks in the first round. Maravich struggled somewhat during his second season. His scoring average dipped to 19.3 points per game, and the Hawks finished with another disappointing 36-46 record. Once again they qualified for the playoffs, and once again they were eliminated in the first round. However, Atlanta fought hard against the Boston Celtics, with Maravich averaging 27.7 points in the series. Maravich erupted in his third season, averaging 26.1 points (5th in the NBA) and dishing out 6.9 assists per game (6th in the NBA). With 2,063 points, he combined with Hudson (2,029 points) to become only the second set of teammates in league history to each score over 2,000 points in a single season. The Hawks soared to a 46-36 record, but again bowed out in the first round of the playoffs. However, the season was good enough to earn Maravich his first-ever appearance in the NBA All-Star Game, and also All-NBA Second Team honors. The following season (1973-74) was his best yet--at least in terms of individual accomplishments. Maravich posted 27.7 points per game--second in the league behind Bob McAdoo--and earned his second appearance in the All-Star Game. However, Atlanta sank to a disappointing 35-47 record and missed the postseason entirely. CANNOTANSWER

Peter Press Maravich ( ; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. Maravich was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, and raised in the Carolinas. Maravich starred in college at Louisiana State University's Tigers basketball team; his father Press Maravich was the team's head coach. Pete Maravich is the all-time leading NCAA Division I scorer with 3,667 points scored and an average of 44.2 points per game. All of his accomplishments were achieved before the adoption of the three-point line and shot clock, and despite being unable to play varsity as a freshman under then-NCAA rules. He played for three National Basketball Association (NBA) teams until injuries forced his retirement in 1980 following a 10-year professional basketball career. One of the youngest players ever inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Maravich was considered to be one of the greatest creative offensive talents ever and one of the best ball handlers of all time. He died suddenly at age 40 during a pick-up game in 1988 as a consequence of an undetected heart defect. Early life Maravich was born to Petar "Press" Maravich (1915–1987) and Helen Gravor Maravich (1925–1974) in Aliquippa, a steel town in Beaver County in western Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. Maravich amazed his family and friends with his basketball abilities from an early age. He enjoyed a close but demanding father-son relationship that motivated him toward achievement and fame in the sport. Maravich's father was the son of Serbian immigrants and a professional player–turned-coach. He showed his son the fundamentals starting when Pete was seven years old. Obsessively, young Maravich spent hours practicing ball control tricks, passes, head fakes, and long-range shots. Maravich played high school varsity ball at Daniel High School in Central, South Carolina, a year before being old enough to attend the school. While at Daniel from 1961 to 1963, Maravich participated in the school's first-ever game against a team from an all-black school. In 1963 his father departed from his position as head basketball coach at Clemson University and joined the coaching staff at North Carolina State University. While living in Raleigh, North Carolina, Maravich attended Needham B. Broughton High School, where his famous moniker was born. From his habit of shooting the ball from his side, as if holding a revolver, Maravich became known as "Pistol" Pete Maravich. He graduated from Broughton in 1965 and then attended Edwards Military Institute, where he averaged 33 points per game. Maravich never liked school and did not like Edwards Military Institute. It was known that Press Maravich was extremely protective of Maravich and would guard against any issue that might come up during his adolescence. Press threatened to shoot Maravich with a .45-caliber pistol if he drank or got into trouble. Maravich was 6 feet 4 inches in high school and was getting ready to play in college when his father took a coaching position at Louisiana State University. College career At that time NCAA rules prohibited first-year students from playing at varsity level, which forced Maravich to play on the freshman team. In his first game, Maravich put up 50 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists against Southeastern Louisiana College. In only three years playing on the varsity team (and under his father's coaching) at LSU, Maravich scored 3,667 points—1,138 of those in 1967–68, 1,148 in 1968–69, and 1,381 in 1969–70—while averaging 43.8, 44.2, and 44.5 points per game, respectively. For his collegiate career, the guard averaged 44.2 points per game in 83 contests and led the NCAA in scoring for each of his three seasons. Maravich's long-standing collegiate scoring record is particularly notable when three factors are taken into account: First, because of the NCAA rules that prohibited him from taking part in varsity competition during his first year as a student, Maravich was prevented from adding to his career record for a full quarter of his time at LSU. During this first year, Maravich scored 741 points in freshman competition. Second, Maravich played before the advent of the three-point line. This significant difference has raised speculation regarding just how much higher his records would be, given his long-range shooting ability and how such a component might have altered his play. Writing for ESPN.com, Bob Carter stated, "Though Maravich played before [...] the 3-point shot was established, he loved gunning from long range." It has been reported that former LSU coach Dale Brown charted every shot Maravich scored and concluded that, if his shots from three-point range had been counted as three points, Maravich's average would have totaled 57 points per game and 12 three-pointers per game. Third, the shot clock had also not yet been instituted in NCAA play during Maravich's college career. (A time limit on ball possession speeds up play, mandates an additional number of field goal attempts, eliminates stalling, and increases the number of possessions throughout the game, all resulting in higher overall scoring.) More than 50 years later, however, many of his NCAA and LSU records still stand. Maravich was a three-time All-American. Though he never appeared in the NCAA tournament, Maravich played a key role in turning around a lackluster program that had posted a 3–20 record in the season prior to his arrival. Maravich finished his college career in the 1970 National Invitation Tournament, where LSU finished fourth. NCAA career statistics Freshman At this time, freshmen did not play on the varsity team and these stats do not count in the NCAA record books. |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1966–67 | style="text-align:left;"| Louisiana State | 19 || 19 || ... || .452 || ... || .833 || 10.4 || ... || ... || ... || 43.6 Varsity |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1967–68 | style="text-align:left;"| Louisiana State | 26 || 26 || ... || .423 || ... || .811 || 7.5 || 4.0 || ... || ... || 43.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1968–69 | style="text-align:left;"| Louisiana State | 26 || 26 || ... || .444 || ... || .746 || 6.5 || 4.9 || ... || ... || 44.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1969–70 | style="text-align:left;"| Louisiana State | 31 || 31 || ... || .447 || ... || .773 || 5.3 || 6.2 || ... || ... || 44.5 |- | style="text-align:left;" colspan=2|Career | 83 || 83 || ... || .438 || ... || .775 || 6.5 || 5.1 || ... || ... || 44.2 Professional basketball career Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks selected Maravich with the third pick in the first round of the 1970 NBA draft, where he played for coach Richie Guerin. He was not a natural fit in Atlanta, as the Hawks already boasted a top-notch scorer at the guard position in combo guard Lou Hudson. In fact, Maravich's flamboyant style stood in stark contrast to the conservative play of Hudson and star center Walt Bellamy. It also did not help that many of the veteran players resented the $1.9 million contract that Maravich received from the team—a very large salary at that time. Maravich appeared in 81 games and averaged 23.2 points per contest—good enough to earn NBA All-Rookie Team honors. He managed to blend his style with his teammates, so much so that Hudson set a career high by scoring 26.8 points per game. But the team stumbled to a 36–46 record—12 wins fewer than in the previous season. Still, the Hawks qualified for the playoffs, where they lost to the New York Knicks during the first round, as Maravich averaged 22 points a contest in the five game series. Maravich struggled somewhat during his second season. His scoring average dipped to 19.3 points per game, and the Hawks finished with another disappointing 36–46 record. Once again they qualified for the playoffs, and once again they were eliminated in the first round. However, Atlanta fought hard against the Boston Celtics, with Maravich averaging 27.7 points in the series. Maravich erupted in his third season, averaging 26.1 points (5th in the NBA) and dishing out 6.9 assists per game (6th in the NBA). With 2,063 points, he combined with Hudson (2,029 points) to become only the second set of teammates in league history to each score over 2,000 points in a single season. The Hawks soared to a 46–36 record, but again bowed out in the first round of the playoffs. However, the season was good enough to earn Maravich his first-ever appearance in the NBA All-Star Game, and also All-NBA Second Team honors. The following season (1973–74) was his best yet—at least in terms of individual accomplishments. Maravich posted 27.7 points per game—second in the league behind Bob McAdoo—and earned his second appearance in the All-Star Game, where he would start for the Eastern Conference and score 15 points. However, Atlanta sank to a disappointing 35–47 record and missed the postseason entirely. New Orleans Jazz In the summer of 1974, an expansion franchise was preparing for its first season of competition in the NBA. The New Orleans Jazz were looking for something or someone to generate excitement among their new basketball fans. With his exciting style of play, Maravich was seen as the perfect man for the job. Additionally, he was already a celebrity in the state due to his accomplishments at LSU. To acquire Maravich, the Jazz traded two players and four draft picks to Atlanta. The expansion team struggled mightily in its first season. Maravich managed to score 21.5 points per game, but shot a career-worst 41.9 percent from the floor. The Jazz posted a 23–59 record, worst in the NBA. Jazz management did its best to give Maravich a better supporting cast. The team posted a 38–44 record in its second season (1975–76) but did not qualify for postseason play despite the dramatic improvement. Maravich struggled with injuries that limited him to just 62 games that season, but he averaged 25.9 points per contest (third behind McAdoo and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and continued his crowd-pleasing antics. He was elected to the All-NBA First Team that year. The following season (1976–77) was his most productive in the NBA. He led the league in scoring with an average of 31.1 points per game. He scored 40 points or more in 13 games, and 50 or more in four games. His 68-point masterpiece against the Knicks was at the time the most points ever scored by a guard in a single game, and only two players at any position had ever scored more: Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor. Coincidentally, Baylor was head coach of the Jazz at that time. Despite Maravich's performance, the team finished at 35-47 (three wins shy of the previous season) and once again failed to make the playoffs. Maravich earned his third All-Star game appearance and was honored as All-NBA First Team for the second consecutive season. The following season, injuries to both knees forced him to miss 32 games during the 1977–78 season. Despite being robbed of some quickness and athleticism, he still managed to score 27.0 points per game, and he also added 6.7 assists per contest, his highest average as a member of the Jazz. Many of those assists went to new teammate Truck Robinson, who had joined the franchise as a free agent during the off-season. In Robinson's first year in New Orleans, Robinson averaged 22.7 points and a league-best 15.7 rebounds per game. Robinson's presence prevented opponents from focusing their defensive efforts entirely on Maravich, and it lifted the Jazz to a 39–43 record—just short of making the club's first-ever appearance in the playoffs. Knee problems plagued Maravich for the rest of his career. He played in just 49 games during the 1978–79 season. He scored 22.6 points per game that season and earned his fifth and final All-Star appearance. But his scoring and passing abilities were severely impaired. The team struggled on the court, and faced serious financial trouble as well. Management became desperate to make some changes. The Jazz traded Robinson to the Phoenix Suns, receiving draft picks and some cash in return. However, in 1979, team owner Sam Battistone moved the Jazz to Salt Lake City. Final season The Utah Jazz began play in the 1979–80 season. Maravich moved with the team to Salt Lake City, but his knee problems were worse than ever. He appeared in 17 games early in the season, but his injuries prevented him from practicing much, and new coach Tom Nissalke had a strict rule that players who didn't practice were not allowed to play in games. Thus, Maravich was parked on the bench for 24 straight games, much to the dismay of Utah fans and to Maravich himself. During that time, Adrian Dantley emerged as the team's franchise player. The Jazz placed Maravich on waivers in January 1980. He signed with the Celtics, the top team in the league that year, led by rookie superstar Larry Bird. Maravich adjusted to a new role as part-time contributor, giving Boston a "hired gun" on offense off the bench. He helped the team post a 61–21 record in the regular season, the best in the league. And, for the first time since his early career in Atlanta, Maravich was able to participate in the NBA playoffs. He appeared in nine games during that postseason, but the Celtics were upended by Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference finals, four games to one. Realizing that his knee problems would never go away, Maravich retired at the end of that season. The NBA instituted the 3-point shot just in time for Maravich's last season in the league. He had always been famous for his long-range shooting, and though injury-dampened, his final year provided an official statistical gauge of his abilities. Between his limited playing time in Utah and Boston, he made 10 of 15 3-point shots, giving him a career 66.7% completion rate. During his ten-year career in the NBA, Maravich played in 658 games, averaging 24.2 points and 5.4 assists per contest. In 1987, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and his No. 7 jersey has been retired by both the Jazz and the New Orleans Pelicans, as well as his No. 44 jersey by the Atlanta Hawks. In 2021, to commemorate the NBA's 75th Anniversary The Athletic ranked their top 75 players of all time, and named Maravich as the 73rd greatest player in NBA history. NBA career statistics Regular season |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1970–71 | style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta | 81 || || 36.1 || .458 || || .800 || 3.7 || 4.4 || || || 23.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1971–72 | style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta | 66 || || 34.9 || .427 || || .811 || 3.9 || 6.0 || || || 19.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1972–73 | style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta | 79 || || 39.1 || .441 || || .800 || 4.4 || 6.9 || || || 26.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1973–74 | style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta | 76 || || 38.2 || .457 || || .826 || 4.9 || 5.2 || 1.5 || .2 || 27.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1974–75 | style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans | 79 || || 36.1 || .419 || || .811 || 5.3 || 6.2 || 1.5 || .2 || 21.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1975–76 | style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans | 62 || || 38.3 || .459|| || .811 || 4.8 || 5.4 || 1.4 || .4 || 25.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1976–77 | style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans | 73 || || 41.7 || .433 || || .835 || 5.1 || 5.4 || 1.2 || .3 ||style="background:#cfecec;"| 31.1* |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1977–78 | style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans | 50 || || 40.8 || .444 || || .870 || 3.6 || 6.7 || 2.0 || .2 || 27.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1978–79 | style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans | 49 || || 37.2 || .421 || || .841 || 2.5 || 5.0 || 1.2 || .4 || 22.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1979–80 | style="text-align:left;"| Utah | 17 || || 30.7 || .412 || .636 || .820 || 2.4 || 3.2 || .9 || .2 || 17.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1979–80 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 26 || 4 || 17.0 || .494 || .750 ||.909 || 1.5 || 1.1 || .3 || .1 || 11.5 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 658 || || 37.0 || .441 || .667 || .820 || 4.2 || 5.4 || 1.4 || .3 || 24.2 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| All-Star | 4 || 4 || 19.8 || .409 || || .778 || 2.0 || 3.8 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 10.8 Playoffs |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1971 | style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta | 5 || || 39.8 || .377 || || .692 || 5.2 || 4.8 || || || 22.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1972 | style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta | 6 || || 36.5 || .446 || || .817 || 5.3 || 4.7 || || || 27.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1973 | style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta | 6 || || 39.0 || .419 || || .794 || 4.8 || 6.7 || || || 26.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1980 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 9 || || 11.6 || .490 || .333 || .667 || .9 || .7 || .3 || .0 || 6.0 |- | style="text-align:center;" colspan=2|Career | 26 || || 29.1 || .423 || .333 || .784 || 3.6 || 3.8 || .3 || .0 || 18.7 |- Later life and death After injuries forced his retirement from the game in late 1980, Maravich became a recluse for two years. Through it all, Maravich said he was searching "for life". He tried the practices of yoga and Hinduism, read Trappist monk Thomas Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain and took an interest in the field of ufology, the study of unidentified flying objects. He also explored vegetarianism and macrobiotics, adopting a vegetarian diet in 1982. Eventually, he became a born-again Christian, embracing evangelical Christianity. A few years before his death, Maravich said, "I want to be remembered as a Christian, a person that serves Him [Jesus] to the utmost, not as a basketball player." On January 5, 1988, Maravich collapsed and died of heart failure at age 40 while playing in a pickup basketball game in the gym at First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, California, with a group that included evangelical author James Dobson. Maravich had flown out from his home in Covington, Louisiana to tape a segment for Dobson's radio show that aired later that day. Dobson has said that Maravich's last words, less than a minute before he died, were "I feel great." An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be a rare congenital defect; he had been born with a missing left coronary artery, a vessel that supplies blood to the muscle fibers of the heart. His right coronary artery was grossly enlarged and had been compensating for the defect. Legacy Maravich was survived by his wife Jackie and his sons Jaeson, who was 8 years old at the time of his death, and Josh, aged 5. Since Maravich's children were very young when he died, Jackie Maravich initially shielded them from unwanted media attention, not even allowing Jaeson and Josh to attend their father's funeral. However, his sons still developed a love for the game. During a 2003 interview, Jaeson told USA Today that, when he was still only a toddler, "My dad passed me a (Nerf) basketball, and I've been hooked ever since ... My dad said I shot and missed, and I got mad and I kept shooting. He said his dad told him he did the same thing." Despite some setbacks coping with their father's death and without the benefit that his tutelage might have provided, both sons eventually were inspired to play high school and collegiate basketball—Josh at his father's alma mater, LSU. On June 27, 2014, Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal proposed that LSU erect a statue of Maravich outside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Maravich's widow, Jackie McLachlan, said that she had been promised a statue after the passing of her husband. Others opposed a Maravich statue because he had fallen a few credits short of graduation and therefore didn't meet the requirements for monuments to student-athletes. In February 2016, the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame Committee unanimously approved a proposal that a statue honoring Maravich be installed on the campus, revising the stipulations required. On July 25, 2022, the statue was unveiled to the public outside of the Assembly Center. Memorabilia Maravich's untimely death and mystique have made memorabilia associated with him among the most highly prized of any basketball collectibles. Game-used Maravich jerseys bring more money at auction than similar items from anybody other than George Mikan, with the most common items selling for $10,000 and up and a game-used LSU jersey selling for $94,300 in a 2001 Grey Flannel auction. The signed game ball from his career-high 68-point night on February 25, 1977, sold for $131,450 in a 2009 Heritage auction. Honors, books, films and music In 1970, during his LSU days, Acapulco Music/The Panama Limited released "The Ballad of Pete Maravich by Bob Tinney and Woody Jenkins. In 1987, roughly a year before his death, Maravich co-authored Heir to a Dream, an award-winning (Gold Medallion) autobiography, with Darrel Campbell. It devotes considerable focus to his life after retirement from basketball and his later devotion to Christianity. In 1987, Maravich and Darrel Campbell produced the four-episode basketball instructional video series Pistol Pete's Homework Basketball. In 1988, Frank Schroeder and Darrel Campbell produced the documentary Maravich Memories: The LSU Years, based on Pete Maravich's college career. After Maravich's death, Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer signed a proclamation officially renaming LSU's basketball court the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. In 1991, The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend, a biographical film written and produced by Darrel Campbell dramatizing his 8th-grade season, was released. In 1996, Maravich was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History by a panel made up of NBA historians, players, and coaches. He was the only deceased player on the list. At the ceremony during halftime for the 1997 All-Star Game in Cleveland, he was represented by his two sons. In 2001, a comprehensive 90-minute documentary film, Pistol Pete: The Life and Times of Pete Maravich, debuted on CBS. In 2005, ESPNU named Maravich the greatest college basketball player of all time. In 2007, two biographies of Maravich were released: Maravich by Wayne Federman and Marshall Terrill; and Pistol by Mark Kriegel. Also in 2007, to promote Kriegel's book, Fox Sports conducted a contest to find "Pete Maravich's Biggest Fan". The winner was Scott Pollack of Sunrise, Florida. In 2021, Maravich was named one of the members of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team by a panel made up of NBA historians, players and coaches. The Ziggens, a band from Southern California, wrote "Pistol Pete", a song about Maravich. Hip-hop artist Aesop Rock mentions Pistol Pete in his song Citronella. Collegiate awards The Sporting News College Player of the Year (1970) USBWA College Player of the Year (1969, 1970) Naismith Award Winner (1970) Helms Foundation Player of the Year (1970) UPI Player of the Year (1970) Sporting News Player of the Year (1970) AP College Player of the Year (1970) The Sporting News All-America First Team (1968, 1969, 1970) Three-time AP and UPI First-Team All-America (1968, 1969, 1970) Led the NCAA Division I in scoring with 43.8 ppg (1968); 44.2 (1969) and 44.5 ppg (1970) Averaged 43.6 ppg on the LSU freshman team (1967) Scored a career-high 69 points vs. Alabama (); 66 vs. Tulane (); 64 vs. Kentucky (); 61 vs. Vanderbilt () Holds LSU records for most field goals made (26) and attempted (57) in a game against Vanderbilt on All-Southeastern Conference (1968, 1969, 1970) #23 Jersey retired by LSU (2007) In 1970, Maravich led LSU to a 20–8 record and a fourth-place finish in the National Invitation Tournament Collegiate records Points, career: 3,667 (three seasons) Highest scoring average, points per game, career: 44.2 (3,667 points/83 games) Points, season: 1,381 (1970) Highest scoring average, points per game, season: 44.5 (1,381/31) (1970) Games scoring 50 or more points, career: 28 Games scoring 50 or more points, season: 10 (1970) Field goals made, career: 1,387 Field goals made, season: 522 (1970) Field goal attempts, career: 3,166 Field goal attempts, season: 1,168 (1970) Free throws made, game: 30 (in 31 attempts), vs. Oregon State, Tied by Ben Woodside, North Dakota State, on NBA awards NBA All-Rookie Team All-NBA First Team (1976, 1977) All-NBA Second Team (1973, 1978) Five-time NBA All-Star (1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979) Led the league in scoring (31.1 ppg) in 1977, his career best Scored a career-high 68 points against the New York Knicks on February 25, 1977 #7 jersey retired by the Utah Jazz (1985) #7 jersey retired by the Superdome (1988) NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996) NBA 75th Anniversary Team (2021) #7 jersey retired by the New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans) (2002), even though he never played for them—one of only four players to have a number retired by a team they did not play for; Maravich did play professionally for the New Orleans Jazz, however, and has remained a greatly admired figure amongst New Orleans sports fans ever since. #44 jersey retired by the Atlanta Hawks (2017) NBA records Free throws made, quarter: 14, Pete Maravich, third quarter, Atlanta Hawks vs. Buffalo Braves, Broken by Vince Carter on Free throw attempts, quarter: 16, Pete Maravich, second quarter, Atlanta Hawks at Chicago Bulls, Broken by Ben Wallace on Second pair of teammates in NBA history to score 2,000 or more points in a season: 2, Atlanta Hawks () Maravich: 2,063 Lou Hudson: 2,029 Third pair of teammates in NBA history to score 40 or more points in the same game: New Orleans Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets, Maravich: 45 Nate Williams: 41 David Thompson of the Denver Nuggets also scored 40 points in this game. Ranks 4th in NBA history – Free throws made, none missed, game: 18–18, Pete Maravich, Atlanta Hawks vs. Buffalo Braves, Ranks 5th in NBA history – Free throws made, game: 23, Pete Maravich, New Orleans Jazz vs. New York Knicks, (2 OT) See also List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game List of National Basketball Association top rookie scoring averages List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 60 or more points in a game List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season scoring leaders List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career scoring leaders List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career free throw scoring leaders List of National Basketball Association annual minutes leaders Further reading Campbell, Darrel (2019). Hero & Friend: My Days with Pistol Pete. Percussion Films. . Brown, Danny (2008). Shooting the Pistol: Courtside Photographs of Pete Maravich at LSU. Louisiana State University Press Notes References External links Pete Maravich biography at NBA.com Pete Maravich at ESPN Pete Maravich's Greatest Achievement at powertochange.ie ‘68 All College MVP - 4 Days with Pistol Pete at oklahoman.com Pete Maravich Bio LSU Tigers Athletics Category:1947 births Category:1988 deaths Category:All-American college men's basketball players Category:American evangelicals Category:American men's basketball players Category:American people of Serbian descent Category:Atlanta Hawks draft picks Category:Atlanta Hawks players Category:Basketball players from Pennsylvania Category:Boston Celtics players Category:College basketball announcers in the United States Category:LSU Tigers men's basketball players Category:Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Category:National Basketball Association All-Stars Category:National Basketball Association broadcasters Category:National Basketball Association players with retired numbers Category:Needham B. Broughton High School alumni Category:New Orleans Jazz players Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania Category:Shooting guards Category:Sportspeople from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area Category:Basketball players from Raleigh, North Carolina Category:Utah Jazz players Category:Sigma Alpha Epsilon members

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Hubert Humphrey

Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 - January 13, 1978) was an American politician who served as the 38th Vice President of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 1949 to 1964 and 1971 to 1978. He was the Democratic Party's nominee in the 1968 presidential election, losing to Republican nominee Richard Nixon.

Chicago riots and party fallout

Humphrey and his running mate, Ed Muskie, who had not entered any of the 13 state primary elections, went on to win the Democratic nomination at the party convention in Chicago, Illinois even though 80 percent of the primary voters had been for anti-war candidates, the delegates had defeated the peace plank by 1,567 3/4 to 1,041 1/4 . Unfortunately for Humphrey and his campaign, in Grant Park, just five miles south of International Amphitheater convention hall (closed 1999), and at other sites near downtown Chicago, there were gatherings and protests by the thousands of antiwar demonstrators, many of whom favored McCarthy, George McGovern, or other "anti-war" candidates. These protesters - most of them young college students - were attacked and beaten on live television by Chicago police, actions which merely amplified the growing feelings of unrest in the general public. Humphrey's inaction during these activities along with President Johnson and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's behind the scenes convention influencing, public backlash from securing the presidential nomination without entering a single primary, as well as Humphrey refusal to meet McCarthy half way on his demands, resulting in McCarthy's lack of full endorsement of Humphrey, highlighted turmoil in the Democratic party's base that proved to be too much for Humphrey to overcome in time for the general election. The combination of the unpopularity of Johnson, the Chicago demonstrations, and the discouragement of liberals and African-Americans when both Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated during the election year, were all contributing factors that caused him to eventually lose the election to former Vice President Nixon. Although he lost the election by less than 1% of the popular vote, 43.4% for Nixon (31,783,783 votes) to 42.7% (31,271,839 votes) for Humphrey, with 13.5% (9,901,118 votes) for George Wallace, Humphrey carried just 13 states with 191 electoral college votes. Richard Nixon carried 32 states and 301 electoral votes, and Wallace carried 5 states in the South and 46 electoral votes (270 were needed to win). In his concession speech, Humphrey said: "I have done my best. I have lost, Mr. Nixon has won. The democratic process has worked its will." CANNOTANSWER

Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 1949 to 1964 and 1971 to 1978. As a senator he was a major leader of modern liberalism in the United States. As President Lyndon B. Johnson's vice president, he supported the controversial Vietnam War. An intensely divided Democratic Party nominated him in the 1968 presidential election, which he lost to Republican nominee Richard Nixon. Born in Wallace, South Dakota, Humphrey attended the University of Minnesota. In 1943, he became a professor of political science at Macalester College and ran a failed campaign for mayor of Minneapolis. He helped found the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) in 1944; the next year he was elected mayor of Minneapolis, serving until 1948 and co-founding the liberal anti-communist group Americans for Democratic Action in 1947. In 1948, he was elected to the U.S. Senate and successfully advocated for the inclusion of a proposal to end racial segregation in the 1948 Democratic National Convention's party platform. Humphrey served three terms in the Senate from 1949 to 1964, and was the Senate Majority Whip for the last four years of his tenure. During this time, he was the lead author of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, introduced the first initiative to create the Peace Corps, and chaired the Select Committee on Disarmament. He unsuccessfully sought his party's presidential nomination in 1952 and 1960. After Lyndon B. Johnson acceded to the presidency, he chose Humphrey as his running mate, and the Democratic ticket won a landslide victory in the 1964 election. In March 1968, Johnson made his surprise announcement that he would not seek reelection, and Humphrey launched his campaign for the presidency. Loyal to the Johnson administration's policies on the Vietnam War, he received opposition from many within his own party and avoided the primaries to focus on winning the delegates of non-primary states at the Democratic National Convention. His delegate strategy succeeded in clinching the nomination, and he chose Senator Edmund Muskie as his running mate. In the general election, he nearly matched Nixon's tally in the popular vote but lost the electoral vote by a wide margin. After the defeat, he returned to the Senate and served from 1971 until his death in 1978. He ran again in the 1972 Democratic primaries but lost to George McGovern and declined to be McGovern's running mate. From 1977 to 1978, he served as Deputy President pro tempore of the United States Senate. Early life and education Humphrey was born in a room over his father's drugstore in Wallace, South Dakota. He was the son of Ragnild Kristine Sannes (1883–1973), a Norwegian immigrant, and Hubert Horatio Humphrey Sr. (1882–1949). Humphrey spent most of his youth in Doland, South Dakota, on the Dakota prairie; the town's population was about 600. His father was a licensed pharmacist and merchant who served as mayor and a town council member. The father also served briefly in the South Dakota state legislature and was a South Dakota delegate to the 1944 and 1948 Democratic National Conventions. In the late 1920s, a severe economic downturn hit Doland; both banks in the town closed and Humphrey's father struggled to keep his store open. After his son graduated from Doland's high school, Hubert Sr. left Doland and opened a new drugstore in the larger town of Huron, South Dakota (population 11,000), where he hoped to improve his fortunes. Because of the family's financial struggles, Humphrey had to leave the University of Minnesota after just one year. He earned a pharmacist's license from the Capitol College of Pharmacy in Denver, Colorado (completing a two-year licensure program in just six months), and helped his father run his store from 1931 to 1937. Both father and son were innovative in finding ways to attract customers: "to supplement their business, the Humphreys had become manufacturers ... of patent medicines for both hogs and humans. A sign featuring a wooden pig was hung over the drugstore to tell the public about this unusual service. Farmers got the message, and it was Humphrey's that became known as the farmer's drugstore." One biographer noted, "while Hubert Jr. minded the store and stirred the concoctions in the basement, Hubert Sr. went on the road selling 'Humphrey's BTV' (Body Tone Veterinary), a mineral supplement and dewormer for hogs, and 'Humphrey's Chest Oil' and 'Humphrey's Sniffles' for two-legged sufferers." Humphrey later wrote, "we made 'Humphrey's Sniffles', a substitute for Vick's Nose Drops. I felt ours were better. Vick's used mineral oil, which is not absorbent, and we used a vegetable-oil base, which was. I added benzocaine, a local anesthetic, so that even if the sniffles didn't get better, you felt it less." The various "Humphrey cures ... worked well enough and constituted an important part of the family income ... the farmers that bought the medicines were good customers." Over time Humphrey's Drug Store became a profitable enterprise and the family again prospered. While living in Huron, Humphrey regularly attended Huron's largest Methodist church and became scoutmaster of the church's Boy Scout Troop 6. He "started basketball games in the church basement ... although his scouts had no money for camp in 1931, Hubert found a way in the worst of that summer's dust-storm grit, grasshoppers, and depression to lead an overnight [outing]." Humphrey did not enjoy working as a pharmacist, and his dream remained to earn a doctorate in political science and become a college professor. His unhappiness was manifested in "stomach pains and fainting spells", though doctors could find nothing wrong with him. In August 1937, he told his father that he wanted to return to the University of Minnesota. Hubert Sr. tried to convince his son not to leave by offering him a full partnership in the store, but Hubert Jr. refused and told his father "how depressed I was, almost physically ill from the work, the dust storms, the conflict between my desire to do something and be somebody and my loyalty to him ... he replied 'Hubert, if you aren't happy, then you ought to do something about it'." Humphrey returned to the University of Minnesota in 1937 and earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1939. He was a member of Phi Delta Chi, a pharmacy fraternity. He also earned a master's degree from Louisiana State University in 1940, serving as an assistant instructor of political science there. One of his classmates was Russell B. Long, a future U.S. Senator from Louisiana. He then became an instructor and doctoral student at the University of Minnesota from 1940 to 1941 (joining the American Federation of Teachers), and was a supervisor for the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Humphrey was a star on the university's debate team; one of his teammates was future Minnesota Governor and US Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman. In the 1940 presidential campaign Humphrey and future University of Minnesota president Malcolm Moos debated the merits of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Democratic nominee, and Wendell Willkie, the Republican nominee, on a Minneapolis radio station. Humphrey supported Roosevelt. Humphrey soon became active in Minneapolis politics, and as a result never finished his PhD. Marriage and early career In 1934, Humphrey began dating Muriel Buck, a bookkeeper and graduate of local Huron College. They were married from 1936 until Humphrey's death nearly 42 years later. They had four children: Nancy Faye, Skip Humphrey, Robert Andrew, and Douglas Sannes. Money was an issue that plagued the Humphreys consistently. One biographer noted, "For much of his life he was short of money to live on, and his relentless drive to attain the White House seemed at times like one long, losing struggle to raise enough campaign funds to get there." To help boost his salary, Humphrey frequently took paid outside speaking engagements. Through most of his years as a U.S. senator and vice president, he lived in a middle-class suburban housing development in Chevy Chase, Maryland. In 1958, the Humphreys used their savings and his speaking fees to build a lakefront home in Waverly, Minnesota, about 40 miles west of Minneapolis. During World War II, Humphrey tried three times to join the armed forces but failed. His first two attempts were to join the Navy, first as a commissioned officer and then as an enlisted man. He was rejected both times for color blindness. He then tried to enlist in the Army in December 1944 but failed the physical exam because of a double hernia, color blindness, and calcification of the lungs. Despite his attempts to join the military, one biographer would note that "all through his political life, Humphrey was dogged by the charge that he was a draft dodger" during the war. Humphrey led various wartime government agencies and worked as a college instructor. In 1942, he was the state director of new production training and reemployment and chief of the Minnesota war service program. In 1943 he was the assistant director of the War Manpower Commission. From 1943 to 1944, Humphrey was a professor of political science at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he headed the university's recently created international debate department, which focused on the international politics of World War II and the creation of the United Nations. After leaving Macalester in the spring of 1944, Humphrey worked as a news commentator for a Minneapolis radio station until 1945. In 1943, Humphrey made his first run for elective office, for Mayor of Minneapolis. He lost, but his poorly funded campaign still captured over 47% of the vote. In 1944, Humphrey was one of the key players in the merger of the Democratic and Farmer-Labor parties of Minnesota to form the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). He also worked on President Roosevelt's 1944 reelection campaign. When Minnesota Communists tried to seize control of the new party in 1945, Humphrey became an engaged anticommunist and led the successful fight to oust the Communists from the DFL. Mayor of Minneapolis After the war, Humphrey again ran for mayor of Minneapolis; this time, he won the election with 61% of the vote. As mayor, he helped ensure the appointment of a friend and previous neighbor, Edwin Ryan, as head of the police department, as he needed a "police chief whose integrity and loyalty would be above reproach." Though they had differing views of labor unions, Ryan and Humphrey worked together to crack down on crime in Minneapolis. Humphrey told Ryan, "I want this town cleaned up and I mean I want it cleaned up now, not a year from now or a month from now, right now", and "You take care of the law enforcement. I'll take care of the politics." Humphrey served as mayor from 1945 to 1948, winning reelection in 1947 by the largest margin in the city's history to that time. Humphrey gained national fame by becoming one of the founders of the liberal anticommunist Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), and he served as chairman from 1949 to 1950. He also reformed the Minneapolis police force. The city had been named the "anti-Semitism capital" of the country, and its small African-American population also faced discrimination. Humphrey's mayoralty is noted for his efforts to fight all forms of bigotry. He formed the Council on Human Relations and established a municipal version of the Fair Employment Practice Committee, making Minneapolis one of only a few cities in the United States to prohibit racial discrimination in the workforce. Humphrey and his publicists were proud that the Council on Human Relations brought together individuals of varying ideologies. In 1960, Humphrey told journalist Theodore H. White, "I was mayor once, in Minneapolis ... a mayor is a fine job, it's the best job there is between being a governor and being the President." A 1993 survey of historians, political scientists and urban experts by Melvin G. Holli of the University of Illinois at Chicago ranked Humphrey as the 28th-best American big-city mayor to have served between 1820 and 1993. 1948 Democratic National Convention The Democratic Party of 1948 was split between those, mainly Northerners, who thought the federal government should actively protect civil rights for racial minorities, and those, mainly Southerners, who believed that states should be able to enforce traditional racial segregation within their borders. At the 1948 Democratic National Convention, the party platform reflected the division by containing only platitudes supporting civil rights. The incumbent president, Harry S. Truman, had shelved most of his 1946 Commission on Civil Rights's recommendations to avoid angering Southern Democrats. But Humphrey had written in The Progressive magazine, "The Democratic Party must lead the fight for every principle in the report. It is all or nothing." A diverse coalition opposed the convention's tepid civil rights platform, including anticommunist liberals like Humphrey, Paul Douglas and John F. Shelley, all of whom would later become known as leading progressives in the Democratic Party. They proposed adding a "minority plank" to the party platform that would commit the Democratic Party to more aggressive opposition to racial segregation. The minority plank called for federal legislation against lynching, an end to legalized school segregation in the South, and ending job discrimination based on skin color. Also strongly backing the minority plank were Democratic urban bosses like Ed Flynn of the Bronx, who promised the votes of northeastern delegates to Humphrey's platform, Jacob Arvey of Chicago, and David Lawrence of Pittsburgh. Although seen as conservatives, the urban bosses believed that Northern Democrats could gain many black votes by supporting civil rights, with only comparatively small losses from Southern Democrats. Although many scholars have suggested that labor unions were leading figures in this coalition, no significant labor leaders attended the convention, except for the heads of the Congress of Industrial Organizations Political Action Committee (CIO-PAC), Jack Kroll and A.F. Whitney. Despite Truman's aides' aggressive pressure to avoid forcing the issue on the Convention floor, Humphrey spoke for the minority plank. In a renowned speech, Humphrey passionately told the convention, "To those who say, my friends, to those who say that we are rushing this issue of civil rights, I say to them we are 172 years (too) late! To those who say this civil rights program is an infringement on states' rights, I say this: the time has arrived in America for the Democratic Party to get out of the shadow of states' rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights!" Humphrey and his allies succeeded: the convention adopted the pro-civil-rights plank by a vote of 651 to 582. After the convention's vote, the Mississippi delegation and half of the Alabama delegation walked out of the hall. Many Southern Democrats were so enraged at this affront to their "way of life" that they formed the Dixiecrat party and nominated their own presidential candidate, Governor Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. The Dixiecrats' goal was to take Southern states away from Truman and thus cause his defeat. They reasoned that after such a defeat, the national Democratic Party would never again aggressively pursue a pro-civil rights agenda. The move backfired: although the civil rights plank cost Truman the Dixiecrats' support, it gained him many votes from blacks, especially in large northern cities. As a result, Truman won an upset victory over his Republican opponent, Thomas E. Dewey. The result demonstrated that the Democratic Party could win presidential elections without the "Solid South" and weakened Southern Democrats. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough has written that Humphrey probably did more to get Truman elected in 1948 than anyone other than Truman himself. United States Senate (1949–1964) Humphrey was elected to the United States Senate in 1948 on the DFL ticket, defeating James M. Shields in the DFL primary with 89% of the vote, and unseating incumbent Republican Joseph H. Ball in the general election with 60% of the vote. He took office on January 3, 1949, becoming the first Democrat elected senator from Minnesota since before the Civil War. Humphrey wrote that the victory heightened his sense of self, as he had beaten the odds of defeating a Republican with statewide support. Humphrey's father died that year, and Humphrey stopped using the "Jr." suffix on his name. He was reelected in 1954 and 1960. His colleagues selected him as majority whip in 1961, a position he held until he left the Senate on December 29, 1964, to assume the vice presidency. Humphrey served from the 81st to the 87th sessions of Congress, and in a portion of the 88th Congress. Initially, Humphrey's support of civil rights led to his being ostracized by Southern Democrats, who dominated Senate leadership positions and wanted to punish him for proposing the civil rights platform at the 1948 Convention. Senator Richard Russell Jr. of Georgia, a leader of Southern Democrats, once remarked to other Senators as Humphrey walked by, "Can you imagine the people of Minnesota sending that damn fool down here to represent them?" Humphrey refused to be intimidated and stood his ground; his integrity, passion and eloquence eventually earned him the respect of even most of the Southerners. The Southerners were also more inclined to accept Humphrey after he became a protégé of Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas. Humphrey became known for his advocacy of liberal causes (such as civil rights, arms control, a nuclear test ban, food stamps, and humanitarian foreign aid), and for his long and witty speeches. Humphrey was a liberal leader who fought to uphold Truman's veto of the McCarran Act of 1950. The bill was designed to suppress the American Communist Party. With a small group of liberals he supported the Kilgore substitute that would allow the president to lock up subversives, without trial, in a time of national emergency. The model was the internment of West Coast Japanese in 1942. The goal was to split the McCarren coalition. For years critics charged that Humphrey supported concentration camps. The ploy failed to stop the new law; the Senate voted 57 to 10 to overturn Truman's veto. In 1954 he proposed to make membership in the Communist Party a felony. It was another ploy to derail a bill that would hurt labor unions. Humphrey's proposal did not pass. Humphrey was the author of the first humane slaughter bill introduced in the U.S. Congress and chief Senate sponsor of the Humane Slaughter Act of 1958. Humphrey chaired the Select Committee on Disarmament (84th and 85th Congresses). In February 1960 he introduced a bill to establish a National Peace Agency. With another former pharmacist, Representative Carl Durham, Humphrey cosponsored the Durham-Humphrey Amendment, which amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, defining two specific categories for medications, legend (prescription) and over-the-counter (OTC). As Democratic whip in the Senate in 1964, Humphrey was instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights Act that year. He was a lead author of its text, alongside Senate Republican Minority Leader Everett Dirksen of Illinois. Humphrey's consistently cheerful and upbeat demeanor, and his forceful advocacy of liberal causes, led him to be nicknamed "The Happy Warrior" by many of his Senate colleagues and political journalists. While President John F. Kennedy is often credited for creating the Peace Corps, Humphrey introduced the first bill to create the Peace Corps in 1957—three years before Kennedy's University of Michigan speech. A trio of journalists wrote of Humphrey in 1969 that "few men in American politics have achieved so much of lasting significance. It was Humphrey, not Senator [Everett] Dirksen, who played the crucial part in the complex parliamentary games that were needed to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was Humphrey, not John Kennedy, who first proposed the Peace Corps. The Food for Peace program was Humphrey's idea, and so was Medicare, passed sixteen years after he first proposed it. He worked for Federal aid to education from 1949, and for a nuclear-test ban treaty from 1956. These are the solid monuments of twenty years of effective work for liberal causes in the Senate." President Johnson once said that "Most Senators are minnows ... Hubert Humphrey is among the whales." In his autobiography, The Education of a Public Man, Humphrey wrote: There were three bills of particular emotional importance to me: the Peace Corps, a disarmament agency, and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The President, knowing how I felt, asked me to introduce legislation for all three. I introduced the first Peace Corps bill in 1957. It did not meet with much enthusiasm. Some traditional diplomats quaked at the thought of thousands of young Americans scattered across their world. Many senators, including liberal ones, thought the idea was silly and unworkable. Now, with a young president urging its passage, it became possible and we pushed it rapidly through the Senate. It is fashionable now to suggest that Peace Corps Volunteers gained as much or more, from their experience as the countries they worked. That may be true, but it ought not demean their work. They touched many lives and made them better. On April 9, 1950, Humphrey predicted that President Truman would sign a $4 billion housing bill and charge Republicans with having removed the bill's main middle-income benefits during Truman's tours of the Midwest and Northwest the following month. On January 7, 1951, Humphrey joined Senator Paul Douglas in calling for an $80 billion federal budget to combat Communist aggression along with a stiff tax increase to prevent borrowing. In a January 1951 letter to President Truman, Humphrey wrote of the necessity of a commission akin to the Fair Employment Practices Commission that would be used to end discrimination in defense industries and predicted that establishing such a commission by executive order would be met with high approval by Americans. On June 18, 1953, Humphrey introduced a resolution calling for the US to urge free elections in Germany in response to the anti-Communist riots in East Berlin. In December 1958, after receiving a message from Nikita Khrushchev during a visit to the Soviet Union, Humphrey returned insisting that the message was not negative toward America. In February 1959, Humphrey said American newspapers should have ignored Khrushchev's comments calling him a purveyor of fairy tales. In a September address to the National Stationery and Office Equipment Association, Humphrey called for further inspection of Khrushchev's "live and let live" doctrine and maintained the Cold War could be won by using American "weapons of peace". In June 1963, Humphrey accompanied his longtime friend labor leader Walter Reuther on a trip to Harpsund, the Swedish Prime Minister's summer country retreat, to meet with European socialist leaders for an exchange of ideas. Among the European leaders who met with Humphrey and Reuther were the prime ministers of Britain, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, as well as future German chancellor Willy Brandt. Presidential and vice-presidential ambitions (1952–1964) Humphrey ran for the Democratic presidential nomination twice before his election to the vice presidency in 1964. The first time was as Minnesota's favorite son in 1952; he received only 26 votes on the first ballot. The second time was in 1960. In between these two bids, Humphrey was part of the free-for-all for the vice-presidential nomination at the 1956 Democratic National Convention, where he received 134 votes on the first ballot and 74 on the second. In 1960, Humphrey ran for the nomination against fellow Senator John F. Kennedy in the primaries. Their first meeting was in the Wisconsin Primary, where Kennedy's well-organized and well-funded campaign overcame Humphrey's energetic but poorly funded effort. Humphrey believed defeating Kennedy in Wisconsin would weaken and slow the momentum of the latter's campaign. Kennedy's attractive brothers, sisters, and wife Jacqueline combed the state for votes. At one point Humphrey memorably complained that he "felt like an independent merchant competing against a chain store". Humphrey later wrote in his memoirs that "Muriel and I and our 'plain folks' entourage were no match for the glamour of Jackie Kennedy and the other Kennedy women, for Peter Lawford ... and Frank Sinatra singing their commercial 'High Hopes'. Jack Kennedy brought family and Hollywood to Wisconsin. The people loved it and the press ate it up." Kennedy won the Wisconsin primary, but by a smaller margin than anticipated. Some commentators argued that Kennedy's victory margin had come almost entirely from areas with large Roman Catholic populations, and that Protestants had supported Humphrey. As a result, Humphrey refused to quit the race and decided to run against Kennedy again in the West Virginia primary. According to one biographer "Humphrey thought his chances were good in West Virginia, one of the few states that had backed him in his losing race for vice-president four years earlier ... West Virginia was more rural than urban, [which] seemed to invite Humphrey's folksy stump style. The state, moreover, was a citadel of labor. It was depressed; unemployment had hit hard; and coal miners' families were hungry. Humphrey felt he could talk to such people, who were 95% Protestant (Humphrey was a Congregationalist) and deep-dyed Bible-belters besides." Kennedy chose to meet the religion issue head-on. In radio broadcasts, he carefully redefined the issue from Catholic versus Protestant to tolerance versus intolerance. Kennedy's appeal placed Humphrey, who had championed tolerance his entire career, on the defensive, and Kennedy attacked him with a vengeance. Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr., the son of the former president, stumped for Kennedy in West Virginia and raised the issue of Humphrey's failure to serve in the armed forces in World War II. Roosevelt told audiences, "I don't know where he [Humphrey] was in World War Two," and handed out flyers charging that Humphrey was a draft dodger. Historian Robert Dallek has written that Robert F. Kennedy, who was serving as his brother's campaign manager, came into "possession of information that Humphrey may have sought military deferments during World War Two ... he pressed Roosevelt to use this." Humphrey believed Roosevelt's draft-dodger claim "had been approved by Bobby [Kennedy], if not Jack". The claims that Humphrey was a draft dodger were inaccurate, because during the war Humphrey had "tried and failed to get into the [military] service because of physical disabilities". After the West Virginia primary, Roosevelt sent Humphrey a written apology and retraction. According to historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Roosevelt "felt that he had been used, blaming [the draft-dodger charge] on Robert Kennedy's determination to win at any cost ... Roosevelt said later that it was the biggest political mistake of his career." Short on funds, Humphrey could not match the well-financed Kennedy operation. He traveled around the state in a rented bus while Kennedy and his staff flew in a large, family-owned airplane. According to his biographer Carl Solberg, Humphrey spent only $23,000 on the West Virginia primary while Kennedy's campaign privately spent $1.5 million, well over their official estimate of $100,000. Unproven accusations claimed that the Kennedys had bought the West Virginia primary by bribing county sheriffs and other local officials to give Kennedy the vote. Humphrey later wrote, "as a professional politician I was able to accept and indeed respect the efficacy of the Kennedy campaign. But underneath the beautiful exterior, there was an element of ruthlessness and toughness that I had trouble either accepting or forgetting." Kennedy defeated Humphrey soundly in West Virginia with 60.8% of the vote. That evening, Humphrey announced that he was leaving the race. By winning West Virginia, Kennedy overcame the belief that Protestant voters would not elect a Catholic to the presidency and thus sewed up the Democratic nomination. Humphrey won the South Dakota and District of Columbia primaries, which Kennedy did not enter. At the 1960 Democratic National Convention, he received 41 votes even though he was no longer a candidate. Vice presidential campaign Humphrey's defeat in 1960 had a profound influence on his thinking; after the primaries he told friends that, as a relatively poor man in politics, he was unlikely to ever become president unless he served as vice president first. Humphrey believed that only in this way could he attain the funds, nationwide organization, and visibility he would need to win the Democratic nomination. So as the 1964 presidential campaign began, Humphrey made clear his interest in becoming Lyndon Johnson's running mate. At the 1964 Democratic National Convention, Johnson kept the three likely vice-presidential candidates, Connecticut Senator Thomas Dodd, fellow Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy, and Humphrey, as well as the rest of the nation, in suspense before announcing his choice of Humphrey with much fanfare, praising his qualifications at considerable length before announcing his name. The following day Humphrey's acceptance speech overshadowed Johnson's own acceptance address: In an address before labor leaders in Youngstown, Ohio, on September 7, 1964, Humphrey said the labor movement had "more at stake in this election than almost any other segment of society". In Jamesburg, New Jersey, on September 10, Humphrey remarked that Goldwater had a "record of retreat and reaction" when it came to issues of urban housing. During a September 12 Denver Democratic rally, Humphrey charged Goldwater with having rejected programs that most Americans and members of his own party supported. At a Santa Fe September 13 rally, Humphrey said the Goldwater-led Republican Party was seeking "to divide America so that they may conquer" and that Goldwater would pinch individuals in his reduction of government. On September 16, Humphrey said the Americans for Democratic Action supported the Johnson administration's economic sanctions against Cuba, and that the organization wanted to see a free Cuban government. The following day in San Antonio, Texas, Humphrey said Goldwater opposed programs favored by most Texans and Americans. During a September 27 appearance in Cleveland, Ohio, Humphrey said the Kennedy administration had led America in a prosperous direction and called for voters to issue a referendum with their vote against "those who seek to replace the Statue of Liberty with an iron-padlocked gate." At a October 1 rally in Tacoma, Washington, Humphrey attacked Goldwater as a radical who opposed the 1960 GOP platform and true conservatism, which in Humphrey's opinion meant a balance of tradition and progress. At Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, on October 2, Humphrey said the general election would give voters a choice between his running mate and a candidate "who curses the darkness and never lights a candle". During an October 9 Jersey City, New Jersey, appearance, Humphrey responded to critics of the administration, who he called "sick and tired Americans", by touting the accomplishments of both Kennedy's and Johnson's presidencies. In Tampa, Florida, on October 18, a week after the resignation of Walter Jenkins amid a scandal, Humphrey said he was unaware of any potential security leaks relating to the case. In Minneapolis on October 24, Humphrey listed the censure vote toward Senator Joseph McCarthy, the civil rights bill, and the nuclear test ban treaty as "three great issues of conscience to come before the United States Senate in the past decade" that Goldwater had voted incorrectly on as a Senator. In an October 26 speech in Chicago, Humphrey called Goldwater "neither a Republican nor a Democrat" and "a radical". The Johnson-Humphrey ticket won the election overwhelmingly, with 486 electoral votes out of 538. Only five Southern states and Goldwater's home state of Arizona supported the Republican ticket. In October Humphrey had predicted that the ticket would win by a large margin but not carry every state. Vice President-elect of the United States Soon after winning the election, Humphrey and Johnson went to LBJ ranch near Stonewall, Texas. On November 6, 1964, Humphrey traveled to the Virgin Islands for a two-week vacation. News stations aired taped remarks in which Humphrey stated that he had not discussed with Johnson what his role would be as vice president and that national campaigns should be reduced by four weeks. In a November 20 interview, Humphrey announced he would resign his Senate seat midway through the next month so that Walter Mondale could assume the position. On December 10, 1964, Humphrey met with Johnson in the Oval Office, the latter charging the vice president-elect with "developing a publicity machine extraordinaire and of always wanting to get his name in the paper." Johnson showed Humphrey a George Reed memo with the allegation that the president would die within six months from an already acquired fatal heart disease. The same day, during a speech in Washington, Johnson announced Humphrey would have the position of giving assistance to governmental civil rights programs. On January 19, 1965, the day before the inauguration, Humphrey told the Democratic National Committee that the party had unified because of the national consensus established by the presidential election. Vice presidency (1965–1969) Humphrey took office on January 20, 1965, ending the 14-month vacancy of the Vice President of the United States, which had remained empty when then-Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson assumed the Presidency after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. He was an early skeptic of the then growing Vietnam War. Following a successful Viet Cong hit-and-run attack on a US military installation at Pleiku on February 7, 1965 (where 7 Americans were killed and 109 wounded), Humphrey returned from Georgia to Washington D.C., to attempt to prevent further escalation. He told President Johnson that bombing North Vietnam was not a solution to the problems in South Vietnam, but that bombing would require the injection of US ground forces into South Vietnam to protect the airbases. Presciently, he noted that a military solution in Vietnam would take several years, well beyond the next election cycle. In response to this advice, President Johnson punished Humphrey by treating him coldly and restricting him from his inner circle for a number of months, until Humphrey decided to "get back on the team" and fully support the war effort. As vice president, Humphrey was criticized for his complete and vocal loyalty to Johnson and the policies of the Johnson administration, even as many of his liberal admirers opposed the president's policies with increasing fervor regarding the Vietnam War. Many of Humphrey's liberal friends and allies abandoned him because of his refusal to publicly criticize Johnson's Vietnam War policies. Humphrey's critics later learned that Johnson had threatened Humphrey – Johnson told Humphrey that if he publicly criticized his policies, he would destroy Humphrey's chances to become president by opposing his nomination at the next Democratic Convention. However, Humphrey's critics were vocal and persistent: even his nickname, "the Happy Warrior", was used against him. The nickname referred not to his military hawkishness, but rather to his crusading for social welfare and civil rights programs. After his narrow defeat in the 1968 presidential election, Humphrey wrote that "After four years as Vice-President ... I had lost some of my personal identity and personal forcefulness. ... I ought not to have let a man [Johnson] who was going to be a former President dictate my future." While he was vice president, Hubert Humphrey was the subject of a satirical song by songwriter/musician Tom Lehrer entitled "Whatever Became of Hubert?" The song addressed how some liberals and progressives felt let down by Humphrey, who had become a much more mute figure as vice president than he had been as a senator. The song goes "Whatever became of Hubert? Has anyone heard a thing? Once he shone on his own, now he sits home alone and waits for the phone to ring. Once a fiery liberal spirit, ah, but now when he speaks he must clear it. ..." During these years Humphrey was a repeated and favorite guest of Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. He also struck up a friendship with Frank Sinatra, who supported his campaign for president in 1968 before his conversion to the Republican party in the early 1970s, and was perhaps most on notice in the fall of 1977 when Sinatra was the star attraction and host of a tribute to a then-ailing Humphrey. He also appeared on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast in 1973. On April 15, 1965, Humphrey delivered an address to the American Society of Newspaper Editors, pledging the incumbent session of Congress would "do more for the lasting long-term health of this nation" since the initial session in office at the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt assuming the presidency in 1933 and predicting 13 major measures of President Johnson's administration would be passed ahead of the session's conclusion. In mid-May 1965, Humphrey traveled to Dallas, Texas for an off-the-record discussion with donors of President Johnson's campaign. During the visit, Humphrey was imposed tight security as a result of the JFK assassination a year and a half prior and the mother of Lee Harvey Oswald was placed under surveillance by Police Chief Cato Hightower. During a May 31, 1966, appearance at Huron College, Humphrey said the US should not expect "either friendship or gratitude" in helping poorer countries. At a September 22, 1966 Jamesburg, New Jersey Democratic Party fundraiser, Humphrey said the Vietnam War would be shortened if the US stayed firm and hastened the return of troops: "We are making a decision not only to defend Vietnam, we are defending the United States of America." During a May 1967 news conference, Humphrey said American anger toward Vietnam was losing traction and that he could see a growth in popularity for President Johnson since a low point five months prior. During an August 2, 1967, appearance in Detroit, Michigan, Humphrey proposed each state consider forming peacekeeping councils focused on preventing violence, gaining community cooperation, and listening to "the voices of those who have gone unheard." On November 4, 1967, Humphrey cited Malaysia as an example of what Vietnam could resemble post a Viet Cong defeat while in Jakarta, Indonesia. The following day, Vice President Humphrey requested Indonesia attempt mediation in the Vietnam War during a meeting with Suharto at Merdeka palace. On December 7, Vice President Humphrey said in an interview that the Viet Cong could potentially be the factor in creating a political compromise with the government of Saigon. Civil rights In February 1965, President Johnson appointed Humphrey to the chairmanship of the President's Council on Equal Opportunity. The position and board had been proposed by Humphrey, who told Johnson that the board should consist of members of the Cabinet and federal agency leaders and serve multiple roles: assisting agency cooperation, creating federal program consistency, using advanced planning to avoid potential racial unrest, creating public policy, and meeting with local and state level leaders. During his tenure, he appointed Wiley A Branton as executive director. During the first meeting of the group on March 3, Humphrey stated the budget was US$289,000 and pledged to ensure vigorous work by the small staff. Following the Watts riots in August of that year, Johnson downsized Humphrey's role as the administration's expert on civil rights. Dallek wrote the shift in role was in line with the change in policy the Johnson administration underwent in response to "the changing political mood in the country on aid to African Americans." In a private meeting with Joseph Califano on September 18, 1965, President Johnson stated his intent to remove Humphrey from the post of "point man" on civil rights within the administration, believing the vice president was tasked with enough work. Days later, Humphrey met with Johnson, Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, and White House Counsel Lee C. White. Johnson told Humphrey he would shorten his role within the administration's civil rights policies and pass a portion to Katzenbach, Califano writing that Humphrey agreed to go along with the plan reluctantly. In an August 1967 speech at a county officials national convention in Detroit, Michigan, Humphrey called for the establishment of a Marshall Plan that would curb poverty in the United States as well as address racial violence, and advocated for the creation of civil peace councils that would counter rioting. He said the councils should include representation from all minority groups and religions, state governments, the National Guard, and law enforcement agencies and that the United States would see itself out of trouble only when law and order was reestablished. Foreign trips December 1965 saw the beginning of Humphrey's tour of eastern countries, saying he hoped to have "cordial and frank discussions" ahead of the trip beginning when asked about the content of the talks. During a December 29 meeting with Prime Minister of Japan Eisaku Satō, Humphrey asked the latter for support on achieving peace in the Vietnam War and said it was a showing of strength that the United States wanted a peaceful ending rather than a display of weakness. Humphrey began a European tour in late-March 1967 to mend frazzled relations and indicated that he was "ready to explain and ready to listen." On April 2, 1967, Vice President Humphrey met with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Harold Wilson. Ahead of the meeting, Humphrey said they would discuss multiple topics including the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, European events, Atlantic alliance strengthening, and "the situation in the Far East". White House Press Secretary George Christian said five days later that he had received reports from Vice President Humphrey indicating his tour of the European countries was "very constructive" and said President Johnson was interested in the report as well. While Humphrey was in Florence, Italy on April 1, 1967, 23-year-old Giulio Stocchi threw eggs at the Vice President and missed. He was seized by American bodyguards who turned him in to Italian officers. In Brussels, Belgium on April 9, demonstrators led by communists threw rotten eggs and fruits at Vice President Humphrey's car, also hitting several of his bodyguards. In late-December 1967, Vice President Humphrey began touring Africa. 1968 presidential election As 1968 began, it looked as if President Johnson, despite the rapidly decreasing approval rating of his Vietnam War policies, would easily win the Democratic nomination for a second time. Humphrey was widely expected to remain Johnson's running mate for reelection in 1968. Johnson was challenged by Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, who ran on an anti-Vietnam War platform. With the backing of out-of-state anti-war college students and activists while campaigning in the New Hampshire primary, McCarthy, who was not expected to be a serious contender for the Democratic nomination, nearly defeated Johnson, finishing with a surprising 42% of the vote to Johnson's 49%. A few days after the New Hampshire primary, after months of contemplation and originally intending to support Johnson's bid for reelection, Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York also entered the race on an anti-war platform. On March 31, 1968, a week before the Wisconsin primary, where polls showed a strong standing for McCarthy, President Johnson stunned the nation by withdrawing from his race for a second full term. Following the announcement from Johnson, Humphrey announced his presidential candidacy on April 27, 1968. Declaring his candidacy in a speech in Washington, DC alongside Senators Fred Harris of Oklahoma and Walter Mondale of Minnesota (who both served as the co-chairs to his campaign), Humphrey stated: Here we are, just as we ought to be, here we are, the people, here we are the spirit of dedication, here we are the way politics ought to be in America, the politics of happiness, politics of purpose, politics of joy; and that's the way it's going to be, all the way, too, from here on out. We seek an America able to preserve and nurture all the basic rights of free expression, yet able to reach across the divisions that too often separate race from race, region from region, young from old, worker from scholar, rich from poor. We seek an America able to do this in the higher knowledge that our goals and ideals are worthy of conciliation and personal sacrifice. Also in his speech, Humphrey supported President Johnson's Vietnam initiative he proposed during his address to the nation four weeks earlier; partially halting the bombings in North Vietnam, while sending an additional 13,500 troops and increasing the Department of Defense's budget by 4% over the next fiscal year. Later in the campaign, Humphrey opposed a proposal by Senators McCarthy and George McGovern of South Dakota to the Democratic Convention's Policy Committee, calling for an immediate end to the bombings in Vietnam, an early withdrawal of troops and setting talks for a coalition government with the Viet Cong. Many people saw Humphrey as Johnson's stand-in; he won major backing from the nation's labor unions and other Democratic groups troubled by young antiwar protesters and the social unrest around the nation. A group of British journalists wrote that Humphrey, despite his liberal record on civil rights and support for a nuclear test-ban treaty, "had turned into an arch-apologist for the war, who was given to trotting around Vietnam looking more than a little silly in olive-drab fatigues and a forage cap. The man whose name had been a by-word in the South for softness toward Negroes had taken to lecturing black groups ... the wild-eyed reformer had become the natural champion of every conservative element in the Democratic Party." Humphrey entered the race too late to participate in the Democratic primaries and concentrated on winning delegates in non-primary states by gaining the support of Democratic officeholders who were elected delegates to the Democratic Convention. By June, McCarthy won in Oregon and Pennsylvania, while Kennedy had won in Indiana and Nebraska, though Humphrey was the front runner as he led the delegate count. The California primary was crucial for Kennedy's campaign, as a McCarthy victory would have prevented Kennedy from reaching the number of delegates required to secure the nomination. On June 4, 1968, Kennedy defeated McCarthy by less than 4% in the winner-take-all California primary. But the nation was shocked yet again when Senator Kennedy was assassinated after his victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. After the assassination of Kennedy, Humphrey suspended his campaign for two weeks. Chicago riots and party fallout Humphrey did not enter any of the 13 state primary elections, but won the Democratic nomination at the party convention in Chicago, even though 80 percent of the primary voters had been for antiwar candidates. The delegates defeated the peace plank by 1,567 to 1,041. Humphrey selected as his running mate Senator Ed Muskie of Maine. Unfortunately for Humphrey and his campaign, in Grant Park, just five miles south of International Amphitheatre convention hall, and at other sites near downtown Chicago, there were gatherings and protests by thousands of antiwar demonstrators, many of whom favored McCarthy, George McGovern, or other antiwar candidates. Mayor Richard J. Daley's Chicago police attacked and beat these protesters, most of them young college students, which amplified the growing feelings of unrest among the public. Humphrey's inaction during these incidents, Johnson's and Daley's behind-the-scenes maneuvers, public backlash against Humphrey's winning the nomination without entering a single primary, and Humphrey's refusal to meet McCarthy halfway on his demands, resulting in McCarthy's refusal to fully endorse him, highlighted turmoil in the Democratic Party's base that proved to be too much for Humphrey to overcome in time for the general election. The combination of Johnson's unpopularity, the Chicago demonstrations, and the discouragement of liberals and African-Americans after the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. that year, all contributed to his loss to former Vice President Nixon. Nevertheless, as Wallace lost support among white union members, Humphrey regained strength and the final polls showed a close race. Humphrey reversed his Vietnam policy, called for peace talks, and won back some of the antiwar Democrats. Nixon won the electoral college and the election. Humphrey lost the popular vote by less than one percent, with 43.4% for Nixon (31,783,783 votes) to 42.7% (31,271,839) for Humphrey, and 13.5% (9,901,118) for Wallace. Humphrey carried just 13 states and the District of Columbia with 191 electoral college votes, Nixon carried 32 states and 301 electoral votes, and Wallace carried five states and 46 electoral votes. In his concession speech, Humphrey said, "I have done my best. I have lost; Mr. Nixon has won. The democratic process has worked its will." Post-vice presidency (1969–1978) Teaching and return to the Senate After leaving the vice presidency, Humphrey taught at Macalester College and the University of Minnesota, and served as chairman of the board of consultants at the Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation. On February 11, 1969, Humphrey met privately with Mayor Richard J. Daley and denied ever being "at war" with Daley during a press conference later in the day. In March, Humphrey declined answering questions on the Johnson administration being either involved or privy to the cessation of bombing of the north in Vietnam during an interview on Issues and Answers. At a press conference on June 2, 1969, Humphrey backed Nixon's peace efforts, dismissing the notion that he was not seeking an end to the war. In early July, Humphrey traveled to Finland for a private visit. Later that month, Humphrey returned to Washington after visiting Europe, a week after McCarthy declared he would not seek reelection, Humphrey declining to comment amid speculation he intended to return to the Senate. During the fall, Humphrey arranged to meet with President Nixon through United States National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, Humphrey saying the day after the meeting that President Nixon had "expressed his appreciation on my attitude to his effort on Vietnam." On August 3, Humphrey said that Russia was buying time to develop ballistic missile warheads to catch up with the United States and that security was the "overriding concern" of the Soviet Union. Days later, Humphrey repudiated efforts against President Nixon's anti-ballistic missile system: "I have a feeling that they [opponents of the ABM] were off chasing rabbits when a tiger is loose." During October, Humphrey spoke before the AFL-CIO convention delegates, charging President Nixon's economic policies with "putting Americans out of work without slowing inflation." On October 10, Humphrey stated his support for Nixon's policies in Vietnam and that he believed "the worst thing that we can do is to try to undermine the efforts of the President." At a December 21 press conference, Humphrey said President Nixon was a participant in the "politics of polarization" and could not seek unity on one hand but have divisive agents on the other. On December 26, Humphrey responded to a claim from former President Johnson that Humphrey had been cost the election by his own call for a stop to North Vietnam bombing, saying he did what he "thought was right and responsible at Salt Lake City." On January 4, 1970, Humphrey said the United States should cease tests of nuclear weapons during the continued conversations for potential strategic arms limitations between the United States and the Soviet Union while speaking to the National Retail Furniture association at the Palmer House. In February, Humphrey predicted Nixon would withdraw 75,000 or more troops prior to the year's midterm elections and the main issue would be the economy during an interview: "The issue of 1970 is the economy. Some of my fellow Democrats don't believe this. But this is a fact." On February 23, Humphrey disclosed his recommendation to Larry O'Brien for the latter to return to being Chair of the Democratic National Committee, a Humphrey spokesman reporting that Humphrey wanted a quick settlement to the issue of the DNC chairmanship. Solberg wrote of President Nixon's April 1970 Cambodian Campaign as having done away with Humphrey's hopes that the war be taken out of political context. In May, Humphrey pledged to do all that he was capable of to provide additional war planes to Israel and stress the issue to American leaders. Amid an August 11 address to the American Bar Association luncheon meeting, Humphrey called for liberals to cease defending campus radicals and militants and align with law and order. Humphrey had not planned to return to political life, but an unexpected opportunity changed his mind. McCarthy, who was up for reelection in 1970, realized that he had only a slim chance of winning even re-nomination for the Minnesota seat because he had angered his party by opposing Johnson and Humphrey for the 1968 presidential nomination, and declined to run. Humphrey won the nomination, defeated Republican Congressman Clark MacGregor, and returned to the U.S. Senate on January 3, 1971. Ahead of resuming his senatorial duties, Humphrey had a November 16, 1970, White House meeting with President Nixon as part of a group of newly elected senators invited to meet with the president. He was reelected in 1976, and remained in office until his death. In a rarity in politics, Humphrey held both Senate seats from his state (Class I and Class II) at different times. During his return to the Senate he served in the 92nd, 93rd, 94th, and a portion of the 95th Congress. He served as chairman of the Joint Economic Committee in the 94th Congress. Fourth Senate term L. Edward Purcell wrote that upon returning to the Senate, Humphrey found himself "again a lowly junior senator with no seniority" and that he resolved to create credibility in the eyes of liberals. On May 3, 1971, after the Americans for Democratic Action adopted a resolution demanding President Nixon's impeachment, Humphrey commented that they were acting "more out of emotion and passion than reason and prudent judgment" and that the request was irresponsible. On May 21, Humphrey said ending hunger and malnutrition in the U.S. was "a moral obligation" during a speech to International Food Service Manufacturers Association members at the Conrad Hilton Hotel. In June, Humphrey delivered the commencement address at the University of Bridgeport and days later said that he believed Nixon was interested in seeing a peaceful end to the Vietnam War "as badly as any senator or anybody else." On July 14, while testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Arms Control, Humphrey proposed amending the defense procurement bill to place in escrow all funds for creation and usage of multiple‐missile warheads in the midst of continued arms limitations talks. Humphrey said members of the Nixon administration needed to remember "when they talk of a tough negotiating position, they are going to get a tough response." On September 6, Humphrey rebuked the Nixon administration's wage price freeze, saying it was based on trickle-down policies and advocating "percolate up" as a replacement, while speaking at a United Rubber Workers gathering. On October 26, Humphrey stated his support for removing barriers to voting registration and authorizing students to establish voting residences in their college communities, rebuking the refusal of United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell the previous month to take a role in shaping voter registration laws as applicable to new voters. On December 24, 1971, Humphrey accused the Nixon administration of turning its back on the impoverished in the rural parts of the United States, citing few implementations of the relief recommendations of the 1967 National Advisory Commission; in another statement he said only 3 of the 150 recommendations had been implemented. On December 27, Humphrey said the Nixon administration was responsible for an escalation of the Southeast Asia war and requested complete cessation of North Vietnam bombing while responding to antiwar protestors in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In January 1972, Humphrey stated the U.S. would be out of the Vietnam War by that point had he been elected president, saying Nixon was taking longer to withdraw American troops from the country than it took to defeat Adolf Hitler. On May 20, Humphrey said Nixon's proposal to limit schoolchildren busing was "insufficient in the amount of aid needed for our children, deceptive to the American people, and insensitive to the laws and the Constitution of this nation", in a reversal of his prior stance, while in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During a May 30 appearance in Burbank, California, Humphrey stated his support for an immediate withdrawal of American forces from South Vietnam despite an invasion by North Vietnam. In January 1973, Humphrey said the Nixon administration was plotting to eliminate a school milk program in the upcoming fiscal year budget during a telephone interview. On February 18, 1973, Humphrey said the Middle East could possibly usher in peace following the Vietnam War ending along with American troops withdrawing from Indochina during an appearance at the New York Hilton. In August 1973, Humphrey called on Nixon to schedule a meeting with nations exporting and importing foods as part of an effort to both create a worldwide policy on food and do away with food hoarding. After Nixon's dismissal of Archibald Cox, Humphrey said he found "the whole situation entirely depressing." Three days after Cox's dismissal, during a speech to the AFL-CIO convention on October 23, Humphrey declined to state his position on whether Nixon should be impeached, citing that his congressional position would likely cause him to have to play a role in determining Nixon's fate. On December 21, Humphrey disclosed his request of federal tax deductions of US$199,153 for the donation of his vice presidential papers to the Minnesota State Historical Society. In early January 1974, Humphrey checked into the Bethesda Naval Hospital for tests regarding a minute tumor of the bladder. His physician Edgar Berman said the next day that Humphrey "looks fine and feels fine" and was expected to leave early the following week. In an interview conducted on March 29, 1974, Humphrey concurred with Senator Mike Mansfield's assessment from the prior day that the House of Representatives had enough votes to impeach Nixon. Humphrey was reportedly pleased by Nixon's resignation. In an April 1975 news conference at the spring education conference of the United Federation of Teachers, Humphrey cited the need for a national department of education, a national education trust fund, and a federal government provision for a third of America's educational expenses. He said the Ford administration had no educational policy and noted the United States was the only industrialized country without a separate national education department. In May, Humphrey testified at the trial of his former campaign manager Jack L. Chestnut, admitting that as a candidate he sought the support of Associated Milk Producers, Inc., but saying he was not privy to the illegal contributions Chestnut was accused of taking from the organization. Later that month, Humphrey was one of 19 senators to originate a letter stating the expectation of 75 senators that Ford would submit a foreign aid request to Congress meeting the "urgent military and economic needs" of Israel. In August, after the United States Court of Appeals ruled that Ford had no authority to continue levying fees of $2 a barrel on imported oil, Humphrey hailed the decision as "the best news we've heard on the inflation front in a long time" and urged Ford to accept the decision because the price reduction on oil and oil‐related products would benefit the national economy. In October, after Sara Jane Moore's assassination attempt on Ford, Humphrey joined former presidential candidates Barry Goldwater, Edmund Muskie, and George McGovern in urging Ford and other presidential candidates to restrain their campaigning the following year to prevent future attempts on their lives. In October 1976, Humphrey was admitted to a hospital for the removal of a cancerous bladder, predicted his victory in his reelection bid and advocated for members of his party to launch efforts to increase voter turnout upon his release. 1972 presidential election On November 4, 1970, shortly after being reelected to the Senate, Humphrey stated his intention to take on the role of a "harmonizer" within the Democratic Party to minimize the possibility of potential presidential candidates within the party lambasting each other prior to deciding to run in the then-upcoming election, dismissing that he was an active candidate at that time. In December 1971, Humphrey made his second trip to New Jersey in under a month, talking with a plurality of county leaders at the Robert Treat Hotel: "I told them I wanted their support. I said I'd rather work with them than against them." In 1972, Humphrey once again ran for the Democratic nomination for president, announcing his candidacy on January 10, 1972, during a twenty-minute speech in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the time of the announcement, Humphrey said he was running on a platform of the removal of troops from Vietnam and a revitalization of the United States economy. He drew upon continuing support from organized labor and the African-American and Jewish communities, but remained unpopular with college students because of his association with the Vietnam War, even though he had altered his position in the years since his 1968 defeat. Humphrey initially planned to skip the primaries, as he had in 1968. Even after he revised this strategy he still stayed out of New Hampshire, a decision that allowed McGovern to emerge as the leading challenger to Muskie in that state. Humphrey did win some primaries, including those in Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania, but was defeated by McGovern in several others, including the crucial California primary. Humphrey also was out-organized by McGovern in caucus states and was trailing in delegates at the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida. His hopes rested on challenges to the credentials of some of the McGovern delegates. For example, the Humphrey forces argued that the winner-take-all rule for the California primary violated procedural reforms intended to produce a better reflection of the popular vote, the reason that the Illinois delegation was bounced. The effort failed, as several votes on delegate credentials went McGovern's way, guaranteeing his victory. After his primary win, McGovern asked Humphrey to be his running mate, but Humphrey declined. After the election, Humphrey called Nixon and the two had an amicable conversation in which Humphrey implied that he preferred Nixon to McGovern, and had tried to keep McGovern from winning. 1976 presidential election On April 22, 1974, Humphrey said that he would not enter the upcoming Democratic presidential primary for the 1976 Presidential election. Humphrey said at the time that he was urging fellow Senator and Minnesotan Walter Mondale to run, despite believing that Ted Kennedy would enter the race as well. Leading up to the election cycle, Humphrey also said, "Here's a time in my life when I appear to have more support than at any other time in my life. But it's too financially, politically, and physically debilitating – and I'm just not going to do it." In December 1975, a Gallup poll was released showing Humphrey and Ronald Reagan as the leading Democratic and Republican candidates for the following year's presidential election. On April 12, 1976, Chairman of the New Jersey Democratic Party State Senator James P. Dugan said the selection of a majority of uncommitted delegates could be interpreted as a victory for Humphrey, who had indicated his availability as a presidential candidate for the convention. Humphrey announced his choice to not enter the New Jersey primary nor authorize any committees to work to support him during an April 29, 1976, appearance in the Senate Caucus Room. Even after Jimmy Carter had won enough delegates to clinch the nomination, many still wanted Humphrey to announce his availability for a draft. However, he did not do so, and Carter easily secured the nomination on the first round of balloting. Humphrey had learned that he had terminal cancer, prompting him to sit the race out. Humphrey attended the November 17, 1976, meeting between President-elect Carter and Democratic congressional leaders in which Carter sought out support for a proposal to have the president's power to reorganize the government reinstated with potential to be vetoed by Congress. Fifth Senate term Humphrey attended the May 3, 1977, White House meeting on legislative priorities. Humphrey told President Carter that the U.S. would enter a period of high unemployment without an economic stimulus and noted that in "every period in our history, a rise in unemployment has been accompanied by a rise in inflation". Humphrey stated a preventative health care program would be the only way for the Carter administration to not have to fund soaring health costs. In July 1977, after the Senate began debating approval for funding of the neutron bomb, Humphrey stated that the White House had agreed to release the impact statement, a requirement for Congressional funding of a new weapon. Deputy President pro tempore of the Senate (1977–1978) In 1974, along with Rep. Augustus Hawkins of California, Humphrey authored the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act, the first attempt at full employment legislation. The original bill proposed to guarantee full employment to all citizens over 16 and set up a permanent system of public jobs to meet that goal. A watered-down version called the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act passed the House and Senate in 1978. It set the goal of 4 percent unemployment and 3 percent inflation and instructed the Federal Reserve Board to try to produce those goals when making policy decisions. Humphrey ran for Majority Leader after the 1976 election but lost to Robert Byrd of West Virginia. The Senate honored Humphrey by creating the post of Deputy President pro tempore of the Senate for him. On August 16, 1977, Humphrey revealed he was suffering from terminal bladder cancer. On October 25 of that year, he addressed the Senate, and on November 3, Humphrey became the first person other than a member of the House or the President of the United States to address the House of Representatives in session. President Carter honored him by giving him command of Air Force One for his final trip to Washington on October 23. One of Humphrey's final speeches contained the lines "It was once said that the moral test of Government is how that Government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped", which is sometimes described as the "liberals' mantra". Death and funeral Humphrey spent his last weeks calling old political acquaintances. One call was to Richard Nixon inviting him to his upcoming funeral, which Nixon accepted. Staying in the hospital, Humphrey went from room to room, cheering up other patients by telling them jokes and listening to them. On January 13, 1978, he died of bladder cancer at his home in Waverly, Minnesota, at the age of 66. Humphrey's body lay in state in the rotundas of the U.S. Capitol and the Minnesota State Capitol before being interred at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis. His passing overshadowed the death of his colleague from Montana, Senator Lee Metcalf, who had died the day before Humphrey. Old friends and opponents of Humphrey, from Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon to President Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale, paid their final respects. "He taught us how to live, and finally he taught us how to die", said Mondale. Humphrey's wife Muriel was appointed by Minnesota governor Rudy Perpich to serve in the U.S. Senate until a special election to fill the term was held; she did not seek election to finish her husband's term in office. In 1981 she married Max Brown and took the name Muriel Humphrey Brown. Upon her death in 1998 she was interred next to Humphrey at Lakewood Cemetery. Honors and legacy In 1965, Humphrey was made an Honorary Life Member of Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically African American fraternity. In 1978, Humphrey received the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards. He was awarded posthumously the Congressional Gold Medal on June 13, 1979, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980. He was honored by the United States Postal Service with a 52¢ Great Americans series (1980–2000) postage stamp. There is a statue of him in front of the Minneapolis City Hall. Humphrey's legacy is bolstered by his early leadership in civil rights, and undermined by his long support of the Vietnam War. His leading biographer Arnold A. Offner says he was "the most successful legislator in the nation's history and a powerful voice for equal justice for all." Offner writes that Humphrey was: A major force for nearly every important liberal policy initiative....putting civil rights on his party's and the nation's agenda [in 1948] for decades to come. As senator he proposed legislation to effect national health insurance, for aid to poor nations, immigration and income tax reform, a Job Corps, the Peace Corps, the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and the path breaking 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty....[He provided] masterful stewardship of the historic 1964 Civil Rights Act through the Senate. While acknowledging his accomplishments, some historians emphasize that Humphrey was "a flawed, and not entirely likeable, figure who talked too much and neglected his family while pursuing a politics of compromise that owed as much to his vaunting personal ambition as to political pragmatism." Namesakes Fellowship The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, which fosters an exchange of knowledge and mutual understanding throughout the world. Buildings and institutions The Hubert H. Humphrey Terminal at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport The former Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome domed stadium in Minneapolis which was home to the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League and the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball. The Hubert H. Humphrey Job Corps Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and its building, the Hubert H. Humphrey Center (formerly Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs; changed in January 2011) The Hubert H. Humphrey Building of the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. The Hubert H. Humphrey Bridge carrying FL S.R. 520 over the Indian River Lagoon between Cocoa and Merritt Island in Brevard County, Florida The Hubert H. Humphrey Middle School in Bolingbrook, Illinois. The Hubert H. Humphrey Comprehensive Health Center of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services in Los Angeles, California. The Hubert H. Humphrey Recreation Center of the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks in Pacoima, CA. The Hubert H. Humphrey Auditorium at Doland High School in Doland, South Dakota. The Hubert H. Humphrey Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico The Hubert H. Humphrey Elementary School in Waverly, Minnesota The Hubert H. Humphrey Cancer Center in Robbinsdale, Minnesota Portrayals Franklin Cover in the 1982 television film A Woman Called Golda. Bradley Whitford in the 2016 television film All the Way. Doug McKeon in the 2017 film LBJ. Electoral history See also Politics of Minnesota Humphrey's son, Skip Humphrey and grandson Buck Humphrey are also Minnesotan politicians. List of United States Congress members who died in office (1950–99) Humphrey objection Notes References Berman, Edgar. Hubert: The Triumph And Tragedy Of The Humphrey I Knew. New York: G.P. Putnam's & Sons, 1979. A physician's personal account of his friendship with Humphrey from 1957 until his death in 1978. Boomhower, Ray E. "Fighting the Good Fight: John Bartlow Martin and Hubert Humphrey's 1968 Presidential Campaign." Indiana Magazine of History (2020) 116#1 pp 1–29. online Caro, Robert A. The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002. Chester, Lewis, Hodgson, Godfrey, Page, Bruce. An American Melodrama: The Presidential Campaign of 1968. New York: The Viking Press, 1969. online Cohen, Dan. Undefeated: The Life of Hubert H. Humphrey. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 1978. Dallek, Robert. An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2003. Engelmayer, Sheldon D., and Robert J. Wagman. Hubert Humphrey: The Man and His Dream (1978). online Garrettson, Charles L. III. Hubert H. Humphrey: The Politics of Joy. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1993. Gould, Lewis L. 1968: The Election That Changed America (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1993). online Humphrey, Hubert H. The Education of a Public Man: My Life and Politics. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976, a primary source. online Johns, Andrew L. The Price of Loyalty: Hubert Humphrey's Vietnam Conflict (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020). Mann, Robert. The Walls of Jericho: Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Russell and the Struggle for Civil Rights. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1996. online Offner, Arnold, "Hubert Humphrey: The Conscience of the Country," New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2018. Pomper, Gerald. "The nomination of Hubert Humphrey for vice-president." Journal of Politics 28.3 (1966): 639–659. online Reichard, Gary W. "Mayor Hubert H. Humphrey" Minnesota History 56#2 (1998), pp. 50–67 online Ross, Irwin. The Loneliest Campaign: The Truman Victory of 1948. New York: New American Library, 1968. Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. Robert Kennedy and His Times. New York: Ballantine Books, 1996. Solberg, Carl. Hubert Humphrey: A Biography. New York: Norton, 1984. online Taylor, Jeff. Where Did the Party Go? William Jennings Bryan, Hubert Humphrey, and the Jeffersonian Legacy. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2006. Thurber, Timothy N. The Politics of Equality: Hubert H. Humphrey and the African American Freedom Struggle. Columbia University Press, 1999. pp. 352. White, Theodore H. The Making of the President 1960. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2004. (Reprint) External links University of Texas biography Hubert H. Humphrey Papers are available for research use at the Minnesota Historical Society. Humphrey's complete speech texts and a broad sample of his speech sound recordings have been digitzed by the Minnesota Historical Society under a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Complete text and audio of Humphrey's 1948 speech at the Democratic National Convention – from AmericanRhetoric.com Complete text and audio of Humphrey's 1964 speech at the Democratic National Convention – from AmericanRhetoric.com Account of 1948 Presidential campaign – includes text of Humphrey's speech at the Democratic National Convention Oral History Interviews with Hubert H. Humphrey, from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library Information on Humphrey's thought and influence, including quotations from his speeches and writings. Hubert H. Humphrey at the Macedonian Baptist Church, San Francisco, May 23, 1972 Photographs by Bruce Jackson of Humphrey on his last campaign. Radio airchecks/recordings of Hubert H. Humphrey from 1946 to 1978 including interviews, radio appearances, newscasts, 1968 election concession speech, etc. "Hubert Humphrey, Presidential Contender" from C-SPAN's The Contenders |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- Category:1911 births Category:1978 deaths Category:20th-century vice presidents of the United States Category:American Congregationalists Category:American Federation of Teachers people Category:American pharmacists Category:American people of Norwegian descent Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of the Vietnam War Category:Burials at Lakewood Cemetery Category:Congressional Gold Medal recipients Category:American cooperative organizers Category:Deaths from bladder cancer Category:Deaths from cancer in Minnesota Category:Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees Category:Democratic Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Category:Democratic Party United States senators from Minnesota Category:Democratic Party vice presidents of the United States Category:Humphrey family Category:Louisiana State University alumni Category:Macalester College faculty Category:Mayors of Minneapolis Category:Lyndon B. Johnson administration cabinet members Category:Minnesota Democrats Category:People from Codington County, South Dakota Category:People from Doland, South Dakota Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:United Church of Christ members Category:Candidates in the 1952 United States presidential election Category:Candidates in the 1960 United States presidential election Category:Candidates in the 1964 United States presidential election Category:Candidates in the 1972 United States presidential election Category:Candidates in the 1976 United States presidential election Category:1956 United States vice-presidential candidates Category:1964 United States vice-presidential candidates Category:University of Minnesota alumni Category:Vice presidents of the United States Category:American political party founders Category:Activists for African-American civil rights Category:Liberalism in the United States

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Hubert Humphrey

Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 - January 13, 1978) was an American politician who served as the 38th Vice President of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 1949 to 1964 and 1971 to 1978. He was the Democratic Party's nominee in the 1968 presidential election, losing to Republican nominee Richard Nixon.

1976 Presidential election

On April 22, 1974, Humphrey said that he would not enter the upcoming Democratic presidential primary for the 1976 Presidential election. Humphrey said at the time that he was urging fellow Senator and Minnesotan Walter Mondale to run, despite believing that Ted Kennedy would enter the race as well. Leading up to the election cycle, Humphrey also said, "Here's a time in my life when I appear to have more support than at any other time in my life. But it's too financially, politically, and physically debilitating - and I'm just not going to do it." In December 1975, a Gallup poll was released showing Humphrey and Ronald Reagan as the leading Democratic and Republican candidates for the following year's presidential election. On April 12, 1976, Chairman of the New Jersey Democratic Party State Senator James P. Dugan said the selecting of a majority of delegates that were uncommitted to a candidate could be interpreted as a victory for Humphrey, who had indicated his availability as a presidential candidate for the convention. Humphrey announced his choice to not enter the New Jersey primary nor authorize any committees to work in favor of him during an April 29, 1976 appearance in the Senate Caucus Room. At the conclusion of the Democratic primary process that year, even with Jimmy Carter having the requisite number of delegates needed to secure his nomination, many still wanted Humphrey to announce his availability for a draft. However, he did not do so, and Carter easily secured the nomination on the first round of balloting. Humphrey had learned that he had terminal cancer, prompting him to sit the race out. Humphrey attended the November 17, 1976 meeting between President-elect Carter and Democratic congressional leaders in which Carter sought out support for a proposal to have the president's power to reorganize the government reinstated with potential to be vetoed by Congress. CANNOTANSWER

Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 1949 to 1964 and 1971 to 1978. As a senator he was a major leader of modern liberalism in the United States. As President Lyndon B. Johnson's vice president, he supported the controversial Vietnam War. An intensely divided Democratic Party nominated him in the 1968 presidential election, which he lost to Republican nominee Richard Nixon. Born in Wallace, South Dakota, Humphrey attended the University of Minnesota. In 1943, he became a professor of political science at Macalester College and ran a failed campaign for mayor of Minneapolis. He helped found the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) in 1944; the next year he was elected mayor of Minneapolis, serving until 1948 and co-founding the liberal anti-communist group Americans for Democratic Action in 1947. In 1948, he was elected to the U.S. Senate and successfully advocated for the inclusion of a proposal to end racial segregation in the 1948 Democratic National Convention's party platform. Humphrey served three terms in the Senate from 1949 to 1964, and was the Senate Majority Whip for the last four years of his tenure. During this time, he was the lead author of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, introduced the first initiative to create the Peace Corps, and chaired the Select Committee on Disarmament. He unsuccessfully sought his party's presidential nomination in 1952 and 1960. After Lyndon B. Johnson acceded to the presidency, he chose Humphrey as his running mate, and the Democratic ticket won a landslide victory in the 1964 election. In March 1968, Johnson made his surprise announcement that he would not seek reelection, and Humphrey launched his campaign for the presidency. Loyal to the Johnson administration's policies on the Vietnam War, he received opposition from many within his own party and avoided the primaries to focus on winning the delegates of non-primary states at the Democratic National Convention. His delegate strategy succeeded in clinching the nomination, and he chose Senator Edmund Muskie as his running mate. In the general election, he nearly matched Nixon's tally in the popular vote but lost the electoral vote by a wide margin. After the defeat, he returned to the Senate and served from 1971 until his death in 1978. He ran again in the 1972 Democratic primaries but lost to George McGovern and declined to be McGovern's running mate. From 1977 to 1978, he served as Deputy President pro tempore of the United States Senate. Early life and education Humphrey was born in a room over his father's drugstore in Wallace, South Dakota. He was the son of Ragnild Kristine Sannes (1883–1973), a Norwegian immigrant, and Hubert Horatio Humphrey Sr. (1882–1949). Humphrey spent most of his youth in Doland, South Dakota, on the Dakota prairie; the town's population was about 600. His father was a licensed pharmacist and merchant who served as mayor and a town council member. The father also served briefly in the South Dakota state legislature and was a South Dakota delegate to the 1944 and 1948 Democratic National Conventions. In the late 1920s, a severe economic downturn hit Doland; both banks in the town closed and Humphrey's father struggled to keep his store open. After his son graduated from Doland's high school, Hubert Sr. left Doland and opened a new drugstore in the larger town of Huron, South Dakota (population 11,000), where he hoped to improve his fortunes. Because of the family's financial struggles, Humphrey had to leave the University of Minnesota after just one year. He earned a pharmacist's license from the Capitol College of Pharmacy in Denver, Colorado (completing a two-year licensure program in just six months), and helped his father run his store from 1931 to 1937. Both father and son were innovative in finding ways to attract customers: "to supplement their business, the Humphreys had become manufacturers ... of patent medicines for both hogs and humans. A sign featuring a wooden pig was hung over the drugstore to tell the public about this unusual service. Farmers got the message, and it was Humphrey's that became known as the farmer's drugstore." One biographer noted, "while Hubert Jr. minded the store and stirred the concoctions in the basement, Hubert Sr. went on the road selling 'Humphrey's BTV' (Body Tone Veterinary), a mineral supplement and dewormer for hogs, and 'Humphrey's Chest Oil' and 'Humphrey's Sniffles' for two-legged sufferers." Humphrey later wrote, "we made 'Humphrey's Sniffles', a substitute for Vick's Nose Drops. I felt ours were better. Vick's used mineral oil, which is not absorbent, and we used a vegetable-oil base, which was. I added benzocaine, a local anesthetic, so that even if the sniffles didn't get better, you felt it less." The various "Humphrey cures ... worked well enough and constituted an important part of the family income ... the farmers that bought the medicines were good customers." Over time Humphrey's Drug Store became a profitable enterprise and the family again prospered. While living in Huron, Humphrey regularly attended Huron's largest Methodist church and became scoutmaster of the church's Boy Scout Troop 6. He "started basketball games in the church basement ... although his scouts had no money for camp in 1931, Hubert found a way in the worst of that summer's dust-storm grit, grasshoppers, and depression to lead an overnight [outing]." Humphrey did not enjoy working as a pharmacist, and his dream remained to earn a doctorate in political science and become a college professor. His unhappiness was manifested in "stomach pains and fainting spells", though doctors could find nothing wrong with him. In August 1937, he told his father that he wanted to return to the University of Minnesota. Hubert Sr. tried to convince his son not to leave by offering him a full partnership in the store, but Hubert Jr. refused and told his father "how depressed I was, almost physically ill from the work, the dust storms, the conflict between my desire to do something and be somebody and my loyalty to him ... he replied 'Hubert, if you aren't happy, then you ought to do something about it'." Humphrey returned to the University of Minnesota in 1937 and earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1939. He was a member of Phi Delta Chi, a pharmacy fraternity. He also earned a master's degree from Louisiana State University in 1940, serving as an assistant instructor of political science there. One of his classmates was Russell B. Long, a future U.S. Senator from Louisiana. He then became an instructor and doctoral student at the University of Minnesota from 1940 to 1941 (joining the American Federation of Teachers), and was a supervisor for the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Humphrey was a star on the university's debate team; one of his teammates was future Minnesota Governor and US Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman. In the 1940 presidential campaign Humphrey and future University of Minnesota president Malcolm Moos debated the merits of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Democratic nominee, and Wendell Willkie, the Republican nominee, on a Minneapolis radio station. Humphrey supported Roosevelt. Humphrey soon became active in Minneapolis politics, and as a result never finished his PhD. Marriage and early career In 1934, Humphrey began dating Muriel Buck, a bookkeeper and graduate of local Huron College. They were married from 1936 until Humphrey's death nearly 42 years later. They had four children: Nancy Faye, Skip Humphrey, Robert Andrew, and Douglas Sannes. Money was an issue that plagued the Humphreys consistently. One biographer noted, "For much of his life he was short of money to live on, and his relentless drive to attain the White House seemed at times like one long, losing struggle to raise enough campaign funds to get there." To help boost his salary, Humphrey frequently took paid outside speaking engagements. Through most of his years as a U.S. senator and vice president, he lived in a middle-class suburban housing development in Chevy Chase, Maryland. In 1958, the Humphreys used their savings and his speaking fees to build a lakefront home in Waverly, Minnesota, about 40 miles west of Minneapolis. During World War II, Humphrey tried three times to join the armed forces but failed. His first two attempts were to join the Navy, first as a commissioned officer and then as an enlisted man. He was rejected both times for color blindness. He then tried to enlist in the Army in December 1944 but failed the physical exam because of a double hernia, color blindness, and calcification of the lungs. Despite his attempts to join the military, one biographer would note that "all through his political life, Humphrey was dogged by the charge that he was a draft dodger" during the war. Humphrey led various wartime government agencies and worked as a college instructor. In 1942, he was the state director of new production training and reemployment and chief of the Minnesota war service program. In 1943 he was the assistant director of the War Manpower Commission. From 1943 to 1944, Humphrey was a professor of political science at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he headed the university's recently created international debate department, which focused on the international politics of World War II and the creation of the United Nations. After leaving Macalester in the spring of 1944, Humphrey worked as a news commentator for a Minneapolis radio station until 1945. In 1943, Humphrey made his first run for elective office, for Mayor of Minneapolis. He lost, but his poorly funded campaign still captured over 47% of the vote. In 1944, Humphrey was one of the key players in the merger of the Democratic and Farmer-Labor parties of Minnesota to form the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). He also worked on President Roosevelt's 1944 reelection campaign. When Minnesota Communists tried to seize control of the new party in 1945, Humphrey became an engaged anticommunist and led the successful fight to oust the Communists from the DFL. Mayor of Minneapolis After the war, Humphrey again ran for mayor of Minneapolis; this time, he won the election with 61% of the vote. As mayor, he helped ensure the appointment of a friend and previous neighbor, Edwin Ryan, as head of the police department, as he needed a "police chief whose integrity and loyalty would be above reproach." Though they had differing views of labor unions, Ryan and Humphrey worked together to crack down on crime in Minneapolis. Humphrey told Ryan, "I want this town cleaned up and I mean I want it cleaned up now, not a year from now or a month from now, right now", and "You take care of the law enforcement. I'll take care of the politics." Humphrey served as mayor from 1945 to 1948, winning reelection in 1947 by the largest margin in the city's history to that time. Humphrey gained national fame by becoming one of the founders of the liberal anticommunist Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), and he served as chairman from 1949 to 1950. He also reformed the Minneapolis police force. The city had been named the "anti-Semitism capital" of the country, and its small African-American population also faced discrimination. Humphrey's mayoralty is noted for his efforts to fight all forms of bigotry. He formed the Council on Human Relations and established a municipal version of the Fair Employment Practice Committee, making Minneapolis one of only a few cities in the United States to prohibit racial discrimination in the workforce. Humphrey and his publicists were proud that the Council on Human Relations brought together individuals of varying ideologies. In 1960, Humphrey told journalist Theodore H. White, "I was mayor once, in Minneapolis ... a mayor is a fine job, it's the best job there is between being a governor and being the President." A 1993 survey of historians, political scientists and urban experts by Melvin G. Holli of the University of Illinois at Chicago ranked Humphrey as the 28th-best American big-city mayor to have served between 1820 and 1993. 1948 Democratic National Convention The Democratic Party of 1948 was split between those, mainly Northerners, who thought the federal government should actively protect civil rights for racial minorities, and those, mainly Southerners, who believed that states should be able to enforce traditional racial segregation within their borders. At the 1948 Democratic National Convention, the party platform reflected the division by containing only platitudes supporting civil rights. The incumbent president, Harry S. Truman, had shelved most of his 1946 Commission on Civil Rights's recommendations to avoid angering Southern Democrats. But Humphrey had written in The Progressive magazine, "The Democratic Party must lead the fight for every principle in the report. It is all or nothing." A diverse coalition opposed the convention's tepid civil rights platform, including anticommunist liberals like Humphrey, Paul Douglas and John F. Shelley, all of whom would later become known as leading progressives in the Democratic Party. They proposed adding a "minority plank" to the party platform that would commit the Democratic Party to more aggressive opposition to racial segregation. The minority plank called for federal legislation against lynching, an end to legalized school segregation in the South, and ending job discrimination based on skin color. Also strongly backing the minority plank were Democratic urban bosses like Ed Flynn of the Bronx, who promised the votes of northeastern delegates to Humphrey's platform, Jacob Arvey of Chicago, and David Lawrence of Pittsburgh. Although seen as conservatives, the urban bosses believed that Northern Democrats could gain many black votes by supporting civil rights, with only comparatively small losses from Southern Democrats. Although many scholars have suggested that labor unions were leading figures in this coalition, no significant labor leaders attended the convention, except for the heads of the Congress of Industrial Organizations Political Action Committee (CIO-PAC), Jack Kroll and A.F. Whitney. Despite Truman's aides' aggressive pressure to avoid forcing the issue on the Convention floor, Humphrey spoke for the minority plank. In a renowned speech, Humphrey passionately told the convention, "To those who say, my friends, to those who say that we are rushing this issue of civil rights, I say to them we are 172 years (too) late! To those who say this civil rights program is an infringement on states' rights, I say this: the time has arrived in America for the Democratic Party to get out of the shadow of states' rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights!" Humphrey and his allies succeeded: the convention adopted the pro-civil-rights plank by a vote of 651 to 582. After the convention's vote, the Mississippi delegation and half of the Alabama delegation walked out of the hall. Many Southern Democrats were so enraged at this affront to their "way of life" that they formed the Dixiecrat party and nominated their own presidential candidate, Governor Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. The Dixiecrats' goal was to take Southern states away from Truman and thus cause his defeat. They reasoned that after such a defeat, the national Democratic Party would never again aggressively pursue a pro-civil rights agenda. The move backfired: although the civil rights plank cost Truman the Dixiecrats' support, it gained him many votes from blacks, especially in large northern cities. As a result, Truman won an upset victory over his Republican opponent, Thomas E. Dewey. The result demonstrated that the Democratic Party could win presidential elections without the "Solid South" and weakened Southern Democrats. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough has written that Humphrey probably did more to get Truman elected in 1948 than anyone other than Truman himself. United States Senate (1949–1964) Humphrey was elected to the United States Senate in 1948 on the DFL ticket, defeating James M. Shields in the DFL primary with 89% of the vote, and unseating incumbent Republican Joseph H. Ball in the general election with 60% of the vote. He took office on January 3, 1949, becoming the first Democrat elected senator from Minnesota since before the Civil War. Humphrey wrote that the victory heightened his sense of self, as he had beaten the odds of defeating a Republican with statewide support. Humphrey's father died that year, and Humphrey stopped using the "Jr." suffix on his name. He was reelected in 1954 and 1960. His colleagues selected him as majority whip in 1961, a position he held until he left the Senate on December 29, 1964, to assume the vice presidency. Humphrey served from the 81st to the 87th sessions of Congress, and in a portion of the 88th Congress. Initially, Humphrey's support of civil rights led to his being ostracized by Southern Democrats, who dominated Senate leadership positions and wanted to punish him for proposing the civil rights platform at the 1948 Convention. Senator Richard Russell Jr. of Georgia, a leader of Southern Democrats, once remarked to other Senators as Humphrey walked by, "Can you imagine the people of Minnesota sending that damn fool down here to represent them?" Humphrey refused to be intimidated and stood his ground; his integrity, passion and eloquence eventually earned him the respect of even most of the Southerners. The Southerners were also more inclined to accept Humphrey after he became a protégé of Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas. Humphrey became known for his advocacy of liberal causes (such as civil rights, arms control, a nuclear test ban, food stamps, and humanitarian foreign aid), and for his long and witty speeches. Humphrey was a liberal leader who fought to uphold Truman's veto of the McCarran Act of 1950. The bill was designed to suppress the American Communist Party. With a small group of liberals he supported the Kilgore substitute that would allow the president to lock up subversives, without trial, in a time of national emergency. The model was the internment of West Coast Japanese in 1942. The goal was to split the McCarren coalition. For years critics charged that Humphrey supported concentration camps. The ploy failed to stop the new law; the Senate voted 57 to 10 to overturn Truman's veto. In 1954 he proposed to make membership in the Communist Party a felony. It was another ploy to derail a bill that would hurt labor unions. Humphrey's proposal did not pass. Humphrey was the author of the first humane slaughter bill introduced in the U.S. Congress and chief Senate sponsor of the Humane Slaughter Act of 1958. Humphrey chaired the Select Committee on Disarmament (84th and 85th Congresses). In February 1960 he introduced a bill to establish a National Peace Agency. With another former pharmacist, Representative Carl Durham, Humphrey cosponsored the Durham-Humphrey Amendment, which amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, defining two specific categories for medications, legend (prescription) and over-the-counter (OTC). As Democratic whip in the Senate in 1964, Humphrey was instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights Act that year. He was a lead author of its text, alongside Senate Republican Minority Leader Everett Dirksen of Illinois. Humphrey's consistently cheerful and upbeat demeanor, and his forceful advocacy of liberal causes, led him to be nicknamed "The Happy Warrior" by many of his Senate colleagues and political journalists. While President John F. Kennedy is often credited for creating the Peace Corps, Humphrey introduced the first bill to create the Peace Corps in 1957—three years before Kennedy's University of Michigan speech. A trio of journalists wrote of Humphrey in 1969 that "few men in American politics have achieved so much of lasting significance. It was Humphrey, not Senator [Everett] Dirksen, who played the crucial part in the complex parliamentary games that were needed to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was Humphrey, not John Kennedy, who first proposed the Peace Corps. The Food for Peace program was Humphrey's idea, and so was Medicare, passed sixteen years after he first proposed it. He worked for Federal aid to education from 1949, and for a nuclear-test ban treaty from 1956. These are the solid monuments of twenty years of effective work for liberal causes in the Senate." President Johnson once said that "Most Senators are minnows ... Hubert Humphrey is among the whales." In his autobiography, The Education of a Public Man, Humphrey wrote: There were three bills of particular emotional importance to me: the Peace Corps, a disarmament agency, and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The President, knowing how I felt, asked me to introduce legislation for all three. I introduced the first Peace Corps bill in 1957. It did not meet with much enthusiasm. Some traditional diplomats quaked at the thought of thousands of young Americans scattered across their world. Many senators, including liberal ones, thought the idea was silly and unworkable. Now, with a young president urging its passage, it became possible and we pushed it rapidly through the Senate. It is fashionable now to suggest that Peace Corps Volunteers gained as much or more, from their experience as the countries they worked. That may be true, but it ought not demean their work. They touched many lives and made them better. On April 9, 1950, Humphrey predicted that President Truman would sign a $4 billion housing bill and charge Republicans with having removed the bill's main middle-income benefits during Truman's tours of the Midwest and Northwest the following month. On January 7, 1951, Humphrey joined Senator Paul Douglas in calling for an $80 billion federal budget to combat Communist aggression along with a stiff tax increase to prevent borrowing. In a January 1951 letter to President Truman, Humphrey wrote of the necessity of a commission akin to the Fair Employment Practices Commission that would be used to end discrimination in defense industries and predicted that establishing such a commission by executive order would be met with high approval by Americans. On June 18, 1953, Humphrey introduced a resolution calling for the US to urge free elections in Germany in response to the anti-Communist riots in East Berlin. In December 1958, after receiving a message from Nikita Khrushchev during a visit to the Soviet Union, Humphrey returned insisting that the message was not negative toward America. In February 1959, Humphrey said American newspapers should have ignored Khrushchev's comments calling him a purveyor of fairy tales. In a September address to the National Stationery and Office Equipment Association, Humphrey called for further inspection of Khrushchev's "live and let live" doctrine and maintained the Cold War could be won by using American "weapons of peace". In June 1963, Humphrey accompanied his longtime friend labor leader Walter Reuther on a trip to Harpsund, the Swedish Prime Minister's summer country retreat, to meet with European socialist leaders for an exchange of ideas. Among the European leaders who met with Humphrey and Reuther were the prime ministers of Britain, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, as well as future German chancellor Willy Brandt. Presidential and vice-presidential ambitions (1952–1964) Humphrey ran for the Democratic presidential nomination twice before his election to the vice presidency in 1964. The first time was as Minnesota's favorite son in 1952; he received only 26 votes on the first ballot. The second time was in 1960. In between these two bids, Humphrey was part of the free-for-all for the vice-presidential nomination at the 1956 Democratic National Convention, where he received 134 votes on the first ballot and 74 on the second. In 1960, Humphrey ran for the nomination against fellow Senator John F. Kennedy in the primaries. Their first meeting was in the Wisconsin Primary, where Kennedy's well-organized and well-funded campaign overcame Humphrey's energetic but poorly funded effort. Humphrey believed defeating Kennedy in Wisconsin would weaken and slow the momentum of the latter's campaign. Kennedy's attractive brothers, sisters, and wife Jacqueline combed the state for votes. At one point Humphrey memorably complained that he "felt like an independent merchant competing against a chain store". Humphrey later wrote in his memoirs that "Muriel and I and our 'plain folks' entourage were no match for the glamour of Jackie Kennedy and the other Kennedy women, for Peter Lawford ... and Frank Sinatra singing their commercial 'High Hopes'. Jack Kennedy brought family and Hollywood to Wisconsin. The people loved it and the press ate it up." Kennedy won the Wisconsin primary, but by a smaller margin than anticipated. Some commentators argued that Kennedy's victory margin had come almost entirely from areas with large Roman Catholic populations, and that Protestants had supported Humphrey. As a result, Humphrey refused to quit the race and decided to run against Kennedy again in the West Virginia primary. According to one biographer "Humphrey thought his chances were good in West Virginia, one of the few states that had backed him in his losing race for vice-president four years earlier ... West Virginia was more rural than urban, [which] seemed to invite Humphrey's folksy stump style. The state, moreover, was a citadel of labor. It was depressed; unemployment had hit hard; and coal miners' families were hungry. Humphrey felt he could talk to such people, who were 95% Protestant (Humphrey was a Congregationalist) and deep-dyed Bible-belters besides." Kennedy chose to meet the religion issue head-on. In radio broadcasts, he carefully redefined the issue from Catholic versus Protestant to tolerance versus intolerance. Kennedy's appeal placed Humphrey, who had championed tolerance his entire career, on the defensive, and Kennedy attacked him with a vengeance. Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr., the son of the former president, stumped for Kennedy in West Virginia and raised the issue of Humphrey's failure to serve in the armed forces in World War II. Roosevelt told audiences, "I don't know where he [Humphrey] was in World War Two," and handed out flyers charging that Humphrey was a draft dodger. Historian Robert Dallek has written that Robert F. Kennedy, who was serving as his brother's campaign manager, came into "possession of information that Humphrey may have sought military deferments during World War Two ... he pressed Roosevelt to use this." Humphrey believed Roosevelt's draft-dodger claim "had been approved by Bobby [Kennedy], if not Jack". The claims that Humphrey was a draft dodger were inaccurate, because during the war Humphrey had "tried and failed to get into the [military] service because of physical disabilities". After the West Virginia primary, Roosevelt sent Humphrey a written apology and retraction. According to historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Roosevelt "felt that he had been used, blaming [the draft-dodger charge] on Robert Kennedy's determination to win at any cost ... Roosevelt said later that it was the biggest political mistake of his career." Short on funds, Humphrey could not match the well-financed Kennedy operation. He traveled around the state in a rented bus while Kennedy and his staff flew in a large, family-owned airplane. According to his biographer Carl Solberg, Humphrey spent only $23,000 on the West Virginia primary while Kennedy's campaign privately spent $1.5 million, well over their official estimate of $100,000. Unproven accusations claimed that the Kennedys had bought the West Virginia primary by bribing county sheriffs and other local officials to give Kennedy the vote. Humphrey later wrote, "as a professional politician I was able to accept and indeed respect the efficacy of the Kennedy campaign. But underneath the beautiful exterior, there was an element of ruthlessness and toughness that I had trouble either accepting or forgetting." Kennedy defeated Humphrey soundly in West Virginia with 60.8% of the vote. That evening, Humphrey announced that he was leaving the race. By winning West Virginia, Kennedy overcame the belief that Protestant voters would not elect a Catholic to the presidency and thus sewed up the Democratic nomination. Humphrey won the South Dakota and District of Columbia primaries, which Kennedy did not enter. At the 1960 Democratic National Convention, he received 41 votes even though he was no longer a candidate. Vice presidential campaign Humphrey's defeat in 1960 had a profound influence on his thinking; after the primaries he told friends that, as a relatively poor man in politics, he was unlikely to ever become president unless he served as vice president first. Humphrey believed that only in this way could he attain the funds, nationwide organization, and visibility he would need to win the Democratic nomination. So as the 1964 presidential campaign began, Humphrey made clear his interest in becoming Lyndon Johnson's running mate. At the 1964 Democratic National Convention, Johnson kept the three likely vice-presidential candidates, Connecticut Senator Thomas Dodd, fellow Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy, and Humphrey, as well as the rest of the nation, in suspense before announcing his choice of Humphrey with much fanfare, praising his qualifications at considerable length before announcing his name. The following day Humphrey's acceptance speech overshadowed Johnson's own acceptance address: In an address before labor leaders in Youngstown, Ohio, on September 7, 1964, Humphrey said the labor movement had "more at stake in this election than almost any other segment of society". In Jamesburg, New Jersey, on September 10, Humphrey remarked that Goldwater had a "record of retreat and reaction" when it came to issues of urban housing. During a September 12 Denver Democratic rally, Humphrey charged Goldwater with having rejected programs that most Americans and members of his own party supported. At a Santa Fe September 13 rally, Humphrey said the Goldwater-led Republican Party was seeking "to divide America so that they may conquer" and that Goldwater would pinch individuals in his reduction of government. On September 16, Humphrey said the Americans for Democratic Action supported the Johnson administration's economic sanctions against Cuba, and that the organization wanted to see a free Cuban government. The following day in San Antonio, Texas, Humphrey said Goldwater opposed programs favored by most Texans and Americans. During a September 27 appearance in Cleveland, Ohio, Humphrey said the Kennedy administration had led America in a prosperous direction and called for voters to issue a referendum with their vote against "those who seek to replace the Statue of Liberty with an iron-padlocked gate." At a October 1 rally in Tacoma, Washington, Humphrey attacked Goldwater as a radical who opposed the 1960 GOP platform and true conservatism, which in Humphrey's opinion meant a balance of tradition and progress. At Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, on October 2, Humphrey said the general election would give voters a choice between his running mate and a candidate "who curses the darkness and never lights a candle". During an October 9 Jersey City, New Jersey, appearance, Humphrey responded to critics of the administration, who he called "sick and tired Americans", by touting the accomplishments of both Kennedy's and Johnson's presidencies. In Tampa, Florida, on October 18, a week after the resignation of Walter Jenkins amid a scandal, Humphrey said he was unaware of any potential security leaks relating to the case. In Minneapolis on October 24, Humphrey listed the censure vote toward Senator Joseph McCarthy, the civil rights bill, and the nuclear test ban treaty as "three great issues of conscience to come before the United States Senate in the past decade" that Goldwater had voted incorrectly on as a Senator. In an October 26 speech in Chicago, Humphrey called Goldwater "neither a Republican nor a Democrat" and "a radical". The Johnson-Humphrey ticket won the election overwhelmingly, with 486 electoral votes out of 538. Only five Southern states and Goldwater's home state of Arizona supported the Republican ticket. In October Humphrey had predicted that the ticket would win by a large margin but not carry every state. Vice President-elect of the United States Soon after winning the election, Humphrey and Johnson went to LBJ ranch near Stonewall, Texas. On November 6, 1964, Humphrey traveled to the Virgin Islands for a two-week vacation. News stations aired taped remarks in which Humphrey stated that he had not discussed with Johnson what his role would be as vice president and that national campaigns should be reduced by four weeks. In a November 20 interview, Humphrey announced he would resign his Senate seat midway through the next month so that Walter Mondale could assume the position. On December 10, 1964, Humphrey met with Johnson in the Oval Office, the latter charging the vice president-elect with "developing a publicity machine extraordinaire and of always wanting to get his name in the paper." Johnson showed Humphrey a George Reed memo with the allegation that the president would die within six months from an already acquired fatal heart disease. The same day, during a speech in Washington, Johnson announced Humphrey would have the position of giving assistance to governmental civil rights programs. On January 19, 1965, the day before the inauguration, Humphrey told the Democratic National Committee that the party had unified because of the national consensus established by the presidential election. Vice presidency (1965–1969) Humphrey took office on January 20, 1965, ending the 14-month vacancy of the Vice President of the United States, which had remained empty when then-Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson assumed the Presidency after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. He was an early skeptic of the then growing Vietnam War. Following a successful Viet Cong hit-and-run attack on a US military installation at Pleiku on February 7, 1965 (where 7 Americans were killed and 109 wounded), Humphrey returned from Georgia to Washington D.C., to attempt to prevent further escalation. He told President Johnson that bombing North Vietnam was not a solution to the problems in South Vietnam, but that bombing would require the injection of US ground forces into South Vietnam to protect the airbases. Presciently, he noted that a military solution in Vietnam would take several years, well beyond the next election cycle. In response to this advice, President Johnson punished Humphrey by treating him coldly and restricting him from his inner circle for a number of months, until Humphrey decided to "get back on the team" and fully support the war effort. As vice president, Humphrey was criticized for his complete and vocal loyalty to Johnson and the policies of the Johnson administration, even as many of his liberal admirers opposed the president's policies with increasing fervor regarding the Vietnam War. Many of Humphrey's liberal friends and allies abandoned him because of his refusal to publicly criticize Johnson's Vietnam War policies. Humphrey's critics later learned that Johnson had threatened Humphrey – Johnson told Humphrey that if he publicly criticized his policies, he would destroy Humphrey's chances to become president by opposing his nomination at the next Democratic Convention. However, Humphrey's critics were vocal and persistent: even his nickname, "the Happy Warrior", was used against him. The nickname referred not to his military hawkishness, but rather to his crusading for social welfare and civil rights programs. After his narrow defeat in the 1968 presidential election, Humphrey wrote that "After four years as Vice-President ... I had lost some of my personal identity and personal forcefulness. ... I ought not to have let a man [Johnson] who was going to be a former President dictate my future." While he was vice president, Hubert Humphrey was the subject of a satirical song by songwriter/musician Tom Lehrer entitled "Whatever Became of Hubert?" The song addressed how some liberals and progressives felt let down by Humphrey, who had become a much more mute figure as vice president than he had been as a senator. The song goes "Whatever became of Hubert? Has anyone heard a thing? Once he shone on his own, now he sits home alone and waits for the phone to ring. Once a fiery liberal spirit, ah, but now when he speaks he must clear it. ..." During these years Humphrey was a repeated and favorite guest of Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. He also struck up a friendship with Frank Sinatra, who supported his campaign for president in 1968 before his conversion to the Republican party in the early 1970s, and was perhaps most on notice in the fall of 1977 when Sinatra was the star attraction and host of a tribute to a then-ailing Humphrey. He also appeared on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast in 1973. On April 15, 1965, Humphrey delivered an address to the American Society of Newspaper Editors, pledging the incumbent session of Congress would "do more for the lasting long-term health of this nation" since the initial session in office at the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt assuming the presidency in 1933 and predicting 13 major measures of President Johnson's administration would be passed ahead of the session's conclusion. In mid-May 1965, Humphrey traveled to Dallas, Texas for an off-the-record discussion with donors of President Johnson's campaign. During the visit, Humphrey was imposed tight security as a result of the JFK assassination a year and a half prior and the mother of Lee Harvey Oswald was placed under surveillance by Police Chief Cato Hightower. During a May 31, 1966, appearance at Huron College, Humphrey said the US should not expect "either friendship or gratitude" in helping poorer countries. At a September 22, 1966 Jamesburg, New Jersey Democratic Party fundraiser, Humphrey said the Vietnam War would be shortened if the US stayed firm and hastened the return of troops: "We are making a decision not only to defend Vietnam, we are defending the United States of America." During a May 1967 news conference, Humphrey said American anger toward Vietnam was losing traction and that he could see a growth in popularity for President Johnson since a low point five months prior. During an August 2, 1967, appearance in Detroit, Michigan, Humphrey proposed each state consider forming peacekeeping councils focused on preventing violence, gaining community cooperation, and listening to "the voices of those who have gone unheard." On November 4, 1967, Humphrey cited Malaysia as an example of what Vietnam could resemble post a Viet Cong defeat while in Jakarta, Indonesia. The following day, Vice President Humphrey requested Indonesia attempt mediation in the Vietnam War during a meeting with Suharto at Merdeka palace. On December 7, Vice President Humphrey said in an interview that the Viet Cong could potentially be the factor in creating a political compromise with the government of Saigon. Civil rights In February 1965, President Johnson appointed Humphrey to the chairmanship of the President's Council on Equal Opportunity. The position and board had been proposed by Humphrey, who told Johnson that the board should consist of members of the Cabinet and federal agency leaders and serve multiple roles: assisting agency cooperation, creating federal program consistency, using advanced planning to avoid potential racial unrest, creating public policy, and meeting with local and state level leaders. During his tenure, he appointed Wiley A Branton as executive director. During the first meeting of the group on March 3, Humphrey stated the budget was US$289,000 and pledged to ensure vigorous work by the small staff. Following the Watts riots in August of that year, Johnson downsized Humphrey's role as the administration's expert on civil rights. Dallek wrote the shift in role was in line with the change in policy the Johnson administration underwent in response to "the changing political mood in the country on aid to African Americans." In a private meeting with Joseph Califano on September 18, 1965, President Johnson stated his intent to remove Humphrey from the post of "point man" on civil rights within the administration, believing the vice president was tasked with enough work. Days later, Humphrey met with Johnson, Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, and White House Counsel Lee C. White. Johnson told Humphrey he would shorten his role within the administration's civil rights policies and pass a portion to Katzenbach, Califano writing that Humphrey agreed to go along with the plan reluctantly. In an August 1967 speech at a county officials national convention in Detroit, Michigan, Humphrey called for the establishment of a Marshall Plan that would curb poverty in the United States as well as address racial violence, and advocated for the creation of civil peace councils that would counter rioting. He said the councils should include representation from all minority groups and religions, state governments, the National Guard, and law enforcement agencies and that the United States would see itself out of trouble only when law and order was reestablished. Foreign trips December 1965 saw the beginning of Humphrey's tour of eastern countries, saying he hoped to have "cordial and frank discussions" ahead of the trip beginning when asked about the content of the talks. During a December 29 meeting with Prime Minister of Japan Eisaku Satō, Humphrey asked the latter for support on achieving peace in the Vietnam War and said it was a showing of strength that the United States wanted a peaceful ending rather than a display of weakness. Humphrey began a European tour in late-March 1967 to mend frazzled relations and indicated that he was "ready to explain and ready to listen." On April 2, 1967, Vice President Humphrey met with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Harold Wilson. Ahead of the meeting, Humphrey said they would discuss multiple topics including the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, European events, Atlantic alliance strengthening, and "the situation in the Far East". White House Press Secretary George Christian said five days later that he had received reports from Vice President Humphrey indicating his tour of the European countries was "very constructive" and said President Johnson was interested in the report as well. While Humphrey was in Florence, Italy on April 1, 1967, 23-year-old Giulio Stocchi threw eggs at the Vice President and missed. He was seized by American bodyguards who turned him in to Italian officers. In Brussels, Belgium on April 9, demonstrators led by communists threw rotten eggs and fruits at Vice President Humphrey's car, also hitting several of his bodyguards. In late-December 1967, Vice President Humphrey began touring Africa. 1968 presidential election As 1968 began, it looked as if President Johnson, despite the rapidly decreasing approval rating of his Vietnam War policies, would easily win the Democratic nomination for a second time. Humphrey was widely expected to remain Johnson's running mate for reelection in 1968. Johnson was challenged by Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, who ran on an anti-Vietnam War platform. With the backing of out-of-state anti-war college students and activists while campaigning in the New Hampshire primary, McCarthy, who was not expected to be a serious contender for the Democratic nomination, nearly defeated Johnson, finishing with a surprising 42% of the vote to Johnson's 49%. A few days after the New Hampshire primary, after months of contemplation and originally intending to support Johnson's bid for reelection, Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York also entered the race on an anti-war platform. On March 31, 1968, a week before the Wisconsin primary, where polls showed a strong standing for McCarthy, President Johnson stunned the nation by withdrawing from his race for a second full term. Following the announcement from Johnson, Humphrey announced his presidential candidacy on April 27, 1968. Declaring his candidacy in a speech in Washington, DC alongside Senators Fred Harris of Oklahoma and Walter Mondale of Minnesota (who both served as the co-chairs to his campaign), Humphrey stated: Here we are, just as we ought to be, here we are, the people, here we are the spirit of dedication, here we are the way politics ought to be in America, the politics of happiness, politics of purpose, politics of joy; and that's the way it's going to be, all the way, too, from here on out. We seek an America able to preserve and nurture all the basic rights of free expression, yet able to reach across the divisions that too often separate race from race, region from region, young from old, worker from scholar, rich from poor. We seek an America able to do this in the higher knowledge that our goals and ideals are worthy of conciliation and personal sacrifice. Also in his speech, Humphrey supported President Johnson's Vietnam initiative he proposed during his address to the nation four weeks earlier; partially halting the bombings in North Vietnam, while sending an additional 13,500 troops and increasing the Department of Defense's budget by 4% over the next fiscal year. Later in the campaign, Humphrey opposed a proposal by Senators McCarthy and George McGovern of South Dakota to the Democratic Convention's Policy Committee, calling for an immediate end to the bombings in Vietnam, an early withdrawal of troops and setting talks for a coalition government with the Viet Cong. Many people saw Humphrey as Johnson's stand-in; he won major backing from the nation's labor unions and other Democratic groups troubled by young antiwar protesters and the social unrest around the nation. A group of British journalists wrote that Humphrey, despite his liberal record on civil rights and support for a nuclear test-ban treaty, "had turned into an arch-apologist for the war, who was given to trotting around Vietnam looking more than a little silly in olive-drab fatigues and a forage cap. The man whose name had been a by-word in the South for softness toward Negroes had taken to lecturing black groups ... the wild-eyed reformer had become the natural champion of every conservative element in the Democratic Party." Humphrey entered the race too late to participate in the Democratic primaries and concentrated on winning delegates in non-primary states by gaining the support of Democratic officeholders who were elected delegates to the Democratic Convention. By June, McCarthy won in Oregon and Pennsylvania, while Kennedy had won in Indiana and Nebraska, though Humphrey was the front runner as he led the delegate count. The California primary was crucial for Kennedy's campaign, as a McCarthy victory would have prevented Kennedy from reaching the number of delegates required to secure the nomination. On June 4, 1968, Kennedy defeated McCarthy by less than 4% in the winner-take-all California primary. But the nation was shocked yet again when Senator Kennedy was assassinated after his victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. After the assassination of Kennedy, Humphrey suspended his campaign for two weeks. Chicago riots and party fallout Humphrey did not enter any of the 13 state primary elections, but won the Democratic nomination at the party convention in Chicago, even though 80 percent of the primary voters had been for antiwar candidates. The delegates defeated the peace plank by 1,567 to 1,041. Humphrey selected as his running mate Senator Ed Muskie of Maine. Unfortunately for Humphrey and his campaign, in Grant Park, just five miles south of International Amphitheatre convention hall, and at other sites near downtown Chicago, there were gatherings and protests by thousands of antiwar demonstrators, many of whom favored McCarthy, George McGovern, or other antiwar candidates. Mayor Richard J. Daley's Chicago police attacked and beat these protesters, most of them young college students, which amplified the growing feelings of unrest among the public. Humphrey's inaction during these incidents, Johnson's and Daley's behind-the-scenes maneuvers, public backlash against Humphrey's winning the nomination without entering a single primary, and Humphrey's refusal to meet McCarthy halfway on his demands, resulting in McCarthy's refusal to fully endorse him, highlighted turmoil in the Democratic Party's base that proved to be too much for Humphrey to overcome in time for the general election. The combination of Johnson's unpopularity, the Chicago demonstrations, and the discouragement of liberals and African-Americans after the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. that year, all contributed to his loss to former Vice President Nixon. Nevertheless, as Wallace lost support among white union members, Humphrey regained strength and the final polls showed a close race. Humphrey reversed his Vietnam policy, called for peace talks, and won back some of the antiwar Democrats. Nixon won the electoral college and the election. Humphrey lost the popular vote by less than one percent, with 43.4% for Nixon (31,783,783 votes) to 42.7% (31,271,839) for Humphrey, and 13.5% (9,901,118) for Wallace. Humphrey carried just 13 states and the District of Columbia with 191 electoral college votes, Nixon carried 32 states and 301 electoral votes, and Wallace carried five states and 46 electoral votes. In his concession speech, Humphrey said, "I have done my best. I have lost; Mr. Nixon has won. The democratic process has worked its will." Post-vice presidency (1969–1978) Teaching and return to the Senate After leaving the vice presidency, Humphrey taught at Macalester College and the University of Minnesota, and served as chairman of the board of consultants at the Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation. On February 11, 1969, Humphrey met privately with Mayor Richard J. Daley and denied ever being "at war" with Daley during a press conference later in the day. In March, Humphrey declined answering questions on the Johnson administration being either involved or privy to the cessation of bombing of the north in Vietnam during an interview on Issues and Answers. At a press conference on June 2, 1969, Humphrey backed Nixon's peace efforts, dismissing the notion that he was not seeking an end to the war. In early July, Humphrey traveled to Finland for a private visit. Later that month, Humphrey returned to Washington after visiting Europe, a week after McCarthy declared he would not seek reelection, Humphrey declining to comment amid speculation he intended to return to the Senate. During the fall, Humphrey arranged to meet with President Nixon through United States National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, Humphrey saying the day after the meeting that President Nixon had "expressed his appreciation on my attitude to his effort on Vietnam." On August 3, Humphrey said that Russia was buying time to develop ballistic missile warheads to catch up with the United States and that security was the "overriding concern" of the Soviet Union. Days later, Humphrey repudiated efforts against President Nixon's anti-ballistic missile system: "I have a feeling that they [opponents of the ABM] were off chasing rabbits when a tiger is loose." During October, Humphrey spoke before the AFL-CIO convention delegates, charging President Nixon's economic policies with "putting Americans out of work without slowing inflation." On October 10, Humphrey stated his support for Nixon's policies in Vietnam and that he believed "the worst thing that we can do is to try to undermine the efforts of the President." At a December 21 press conference, Humphrey said President Nixon was a participant in the "politics of polarization" and could not seek unity on one hand but have divisive agents on the other. On December 26, Humphrey responded to a claim from former President Johnson that Humphrey had been cost the election by his own call for a stop to North Vietnam bombing, saying he did what he "thought was right and responsible at Salt Lake City." On January 4, 1970, Humphrey said the United States should cease tests of nuclear weapons during the continued conversations for potential strategic arms limitations between the United States and the Soviet Union while speaking to the National Retail Furniture association at the Palmer House. In February, Humphrey predicted Nixon would withdraw 75,000 or more troops prior to the year's midterm elections and the main issue would be the economy during an interview: "The issue of 1970 is the economy. Some of my fellow Democrats don't believe this. But this is a fact." On February 23, Humphrey disclosed his recommendation to Larry O'Brien for the latter to return to being Chair of the Democratic National Committee, a Humphrey spokesman reporting that Humphrey wanted a quick settlement to the issue of the DNC chairmanship. Solberg wrote of President Nixon's April 1970 Cambodian Campaign as having done away with Humphrey's hopes that the war be taken out of political context. In May, Humphrey pledged to do all that he was capable of to provide additional war planes to Israel and stress the issue to American leaders. Amid an August 11 address to the American Bar Association luncheon meeting, Humphrey called for liberals to cease defending campus radicals and militants and align with law and order. Humphrey had not planned to return to political life, but an unexpected opportunity changed his mind. McCarthy, who was up for reelection in 1970, realized that he had only a slim chance of winning even re-nomination for the Minnesota seat because he had angered his party by opposing Johnson and Humphrey for the 1968 presidential nomination, and declined to run. Humphrey won the nomination, defeated Republican Congressman Clark MacGregor, and returned to the U.S. Senate on January 3, 1971. Ahead of resuming his senatorial duties, Humphrey had a November 16, 1970, White House meeting with President Nixon as part of a group of newly elected senators invited to meet with the president. He was reelected in 1976, and remained in office until his death. In a rarity in politics, Humphrey held both Senate seats from his state (Class I and Class II) at different times. During his return to the Senate he served in the 92nd, 93rd, 94th, and a portion of the 95th Congress. He served as chairman of the Joint Economic Committee in the 94th Congress. Fourth Senate term L. Edward Purcell wrote that upon returning to the Senate, Humphrey found himself "again a lowly junior senator with no seniority" and that he resolved to create credibility in the eyes of liberals. On May 3, 1971, after the Americans for Democratic Action adopted a resolution demanding President Nixon's impeachment, Humphrey commented that they were acting "more out of emotion and passion than reason and prudent judgment" and that the request was irresponsible. On May 21, Humphrey said ending hunger and malnutrition in the U.S. was "a moral obligation" during a speech to International Food Service Manufacturers Association members at the Conrad Hilton Hotel. In June, Humphrey delivered the commencement address at the University of Bridgeport and days later said that he believed Nixon was interested in seeing a peaceful end to the Vietnam War "as badly as any senator or anybody else." On July 14, while testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Arms Control, Humphrey proposed amending the defense procurement bill to place in escrow all funds for creation and usage of multiple‐missile warheads in the midst of continued arms limitations talks. Humphrey said members of the Nixon administration needed to remember "when they talk of a tough negotiating position, they are going to get a tough response." On September 6, Humphrey rebuked the Nixon administration's wage price freeze, saying it was based on trickle-down policies and advocating "percolate up" as a replacement, while speaking at a United Rubber Workers gathering. On October 26, Humphrey stated his support for removing barriers to voting registration and authorizing students to establish voting residences in their college communities, rebuking the refusal of United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell the previous month to take a role in shaping voter registration laws as applicable to new voters. On December 24, 1971, Humphrey accused the Nixon administration of turning its back on the impoverished in the rural parts of the United States, citing few implementations of the relief recommendations of the 1967 National Advisory Commission; in another statement he said only 3 of the 150 recommendations had been implemented. On December 27, Humphrey said the Nixon administration was responsible for an escalation of the Southeast Asia war and requested complete cessation of North Vietnam bombing while responding to antiwar protestors in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In January 1972, Humphrey stated the U.S. would be out of the Vietnam War by that point had he been elected president, saying Nixon was taking longer to withdraw American troops from the country than it took to defeat Adolf Hitler. On May 20, Humphrey said Nixon's proposal to limit schoolchildren busing was "insufficient in the amount of aid needed for our children, deceptive to the American people, and insensitive to the laws and the Constitution of this nation", in a reversal of his prior stance, while in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During a May 30 appearance in Burbank, California, Humphrey stated his support for an immediate withdrawal of American forces from South Vietnam despite an invasion by North Vietnam. In January 1973, Humphrey said the Nixon administration was plotting to eliminate a school milk program in the upcoming fiscal year budget during a telephone interview. On February 18, 1973, Humphrey said the Middle East could possibly usher in peace following the Vietnam War ending along with American troops withdrawing from Indochina during an appearance at the New York Hilton. In August 1973, Humphrey called on Nixon to schedule a meeting with nations exporting and importing foods as part of an effort to both create a worldwide policy on food and do away with food hoarding. After Nixon's dismissal of Archibald Cox, Humphrey said he found "the whole situation entirely depressing." Three days after Cox's dismissal, during a speech to the AFL-CIO convention on October 23, Humphrey declined to state his position on whether Nixon should be impeached, citing that his congressional position would likely cause him to have to play a role in determining Nixon's fate. On December 21, Humphrey disclosed his request of federal tax deductions of US$199,153 for the donation of his vice presidential papers to the Minnesota State Historical Society. In early January 1974, Humphrey checked into the Bethesda Naval Hospital for tests regarding a minute tumor of the bladder. His physician Edgar Berman said the next day that Humphrey "looks fine and feels fine" and was expected to leave early the following week. In an interview conducted on March 29, 1974, Humphrey concurred with Senator Mike Mansfield's assessment from the prior day that the House of Representatives had enough votes to impeach Nixon. Humphrey was reportedly pleased by Nixon's resignation. In an April 1975 news conference at the spring education conference of the United Federation of Teachers, Humphrey cited the need for a national department of education, a national education trust fund, and a federal government provision for a third of America's educational expenses. He said the Ford administration had no educational policy and noted the United States was the only industrialized country without a separate national education department. In May, Humphrey testified at the trial of his former campaign manager Jack L. Chestnut, admitting that as a candidate he sought the support of Associated Milk Producers, Inc., but saying he was not privy to the illegal contributions Chestnut was accused of taking from the organization. Later that month, Humphrey was one of 19 senators to originate a letter stating the expectation of 75 senators that Ford would submit a foreign aid request to Congress meeting the "urgent military and economic needs" of Israel. In August, after the United States Court of Appeals ruled that Ford had no authority to continue levying fees of $2 a barrel on imported oil, Humphrey hailed the decision as "the best news we've heard on the inflation front in a long time" and urged Ford to accept the decision because the price reduction on oil and oil‐related products would benefit the national economy. In October, after Sara Jane Moore's assassination attempt on Ford, Humphrey joined former presidential candidates Barry Goldwater, Edmund Muskie, and George McGovern in urging Ford and other presidential candidates to restrain their campaigning the following year to prevent future attempts on their lives. In October 1976, Humphrey was admitted to a hospital for the removal of a cancerous bladder, predicted his victory in his reelection bid and advocated for members of his party to launch efforts to increase voter turnout upon his release. 1972 presidential election On November 4, 1970, shortly after being reelected to the Senate, Humphrey stated his intention to take on the role of a "harmonizer" within the Democratic Party to minimize the possibility of potential presidential candidates within the party lambasting each other prior to deciding to run in the then-upcoming election, dismissing that he was an active candidate at that time. In December 1971, Humphrey made his second trip to New Jersey in under a month, talking with a plurality of county leaders at the Robert Treat Hotel: "I told them I wanted their support. I said I'd rather work with them than against them." In 1972, Humphrey once again ran for the Democratic nomination for president, announcing his candidacy on January 10, 1972, during a twenty-minute speech in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the time of the announcement, Humphrey said he was running on a platform of the removal of troops from Vietnam and a revitalization of the United States economy. He drew upon continuing support from organized labor and the African-American and Jewish communities, but remained unpopular with college students because of his association with the Vietnam War, even though he had altered his position in the years since his 1968 defeat. Humphrey initially planned to skip the primaries, as he had in 1968. Even after he revised this strategy he still stayed out of New Hampshire, a decision that allowed McGovern to emerge as the leading challenger to Muskie in that state. Humphrey did win some primaries, including those in Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania, but was defeated by McGovern in several others, including the crucial California primary. Humphrey also was out-organized by McGovern in caucus states and was trailing in delegates at the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida. His hopes rested on challenges to the credentials of some of the McGovern delegates. For example, the Humphrey forces argued that the winner-take-all rule for the California primary violated procedural reforms intended to produce a better reflection of the popular vote, the reason that the Illinois delegation was bounced. The effort failed, as several votes on delegate credentials went McGovern's way, guaranteeing his victory. After his primary win, McGovern asked Humphrey to be his running mate, but Humphrey declined. After the election, Humphrey called Nixon and the two had an amicable conversation in which Humphrey implied that he preferred Nixon to McGovern, and had tried to keep McGovern from winning. 1976 presidential election On April 22, 1974, Humphrey said that he would not enter the upcoming Democratic presidential primary for the 1976 Presidential election. Humphrey said at the time that he was urging fellow Senator and Minnesotan Walter Mondale to run, despite believing that Ted Kennedy would enter the race as well. Leading up to the election cycle, Humphrey also said, "Here's a time in my life when I appear to have more support than at any other time in my life. But it's too financially, politically, and physically debilitating – and I'm just not going to do it." In December 1975, a Gallup poll was released showing Humphrey and Ronald Reagan as the leading Democratic and Republican candidates for the following year's presidential election. On April 12, 1976, Chairman of the New Jersey Democratic Party State Senator James P. Dugan said the selection of a majority of uncommitted delegates could be interpreted as a victory for Humphrey, who had indicated his availability as a presidential candidate for the convention. Humphrey announced his choice to not enter the New Jersey primary nor authorize any committees to work to support him during an April 29, 1976, appearance in the Senate Caucus Room. Even after Jimmy Carter had won enough delegates to clinch the nomination, many still wanted Humphrey to announce his availability for a draft. However, he did not do so, and Carter easily secured the nomination on the first round of balloting. Humphrey had learned that he had terminal cancer, prompting him to sit the race out. Humphrey attended the November 17, 1976, meeting between President-elect Carter and Democratic congressional leaders in which Carter sought out support for a proposal to have the president's power to reorganize the government reinstated with potential to be vetoed by Congress. Fifth Senate term Humphrey attended the May 3, 1977, White House meeting on legislative priorities. Humphrey told President Carter that the U.S. would enter a period of high unemployment without an economic stimulus and noted that in "every period in our history, a rise in unemployment has been accompanied by a rise in inflation". Humphrey stated a preventative health care program would be the only way for the Carter administration to not have to fund soaring health costs. In July 1977, after the Senate began debating approval for funding of the neutron bomb, Humphrey stated that the White House had agreed to release the impact statement, a requirement for Congressional funding of a new weapon. Deputy President pro tempore of the Senate (1977–1978) In 1974, along with Rep. Augustus Hawkins of California, Humphrey authored the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act, the first attempt at full employment legislation. The original bill proposed to guarantee full employment to all citizens over 16 and set up a permanent system of public jobs to meet that goal. A watered-down version called the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act passed the House and Senate in 1978. It set the goal of 4 percent unemployment and 3 percent inflation and instructed the Federal Reserve Board to try to produce those goals when making policy decisions. Humphrey ran for Majority Leader after the 1976 election but lost to Robert Byrd of West Virginia. The Senate honored Humphrey by creating the post of Deputy President pro tempore of the Senate for him. On August 16, 1977, Humphrey revealed he was suffering from terminal bladder cancer. On October 25 of that year, he addressed the Senate, and on November 3, Humphrey became the first person other than a member of the House or the President of the United States to address the House of Representatives in session. President Carter honored him by giving him command of Air Force One for his final trip to Washington on October 23. One of Humphrey's final speeches contained the lines "It was once said that the moral test of Government is how that Government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped", which is sometimes described as the "liberals' mantra". Death and funeral Humphrey spent his last weeks calling old political acquaintances. One call was to Richard Nixon inviting him to his upcoming funeral, which Nixon accepted. Staying in the hospital, Humphrey went from room to room, cheering up other patients by telling them jokes and listening to them. On January 13, 1978, he died of bladder cancer at his home in Waverly, Minnesota, at the age of 66. Humphrey's body lay in state in the rotundas of the U.S. Capitol and the Minnesota State Capitol before being interred at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis. His passing overshadowed the death of his colleague from Montana, Senator Lee Metcalf, who had died the day before Humphrey. Old friends and opponents of Humphrey, from Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon to President Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale, paid their final respects. "He taught us how to live, and finally he taught us how to die", said Mondale. Humphrey's wife Muriel was appointed by Minnesota governor Rudy Perpich to serve in the U.S. Senate until a special election to fill the term was held; she did not seek election to finish her husband's term in office. In 1981 she married Max Brown and took the name Muriel Humphrey Brown. Upon her death in 1998 she was interred next to Humphrey at Lakewood Cemetery. Honors and legacy In 1965, Humphrey was made an Honorary Life Member of Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically African American fraternity. In 1978, Humphrey received the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards. He was awarded posthumously the Congressional Gold Medal on June 13, 1979, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980. He was honored by the United States Postal Service with a 52¢ Great Americans series (1980–2000) postage stamp. There is a statue of him in front of the Minneapolis City Hall. Humphrey's legacy is bolstered by his early leadership in civil rights, and undermined by his long support of the Vietnam War. His leading biographer Arnold A. Offner says he was "the most successful legislator in the nation's history and a powerful voice for equal justice for all." Offner writes that Humphrey was: A major force for nearly every important liberal policy initiative....putting civil rights on his party's and the nation's agenda [in 1948] for decades to come. As senator he proposed legislation to effect national health insurance, for aid to poor nations, immigration and income tax reform, a Job Corps, the Peace Corps, the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and the path breaking 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty....[He provided] masterful stewardship of the historic 1964 Civil Rights Act through the Senate. While acknowledging his accomplishments, some historians emphasize that Humphrey was "a flawed, and not entirely likeable, figure who talked too much and neglected his family while pursuing a politics of compromise that owed as much to his vaunting personal ambition as to political pragmatism." Namesakes Fellowship The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, which fosters an exchange of knowledge and mutual understanding throughout the world. Buildings and institutions The Hubert H. Humphrey Terminal at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport The former Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome domed stadium in Minneapolis which was home to the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League and the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball. The Hubert H. Humphrey Job Corps Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and its building, the Hubert H. Humphrey Center (formerly Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs; changed in January 2011) The Hubert H. Humphrey Building of the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. The Hubert H. Humphrey Bridge carrying FL S.R. 520 over the Indian River Lagoon between Cocoa and Merritt Island in Brevard County, Florida The Hubert H. Humphrey Middle School in Bolingbrook, Illinois. The Hubert H. Humphrey Comprehensive Health Center of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services in Los Angeles, California. The Hubert H. Humphrey Recreation Center of the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks in Pacoima, CA. The Hubert H. Humphrey Auditorium at Doland High School in Doland, South Dakota. The Hubert H. Humphrey Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico The Hubert H. Humphrey Elementary School in Waverly, Minnesota The Hubert H. Humphrey Cancer Center in Robbinsdale, Minnesota Portrayals Franklin Cover in the 1982 television film A Woman Called Golda. Bradley Whitford in the 2016 television film All the Way. Doug McKeon in the 2017 film LBJ. Electoral history See also Politics of Minnesota Humphrey's son, Skip Humphrey and grandson Buck Humphrey are also Minnesotan politicians. List of United States Congress members who died in office (1950–99) Humphrey objection Notes References Berman, Edgar. Hubert: The Triumph And Tragedy Of The Humphrey I Knew. New York: G.P. Putnam's & Sons, 1979. A physician's personal account of his friendship with Humphrey from 1957 until his death in 1978. Boomhower, Ray E. "Fighting the Good Fight: John Bartlow Martin and Hubert Humphrey's 1968 Presidential Campaign." Indiana Magazine of History (2020) 116#1 pp 1–29. online Caro, Robert A. The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002. Chester, Lewis, Hodgson, Godfrey, Page, Bruce. An American Melodrama: The Presidential Campaign of 1968. New York: The Viking Press, 1969. online Cohen, Dan. Undefeated: The Life of Hubert H. Humphrey. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 1978. Dallek, Robert. An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2003. Engelmayer, Sheldon D., and Robert J. Wagman. Hubert Humphrey: The Man and His Dream (1978). online Garrettson, Charles L. III. Hubert H. Humphrey: The Politics of Joy. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1993. Gould, Lewis L. 1968: The Election That Changed America (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1993). online Humphrey, Hubert H. The Education of a Public Man: My Life and Politics. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976, a primary source. online Johns, Andrew L. The Price of Loyalty: Hubert Humphrey's Vietnam Conflict (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020). Mann, Robert. The Walls of Jericho: Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Russell and the Struggle for Civil Rights. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1996. online Offner, Arnold, "Hubert Humphrey: The Conscience of the Country," New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2018. Pomper, Gerald. "The nomination of Hubert Humphrey for vice-president." Journal of Politics 28.3 (1966): 639–659. online Reichard, Gary W. "Mayor Hubert H. Humphrey" Minnesota History 56#2 (1998), pp. 50–67 online Ross, Irwin. The Loneliest Campaign: The Truman Victory of 1948. New York: New American Library, 1968. Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. Robert Kennedy and His Times. New York: Ballantine Books, 1996. Solberg, Carl. Hubert Humphrey: A Biography. New York: Norton, 1984. online Taylor, Jeff. Where Did the Party Go? William Jennings Bryan, Hubert Humphrey, and the Jeffersonian Legacy. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2006. Thurber, Timothy N. The Politics of Equality: Hubert H. Humphrey and the African American Freedom Struggle. Columbia University Press, 1999. pp. 352. White, Theodore H. The Making of the President 1960. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2004. (Reprint) External links University of Texas biography Hubert H. Humphrey Papers are available for research use at the Minnesota Historical Society. Humphrey's complete speech texts and a broad sample of his speech sound recordings have been digitzed by the Minnesota Historical Society under a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Complete text and audio of Humphrey's 1948 speech at the Democratic National Convention – from AmericanRhetoric.com Complete text and audio of Humphrey's 1964 speech at the Democratic National Convention – from AmericanRhetoric.com Account of 1948 Presidential campaign – includes text of Humphrey's speech at the Democratic National Convention Oral History Interviews with Hubert H. Humphrey, from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library Information on Humphrey's thought and influence, including quotations from his speeches and writings. Hubert H. Humphrey at the Macedonian Baptist Church, San Francisco, May 23, 1972 Photographs by Bruce Jackson of Humphrey on his last campaign. Radio airchecks/recordings of Hubert H. Humphrey from 1946 to 1978 including interviews, radio appearances, newscasts, 1968 election concession speech, etc. "Hubert Humphrey, Presidential Contender" from C-SPAN's The Contenders |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- Category:1911 births Category:1978 deaths Category:20th-century vice presidents of the United States Category:American Congregationalists Category:American Federation of Teachers people Category:American pharmacists Category:American people of Norwegian descent Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of the Vietnam War Category:Burials at Lakewood Cemetery Category:Congressional Gold Medal recipients Category:American cooperative organizers Category:Deaths from bladder cancer Category:Deaths from cancer in Minnesota Category:Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees Category:Democratic Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Category:Democratic Party United States senators from Minnesota Category:Democratic Party vice presidents of the United States Category:Humphrey family Category:Louisiana State University alumni Category:Macalester College faculty Category:Mayors of Minneapolis Category:Lyndon B. Johnson administration cabinet members Category:Minnesota Democrats Category:People from Codington County, South Dakota Category:People from Doland, South Dakota Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:United Church of Christ members Category:Candidates in the 1952 United States presidential election Category:Candidates in the 1960 United States presidential election Category:Candidates in the 1964 United States presidential election Category:Candidates in the 1972 United States presidential election Category:Candidates in the 1976 United States presidential election Category:1956 United States vice-presidential candidates Category:1964 United States vice-presidential candidates Category:University of Minnesota alumni Category:Vice presidents of the United States Category:American political party founders Category:Activists for African-American civil rights Category:Liberalism in the United States

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Mircea Eliade

Mircea Eliade (Romanian: ['mirtSea eli'ade]; March 9 [O.S. February 24] 1907 - April 22, 1986) was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day. His theory that hierophanies form the basis of religion, splitting the human experience of reality into sacred and profane space and time, has proved influential.

Adolescence and literary debut

After completing his primary education at the school on Mantuleasa Street, Eliade attended the Spiru Haret National College in the same class as Arsavir Acterian, Haig Acterian, and Petre Viforeanu (and several years the senior of Nicolae Steinhardt, who eventually became a close friend of Eliade's). Among his other colleagues was future philosopher Constantin Noica and Noica's friend, future art historian Barbu Brezianu. As a child, Eliade was fascinated with the natural world, which formed the setting of his very first literary attempts, as well as with Romanian folklore and the Christian faith as expressed by peasants. Growing up, he aimed to find and record what he believed was the common source of all religious traditions. The young Eliade's interest in physical exercise and adventure led him to pursue mountaineering and sailing, and he also joined the Romanian Boy Scouts. With a group of friends, he designed and sailed a boat on the Danube, from Tulcea to the Black Sea. In parallel, Eliade grew estranged from the educational environment, becoming disenchanted with the discipline required and obsessed with the idea that he was uglier and less virile than his colleagues. In order to cultivate his willpower, he would force himself to swallow insects and only slept four to five hours a night. At one point, Eliade was failing four subjects, among which was the study of the Romanian language. Instead, he became interested in natural science and chemistry, as well as the occult, and wrote short pieces on entomological subjects. Despite his father's concern that he was in danger of losing his already weak eyesight, Eliade read passionately. One of his favorite authors was Honore de Balzac, whose work he studied carefully. Eliade also became acquainted with the modernist short stories of Giovanni Papini and social anthropology studies by James George Frazer. His interest in the two writers led him to learn Italian and English in private, and he also began studying Persian and Hebrew. At the time, Eliade became acquainted with Saadi's poems and the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh. He was also interested in philosophy--studying, among others, Socrates, Vasile Conta, and the Stoics Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus, and read works of history--the two Romanian historians who influenced him from early on were Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu and Nicolae Iorga. His first published work was the 1921 Inamicul viermelui de matase ("The Silkworm's Enemy"), followed by Cum am gasit piatra filosofala ("How I Found the Philosophers' Stone"). Four years later, Eliade completed work on his debut volume, the autobiographical "Diary of a Short-Sighted Adolescent" translated into English and published by Istros Books in 2016. CANNOTANSWER

Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day. His theory that hierophanies form the basis of religion, splitting the human experience of reality into sacred and profane space and time, has proved influential. One of his most instrumental contributions to religious studies was his theory of eternal return, which holds that myths and rituals do not simply commemorate hierophanies, but, at least in the minds of the religious, actually participate in them. His literary works belong to the fantastic and autobiographical genres. The best known are the novels Maitreyi ('La Nuit Bengali' or 'Bengal Nights'), Noaptea de Sânziene ('The Forbidden Forest'), Isabel și apele diavolului ('Isabel and the Devil's Waters'), and Romanul Adolescentului Miop ('Novel of the Nearsighted Adolescent'); the novellas Domnișoara Christina ('Miss Christina') and Tinerețe fără tinerețe ('Youth Without Youth'); and the short stories Secretul doctorului Honigberger ('The Secret of Dr. Honigberger') and La Țigănci ('With the Gypsy Girls'). Early in his life, Eliade was a journalist and essayist, a disciple of Romanian philosopher and journalist Nae Ionescu, and a member of the literary society Criterion. In the 1940s, he served as cultural attaché to the United Kingdom and Portugal. Several times during the late 1930s, Eliade publicly expressed his support for the Iron Guard, a Christian fascist political organization. His political involvement at the time, as well as his other far right connections, were frequently criticised after World War II. Noted for his vast erudition, Eliade had fluent command of five languages (Romanian, French, German, Italian, and English) and a reading knowledge of three others (Hebrew, Persian, and Sanskrit). He was elected a posthumous member of the Romanian Academy. Biography Childhood Born in Bucharest, he was the son of Romanian Land Forces officer Gheorghe Eliade (whose original surname was Ieremia) and Jeana née Vasilescu. An Orthodox believer, Gheorghe Eliade registered his son's birth four days before the actual date, to coincide with the liturgical calendar feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. Mircea Eliade had a sister, Corina, the mother of semiologist Sorin Alexandrescu. His family moved between Tecuci and Bucharest, ultimately settling in the capital in 1914, and purchasing a house on Melodiei Street, near Piața Rosetti, where Mircea Eliade resided until late in his teens. Eliade kept a particularly fond memory of his childhood and, later in life, wrote about the impact various unusual episodes and encounters had on his mind. In one instance during the World War I Romanian Campaign, when Eliade was about ten years of age, he witnessed the bombing of Bucharest by German zeppelins and the patriotic fervor in the occupied capital at news that Romania was able to stop the Central Powers' advance into Moldavia. He described this stage in his life as marked by an unrepeatable epiphany. Recalling his entrance into a drawing room that an "eerie iridescent light" had turned into "a fairy-tale palace", he wrote, I practiced for many years [the] exercise of recapturing that epiphanic moment, and I would always find again the same plenitude. I would slip into it as into a fragment of time devoid of duration—without beginning, middle, or end. During my last years of lycée, when I struggled with profound attacks of melancholy, I still succeeded at times in returning to the golden green light of that afternoon. [...] But even though the beatitude was the same, it was now impossible to bear because it aggravated my sadness too much. By this time I knew the world to which the drawing room belonged [...] was a world forever lost. Robert Ellwood, a professor of religion who did his graduate studies under Mircea Eliade, saw this type of nostalgia as one of the most characteristic themes in Eliade's life and academic writings. Adolescence and literary debut After completing his primary education at the school on Mântuleasa Street, Eliade attended the Spiru Haret National College in the same class as Arșavir Acterian, Haig Acterian, and Petre Viforeanu (and several years the senior of Nicolae Steinhardt, who eventually became a close friend of Eliade's). Among his other colleagues was future philosopher Constantin Noica and Noica's friend, future art historian Barbu Brezianu. As a child, Eliade was fascinated with the natural world, which formed the setting of his very first literary attempts, as well as with Romanian folklore and the Christian faith as expressed by peasants. Growing up, he aimed to find and record what he believed was the common source of all religious traditions. The young Eliade's interest in physical exercise and adventure led him to pursue mountaineering and sailing, and he also joined the Romanian Boy Scouts. With a group of friends, he designed and sailed a boat on the Danube, from Tulcea to the Black Sea. In parallel, Eliade grew estranged from the educational environment, becoming disenchanted with the discipline required and obsessed with the idea that he was uglier and less virile than his colleagues. In order to cultivate his willpower, he would force himself to swallow insects and only slept four to five hours a night. At one point, Eliade was failing four subjects, among which was the study of the Romanian language. Instead, he became interested in natural science and chemistry, as well as the occult, and wrote short pieces on entomological subjects. Despite his father's concern that he was in danger of losing his already weak eyesight, Eliade read passionately. One of his favorite authors was Honoré de Balzac, whose work he studied carefully. Eliade also became acquainted with the modernist short stories of Giovanni Papini and social anthropology studies by James George Frazer. His interest in the two writers led him to learn Italian and English in private, and he also began studying Persian and Hebrew. At the time, Eliade became acquainted with Saadi's poems and the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh. He was also interested in philosophy—studying, among others, Socrates, Vasile Conta, and the Stoics Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus, and read works of history—the two Romanian historians who influenced him from early on were Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu and Nicolae Iorga. His first published work was the 1921 Inamicul viermelui de mătase ("The Silkworm's Enemy"), followed by Cum am găsit piatra filosofală ("How I Found the Philosophers' Stone"). Four years later, Eliade completed work on his debut volume, the autobiographical Novel of the Nearsighted Adolescent. University studies and Indian sojourn Between 1925 and 1928, he attended the University of Bucharest's Faculty of Philosophy and Letters in 1928, earning his diploma with a study on Early Modern Italian philosopher Tommaso Campanella. In 1927, Eliade traveled to Italy, where he met Papini and collaborated with the scholar Giuseppe Tucci. It was during his student years that Eliade met Nae Ionescu, who lectured in Logic, becoming one of his disciples and friends. He was especially attracted to Ionescu's radical ideas and his interest in religion, which signified a break with the rationalist tradition represented by senior academics such as Constantin Rădulescu-Motru, Dimitrie Gusti, and Tudor Vianu (all of whom owed inspiration to the defunct literary society Junimea, albeit in varying degrees). Eliade's scholarly works began after a long period of study in British India, at the University of Calcutta. Finding that the Maharaja of Kassimbazar sponsored European scholars to study in India, Eliade applied and was granted an allowance for four years, which was later doubled by a Romanian scholarship. In autumn 1928, he sailed for Calcutta to study Sanskrit and philosophy under Surendranath Dasgupta, a Bengali Cambridge alumnus and professor at Calcutta University, the author of a five volume History of Indian Philosophy. Before reaching the Indian subcontinent, Eliade also made a brief visit to Egypt. Once in India, he visited large areas of the region, and spent a short period at a Himalayan ashram. He studied the basics of Indian philosophy, and, in parallel, learned Sanskrit, Pali and Bengali under Dasgupta's direction. At the time, he also became interested in the actions of Mahatma Gandhi and the Satyagraha as a phenomenon; later, Eliade adapted Gandhian ideas in his discourse on spirituality and Romania. In 1930, while living with Dasgupta, Eliade fell in love with his host's daughter, Maitreyi Devi, later writing a barely disguised autobiographical novel Maitreyi (also known as "La Nuit Bengali" or "Bengal Nights"), in which he claimed that he carried on a physical relationship with her. Eliade received his PhD in 1933, with a thesis on Yoga practices. The book, which was translated into French three years later, had significant impact in academia, both in Romania and abroad. He later recalled that the book was an early step for understanding not just Indian religious practices, but also Romanian spirituality. During the same period, Eliade began a correspondence with the Ceylonese-born philosopher Ananda Coomaraswamy. In 1936–1937, he functioned as honorary assistant for Ionescu's course, lecturing in Metaphysics. In 1933, Mircea Eliade had a physical relationship with the actress Sorana Țopa, while falling in love with Nina Mareș, whom he ultimately married. The latter, introduced to him by his new friend Mihail Sebastian, already had a daughter, Giza, from a man who had divorced her. Eliade subsequently adopted Giza, and the three of them moved to an apartment at 141 Dacia Boulevard. He left his residence in 1936, during a trip he made to the United Kingdom and Germany, when he first visited London, Oxford and Berlin. Criterion and Cuvântul After contributing various and generally polemical pieces in university magazines, Eliade came to the attention of journalist Pamfil Șeicaru, who invited him to collaborate on the nationalist paper Cuvântul, which was noted for its harsh tones. By then, Cuvântul was also hosting articles by Nae Ionescu. As one of the figures in the Criterion literary society (1933–1934), Eliade's initial encounter with the traditional far right was polemical: the group's conferences were stormed by members of A. C. Cuza's National-Christian Defense League, who objected to what they viewed as pacifism and addressed antisemitic insults to several speakers, including Sebastian; in 1933, he was among the signers of a manifesto opposing Nazi Germany's state-enforced racism. In 1934, at a time when Sebastian was publicly insulted by Nae Ionescu, who prefaced his book (De două mii de ani...) with thoughts on the "eternal damnation" of Jews, Mircea Eliade spoke out against this perspective, and commented that Ionescu's references to the verdict "Outside the Church there is no salvation" contradicted the notion of God's omnipotence. However, he contended that Ionescu's text was not evidence of antisemitism. In 1936, reflecting on the early history of the Romanian Kingdom and its Jewish community, he deplored the expulsion of Jewish scholars from Romania, making specific references to Moses Gaster, Heimann Hariton Tiktin and Lazăr Șăineanu. Eliade's views at the time focused on innovation—in the summer of 1933, he replied to an anti-modernist critique written by George Călinescu: All I wish for is a deep change, a complete transformation. But, for God's sake, in any direction other than spirituality. He and friends Emil Cioran and Constantin Noica were by then under the influence of Trăirism, a school of thought that was formed around the ideals expressed by Ionescu. A form of existentialism, Trăirism was also the synthesis of traditional and newer right-wing beliefs. Early on, a public polemic was sparked between Eliade and Camil Petrescu: the two eventually reconciled and later became good friends. Like Mihail Sebastian, who was himself becoming influenced by Ionescu, he maintained contacts with intellectuals from all sides of the political spectrum: their entourage included the right-wing Dan Botta and Mircea Vulcănescu, the non-political Petrescu and Ionel Jianu, and Belu Zilber, who was a member of the illegal Romanian Communist Party. The group also included Haig Acterian, Mihail Polihroniade, Petru Comarnescu, Marietta Sadova and Floria Capsali. He was also close to Marcel Avramescu, a former Surrealist writer whom he introduced to the works of René Guénon. A doctor in the Kabbalah and future Romanian Orthodox cleric, Avramescu joined Eliade in editing the short-lived esoteric magazine Memra (the only one of its kind in Romania). Among the intellectuals who attended his lectures were Mihai Şora (whom he deemed his favorite student), Eugen Schileru and Miron Constantinescu—known later as, respectively, a philosopher, an art critic, and a sociologist and political figure of the communist regime. Mariana Klein, who became Șora's wife, was one of Eliade's female students, and later authored works on his scholarship. Eliade later recounted that he had himself enlisted Zilber as a Cuvântul contributor, in order for him to provide a Marxist perspective on the issues discussed by the journal. Their relation soured in 1935, when the latter publicly accused Eliade of serving as an agent for the secret police, Siguranța Statului (Sebastian answered to the statement by alleging that Zilber was himself a secret agent, and the latter eventually retracted his claim). 1930s political transition Eliade's articles before and after his adherence to the principles of the Iron Guard (or, as it was usually known at the time, the Legionary Movement), beginning with his Itinerar spiritual ("Spiritual Itinerary", serialized in Cuvântul in 1927), center on several political ideals advocated by the far right. They displayed his rejection of liberalism and the modernizing goals of the 1848 Wallachian revolution (perceived as "an abstract apology of Mankind" and "ape-like imitation of [Western] Europe"), as well as for democracy itself (accusing it of "managing to crush all attempts at national renaissance", and later praising Benito Mussolini's Fascist Italy on the grounds that, according to Eliade, "[in Italy,] he who thinks for himself is promoted to the highest office in the shortest of times"). He approved of an ethnic nationalist state centered on the Orthodox Church (in 1927, despite his still-vivid interest in Theosophy, he recommended young intellectuals "the return to the Church"), which he opposed to, among others, the secular nationalism of Constantin Rădulescu-Motru; referring to this particular ideal as "Romanianism", Eliade was, in 1934, still viewing it as "neither fascism, nor chauvinism". Eliade was especially dissatisfied with the incidence of unemployment among intellectuals, whose careers in state-financed institutions had been rendered uncertain by the Great Depression. In 1936, Eliade was the focus of a campaign in the far right press, being targeted for having authored "pornography" in his Domnișoara Christina and Isabel și apele diavolului; similar accusations were aimed at other cultural figures, including Tudor Arghezi and Geo Bogza. Assessments of Eliade's work were in sharp contrast to one another: also in 1936, Eliade accepted an award from the Romanian Writers' Society, of which he had been a member since 1934. In summer 1937, through an official decision which came as a result of the accusations, and despite student protests, he was stripped of his position at the university. Eliade decided to sue the Ministry of Education, asking for a symbolic compensation of 1 leu. He won the trial, and regained his position as Nae Ionescu's assistant. Nevertheless, by 1937, he gave his intellectual support to the Iron Guard, in which he saw "a Christian revolution aimed at creating a new Romania", and a group able "to reconcile Romania with God". His articles of the time, published in Iron Guard papers such as Sfarmă Piatră and Buna Vestire, contain ample praises of the movement's leaders (Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, Ion Moța, Vasile Marin, and Gheorghe Cantacuzino-Grănicerul). The transition he went through was similar to that of his fellow generation members and close collaborators—among the notable exceptions to this rule were Petru Comarnescu, sociologist Henri H. Stahl and future dramatist Eugène Ionesco, as well as Sebastian. He eventually enrolled in the Totul pentru Țară ("Everything for the Fatherland" Party), the political expression of the Iron Guard, and contributed to its 1937 electoral campaign in Prahova County—as indicated by his inclusion on a list of party members with county-level responsibilities (published in Buna Vestire). Internment and diplomatic service The stance taken by Eliade resulted in his arrest on July 14, 1938, after a crackdown on the Iron Guard authorized by King Carol II. At the time of his arrest, he had just interrupted a column on Provincia și legionarismul ("The Province and Legionary Ideology") in Vremea, having been singled out by Prime Minister Armand Călinescu as an author of Iron Guard propaganda. Eliade was kept for three weeks in a cell at the Siguranța Statului Headquarters, in an attempt to have him sign a "declaration of dissociation" with the Iron Guard, but he refused to do so. In the first week of August he was transferred to a makeshift camp at Miercurea-Ciuc. When Eliade began coughing blood in October 1938, he was taken to a clinic in Moroeni. Eliade was simply released on November 12, and subsequently spent his time writing his play Iphigenia (also known as Ifigenia). In April 1940, with the help of Alexandru Rosetti, he became Cultural Attaché to the United Kingdom, a posting cut short when Romanian-British foreign relations were broken. After leaving London he was assigned the office of Counsel and Press Officer (later Cultural Attaché) to the Romanian Embassy in Portugal, where he was kept on as diplomat by the National Legionary State (the Iron Guard government) and, ultimately, by Ion Antonescu's regime. His office involved disseminating propaganda in favor of the Romanian state. In 1941, during his time in Portugal, Eliade stayed in Estoril, at the Hotel Palácio. He would later find a house in Cascais, at Rua da Saudade. In February 1941, weeks after the bloody Legionary Rebellion was crushed by Antonescu, Iphigenia was staged by the National Theater Bucharest—the play soon raised concerns that it owed inspiration to the Iron Guard's ideology, and even that its inclusion in the program was a Legionary attempt at subversion. In 1942, Eliade authored a volume in praise of the Estado Novo, established in Portugal by António de Oliveira Salazar, claiming that "The Salazarian state, a Christian and totalitarian one, is first and foremost based on love". On July 7 of the same year, he was received by Salazar himself, who assigned Eliade the task of warning Antonescu to withdraw the Romanian Army from the Eastern Front ("[In his place], I would not be grinding it in Russia"). Eliade also claimed that such contacts with the leader of a neutral country had made him the target for Gestapo surveillance, but that he had managed to communicate Salazar's advice to Mihai Antonescu, Romania's Foreign Minister. In autumn 1943, he traveled to occupied France, where he rejoined Emil Cioran, also meeting with scholar Georges Dumézil and the collaborationist writer Paul Morand. At the same time, he applied for a position of lecturer at the University of Bucharest, but withdrew from the race, leaving Constantin Noica and Ion Zamfirescu to dispute the position, in front of a panel of academics comprising Lucian Blaga and Dimitrie Gusti (Zamfirescu's eventual selection, going against Blaga's recommendation, was to be the topic of a controversy). In his private notes, Eliade wrote that he took no further interest in the office, because his visits abroad had convinced him that he had "something great to say", and that he could not function within the confines of "a minor culture". Also during the war, Eliade traveled to Berlin, where he met and conversed with controversial political theorist Carl Schmitt, and frequently visited Francoist Spain, where he notably attended the 1944 Lusitano-Spanish scientific congress in Córdoba. It was during his trips to Spain that Eliade met philosophers José Ortega y Gasset and Eugeni d'Ors. He maintained a friendship with d'Ors, and met him again on several occasions after the war. Nina Eliade fell ill with uterine cancer and died during their stay in Lisbon, in late 1944. As the widower later wrote, the disease was probably caused by an abortion procedure she had undergone at an early stage of their relationship. He came to suffer from clinical depression, which increased as Romania and her Axis allies suffered major defeats on the Eastern Front. Contemplating a return to Romania as a soldier or a monk, he was on a continuous search for effective antidepressants, medicating himself with passion flower extract, and, eventually, with methamphetamine. This was probably not his first experience with drugs: vague mentions in his notebooks have been read as indication that Mircea Eliade was taking opium during his travels to Calcutta. Later, discussing the works of Aldous Huxley, Eliade wrote that the British author's use of mescaline as a source of inspiration had something in common with his own experience, indicating 1945 as a date of reference and adding that it was "needless to explain why that is". Early exile At signs that the Romanian communist regime was about to take hold, Eliade opted not to return to the country. On September 16, 1945, he moved to France with his adopted daughter Giza. Once there, he resumed contacts with Dumézil, who helped him recover his position in academia. On Dumézil's recommendation, he taught at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris. It was estimated that, at the time, it was not uncommon for him to work 15 hours a day. Eliade married a second time, to the Romanian exile Christinel Cotescu. His second wife, the descendant of boyars, was the sister-in-law of the conductor Ionel Perlea. Together with Emil Cioran and other Romanian expatriates, Eliade rallied with the former diplomat Alexandru Busuioceanu, helping him publicize anti-communist opinion to the Western European public. He was also briefly involved in publishing a Romanian-language magazine, titled Luceafărul ("The Morning Star"), and was again in contact with Mihai Șora, who had been granted a scholarship to study in France, and with Șora's wife Mariana. In 1947, he was facing material constraints, and Ananda Coomaraswamy found him a job as a French-language teacher in the United States, at a school in Arizona; the arrangement ended upon Coomaraswamy's death in September. Beginning in 1948, he wrote for the journal Critique, edited by French philosopher Georges Bataille. The following year, he went on a visit to Italy, where he wrote the first 300 pages of his novel Noaptea de Sânziene (he visited the country a third time in 1952). He collaborated with Carl Jung and the Eranos circle after Henry Corbin recommended him in 1949, and wrote for the Antaios magazine (edited by Ernst Jünger). In 1950, Eliade began attending Eranos conferences, meeting Jung, Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn, Gershom Scholem and Paul Radin. He described Eranos as "one of the most creative cultural experiences of the modern Western world." In October 1956, he moved to the United States, settling in Chicago the following year. He had been invited by Joachim Wach to give a series of lectures at Wach's home institution, the University of Chicago. Eliade and Wach are generally admitted to be the founders of the "Chicago school" that basically defined the study of religions for the second half of the 20th century. Upon Wach's death before the lectures were delivered, Eliade was appointed as his successor, becoming, in 1964, the Sewell Avery Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions. Beginning in 1954, with the first edition of his volume on Eternal Return, Eliade also enjoyed commercial success: the book went through several editions under different titles, and sold over 100,000 copies. In 1966, Mircea Eliade became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He also worked as editor-in-chief of Macmillan Publishers' Encyclopedia of Religion, and, in 1968, lectured in religious history at the University of California, Santa Barbara. It was also during that period that Mircea Eliade completed his voluminous and influential History of Religious Ideas, which grouped together the overviews of his main original interpretations of religious history. He occasionally traveled out of the United States, attending the Congress for the History of Religions in Marburg (1960), and visiting Sweden and Norway in 1970. Final years and death Initially, Eliade was attacked with virulence by the Romanian Communist Party press, chiefly by România Liberă—which described him as "the Iron Guard's ideologue, enemy of the working class, apologist of Salazar's dictatorship". However, the regime also made secretive attempts to enlist his and Cioran's support: Haig Acterian's widow, theater director Marietta Sadova, was sent to Paris in order to re-establish contacts with the two. Although the move was planned by Romanian officials, her encounters were to be used as evidence incriminating her at a February 1960 trial for treason (where Constantin Noica and Dinu Pillat were the main defendants). Romania's secret police, the Securitate, also portrayed Eliade as a spy for the British Secret Intelligence Service and a former agent of the Gestapo. He was slowly rehabilitated at home beginning in the early 1960s, under the rule of Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej. In the 1970s, Eliade was approached by the Nicolae Ceaușescu regime in several ways, in order to have him return. The move was prompted by the officially sanctioned nationalism and Romania's claim to independence from the Eastern Bloc, as both phenomena came to see Eliade's prestige as an asset. An unprecedented event occurred with the interview that was granted by Mircea Eliade to poet Adrian Păunescu, during the latter's 1970 visit to Chicago; Eliade complimented both Păunescu's activism and his support for official tenets, expressing a belief that the youth of Eastern Europe is clearly superior to that of Western Europe. [...] I am convinced that, within ten years, the young revolutionary generation shan't be behaving as does today the noisy minority of Western contesters. [...] Eastern youth have seen the abolition of traditional institutions, have accepted it [...] and are not yet content with the structures enforced, but rather seek to improve them. Păunescu's visit to Chicago was followed by those of the nationalist official writer Eugen Barbu and by Eliade's friend Constantin Noica (who had since been released from jail). At the time, Eliade contemplated returning to Romania, but was eventually persuaded by fellow Romanian intellectuals in exile (including Radio Free Europe's Virgil Ierunca and Monica Lovinescu) to reject Communist proposals. In 1977, he joined other exiled Romanian intellectuals in signing a telegram protesting the repressive measures newly enforced by the Ceaușescu regime. Writing in 2007, Romanian anthropologist Andrei Oișteanu recounted how, around 1984, the Securitate unsuccessfully attempted to become an agent of influence in Eliade's Chicago circle. During his later years, Eliade's past was progressively exposed publicly, the stress of which probably contributed to the decline of his health. By then, his writing career was hampered by severe arthritis. The last academic honors bestowed upon him were the French Academy's Bordin Prize (1977) and the title of Doctor Honoris Causa, granted by George Washington University (1985). Mircea Eliade died at the Bernard Mitchell Hospital in April 1986. Eight days previously, he suffered a stroke while reading Emil Cioran's Exercises of Admiration, and had subsequently lost his speech function. Four months before, a fire had destroyed part of his office at the Meadville Lombard Theological School (an event which he had interpreted as an omen). Eliade's Romanian disciple Ioan Petru Culianu, who recalled the scientific community's reaction to the news, described Eliade's death as "a mahaparanirvana", thus comparing it to the passing of Gautama Buddha. His body was cremated in Chicago, and the funeral ceremony was held on University grounds, at the Rockefeller Chapel. It was attended by 1,200 people, and included a public reading of Eliade's text in which he recalled the epiphany of his childhood—the lecture was given by novelist Saul Bellow, Eliade's colleague at the university. His student and the bearer of his legacy, Charles H. Long, co-founder of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School, gave the eulogy. His grave is located in Oak Woods Cemetery. Work The general nature of religion In his work on the history of religion, Eliade is most highly regarded for his writings on Alchemy, Shamanism, Yoga and what he called the eternal return—the implicit belief, supposedly present in religious thought in general, that religious behavior is not only an imitation of, but also a participation in, sacred events, and thus restores the mythical time of origins. Eliade's thinking was in part influenced by Rudolf Otto, Gerardus van der Leeuw, Nae Ionescu and the writings of the Traditionalist School (René Guénon and Julius Evola). For instance, Eliade's The Sacred and the Profane partially builds on Otto's The Idea of the Holy to show how religion emerges from the experience of the sacred, and myths of time and nature. Eliade is known for his attempt to find broad, cross-cultural parallels and unities in religion, particularly in myths. Wendy Doniger, Eliade's colleague from 1978 until his death, has observed that "Eliade argued boldly for universals where he might more safely have argued for widely prevalent patterns." His Treatise on the History of Religions was praised by French philologist Georges Dumézil for its coherence and ability to synthesize diverse and distinct mythologies. Robert Ellwood describes Eliade's approach to religion as follows. Eliade approaches religion by imagining an ideally "religious" person, whom he calls homo religiosus in his writings. Eliade's theories basically describe how this homo religiosus would view the world. This does not mean that all religious practitioners actually think and act like homo religiosus. Instead, it means that religious behavior "says through its own language" that the world is as homo religiosus would see it, whether or not the real-life participants in religious behavior are aware of it. However, Ellwood writes that Eliade "tends to slide over that last qualification", implying that traditional societies actually thought like homo religiosus. Sacred and profane Eliade argues that "Yahweh is both kind and wrathful; the God of the Christian mystics and theologians is terrible and gentle at once." He also thought that the Indian and Chinese mystic tried to attain "a state of perfect indifference and neutrality" that resulted in a coincidence of opposites in which "pleasure and pain, desire and repulsion, cold and heat [...] are expunged from his awareness." Eliade's understanding of religion centers on his concept of hierophany (manifestation of the Sacred)—a concept that includes, but is not limited to, the older and more restrictive concept of theophany (manifestation of a god). From the perspective of religious thought, Eliade argues, hierophanies give structure and orientation to the world, establishing a sacred order. The "profane" space of nonreligious experience can only be divided up geometrically: it has no "qualitative differentiation and, hence, no orientation [is] given by virtue of its inherent structure." Thus, profane space gives man no pattern for his behavior. In contrast to profane space, the site of a hierophany has a sacred structure to which religious man conforms himself. A hierophany amounts to a "revelation of an absolute reality, opposed to the non-reality of the vast surrounding expanse." As an example of "sacred space" demanding a certain response from man, Eliade gives the story of Moses halting before Yahweh's manifestation as a burning bush (Exodus 3:5) and taking off his shoes. Origin myths and sacred time Eliade notes that, in traditional societies, myth represents the absolute truth about primordial time. According to the myths, this was the time when the Sacred first appeared, establishing the world's structure—myths claim to describe the primordial events that made society and the natural world be that which they are. Eliade argues that all myths are, in that sense, origin myths: "myth, then, is always an account of a creation." Many traditional societies believe that the power of a thing lies in its origin. If origin is equivalent to power, then "it is the first manifestation of a thing that is significant and valid" (a thing's reality and value therefore lies only in its first appearance). According to Eliade's theory, only the Sacred has value, only a thing's first appearance has value and, therefore, only the Sacred's first appearance has value. Myth describes the Sacred's first appearance; therefore, the mythical age is sacred time, the only time of value: "primitive man was interested only in the beginnings [...] to him it mattered little what had happened to himself, or to others like him, in more or less distant times." Eliade postulated this as the reason for the "nostalgia for origins" that appears in many religions, the desire to return to a primordial Paradise. Eternal return and "Terror of history" Eliade argues that traditional man attributes no value to the linear march of historical events: only the events of the mythical age have value. To give his own life value, traditional man performs myths and rituals. Because the Sacred's essence lies only in the mythical age, only in the Sacred's first appearance, any later appearance is actually the first appearance; by recounting or re-enacting mythical events, myths and rituals "re-actualize" those events. Eliade often uses the term "archetypes" to refer to the mythical models established by the Sacred, although Eliade's use of the term should be distinguished from the use of the term in Jungian psychology. Thus, argues Eliade, religious behavior does not only commemorate, but also participates in, sacred events: In imitating the exemplary acts of a god or of a mythical hero, or simply by recounting their adventures, the man of an archaic society detaches himself from profane time and magically re-enters the Great Time, the sacred time. Eliade called this concept the "eternal return" (distinguished from the philosophical concept of "eternal return"). Wendy Doniger noted that Eliade's theory of the eternal return "has become a truism in the study of religions." Eliade attributes the well-known "cyclic" vision of time in ancient thought to belief in the eternal return. For instance, the New Year ceremonies among the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians, and other Near Eastern peoples re-enacted their cosmogonic myths. Therefore, by the logic of the eternal return, each New Year ceremony was the beginning of the world for these peoples. According to Eliade, these peoples felt a need to return to the Beginning at regular intervals, turning time into a circle. Eliade argues that yearning to remain in the mythical age causes a "terror of history": traditional man desires to escape the linear succession of events (which, Eliade indicated, he viewed as empty of any inherent value or sacrality). Eliade suggests that the abandonment of mythical thought and the full acceptance of linear, historical time, with its "terror", is one of the reasons for modern man's anxieties. Traditional societies escape this anxiety to an extent, as they refuse to completely acknowledge historical time. But the return to the sources involved an apocalyptic experience. Doina Ruști, analyzing the storyThe Old Man and The Bureaucrats (Pe strada Mântuleasa), says The memories create the chaos, because "the myth makes irruption in a world in tormented birth, without memory, and transform all in a labyrinth". Coincidentia oppositorum Eliade claims that many myths, rituals, and mystical experiences involve a "coincidence of opposites," or coincidentia oppositorum. In fact, he calls the coincidentia oppositorum "the mythical pattern." Many myths, Eliade notes, "present us with a twofold revelation": they express on the one hand the diametrical opposition of two divine figures sprung from one and the same principle and destined, in many versions, to be reconciled at some illud tempus of eschatology, and on the other, the coincidentia oppositorum in the very nature of the divinity, which shows itself, by turns or even simultaneously, benevolent and terrible, creative and destructive, solar and serpentine, and so on (in other words, actual and potential). Eliade argues that "Yahweh is both kind and wrathful; the God of the Christian mystics and theologians is terrible and gentle at once." He also thought that the Indian and Chinese mystic tried to attain "a state of perfect indifference and neutrality" that resulted in a coincidence of opposites in which "pleasure and pain, desire and repulsion, cold and heat [...] are expunged from his awareness". According to Eliade, the coincidentia oppositorums appeal lies in "man's deep dissatisfaction with his actual situation, with what is called the human condition". In many mythologies, the end of the mythical age involves a "fall", a fundamental "ontological change in the structure of the World". Because the coincidentia oppositorum is a contradiction, it represents a denial of the world's current logical structure, a reversal of the "fall". Also, traditional man's dissatisfaction with the post-mythical age expresses itself as a feeling of being "torn and separate". In many mythologies, the lost mythical age was a Paradise, "a paradoxical state in which the contraries exist side by side without conflict, and the multiplications form aspects of a mysterious Unity". The coincidentia oppositorum expresses a wish to recover the lost unity of the mythical Paradise, for it presents a reconciliation of opposites and the unification of diversity: On the level of pre-systematic thought, the mystery of totality embodies man's endeavor to reach a perspective in which the contraries are abolished, the Spirit of Evil reveals itself as a stimulant of Good, and Demons appear as the night aspect of the Gods. Exceptions to the general nature Eliade acknowledges that not all religious behavior has all the attributes described in his theory of sacred time and the eternal return. The Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions embrace linear, historical time as sacred or capable of sanctification, while some Eastern traditions largely reject the notion of sacred time, seeking escape from the cycles of time. Because they contain rituals, Judaism and Christianity necessarily—Eliade argues—retain a sense of cyclic time: by the very fact that it is a religion, Christianity had to keep at least one mythical aspect—liturgical Time, that is, the periodic rediscovery of the illud tempus of the beginnings [and] an imitation of the Christ as exemplary pattern. However, Judaism and Christianity do not see time as a circle endlessly turning on itself; nor do they see such a cycle as desirable, as a way to participate in the Sacred. Instead, these religions embrace the concept of linear history progressing toward the Messianic Age or the Last Judgment, thus initiating the idea of "progress" (humans are to work for a Paradise in the future). However, Eliade's understanding of Judaeo-Christian eschatology can also be understood as cyclical in that the "end of time" is a return to God: "The final catastrophe will put an end to history, hence will restore man to eternity and beatitude." The pre-Islamic Persian religion of Zoroastrianism, which made a notable "contribution to the religious formation of the West", also has a linear sense of time; although, according to Eliade, the Hebrews' linear sense of time predates their being influenced by Zoroastrianism. In fact, Eliade identifies the Hebrews, not the Zoroastrians, as the first culture to truly "valorize" historical time, the first to see all major historical events as episodes in a continuous divine revelation. However, Eliade argues, Judaism elaborated its mythology of linear time by adding elements borrowed from Zoroastrianism—including ethical dualism, a savior figure, the future resurrection of the body, and the idea of cosmic progress toward "the final triumph of Good." The Indian religions of the East generally retain a cyclic view of time—for instance, the Hindu doctrine of kalpas. According to Eliade, most religions that accept the cyclic view of time also embrace it: they see it as a way to return to the sacred time. However, in Buddhism, Jainism, and some forms of Hinduism, the Sacred lies outside the flux of the material world (called maya, or "illusion"), and one can only reach it by escaping from the cycles of time. Because the Sacred lies outside cyclic time, which conditions humans, people can only reach the Sacred by escaping the human condition. According to Eliade, Yoga techniques aim at escaping the limitations of the body, allowing the soul (atman) to rise above maya and reach the Sacred (nirvana, moksha). Imagery of "freedom", and of death to one's old body and rebirth with a new body, occur frequently in Yogic texts, representing escape from the bondage of the temporal human condition. Eliade discusses these themes in detail in Yoga: Immortality and Freedom. Symbolism of the Center A recurrent theme in Eliade's myth analysis is the axis mundi, the Center of the World. According to Eliade, the Cosmic Center is a necessary corollary to the division of reality into the Sacred and the profane. The Sacred contains all value, and the world gains purpose and meaning only through hierophanies: In the homogeneous and infinite expanse, in which no point of reference is possible and hence no orientation is established, the hierophany reveals an absolute fixed point, a center. Because profane space gives man no orientation for his life, the Sacred must manifest itself in a hierophany, thereby establishing a sacred site around which man can orient himself. The site of a hierophany establishes a "fixed point, a center". This Center abolishes the "homogeneity and relativity of profane space", for it becomes "the central axis for all future orientation". A manifestation of the Sacred in profane space is, by definition, an example of something breaking through from one plane of existence to another. Therefore, the initial hierophany that establishes the Center must be a point at which there is contact between different planes—this, Eliade argues, explains the frequent mythical imagery of a Cosmic Tree or Pillar joining Heaven, Earth, and the underworld. Eliade noted that, when traditional societies found a new territory, they often perform consecrating rituals that reenact the hierophany that established the center and founded the world. In addition, the designs of traditional buildings, especially temples, usually imitate the mythical image of the axis mundi joining the different cosmic levels. For instance, the Babylonian ziggurats were built to resemble cosmic mountains passing through the heavenly spheres, and the rock of the Temple in Jerusalem was supposed to reach deep into the tehom, or primordial waters. According to the logic of the eternal return, the site of each such symbolic Center will actually be the Center of the World: It may be said, in general, that the majority of the sacred and ritual trees that we meet with in the history of religions are only replicas, imperfect copies of this exemplary archetype, the Cosmic Tree. Thus, all these sacred trees are thought of as situated at the Centre of the World, and all the ritual trees or posts [...] are, as it were, magically projected into the Centre of the World. According to Eliade's interpretation, religious man apparently feels the need to live not only near, but at, the mythical Center as much as possible, given that the center is the point of communication with the Sacred. Thus, Eliade argues, many traditional societies share common outlines in their mythical geographies. In the middle of the known world is the sacred Center, "a place that is sacred above all"; this Center anchors the established order. Around the sacred Center lies the known world, the realm of established order; and beyond the known world is a chaotic and dangerous realm, "peopled by ghosts, demons, [and] 'foreigners' (who are [identified with] demons and the souls of the dead)". According to Eliade, traditional societies place their known world at the Center because (from their perspective) their known world is the realm that obeys a recognizable order, and it therefore must be the realm in which the Sacred manifests itself; the regions beyond the known world, which seem strange and foreign, must lie far from the center, outside the order established by the Sacred. The High God According to some "evolutionistic" theories of religion, especially that of Edward Burnett Tylor, cultures naturally progress from animism and polytheism to monotheism. According to this view, more advanced cultures should be more monotheistic, and more primitive cultures should be more polytheistic. However, many of the most "primitive", pre-agricultural societies believe in a supreme sky-god. Thus, according to Eliade, post-19th-century scholars have rejected Tylor's theory of evolution from animism. Based on the discovery of supreme sky-gods among "primitives", Eliade suspects that the earliest humans worshiped a heavenly Supreme Being. In Patterns in Comparative Religion, he writes, "The most popular prayer in the world is addressed to 'Our Father who art in heaven.' It is possible that man's earliest prayers were addressed to the same heavenly father." However, Eliade disagrees with Wilhelm Schmidt, who thought the earliest form of religion was a strict monotheism. Eliade dismisses this theory of "primordial monotheism" (Urmonotheismus) as "rigid" and unworkable. "At most," he writes, "this schema [Schmidt's theory] renders an account of human [religious] evolution since the Paleolithic era". If an Urmonotheismus did exist, Eliade adds, it probably differed in many ways from the conceptions of God in many modern monotheistic faiths: for instance, the primordial High God could manifest himself as an animal without losing his status as a celestial Supreme Being. According to Eliade, heavenly Supreme Beings are actually less common in more advanced cultures. Eliade speculates that the discovery of agriculture brought a host of fertility gods and goddesses into the forefront, causing the celestial Supreme Being to fade away and eventually vanish from many ancient religions. Even in primitive hunter-gatherer societies, the High God is a vague, distant figure, dwelling high above the world. Often he has no cult and receives prayer only as a last resort, when all else has failed. Eliade calls the distant High God a deus otiosus ("idle god"). In belief systems that involve a deus otiosus, the distant High God is believed to have been closer to humans during the mythical age. After finishing his works of creation, the High God "forsook the earth and withdrew into the highest heaven". This is an example of the Sacred's distance from "profane" life, life lived after the mythical age: by escaping from the profane condition through religious behavior, figures such as the shaman return to the conditions of the mythical age, which include nearness to the High God ("by his flight or ascension, the shaman [...] meets the God of Heaven face to face and speaks directly to him, as man sometimes did in illo tempore"). The shamanistic behaviors surrounding the High God are a particularly clear example of the eternal return. Shamanism Eliade's scholarly work includes a study of shamanism, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, a survey of shamanistic practices in different areas. His Myths, Dreams and Mysteries also addresses shamanism in some detail. In Shamanism, Eliade argues for a restrictive use of the word shaman: it should not apply to just any magician or medicine man, as that would make the term redundant; at the same time, he argues against restricting the term to the practitioners of the sacred of Siberia and Central Asia (it is from one of the titles for this function, namely, šamán, considered by Eliade to be of Tungusic origin, that the term itself was introduced into Western languages). Eliade defines a shaman as follows: he is believed to cure, like all doctors, and to perform miracles of the fakir type, like all magicians [...] But beyond this, he is a psychopomp, and he may also be a priest, mystic, and poet. If we define shamanism this way, Eliade claims, we find that the term covers a collection of phenomena that share a common and unique "structure" and "history." (When thus defined, shamanism tends to occur in its purest forms in hunting and pastoral societies like those of Siberia and Central Asia, which revere a celestial High God "on the way to becoming a deus otiosus." Eliade takes the shamanism of those regions as his most representative example.) In his examinations of shamanism, Eliade emphasizes the shaman's attribute of regaining man's condition before the "Fall" out of sacred time: "The most representative mystical experience of the archaic societies, that of shamanism, betrays the Nostalgia for Paradise, the desire to recover the state of freedom and beatitude before 'the Fall'." This concern—which, by itself, is the concern of almost all religious behavior, according to Eliade—manifests itself in specific ways in shamanism. Death, resurrection and secondary functions According to Eliade, one of the most common shamanistic themes is the shaman's supposed death and resurrection. This occurs in particular during his initiation. Often, the procedure is supposed to be performed by spirits who dismember the shaman and strip the flesh from his bones, then put him back together and revive him. In more than one way, this death and resurrection represents the shaman's elevation above human nature. First, the shaman dies so that he can rise above human nature on a quite literal level. After he has been dismembered by the initiatory spirits, they often replace his old organs with new, magical ones (the shaman dies to his profane self so that he can rise again as a new, sanctified, being). Second, by being reduced to his bones, the shaman experiences rebirth on a more symbolic level: in many hunting and herding societies, the bone represents the source of life, so reduction to a skeleton "is equivalent to re-entering the womb of this primordial life, that is, to a complete renewal, a mystical rebirth". Eliade considers this return to the source of life essentially equivalent to the eternal return. Third, the shamanistic phenomenon of repeated death and resurrection also represents a transfiguration in other ways. The shaman dies not once but many times: having died during initiation and risen again with new powers, the shaman can send his spirit out of his body on errands; thus, his whole career consists of repeated deaths and resurrections. The shaman's new ability to die and return to life shows that he is no longer bound by the laws of profane time, particularly the law of death: "the ability to 'die' and come to life again [...] denotes that [the shaman] has surpassed the human condition." Having risen above the human condition, the shaman is not bound by the flow of history. Therefore, he enjoys the conditions of the mythical age. In many myths, humans can speak with animals; and, after their initiations, many shamans claim to be able to communicate with animals. According to Eliade, this is one manifestation of the shaman's return to "the illud tempus described to us by the paradisiac myths." The shaman can descend to the underworld or ascend to heaven, often by climbing the World Tree, the cosmic pillar, the sacred ladder, or some other form of the axis mundi. Often, the shaman will ascend to heaven to speak with the High God. Because the gods (particularly the High God, according to Eliade's deus otiosus concept) were closer to humans during the mythical age, the shaman's easy communication with the High God represents an abolition of history and a return to the mythical age. Because of his ability to communicate with the gods and descend to the land of the dead, the shaman frequently functions as a psychopomp and a medicine man. Philosophy Early contributions In addition to his political essays, the young Mircea Eliade authored others, philosophical in content. Connected with the ideology of Trăirism, they were often prophetic in tone, and saw Eliade being hailed as a herald by various representatives of his generation. When Eliade was 21 years old and publishing his Itinerar spiritual, literary critic Şerban Cioculescu described him as "the column leader of the spiritually mystical and Orthodox youth." Cioculescu discussed his "impressive erudition", but argued that it was "occasionally plethoric, poetically inebriating itself through abuse." Cioculescu's colleague Perpessicius saw the young author and his generation as marked by "the specter of war", a notion he connected to various essays of the 1920s and 30s in which Eliade threatened the world with the verdict that a new conflict was looming (while asking that young people be allowed to manifest their will and fully experience freedom before perishing). One of Eliade's noted contributions in this respect was the 1932 Soliloquii ('Soliloquies'), which explored existential philosophy. George Călinescu who saw in it "an echo of Nae Ionescu's lectures", traced a parallel with the essays of another of Ionescu's disciples, Emil Cioran, while noting that Cioran's were "of a more exulted tone and written in the aphoristic form of Kierkegaard." Călinescu recorded Eliade's rejection of objectivity, citing the author's stated indifference towards any "naïveté" or "contradictions" that the reader could possibly reproach him, as well as his dismissive thoughts of "theoretical data" and mainstream philosophy in general (Eliade saw the latter as "inert, infertile and pathogenic"). Eliade thus argued, "a sincere brain is unassailable, for it denies itself to any relationship with outside truths." The young writer was however careful to clarify that the existence he took into consideration was not the life of "instincts and personal idiosyncrasies", which he believed determined the lives of many humans, but that of a distinct set comprising "personalities". He described "personalities" as characterized by both "purpose" and "a much more complicated and dangerous alchemy." This differentiation, George Călinescu believed, echoed Ionescu's metaphor of man, seen as "the only animal who can fail at living", and the duck, who "shall remain a duck no matter what it does". According to Eliade, the purpose of personalities is infinity: "consciously and gloriously bringing [existence] to waste, into as many skies as possible, continuously fulfilling and polishing oneself, seeking ascent and not circumference." In Eliade's view, two roads await man in this process. One is glory, determined by either work or procreation, and the other the asceticism of religion or magic—both, Călinescu believed, were aimed at reaching the absolute, even in those cases where Eliade described the latter as an "abyssal experience" into which man may take the plunge. The critic pointed out that the addition of "a magical solution" to the options taken into consideration seemed to be Eliade's own original contributions to his mentor's philosophy, and proposed that it may have owed inspiration to Julius Evola and his disciples. He also recorded that Eliade applied this concept to human creation, and specifically to artistic creation, citing him describing the latter as "a magical joy, the victorious break of the iron circle" (a reflection of imitatio dei, having salvation for its ultimate goal). Philosopher of religion Anti-reductionism and the "transconscious" By profession, Eliade was a historian of religion. However, his scholarly works draw heavily on philosophical and psychological terminology. In addition, they contain a number of philosophical arguments about religion. In particular, Eliade often implies the existence of a universal psychological or spiritual "essence" behind all religious phenomena. Because of these arguments, some have accused Eliade of overgeneralization and "essentialism," or even of promoting a theological agenda under the guise of historical scholarship. However, others argue that Eliade is better understood as a scholar who is willing to openly discuss sacred experience and its consequences. In studying religion, Eliade rejects certain "reductionist" approaches. Eliade thinks a religious phenomenon cannot be reduced to a product of culture and history. He insists that, although religion involves "the social man, the economic man, and so forth", nonetheless "all these conditioning factors together do not, of themselves, add up to the life of the spirit." Using this anti-reductionist position, Eliade argues against those who accuse him of overgeneralizing, of looking for universals at the expense of particulars. Eliade admits that every religious phenomenon is shaped by the particular culture and history that produced it: When the Son of God incarnated and became the Christ, he had to speak Aramaic; he could only conduct himself as a Hebrew of his times [...] His religious message, however universal it might be, was conditioned by the past and present history of the Hebrew people. If the Son of God had been born in India, his spoken language would have had to conform itself to the structure of the Indian languages. However, Eliade argues against those he calls "historicist or existentialist philosophers" who do not recognize "man in general" behind particular men produced by particular situations (Eliade cites Immanuel Kant as the likely forerunner of this kind of "historicism".) He adds that human consciousness transcends (is not reducible to) its historical and cultural conditioning, and even suggests the possibility of a "transconscious". By this, Eliade does not necessarily mean anything supernatural or mystical: within the "transconscious," he places religious motifs, symbols, images, and nostalgias that are supposedly universal and whose causes therefore cannot be reduced to historical and cultural conditioning. Platonism and "primitive ontology" According to Eliade, traditional man feels that things "acquire their reality, their identity, only to the extent of their participation in a transcendent reality". To traditional man, the profane world is "meaningless", and a thing rises out of the profane world only by conforming to an ideal, mythical model. Eliade describes this view of reality as a fundamental part of "primitive ontology" (the study of "existence" or "reality"). Here he sees a similarity with the philosophy of Plato, who believed that physical phenomena are pale and transient imitations of eternal models or "Forms" (see Theory of forms). He argued: Plato could be regarded as the outstanding philosopher of 'primitive mentality,' that is, as the thinker who succeeded in giving philosophic currency and validity to the modes of life and behavior of archaic humanity. Eliade thinks the Platonic theory of forms is "primitive ontology" persisting in Greek philosophy. He claims that Platonism is the "most fully elaborated" version of this primitive ontology. In The Structure of Religious Knowing: Encountering the Sacred in Eliade and Lonergan, John Daniel Dadosky argues that, by making this statement, Eliade was acknowledging "indebtedness to Greek philosophy in general, and to Plato's theory of forms specifically, for his own theory of archetypes and repetition". However, Dadosky also states that "one should be cautious when trying to assess Eliade's indebtedness to Plato". Dadosky quotes Robert Segal, a professor of religion, who draws a distinction between Platonism and Eliade's "primitive ontology": for Eliade, the ideal models are patterns that a person or object may or may not imitate; for Plato, there is a Form for everything, and everything imitates a Form by the very fact that it exists. Existentialism and secularism Behind the diverse cultural forms of different religions, Eliade proposes a universal: traditional man, he claims, "always believes that there is an absolute reality, the sacred, which transcends this world but manifests itself in this world, thereby sanctifying it and making it real." Furthermore, traditional man's behavior gains purpose and meaning through the Sacred: "By imitating divine behavior, man puts and keeps himself close to the gods—that is, in the real and the significant." According to Eliade, "modern nonreligious man assumes a new existential situation." For traditional man, historical events gain significance by imitating sacred, transcendent events. In contrast, nonreligious man lacks sacred models for how history or human behavior should be, so he must decide on his own how history should proceed—he "regards himself solely as the subject and agent of history, and refuses all appeal to transcendence". From the standpoint of religious thought, the world has an objective purpose established by mythical events, to which man should conform himself: "Myth teaches [religious man] the primordial 'stories' that have constituted him existentially." From the standpoint of secular thought, any purpose must be invented and imposed on the world by man. Because of this new "existential situation," Eliade argues, the Sacred becomes the primary obstacle to nonreligious man's "freedom". In viewing himself as the proper maker of history, nonreligious man resists all notions of an externally (for instance, divinely) imposed order or model he must obey: modern man "makes himself, and he only makes himself completely in proportion as he desacralizes himself and the world. [...] He will not truly be free until he has killed the last god." Religious survivals in the secular world Eliade says that secular man cannot escape his bondage to religious thought. By its very nature, secularism depends on religion for its sense of identity: by resisting sacred models, by insisting that man make history on his own, secular man identifies himself only through opposition to religious thought: "He [secular man] recognizes himself in proportion as he 'frees' and 'purifies' himself from the 'superstitions' of his ancestors." Furthermore, modern man "still retains a large stock of camouflaged myths and degenerated rituals". For example, modern social events still have similarities to traditional initiation rituals, and modern novels feature mythical motifs and themes. Finally, secular man still participates in something like the eternal return: by reading modern literature, "modern man succeeds in obtaining an 'escape from time' comparable to the 'emergence from time' effected by myths". Eliade sees traces of religious thought even in secular academia. He thinks modern scientists are motivated by the religious desire to return to the sacred time of origins: One could say that the anxious search for the origins of Life and Mind; the fascination in the 'mysteries of Nature'; the urge to penetrate and decipher the inner structure of Matter—all these longings and drives denote a sort of nostalgia for the primordial, for the original universal matrix. Matter, Substance, represents the absolute origin, the beginning of all things. Eliade believes the rise of materialism in the 19th century forced the religious nostalgia for "origins" to express itself in science. He mentions his own field of History of Religions as one of the fields that was obsessed with origins during the 19th century: The new discipline of History of Religions developed rapidly in this cultural context. And, of course, it followed a like pattern: the positivistic approach to the facts and the search for origins, for the very beginning of religion. All Western historiography was during that time obsessed with the quest of origins. [...] This search for the origins of human institutions and cultural creations prolongs and completes the naturalist's quest for the origin of species, the biologist's dream of grasping the origin of life, the geologist's and the astronomer's endeavor to understand the origin of the Earth and the Universe. From a psychological point of view, one can decipher here the same nostalgia for the 'primordial' and the 'original'. In some of his writings, Eliade describes modern political ideologies as secularized mythology. According to Eliade, Marxism "takes up and carries on one of the great eschatological myths of the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean world, namely: the redemptive part to be played by the Just (the 'elect', the 'anointed', the 'innocent', the 'missioners', in our own days the proletariat), whose sufferings are invoked to change the ontological status of the world." Eliade sees the widespread myth of the Golden Age, "which, according to a number of traditions, lies at the beginning and the end of History", as the "precedent" for Karl Marx's vision of a classless society. Finally, he sees Marx's belief in the final triumph of the good (the proletariat) over the evil (the bourgeoisie) as "a truly messianic Judaeo-Christian ideology". Despite Marx's hostility toward religion, Eliade implies, his ideology works within a conceptual framework inherited from religious mythology. Likewise, Eliade notes that Nazism involved a pseudo-pagan mysticism based on ancient Germanic religion. He suggests that the differences between the Nazis' pseudo-Germanic mythology and Marx's pseudo-Judaeo-Christian mythology explain their differing success: In comparison with the vigorous optimism of the communist myth, the mythology propagated by the national socialists seems particularly inept; and this is not only because of the limitations of the racial myth (how could one imagine that the rest of Europe would voluntarily accept submission to the master-race?), but above all because of the fundamental pessimism of the Germanic mythology. [...] For the eschaton prophesied and expected by the ancient Germans was the ragnarok—that is, a catastrophic end of the world. Modern man and the "terror of history" According to Eliade, modern man displays "traces" of "mythological behavior" because he intensely needs sacred time and the eternal return. Despite modern man's claims to be nonreligious, he ultimately cannot find value in the linear progression of historical events; even modern man feels the "terror of history": "Here too [...] there is always the struggle against Time, the hope to be freed from the weight of 'dead Time,' of the Time that crushes and kills." This "terror of history" becomes especially acute when violent and threatening historical events confront modern man—the mere fact that a terrible event has happened, that it is part of history, is of little comfort to those who suffer from it. Eliade asks rhetorically how modern man can "tolerate the catastrophes and horrors of history—from collective deportations and massacres to atomic bombings—if beyond them he can glimpse no sign, no transhistorical meaning". He indicates that, if repetitions of mythical events provided sacred value and meaning for history in the eyes of ancient man, modern man has denied the Sacred and must therefore invent value and purpose on his own. Without the Sacred to confer an absolute, objective value upon historical events, modern man is left with "a relativistic or nihilistic view of history" and a resulting "spiritual aridity". In chapter 4 ("The Terror of History") of The Myth of the Eternal Return and chapter 9 ("Religious Symbolism and the Modern Man's Anxiety") of Myths, Dreams, and Mysteries, Eliade argues at length that the rejection of religious thought is a primary cause of modern man's anxieties. Inter-cultural dialogue and a "new humanism" Eliade argues that modern man may escape the "Terror of history" by learning from traditional cultures. For example, Eliade thinks Hinduism has advice for modern Westerners. According to many branches of Hinduism, the world of historical time is illusory, and the only absolute reality is the immortal soul or atman within man. According to Eliade, Hindus thus escape the terror of history by refusing to see historical time as the true reality. Eliade notes that a Western or Continental philosopher might feel suspicious toward this Hindu view of history: One can easily guess what a European historical and existentialist philosopher might reply [...] You ask me, he would say, to 'die to History'; but man is not, and he cannot be anything else but History, for his very essence is temporality. You are asking me, then, to give up my authentic existence and to take refuge in an abstraction, in pure Being, in the atman: I am to sacrifice my dignity as a creator of History in order to live an a-historic, inauthentic existence, empty of all human content. Well, I prefer to put up with my anxiety: at least, it cannot deprive me of a certain heroic grandeur, that of becoming conscious of, and accepting, the human condition. However, Eliade argues that the Hindu approach to history does not necessarily lead to a rejection of history. On the contrary, in Hinduism historical human existence is not the "absurdity" that many Continental philosophers see it as. According to Hinduism, history is a divine creation, and one may live contentedly within it as long as one maintains a certain degree of detachment from it: "One is devoured by Time, by History, not because one lives in them, but because one thinks them real and, in consequence, one forgets or undervalues eternity." Furthermore, Eliade argues that Westerners can learn from non-Western cultures to see something besides absurdity in suffering and death. Traditional cultures see suffering and death as a rite of passage. In fact, their initiation rituals often involve a symbolic death and resurrection, or symbolic ordeals followed by relief. Thus, Eliade argues, modern man can learn to see his historical ordeals, even death, as necessary initiations into the next stage of one's existence. Eliade even suggests that traditional thought offers relief from the vague anxiety caused by "our obscure presentiment of the end of the world, or more exactly of the end of our world, our own civilization". Many traditional cultures have myths about the end of their world or civilization; however, these myths do not succeed "in paralysing either Life or Culture". These traditional cultures emphasize cyclic time and, therefore, the inevitable rise of a new world or civilization on the ruins of the old. Thus, they feel comforted even in contemplating the end times. Eliade argues that a Western spiritual rebirth can happen within the framework of Western spiritual traditions. However, he says, to start this rebirth, Westerners may need to be stimulated by ideas from non-Western cultures. In his Myths, Dreams, and Mysteries, Eliade claims that a "genuine encounter" between cultures "might well constitute the point of departure for a new humanism, upon a world scale". Christianity and the "salvation" of History Mircea Eliade sees the Abrahamic religions as a turning point between the ancient, cyclic view of time and the modern, linear view of time, noting that, in their case, sacred events are not limited to a far-off primordial age, but continue throughout history: "time is no longer [only] the circular Time of the Eternal Return; it has become linear and irreversible Time". He thus sees in Christianity the ultimate example of a religion embracing linear, historical time. When God is born as a man, into the stream of history, "all history becomes a theophany". According to Eliade, "Christianity strives to save history". In Christianity, the Sacred enters a human being (Christ) to save humans, but it also enters history to "save" history and turn otherwise ordinary, historical events into something "capable of transmitting a trans-historical message". From Eliade's perspective, Christianity's "trans-historical message" may be the most important help that modern man could have in confronting the terror of history. In his book Mito ("Myth"), Italian researcher Furio Jesi argues that Eliade denies man the position of a true protagonist in history: for Eliade, true human experience lies not in intellectually "making history", but in man's experiences of joy and grief. Thus, from Eliade's perspective, the Christ story becomes the perfect myth for modern man. In Christianity, God willingly entered historical time by being born as Christ, and accepted the suffering that followed. By identifying with Christ, modern man can learn to confront painful historical events. Ultimately, according to Jesi, Eliade sees Christianity as the only religion that can save man from the "Terror of history". In Eliade's view, traditional man sees time as an endless repetition of mythical archetypes. In contrast, modern man has abandoned mythical archetypes and entered linear, historical time—in this context, unlike many other religions, Christianity attributes value to historical time. Thus, Eliade concludes, "Christianity incontestably proves to be the religion of 'fallen man'", of modern man who has lost "the paradise of archetypes and repetition". "Modern gnosticism", Romanticism and Eliade's nostalgia In analyzing the similarities between the "mythologists" Eliade, Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung, Robert Ellwood concluded that the three modern mythologists, all of whom believed that myths reveal "timeless truth", fulfilled the role "gnostics" had in antiquity. The diverse religious movements covered by the term "gnosticism" share the basic doctrines that the surrounding world is fundamentally evil or inhospitable, that we are trapped in the world through no fault of our own, and that we can be saved from the world only through secret knowledge (gnosis). Ellwood claimed that the three mythologists were "modern gnostics through and through", remarking, Whether in Augustan Rome or modern Europe, democracy all too easily gave way to totalitarianism, technology was as readily used for battle as for comfort, and immense wealth lay alongside abysmal poverty. [...] Gnostics past and present sought answers not in the course of outward human events, but in knowledge of the world's beginning, of what lies above and beyond the world, and of the secret places of the human soul. To all this the mythologists spoke, and they acquired large and loyal followings. According to Ellwood, the mythologists believed in gnosticism's basic doctrines (even if in a secularized form). Ellwood also believes that Romanticism, which stimulated the modern study of mythology, strongly influenced the mythologists. Because Romantics stress that emotion and imagination have the same dignity as reason, Ellwood argues, they tend to think political truth "is known less by rational considerations than by its capacity to fire the passions" and, therefore, that political truth is "very apt to be found [...] in the distant past". As modern gnostics, Ellwood argues, the three mythologists felt alienated from the surrounding modern world. As scholars, they knew of primordial societies that had operated differently from modern ones. And as people influenced by Romanticism, they saw myths as a saving gnosis that offered "avenues of eternal return to simpler primordial ages when the values that rule the world were forged". In addition, Ellwood identifies Eliade's personal sense of nostalgia as a source for his interest in, or even his theories about, traditional societies. He cites Eliade himself claiming to desire an "eternal return" like that by which traditional man returns to the mythical paradise: "My essential preoccupation is precisely the means of escaping History, of saving myself through symbol, myth, rite, archetypes". In Ellwood's view, Eliade's nostalgia was only enhanced by his exile from Romania: "In later years Eliade felt about his own Romanian past as did primal folk about mythic time. He was drawn back to it, yet he knew he could not live there, and that all was not well with it." He suggests that this nostalgia, along with Eliade's sense that "exile is among the profoundest metaphors for all human life", influenced Eliade's theories. Ellwood sees evidence of this in Eliade's concept of the "Terror of history" from which modern man is no longer shielded. In this concept, Ellwood sees an "element of nostalgia" for earlier times "when the sacred was strong and the terror of history had barely raised its head". Criticism of Eliade's scholarship Overgeneralization Eliade cites a wide variety of myths and rituals to support his theories. However, he has been accused of making overgeneralizations: many scholars think he lacks sufficient evidence to put forth his ideas as universal, or even general, principles of religious thought. According to one scholar, "Eliade may have been the most popular and influential contemporary historian of religion", but "many, if not most, specialists in anthropology, sociology, and even history of religions have either ignored or quickly dismissed" Eliade's works. The classicist G. S. Kirk criticizes Eliade's insistence that Australian Aborigines and ancient Mesopotamians had concepts of "being", "non-being", "real", and "becoming", although they lacked words for them. Kirk also believes that Eliade overextends his theories: for example, Eliade claims that the modern myth of the "noble savage" results from the religious tendency to idealize the primordial, mythical age. According to Kirk, "such extravagances, together with a marked repetitiousness, have made Eliade unpopular with many anthropologists and sociologists". In Kirk's view, Eliade derived his theory of eternal return from the functions of Australian Aboriginal mythology and then proceeded to apply the theory to other mythologies to which it did not apply. For example, Kirk argues that the eternal return does not accurately describe the functions of Native American or Greek mythology. Kirk concludes, "Eliade's idea is a valuable perception about certain myths, not a guide to the proper understanding of all of them". Even Wendy Doniger, Eliade's successor at the University of Chicago, claims (in an introduction to Eliade's own Shamanism) that the eternal return does not apply to all myths and rituals, although it may apply to many of them. However, although Doniger agrees that Eliade made overgeneralizations, she notes that his willingness to "argue boldly for universals" allowed him to see patterns "that spanned the entire globe and the whole of human history". Whether they were true or not, she argues, Eliade's theories are still useful "as starting points for the comparative study of religion". She also argues that Eliade's theories have been able to accommodate "new data to which Eliade did not have access". Lack of empirical support Several researchers have criticized Eliade's work as having no empirical support. Thus, he is said to have "failed to provide an adequate methodology for the history of religions and to establish this discipline as an empirical science", though the same critics admit that "the history of religions should not aim at being an empirical science anyway". Specifically, his claim that the sacred is a structure of human consciousness is distrusted as not being empirically provable: "no one has yet turned up the basic category sacred". Also, there has been mention of his tendency to ignore the social aspects of religion. Anthropologist Alice Kehoe is highly critical of Eliade's work on Shamanism, namely because he was not an anthropologist but a historian. She contends that Eliade never did any field work or contacted any indigenous groups that practiced Shamanism, and that his work was synthesized from various sources without being supported by direct field research. In contrast, Professor Kees W. Bolle of the University of California, Los Angeles argues that "Professor Eliade's approach, in all his works, is empirical": Bolle sets Eliade apart for what he sees as Eliade's particularly close "attention to the various particular motifs" of different myths. French researcher Daniel Dubuisson places doubt on Eliade's scholarship and its scientific character, citing the Romanian academic's alleged refusal to accept the treatment of religions in their historical and cultural context, and proposing that Eliade's notion of hierophany refers to the actual existence of a supernatural level. Ronald Inden, a historian of India and University of Chicago professor, criticized Mircea Eliade, alongside other intellectual figures (Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell among them), for encouraging a "romantic view" of Hinduism. He argued that their approach to the subject relied mainly on an Orientalist approach, and made Hinduism seem like "a private realm of the imagination and the religious which modern, Western man lacks but needs." Far-right and nationalist influences Although his scholarly work was never subordinated to his early political beliefs, the school of thought he was associated with in interwar Romania, namely Trăirism, as well as the works of Julius Evola he continued to draw inspiration from, have thematic links to fascism. Writer and academic Marcel Tolcea has argued that, through Evola's particular interpretation of Guénon's works, Eliade kept a traceable connection with far right ideologies in his academic contributions. Daniel Dubuisson singled out Eliade's concept of homo religiosus as a reflection of fascist elitism, and argued that the Romanian scholar's views of Judaism and the Old Testament, which depicted Hebrews as the enemies of an ancient cosmic religion, were ultimately the preservation of an antisemitic discourse. A piece authored in 1930 saw Eliade defining Julius Evola as a great thinker and offering praise to the controversial intellectuals Oswald Spengler, Arthur de Gobineau, Houston Stewart Chamberlain and the Nazi ideologue Alfred Rosenberg. Evola, who continued to defend the core principles of mystical fascism, once protested to Eliade about the latter's failure to cite him and Guénon. Eliade replied that his works were written for a contemporary public, and not to initiates of esoteric circles. After the 1960s, he, together with Evola, Louis Rougier, and other intellectuals, offered support to Alain de Benoist's controversial Groupement de recherche et d'études pour la civilisation européenne, part of the Nouvelle Droite intellectual trend. Notably, Eliade was also preoccupied with the cult of Thracian deity Zalmoxis and its supposed monotheism.Eliade, "Zalmoxis, The Vanishing God", in Slavic Review, Vol. 33, No. 4 (December 1974), pp. 807–809 This, like his conclusion that Romanization had been superficial inside Roman Dacia, was a view celebrated by contemporary partisans of protochronist nationalism. According to historian Sorin Antohi, Eliade may have actually encouraged protochronists such as Edgar Papu to carry out research which resulted in the claim that medieval Romanians had anticipated the Renaissance. In his study of Eliade, Jung, and Campbell, Ellwood also discusses the connection between academic theories and controversial political involvements, noting that all three mythologists have been accused of reactionary political positions. Ellwood notes the obvious parallel between the conservatism of myth, which speaks of a primordial golden age, and the conservatism of far right politics. However, Ellwood argues that the explanation is more complex than that. Wherever their political sympathies may have sometimes been, he claims, the three mythologists were often "apolitical if not antipolitical, scorning any this-worldly salvation". Moreover, the connection between mythology and politics differs for each of the mythologists in question: in Eliade's case, Ellwood believes, a strong sense of nostalgia ("for childhood, for historical times past, for cosmic religion, for paradise"), influenced not only the scholar's academic interests, but also his political views. Because Eliade stayed out of politics during his later life, Ellwood tries to extract an implicit political philosophy from Eliade's scholarly works. Ellwood argues that the later Eliade's nostalgia for ancient traditions did not make him a political reactionary, even a quiet one. He concludes that the later Eliade was, in fact, a "radical modernist". According to Ellwood, Those who see Eliade's fascination with the primordial as merely reactionary in the ordinary political or religious sense of the word do not understand the mature Eliade in a sufficiently radical way. [...] Tradition was not for him exactly Burkean 'prescription' or sacred trust to be kept alive generation after generation, for Eliade was fully aware that tradition, like men and nations, lives only by changing and even occultation. The tack is not to try fruitlessly to keep it unchanging, but to discover where it is hiding. According to Eliade, religious elements survive in secular culture, but in new, "camouflaged" forms. Thus, Ellwood believes that the later Eliade probably thought modern man should preserve elements of the past, but should not try to restore their original form through reactionary politics. He suspects that Eliade would have favored "a minimal rather than a maximalist state" that would allow personal spiritual transformation without enforcing it. Many scholars have accused Eliade of "essentialism", a type of overgeneralization in which one incorrectly attributes a common "essence" to a whole group—in this case, all "religious" or "traditional" societies. Furthermore, some see a connection between Eliade's essentialism with regard to religion and fascist essentialism with regard to races and nations. To Ellwood, this connection "seems rather tortured, in the end amounting to little more than an ad hominem argument which attempts to tar Eliade's entire [scholarly] work with the ill-repute all decent people feel for storm troopers and the Iron Guard". However, Ellwood admits that common tendencies in "mythological thinking" may have caused Eliade, as well as Jung and Campbell, to view certain groups in an "essentialist" way, and that this may explain their purported antisemitism: "A tendency to think in generic terms of peoples, races, religions, or parties, which as we shall see is undoubtedly the profoundest flaw in mythological thinking, including that of such modern mythologists as our three, can connect with nascent anti-Semitism, or the connection can be the other way." Literary works Generic traits Many of Mircea Eliade's literary works, in particular his earliest ones, are noted for their eroticism and their focus on subjective experience. Modernist in style, they have drawn comparisons to the contemporary writings of Mihail Sebastian, I. Valerian, and Ion Biberi. Alongside Honoré de Balzac and Giovanni Papini, his literary passions included Aldous Huxley and Miguel de Unamuno, as well as André Gide. Eliade also read with interest the prose of Romain Rolland, Henrik Ibsen, and the Enlightenment thinkers Voltaire and Denis Diderot. As a youth, he read the works of Romanian authors such as Liviu Rebreanu and Panait Istrati; initially, he was also interested in Ionel Teodoreanu's prose works, but later rejected them and criticized their author. Investigating the works' main characteristics, George Călinescu stressed that Eliade owed much of his style to the direct influence of French author André Gide, concluding that, alongside Camil Petrescu and a few others, Eliade was among Gide's leading disciples in Romanian literature. He commented that, like Gide, Eliade believed that the artist "does not take a stand, but experiences good and evil while setting himself free from both, maintaining an intact curiosity." A specific aspect of this focus on experience is sexual experimentation—Călinescu notes that Eliade's fiction works tend to depict a male figure "possessing all practicable women in [a given] family". He also considered that, as a rule, Eliade depicts woman as "a basic means for a sexual experience and repudiated with harsh egotism." For Călinescu, such a perspective on life culminated in "banality," leaving authors gripped by the "cult of the self" and "a contempt for literature". Polemically, Călinescu proposed that Mircea Eliade's supposed focus on "aggressive youth" served to instill his interwar Romanian writers with the idea that they had a common destiny as a generation apart. He also commented that, when set in Romania, Mircea Eliade's stories lacked the "perception of immediate reality", and, analyzing the non-traditional names the writer tended to ascribe to his Romanian characters, that they did not depict "specificity". Additionally, in Călinescu's view, Eliade's stories were often "sensationalist compositions of the illustrated magazine kind." Mircea Eliade's assessment of his own pre-1940 literary contributions oscillated between expressions of pride and the bitter verdict that they were written for "an audience of little ladies and high school students". A secondary but unifying feature present in most of Eliade's stories is their setting, a magical and part-fictional Bucharest. In part, they also serve to illustrate or allude to Eliade's own research in the field of religion, as well as to the concepts he introduced. Thus, commentators such as Matei Călinescu and Carmen Mușat have also argued that a main characteristic of Eliade's fantasy prose is a substitution between the supernatural and the mundane: in this interpretation, Eliade turns the daily world into an incomprehensible place, while the intrusive supernatural aspect promises to offer the sense of life. The notion was in turn linked to Eliade's own thoughts on transcendence, and in particular his idea that, once "camouflaged" in life or history, miracles become "unrecognizable". Oriental-themed novels Isabel și apele diavolului One of Eliade's earliest fiction writings, the controversial first-person narrative Isabel şi apele diavolului ('Isabel and the Devil's Waters'), focused on the figure of a young and brilliant academic, whose self-declared fear is that of "being common." The hero's experience is recorded in "notebooks", which are compiled to form the actual narrative, and which serve to record his unusual, mostly sexual, experiences in British India—the narrator describes himself as dominated by "a devilish indifference" towards "all things having to do with art or metaphysics", focusing instead on eroticism. The guest of a pastor, the scholar ponders sexual adventures with his host's wife, servant girl, and finally with his daughter Isabel. Persuading the pastor's adolescent son to run away from home, becoming the sexual initiator of a twelve-year-old girl and the lover of a much older woman, the character also attempts to seduce Isabel. Although she falls in love, the young woman does not give in to his pressures, but eventually allows herself to be abused and impregnated by another character, letting the object of her affection know that she had thought of him all along. Maitreyi One of Eliade's best-known works, the novel Maitreyi, dwells on Eliade's own experience, comprising camouflaged details of his relationships with Surendranath Dasgupta and Dasgupta's daughter Maitreyi Devi. The main character, Allan, is an Englishman who visits the Indian engineer Narendra Sen and courts his daughter, herself known as Maitreyi. The narrative is again built on "notebooks" to which Allan adds his comments. This technique Călinescu describes as "boring", and its result "cynical". Allan himself stands alongside Eliade's male characters, whose focus is on action, sensation and experience—his chaste contacts with Maitreyi are encouraged by Sen, who hopes for a marriage which is nonetheless abhorred by his would-be European son-in-law. Instead, Allan is fascinated to discover Maitreyi's Oriental version of Platonic love, marked by spiritual attachment more than by physical contact. However, their affair soon after turns physical, and she decides to attach herself to Allan as one would to a husband, in what is an informal and intimate wedding ceremony (which sees her vowing her love and invoking an earth goddess as the seal of union). Upon discovering this, Narendra Sen becomes enraged, rejecting their guest and keeping Maitreyi in confinement. As a result, his daughter decides to have intercourse with a lowly stranger, becoming pregnant in the hope that her parents would consequently allow her to marry her lover. However, the story also casts doubt on her earlier actions, reflecting rumors that Maitreyi was not a virgin at the time she and Allan first met, which also seems to expose her father as a hypocrite. George Călinescu objected to the narrative, arguing that both the physical affair and the father's rage seemed artificial, while commenting that Eliade placing doubt on his Indian characters' honesty had turned the plot into a piece of "ethnological humor". Noting that the work developed on a classical theme of miscegenation, which recalled the prose of François-René de Chateaubriand and Pierre Loti, the critic proposed that its main merit was in introducing the exotic novel to local literature. Șantier Mircea Eliade's other early works include Șantier ('Building Site'), a part-novel, part-diary account of his Indian sojourn. George Călinescu objected to its "monotony", and, noting that it featured a set of "intelligent observations," criticized the "banality of its ideological conversations." Șantier was also noted for its portrayal of drug addiction and intoxication with opium, both of which could have referred to Eliade's actual travel experience. Portraits of a generation Novel of the Nearsighted Adolescent In his earliest novel, titled Novel of the Nearsighted Adolescent and written in the first person, Eliade depicts his experience through high school. It is proof of the influence exercised on him by the literature of Giovanni Papini, and in particular by Papini's story Un uomo finito. Each of its chapters reads like an independent novella, and, in all, the work experiments with the limits traced between novel and diary. Literary critic Eugen Simion called it "the most valuable" among Eliade's earliest literary attempts, but noted that, being "ambitious", the book had failed to achieve "an aesthetically satisfactory format". According to Simion, the innovative intent of the Novel... was provided by its technique, by its goal of providing authenticity in depicting experiences, and by its insight into adolescent psychology. The novel notably shows its narrator practicing self-flagellation. Întoarcerea din rai Eliade's 1934 novel Întoarcerea din rai ('Return from Paradise') centers on Pavel Anicet, a young man who seeks knowledge through what Călinescu defined as "sexual excess". His search leaves him with a reduced sensitivity: right after being confronted with his father's death, Anicet breaks out in tears only after sitting through an entire dinner. The other characters, standing for Eliade's generation, all seek knowledge through violence or retreat from the world—nonetheless, unlike Anicet, they ultimately fail at imposing rigors upon themselves. Pavel himself eventually abandons his belief in sex as a means for enlightenment, and commits suicide in hopes of reaching the level of primordial unity. The solution, George Călinescu noted, mirrored the strange murder in Gide's Lafcadio's Adventures. Eliade himself indicated that the book dealt with the "loss of the beatitude, illusions, and optimism that had dominated the first twenty years of 'Greater Romania'." Robert Ellwood connected the work to Eliade's recurring sense of loss in respect to the "atmosphere of euphoria and faith" of his adolescence. Călinescu criticizes Întoarcerea din rai, describing its dialog sequences as "awkward", its narrative as "void", and its artistic interest as "non-existent", proposing that the reader could however find it relevant as the "document of a mentality". Huliganii The lengthy novel Huliganii ('The Hooligans') is intended as the fresco of a family, and, through it, that of an entire generation. The book's main protagonist, Petru Anicet, is a composer who places value in experiments; other characters include Dragu, who considers "a hooligan's experience" as "the only fertile debut into life", and the totalitarian Alexandru Pleşa, who is on the search for "the heroic life" by enlisting youth in "perfect regiments, equally intoxicated by a collective myth."Eliade, in Călinescu, pp. 958–959 Călinescu thought that the young male characters all owed inspiration to Fyodor Dostoevsky's Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov (see Crime and Punishment). Anicet, who partly shares Pleșa's vision for a collective experiment, is also prone to sexual adventures, and seduces the women of the Lecca family (who have hired him as a piano teacher). Romanian-born novelist Norman Manea called Anicet's experiment: "the paraded defiance of bourgeois conventions, in which venereal disease and lubricity dwell together." In one episode of the book, Anicet convinces Anișoara Lecca to gratuitously steal from her parents—an outrage which leads her mother to moral decay and, eventually, to suicide. George Călinescu criticized the book for inconsistencies and "excesses in Dostoyevskianism," but noted that the Lecca family portrayal was "suggestive", and that the dramatic scenes were written with "a remarkable poetic calm." Marriage in Heaven The novel Marriage in Heaven depicts the correspondence between two male friends, an artist and a common man, who complain to each other about their failures in love: the former complains about a lover who wanted his children when he did not, while the other recalls being abandoned by a woman who, despite his intentions, did not want to become pregnant by him. Eliade lets the reader understand that they are in fact talking about the same woman. Fantastic and fantasy literature Mircea Eliade's earliest works, most of which were published at later stages, belong to the fantasy genre. One of the first such literary exercises to be printed, the 1921 Cum am găsit piatra filosofală, showed its adolescent author's interest in themes that he was to explore throughout his career, in particular esotericism and alchemy. Written in the first person, it depicts an experiment which, for a moment, seems to be the discovery of the philosophers' stone. These early writings also include two sketches for novels: Minunata călătorie a celor cinci cărăbuși in țara furnicilor roșii ('The Wonderful Journey of the Five Beetles into the Land of the Red Ants') and Memoriile unui soldat de plumb ('The Memoirs of a Lead Soldier'). In the former, a company of beetle spies is sent among the red ants—their travel offers a setting for satirical commentary. Eliade himself explained that Memoriile unui soldat de plumb was an ambitious project, designed as a fresco to include the birth of the Universe, abiogenesis, human evolution, and the entire world history. Eliade's fantasy novel Domnișoara Christina, was, on its own, the topic of a scandal. The novel deals with the fate of an eccentric family, the Moscus, who are haunted by the ghost of a murdered young woman, known as Christina. The apparition shares characteristics with vampires and with strigoi: she is believed to be drinking the blood of cattle and that of a young family member. The young man Egor becomes the object of Christina's desire, and is shown to have intercourse with her. Noting that the plot and setting reminded one of horror fiction works by the German author Hanns Heinz Ewers, and defending Domnişoara Christina in front of harsher criticism, Călinescu nonetheless argued that the "international environment" in which it took place was "upsetting". He also depicted the plot as focused on "major impurity", summarizing the story's references to necrophilia, menstrual fetish and ephebophilia. Șarpele Eliade's short story Șarpele ('The Snake') was described by George Călinescu as "hermetic". While on a trip to the forest, several persons witness a feat of magic performed by the male character Andronic, who summons a snake from the bottom of a river and places it on an island. At the end of the story, Andronic and the female character Dorina are found on the island, naked and locked in a sensual embrace. Călinescu saw the piece as an allusion to Gnosticism, to the Kabbalah, and to Babylonian mythology, while linking the snake to the Greek mythological figure and major serpent symbol Ophion. He was however dissatisfied with this introduction of iconic images, describing it as "languishing".In Curte la DionisIn the relation between history and culture, „the memory acts from the event toward the creation, so that the cultural memory is the prisoner of history.” When it will liberate itself, the human will escape the labyrinth, according to a character of the In Dionysus’ Court, of which ideal is the cultural memory; but, for him, the amnesia becomes a torment because, although he forgot details of his own existence, he kept the vague impression of a decisive meeting and with the obsession that he is not knowing his place in the universe: he had forgotten the message that he had to transmit to the world. Un om mare The short story Un om mare''' ('A Big Man'), which Eliade authored during his stay in Portugal, shows a common person, the engineer Cucoanes, who grows steadily and uncontrollably, reaching immense proportions and ultimately disappearing into the wilderness of the Bucegi Mountains. Eliade himself referenced the story and Aldous Huxley's experiments in the same section of his private notes, a matter which allowed Matei Călinescu to propose that Un om mare was a direct product of its author's experience with drugs. The same commentator, who deemed Un om mare "perhaps Eliade's most memorable short story", connected it with the uriași characters present in Romanian folklore. Other writings Eliade reinterpreted the Greek mythological figure Iphigeneia in his eponymous 1941 play. Here, the maiden falls in love with Achilles, and accepts to be sacrificed on the pyre as a means to ensure both her lover's happiness (as predicted by an oracle) and her father Agamemnon's victory in the Trojan War. Discussing the association Iphigenia's character makes between love and death, Romanian theater critic Radu Albala noted that it was a possible echo of Meşterul Manole legend, in which a builder of the Curtea de Argeș Monastery has to sacrifice his wife in exchange for permission to complete work. In contrast with early renditions of the myth by authors such as Euripides and Jean Racine, Eliade's version ends with the sacrifice being carried out in full. In addition to his fiction, the exiled Eliade authored several volumes of memoirs and diaries and travel writings. They were published sporadically, and covered various stages of his life. One of the earliest such pieces was India, grouping accounts of the travels he made through the Indian subcontinent. Writing for the Spanish journal La Vanguardia, commentator Sergio Vila-Sanjuán described the first volume of Eliade's Autobiography (covering the years 1907 to 1937) as "a great book", while noting that the other main volume was "more conventional and insincere." In Vila-Sanjuán's view, the texts reveal Mircea Eliade himself as "a Dostoyevskyian character", as well as "an accomplished person, a Goethian figure". A work that drew particular interest was his Jurnal portughez ('Portuguese Diary'), completed during his stay in Lisbon and published only after its author's death. A portion of it dealing with his stay in Romania is believed to have been lost. The travels to Spain, partly recorded in Jurnal portughez, also led to a separate volume, Jurnal cordobez ('Cordoban Diary'), which Eliade compiled from various independent notebooks. Jurnal portughez shows Eliade coping with clinical depression and political crisis, and has been described by Andrei Oișteanu as "an overwhelming [read], through the immense suffering it exhales." Literary historian Paul Cernat argued that part of the volume is "a masterpiece of its time," while concluding that some 700 pages were passable for the "among others" section of Eliade's bibliography. Noting that the book featured parts where Eliade spoke of himself in eulogistic terms, notably comparing himself favorably to Goethe and Romania's national poet Mihai Eminescu, Cernat accused the writer of "egolatry", and deduced that Eliade was "ready to step over dead bodies for the sake of his spiritual 'mission' ". The same passages led philosopher and journalist Cătălin Avramescu to argue that Eliade's behavior was evidence of "megalomania". Eliade also wrote various essays of literary criticism. In his youth, alongside his study on Julius Evola, he published essays which introduced the Romanian public to representatives of modern Spanish literature and philosophy, among them Adolfo Bonilla San Martín, Miguel de Unamuno, José Ortega y Gasset, Eugeni d'Ors, Vicente Blasco Ibáñez and Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo. He also wrote an essay on the works of James Joyce, connecting it with his own theories on the eternal return ("[Joyce's literature is] saturated with nostalgia for the myth of the eternal repetition"), and deeming Joyce himself an anti-historicist "archaic" figure among the modernists. In the 1930s, Eliade edited the collected works of Romanian historian Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu. M. L. Ricketts discovered and translated into English a previously unpublished play written by Mircea Eliade in Paris 1946 Aventura Spirituală ('A Spiritual Adventure'). It was published by for the first time in Theory in Action -the journal of the Transformative Studies Institute, vol. 5 (2012): 2–58. Controversy: antisemitism and links with the Iron Guard Early statements The early years in Eliade's public career show him to have been highly tolerant of Jews in general, and of the Jewish minority in Romania in particular. His early condemnation of Nazi antisemitic policies was accompanied by his caution and moderation in regard to Nae Ionescu's various anti-Jewish attacks.Ornea, pp. 408–409, 412. Late in the 1930s, Mihail Sebastian was marginalized by Romania's antisemitic policies, and came to reflect on his Romanian friend's association with the far right. The subsequent ideological break between him and Eliade has been compared by writer Gabriela Adameșteanu with that between Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. In his Journal, published long after his 1945 death, Sebastian claimed that Eliade's actions during the 1930s show him to be an antisemite. According to Sebastian, Eliade had been friendly to him until the start of his political commitments, after which he severed all ties.Sebastian, passim Before their friendship came apart, however, Sebastian claimed that he took notes on their conversations (which he later published) during which Eliade was supposed to have expressed antisemitic views. According to Sebastian, Eliade said in 1939: The Poles' resistance in Warsaw is a Jewish resistance. Only yids are capable of the blackmail of putting women and children in the front line, to take advantage of the Germans' sense of scruple. The Germans have no interest in the destruction of Romania. Only a pro-German government can save us... What is happening on the frontier with Bukovina is a scandal, because new waves of Jews are flooding into the country. Rather than a Romania again invaded by kikes, it would be better to have a German protectorate. The friendship between Eliade and Sebastian drastically declined during the war: the latter writer, fearing for his security during the pro-Nazi Ion Antonescu regime (see Romania during World War II), hoped that Eliade, by then a diplomat, could intervene in his favor; however, upon his brief return to Romania, Eliade did not see or approach Sebastian. Later, Mircea Eliade expressed his regret at not having had the chance to redeem his friendship with Sebastian before the latter was killed in a car accident. Paul Cernat notes that Eliade's statement includes an admission that he "counted on [Sebastian's] support, in order to get back into Romanian life and culture", and proposes that Eliade may have expected his friend to vouch for him in front of hostile authorities. Some of Sebastian's late recordings in his diary show that their author was reflecting with nostalgia on his relationship with Eliade, and that he deplored the outcome. Eliade provided two distinct explanations for not having met with Sebastian: one was related to his claim of being followed around by the Gestapo, and the other, expressed in his diaries, was that the shame of representing a regime that humiliated Jews had made him avoid facing his former friend. Another take on the matter was advanced in 1972 by the Israeli magazine Toladot, which claimed that, as an official representative, Eliade was aware of Antonescu's agreement to implement the Final Solution in Romania and of how this could affect Sebastian (see Holocaust in Romania). In addition, rumors were sparked that Sebastian and Nina Mareș had a physical relationship, one which could have contributed to the clash between the two literary figures. Beyond his involvement with a movement known for its antisemitism, Eliade did not usually comment on Jewish issues. However, an article titled Piloții orbi ("The Blind Pilots"), contributed to the journal Vremea in 1936, showed that he supported at least some Iron Guard accusations against the Jewish community: Since the war [that is, World War I], Jews have occupied the villages of Maramureș and Bukovina, and gained the absolute majority in the towns and cities in Bessarabia. [...] It would be absurd to expect Jews to resign themselves in order to become a minority with certain rights and very many duties—after they have tasted the honey of power and conquered as many command positions as they have. Jews are currently fighting with all forces to maintain their positions, expecting a future offensive—and, as far as I am concerned, I understand their fight and admire their vitality, tenacity, genius. One year later, a text, accompanied by his picture, was featured as answer to an inquiry by the Iron Guard's Buna Vestire about the reasons he had for supporting the movement. A short section of it summarizes an anti-Jewish attitude: Can the Romanian nation end its life in the saddest decay witnessed by history, undermined by misery and syphilis, conquered by Jews and torn to pieces by foreigners, demoralized, betrayed, sold for a few million lei?Eliade, 1937, in Ornea, p. 413; in the Final Report, p. 49 According to the literary critic Z. Ornea, in the 1980s Eliade denied authorship of the text. He explained the use of his signature, his picture, and the picture's caption, as having been applied by the magazine's editor, Mihail Polihroniade, to a piece the latter had written after having failed to obtain Eliade's contribution; he also claimed that, given his respect for Polihroniade, he had not wished to publicize this matter previously. Polemics and exile Dumitru G. Danielopol, a fellow diplomat present in London during Eliade's stay in the city, later stated that the latter had identified himself as "a guiding light of [the Iron Guard] movement" and victim of Carol II's repression. In October 1940, as the National Legionary State came into existence, the British Foreign Office blacklisted Mircea Eliade, alongside five other Romanians, due to his Iron Guard connections and suspicions that he was prepared to spy in favor of Nazi Germany. According to various sources, while in Portugal, the diplomat was also preparing to disseminate propaganda in favor of the Iron Guard. In Jurnal portughez, Eliade defines himself as "a Legionary", and speaks of his own "Legionary climax" as a stage he had gone through during the early 1940s. The depolitisation of Eliade after the start of his diplomatic career was also mistrusted by his former close friend Eugène Ionesco, who indicated that, upon the close of World War II, Eliade's personal beliefs as communicated to his friends amounted to "all is over now that Communism has won". This forms part of Ionesco's severe and succinct review of the careers of Legionary-inspired intellectuals, many of them his friends and former friends, in a letter he sent to Tudor Vianu.Ornea, pp. 184–185 In 1946, Ionesco indicated to Petru Comarnescu that he did not want to see either Eliade or Cioran, and that he considered the two of them "Legionaries for ever"—adding "we are hyenas to one another". Eliade's former friend, the communist Belu Zilber, who was attending the Paris Conference in 1946, refused to see Eliade, arguing that, as an Iron Guard affiliate, the latter had "denounced left-wingers", and contrasting him with Cioran ("They are both Legionaries, but [Cioran] is honest"). Three years later, Eliade's political activities were brought into discussion as he was getting ready to publish a translation of his Techniques du Yoga with the left-leaning Italian company Giulio Einaudi Editore—the denunciation was probably orchestrated by Romanian officials. In August 1954, when Horia Sima, who led the Iron Guard during its exile, was rejected by a faction inside the movement, Mircea Eliade's name was included on a list of persons who supported the latter—although this may have happened without his consent. According to exiled dissident and novelist Dumitru Ţepeneag, around that date, Eliade expressed his sympathy for Iron Guard members in general, whom he viewed as "courageous". However, according to Robert Ellwood, the Eliade he met in the 1960s was entirely apolitical, remained aloof from "the passionate politics of that era in the United States", and "[r]eportedly [...] never read newspapers" (an assessment shared by Sorin Alexandrescu). Eliade's student Ioan Petru Culianu noted that journalists had come to refer to the Romanian scholar as "the great recluse". Despite Eliade's withdrawal from radical politics, Ellwood indicates, he still remained concerned with Romania's welfare. He saw himself and other exiled Romanian intellectuals as members of a circle who worked to "maintain the culture of a free Romania and, above all, to publish texts that had become unpublishable in Romania itself". Beginning in 1969, Eliade's past became the subject of public debate in Israel. At the time, historian Gershom Scholem asked Eliade to explain his attitudes, which the latter did using vague terms. As a result of this exchange, Scholem declared his dissatisfaction, and argued that Israel could not extend a welcome to the Romanian academic. During the final years of Eliade's life, his disciple Culianu exposed and publicly criticized his 1930s pro-Iron Guard activities; relations between the two soured as a result. Eliade's other Romanian disciple, Andrei Oişteanu, noted that, in the years following Eliade's death, conversations with various people who had known the scholar had made Culianu less certain of his earlier stances, and had led him to declare: "Mr. Eliade was never antisemitic, a member of the Iron Guard, or pro-Nazi. But, in any case, I am led to believe that he was closer to the Iron Guard than I would have liked to believe." At an early stage of his polemic with Culianu, Eliade complained in writing that "it is not possible to write an objective history" of the Iron Guard and its leader Corneliu Zelea Codreanu. Arguing that people "would only accept apologetics [...] or executions", he contended: "After Buchenwald and Auschwitz, even honest people cannot afford being objective". Posterity Alongside the arguments introduced by Daniel Dubuisson, criticism of Mircea Eliade's political involvement with antisemitism and fascism came from Adriana Berger, Leon Volovici, Alexandra Lagniel-Lavastine, Florin Țurcanu and others, who have attempted to trace Eliade's antisemitism throughout his work and through his associations with contemporary antisemites, such as the Italian fascist occultist Julius Evola. Volovici, for example, is critical of Eliade not only because of his support for the Iron Guard, but also for spreading antisemitism and anti-Masonry in 1930s Romania. In 1991, exiled novelist Norman Manea published an essay firmly condemning Eliade's attachment to the Iron Guard. Other scholars, like Bryan S. Rennie, have claimed that there is, to date, no evidence of Eliade's membership, active services rendered, or of any real involvement with any fascist or totalitarian movements or membership organizations, nor that there is any evidence of his continued support for nationalist ideals after their inherently violent nature was revealed. They further assert that there is no imprint of overt political beliefs in Eliade's scholarship, and also claim that Eliade's critics are following political agendas. Romanian scholar Mircea Handoca, editor of Eliade's writings, argues that the controversy surrounding Eliade was encouraged by a group of exiled writers, of whom Manea was a main representative, and believes that Eliade's association with the Guard was a conjectural one, determined by the young author's Christian values and conservative stance, as well as by his belief that a Legionary Romania could mirror Portugal's Estado Novo. Handoca opined that Eliade changed his stance after discovering that the Legionaries had turned violent, and argued that there was no evidence of Eliade's actual affiliation with the Iron Guard as a political movement. Additionally, Joaquín Garrigós, who translated Eliade's works into Spanish, claimed that none of Eliade's texts he ever encountered show him to be an antisemite. Mircea Eliade's nephew and commentator Sorin Alexandrescu himself proposed that Eliade's politics were essentially conservative and patriotic, in part motivated by a fear of the Soviet Union which he shared with many other young intellectuals. Based on Mircea Eliade's admiration for Gandhi, various other authors assess that Eliade remained committed to nonviolence. Robert Ellwood also places Eliade's involvement with the Iron Guard in relation to scholar's conservatism, and connects this aspect of Eliade's life with both his nostalgia and his study of primal societies. According to Ellwood, the part of Eliade that felt attracted to the "freedom of new beginnings suggested by primal myths" is the same part that felt attracted to the Guard, with its almost mythological notion of a new beginning through a "national resurrection". On a more basic level, Ellwood describes Eliade as an "instinctively spiritual" person who saw the Iron Guard as a spiritual movement. In Ellwood's view, Eliade was aware that the "golden age" of antiquity was no longer accessible to secular man, that it could be recalled but not re-established. Thus, a "more accessible" object for nostalgia was a "secondary silver age within the last few hundred years"—the Kingdom of Romania's 19th century cultural renaissance. To the young Eliade, the Iron Guard seemed like a path for returning to the silver age of Romania's glory, being a movement "dedicated to the cultural and national renewal of the Romanian people by appeal to their spiritual roots". Ellwood describes the young Eliade as someone "capable of being fired up by mythological archetypes and with no awareness of the evil that was to be unleashed". Because of Eliade's withdrawal from politics, and also because the later Eliade's religiosity was very personal and idiosyncratic, Ellwood believes the later Eliade probably would have rejected the "corporate sacred" of the Iron Guard. According to Ellwood, the later Eliade had the same desire for a Romanian "resurrection" that had motivated the early Eliade to support the Iron Guard, but he now channeled it apolitically through his efforts to "maintain the culture of a free Romania" abroad. In one of his writings, Eliade says, "Against the terror of History there are only two possibilities of defense: action or contemplation." According to Ellwood, the young Eliade took the former option, trying to reform the world through action, whereas the older Eliade tried to resist the terror of history intellectually. Eliade's own version of events, presenting his involvement in far right politics as marginal, was judged to contain several inaccuracies and unverifiable claims.Ornea, pp. 202, 208–211, 239–240 For instance, Eliade depicted his arrest as having been solely caused by his friendship with Nae Ionescu. On another occasion, answering Gershom Scholem's query, he is known to have explicitly denied ever having contributed to Buna Vestire. According to Sorin Antohi, "Eliade died without ever clearly expressing regret for his Iron Guard sympathies". Z. Ornea noted that, in a short section of his Autobiography where he discusses the Einaudi incident, Eliade speaks of "my imprudent acts and errors committed in youth", as "a series of malentendus that would follow me all my life." Ornea commented that this was the only instance where the Romanian academic spoke of his political involvement with a dose of self-criticism, and contrasted the statement with Eliade's usual refusal to discuss his stances "pertinently". Reviewing the arguments brought in support of Eliade, Sergio Vila-Sanjuán concluded: "Nevertheless, Eliade's pro-Legionary columns endure in the newspaper libraries, he never showed his regret for this connection [with the Iron Guard] and always, right up to his final writings, he invoked the figure of his teacher Nae Ionescu." In his Felix Culpa, Manea directly accused Eliade of having embellished his memoirs in order to minimize an embarrassing past. A secondary debate surrounding Eliade's alleged unwillingness to dissociate with the Guard took place after Jurnalul portughez saw print. Sorin Alexandrescu expressed a belief that notes in the diary show Eliade's "break with his far right past". Cătălin Avramescu defined this conclusion as "whitewashing", and, answering to Alexandrescu's claim that his uncle's support for the Guard was always superficial, argued that Jurnal portughez and other writings of the time showed Eliade's disenchantment with the Legionaries' Christian stance in tandem with his growing sympathy for Nazism and its pagan messages. Paul Cernat, who stressed that it was the only one of Eliade's autobiographical works not to have been reworked by its author, concluded that the book documented Eliade's own efforts to "camouflage" his political sympathies without rejecting them altogether. Oișteanu argued that, in old age, Eliade moved away from his earlier stances and even came to sympathize with the non-Marxist Left and the hippie youth movement. He noted that Eliade initially felt apprehensive about the consequences of hippie activism, but that the interests they shared, as well as their advocacy of communalism and free love had made him argue that hippies were "a quasi-religious movement" that was "rediscovering the sacrality of Life". Andrei Oișteanu, who proposed that Eliade's critics were divided into a "maximalist" and a "minimalist" camp (trying to, respectively, enhance or shadow the impact Legionary ideas had on Eliade), argued in favor of moderation, and indicated that Eliade's fascism needed to be correlated to the political choices of his generation. Political symbolism in Eliade's fiction Various critics have traced links between Eliade's fiction works and his political views, or Romanian politics in general. Early on, George Călinescu argued that the totalitarian model outlined in Huliganii was: "An allusion to certain bygone political movements [...], sublimated in the ever so abstruse philosophy of death as a path to knowledge." By contrast, Întoarcerea din rai partly focuses on a failed communist rebellion, which enlists the participation of its main characters.Iphigenia‍'s story of self-sacrifice, turned voluntary in Eliade's version, was taken by various commentators, beginning with Mihail Sebastian, as a favorable allusion to the Iron Guard's beliefs on commitment and death, as well as to the bloody outcome of the 1941 Legionary Rebellion. Ten years after its premiere, the play was reprinted by Legionary refugees in Argentina: on the occasion, the text was reviewed for publishing by Eliade himself. Reading Iphigenia was what partly sparked Culianu's investigation of his mentor's early political affiliations. A special debate was sparked by Un om mare. Culianu viewed it as a direct reference to Corneliu Zelea Codreanu and his rise in popularity, an interpretation partly based on the similarity between, on one hand, two monikers ascribed to the Legionary leader (by, respectively, his adversaries and his followers), and, on the other, the main character's name (Cucoanes). Matei Călinescu did not reject Culianu's version, but argued that, on its own, the piece was beyond political interpretations. Commenting on this dialog, literary historian and essayist Mircea Iorgulescu objected to the original verdict, indicating his belief that there was no historical evidence to substantiate Culianu's point of view. Alongside Eliade's main works, his attempted novel of youth, Minunata călătorie a celor cinci cărăbuși in țara furnicilor roșii, which depicts a population of red ants living in a totalitarian society and forming bands to harass the beetles, was seen as a potential allusion to the Soviet Union and to communism. Despite Eliade's ultimate reception in Communist Romania, this writing could not be published during the period, after censors singled out fragments which they saw as especially problematic. Cultural legacy Tributes An endowed chair in the History of Religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School was named after Eliade in recognition of his wide contribution to the research on this subject; the first holder of this chair is Wendy Doniger, who was succeeded by Brook Ziporyn in 2020. To evaluate the legacy of Eliade and Joachim Wach within the discipline of the history of religions, the University of Chicago chose 2006 (the intermediate year between the 50th anniversary of Wach's death and the 100th anniversary of Eliade's birth), to hold a two-day conference in order to reflect upon their academic contributions and their political lives in their social and historical contexts, as well as the relationship between their works and their lives. In 1990, after the Romanian Revolution, Eliade was elected posthumously to the Romanian Academy. In Romania, Mircea Eliade's legacy in the field of the history of religions is mirrored by the journal Archaeus (founded 1997, and affiliated with the University of Bucharest Faculty of History). The 6th European Association for the Study of Religion and International Association for the History of Religions Special Conference on Religious History of Europe and Asia took place from September 20 to September 23, 2006, in Bucharest. An important section of the Congress was dedicated to the memory of Mircea Eliade, whose legacy in the field of history of religions was scrutinized by various scholars, some of whom were his direct students at the University of Chicago. As Antohi noted, Eliade, Emil Cioran and Constantin Noica "represent in Romanian culture ultimate expressions of excellence, [Eliade and Cioran] being regarded as proof that Romania's interwar culture (and, by extension, Romanian culture as a whole) was able to reach the ultimate levels of depth, sophistication and creativity." A Romanian Television 1 poll carried out in 2006 nominated Mircea Eliade as the 7th Greatest Romanian in history; his case was argued by the journalist Dragoş Bucurenci (see 100 greatest Romanians). His name was given to a boulevard in the northern Bucharest area of Primăverii, to a street in Cluj-Napoca, and to high schools in Bucharest, Sighişoara, and Reşiţa. The Eliades' house on Melodiei Street was torn down during the communist regime, and an apartment block was raised in its place; his second residence, on Dacia Boulevard, features a memorial plaque in his honor. Eliade's image in contemporary culture also has political implications. Historian Irina Livezeanu proposed that the respect he enjoys in Romania is matched by that of other "nationalist thinkers and politicians" who "have reentered the contemporary scene largely as heroes of a pre- and anticommunist past", including Nae Ionescu and Cioran, but also Ion Antonescu and Nichifor Crainic. In parallel, according to Oişteanu (who relied his assessment on Eliade's own personal notes), Eliade's interest in the American hippie community was reciprocated by members of the latter, some of whom reportedly viewed Eliade as "a guru". Eliade has also been hailed as an inspiration by German representatives of the Neue Rechte, claiming legacy from the Conservative Revolutionary movement (among them is the controversial magazine Junge Freiheit and the essayist Karlheinz Weißmann). In 2007, Florin Ţurcanu's biographical volume on Eliade was issued in a German translation by the Antaios publishing house, which is mouthpiece for the Neue Rechte. The edition was not reviewed by the mainstream German press. Other sections of the European far right also claim Eliade as an inspiration, and consider his contacts with the Iron Guard to be a merit—among their representatives are the Italian neofascist Claudio Mutti and Romanian groups who trace their origin to the Legionary Movement. Portrayals, filmography and dramatizations Early on, Mircea Eliade's novels were the subject of satire: before the two of them became friends, Nicolae Steinhardt, using the pen name Antisthius, authored and published parodies of them. Maitreyi Devi, who strongly objected to Eliade's account of their encounter and relationship, wrote her own novel as a reply to his Maitreyi; written in Bengali, it was titled Na Hanyate ('It Does Not Die'). Several authors, including Ioan Petru Culianu, have drawn a parallel between Eugène Ionesco's Absurdist play of 1959, Rhinoceros, which depicts the population of a small town falling victim to a mass metamorphosis, and the impact fascism had on Ionesco's closest friends (Eliade included). In 2000, Saul Bellow published his controversial Ravelstein novel. Having for its setting the University of Chicago, it had among its characters Radu Grielescu, who was identified by several critics as Eliade. The latter's portrayal, accomplished through statements made by the eponymous character, is polemical: Grielescu, who is identified as a disciple of Nae Ionescu, took part in the Bucharest Pogrom, and is in Chicago as a refugee scholar, searching for the friendship of a Jewish colleague as a means to rehabilitate himself. In 2005, the Romanian literary critic and translator Antoaneta Ralian, who was an acquaintance of Bellow's, argued that much of the negative portrayal was owed to a personal choice Bellow made (after having divorced from Alexandra Bagdasar, his Romanian wife and Eliade disciple). She also mentioned that, during a 1979 interview, Bellow had expressed admiration for Eliade. The film Mircea Eliade et la redécouverte du Sacré (1987), and part of the television series Architecture et Géographie sacrées by Paul Barbă Neagră, discuss Eliade's works. Film adaptations The Bengali Night (1988), directed by Nicolas Klotz Domnişoara Christina ('Miss Christina', 1992), directed by Viorel SergoviciȘarpele ('The Snake', 1996)Eu sunt Adam! (1996), directed by Dan Pița Youth Without Youth (2007), directed by Francis Ford CoppolaDomnişoara Christina (2013)The Bengali Night, a 1988 film directed by Nicolas Klotz and based upon the French translation of Maitreyi, stars British actor Hugh Grant as Allan, the European character based on Eliade, while Supriya Pathak is Gayatri, a character based on Maitreyi Devi (who had refused to be mentioned by name). The film, considered "pornographic" by Hindu activists, was only shown once in India. Live adaptations Domnișoara Christina (1981), opera at the Romanian Radio Iphigenia (1982), play at the National Theater Bucharest La señorita Cristina (2000), opera at the Teatro Real, Madrid Cazul Gavrilescu ('The Gavrilescu Case', 2001), play at the Nottara Theater La Țigănci (2003), play at the Odeon Theater Apocalipsa după Mircea Eliade ('The Apocalypse According to Mircea Eliade', 2007) Eliade's Iphigenia was again included in theater programs during the late years of the Nicolae Ceauşescu regime: in January 1982, a new version, directed by Ion Cojar, premiered at the National Theater Bucharest, starring Mircea Albulescu, Tania Filip and Adrian Pintea in some of the main roles. has been the basis for two theater adaptations: Cazul Gavrilescu ('The Gavrilescu Case'), directed by Gelu Colceag and hosted by the Nottara Theater; and an eponymous play by director Alexandru Hausvater, first staged by the Odeon Theater in 2003, starring, among others, Adriana Trandafir, Florin Zamfirescu, and Carmen Tănase. In March 2007, on Eliade's 100th birthday, the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company hosted the Mircea Eliade Week, during which radio drama adaptations of several works were broadcast. In September of that year, director and dramatist Cezarina Udrescu staged a multimedia performance based on a number of works Mircea Eliade wrote during his stay in Portugal; titled Apocalipsa după Mircea Eliade ('The Apocalypse According to Mircea Eliade'), and shown as part of a Romanian Radio cultural campaign, it starred Ion Caramitru, Oana Pellea and Răzvan Vasilescu.Domnișoara Christina has been the subject of two operas: the first, carrying the same Romanian title, was authored by Romanian composer Șerban Nichifor and premiered in 1981 at the Romanian Radio; the second, titled La señorita Cristina, was written by Spanish composer Luis de Pablo and premiered in 2000 at the Teatro Real in Madrid. Selected bibliography A History of Religious Ideas. Vol. 1: From the Stone Age to the Eleusinian Mysteries. Trans. Willard R. Trask. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1978. (Histoire des croyances et des idées religieuses. 3 vols. 1976–83.) Images and Symbols: Studies in Religious Symbolism (trans. Philip Mairet), Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1991 Myth and Reality (trans. Willard R. Trask), Harper & Row, New York, 1963 Myths, Dreams and Mysteries (trans. Philip Mairet), Harper & Row, New York, 1967 Myths, Rites, Symbols: A Mircea Eliade Reader, Vol. 2, Ed. Wendell C. Beane and William G. Doty, Harper Colophon, New York, 1976 Patterns in Comparative Religion, Sheed & Ward, New York, 1958 Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2004 The Myth of the Eternal Return: Cosmos and History (trans. Willard R. Trask), Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1971 "The Quest for the 'Origins' of Religion", in History of Religions 4.1 (1964), p. 154–169 The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion (trans. Willard R. Trask), Harper Torchbooks, New York, 1961 ‘’Hypermnésie et évasion. Doina Ruști, „Philologica Jassyensia”, An III, Nr. 1, 2007, p. 235-241 Yoga: Immortality and Freedom (trans. Willard R. Trask), Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2009 Isabela Vasiliu-Scraba, Harismele Duhului Sfânt si fotografia "de 14 ani" (Mircea Eliade), în rev. "Acolada", Satu Mare, annul XIV, nr. 12 (157), decembrie 2020, pp. 12–13 See also Sântoaderi, supernatural entities found in Romanian folklore Notes References Citations Sources Secondary sources Final Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania, Polirom, Iași, 2004. ; retrieved October 8, 2007. Sorin Antohi, "Commuting to Castalia: Noica's 'School', Culture and Power in Communist Romania", preface to Gabriel Liiceanu, The Păltiniş Diary: A Paideic Model in Humanist Culture, Central European University Press, Budapest, 2000, pp. vii–xxiv. . George Călinescu, Istoria literaturii române de la origini până în prezent ("The History of Romanian Literature from Its Origins to Present Times"), Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1986 John Daniel Dadosky, The Structure of Religious Knowing: Encountering the Sacred in Eliade and Lonergan, State University of New York Press, Albany, 2004. Robert Ellwood, The Politics of Myth: A Study of C. G. Jung, Mircea Eliade, and Joseph Campbell, State University of New York Press, Albany, 1999. Victor Frunză, Istoria stalinismului în România ("The History of Stalinism in Romania"), Humanitas, Bucharest, 1990 Roger Griffin, The Nature of Fascism, Routledge, London, 1993. Mircea Handoca, Convorbiri cu şi despre Mircea Eliade ("Conversations with and about Mircea Eliade") on Autori ("Published Authors") page of the Humanitas publishing house Furio Jesi, Mito, Mondadori, Milan, 1980. G. S. Kirk, Myth: Its Meaning and Functions in Ancient and Other Cultures, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1973. The Nature of Greek Myths, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1974. William McGuire, Bollingen: An Adventure in Collecting the Past, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1982. . Lucian Nastasă, "Suveranii" universităţilor româneşti ("The 'Sovereigns' of Romanian Universities"), Editura Limes, Cluj-Napoca, 2007 (available online at the Romanian Academy's George Bariţ Institute of History) Andrei Oişteanu, "Angajamentul politic al lui Mircea Eliade" ("Mircea Eliade's Political Affiliation"), in 22, Nr. 891, March–April 2007; retrieved November 15, 2007; retrieved January 17, 2008. "Mircea Eliade şi mişcarea hippie" ("Mircea Eliade and the Hippie Movement"), in Dilema Veche, Vol. III, May 2006; retrieved November 7, 2007 Z. Ornea, Anii treizeci. Extrema dreaptă românească ("The 1930s: The Romanian Far Right"), Editura EST-Samuel Tastet Editeur, Bucharest, 2008 Mihail Sebastian, Journal, 1935–1944: The Fascist Years, Ivan R. Dee, Chicago, 2000. . David Leeming. "Archetypes". The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford University Press, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. UC—Irvine. 30 May 2011 Isabela Vasiliu-Scraba, Harismele Duhului Sfânt si fotografia "de 14 ani" (Mircea Eliade), în rev. "Acolada", Satu Mare, annul XIV, nr. 12 (157), decembrie 2020, pp. 12–13 Further reading English Carrasco, David and Law, Jane Marie (eds.). 1985. Waiting for the Dawn. Boulder: Westview Press. Dudley, Guilford. 1977. Religion on Trial: Mircea Eliade & His Critics. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Idinopulos, Thomas A., Yonan, Edward A. (eds.) 1994. Religion and Reductionism: Essays on Eliade, Segal, and the Challenge of the Social Sciences for the Study of Religion, Leiden: Brill Publishers. McCutcheon, Russell T. 1997. Manufacturing Religion: The Discourse on Sui Generis Religion and the Politics of Nostalgia. New York: Oxford University Press. Olson, Carl. 1992. The Theology and Philosophy of Eliade: A Search for the Centre. New York: St Martins Press. Pals, Daniel L. 1996. Seven Theories of Religion. USA: Oxford University Press. Rennie, Bryan S. 1996. Reconstructing Eliade: Making Sense of Religion. Albany: State University of New York Press. . . Simion, Eugen. 2001. Mircea Eliade: A Spirit of Amplitude. Boulder: East European Monographs. Strenski, Ivan. 1987. Four Theories of Myth in Twentieth-Century History: Cassirer, Eliade, Levi Strauss and Malinowski. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. Wasserstrom, Steven M. 1999. Religion after Religion: Gershom Scholem, Mircea Eliade, and Henry Corbin at Eranos. Princeton: Princeton University Press Wedemeyer, Christian; Doniger, Wendy (eds.). 2010. Hermeneutics, Politics, and the History of Religions: The Contested Legacies of Joachim Wach and Mircea Eliade. Oxford etc.: Oxford University Press Other languages Alexandrescu, Sorin. 2007. Mircea Eliade, dinspre Portugalia. Bucharest: Humanitas. Băicuş, Iulian, 2009, Mircea Eliade. Literator şi mitodolog. În căutarea Centrului pierdut. Bucharest: Editura Universităţii București Călinescu, Matei. 2002. Despre Ioan P. Culianu şi Mircea Eliade. Amintiri, lecturi, reflecţii. Iaşi: Polirom. Culianu, Ioan Petru. 1978. Mircea Eliade. Assisi: Cittadella Editrice; 2008 Roma: Settimo Sigillo. David, Dorin. 2010. De la Eliade la Culianu (I). Bucuresti: Eikon. David, Dorin. 2014. Mircea Eliade: la marginea labirintului: corespondenţe între opera ştiinţifică şi proza fantastică. Bucuresti: Eikon. De Martino, Marcello. 2008. Mircea Eliade esoterico. Roma: Settimo Sigillo. Dubuisson, Daniel. 2005. Impostures et pseudo-science. L'œuvre de Mircea Eliade. Villeneuve d'Ascq: Presses Universitaires du Septentrion Gorshunova, Olga. 2008. Terra Incognita of Ioan Culianu, in Ètnografičeskoe obozrenie. N° 6, pp. 94–110. .. Laignel-Lavastine, Alexandra. 2002. Cioran, Eliade, Ionesco – L'oubli du fascisme. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France-Perspectives critiques. Oişteanu, Andrei. 2007. Religie, politică şi mit. Texte despre Mircea Eliade şi Ioan Petru Culianu. Iaşi: Polirom. Posada, Mihai. 2006. Opera publicistică a lui Mircea Eliade. Bucharest: Editura Criterion. Ruşti, Doina. 1997. Dicţionar de simboluri din opera lui Mircea Eliade. Bucharest: Editura Coresi. E-book Tacou, Constantin (ed.). 1977. Cahier Eliade. Paris: L'Herne. Tolcea, Marcel. 2002. Eliade, ezotericul. Timişoara: Editura Mirton. Ţurcanu, Florin. 2003. Mircea Eliade. Le prisonnier de l'histoire. Paris: Editions La Découverte. External links Biography of Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade, From Primitives to Zen Bryan S. Rennie on Mircea Eliade Joseph G. Muthuraj, The Significance of Mircea Eliade for Christian Theology Mircea Eliade presentation on the "100 Greatest Romanians" site Archaeus magazine Eliade and symbols Claudia Guggenbühl, Mircea Eliade and Surendranath Dasgupta. The History Of Their Encounter Guide to the Mircea Eliade Papers 1926-1998 at the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center Category:1907 births Category:1986 deaths Category:20th-century Romanian philosophers Category:20th-century Romanian novelists Category:20th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights Category:Romanian historians of religion Category:Mythographers Category:Philosophers of religion Category:Eastern Orthodox philosophers Category:Religious studies scholars Category:Shamanism Category:Traditionalist School Category:Romanian esotericists Category:Romanian orientalists Category:Romanian anthropologists Category:Contimporanul writers Category:Journalists from Bucharest Category:Romanian literary critics Category:Romanian memoirists Category:Romanian essayists Category:Romanian fantasy writers Category:Romanian male short story writers Category:Romanian short story writers Category:Romanian travel writers Category:Romanian writers in French Category:Romanian male novelists Category:Male dramatists and playwrights Category:Writers from Bucharest Category:Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church Category:Scouting and Guiding in Romania Category:Spiru Haret National College (Bucharest) alumni Category:University of Bucharest alumni Category:University of Calcutta alumni Category:Members of the Iron Guard Category:Christian fascists Category:Romanian people of World War II Category:Diplomats from Bucharest Category:Romanian defectors Category:Romanian expatriates in France Category:Romanian expatriates in the United States Category:University of Chicago Divinity School faculty Category:Members of the Romanian Academy elected posthumously Category:Mysticism scholars Category:Neurological disease deaths in Illinois Category:Germanic studies scholars Category:Indo-Europeanists Category:Writers on Germanic paganism Category:20th-century Romanian historians Category:20th-century essayists Category:Western esotericism scholars Category:20th-century anthropologists Category:20th-century journalists Category:20th-century memoirists Category:Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy Category:Cultural attachés

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Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart was born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz on November 28, 1962, in New York City, to Marian (nee Laskin), a teacher and later educational consultant, and Donald Leibowitz, a professor of physics at The College of New Jersey and Thomas Edison State College. Stewart's family are Litvak Jews who emigrated to America from Poland, Ukraine and Belarus. One of his grandfathers was born in Manzhouli (now part of Inner Mongolia). He is the second of four sons, with older brother Lawrence and younger brothers Dan and Matthew.

Criticism of Fox News

Throughout his tenure on The Daily Show, Stewart has frequently accused Fox News of distorting the news to fit a conservative agenda, at one point ridiculing the network as "the meanest sorority in the world." In November 2009, Stewart called out Fox News for using some footage from a previous Tea Party rally during a report on a more recent rally, making the latter event appear more highly attended than it actually was. The show's anchor, Sean Hannity, apologized for the footage use the following night. A month later, Stewart criticized Fox & Friends cohost Gretchen Carlson - a former Miss America and a Stanford graduate - for claiming that she googled words such as "ignoramus" and "czar". Stewart said that Carlson was dumbing herself down for "an audience who sees intellect as an elitist flaw". Stewart stepped up his criticism of Fox News in 2010; as of April 24, The Daily Show had 24 segments criticizing Fox News' coverage. Bill O'Reilly, host of the talk show The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News, countered that The Daily Show was a "key component of left-wing television" and that Stewart loved Fox News because the network was "not boring". During an interview with Chris Wallace on June 19, 2011, Stewart called Wallace "insane" after Wallace said that Stewart's earlier comparison of a Sarah Palin campaign video and an anti-herpes medicine ad was a political comment. Stewart also said Fox viewers are the "most consistently misinformed" viewers of political media. This comment was ranked by fact-checking site PolitiFact as false, with conditions. Stewart later accepted his error. In 2014, Stewart engaged in an extended "call-out" of Fox News based on their perceived hypocritical coverage of food stamps and U.S. Government assistance. This culminated during the Bundy standoff involving multiple segments, across multiple episodes, specifically singling out Sean Hannity and Hannity's coverage of the event. Hannity would "return fire" by calling out Stewart for associating himself with Cat Stevens during his Rally in 2010. Stewart responded to this by calling out Hannity for frequently calling Ted Nugent a "friend and frequent guest" on his program and supporting Nugent's violent rhetoric towards Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2007. In late August 2014, Stewart vehemently opposed the manner in which Fox News portrayed the events surrounding the shooting of teenager Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri and the subsequent protests from citizens. CANNOTANSWER

Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, actor, director and television host. He hosted The Daily Show, a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts The Problem with Jon Stewart (2021–present) on Apple TV+. He's received numerous accolades including 22 Primetime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2022. He is also known for his extensive work as an advocate for veterans health benefits. Stewart started as a stand-up comedian but branched into television as host of Short Attention Span Theater for Comedy Central. He went on to host You Wrote It, You Watch It (1992–1993) and then The Jon Stewart Show (1993–1995), both on MTV, until The Jon Stewart Show was retooled, dropped by the network and moved to syndication. He has also appeared in several films, including Big Daddy (1999) and Death to Smoochy (2002). Stewart became host of The Daily Show in 1999, where he also was a writer and co-executive producer. Since joining, The Daily Show steadily gained popularity and critical acclaim, and during his tenure, won numerous Emmy Awards and was nominated for news and journalism awards. Stewart hosted the 78th and 80th Academy Awards. He is the co-author of the best-selling satirical books America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction in 2004, and Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race in 2010. He executive produced The Colbert Report (2005–2014), The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore (2015–2016), and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015–present). Since leaving The Daily Show, Stewart has maintained a low profile in entertainment industry circles, but has used his celebrity and voice in a sustained advocacy for 9/11 first responders and war veterans' health benefits. In 2019, he received the New York City Bronze Medallion for his "tireless advocacy, inspiration, and leadership (helping to) pass the permanent authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act". He continued using his platform as an advocate for veterans by being instrumental in helping pass the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, which expands healthcare access and funding to veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service including burn pits. Early life and education Stewart was born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz at Doctors Hospital in New York City's Upper East Side to Marian (née Laskin), a teacher and later educational consultant, and Donald Leibowitz (1931–2013), an energy coordinator for the New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Stewart's family members are Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants to America from Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. One of his grandfathers was born in Manzhouli (now part of China). He is the second of four sons, with older brother Lawrence, and younger brothers Dan and Matthew. Stewart's parents divorced when he was eleven years old, and Stewart was largely estranged from his father. Because of his strained relationship with his father, which in 2015 he described as "still 'complicated'", he dropped his surname and began using his middle name. Stewart stated, "There was a thought of using my mother's maiden name, but I thought that would be just too big a fuck you to my dad.... Did I have some problems with my father? Yes. Yet people always view [changing my surname] through the prism of ethnic identity." He had his surname changed legally to Stewart in 2001. Stewart and his brother Lawrence, who was previously the chief operating officer of NYSE Euronext (parent company of the New York Stock Exchange), grew up in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where they attended Lawrence High School. According to Stewart, he was subjected to antisemitic bullying as a child. He describes himself in high school as "very into Eugene Debs and a bit of a leftist." Stewart grew up in the era of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, which inspired in him "a healthy skepticism towards official reports". His first job was working with his brother at a Woolworth's store, and jokingly says being fired by Lawrence was one of the "scarring events" of his youth. He has also credited legendary television producer Norman Lear as someone who "raised me." Stewart graduated in 1984 from The College of William & Mary where he initially majored in chemistry before switching to psychology. While at William & Mary, Stewart became a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, but eventually began disassociating himself from them, leaving the fraternity altogether after six months. "My college career was waking up late, memorizing someone else's notes, doing bong hits, and going to soccer practice", he later said. He was a three-year starter in 1981, 1982 and 1983 with the Tribe men's soccer team. He had 10 goals and 12 assists on a squad that went 40–15–9 (.695) in his three seasons with the program. He is listed as Jon Leibowitz in official William & Mary Athletics records. The former head coach of the Tribe men's soccer team from 1971 to 2003, Al Albert, describes Jon as "athletic and feisty and quick" and added that he "wasn't the most technical or clinical player, but he could make things happen." After college, Stewart held numerous jobs: a contingency planner for the New Jersey Department of Human Services, a contract administrator for the City University of New York, a puppeteer for children with disabilities, a soccer coach at Gloucester High School in Virginia, a caterer, a busboy, a shelf stocker at Woolworth's, a bartender at the Franklin Corner Tavern (a local blue-collar bar), and a bartender at the City Gardens in Trenton, New Jersey. He has said that working at City Gardens was a pivotal moment for him: "finding this place City Gardens was like, 'Oh, maybe I'm not a giant weirdo. Maybe there are other people who have a similar sense of yearning for something other than what they have now.' I think it inspired a lot of people, man. It was a very creative environment. It was a place of great possibility." Career Early work With a reputation for being a funny man in school, Stewart returned to New York City in 1986 to try his hand at the comedy club circuit, but could not muster the courage to get on stage until the following year. He made his stand-up debut at The Bitter End, where one of his comedic idols, Woody Allen, also began. He began using the stage name Jon Stewart by dropping his last name and changing the spelling of his middle name, Stuart, to Stewart. He often jokes that it was because people had trouble pronouncing Leibowitz, or it "sounded too Hollywood" (a reference to Lenny Bruce's joke on the same theme). He has implied that the name change was due to a strained relationship with his father, with whom Stewart no longer had any contact. Stewart became a regular at the Comedy Cellar, where he was the last performer every night. For two years he performed at 2 a.m. while developing his comedy style. In 1989, he landed his first television job as a writer for Caroline's Comedy Hour. In 1990, he began co-hosting Comedy Central's Short Attention Span Theater with Patty Rosborough. In 1992, he hosted the short-lived You Wrote It, You Watch It on MTV, which invited viewers to send in their stories to be acted out by the comedy troupe, The State. Stewart said that his career did not take off until his March 6, 1992, appearance on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman. He was considered to take over the show when Letterman left it, but it was given to relatively unknown Conan O'Brien. He co-hosted MTV Spring Break '93 Blind Date from Daytona Beach with Melissa Rivers. The Jon Stewart Show Later in 1993, Stewart developed The Jon Stewart Show, a talk show on MTV, which was later dropped by the network and was syndicated for its last two years. The Jon Stewart Show was the first talk show on that network and was an instant hit, becoming the second-highest rated MTV show, behind Beavis and Butt-Head. In 1994, Paramount canceled The Arsenio Hall Show and, with new corporate sibling MTV (through MTV parent Viacom's acquisition of the studio), launched an hour-long syndicated late-night version of The Jon Stewart Show. Many local affiliates had moved Hall's show to 2 a.m. during its decline and Stewart's show inherited such early morning time slots in many cities. Ratings were dismal and the show was canceled in June 1995. Among the fans of the show was David Letterman, who was the final guest of The Jon Stewart Show. Letterman signed Stewart with his production company, Worldwide Pants. Stewart then became a frequent guest host for Tom Snyder on The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder, which was produced by Letterman and aired after the Late Show on CBS. This led to much speculation that Stewart would soon replace Snyder permanently, but instead, Stewart was offered the time slot after Snyder's, which he turned down. In 1996 Stewart hosted a short-lived talk show entitled, Where's Elvis This Week?, that was a half-hour, weekly comedy television program. It aired on Sunday nights in the United Kingdom on BBC Two. It was filmed at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City and featured a set of panelists, two from the UK and two from the United States, who discussed news items and cultural issues. The show premiered in the UK on October 6, 1996; five episodes aired in total. Notable panelists included Dave Chappelle, Eddie Izzard, Phill Jupitus, Nora Ephron, Craig Kilborn, Christopher Hitchens, Armando Iannucci, Norm Macdonald, and Helen Gurley Brown. In 1997, Stewart was chosen as the host and interviewer for George Carlin's tenth HBO special, George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy. The Daily Show In 1998, when Craig Kilborn left the show to replace Tom Snyder on The Late Late Show, Stewart began hosting The Daily Show on Comedy Central. The Daily Show blends humor with the day's top news stories, usually in politics, while simultaneously poking fun at politicians, newsmakers, and the news media. In an interview on The O'Reilly Factor, Stewart denied the show has any intentional political agenda, saying the goal was "schnicks and giggles" and that "[t]he same weakness that drove me into comedy also informs my show", meaning that he was uncomfortable talking without hearing the audience laugh. In his first Daily Show on-air appearance on January 11, 1999, Stewart told his guest that evening, Michael J. Fox, that he felt as if "this is my bar mitzvah". His style was described by one critic as, "Stewart does not offer us cynicism for its own sake, but as a playful way to offer the kinds of insights that are not permitted in more serious news formats that slavishly cling to official account of events." Until Trevor Noah permanently took over the show in 2015, Stewart hosted almost all airings of the program, except for a few occasions when correspondents such as Stephen Colbert, Rob Corddry, Jason Jones, and Steve Carell subbed for him, and during John Oliver's stint as host during the summer of 2013. Stewart won twenty Primetime Emmy Awards for The Daily Show as either a writer or producer, and two for producing The Colbert Report (2013–14), earning a total of twenty-two Primetime Emmy Awards, the most wins for a male individual. In 2005, Stewart and The Daily Show received the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for the audiobook edition of America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction. In 2000 and 2004, the show won two Peabody Awards for its coverage of the US presidential elections in those years, called "Indecision 2000" and "Indecision 2004", respectively. The show of September 20, 2001, the first show after the attacks of September 11, 2001, began with no introduction. Before this, the introduction included footage of a fly-in toward the World Trade Center and New York City. The first nine minutes of the show included a tearful Stewart discussing his personal view on the event. His remarks ended as follows: In mid-2002, amid rumors that David Letterman was going to switch from CBS to ABC when his contract ran out, Stewart was rumored as Letterman's replacement on CBS. Ultimately, Letterman renewed his contract with CBS. In late 2002, ABC offered Stewart his own talk show to air right after Nightline. Stewart's contract with The Daily Show was near expiring, and he expressed strong interest. ABC, however, decided to give another Comedy Central figure, Jimmy Kimmel, the post-Nightline slot. On April 4, 2006, Stewart confronted US Senator John McCain (R-AZ) on The Daily Show about his decision to appear at Liberty University, an institution founded by Jerry Falwell whom McCain previously had denounced as one of the "agents of intolerance". In the interchange, Stewart asked McCain, "You're not freaking out on us? Are you freaking out on us, because if you're freaking out ... and you're going into the crazy base world—are you going into crazy base world?" McCain replied, "Just– just– just a little" and "I'm afraid so." The clip was played on CNN, was noted and discussed in more detail in the blogosphere and was followed up on in the mainstream media. In 2007, The Daily Show was involved in former correspondent Stephen Colbert's announcement that he would run for president in 2008. In 2008, Stewart appeared on the news program Democracy Now!. A 2008 New York Times story questioned whether he was, in a phrase originally used to describe longtime network news anchor Walter Cronkite, "the most trusted man in America". On April 28, 2009, during a discussion on torture with Clifford May, Stewart expressed his opinion that former President Harry S. Truman was a war criminal for his use of the atomic bomb on Japan during World War II. He defended his assertion moments later: "Here's what I think of the atom bombs. I think if you dropped an atom bomb fifteen miles offshore and you said, 'The next one's coming and hitting you', then I would think it's okay. To drop it on a city, and kill a hundred thousand people? Yeah. I think that's criminal." On April 30, Stewart apologized on his program, and stated he did not believe Truman was a war criminal: "I shouldn't have said that, and I did. So I say right now, no, I don't believe that to be the case. The atomic bomb, a very complicated decision in the context of a horrific war, and I walk that back because it was in my estimation a stupid thing to say." In April 2010, Comedy Central renewed Stewart's contract to host The Daily Show into 2013. According to a Forbes list of celebrities in 2008, he was earning $14 million a year. On September 16, 2010, Stewart and Stephen Colbert announced a rally for October 30, known as the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. It took place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and attracted an estimated 215,000 participants. In December 2010, Stewart was credited by the White House, other media, and political news outlets for bringing awareness of the Republican filibuster on the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act to the public, leading to the ultimate passing of the bill that provides health benefits to first responders whose health has been adversely affected by their work at Ground Zero. On the show of January 10, 2011, Stewart began with a monologue about the shootings in Tucson, Arizona. He said he wished the "ramblings of crazy people didn't in any way resemble how we actually talk to each other on television". Before a commercial break, Stewart told viewers that the show would continue as usual the next night. After the commercial break, the show featured a rerun of a field piece done by Jason Jones two years earlier. The New York Times opined that Stewart is "the modern-day equivalent of Edward R. Murrow" and the UK national newspaper The Independent called him the "satirist-in-chief". In an interview, Senator John McCain described Stewart as "a modern-day Will Rogers and Mark Twain". Writer Wyatt Cenac said that Stewart cursed him out after Cenac acknowledged he was uncomfortable about a June 2011 Daily Show bit about Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain (reported in July 2015). In March 2013, it was announced that Stewart would be taking a 12-week hiatus from The Daily Show to direct the film Rosewater, which is based on the book Then They Came for Me by Maziar Bahari. Beginning June 10, 2013, The Daily Show correspondent John Oliver assumed primary hosting duties during Stewart's break. The TV Guide annual survey for 2013 star salaries showed that Stewart was the highest-paid late night host, making an estimated $25–30 million per year. On July 14, 2014, Stewart interviewed Hillary Clinton about the Middle East. Clinton's condemnations of Hamas led Stewart to ask her: "But don't you think they would look at that though as, they've given a lot of different things a chance and these are the only guys to them that are giving any resistance to what their condition is?" For Gazans living in that situation, he said Hamas could be viewed as "freedom fighters". Leaving The Daily Show During a taping of the show on February 10, 2015, Stewart announced he was leaving The Daily Show. Comedy Central president Michele Ganeless confirmed Stewart's retirement with a statement. Later, it was announced that South African comedian Trevor Noah would succeed Stewart as the host of the show. On April 20, 2015, Stewart indicated that his final show would be on August 6, 2015. On July 28, 2015, Darren Samuelsohn of Politico reported that twice, Stewart had been at the White House for previously unreported meetings with President Obama: once in October 2011 and once in February 2014. Michael D. Shear of The New York Times also picked up on the story. Stewart responded on his show by pointing out that the meetings were listed in the president's publicly available visitor log and that he has been asked to meet privately by many prominent individuals, including Roger Ailes of Fox News. He said Obama encouraged him not to make young Americans cynical about their government and Stewart said that his reply was that he was "skeptically idealistic". On June 19, 2015, in the wake of the Charleston Church Shooting, Stewart decided not to write jokes for the opening monologue. Elaborating on his decision, Stewart stated, "I honestly have nothing other than just sadness". Stewart spoke about the racial disparity and injustices in America, saying "The Confederate flag flies over South Carolina ... and the roads are named for Confederate generals" describing it as "racial wallpaper". Instead he designated a large portion of the show to his guest that night Malala Yousafzai, calling her "an incredible inspiration," and that "to be quite honest with you, I don't think there's anyone else in the world I would rather talk to tonight than Malala: So that's what we're going to do. And sorry about no jokes." On August 5, 2015, Stewart's friend of 30 years, comedian Louis C.K., was selected to be the last guest before the final Daily Show episode with Stewart helming the show. C.K. joked that he was there "representing comedy to say good job". The hour-long-plus final Daily Show on August 6 featured reunions with former correspondents Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, John Oliver, Samantha Bee, Hasan Minhaj, Ed Helms, Kristen Schaal, Larry Wilmore, Jessica Williams, Aasif Mandvi, Lewis Black, John Hodgman, Rob Corddry, Olivia Munn, Josh Gad, Michael Che, and Mo Rocca and cameo video clips from people Stewart had targeted over the years, including Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Chris Christie, John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Bill O'Reilly, Wolf Blitzer, Joe Scarborough, and Mika Brzezinski. During the final episode, there was a pre-taped behind-the-scenes look at the show spoofing the long-take Copacabana scene from Goodfellas, featuring a brief appearance by Martin Scorsese. It concluded with a performance by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Post-Daily Show In November 2015, it was announced that Stewart signed a four-year deal with HBO that would include exclusive digital content for HBO NOW, HBO Go, and other platforms. HBO programming president Casey Bloys has said that "the idea is it will be an animated parody of a cable news network with an Onion-like portal." The team began working with the cloud graphics company, OTOY, to build a system for creating content. Working on the project were Mike Brown, Steve Waltien, Chelsea Devantez, Lucy Steiner, Kate James, and Robby Slowik. The team tested material in Red Bank, New Jersey, at The Count Basie Theatre Performing Arts Academy. The show's premiere was moved several times, from fall 2016, to the first quarter of 2017, and then cancelled on May 23, 2017. The cancelation statement read: After his contract with HBO ended, Stewart signed a multi-year show deal with Apple. On September 30, 2021, Stewart's new series, The Problem with Jon Stewart, premiered on Apple TV+. The series features hour-long, single-subject episodes. In addition to hosting the show, Stewart serves as executive producer through his company, Busboy Productions. In July 2022, a Politico writer named Juleanna Glover wrote an op-ed titled "If Tucker Runs in 2024, Here's Who the Democrats Need." In the op-ed Glover called for Stewart to run for president in 2024. Stewart promptly responded to the viral article with a Tweet, stating "ummm... no thank you." Writing In 1998, Stewart released his first book, Naked Pictures of Famous People, a collection of humorous short stories and essays. The book reached The New York Times Best Seller List. In 2004, Stewart and The Daily Show writing staff released, America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, a mock high-school history textbook offering insights into the unique American system of government, dissecting its institutions, explaining its history and processes, and satirizing such popular American political precepts as, "one man, one vote", "government by the people", and "every vote counts". The book sold millions of copies upon its 2004 release and ended the year as a top-fifteen best seller. In 2005, Stewart provided the voice of President James A. Garfield for the audiobook version of Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation. In 2007, Stewart voiced Mort Sinclaire, former TV comedy writer and communist, on Stephen Colbert's audiobook version of I Am America (And So Can You!). In 2010, Stewart and The Daily Show writing staff released a sequel to their first book entitled, Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race. The book is meant to serve as a Baedeker travel guide for an alien civilization that discovers Earth after humanity has died out, most likely by its own hands. In March 2012, Stewart interviewed Bruce Springsteen for Rolling Stone. Acting Stewart's first film role was a bit part in the box-office bomb, Mixed Nuts. He landed a minor part in The First Wives Club, but his scene was deleted. In 1995, Stewart signed a three-year deal with Miramax. Stewart played romantic leads in the films, Playing by Heart and Wishful Thinking. He had a supporting role in the romantic comedy, Since You've Been Gone and in the horror film, The Faculty. Other films were planned for Stewart to write and star in, but they never were produced. Stewart maintained a relationship with Miramax founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein and appeared in films they produced including, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Doogal, and the documentary, Wordplay. He appeared in Half Baked as an "enhancement smoker" and in Big Daddy as Adam Sandler's roommate; he has joked on the Daily Show and in the documentary The Aristocrats that to get the role, he slept with Sandler. Stewart often makes fun of his appearances in the high-profile flop, Death to Smoochy, in which he played a treacherous television executive; and the animated film Doogal, where he played a blue spring named Zeebad who shot a freeze ray from his mustache. In 2007, Stewart made a cameo appearance as himself in Evan Almighty, which starred former Daily Show correspondent Steve Carell. In the movie, Stewart was seen on a television screen in a fictional Daily Show episode poking fun at Carell's character for building an ark. Stewart had a recurring role in The Larry Sanders Show, playing himself as an occasional substitute and possible successor to late-night talk show host Larry Sanders (played by Garry Shandling). In 1998, Stewart hosted the television special, Elmopalooza, celebrating 30 years of Sesame Street. He has guest-starred on other sitcoms including The Nanny, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, Spin City, NewsRadio, American Dad!, and The Simpsons. He also has made guest appearances on the children's television series Between the Lions, Sesame Street, Jack's Big Music Show, and Gravity Falls. Producing In the mid-1990s, Stewart launched his own production company, Busboy Productions, naming the company in reference to his previous job as a busboy. Stewart signed a deal with Miramax to develop projects through his company, but none of his ideas have been produced. After Stewart's success as host and producer of The Daily Show, he revived Busboy Productions with Daily Show producers Ben Karlin and Rich Korson. In 2002, Busboy planned to produce a sitcom for NBC starring Stephen Colbert, but the show did not come to fruition. In 2005, Comedy Central reached an agreement with Busboy in which Comedy Central would provide financial backing for the production company. Comedy Central has a first-look agreement on all projects, after which Busboy is free to shop them to other networks. The deal spawned the Daily Show spin-off The Colbert Report and its replacement, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. Other projects include the sitcom pilot Three Strikes, the documentary Sportsfan, the series Important Things with Demetri Martin, and the film The Donor. After Stewart's departure from The Daily Show, he was listed as an executive producer on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. In addition, Stewart has presented occasional comedic monologues filled with political and media commentary. In July 2017, HBO announced Stewart would produce a stand-up comedy special for the network, his first stand-up special since 1996. Directing In March 2010, Stewart announced that he had optioned rights to the story of journalist Maziar Bahari, who was imprisoned in Iran for 118 days. On June 6, 2011, episode of The Daily Show, Stewart again hosted Bahari, and in March 2013, he announced that he was leaving the show for 12 weeks to direct the film version of Bahari's 2011 book, Then They Came For Me. Stewart's screenplay adaptation is entitled, Rosewater. It premiered at the September 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, receiving "generally favorable" reviews, and was released to general audiences on November 14, 2014. On directing, Stewart noted on Employee of the Month that The Daily Show influenced his directing process more than his acting gigs did. He said, "It's about the collaboration. It's about understanding. Doing a show taught me this process of clarity of vision, but the flexibility of process. So know your intention, know where you're wanting to go with the scene with the way that you want it to go, the momentum shifts, the emphasis, where you want it to be." He also expressed interest in directing more films. Stewart directed the political satire Irresistible, released in June 2020, which follows a demoralized Democratic strategist (played by Daily Show alumnus Steve Carell), who helps a retired veteran (Chris Cooper) run for mayor in a small, blue collar town in Wisconsin. Hosting and public speaking Stewart has hosted the Grammy Awards twice, in 2001 and in 2002, and the 78th Academy Awards, which were held March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Critical response to Stewart's performance was mixed. Roger Ebert compared him favorably to legendary Oscar host Johnny Carson. Other reviewers were less positive; Tom Shales of The Washington Post said that Stewart hosted with "smug humorlessness". James Poniewozik of TIME said that Stewart was a bad host, but a great "anti-host" in that he poked fun at parts of the broadcast that deserved it, which lent him a degree of authenticity with the non-Hollywood audience. Stewart and correspondent John Oliver later poked fun at his lackluster reception on The Daily Show coverage of the 79th Academy Awards by saying that the "demon of last year's Oscars had finally been exorcised". Stewart returned to host the 80th Academy Awards on February 24, 2008. The reception to his performance was better this time. Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe felt the ceremony was average, but praised Stewart, writing that, "It was good to see Jon Stewart being Jon Stewart. He is shaping up to be a dependable Oscar host for the post-Billy Crystal years. He's not musical, but he's versatile enough to swing smoothly between jokes about politics, Hollywood, new media, and, most importantly, hair." Variety columnist Brian Lowry lauded Stewart's performance noting that he "earned his keep by maintaining a playful, irreverent tone throughout the night, whether it was jesting about Cate Blanchett's versatility or watching Lawrence of Arabia on an iPhone screen. In December 2009, Stewart gave a speech at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts honoring Bruce Springsteen, one of that year's Kennedy Center Honors recipients, and of whom Stewart is a fan. Stewart gave another speech paying tribute to Springsteen in February 2013 as part of the singer's MusiCares Person of the Year award ceremony. Stewart began a comedic feud with WWE wrestler Seth Rollins in March 2015, and appeared on WWE Raw during a Daily Show-styled segment hosted by Rollins. On August 23, 2015, Stewart returned to host the WWE's SummerSlam at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Later, he got involved in the main event between Rollins and John Cena, helping Rollins retain his WWE World Heavyweight Championship, as well as winning Cena's United States Championship when he interfered and hit Cena with a steel chair. The next night on Raw, he explained his actions, saying he did it for Ric Flair (who was also present), which was to retain his world championship record. Cena then gave Stewart his finishing move, the Attitude Adjustment, to end the segment. Stewart returned at SummerSlam on August 21, 2016, as a special guest. In 2016, Stewart joined President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Jill Biden, and David Letterman in honoring military families on May 5 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. The special celebration which marked both the USO's 75th anniversary and the fifth anniversary of Joining Forces. Stewart got into a Twitter argument with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, who in multiple tweets stated that Stewart's changing his name indicated that he was a fraud. Stewart and some analysts considered this to be anti-Semitic. Trump then tweeted that Stewart should be "proud of his heritage", and Stewart tweeted back, facetiously, that Trump's real name was "Fuckface Von Clownstick" and that Trump should be proud of the "Clownstick heritage". In June 2017, Stewart spoke at the funeral service for Ray Pfeifer, an FDNY firefighter from Hicksville, New York, who died after an eight-year battle with cancer as a result of service as a first responder at the September 11 attacks. Criticism of television journalists Stewart is known as an outspoken, humorous critic of personality-driven media shows, in particular, those of the US media broadcast networks such as CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. Critics say Stewart benefits from a double standard: he critiques other news shows from the safe, removed position of his "news satire" desk; Stewart asserts that neither his show nor Comedy Central purport to be anything other than satire and comedy. Crossfire appearance In a televised exchange with then-CNN correspondent Tucker Carlson on Crossfire on October 15, 2004, Stewart criticized the state of television journalism and pleaded with the show's hosts to "stop hurting America", and he referred to both Carlson and co-host Paul Begala as "partisan hacks". When posted on the internet, this exchange became widely viewed and was a topic of much media discussion. Despite being on the program to comment on current events, Stewart immediately shifted the discussion toward the show itself, asserting that Crossfire had failed in its responsibility to inform and educate viewers about politics as a serious topic. Stewart stated that the show engaged in partisan hackery instead of honest debate, and said that the hosts' assertion that Crossfire is a debate show is like "saying pro wrestling is a show about athletic competition". Carlson responded by saying that Stewart criticizes news organizations for not holding public officials accountable, but when he interviewed John Kerry, Stewart asked a series of "softball" questions (Stewart has acknowledged he voted for Kerry in the 2004 presidential election). Stewart responded that he didn't realize "the news organizations look to Comedy Central for their cues on integrity". When Carlson continued to press Stewart on the Kerry issue, Stewart said, "You're on CNN! The show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls! What is wrong with you?" In response to prods from Carlson, "Come on. Be funny." Stewart said, "No, I'm not going to be your monkey." Later in the show when Carlson jibed, "I do think you're more fun on your show", Stewart retorted, "You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show." In response to Stewart's criticisms, Carlson said, "You need to get a job at a journalism school", to which Stewart responded, "You need to go to one!" Stewart discussed the incident on The Daily Show the following Monday: In January 2005, CNN announced that it was canceling Crossfire. When asked about the cancellation, CNN's incoming president, Jonathan Klein, referred to Stewart's appearance on the show: "I think he made a good point about the noise level of these types of shows, which does nothing to illuminate the issues of the day." On March 18, 2009, Carlson wrote a blog entry for The Daily Beast criticizing Stewart for his handling of the CNBC controversy (see below). Carlson discussed the CNN incident and claimed that Stewart remained backstage for at least "an hour" and "continued to lecture our staff", something Carlson described as, "one of the weirdest things I have ever seen". Criticism of CNBC Stewart again became a viral internet phenomenon following a March 4, 2009, The Daily Show sequence. CNBC canceled Rick Santelli's scheduled appearance on The Daily Show that day, so the show ran a short segment showing CNBC giving poor investment advice. Subsequent media coverage of exchanges between Stewart and Jim Cramer, who had been featured heavily in the original segment, led to a highly anticipated face-to-face confrontation on The Daily Show. The episode received much media attention and became the second most-viewed episode of The Daily Show, trailing only the 2009 Inauguration Day episode. It had 2.3 million total viewers, and the next day, the show's website saw its highest day of traffic in 2009. Although Cramer acknowledged on the show that some of Stewart's criticisms of CNBC were valid and that the network could "do better", he later said on The Today Show that Stewart's criticism of the media was "naïve and misleading." Criticism of Fox News Throughout his tenure on The Daily Show, Stewart frequently accused Fox News of distorting the news to fit a conservative agenda, at one point ridiculing the network as "the meanest sorority in the world". In November 2009, Stewart "called out" Fox News for using some footage from a previous Tea Party rally during a report on a more recent rally, making the latter event appear more highly attended than it was. The show's anchor, Sean Hannity, apologized for the footage use the following night. A month later, Stewart criticized Fox & Friends cohost Gretchen Carlson – a former Miss America and a Stanford graduate – for claiming that she googled words such as "ignoramus" and "czar". Stewart said that Carlson was dumbing herself down for "an audience who sees intellect as an elitist flaw". Stewart stepped up his criticism of Fox News in 2010; within five months, The Daily Show had 24 segments criticizing the Fox News coverage. Bill O'Reilly, host of the talk show The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News, countered that The Daily Show was a "key component of left-wing television" and that Stewart loved Fox News because the network was "not boring". During an interview with Chris Wallace on June 19, 2011, Stewart called Wallace "insane" for saying that Stewart's earlier comparison of the marketing techniques of a Sarah Palin campaign video and an anti-herpes medicine ad was a political comment. Stewart also said Fox viewers are the "most consistently misinformed" viewers of political media. This comment was ranked by the fact-checking site, PolitiFact, as false, with conditions. Stewart later accepted his error. In 2014, Stewart engaged in an extended "call-out" of Fox News, based on their coverage of food stamps and US government assistance, opining that said coverage was biased. This culminated in segments across multiple episodes, specifically singling out Sean Hannity and his show's coverage of the Bundy standoff. Hannity would "return fire" by calling out Stewart for associating himself with Cat Stevens during his Rally in 2010. Stewart responded to this by criticizing Hannity for frequently calling Ted Nugent a "friend and frequent guest" on his program and supporting Nugent's violent rhetoric toward Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2007. In late August 2014, Stewart criticized the manner in which Fox News portrayed the events surrounding the shooting of teenager Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, and the subsequent protests from citizens. Veterans and first responders advocacy 9/11 First Responders Bill Over the years, Stewart sometimes used The Daily Show to argue for causes such as the treatment of veterans and 9/11 first responders. He is credited with breaking a Senate deadlock over a bill to provide health care and benefits for 9/11 emergency workers; the bill passed three days after he featured a group of 9/11 responders on the show. In March 2009, he criticized a White House proposal to remove veterans from Veterans Administration rolls if they had private health insurance; the White House dropped the plan the next day. In 2010, Stewart held an interview with a panel of four of the 9/11 first responders -- Kenny Specht with the FDNY, Chris Bowman NYPD, Ken George DOT, and Kevin Devlin, Operating Engineer of Heavy Equipment -- who discussed their health problems with Stewart. In 2015, four months after leaving The Daily Show, he returned to reunite the four with Specht as the only panelist healthy enough to attend. Devlin had died and the two other panelists, Bowman and George, were too ill to make it to the show. In February and June 2019, Stewart again went to Congress to oppose the $7.375 billion limit in pay-outs to 9/11 first responders through December 2020 and to lobby for permanent funding for the Victims Compensation Fund past December 2020, delivering a tearful testimony. Stewart continued to be a vocal advocate, appearing on late night shows such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and news programs such as Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, and The Fox Report with Shepherd Smith. On July 12, 2019, the House approved the bill overwhelmingly 402–12. The bill came to the Senate floor where it passed the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund through 2092, virtually funding health care for 9/11 victims and first responders for life. The vote was 97–2 with Republican senators Rand Paul (KY) and Mike Lee (UT) opposing. When hearing that the bill had been passed, Stewart responded by saying, "It has been the honor of my life working with the 9/11 first responders...these families deserve better...and I will follow you wherever your next adventure shall be". Honoring our PACT Act On September 30, 2021, Stewart debuted his Apple TV+ show, The Problem with Jon Stewart by discussing the effects burn pits have had on veterans. Earlier in 2021, the bill Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2021 (PACT Act) was introduced. The House of Representatives passed the bill by 256–174 on March 3, 2022, and passed the Senate by 84–14 on June 16, 2022. The bill was reintroduced to the Senate for minor changes which Republican senators including Pat Toomey, Ted Cruz, and Josh Hawley voted against, putting the bill in jeopardy. Their opposition was the unfounded claim that the bill could be used as a slush fund. Stewart became a prominent advocate for the bill in person, on Twitter and on various cable news shows including Fox News' America's Newsroom with Bill Hemmer, CNN's The Lead with Jake Tapper, MSNBC's Morning Joe, and Newsmax. On July 28, 2022, Stewart held a press conference on Capitol Hill where he stated: On August 2, 2022, the PACT Act passed in bipartisan measure, 84 to 11. Stewart was praised for lending his voice, and celebrity to the issue and is credited as being an essential actor in getting the bill passed. Stewart stated after the bill's passing, that while it "feels good", it "shouldn't have been this hard". On August 10, the act was signed by President Joe Biden at a ceremony in the White House, where he praised Stewart for his commitment on this issue saying in part, "What you've done Jon, matters...It really, really matters. To refuse to let anybody forget, refuse to let them forget. And we owe you, big man. We owe you big." Writers Guild of America strike of 2007–2008 Stewart was an important factor in the unionization of the Comedy Central writers. The Daily Show writers were the first of Comedy Central's writers to be able to join the guild, after which other shows followed. Stewart supported the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike. On The Daily Show episode just before the strike, he sarcastically commented about how Comedy Central had made available all episodes for free on their website, but without advertising, and said, "go support our advertisers". The show went on hiatus when the strike began, as did other late-night talk shows. Upon Stewart's return to the show on January 7, 2008, he refused to use the title, The Daily Show, stating that The Daily Show was the show made with all of the people responsible for the broadcast, including his writers. During the strike, he referred to his show as A Daily Show with Jon Stewart until the strike ended on February 13, 2008. Stewart's choice to return to the air did bring criticism that he was undermining the writers of his show. Seth MacFarlane wrote an inside joke into an episode of Family Guy about this, causing Stewart to respond with an hour-long call in which he questioned how MacFarlane could consider himself the "moral arbiter" of Hollywood. Former Daily Show writer David Feldman also accused Stewart of being anti-union at the time and of punishing his writers for their decision to unionize by not using their material. The Writers Guild Strike of 2007–2008 also was responsible for a notable mock feud between Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Conan O'Brien in early 2008. Without writers to help fuel their banter, the three comedians concocted a crossover/rivalry to garner more viewers during the ratings slump. Colbert claimed that because of "the Colbert bump", he was responsible for Mike Huckabee's success in the 2008 presidential race. O'Brien claimed that he was responsible for Huckabee's success because not only had he mentioned Huckabee on his show, but also that he was responsible for Chuck Norris's success (Norris backed Huckabee). In response, Stewart claimed that he was responsible for the success of O'Brien since Stewart had featured him on The Jon Stewart Show, and in turn, the success of Huckabee. This resulted in a three-part comedic battle between the three pundits, with all three appearing on each other's shows. The feud ended on Late Night with Conan O'Brien with a mock brawl involving the three hosts. Influences Stewart has said his influences include George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, David Letterman, Steve Martin, and Richard Pryor. Among comedians who say they were influenced by Stewart are Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Hasan Minhaj, Samantha Bee, Larry Wilmore, Bassem Youssef, Trevor Noah, and Jordan Klepper. Personal life Stewart is irreligious, but of Jewish heritage. While making the 1997 film, Wishful Thinking, a production assistant on the film arranged for a blind date between Stewart and Tracey Lynn McShane. They dated for four years. Stewart proposed to her through a personalized crossword puzzle created with the help of Will Shortz, the crossword editor at The New York Times. They married in 2000. On June 19, 2001, Stewart and his wife filed a joint name change application and legally changed both of their surnames to "Stewart". With the help of in vitro fertilization, the couple has two children. In 2015, he adopted a vegetarian diet for ethical reasons; his wife is a long-time vegan. Later, he became vegan as well. In 2013, Stewart and his wife bought a farm in Middletown, New Jersey, called "Bufflehead Farm". The Stewarts operate it as a sanctuary for abused animals. Four years later, they received approval to open a 45-acre (18 ha) animal sanctuary in Colts Neck, New Jersey, a home to animals saved from slaughterhouses and live markets. Political views In 2000, when he was labeled a Democrat, Stewart generally agreed, but described his political affiliation as "more socialist or independent" than Democratic. Stewart has also voted for Republicans, the last time being in the 1988 presidential election when he voted for George H. W. Bush over Michael Dukakis. He described Bush as having "an integrity about him that I respected greatly". He has been a vocal proponent of single-payer health care system. Stewart has spoken against Israel's mistreatment of Palestinians. Honors and awards Stewart and other members of The Daily Show have received three Peabody Awards for "Indecision 2000" and "Indecision 2004", covering the 2000 presidential election and the 2004 presidential election, respectively. He received his third Peabody in 2016 for his tenure at The Daily Show. The Daily Show received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2015 and Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series for 10 consecutive years from 2003 to 2012. In 2013, the award for both categories instead went to The Daily Show spin-off The Colbert Report. In 2015, The Daily Show resurfaced, winning both categories for one last time for Stewart's swan song as host. Stewart won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album in 2005 for his recording, America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction. In the December 2003 New Year's edition of Newsweek, Stewart was named the "Who's Next?" person for 2004, with the magazine predicting that he would emerge as an absolute sensation in that year. (The magazine said they had been correct at the end of that year.) Stewart was named among the 2005 Time 100, an annual list of 100 of the most influential people of the year by Time magazine. In 2004, Stewart spoke at the commencement ceremonies at his alma mater, William and Mary, and received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree. Stewart was the Class Day keynote speaker at Princeton University in 2004, and the 2008 Sacerdote Great Names speaker at Hamilton College. Stewart and The Daily Show received the 2005 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language. Stewart was presented an Honorary All-America Award by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) in 2006. On April 21, 2009, President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made Stewart a chief. On October 26, 2010, Stewart was named the Most Influential Man of 2010 by AskMen. For his advocacy on behalf of 9/11 victims and families, Stewart was one of eighteen individuals and organizations awarded the Bronze Medallion on December 16, 2019. The Bronze Medallion is the highest award conferred upon civilians by New York City. On April 24, 2022, Stewart was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC for his lifelong contribution to the world of comedy. In December 2022, Stewart was named a Money Changemaker by Money.com. Filmography Film Television Bibliography Naked Pictures of Famous People (Rob Weisbach Books, 1998). . America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Warner Books, September 2004). . Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race (Grand Central Publishing, 2010). . See also New Yorkers in journalism Political satire References Further reading David Marchese, "Jon Stewart Is Back to Weigh In", The New York Times Magazine, June 15, 2020. Lisa Rogak, Angry Optimist: The Life and Times of Jon Stewart. New York: Saint Martin's Griffin, 2014. . Bruce Watson, Jon Stewart: Beyond the Moments of Zen. New Word City, 2014. 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Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart was born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz on November 28, 1962, in New York City, to Marian (nee Laskin), a teacher and later educational consultant, and Donald Leibowitz, a professor of physics at The College of New Jersey and Thomas Edison State College. Stewart's family are Litvak Jews who emigrated to America from Poland, Ukraine and Belarus. One of his grandfathers was born in Manzhouli (now part of Inner Mongolia). He is the second of four sons, with older brother Lawrence and younger brothers Dan and Matthew.

Writers Guild of America strike of 2007-2008

Stewart was an important factor in the unionization of the Comedy Central writers. The Daily Show writers were the first of Comedy Central's writers to be able to join the guild, after which other shows followed. Stewart supported the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike. On The Daily Show episode just before the strike, he sarcastically commented about how Comedy Central had made available all episodes for free on their website, but without advertising, and said, "go support our advertisers". The show went on hiatus when the strike began, as did other late night talk shows. Upon Stewart's return to the show on January 7, 2008, he refused to use the title The Daily Show, stating that The Daily Show was the show made with all of the people responsible for the broadcast, including his writers. During the strike, he referred to his show as A Daily Show with Jon Stewart until the strike ended on February 13, 2008. Stewart's choice to return to the air did bring criticism that he was undermining the writers of his show. Seth MacFarlane wrote an inside joke into an episode of Family Guy about this, causing Stewart to respond with an hour-long call in which he questioned how MacFarlane could consider himself the "moral arbiter" of Hollywood. Other former writers of The Daily Show such as David Feldman have also indicated that Stewart was anti-union at the time and punished his writers for their decision to unionize. The Writers Guild Strike of 2007-08 was also responsible for a notable mock feud between Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Conan O'Brien in early 2008. Without writers to help fuel their banter, the three comedians concocted a crossover/rivalry in order to garner more viewers during the ratings slump. Colbert made the claim that because of "the Colbert bump", he was responsible for Mike Huckabee's success in the 2008 presidential race. O'Brien claimed that he was responsible for Huckabee's success because not only had he mentioned Huckabee on his show, but also that he was responsible for Chuck Norris's success (Norris backed Huckabee). In response, Stewart claimed that he was responsible for the success of O'Brien, since Stewart had featured him on The Jon Stewart Show, and in turn the success of Huckabee. This resulted in a three-part comedic battle between the three pundits, with all three appearing on each other's shows. The feud ended on Late Night with Conan O'Brien with a mock brawl involving the three hosts. CANNOTANSWER

Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, actor, director and television host. He hosted The Daily Show, a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts The Problem with Jon Stewart (2021–present) on Apple TV+. He's received numerous accolades including 22 Primetime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2022. He is also known for his extensive work as an advocate for veterans health benefits. Stewart started as a stand-up comedian but branched into television as host of Short Attention Span Theater for Comedy Central. He went on to host You Wrote It, You Watch It (1992–1993) and then The Jon Stewart Show (1993–1995), both on MTV, until The Jon Stewart Show was retooled, dropped by the network and moved to syndication. He has also appeared in several films, including Big Daddy (1999) and Death to Smoochy (2002). Stewart became host of The Daily Show in 1999, where he also was a writer and co-executive producer. Since joining, The Daily Show steadily gained popularity and critical acclaim, and during his tenure, won numerous Emmy Awards and was nominated for news and journalism awards. Stewart hosted the 78th and 80th Academy Awards. He is the co-author of the best-selling satirical books America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction in 2004, and Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race in 2010. He executive produced The Colbert Report (2005–2014), The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore (2015–2016), and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015–present). Since leaving The Daily Show, Stewart has maintained a low profile in entertainment industry circles, but has used his celebrity and voice in a sustained advocacy for 9/11 first responders and war veterans' health benefits. In 2019, he received the New York City Bronze Medallion for his "tireless advocacy, inspiration, and leadership (helping to) pass the permanent authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act". He continued using his platform as an advocate for veterans by being instrumental in helping pass the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, which expands healthcare access and funding to veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service including burn pits. Early life and education Stewart was born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz at Doctors Hospital in New York City's Upper East Side to Marian (née Laskin), a teacher and later educational consultant, and Donald Leibowitz (1931–2013), an energy coordinator for the New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Stewart's family members are Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants to America from Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. One of his grandfathers was born in Manzhouli (now part of China). He is the second of four sons, with older brother Lawrence, and younger brothers Dan and Matthew. Stewart's parents divorced when he was eleven years old, and Stewart was largely estranged from his father. Because of his strained relationship with his father, which in 2015 he described as "still 'complicated'", he dropped his surname and began using his middle name. Stewart stated, "There was a thought of using my mother's maiden name, but I thought that would be just too big a fuck you to my dad.... Did I have some problems with my father? Yes. Yet people always view [changing my surname] through the prism of ethnic identity." He had his surname changed legally to Stewart in 2001. Stewart and his brother Lawrence, who was previously the chief operating officer of NYSE Euronext (parent company of the New York Stock Exchange), grew up in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where they attended Lawrence High School. According to Stewart, he was subjected to antisemitic bullying as a child. He describes himself in high school as "very into Eugene Debs and a bit of a leftist." Stewart grew up in the era of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, which inspired in him "a healthy skepticism towards official reports". His first job was working with his brother at a Woolworth's store, and jokingly says being fired by Lawrence was one of the "scarring events" of his youth. He has also credited legendary television producer Norman Lear as someone who "raised me." Stewart graduated in 1984 from The College of William & Mary where he initially majored in chemistry before switching to psychology. While at William & Mary, Stewart became a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, but eventually began disassociating himself from them, leaving the fraternity altogether after six months. "My college career was waking up late, memorizing someone else's notes, doing bong hits, and going to soccer practice", he later said. He was a three-year starter in 1981, 1982 and 1983 with the Tribe men's soccer team. He had 10 goals and 12 assists on a squad that went 40–15–9 (.695) in his three seasons with the program. He is listed as Jon Leibowitz in official William & Mary Athletics records. The former head coach of the Tribe men's soccer team from 1971 to 2003, Al Albert, describes Jon as "athletic and feisty and quick" and added that he "wasn't the most technical or clinical player, but he could make things happen." After college, Stewart held numerous jobs: a contingency planner for the New Jersey Department of Human Services, a contract administrator for the City University of New York, a puppeteer for children with disabilities, a soccer coach at Gloucester High School in Virginia, a caterer, a busboy, a shelf stocker at Woolworth's, a bartender at the Franklin Corner Tavern (a local blue-collar bar), and a bartender at the City Gardens in Trenton, New Jersey. He has said that working at City Gardens was a pivotal moment for him: "finding this place City Gardens was like, 'Oh, maybe I'm not a giant weirdo. Maybe there are other people who have a similar sense of yearning for something other than what they have now.' I think it inspired a lot of people, man. It was a very creative environment. It was a place of great possibility." Career Early work With a reputation for being a funny man in school, Stewart returned to New York City in 1986 to try his hand at the comedy club circuit, but could not muster the courage to get on stage until the following year. He made his stand-up debut at The Bitter End, where one of his comedic idols, Woody Allen, also began. He began using the stage name Jon Stewart by dropping his last name and changing the spelling of his middle name, Stuart, to Stewart. He often jokes that it was because people had trouble pronouncing Leibowitz, or it "sounded too Hollywood" (a reference to Lenny Bruce's joke on the same theme). He has implied that the name change was due to a strained relationship with his father, with whom Stewart no longer had any contact. Stewart became a regular at the Comedy Cellar, where he was the last performer every night. For two years he performed at 2 a.m. while developing his comedy style. In 1989, he landed his first television job as a writer for Caroline's Comedy Hour. In 1990, he began co-hosting Comedy Central's Short Attention Span Theater with Patty Rosborough. In 1992, he hosted the short-lived You Wrote It, You Watch It on MTV, which invited viewers to send in their stories to be acted out by the comedy troupe, The State. Stewart said that his career did not take off until his March 6, 1992, appearance on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman. He was considered to take over the show when Letterman left it, but it was given to relatively unknown Conan O'Brien. He co-hosted MTV Spring Break '93 Blind Date from Daytona Beach with Melissa Rivers. The Jon Stewart Show Later in 1993, Stewart developed The Jon Stewart Show, a talk show on MTV, which was later dropped by the network and was syndicated for its last two years. The Jon Stewart Show was the first talk show on that network and was an instant hit, becoming the second-highest rated MTV show, behind Beavis and Butt-Head. In 1994, Paramount canceled The Arsenio Hall Show and, with new corporate sibling MTV (through MTV parent Viacom's acquisition of the studio), launched an hour-long syndicated late-night version of The Jon Stewart Show. Many local affiliates had moved Hall's show to 2 a.m. during its decline and Stewart's show inherited such early morning time slots in many cities. Ratings were dismal and the show was canceled in June 1995. Among the fans of the show was David Letterman, who was the final guest of The Jon Stewart Show. Letterman signed Stewart with his production company, Worldwide Pants. Stewart then became a frequent guest host for Tom Snyder on The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder, which was produced by Letterman and aired after the Late Show on CBS. This led to much speculation that Stewart would soon replace Snyder permanently, but instead, Stewart was offered the time slot after Snyder's, which he turned down. In 1996 Stewart hosted a short-lived talk show entitled, Where's Elvis This Week?, that was a half-hour, weekly comedy television program. It aired on Sunday nights in the United Kingdom on BBC Two. It was filmed at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City and featured a set of panelists, two from the UK and two from the United States, who discussed news items and cultural issues. The show premiered in the UK on October 6, 1996; five episodes aired in total. Notable panelists included Dave Chappelle, Eddie Izzard, Phill Jupitus, Nora Ephron, Craig Kilborn, Christopher Hitchens, Armando Iannucci, Norm Macdonald, and Helen Gurley Brown. In 1997, Stewart was chosen as the host and interviewer for George Carlin's tenth HBO special, George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy. The Daily Show In 1998, when Craig Kilborn left the show to replace Tom Snyder on The Late Late Show, Stewart began hosting The Daily Show on Comedy Central. The Daily Show blends humor with the day's top news stories, usually in politics, while simultaneously poking fun at politicians, newsmakers, and the news media. In an interview on The O'Reilly Factor, Stewart denied the show has any intentional political agenda, saying the goal was "schnicks and giggles" and that "[t]he same weakness that drove me into comedy also informs my show", meaning that he was uncomfortable talking without hearing the audience laugh. In his first Daily Show on-air appearance on January 11, 1999, Stewart told his guest that evening, Michael J. Fox, that he felt as if "this is my bar mitzvah". His style was described by one critic as, "Stewart does not offer us cynicism for its own sake, but as a playful way to offer the kinds of insights that are not permitted in more serious news formats that slavishly cling to official account of events." Until Trevor Noah permanently took over the show in 2015, Stewart hosted almost all airings of the program, except for a few occasions when correspondents such as Stephen Colbert, Rob Corddry, Jason Jones, and Steve Carell subbed for him, and during John Oliver's stint as host during the summer of 2013. Stewart won twenty Primetime Emmy Awards for The Daily Show as either a writer or producer, and two for producing The Colbert Report (2013–14), earning a total of twenty-two Primetime Emmy Awards, the most wins for a male individual. In 2005, Stewart and The Daily Show received the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for the audiobook edition of America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction. In 2000 and 2004, the show won two Peabody Awards for its coverage of the US presidential elections in those years, called "Indecision 2000" and "Indecision 2004", respectively. The show of September 20, 2001, the first show after the attacks of September 11, 2001, began with no introduction. Before this, the introduction included footage of a fly-in toward the World Trade Center and New York City. The first nine minutes of the show included a tearful Stewart discussing his personal view on the event. His remarks ended as follows: In mid-2002, amid rumors that David Letterman was going to switch from CBS to ABC when his contract ran out, Stewart was rumored as Letterman's replacement on CBS. Ultimately, Letterman renewed his contract with CBS. In late 2002, ABC offered Stewart his own talk show to air right after Nightline. Stewart's contract with The Daily Show was near expiring, and he expressed strong interest. ABC, however, decided to give another Comedy Central figure, Jimmy Kimmel, the post-Nightline slot. On April 4, 2006, Stewart confronted US Senator John McCain (R-AZ) on The Daily Show about his decision to appear at Liberty University, an institution founded by Jerry Falwell whom McCain previously had denounced as one of the "agents of intolerance". In the interchange, Stewart asked McCain, "You're not freaking out on us? Are you freaking out on us, because if you're freaking out ... and you're going into the crazy base world—are you going into crazy base world?" McCain replied, "Just– just– just a little" and "I'm afraid so." The clip was played on CNN, was noted and discussed in more detail in the blogosphere and was followed up on in the mainstream media. In 2007, The Daily Show was involved in former correspondent Stephen Colbert's announcement that he would run for president in 2008. In 2008, Stewart appeared on the news program Democracy Now!. A 2008 New York Times story questioned whether he was, in a phrase originally used to describe longtime network news anchor Walter Cronkite, "the most trusted man in America". On April 28, 2009, during a discussion on torture with Clifford May, Stewart expressed his opinion that former President Harry S. Truman was a war criminal for his use of the atomic bomb on Japan during World War II. He defended his assertion moments later: "Here's what I think of the atom bombs. I think if you dropped an atom bomb fifteen miles offshore and you said, 'The next one's coming and hitting you', then I would think it's okay. To drop it on a city, and kill a hundred thousand people? Yeah. I think that's criminal." On April 30, Stewart apologized on his program, and stated he did not believe Truman was a war criminal: "I shouldn't have said that, and I did. So I say right now, no, I don't believe that to be the case. The atomic bomb, a very complicated decision in the context of a horrific war, and I walk that back because it was in my estimation a stupid thing to say." In April 2010, Comedy Central renewed Stewart's contract to host The Daily Show into 2013. According to a Forbes list of celebrities in 2008, he was earning $14 million a year. On September 16, 2010, Stewart and Stephen Colbert announced a rally for October 30, known as the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. It took place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and attracted an estimated 215,000 participants. In December 2010, Stewart was credited by the White House, other media, and political news outlets for bringing awareness of the Republican filibuster on the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act to the public, leading to the ultimate passing of the bill that provides health benefits to first responders whose health has been adversely affected by their work at Ground Zero. On the show of January 10, 2011, Stewart began with a monologue about the shootings in Tucson, Arizona. He said he wished the "ramblings of crazy people didn't in any way resemble how we actually talk to each other on television". Before a commercial break, Stewart told viewers that the show would continue as usual the next night. After the commercial break, the show featured a rerun of a field piece done by Jason Jones two years earlier. The New York Times opined that Stewart is "the modern-day equivalent of Edward R. Murrow" and the UK national newspaper The Independent called him the "satirist-in-chief". In an interview, Senator John McCain described Stewart as "a modern-day Will Rogers and Mark Twain". Writer Wyatt Cenac said that Stewart cursed him out after Cenac acknowledged he was uncomfortable about a June 2011 Daily Show bit about Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain (reported in July 2015). In March 2013, it was announced that Stewart would be taking a 12-week hiatus from The Daily Show to direct the film Rosewater, which is based on the book Then They Came for Me by Maziar Bahari. Beginning June 10, 2013, The Daily Show correspondent John Oliver assumed primary hosting duties during Stewart's break. The TV Guide annual survey for 2013 star salaries showed that Stewart was the highest-paid late night host, making an estimated $25–30 million per year. On July 14, 2014, Stewart interviewed Hillary Clinton about the Middle East. Clinton's condemnations of Hamas led Stewart to ask her: "But don't you think they would look at that though as, they've given a lot of different things a chance and these are the only guys to them that are giving any resistance to what their condition is?" For Gazans living in that situation, he said Hamas could be viewed as "freedom fighters". Leaving The Daily Show During a taping of the show on February 10, 2015, Stewart announced he was leaving The Daily Show. Comedy Central president Michele Ganeless confirmed Stewart's retirement with a statement. Later, it was announced that South African comedian Trevor Noah would succeed Stewart as the host of the show. On April 20, 2015, Stewart indicated that his final show would be on August 6, 2015. On July 28, 2015, Darren Samuelsohn of Politico reported that twice, Stewart had been at the White House for previously unreported meetings with President Obama: once in October 2011 and once in February 2014. Michael D. Shear of The New York Times also picked up on the story. Stewart responded on his show by pointing out that the meetings were listed in the president's publicly available visitor log and that he has been asked to meet privately by many prominent individuals, including Roger Ailes of Fox News. He said Obama encouraged him not to make young Americans cynical about their government and Stewart said that his reply was that he was "skeptically idealistic". On June 19, 2015, in the wake of the Charleston Church Shooting, Stewart decided not to write jokes for the opening monologue. Elaborating on his decision, Stewart stated, "I honestly have nothing other than just sadness". Stewart spoke about the racial disparity and injustices in America, saying "The Confederate flag flies over South Carolina ... and the roads are named for Confederate generals" describing it as "racial wallpaper". Instead he designated a large portion of the show to his guest that night Malala Yousafzai, calling her "an incredible inspiration," and that "to be quite honest with you, I don't think there's anyone else in the world I would rather talk to tonight than Malala: So that's what we're going to do. And sorry about no jokes." On August 5, 2015, Stewart's friend of 30 years, comedian Louis C.K., was selected to be the last guest before the final Daily Show episode with Stewart helming the show. C.K. joked that he was there "representing comedy to say good job". The hour-long-plus final Daily Show on August 6 featured reunions with former correspondents Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, John Oliver, Samantha Bee, Hasan Minhaj, Ed Helms, Kristen Schaal, Larry Wilmore, Jessica Williams, Aasif Mandvi, Lewis Black, John Hodgman, Rob Corddry, Olivia Munn, Josh Gad, Michael Che, and Mo Rocca and cameo video clips from people Stewart had targeted over the years, including Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Chris Christie, John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Bill O'Reilly, Wolf Blitzer, Joe Scarborough, and Mika Brzezinski. During the final episode, there was a pre-taped behind-the-scenes look at the show spoofing the long-take Copacabana scene from Goodfellas, featuring a brief appearance by Martin Scorsese. It concluded with a performance by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Post-Daily Show In November 2015, it was announced that Stewart signed a four-year deal with HBO that would include exclusive digital content for HBO NOW, HBO Go, and other platforms. HBO programming president Casey Bloys has said that "the idea is it will be an animated parody of a cable news network with an Onion-like portal." The team began working with the cloud graphics company, OTOY, to build a system for creating content. Working on the project were Mike Brown, Steve Waltien, Chelsea Devantez, Lucy Steiner, Kate James, and Robby Slowik. The team tested material in Red Bank, New Jersey, at The Count Basie Theatre Performing Arts Academy. The show's premiere was moved several times, from fall 2016, to the first quarter of 2017, and then cancelled on May 23, 2017. The cancelation statement read: After his contract with HBO ended, Stewart signed a multi-year show deal with Apple. On September 30, 2021, Stewart's new series, The Problem with Jon Stewart, premiered on Apple TV+. The series features hour-long, single-subject episodes. In addition to hosting the show, Stewart serves as executive producer through his company, Busboy Productions. In July 2022, a Politico writer named Juleanna Glover wrote an op-ed titled "If Tucker Runs in 2024, Here's Who the Democrats Need." In the op-ed Glover called for Stewart to run for president in 2024. Stewart promptly responded to the viral article with a Tweet, stating "ummm... no thank you." Writing In 1998, Stewart released his first book, Naked Pictures of Famous People, a collection of humorous short stories and essays. The book reached The New York Times Best Seller List. In 2004, Stewart and The Daily Show writing staff released, America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, a mock high-school history textbook offering insights into the unique American system of government, dissecting its institutions, explaining its history and processes, and satirizing such popular American political precepts as, "one man, one vote", "government by the people", and "every vote counts". The book sold millions of copies upon its 2004 release and ended the year as a top-fifteen best seller. In 2005, Stewart provided the voice of President James A. Garfield for the audiobook version of Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation. In 2007, Stewart voiced Mort Sinclaire, former TV comedy writer and communist, on Stephen Colbert's audiobook version of I Am America (And So Can You!). In 2010, Stewart and The Daily Show writing staff released a sequel to their first book entitled, Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race. The book is meant to serve as a Baedeker travel guide for an alien civilization that discovers Earth after humanity has died out, most likely by its own hands. In March 2012, Stewart interviewed Bruce Springsteen for Rolling Stone. Acting Stewart's first film role was a bit part in the box-office bomb, Mixed Nuts. He landed a minor part in The First Wives Club, but his scene was deleted. In 1995, Stewart signed a three-year deal with Miramax. Stewart played romantic leads in the films, Playing by Heart and Wishful Thinking. He had a supporting role in the romantic comedy, Since You've Been Gone and in the horror film, The Faculty. Other films were planned for Stewart to write and star in, but they never were produced. Stewart maintained a relationship with Miramax founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein and appeared in films they produced including, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Doogal, and the documentary, Wordplay. He appeared in Half Baked as an "enhancement smoker" and in Big Daddy as Adam Sandler's roommate; he has joked on the Daily Show and in the documentary The Aristocrats that to get the role, he slept with Sandler. Stewart often makes fun of his appearances in the high-profile flop, Death to Smoochy, in which he played a treacherous television executive; and the animated film Doogal, where he played a blue spring named Zeebad who shot a freeze ray from his mustache. In 2007, Stewart made a cameo appearance as himself in Evan Almighty, which starred former Daily Show correspondent Steve Carell. In the movie, Stewart was seen on a television screen in a fictional Daily Show episode poking fun at Carell's character for building an ark. Stewart had a recurring role in The Larry Sanders Show, playing himself as an occasional substitute and possible successor to late-night talk show host Larry Sanders (played by Garry Shandling). In 1998, Stewart hosted the television special, Elmopalooza, celebrating 30 years of Sesame Street. He has guest-starred on other sitcoms including The Nanny, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, Spin City, NewsRadio, American Dad!, and The Simpsons. He also has made guest appearances on the children's television series Between the Lions, Sesame Street, Jack's Big Music Show, and Gravity Falls. Producing In the mid-1990s, Stewart launched his own production company, Busboy Productions, naming the company in reference to his previous job as a busboy. Stewart signed a deal with Miramax to develop projects through his company, but none of his ideas have been produced. After Stewart's success as host and producer of The Daily Show, he revived Busboy Productions with Daily Show producers Ben Karlin and Rich Korson. In 2002, Busboy planned to produce a sitcom for NBC starring Stephen Colbert, but the show did not come to fruition. In 2005, Comedy Central reached an agreement with Busboy in which Comedy Central would provide financial backing for the production company. Comedy Central has a first-look agreement on all projects, after which Busboy is free to shop them to other networks. The deal spawned the Daily Show spin-off The Colbert Report and its replacement, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. Other projects include the sitcom pilot Three Strikes, the documentary Sportsfan, the series Important Things with Demetri Martin, and the film The Donor. After Stewart's departure from The Daily Show, he was listed as an executive producer on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. In addition, Stewart has presented occasional comedic monologues filled with political and media commentary. In July 2017, HBO announced Stewart would produce a stand-up comedy special for the network, his first stand-up special since 1996. Directing In March 2010, Stewart announced that he had optioned rights to the story of journalist Maziar Bahari, who was imprisoned in Iran for 118 days. On June 6, 2011, episode of The Daily Show, Stewart again hosted Bahari, and in March 2013, he announced that he was leaving the show for 12 weeks to direct the film version of Bahari's 2011 book, Then They Came For Me. Stewart's screenplay adaptation is entitled, Rosewater. It premiered at the September 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, receiving "generally favorable" reviews, and was released to general audiences on November 14, 2014. On directing, Stewart noted on Employee of the Month that The Daily Show influenced his directing process more than his acting gigs did. He said, "It's about the collaboration. It's about understanding. Doing a show taught me this process of clarity of vision, but the flexibility of process. So know your intention, know where you're wanting to go with the scene with the way that you want it to go, the momentum shifts, the emphasis, where you want it to be." He also expressed interest in directing more films. Stewart directed the political satire Irresistible, released in June 2020, which follows a demoralized Democratic strategist (played by Daily Show alumnus Steve Carell), who helps a retired veteran (Chris Cooper) run for mayor in a small, blue collar town in Wisconsin. Hosting and public speaking Stewart has hosted the Grammy Awards twice, in 2001 and in 2002, and the 78th Academy Awards, which were held March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Critical response to Stewart's performance was mixed. Roger Ebert compared him favorably to legendary Oscar host Johnny Carson. Other reviewers were less positive; Tom Shales of The Washington Post said that Stewart hosted with "smug humorlessness". James Poniewozik of TIME said that Stewart was a bad host, but a great "anti-host" in that he poked fun at parts of the broadcast that deserved it, which lent him a degree of authenticity with the non-Hollywood audience. Stewart and correspondent John Oliver later poked fun at his lackluster reception on The Daily Show coverage of the 79th Academy Awards by saying that the "demon of last year's Oscars had finally been exorcised". Stewart returned to host the 80th Academy Awards on February 24, 2008. The reception to his performance was better this time. Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe felt the ceremony was average, but praised Stewart, writing that, "It was good to see Jon Stewart being Jon Stewart. He is shaping up to be a dependable Oscar host for the post-Billy Crystal years. He's not musical, but he's versatile enough to swing smoothly between jokes about politics, Hollywood, new media, and, most importantly, hair." Variety columnist Brian Lowry lauded Stewart's performance noting that he "earned his keep by maintaining a playful, irreverent tone throughout the night, whether it was jesting about Cate Blanchett's versatility or watching Lawrence of Arabia on an iPhone screen. In December 2009, Stewart gave a speech at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts honoring Bruce Springsteen, one of that year's Kennedy Center Honors recipients, and of whom Stewart is a fan. Stewart gave another speech paying tribute to Springsteen in February 2013 as part of the singer's MusiCares Person of the Year award ceremony. Stewart began a comedic feud with WWE wrestler Seth Rollins in March 2015, and appeared on WWE Raw during a Daily Show-styled segment hosted by Rollins. On August 23, 2015, Stewart returned to host the WWE's SummerSlam at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Later, he got involved in the main event between Rollins and John Cena, helping Rollins retain his WWE World Heavyweight Championship, as well as winning Cena's United States Championship when he interfered and hit Cena with a steel chair. The next night on Raw, he explained his actions, saying he did it for Ric Flair (who was also present), which was to retain his world championship record. Cena then gave Stewart his finishing move, the Attitude Adjustment, to end the segment. Stewart returned at SummerSlam on August 21, 2016, as a special guest. In 2016, Stewart joined President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Jill Biden, and David Letterman in honoring military families on May 5 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. The special celebration which marked both the USO's 75th anniversary and the fifth anniversary of Joining Forces. Stewart got into a Twitter argument with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, who in multiple tweets stated that Stewart's changing his name indicated that he was a fraud. Stewart and some analysts considered this to be anti-Semitic. Trump then tweeted that Stewart should be "proud of his heritage", and Stewart tweeted back, facetiously, that Trump's real name was "Fuckface Von Clownstick" and that Trump should be proud of the "Clownstick heritage". In June 2017, Stewart spoke at the funeral service for Ray Pfeifer, an FDNY firefighter from Hicksville, New York, who died after an eight-year battle with cancer as a result of service as a first responder at the September 11 attacks. Criticism of television journalists Stewart is known as an outspoken, humorous critic of personality-driven media shows, in particular, those of the US media broadcast networks such as CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. Critics say Stewart benefits from a double standard: he critiques other news shows from the safe, removed position of his "news satire" desk; Stewart asserts that neither his show nor Comedy Central purport to be anything other than satire and comedy. Crossfire appearance In a televised exchange with then-CNN correspondent Tucker Carlson on Crossfire on October 15, 2004, Stewart criticized the state of television journalism and pleaded with the show's hosts to "stop hurting America", and he referred to both Carlson and co-host Paul Begala as "partisan hacks". When posted on the internet, this exchange became widely viewed and was a topic of much media discussion. Despite being on the program to comment on current events, Stewart immediately shifted the discussion toward the show itself, asserting that Crossfire had failed in its responsibility to inform and educate viewers about politics as a serious topic. Stewart stated that the show engaged in partisan hackery instead of honest debate, and said that the hosts' assertion that Crossfire is a debate show is like "saying pro wrestling is a show about athletic competition". Carlson responded by saying that Stewart criticizes news organizations for not holding public officials accountable, but when he interviewed John Kerry, Stewart asked a series of "softball" questions (Stewart has acknowledged he voted for Kerry in the 2004 presidential election). Stewart responded that he didn't realize "the news organizations look to Comedy Central for their cues on integrity". When Carlson continued to press Stewart on the Kerry issue, Stewart said, "You're on CNN! The show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls! What is wrong with you?" In response to prods from Carlson, "Come on. Be funny." Stewart said, "No, I'm not going to be your monkey." Later in the show when Carlson jibed, "I do think you're more fun on your show", Stewart retorted, "You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show." In response to Stewart's criticisms, Carlson said, "You need to get a job at a journalism school", to which Stewart responded, "You need to go to one!" Stewart discussed the incident on The Daily Show the following Monday: In January 2005, CNN announced that it was canceling Crossfire. When asked about the cancellation, CNN's incoming president, Jonathan Klein, referred to Stewart's appearance on the show: "I think he made a good point about the noise level of these types of shows, which does nothing to illuminate the issues of the day." On March 18, 2009, Carlson wrote a blog entry for The Daily Beast criticizing Stewart for his handling of the CNBC controversy (see below). Carlson discussed the CNN incident and claimed that Stewart remained backstage for at least "an hour" and "continued to lecture our staff", something Carlson described as, "one of the weirdest things I have ever seen". Criticism of CNBC Stewart again became a viral internet phenomenon following a March 4, 2009, The Daily Show sequence. CNBC canceled Rick Santelli's scheduled appearance on The Daily Show that day, so the show ran a short segment showing CNBC giving poor investment advice. Subsequent media coverage of exchanges between Stewart and Jim Cramer, who had been featured heavily in the original segment, led to a highly anticipated face-to-face confrontation on The Daily Show. The episode received much media attention and became the second most-viewed episode of The Daily Show, trailing only the 2009 Inauguration Day episode. It had 2.3 million total viewers, and the next day, the show's website saw its highest day of traffic in 2009. Although Cramer acknowledged on the show that some of Stewart's criticisms of CNBC were valid and that the network could "do better", he later said on The Today Show that Stewart's criticism of the media was "naïve and misleading." Criticism of Fox News Throughout his tenure on The Daily Show, Stewart frequently accused Fox News of distorting the news to fit a conservative agenda, at one point ridiculing the network as "the meanest sorority in the world". In November 2009, Stewart "called out" Fox News for using some footage from a previous Tea Party rally during a report on a more recent rally, making the latter event appear more highly attended than it was. The show's anchor, Sean Hannity, apologized for the footage use the following night. A month later, Stewart criticized Fox & Friends cohost Gretchen Carlson – a former Miss America and a Stanford graduate – for claiming that she googled words such as "ignoramus" and "czar". Stewart said that Carlson was dumbing herself down for "an audience who sees intellect as an elitist flaw". Stewart stepped up his criticism of Fox News in 2010; within five months, The Daily Show had 24 segments criticizing the Fox News coverage. Bill O'Reilly, host of the talk show The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News, countered that The Daily Show was a "key component of left-wing television" and that Stewart loved Fox News because the network was "not boring". During an interview with Chris Wallace on June 19, 2011, Stewart called Wallace "insane" for saying that Stewart's earlier comparison of the marketing techniques of a Sarah Palin campaign video and an anti-herpes medicine ad was a political comment. Stewart also said Fox viewers are the "most consistently misinformed" viewers of political media. This comment was ranked by the fact-checking site, PolitiFact, as false, with conditions. Stewart later accepted his error. In 2014, Stewart engaged in an extended "call-out" of Fox News, based on their coverage of food stamps and US government assistance, opining that said coverage was biased. This culminated in segments across multiple episodes, specifically singling out Sean Hannity and his show's coverage of the Bundy standoff. Hannity would "return fire" by calling out Stewart for associating himself with Cat Stevens during his Rally in 2010. Stewart responded to this by criticizing Hannity for frequently calling Ted Nugent a "friend and frequent guest" on his program and supporting Nugent's violent rhetoric toward Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2007. In late August 2014, Stewart criticized the manner in which Fox News portrayed the events surrounding the shooting of teenager Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, and the subsequent protests from citizens. Veterans and first responders advocacy 9/11 First Responders Bill Over the years, Stewart sometimes used The Daily Show to argue for causes such as the treatment of veterans and 9/11 first responders. He is credited with breaking a Senate deadlock over a bill to provide health care and benefits for 9/11 emergency workers; the bill passed three days after he featured a group of 9/11 responders on the show. In March 2009, he criticized a White House proposal to remove veterans from Veterans Administration rolls if they had private health insurance; the White House dropped the plan the next day. In 2010, Stewart held an interview with a panel of four of the 9/11 first responders -- Kenny Specht with the FDNY, Chris Bowman NYPD, Ken George DOT, and Kevin Devlin, Operating Engineer of Heavy Equipment -- who discussed their health problems with Stewart. In 2015, four months after leaving The Daily Show, he returned to reunite the four with Specht as the only panelist healthy enough to attend. Devlin had died and the two other panelists, Bowman and George, were too ill to make it to the show. In February and June 2019, Stewart again went to Congress to oppose the $7.375 billion limit in pay-outs to 9/11 first responders through December 2020 and to lobby for permanent funding for the Victims Compensation Fund past December 2020, delivering a tearful testimony. Stewart continued to be a vocal advocate, appearing on late night shows such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and news programs such as Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, and The Fox Report with Shepherd Smith. On July 12, 2019, the House approved the bill overwhelmingly 402–12. The bill came to the Senate floor where it passed the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund through 2092, virtually funding health care for 9/11 victims and first responders for life. The vote was 97–2 with Republican senators Rand Paul (KY) and Mike Lee (UT) opposing. When hearing that the bill had been passed, Stewart responded by saying, "It has been the honor of my life working with the 9/11 first responders...these families deserve better...and I will follow you wherever your next adventure shall be". Honoring our PACT Act On September 30, 2021, Stewart debuted his Apple TV+ show, The Problem with Jon Stewart by discussing the effects burn pits have had on veterans. Earlier in 2021, the bill Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2021 (PACT Act) was introduced. The House of Representatives passed the bill by 256–174 on March 3, 2022, and passed the Senate by 84–14 on June 16, 2022. The bill was reintroduced to the Senate for minor changes which Republican senators including Pat Toomey, Ted Cruz, and Josh Hawley voted against, putting the bill in jeopardy. Their opposition was the unfounded claim that the bill could be used as a slush fund. Stewart became a prominent advocate for the bill in person, on Twitter and on various cable news shows including Fox News' America's Newsroom with Bill Hemmer, CNN's The Lead with Jake Tapper, MSNBC's Morning Joe, and Newsmax. On July 28, 2022, Stewart held a press conference on Capitol Hill where he stated: On August 2, 2022, the PACT Act passed in bipartisan measure, 84 to 11. Stewart was praised for lending his voice, and celebrity to the issue and is credited as being an essential actor in getting the bill passed. Stewart stated after the bill's passing, that while it "feels good", it "shouldn't have been this hard". On August 10, the act was signed by President Joe Biden at a ceremony in the White House, where he praised Stewart for his commitment on this issue saying in part, "What you've done Jon, matters...It really, really matters. To refuse to let anybody forget, refuse to let them forget. And we owe you, big man. We owe you big." Writers Guild of America strike of 2007–2008 Stewart was an important factor in the unionization of the Comedy Central writers. The Daily Show writers were the first of Comedy Central's writers to be able to join the guild, after which other shows followed. Stewart supported the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike. On The Daily Show episode just before the strike, he sarcastically commented about how Comedy Central had made available all episodes for free on their website, but without advertising, and said, "go support our advertisers". The show went on hiatus when the strike began, as did other late-night talk shows. Upon Stewart's return to the show on January 7, 2008, he refused to use the title, The Daily Show, stating that The Daily Show was the show made with all of the people responsible for the broadcast, including his writers. During the strike, he referred to his show as A Daily Show with Jon Stewart until the strike ended on February 13, 2008. Stewart's choice to return to the air did bring criticism that he was undermining the writers of his show. Seth MacFarlane wrote an inside joke into an episode of Family Guy about this, causing Stewart to respond with an hour-long call in which he questioned how MacFarlane could consider himself the "moral arbiter" of Hollywood. Former Daily Show writer David Feldman also accused Stewart of being anti-union at the time and of punishing his writers for their decision to unionize by not using their material. The Writers Guild Strike of 2007–2008 also was responsible for a notable mock feud between Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Conan O'Brien in early 2008. Without writers to help fuel their banter, the three comedians concocted a crossover/rivalry to garner more viewers during the ratings slump. Colbert claimed that because of "the Colbert bump", he was responsible for Mike Huckabee's success in the 2008 presidential race. O'Brien claimed that he was responsible for Huckabee's success because not only had he mentioned Huckabee on his show, but also that he was responsible for Chuck Norris's success (Norris backed Huckabee). In response, Stewart claimed that he was responsible for the success of O'Brien since Stewart had featured him on The Jon Stewart Show, and in turn, the success of Huckabee. This resulted in a three-part comedic battle between the three pundits, with all three appearing on each other's shows. The feud ended on Late Night with Conan O'Brien with a mock brawl involving the three hosts. Influences Stewart has said his influences include George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, David Letterman, Steve Martin, and Richard Pryor. Among comedians who say they were influenced by Stewart are Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Hasan Minhaj, Samantha Bee, Larry Wilmore, Bassem Youssef, Trevor Noah, and Jordan Klepper. Personal life Stewart is irreligious, but of Jewish heritage. While making the 1997 film, Wishful Thinking, a production assistant on the film arranged for a blind date between Stewart and Tracey Lynn McShane. They dated for four years. Stewart proposed to her through a personalized crossword puzzle created with the help of Will Shortz, the crossword editor at The New York Times. They married in 2000. On June 19, 2001, Stewart and his wife filed a joint name change application and legally changed both of their surnames to "Stewart". With the help of in vitro fertilization, the couple has two children. In 2015, he adopted a vegetarian diet for ethical reasons; his wife is a long-time vegan. Later, he became vegan as well. In 2013, Stewart and his wife bought a farm in Middletown, New Jersey, called "Bufflehead Farm". The Stewarts operate it as a sanctuary for abused animals. Four years later, they received approval to open a 45-acre (18 ha) animal sanctuary in Colts Neck, New Jersey, a home to animals saved from slaughterhouses and live markets. Political views In 2000, when he was labeled a Democrat, Stewart generally agreed, but described his political affiliation as "more socialist or independent" than Democratic. Stewart has also voted for Republicans, the last time being in the 1988 presidential election when he voted for George H. W. Bush over Michael Dukakis. He described Bush as having "an integrity about him that I respected greatly". He has been a vocal proponent of single-payer health care system. Stewart has spoken against Israel's mistreatment of Palestinians. Honors and awards Stewart and other members of The Daily Show have received three Peabody Awards for "Indecision 2000" and "Indecision 2004", covering the 2000 presidential election and the 2004 presidential election, respectively. He received his third Peabody in 2016 for his tenure at The Daily Show. The Daily Show received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2015 and Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series for 10 consecutive years from 2003 to 2012. In 2013, the award for both categories instead went to The Daily Show spin-off The Colbert Report. In 2015, The Daily Show resurfaced, winning both categories for one last time for Stewart's swan song as host. Stewart won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album in 2005 for his recording, America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction. In the December 2003 New Year's edition of Newsweek, Stewart was named the "Who's Next?" person for 2004, with the magazine predicting that he would emerge as an absolute sensation in that year. (The magazine said they had been correct at the end of that year.) Stewart was named among the 2005 Time 100, an annual list of 100 of the most influential people of the year by Time magazine. In 2004, Stewart spoke at the commencement ceremonies at his alma mater, William and Mary, and received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree. Stewart was the Class Day keynote speaker at Princeton University in 2004, and the 2008 Sacerdote Great Names speaker at Hamilton College. Stewart and The Daily Show received the 2005 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language. Stewart was presented an Honorary All-America Award by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) in 2006. On April 21, 2009, President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made Stewart a chief. On October 26, 2010, Stewart was named the Most Influential Man of 2010 by AskMen. For his advocacy on behalf of 9/11 victims and families, Stewart was one of eighteen individuals and organizations awarded the Bronze Medallion on December 16, 2019. The Bronze Medallion is the highest award conferred upon civilians by New York City. On April 24, 2022, Stewart was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC for his lifelong contribution to the world of comedy. In December 2022, Stewart was named a Money Changemaker by Money.com. Filmography Film Television Bibliography Naked Pictures of Famous People (Rob Weisbach Books, 1998). . America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Warner Books, September 2004). . Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race (Grand Central Publishing, 2010). . See also New Yorkers in journalism Political satire References Further reading David Marchese, "Jon Stewart Is Back to Weigh In", The New York Times Magazine, June 15, 2020. Lisa Rogak, Angry Optimist: The Life and Times of Jon Stewart. New York: Saint Martin's Griffin, 2014. . Bruce Watson, Jon Stewart: Beyond the Moments of Zen. New Word City, 2014. 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Spirit (rover)

Spirit, also known as MER-A (Mars Exploration Rover - A) or MER-2, is a robotic rover on Mars, active from 2004 to 2010. It was one of two rovers of NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover Mission. It landed successfully on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, Opportunity (MER-B), landed on the other side of the planet. Its name was chosen through a NASA-sponsored student essay competition.

Global dust storm and Home Plate

On January 21, 2004 (sol 17), Spirit abruptly ceased communicating with mission control. The next day the rover radioed a 7.8 bit/s beep, confirming that it had received a transmission from Earth but indicating that the craft believed it was in a fault mode. Commands would only be responded to intermittently. This was described as a very serious anomaly, but potentially recoverable if it were a software or memory corruption issue rather than a serious hardware failure. Spirit was commanded to transmit engineering data, and on January 23 sent several short low-bitrate messages before finally transmitting 73 megabits via X band to Mars Odyssey. The readings from the engineering data suggested that the rover was not staying in sleep mode. As such, it was wasting its battery energy and overheating - risk factors that could potentially destroy the rover if not fixed soon. On sol 20, the command team sent it the command SHUTDWN_DMT_TIL ("Shutdown Dammit Until") to try to cause it to suspend itself until a given time. It seemingly ignored the command. The leading theory at the time was that the rover was stuck in a "reboot loop". The rover was programmed to reboot if there was a fault aboard. However, if there was a fault that occurred during reboot, it would continue to reboot forever. The fact that the problem persisted through reboot suggested that the error was not in RAM, but in either the flash memory, the EEPROM, or a hardware fault. The last case would likely doom the rover. Anticipating the potential for errors in the flash memory and EEPROM, the designers had made it so that the rover could be booted without ever touching the flash memory. The radio itself could decode a limited command set - enough to tell the rover to reboot without using flash. Without access to flash memory the reboot cycle was broken. On sol 19 (January 24, 2004) the rover repair team announced that the problem was with Spirit's flash memory and the software that wrote to it. The flash hardware was believed to be working correctly but the file management module in the software was "not robust enough" for the operations the Spirit was engaged in when the problem occurred, indicating that the problem was caused by a software bug as opposed to faulty hardware. NASA engineers finally came to the conclusion that there were too many files on the file system, which was a relatively minor problem. Most of these files contained unneeded in-flight data. After realizing what the problem was, the engineers deleted some files, and eventually reformatted the entire flash memory system. On February 6 (sol 33), the rover was restored to its original working condition, and science activities resumed. Spirit drove from Bonneville crater in a direct line to the Columbia Hills. The route was only directly controlled by the engineers when the terrain was difficult to navigate; otherwise, the rover drove in an autonomous mode. On sol 159, Spirit reached the first of many targets at the base of the Columbia Hills called West Spur. Hank's Hollow was studied for 23 sols. Within Hank's Hollow was the strange-looking rock dubbed "Pot of Gold". Analysing this rock was difficult for Spirit, because it lay in a slippery area. After a detailed analysis with the AXPS-and the Mossbauer instrument it was detected that it contains hematite. This kind of rock can be built in connection with water. As the produced energy from the solar panels was lowering due to the setting sun and dust the Deep Sleep Mode was introduced. In this mode the rover was shut down completely during the night in order to save energy, even if the instruments would fail. The route was selected so that the rover's panels were tilted as much as possible towards the winter sun. From here, Spirit took a northerly path along the base of the hill towards the target Wooly Patch, which was studied from sol 192 to sol 199. By sol 203, Spirit had driven southward up the hill and arrived at the rock dubbed "Clovis". Clovis was ground and analyzed from sol 210 to sol 225. Following Clovis came the targets of Ebenezer (Sols 226-235), Tetl (sol 270), Uchben and Palinque (Sols 281-295), and Lutefisk (Sols 296-303). From Sols 239 to 262, Spirit powered down for solar conjunction, when communications with the Earth are blocked. Slowly, Spirit made its way around the summit of Husband Hill, and at sol 344 was ready to climb over the newly designated "Cumberland Ridge" and into "Larry's Lookout" and "Tennessee Valley". Spirit also did some communication tests with the ESA orbiter Mars Express though most of the communication was usually done with the NASA orbiters Mars Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor. During 2007 Spirit spent several months near the base of the Home Plate plateau. On sol 1306 Spirit climbed onto the eastern edge of the plateau. In September and October it examined rocks and soils at several locations on the southern half of the plateau. On November 6, Spirit had reached the western edge of Home Plate, and started taking pictures for a panoramic overview of the western valley, with Grissom Hill and Husband Hill visible. The panorama image was published on NASA's website on January 3, 2008 to little attention, until January 23, when an independent website published a magnified detail of the image that showed a rock feature a few centimeters high resembling a humanoid figure seen from the side with its right arm partially raised. Towards the end of June 2007, a series of dust storms began clouding the Martian atmosphere with dust. The storms intensified and by July 20, both Spirit and Opportunity were facing the real possibility of system failure due to lack of energy. NASA released a statement to the press that said (in part) "We're rooting for our rovers to survive these storms, but they were never designed for conditions this intense". The key problem caused by the dust storms was a dramatic reduction in solar energy caused by there being so much dust in the atmosphere that it was blocking 99 percent of direct sunlight to Opportunity, and slightly more to Spirit. Normally the solar arrays on the rovers are able to generate up to 700 watt-hours (2,500 kJ) of energy per Martian day. After the storms, the amount of energy generated was greatly reduced to 128 watt-hours (460 kJ). If the rovers generate less than 150 watt-hours (540 kJ) per day they must start draining their batteries to run survival heaters. If the batteries run dry, key electrical elements are likely to fail due to the intense cold. Both rovers were put into the lowest-power setting in order to wait out the storms. In early August the storms began to clear slightly, allowing the rovers to successfully charge their batteries. They were kept in hibernation in order to wait out the remainder of the storm. CANNOTANSWER

Spirit, also known as MER-A (Mars Exploration Rover – A) or MER-2, is a Mars robotic rover, active from 2004 to 2010. Spirit was operational on Mars for sols or 3.3 Martian years ( days; ). It was one of two rovers of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Spirit landed successfully within the impact crater Gusev on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, Opportunity (MER-B), which landed on the other side of the planet. Its name was chosen through a NASA-sponsored student essay competition. The rover got stuck in a "sand trap" in late 2009 at an angle that hampered recharging of its batteries; its last communication with Earth was on March 22, 2010. The rover completed its planned 90-sol mission (slightly less than 92.5 Earth days). Aided by cleaning events that resulted in more energy from its solar panels, Spirit went on to function effectively over twenty times longer than NASA planners expected. Spirit also logged of driving instead of the planned , allowing more extensive geological analysis of Martian rocks and planetary surface features. Initial scientific results from the first phase of the mission (the 90-sol prime mission) were published in a special issue of the journal Science. On May 1, 2009 (5 years, 3 months, 27 Earth days after landing; 21 times the planned mission duration), Spirit became stuck in soft sand. This was not the first of the mission's "embedding events" and for the following eight months NASA carefully analyzed the situation, running Earth-based theoretical and practical simulations, and finally programming the rover to make extrication drives in an attempt to free itself. These efforts continued until January 26, 2010, when NASA officials announced that the rover was likely irrecoverably obstructed by its location in soft sand, though it continued to perform scientific research from its current location. The rover continued in a stationary science platform role until communication with Spirit stopped on March 22, 2010 (sol ). JPL continued to attempt to regain contact until May 24, 2011, when NASA announced that efforts to communicate with the unresponsive rover had ended, calling the mission complete. A formal farewell took place at NASA headquarters shortly thereafter. Objectives The scientific objectives of the Mars Exploration Rover mission were to: Search for and characterize a variety of rocks and soils that hold clues to past water activity. In particular, samples sought include those that have minerals deposited by water-related processes such as precipitation, evaporation, sedimentary cementation, or hydrothermal activity. Determine the distribution and composition of minerals, rocks, and soils surrounding the landing sites. Determine what geologic processes have shaped the local terrain and influenced the chemistry. Such processes could include water or wind erosion, sedimentation, hydrothermal mechanisms, volcanism, and cratering. Perform calibration and validation of surface observations made by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) instruments. This will help determine the accuracy and effectiveness of various instruments that survey Martian geology from orbit. Search for iron-containing minerals, and to identify and quantify relative amounts of specific mineral types that contain water or were formed in water, such as iron-bearing carbonates. Characterize the mineralogy and textures of rocks and soils to determine the processes that created them. Search for geological clues to the environmental conditions that existed when liquid water was present. Assess whether those environments were conducive to life. Mission timeline Opportunity and Spirit rovers were part of the Mars Exploration Rover program in the long-term Mars Exploration Program. The Mars Exploration Program's four principal goals were to determine if the potential for life exists on Mars (in particular, whether recoverable water may be found on Mars), to characterize the Mars climate and its geology, and then to prepare for a potential human mission to Mars. The Mars Exploration Rovers were to travel across the Martian surface and perform periodic geologic analyses to determine if water ever existed on Mars as well as the types of minerals available, as well as to corroborate data taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Both rovers were designed with an expected 90 sols (92 Earth days) lifetime, but each lasted much longer than expected. Spirit mission lasted 20 times longer than its expected lifetime, and its mission was declared ended on May 25, 2011, after it got stuck in soft sand and expended its power reserves trying to free itself. Opportunity lasted 55 times longer than its 90 sol planned lifetime, operating for days from landing to mission end. An archive of weekly updates on the rover's status can be found at the Opportunity Update Archive. Launch and landing The MER-A (Spirit) and MER-B (Opportunity) were launched on June 10, 2003 and July 7, 2003, respectively. Though both probes launched on Boeing Delta II 7925-9.5 rockets from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 17 (CCAFS SLC-17), MER-B was on the heavy version of that launch vehicle, needing the extra energy for Trans-Mars injection. The launch vehicles were integrated onto pads right next to each other, with MER-A on CCAFS SLC-17A and MER-B on CCAFS SLC-17B. The dual pads allowed for working the 15- and 21-day planetary launch periods close together; the last possible launch day for MER-A was June 19, 2003 and the first day for MER-B was June 25, 2003. NASA's Launch Services Program managed the launch of both spacecraft. Spirit successfully landed on the surface of Mars on 04:35 Spacecraft Event Time (SCET) on January 4, 2004. This was the start of its 90-sol mission, but solar cell cleaning events would mean it was the start of a much longer mission, lasting until 2010. Spirit was targeted to a site that appears to have been affected by liquid water in the past, the crater Gusev, a possible former lake in a giant impact crater about from the center of the target ellipse at . After the airbag-protected landing craft settled onto the surface, the rover rolled out to take panoramic images. These give scientists the information they need to select promising geological targets and drive to those locations to perform on-site scientific investigations. The MER team named the landing site "Columbia Memorial Station," in honor of the seven astronauts killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. On May 1, 2009 (sol ), the rover became stuck in soft sand, the machine resting upon a cache of iron(III) sulfate (jarosite) hidden under a veneer of normal-looking soil. Iron sulfate has very little cohesion, making it difficult for the rover's wheels to gain traction. On January 26, 2010 (sol ), after several months attempting to free the rover, NASA decided to redefine the mobile robot mission by calling it a stationary research platform. Efforts were directed in preparing a more suitable orientation of the platform in relation to the Sun in an attempt to allow a more efficient recharge of the platform's batteries. This was needed to keep some systems operational during the Martian winter. On March 30, 2010, Spirit skipped a planned communication session and as anticipated from recent power-supply projections, had probably entered a low-power hibernation mode. The last communication with the rover was March 22, 2010 (sol ) and there is a strong possibility the rover's batteries lost so much energy at some point that the mission clock stopped. In previous winters the rover was able to park on a Sun-facing slope and keep its internal temperature above , but since the rover was stuck on flat ground it is estimated that its internal temperature dropped to . If Spirit had survived these conditions and there had been a cleaning event, there was a possibility that with the southern summer solstice in March 2011, solar energy would increase to a level that would wake up the rover. Spirit remains silent at its location, called "Troy," on the west side of Home Plate. There was no communication with the rover after March 22, 2010 (sol ). It is likely that Spirit experienced a low-power fault and had turned off all sub-systems, including communication, and gone into a deep sleep, trying to recharge its batteries. It is also possible that the rover had experienced a mission clock fault. If that had happened, the rover would have lost track of time and tried to remain asleep until enough sunlight struck the solar arrays to wake it. This state is called "Solar Groovy." If the rover woke up from a mission clock fault, it would only listen. Starting on July 26, 2010 (sol ), a new procedure to address the possible mission clock fault was implemented. End of mission JPL continued attempts to regain contact with Spirit until May 25, 2011, when NASA announced the end of contact efforts and the completion of the mission. According to NASA, the rover likely experienced excessively cold "internal temperatures" due to "inadequate energy to run its survival heaters" that, in turn, was a result of "a stressful Martian winter without much sunlight." Many critical components and connections would have been "susceptible to damage from the cold." Assets that had been needed to support Spirit were transitioned to support Spirit's then still-active Opportunity rover, and Mars rover Curiosity which is exploring Gale Crater and has been doing so for more than six years. The primary surface mission for Spirit was planned to last at least 90 sols. The mission received several extensions and lasted about 2,208 sols. On August 11, 2007, Spirit obtained the second longest operational duration on the surface of Mars for a lander or rover at 1282 Sols, one sol longer than the Viking 2 lander. Viking 2 was powered by a nuclear cell whereas Spirit is powered by solar arrays. Until Opportunity overtook it on May 19, 2010, the Mars probe with longest operational period was Viking 1 that lasted for 2245 Sols on the surface of Mars. On March 22, 2010, Spirit sent its last communication, thus falling just over a month short of surpassing Viking 1's operational record. An archive of weekly updates on the rover's status can be found at the Spirit Update Archive. Spirit's total odometry is . Design and construction Spirit (and its twin, Opportunity) are six-wheeled, solar-powered robots standing high, wide and long and weighing . Six wheels on a rocker-bogie system enabled mobility over rough terrain. Each wheel had its own motor. The vehicle was steered at front and rear and was designed to operate safely at tilts of up to 30 degrees. The maximum speed was ; , although the average speed was about . Both Spirit and Opportunity have pieces of the fallen World Trade Center's metal on them that were "turned into shields to protect cables on the drilling mechanisms". Solar arrays generated about 140 watts for up to fourteen hours per sol, while rechargeable lithium ion batteries stored energy for use at night. Spirits onboard computer uses a 20 MHz RAD6000 CPU with 128 MB of DRAM and 3 MB of EEPROM. The rover's operating temperature ranges from and radioisotope heaters provide a base level of heating, assisted by electrical heaters when necessary. Communications depended on an omnidirectional low-gain antenna communicating at a low data rate and a steerable high-gain antenna, both in direct contact with Earth. A low-gain antenna was also used to relay data to spacecraft orbiting Mars. Science payload The science instruments included: Panoramic Camera (Pancam) – examined the texture, color, mineralogy, and structure of the local terrain. Navigation Camera (Navcam) – monochrome with a higher field of view but lower resolution, for navigation and driving. Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) – identified promising rocks and soils for closer examination, and determined the processes that formed them. Hazcams, two B&W cameras with 120 degree field of view, that provided additional data about the rover's surroundings. The rover arm held the following instruments: Mössbauer spectrometer (MB) MIMOS II – used for close-up investigations of the mineralogy of iron-bearing rocks and soils. Alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) – close-up analysis of the abundances of elements that make up rocks and soils. Magnets – for collecting magnetic dust particles. Microscopic Imager (MI) – obtained close-up, high-resolution images of rocks and soils. Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) – exposed fresh material for examination by instruments on board. Spirit was 'driven' by several operators throughout its mission. Power The rover uses a combination of solar cells and a rechargeable chemical battery. This class of rover has two rechargeable lithium batteries, each composed of 8 cells with 8 amp-hour capacity. At the start of the mission the solar panels could provide up to around 900 watt-hours (Wh) to recharge the battery and power system in one Sol, but this could vary due to a variety of factors. In Eagle crater the cells were producing about 840 Wh, but by Sol 319 in December 2004, it had dropped to 730 Wh. Like Earth, Mars has seasonal variations that reduce sunlight during winter. However, since the Martian year is longer than that of the Earth, the seasons fully rotate roughly once every 2 Earth years. By 2016, MER-B had endured seven Martian winters, during which times power levels drop which can mean the rover avoids doing activities that use a lot of power. During its first winter power levels dropped to under 300 Wh per day for two months, but some later winters were not as bad. Another factor that can reduce received power is dust in the atmosphere, especially dust storms. Dust storms have occurred quite frequently when Mars is closest to the Sun. Global dust storms in 2007 reduced power levels for Opportunity and Spirit so much they could only run for a few minutes each day. Due to the 2018 dust storms on Mars, Opportunity entered hibernation mode on June 12, but it remained silent after the storm subsided in early October. Discoveries The rocks on the plains of Gusev are a type of basalt. They contain the minerals olivine, pyroxene, plagioclase and magnetite. They look like volcanic basalt, as they are fine-grained with irregular holes (geologists would say they have vesicles and vugs). Much of the soil on the plains came from the breakdown of the local rocks. Fairly high levels of nickel were found in some soils; probably from meteorites. Analysis shows that the rocks have been slightly altered by tiny amounts of water. Outside coatings and cracks inside the rocks suggest water deposited minerals, maybe bromine compounds. All the rocks contain a fine coating of dust and one or more harder rinds of material. One type can be brushed off, while another needed to be ground off by the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT). The dust in Gusev Crater is the same as dust all around the planet. All the dust was found to be magnetic. Moreover, Spirit found the magnetism was caused by the mineral magnetite, especially magnetite that contained the element titanium. One magnet was able to completely divert all dust, hence all Martian dust is thought to be magnetic. The spectra of the dust was similar to spectra of bright, low thermal inertia regions like Tharsis and Arabia that have been detected by orbiting satellites. A thin layer of dust, maybe less than one millimeter thick, covers all surfaces. Something in it contains a small amount of chemically bound water. Astronomy Spirit pointed its cameras towards the sky and observed a transit of the Sun by Mars' moon Deimos (see Transit of Deimos from Mars). It also took the first photo of Earth from the surface of another planet in early March 2004. In late 2005, Spirit took advantage of a favorable energy situation to make multiple nighttime observations of both of Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos. These observations included a "lunar" (or rather phobian) eclipse as Spirit watched Phobos disappear into Mars' shadow. Some of Spirits star gazing was designed to look for a predicted meteor shower caused by Halley's Comet, and although at least four imaged streaks were suspect meteors, they could not be unambiguously differentiated from those caused by cosmic rays. A transit of Mercury from Mars took place on January 12, 2005, from about 14:45 UTC to 23:05 UTC. Theoretically, this could have been observed by both Spirit and Opportunity; however, camera resolution did not permit seeing Mercury's 6.1" angular diameter. They were able to observe transits of Deimos across the Sun, but at 2' angular diameter, Deimos is about 20 times larger than Mercury's 6.1" angular diameter. Ephemeris data generated by JPL Horizons indicates that Opportunity would have been able to observe the transit from the start until local sunset at about 19:23 UTC Earth time, while Spirit would have been able to observe it from local sunrise at about 19:38 UTC until the end of the transit. Equipment wear and failures Both rovers passed their original mission time of 90 sols many times over. The extended time on the surface, and therefore additional stress on components, resulted in some issues developing. On March 13, 2006 (sol ), the right front wheel ceased working after having covered on Mars. Engineers began driving the rover backwards, dragging the dead wheel. Although this resulted in changes to driving techniques, the dragging effect became a useful tool, partially clearing away soil on the surface as the rover traveled, thus allowing areas to be imaged that would normally be inaccessible. However, in mid-December 2009, to the surprise of the engineers, the right front wheel showed slight movement in a wheel-test on sol 2113 and clearly rotated with normal resistance on three of four wheel-tests on sol 2117, but stalled on the fourth. On November 29, 2009 (sol ), the right rear wheel also stalled and remained inoperable for the remainder of the mission. Scientific instruments also experienced degradation as a result of exposure to the harsh Martian environment and use over a far longer period than had been anticipated by the mission planners. Over time, the diamond in the resin grinding surface of the Rock Abrasion Tool wore down, after that the device could only be used to brush targets. All of the other science instruments and engineering cameras continued to function until contact was lost; however, towards the end of Spirit'''s life, the MIMOS II Mössbauer spectrometer took much longer to produce results than it did earlier in the mission because of the decay of its cobalt-57 gamma ray source that has a half life of 271 days. Legacy and honors To commemorate Spirits great contribution to the exploration of Mars, the asteroid 37452 Spirit has been named after it. The name was proposed by Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld who along with Cornelis Johannes van Houten and Tom Gehrels discovered the asteroid on September 24, 1960. To honor the rover, the JPL team named an area near Endeavour Crater explored by the Opportunity rover, 'Spirit Point'. Documentary film, Good Night Oppy, about the Opportunity, Spirit, and their long missions, was directed by Ryan White, and included support from JPL and Industrial Light & Magic. It was released in 2022. Gallery The rover could take pictures with its different cameras, but only the PanCam camera had the ability to photograph a scene with different color filters. The panorama views were usually built up from PanCam images. Spirit transferred 128,224 pictures in its lifetime. See also References External links JPL, MSSS, and NASA links JPL's Mars Exploration Rover Mission home page (obsolete JPL Mars Exploration Rover home page) Planetary Photojournal, NASA JPL's Planetary Photojournal for Spirit NASA TV Special Events Schedule for MER News Briefings at JPL Mission Status updates from NASA JPL Wikisource:NASA MER press briefings MER Analyst's Notebook, Interactive access to mission data and documentation Other links SpaceFlightNow Spaceflightnow.com, Status Page last updated May 2004 Cornell's rover site: Athena last update 2006 Finding Spirit: interactive Mars atlas based on Viking images: you can zoom in/out and pan images, to find your preferred site. Spirit approximate position is 14.82°S (= −14.82°N), 184.85°W (= 5.15°E) (not working as of June 4, 2008) Google map with Spirit landing site marked New Scientist on Spirit Dust Devils , March 15, 2005 New Scientist on Spirit wheel status, April 3, 2006 Unmanned Spaceflight.com discussion on Spirit as of 2008-06-04 last updated 2008-06-04 High-resolution video by Seán Doran that zooms in on Spirit''s final location Archive of MER progress reports by A.J.S. Rayl at planetary.org Category:2003 robots Category:2004 on Mars Category:Aeolis quadrangle Category:Derelict landers (spacecraft) * Category:Mars robots Category:Mars rovers Category:Missions to Mars Category:Robots of the United States Category:Six-wheeled robots Category:Soft landings on Mars Category:Solar-powered robots Category:Space probes launched in 2003 Category:Spacecraft decommissioned in 2011 Category:Spacecraft launched by Delta II rockets